The Sound of Gold with guest Tia Harding

0:01 This program is designed to provide general information with regards to the subject matters covered. This information is given with the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal counseling, professional service, or any advice. You should seek the services of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.

0:51 Hi, Welcome to the Sound of Gold. It's so nice to be here with you today. If you listen to my show before, welcome back. If you're new, Welcome. The Sounds of Gold is based on music of today, musicians, music venues, music teachers, music schools, and the focus is music. The reason why I love to do this is because my vision is to keep music alive, to keep original music alive. And there is so much talent out in our communities that on a day to day basis, we just take it. I think a lot of us take it for granted because you know, we go to a place or a venue and they have live music, or you know, we hear songs on the radio, and it's just like every day, like we don't really think about it.

1:42 We don't think about what goes in behind the scenes. Let's say to a radio show with you listening to music on the radio, or when you go to a venue and you're listening to live music. A lot of us don't take it into consideration, like what goes into the preparation for that, and what types of people show up to do that. Of course musicians, And it's just it's a niche that once you're a musician, it's almost like you it's in your blood and there's an understanding and a community of musicians that become your forever family. And it's a beautiful thing. And if you don't play an instrument and are thinking about playing an instrument, definitely reach out to community school, music school. Maybe check out your community for where you have live events where there are musicians that will inspire you and you on wherever you are in your musical journey. Withn't that being said, I have a dear friend of mine that will be on our show today and her name is Tia, and Tia is not only a hairdresser by day, she is a musician by night. She's a very talented, talented woman and I'm pleased. I'm so excited to call her my friend, and even more so that she's made time to be on our show today. Tia, are you backstage? Are you here with us?

3:09 I'm here. Well, thank you for making the time to be on our show today. Oh thank you for having me. Yes. And I don't know if you heard like the back end of what I was saying, but I'll just reiterate. It's so important to me to share, to share you, to share all of our voices. I want to continue to be that voice for the musicians. You have so much talent. There's so much talent out there, and it's like we just get like passed by, Like it's a lot of people don't. A lot of people take it for granted, or even when we go to play at venues, like we don't do it for the money. However, it does kind of help pay the bills, So you know, I really want to make an emphasis on venues to maybe at some point in time to maybe pay a little bit more. Because what we put into our passion or what we put into anything, we get back. However, sometimes it's not exactly the way we want to get it back. But set that aside.

4:11 Tia, I know you. I've known you for a while now, but I only know like so much of you. You're so talented, and I want to share with our listeners. I mean you you have such a juggle. You are a hairdresser, you are a musician, and I am a hairdresser too. I don't know if you know that. You and and you're a musician. You're a mom, you're a wife, you're a grandmother, which blows me away because you do not look at grandma at all, and it's a blessing, but you just you just don't. Yeah, you just don't have that grandma look. Coming from well, which when I was really young. So I am a young grandma. But I'm definitely a grandma.

4:54 That's awesome. I feel like a grandma. But but I see other people see sometimes and they're like, we don't see you as a grandma. I'm like, okay, thank you. You're welcome. Your energy is always so great, You're always so outgoing and bubbly, and you you perform out. I mean, you juggle so much. And I guess what I want to share with our listeners is like, what what's your I don't know if this is the right question to start off with, but you know what I'm going to save that question. Tell us let's go back. Let's go back to Tia, like what part of your journey, like what what has inspired your journey to bring you to where.

5:39 You are now? Oh? My goodness, say so many things like how how did you get here? So? I have a musical family, although I was extremely shy when I was young and never wanted to sing in front of anybody or never even knew I had a talent. My dad was a musician and a drummer and had a band my whole life, and I kind of had I was drawn to music, and I kind of feel the beats of music, and I always could, you know, hear the drums and be like. Really feel the music. But I didn't. I was very shy, and. I had just kind of a dysfunctional childhood like many people.

6:23 And I never really got into music until later. And it's gonna seem kind of crazy, but I started singing karaoke, and I was extremely shy. But one time I was somewhere and somebody handed me a microphone and I just started singing, and I was hooked. I immediately was hooked. It was just a house party, and I was hooked. I went home, I bought microphones, I got CDs. I started practicing because I was like, oh my god, I want to do this more. And I don't know, but I just sort of gradually with doing karaoke and going out every week and singing, I just loved it more and more. I wanted to be better at it, and I took vocal lessons and all kinds of stuff.

