bust their asses doing things
that mainstream people in so-
ciety turn their noses up at. You
feel like the odd man out from
the moment you start out on
your journey. You feel misun-
derstood. And you’re just being
your authentic self.
What would you say was the
most personal song you’ve writ-
ten about these issues?
My song “Anchors Aweigh” is
about fighting with anxiety. I
wrote it a few months ago when I
was feeling stuck and everything
seemed to be going wrong all at
once. It’s about the sinking feel-
ing and giving into the negative
self talk. I introduce that song at
shows sometimes by briefly de-
scribing my own issues and why
it felt good to write it out. I’ve
had a few people tell me that
they related to that song in par-
ticular and shared their own ex-
periences with me.
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 9
You’ve also mentioned issues
like stage fright and pani c at-
tacks; do you still get both?
I’m a perfectionist. I’ve always
been very hard on myself. I don’t
want anyone to ever walk away
from a show disappointed. I
throw every once of passion and
energy into performing and writ-
ing and singing, but it must meet
the ridiculous standards I have
set in my own head.
What’s funny is that, over the
years, I’ve grown immensely and
I have faith in my abilities, and,
yet, I still get nervous when I
have to rehearse. I’ve had mo-
ments where my body tenses
up; my chest is tight, my knees
wobble when I’m working with
new people or on material I’m
not familiar with. I want to have
a song down before I ever sing it
front of anyone.
I do struggle with the occasion-
al panic attack. I have terrible
anxiety at times. I’m an over-
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