I have always been interested in how people achieve success. What specific steps did they take to get to where they are now? What were their setbacks? Was it all planned out, or did they stumble their way there?
This week I was lucky enough to chat with Langhorne Slim and ask him those questions.
If you've not heard of him, Langhorne Slim is an American singer-songwriter who, to me, sounds like a folk Bob Dylan.
An incredible performer, he has performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world, counts Conan O'Brien as a raving fan, and, as I write this, his song 'Changes' has been played over 77M times on Spotify alone.
But growing up in Pennsylvania, Sean Scolnick didn't come from a wealthy family, he didn't have any big connections in music, and he never felt like he fit in at school.
So, how did he make it to where he is today?
One thing Langhorne Slim did have was a passion to bring something to the world. In his words, "I dreamt about performing in front of crowds. But had to start with making up songs in my bathroom - I loved the acoustics in there."
His journey is similar to that of many entrepreneurs. He had an internal drive to create something for people to benefit from, but didn't have people around him to talk to and work on these ideas with. They were all focused on following a more traditional path.
One of the first big shifts for Slim happened when he moved to New York in 1999 to attend the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College.
"In Pennsylvania, I felt like a bit of an outcast. I didn't know anyone who thought like me. When I went to college in New York, I met people who were crazy and creative artists. Artists with similar interests and dreams." For the first time, he felt like he fit in.
He knew what he wanted to do and now felt accepted doing it, but where does a beginner start in a city like New York, a city filled with hugely talented artists?
His girlfriend at the time had a plan. "I remember she bought me a copy of 'The Village Voice', which was something we all read back then, and had circled all of the open mic nights on the back and said this is where I need to go perform."
Slim decided to perform at every event he could. In his mind, if he had an opportunity to perform in front of an audience, he should.
"I was performing at a lot of open nights at places like the Sidewalk Café and the Bowery Poetry Club. What happened was, at Sidewalk, the MC on the night would ask the crowd if they liked you and if they thought you deserved a gig. If they did, you got offered a gig on another night."
It sounds fairly straightforward, but Slim was quick to point out that in between the successes, there were a lot of bad experiences.
"Sometimes I would perform to a near empty room, or I'd be booked to play a gig at a venue no one wanted to hear me play. I arrived for a gig once, which turned out to be a sports bar filled with fans watching a football game, and the manager put me under the biggest screen in the whole bar. It wasn't a great night."
What did happen though, was that the more Slim performed, the more he found his voice and the better he became at performing.
He also caught the attention of a record label executive and was offered a deal with the label.
"Looking back, the deal was awful, but I thought if someone wants to give me this opportunity, I should take it." It was another step forward.
However, (as you may well know first hand) increased exposure came with increased negative feedback.
Bad reviews hurt and made him question what he was doing. But, he was compelled to create music, so had to find a way to keep pushing. Even when he felt like giving up.
"I genuinely believe that my passion and inspiration started long before I was ever even born. It wasn't something that was given to me by individual people, so it couldn't be taken by these people. If I stepped back and released those thoughts and feelings, the inspiration and passion would soon return."
Slim persevered despite the lows and gradually got offered bigger gigs and the chance to tour with well-known bands, so he did. He traveled the world doing what he did best; performing, writing new songs, and further honing his skills.
All of these efforts led to his fifth album, 'The Way We Move', released in 2012 on Ramseur Records.
By now, Slim had been performing consistently for over 10 years. Many people in the industry had seen and heard him perform and were keen to hear what he was putting out.
Rolling Stone praised The Way We Move as "damn near perfect", Laura Barton of The Guardian called Slim "one of the greatest live acts", and The New Yorker described him as having "Leadbelly's gift for storytelling and Dylan's ability to captivate crowds."
Another person who became a big fan after hearing his music was a certain Conan O'Brien.
"After a performance, a fan named Natalie Irish, who I'm a big fan of, came up and asked if I had a spare copy of the album. She had just booked a slot on Conan to talk about her art. She paints incredible portraits with her lips. She asked if I had a spare because she wanted to pass it on to Conan. It was the most beautiful thing."
Slim continued, "A few months later, I got a call from someone on my team saying we'd received something interesting. It was a personal note from Conan saying he loved the album and he would like me and the band to perform on the show. I still have the note."
Conan is quoted as saying, "After one listen, I became an instant, almost obsessive fan."
The Conan performance was just another example of Slim turning up and doing his thing. It brought his music to a wider audience, new opportunities, and more raving fans.
And in that lies his secret.
He keeps turning up. The more he turns up, the better he gets. The better he gets, the more opportunities come his way.
What drives him isn't fame or money, it's an intrinsic passion and desire to perform.
In fact, his goal when writing and performing is to be as authentic as he possibly can because one thing he learnt along the way is, "If you can move yourself, you tend to be able to move other people because people are attracted to genuine emotion, no matter what it is."
Slim recently welcomed his first child, Silver (a baby boy who looks remarkably like a mini Slim), and is turning up in a different sense.
However, he has a few tour dates coming up in September and October across the US so if you're a live music person, I would fully recommend going if there's a gig near you. Performing live over 1500 times definitely helps you create something the crowd enjoy.
You should also check him out on
Spotify and
Apple Music, and remember, even when times get tough, and you can't see how it's all going to work out, keep turning up, and good things will happen.