7:04 I could go on forever. And and then I had friends who were singers, and I joined karaoke contests and I won free lessons to you know, with one teacher. And I've had lots of musical friends that have inspired. Me over the years. Fond of Cash is one of them. She always invited me to her shows and asked me to get up and sing with her, and I would and it was terrifying, but I did it, and and then. It just made me want more and more. And my my. Dad passed away in twenty twelve, and it just it felt like it was traumatizing, but I don't want to cry, but I uh, it made me closer to music because it made me feel closer to him in a way, and so then it was really important for me to like learn an instrument and and be better at it and do it more professionally. So it drove me to do that, and I joined my sister in law's band, Southern Blend, and it was just the three of us in the beginning of Meetammy and Dave, and then it grew into a much bigger thing, and it was wonderful with shar and Moe and Dwayne and and it just got a lot for me, the traveling all back and forth.

8:24 So I had to I had to stop that. And then and then I found a duo partner and became an acoustic duo for two years, and that taught me so much. And all through this time. I had been at home strumming my guitar and learning chords and trying to learn rhythms and and trying to learn songs and so kind of on the side, I was learning the guitar. And then and now here I am today and I'm out with Dwayne, someone from Southern Blend that we ended up going up and becoming a duo and now we're around playing different places, and I love it. It's exactly what I want to do. I'm not trying to be rich and famous. I'm not trying to do anything. I just want to be singing every weekend because it's what it brings me j way. So, and I'm still practicing my guitar like crazy, and I do.

9:10 I can play probably ten different chords and you know a few different rhythms, but I'm still an amateur guitarist. Really, I'm mostly a vocalist and I'd love to be better. So my goals are just to keep getting better and keep doing what I'm doing basically. So for our listeners out there that are maybe newer musicians and are wanting to get out there, what would be and I might ask this again later, but what would be your from your journey? What words of inspiration would you share with them? I would say, do it now, because I'm fifty two and I wish so badly I had the courage to do what I'm doing now ten years ago or more.

9:59 And I was. I was trying. I was kind of playing around with it, but I. Was so scared and full of fear to not be accepted, or to not be good enough, or to I was so. Intimidated by it, and I didn't. And it took what it took for me to get out there but I say, just go for it immediately right now, like, don't waste any time because you might. You know, who knows what can happen in life. You know tomorrow is not promised, So just go and follow your dreams and get out there and sing, go to open mic nights, go to. Karaoke, go wherever you need to go to play your. Songs or whatever, and just do it and don't be afraid because there's all levels of talent out there and nobody everybody's everybody has their own unique gift, and don't be down on yourself.

10:50 Just go do it. So that's what I would say. And what do you agree? Because I mean, I don't we have some of the same friends, but then we're not together. We have other friends, right, but in our music families, right, because there's more than one, so many. Yeah, wouldn't you agree that no matter what level you're at, nobody's there to compare each other like who's better. Everybody's there just. To support you, and especially if you're just beginning, like everybody's been there, everybody's been at that beginning. Like I'm terrified to get on. Stage, yes, and terrified just to put yourself out there. Like that. Like for me, it was walking into a place and shaking hands with somebody and being like, I want to play here.

11:33 This is a place I can see myself singing, and you should try me, you know what I mean. Like, I had a hard time with that confidence, and that held me back for a long time. Having that confidence that I can do this. I know I'm good enough kind of a thing. And it sounds, you know, cliche, I guess, because you know, we always talk about being enough, and there's lots of books on it and different things that self help stuff, but it really is true. We don't feel like we're good enough. We're so hard on ourselves. And I just say, walk right through the fear and do it, and just do it. You know, I guess you fake it till you make it. I don't know, but you know, that was one of the things that helped me back. And so I would tell anyone who is you know, wants to do this and has waited their whole life to do it or however many years, just do it.

12:25 Don't worry about the rest, just do it. And it's so funny because we get and I'll speak for myself, but you and I could probably like be on the same page. Like human nature, we are so afraid of rejection. Yes, and when we're in front. Of other people, we're so worried about what they think of us. But really the truth is is there in their own head worried about themselves, wondering what we think of them? Right, And so it's like you sometimes, I mean I do every now and again remind myself that like everybody else is thinking the same thing, because we're all worried about are they going to like are we gonna sound good enough? Are we gonna look good enough?

