Who is Jamie Jamison?

I don't like speaking in first person because it ends up sounding narcissistic and all about me me me. But I'm going to be talking about myself, so I will have to get over that in order to accomplish the goal here. Being in the music industry I'm surrounded by self centered narcissist that I do everything in my power to never resemble. I am not perfect and sometimes fail, but it's not by choice.

I enjoy flying under the radar and have no desire to be the most important guy in the room. I'm not a fan of the attention that comes with being a performer and entertainer, but it's part of the gig. If it were up to me, I'd get off stage and head out the back door before I'd stick around fishing for admiration. I guess you could say I'm not really good at taking the compliment. It makes me a bit uncomfortable. And like Jimi Hendrix said, when someone compliments me, it distracts me from being my best. It creates a false sense of complacency that is counterproductive to being my greatest version. If I compare myself to those around me, then I limit myself.

I'm a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and aspiring producer but above all, I'm a professional performing artist and entertainer. I make a great living with a guitar and a microphone. I'm no stranger to getting up in front of a crowd of strangers and uniting them all with their favorite songs. Usually it only takes me about two or three songs in before they are all singing along. My job is to play the hits, so you won't find me playing many B-side covers or songs that weren't on top 40. If I'm going to play some obscure song that only one or two people in the crowd would know, I'd rather just introduce them to one of my originals.

I'm told that cover artist are looked down on by "real musicians" because they have sold out to a certain degree. I can see where that could be, but I haven't had a boss in over ten years, I travel the world, unite people with their favorite songs, and make more money in one day than many do in an entire week. Of course there are going to be haters. Some things are out of my control. But in my heart, I know I'm a real musician, not just some hack. I have tons of original material and if I'm going to be playing my guitar anyway, I may as well get paid for it. What's to hate about that? As I get older and more experienced I've realized that a quarter of the people will love you, a quarter will hate you, a quarter will not even see you or care, and a quarter will praise you to your face, and then bash you when you're not around, so what's the point in looking for outside validation from people that may or may not be sincere? Sorry if that came off negatively. I've been in the business for a while and I've experienced some interesting scenarios to say the least.

I am also known as "JamiSun" in the industry, and I've played over 3000 shows since 2007 all over the world and I still am traveling to this day. I'm writing this in the Atlanta airport. I love traveling and playing music, writing music, and producing music. I'm still a work in progress, but I'm getting better all the time. Above all, I'm a guitar player at heart, singing was something that became a necessity because no one else would. I have played guitar in many bands and I have endorsements from multiple guitar companies such as Rainsong Graphite Guitars, Breedlove, Godin, Seagull, and Clayton picks. I'm also a Bomber Floatable Eyewear endorsor and have to say there's nothing else like these sunglasses that are practically indestructible and will float if you drop them in the water. But I'm not here to sell you shades. I want to stay focused on the topic at hand. I'm a master at sidetracking. I found myself deleting a whole paragraph just now because it wasn't really relevant to the purpose of this blog. Perhaps I'll touch on those points another time.

I love inspiring kids to play music as well. I started a non profit 501ce called "Muse 4 Change" that is focused on taking spare change and turning it into a tool of art. Whether it's music, culinary arts, painting, writing, skateboarding or any other artistic expression that can give a child confidence and a sense of purpose. I didn't have a skateboard, or a guitar for the longest time because my family didn't have a lot of money, so I know how that feels to have a burning desire to want to lock myself away with my instrument, and not have one. www.muse4change.org is where you can find out more.

There's more to my story than just this, but that will come in time. I'm trying a new blog here and I'm going to see how much I can commit myself to writing in it since I really enjoy it. Even if no one reads it, it can be a good outlet. If you're still reading, thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more from the journey of David Jamison.