Don Dolla
A young musician from Sydney's North West, Don Dolla got his nickname from High School due to always having the latest gadgets thanks to his parents. However, his skills were honed over his life-time especially his ability with the unigue 'Talkbox', which is what he is most known for. The 'Talkbox' was pioneered by Stevie Wonder in the 70's, which has brought a 'funk'like element to Don Dolla's music.If you want further details, or hear more of his music you can visit his Facebook Fan Page at;
http://www.facebook.com/dondollaofficial
Or you can download his first album 'Intromental' at iTunes;
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/intromental/id318695548
But what we are interested in at 'RightBrainFreeze' is how an artist deals with self-doubt/confidence issues and a lack of motivation. Due to his busy schedule writing and creating his own music as well as producing music for others, I was lucky enough to steal a few moments with him to find out how he dealt with issues and emotions that could have derailed his career.
http://www.facebook.com/dondollaofficial
Or you can download his first album 'Intromental' at iTunes;
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/intromental/id318695548
But what we are interested in at 'RightBrainFreeze' is how an artist deals with self-doubt/confidence issues and a lack of motivation. Due to his busy schedule writing and creating his own music as well as producing music for others, I was lucky enough to steal a few moments with him to find out how he dealt with issues and emotions that could have derailed his career.
The Interview
1) What made you want to decide to pursue a career in the music industry?
Well I was always one of the lucky ones. I was given a gift and the tools to explore it. I was always that quiet kid with the headphones who was fine living on my own little planet of music in my head. I went from Classical Piano, to being a DJ, to learning about beat making and new instruments and now, being able to do all of it at the same time, producing great records and sharing my talents on stages all over the place. I guess I just fell into the industry circle along the way. I’ve had
several great mentors and teachers that have helped me break into the industry and grow musically. I’m confident in my work so i let my work speak for
itself.
2) Who did you show your work to first and how did you feel? What was their reaction?
My family was always the first to hear my work as it came together. Naturally they would always support me and keep my spirits high, even when I knew that what I was doing at the time wasn't all that great. God bless 'em! When I decided to do my first album "Intromental" back in 2009, during the recording process I was always worried about what people would think of my work but at the same time I was so pumped about completing and releasing my first album that it just motivated me more and made for a better product at the end. Once the album was finally ready and I began receiving amazing feedback for something I had worked so hard on, all the
anxiety was gone.
3) Were there any points in the pursuit of your career when you felt like giving up? Was this due to negative feedback or something else?
Haven't we all? There’s so much more to the music industry than just the music itself, so it’s easy to come across a million situations that make you want to hang up
the gloves and do something else, and it’s even easier to be taken advantage of without realising it. Pursuing a career in any art form requires developing tough skin. It’s too easy to be hurt by what others think of my work for example, but I have to face the facts, not everybody is going to love what I do and that’s totally cool. Some people out there are going to purposely throw bullshit at you and try to shut you down, especially when they know you're doing well. It’s all part of the game we play. Over time i have learned how to translate negative feedback to positive feedback. One person’s negative words may be just what you need to give you that extra push to create something bigger and better and grow as a musician. Let your work speak for itself. If ever I feel like giving up, I just remember that I was given these skills for a reason. It’s a gift and it would be a sin to waste it. As cheesy as this may sound, everything truly does happen for a reason.
4) It is known that no matter how many people like your work, most creative people are never satisfied with what they have done. Are you ever satisfied or are you always critical of what you create?
I think every creative mind will at some stage go through a period of self-doubt and ask themselves the dreaded question; "is this really good enough?" We are most definitely our own worst critics. I used to always question myself when it came to calling a project 'done.' Maybe I should add this; maybe I should re-do this, etc.
Sometime it seemed like I never got any of my work anywhere close to being called 'done' because I was never satisfied. Even though everybody around me would always tell me that what I’ve done sounds great, perfect, amazing and everything else it should, for some reason I would think otherwise. It was only until I was given the opportunity to work with some of the people who inspired me to start making music in the first place that I learned how to accept a project when it gets to that stage where above all else, FEELS right. That’s the most important thing. Anything creative starts with a feeling, so when you cross that line between feel and perfectionism, the whole integrity of the project can easily be lost. I follow my own golden rule: It’s perfect when it feels perfect.
5) If given the chance to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, what would you change or do differently, if anything?
Plain and simple, I wouldn't know what I know now without everything I’ve been through in between. You can't learn to swim without getting into the water!
Well I was always one of the lucky ones. I was given a gift and the tools to explore it. I was always that quiet kid with the headphones who was fine living on my own little planet of music in my head. I went from Classical Piano, to being a DJ, to learning about beat making and new instruments and now, being able to do all of it at the same time, producing great records and sharing my talents on stages all over the place. I guess I just fell into the industry circle along the way. I’ve had
several great mentors and teachers that have helped me break into the industry and grow musically. I’m confident in my work so i let my work speak for
itself.
2) Who did you show your work to first and how did you feel? What was their reaction?
My family was always the first to hear my work as it came together. Naturally they would always support me and keep my spirits high, even when I knew that what I was doing at the time wasn't all that great. God bless 'em! When I decided to do my first album "Intromental" back in 2009, during the recording process I was always worried about what people would think of my work but at the same time I was so pumped about completing and releasing my first album that it just motivated me more and made for a better product at the end. Once the album was finally ready and I began receiving amazing feedback for something I had worked so hard on, all the
anxiety was gone.
3) Were there any points in the pursuit of your career when you felt like giving up? Was this due to negative feedback or something else?
Haven't we all? There’s so much more to the music industry than just the music itself, so it’s easy to come across a million situations that make you want to hang up
the gloves and do something else, and it’s even easier to be taken advantage of without realising it. Pursuing a career in any art form requires developing tough skin. It’s too easy to be hurt by what others think of my work for example, but I have to face the facts, not everybody is going to love what I do and that’s totally cool. Some people out there are going to purposely throw bullshit at you and try to shut you down, especially when they know you're doing well. It’s all part of the game we play. Over time i have learned how to translate negative feedback to positive feedback. One person’s negative words may be just what you need to give you that extra push to create something bigger and better and grow as a musician. Let your work speak for itself. If ever I feel like giving up, I just remember that I was given these skills for a reason. It’s a gift and it would be a sin to waste it. As cheesy as this may sound, everything truly does happen for a reason.
4) It is known that no matter how many people like your work, most creative people are never satisfied with what they have done. Are you ever satisfied or are you always critical of what you create?
I think every creative mind will at some stage go through a period of self-doubt and ask themselves the dreaded question; "is this really good enough?" We are most definitely our own worst critics. I used to always question myself when it came to calling a project 'done.' Maybe I should add this; maybe I should re-do this, etc.
Sometime it seemed like I never got any of my work anywhere close to being called 'done' because I was never satisfied. Even though everybody around me would always tell me that what I’ve done sounds great, perfect, amazing and everything else it should, for some reason I would think otherwise. It was only until I was given the opportunity to work with some of the people who inspired me to start making music in the first place that I learned how to accept a project when it gets to that stage where above all else, FEELS right. That’s the most important thing. Anything creative starts with a feeling, so when you cross that line between feel and perfectionism, the whole integrity of the project can easily be lost. I follow my own golden rule: It’s perfect when it feels perfect.
5) If given the chance to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, what would you change or do differently, if anything?
Plain and simple, I wouldn't know what I know now without everything I’ve been through in between. You can't learn to swim without getting into the water!
Music And Videos
Below are a just a few of the videos on Don Dolla's YouTube chanel. You can find more at; http://www.youtube.com/voskient
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