13:07 We're look good enough? Do I? Am I skinny enough? Am I? Is my hair? You know? Like is my makeup? Right? Like? Do I look good? And I admire those people who don't care about that kind of stuff and just go out there and are themselves. But yes, and I found that in. Our group of people that we are surrounded by, our close group of singers and musicians, we're all very supportive. Of one another. And you understand that everybody has a bad day once in a while, or everybody has a cold or a sinence infection they're dealing with, or you know, maybe their voice isn't perfect, that day, or maybe they're not on perfectly that day, and that's okay because that happens to everyone, even big name professionals, and we all have good days and bad days, and.

13:53 We are so supportive of one another. I find, you know, there are those people out there that aren't or that are very competitive, but I like to focus on the people that are positive and supportive and that clap no matter what, you know, just clap because I'm putting myself out there and I am and I'm trying, and I just feel like that's so wonderful and loving and it helps you. It helps It helps people to really get out there and do what they love. So thank you. So as a musician, where do you guys have something planned coming up this weekend? Do you have a show coming up? Yes, we have two shows. We have one Friday night at the Gensen Beach BFW and then we have one at Duke's Bottoms Up Bar and Grill on Monterey Road and Stewart, and so we have two gigs this weekend. We don't always have two gigs because Duayne and I both work day jobs during the week and have a lot going on, both family wise and everything.

14:53 So we just we're just weekend warriors. So occasionally we have two, like a Friday and a Saturday, and usually we just have one. This weekend, we happen to have two coming up, so I'm gearing up for that, and I have some special songs I'm going to put in for Saturday, so I've been I'm working on those, and yeah, it's it's it's exactly what I want to do. A lot of people are like, you know, how come you don't play you know, some of the more popular places, And to tell you the truth, some of those places are hard to get into if you don't have like an agent, and you don't have if you're not close with the right people. You know, it's kind of a there is some sort of like a music click out there that in all of them, and you know, sometimes you have to know somebody, to know somebody to get in.

15:43 And so I just play and. People take our card and we seem to get jobs from the places we play. So I just kind of go wherever it takes me. I just let and I want to be playing for people that are happy and that want to you know, that love me, So I just go there and go with it. I don't try to like get into. Any fancy venues or anything like that. If it happens, it happens, you know. So for our listeners who are wondering how to do that, do. That is not easy? Yeah, that's not easy to get started. I feel like you do have to walk into a few places and be like, hi, my name is Tia, and I sing and I do a variety of music, and I would love to play here and see if they you know, I'd love to be on your calendar and give them some dates, you know, or email people or do cold calls.

16:35 I mean, you can do all that stuff. I find that walking into places and meeting people is kind of the best way because they see you, they see your face, you. Hand them your car, you know. There Sometimes when you email people, it's easy to ignore, or you leave a message for someone and it is easy to ignore. Maybe those restaurants, people get hundreds of those every day where musicians are coming in and giving them their card, and so it does help. It also helps to have a social media president presence and have some videos and some pictures and some things. So these are all things that when I say go out there and do it, I mean go out there, take pictures of yourself, get some videos of yourself, have a Facebook that you call your band name or your musician name, and so that you have some content to show people when you're advertising yourself.

17:31 To get those first gigs, to get yourself out there. It is hard. It's not easy, but you just try. You just you find places you would like to play, where you think your music will go over well, and you walk in and you ask to speak to who books the music, and you try to make contact with those people and talk to them and give them your information it and there is rejection, and sometimes they're booked for many months, and sometimes sometimes they don't want to pay very much. And sometimes sometimes there's a million. Things that I could say, but you just do it and one will come through, and then you get yourself a gig and then hopefully people take your card and tell other people and your friends comes to support you and pass out your card and it just works like that.

18:20 It's a snowball. And you sometimes have to keep calling places for a while, you know, until you kind of get into a groove of doing those gigs and getting out there and getting better and better at it. And I feel like I was a nervous. Wreck at every gig for probably the first I don't know year or something, and then I started to relax and get really excited about the gigs, you know. So it just was all a process and it took forever. And so that's why I am pressing the urgency, like just do it, because you have to overcome all these obstacles and to get to the next level. So you just have to do it. You have to just start some So.

