The Fool represents a new beginning and the innocence and excitement of taking that first step. It may feel risky to dive the abyss in search of your unknown potential. Keep a light-hearted attitude and try not to rush things as they unfold.
A LEAP OF FAITH
SONG RELEASE STORY
October 11, 2024
Life is full of beginnings. Some of them lead to whole new chapters. Others fizzle and burn out, never meant to be more than a moment. But some repeat and take slightly new form with each iteration. These are the ones worth paying attention to. They are likely meant to teach a lesson or affirm a calling.
When I set out to make a name for myself in the music business, I also started a career in life sciences. I felt I needed a backup gig - something to pay the bills while I developed my craft. I went to college and earned a degree in interpersonal communications. It was a genuinely interesting subject and demonstrated I could apply myself to a higher education. As a result, I got my foot in the door at a small pharmaceutical company.
I performed document control by day and wrote songs by night. I played shows on the weekends. Sometimes I would take long breaks from songwriting and performing, and focus more on my life sciences career. At one point I switched from pharma to medical device and started learning more about regulated software administration. At the end of 2010, I took a big leap of faith and left my five-year position at a company I adored to join a small start-up that was trying to bring a new cancer-screening device to market. I was afraid of the unknown and worried my new job might be too demanding for my creative pursuits.
But when something is meant to be, the pieces fit. I wore my new job like a custom tailored suit. I learned the mission and helped administer the quality management system behind the life-changing diagnostic test. And I did this all while continuing to write and perform my songs on nights and weekends. Surprisingly, the brilliant company began to inspire my songwriting. I wrote a song called "Science and Medicine," and performed it at an all-team meeting. I shared a demo recording with some of the founders and employees. I began to see that I didn't have a backup gig anymore. I now had two chosen careers - one as a life sciences professional, and another an artist.
Eventually I got burned out. The demands of dual vocations caught up with me, and something had to give. Music hadn't become any sort of livelihood, so I let it go for a while, focusing on life sciences over songwriting. Even though it was hard, I felt a burden had been lifted. I had more breathing room and a chance to unwind. I told myself music would come back to me again someday if it was meant to be.
When The Music Tarot began to formulate six years later, I was still working for that same start-up company. We were now a team of thousands of employees, with multiple cancer diagnostic tests. In the decade I had worked for them, I had grown as a person, developed my software skills, and accumulated enough financial wealth to give the music thing another go.
I decided to start with The Fool and work my way methodically through the deck. But every time I attempted to write the card's story of innocence, adventure and carefree exploration, nothing came to mind. No chords or melodies. The Fool went back into the deck. Soon after, I discovered I could not pick the song order at will. I had to shuffle my deck and draw a card at random. I had to let the cards decide which one would be written. Then the songs poured out like a faucet. Yet, the Fool never got drawn. I figured the timing wasn't right for one reason or another.
This past March, I was interviewed for a story to commemorate my employer's 10-year FDA-approval anniversary of the cancer screening test I helped bring to market. While reflecting on those early years at the company, I thought about "Science and Medicine" and suddenly realized, with astonishment, that song was The Fool. And that's why I couldn't write it all the other times I had tried. It had already been written!
As I prepared the song for production, I chose a new title, "Dare To Dream," to reflect The Fool's ambitious start. I also rewrote some of the lyrics to be more inclusive and universal. I recorded many ideas, reverse melodies, and falling arpeggiated piano tracks that laid the foundation for The Music Tarot's first retro-electro-synth genre song.
The Music Tarot is no longer a linear project. And in the process I've learned to expect the unexpected. I never know what may happen next. It's all a leap of faith. Just like The Fool's naïve enthusiasm, I thought I knew how to execute my plan and write my songs. But when I met resistance along the way, I followed the message of The Hermit, and I waited. And when The Fool finally revealed itself from my past, I dared to follow my dreams and let the music lead the way.