Perfect
What’s up world!
So the last 2 shows that we played, we have had openers who played acoustic and had amazing voices. These guys could win American Idol. I swear to you. Their vocals gave me goose bumps. I know that is weird to say, but it’s the truth.
When we first started this band, I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted MY voice to be perfect. I wanted to sound like John Rzeznick from the Goo Goo Dolls or Martin Johnson from Boys Like Girls. I love those guys’ vocals, and I wanted mine to sound like theirs. But I had a problem. My vocals never sounded perfect. They just weren’t and there was nothing I could do to fix that. I went to a vocal coach who happened to had worked with BLG and the Goo Goo Dolls and what I got from him was priceless. It was wisdom that was so on point, that it changed my career.
It was simple, “Your voice isn’t perfect. The greatest vocalists aren’t perfect. Bono and Bruce Springstein literally are not good. But what they do, they do perfectly. You see, perfection isn’t the point. Being yourself is the point. You are perfect when you are you.”
After I heard that, I was a changed man. My voice isn’t supposed to be perfect, it’s just supposed to be me. I started thinking about Tom Delonge from Blink 182 and how much I LOVE him, but how much his vocals suck! I started to realize that perfect isn’t what I want. I just want to be me, just like Tom is Tom. How cool is it that Tom Delonge can literally sound horrible vocally, but people completely love him for it. That is awesome!
I’m telling you this not to talk about my voice, but to prove a point. The point behind what I am saying is: Don’t be perfect, be you. I don’t have to have a perfect voice to be a rock star. I just have to be me and do it right. I will eventually sing to thousands of people a night. And they will come to see ME sing, not some perfect voice. But me! That is very exciting to me. And the best part is that I don’t have to try extra, extra hard. I just have to be me. And that is enough.
This makes me feel better about myself and about the world. Now, when we have dudes with perfect vocals open up for us, I don’t have to feel envious, or self conscious, or weird. I can just think, “This guy is the man. He should be on American Idol.”
So, when it comes to looks, or grades, or talent, or whatever, don’t try to be perfect. It’s not possible. Just be you. You are just fine. It’s the truth. I am going to prove this to you next time you come to a Phone Calls From Home show. Because I won’t sing perfectly, but you will still love it because perfect isn’t the point!
Goodbye world!