19:00 If our listeners out there want to connect with you and call you to book a date, what would be the best way. To reach you, Well, my phone number and. About a double sided question. You have a website that they can go to to listen to your music. I took my website down because it wasn't really working for me. I have a Facebook called Tiamrie Music at facebook dot com and I also just have my basic Facebook Tia Karamita Harden and they can always contact me through there if it's completely open to the public and it's got my phone number, my email, my.

19:41 Any contact me through Messenger. That's the way a lot of people contact me nowadays. And I am starting up a link tree, which is it's not a website, but it's I'm going to put them up. Put the QR code on my busy this card so that when I passed that out, you can just go straight to my link tree and you can go straight to my Facebook and see where I'm going to be playing, and you can message me and you can and I'll have like a YouTube channel and a Facebook and an Instagram linked to that. And I'm working on that now. I haven't completed that yet. But that's okay.

20:23 I can't see because your name is covering the kitty. I can see the ears. Okay, yeah, she's here. This is peaky. What kind of music do you love? Do you love to play well? And most recently, what kind of music have you been playing? Do you have a genre or do you have original pieces. I've written like two songs and they're bad. I need I need help, But no, I just basically sing covers right now. And that's where I'm at. And I do such a huge variety of music because it's kind of like, whatever the mood is, I just try to go with it. So if they want dance music and discoe music and fun classics like oldies and stuff, I play those and if they want classic rock, I do my best with that. I love Fleetwood, Mac and Tom Petty and all those kinds of classic rock bands.

21:18 I sing all kinds of stuff from that era, like the seventies, eighties, nineties, and a little bit of today. I love country music. I sing a lot of country music when it's when it's needed. If if it's just a variety, I put a little bit of everything in. But I really try to read the room. Dwayne is a country singer. Like he can. Sing Lionel Richie and you will make it a country song like there is no getting around that. So I usually leave the country to him. I may throw one or two in and try to be diverse and do a bunch of other stuff so that whoever's in the audience there's something for everyone. And I take requests and stuff like that. So if if it's kind of just like a little bit of everything, it's what I say, you know, sure, holding pop dance of seventies to today, anything, you know, anything I can I feel like I can sing.

22:18 That's awesome. So I'm gonna I'm gonna ask I have a couple more questions, and I'm going to detour a little bit in and out, like we're human beings, right, And maybe it's just me, but I think others could could agree. Like you know, when you see somebody on television or the movie, theater or on stage performing, you give them this other kind of attention like, oh, like they got it all together, right, But we're human and you said it earlier before. We have families, we have jobs. This is just kind of like a side gig because like, as a musician, this is our way to like express ourselves, right, absolutely, yes, So I wrote the book on well it's really not published yet, on the juggle, the life juggle right now, you, like me, there is like I'm not going to call it the struggle. I'm going to call it the juggle.

23:12 Okay, there's no balance. I Like you think, oh, there's got to be balanced. I'm like, well, no, there's no balance. You just have to look. This is my my coming from me, but I want to hear your version. For me, it's learning how to juggle, right because I am like you, the hairdresser, the musician, the mom, the wife, the So what's your secret to keep that juggle going? Because I am certain that there's more people out there like you and I that are maybe afraid to step forward because like, can I can I handle the juggle? Can I add more? Can I express myself without feeling like I'm being pulled back? Yes? So, And that was also kind of like a learning process for me as well. I had to find a way to make time for everything and the way I did that it took some time, but I.

24:01 Figured it out. I needed to work less at my day job because I had to make time and space to be inspired and to practice my songs and to make set lists and to do all the other work like posting on Facebook and posting. That's a whole other thing, is the social media aspect to everything, trying to keep current everything, put videos up and all that. I had to take a day from my day job and I had to give myself a longer weekend to work on my music, and that was tough to do that. I also feel like being organized is imperative. If I was unorganized, like and didn't have lists and a plan and didn't do things in advance, I would be a disaster. That's helped because it helps you to be prepared so for whatever coming.

25:00 Today is my day off, so it's you know, groceries and cleaning and meeting with you and pre cooking food for the week, because that's a whole other thing. What about what about food? What about all that stuff? Cooking dinner for your family? I mean there are nights when I make sure I buy, you know, foods that are convenience food, so my family can fend for themselves when I'm not home, when I met the salon late, and then other I try to figure out what nights that week I can cook for the family, and it's. It's it's real. I mean, you really have to just be organized and plan it out. And that's how I do it, to try to find that balance, which there's never a perfect balance.

