Graduating is always a pretty scary thing to go through, especially for a musician. For me being a singer/songwriter, a lot of the pressure is on me to motivate myself to get things done, or else nothing will get done. There are no guidelines for you and you have to make the best of all this time that you now have without school. The best advice I had at Berklee was to start doing what you want to do while in school, instead of worrying about what will happen after graduating. I really took that advice to heart and spent most of the year working on my newly released EP and playing as many shows as I could. It gave me a great start to my post-Berklee career, especially because my CD came out right before graduating and I could start booking shows for the summer.
Since graduating, I have started out by playing a few shows around Ontario where I’m from. Now I am playing as much as I can in the New England area and New York before moving to New York in September. I was lucky enough to have a big push from John Mayer right before graduation. After having the amazing opportunity to play my song, “I Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” for him in March when he came to give a master class, he then blogged about the song a month later.
I couldn’t ask for a better start to my career and it has really done some amazing things for me, I can’t thank him enough. I have been using this opportunity to work even harder. One of the most important things for me is to surround myself around fellow musicians who have the same motivation as I do, and who continually make me better. The great thing about Berklee is it allows you to network with these kinds of people. I am constantly writing and looking forward to working on a full-length album in the near future. Graduating from Berkee has really given me a great start to a career as a singer/songwriter.
Ken Yates is a recent graduate from London, Ontario.In the few months since graduating he has already started making a name for himself in Canada and along the east coast.
- Life After Berklee: Tales of a Business Manager - November 22, 2013
- Life After Berklee: Division of Labor - November 22, 2013
- Nashville Berklee Jam with Bryan Beller ’92 – April 29, 2013 - June 11, 2013
TimothyOJ
All our dreams can come true–if we have the courage to pursue them.