Singer/songwriter Don Amero

I take special pleasure in introducing this week’s guest, partly because I’ve been able to watch his giftedness and his career emerge over the past six years or so.  Don Amero is a gifted musician, and I feel privileged to call him friend.  You can learn more about him at his website. Here’s Don’s story…

When I was 15 years old I auditioned for the school production “Crazy for you” all in the hopes that I would get the attention of Natalie, a girl I had a crush on for 3 years. Until that audition, I had zero experience in performance. I had always been interested, but was always too scared to try. After all, I was a 15 year old boy and the idea of dancing and singing on a stage was less than cool at the time; although that perspective would soon change. Long story short, I landed the lead roll of “Curly” a rugged cowboy who would occasionally break out into song and dance. I even got the opportunity to dance with Natalie in the play. For three nights we got standing ovations and I felt like a hero. That production would put me on the course that would lead me to where I am today.

I am now 29 years old, married to Pam (a true gift in my life), and a full time singer/songwriter. I’ve released two albums and am currently working on a third. I have had the honor of being nominated for 9 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards and have toured Canada several times in the past two years. It’s been a long road to get to this place of understanding my gifts and also using them to the best of my ability. If you’ll allow me to continue my story you’ll see how I got to where I am now and how my gifts brought me here.

After “Crazy for you” I continued to audition in other school productions. I also started taking dance lessons. I was also very much into working out and football, so being a dancer who could also bench press 250 lbs and run through most opponents on the field sure helped keep the mockery at bay. That being said, since my days as a high school kid, being a male performance artist has become something of a cool thing to do thanks to guys like Zach Efron and the High School Musical movies.

I began writing songs and playing guitar during my last years in school and not long after I started playing in an original rock band. We played about 10 shows and all of them were awful! We thought we were great and loved to play, but we were so green that we had no clue what we were doing. I’ve been in two other bands since and both were better than the last. Being in those bands were the building blocks in helping realize my gifts and led me to the decision to record my first album.

It was the summer of 2006 and I was working as a hardwood floor installer and in my spare time, began recording my first CD. One song off that album became the catalyst for my mission/vision as a performer. The song “Help this world”, is about doing what we can to make the world a better place. After playing that song, I realized that I wanted to make more music that would inspire change and encourage the heart of the listener to better things for themselves and those around them. Once I understood that I could use the music as a tool to help others, the music began to flow out. I realized that I could do what I love and at the same time motivate and influence others to do great things. The album was given the title “Change your life” with the hopes that that would happen for the listener, but truthfully the biggest change it made was probably in my own life. My music took on a new form and meant that I could no longer play any old song, but songs that must coincide with my mission.

After releasing “Change your life”, I spent the next year promoting my music and playing as many shows as I could find. I submitted the album in the 2007 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards and received 5 nominations. That provided me with many more opportunities and recognition as a writer and performer. During that time, I had continued working the day job as a hard wood floor installer. It was getting increasingly difficult to balance both the day job and the musician life, so in September of 2007 I left the flooring job and began pursuing music full time.

To date, I am privileged to say I have not had to go back to work, and I have been lucky enough to gain the support of not only my family and friends but also, as surreal as it still sounds, many fans. This year I released another album titled “Deepening” and have played over 100 shows. I am spending a lot of time in the office, on the phone, sending emails, connecting with other music professionals and planning future shows… the list goes on. I find that these days as an independent act I only spend about 15 percent of my time actually playing and writing, but I assume that is what it’s like for anyone else in my position. However, when I meet with friends and family I find myself saying “I don’t have a real job…”, even though I think I work more hours that any other job I’ve worked before. I love doing what I do. I love networking with others in the business. I can’t wait to get up everyday and sip on my coffee and slowly chip away on whatever it is I am working on.  It’s a wonderful thing that the work I do doesn’t really feel like work at all.

In a nut shell, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to spend the last few years building my own business around my gifts. I sometimes wonder how many people out there are trudging along in life while the days slowly fade away, and they never really take the chance to wield their gifts. Failure is scary, but in truth it is an opportunity to learn as well. Along my path to get here I failed numerous times and learned a little bit more about what I am good at and what I’m not so good at. I am certain that I will fail many more times in my pursuit, but there is an inner peace that comes along with the fulfillment of using my gifts.

Now I don’t mean to say that everyone should quit whatever it is they’re doing and rely on their gifts to make a living – not all abilities have a business calling. What I am saying is that in my experience, living your life using your gifts to the fullest of your ability makes life very enjoyable. So, if you have a skill that you’re not using, I hope you’ll dare to jump into something that will help you in exercising it. Don’t worry about it if you hit a few bumps along the way. Learn from them and move on. I think the best life we can have is when we are using our gifts.

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