25:42 Always something's getting in the way or something is is. But I find that if I'm prepared and I have a plan and I do a little bit of this and that in advance, when the curve balls come, I can handle it. I can handle it. I can dodge those balls, and I can try to manage whatever comes my way. I feel like that's the key for me, is just being organized and knowing what's coming and planning ahead. I completely understand because I'm in some ways the same way I'm like I'm the manager. In fact, I was talking about something irrelevant with Steve earlier and I said, you know, I made an executive decision right within the ship of Lisa because I am like the manager of me, and like it's so important that, like our listeners out there, is so important to be able to manage your life because we're sharing our lives together as musicians, we're expressing ourselves, we're sharing our lives with our listeners, with the people we perform with, with our family members. We're always kind of on stage, if you.

26:46 Think always, and as a hairdresser as well, Yeah, because you're talking to people, you're greeting people, you're you know, you're hearing. About their life, You're you're constantly on. Yes, and I do find that i need quiet time, sometimes complete silence time, just because I'm on so much that I almost have to just shut down and shut everything down and be quiet for a little while, just to have that moment of space to myself. But yes, that there's so much stuff we could talk about. It's it's so much, but it's being human and. And as as women and as performers and workers, and and we're talented and we have just so much to give, and then I think the last person we get back to is ourselves. And it's so important. You brought it up.

27:37 It's so important to take some time every day. Yep, just for yourself, just an hour or something and out at least an how you know. Right, And it's not a smoking thing. We don't we don't smoke. It's not a smoking thing. It's more of a I need a time out, Like just put me in the corner and let me like have that piece that ome. Yeah, meditation maybe yeah, the size or even just for me, it's playing my guitar. I love to just sit and be with my songs and play my guitar. And you know that to me is and. I do all of this, what drives me to do all of this is that that moment on stage when I get to sing my songs, like that drives me to do all this.

28:22 I'm like, if I. Don't do all these things, have that so that you have little bits of joy that come back at you. But it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, and you just have moments of peace. You don't really get a lot, but you get a little and you savor those moments, you know. And I can relate with you also playing an instrument and all our musicians out there that are listening. If I sit here and I practice my piano, if I'm working on a song, like I do my own, I compose my own, but if I'm playing or learning somebody else's song, like everything else falls away, right, And you're a musician, you can understand that musicians out there, like once you're focused on your musician, like like you know, the house could be like it could be pouring outside and your car windows can be open, then you're just like totally zoned out. Yeah. Yeah, So it's a beautiful thing.

29:13 So being a musician, we kind of is a gift we give ourselves. Yes, right, kind of a meditation when you're just you with your music alone. And I feel like I need that not distracted time, that quiet time to really be inspired though. That that's what helps me learn and grow and be better at what I do, is just having those moments. I need those moments of peace. And I don't you know, it's not really. Religion, but I pray and I you know, meditate and have God and that that helps me too. I sometimes just need to have a conversation with God. But you know, I'm not trying to make this a religious thing, but appreciate that I have that. So that helps me too, helps me be centered and calm so that I can go into my day or go to my show and know that I'm giving it my best.

30:04 It's just we need we all need that too. I think if there's too much chaos all the time and you never have any downtime or any peaceful time, it's you can, yeah, you could really get sick or something because it's just you have to have that too. With all this stuff going on, with with the just with having such a busy life, that means there needs to be that time alone. Absolutely I agree with that. And I mean, it's just you said something before, and this has come up on several of my shows. We mentioned it's work, right, but for our listeners that are newer at music and that are are stepping into it, or even for those who are not musicians and are listening, and it's not the work, like oh, you know, it's time to go break the grass or or walk you know, or walk ten dogs and pick up after them. And I mean, oh, animals.

30:58 Thanks to animals are off, But yes, I get what you need. It's not hard physical labor, uh, it's it is. It is it's attention. It's our attention that that need. Our focus. That's our work. It's our focus because to play an instant, to play a song, to play somebody's music, even your own, you need to be completely mindfulness and focused in the moment, you know. And we're like as adults, we're still big kids. We're like, okay, is that ice cream still left over in the in the fridge? Like what am I going to cook for dinner? Well, you know, is there food for break? It's not a million today. Right, So so that when we step outside of that, we're focusing on the music. That's our work and it's passion driven. It's not a chore because it comes from the heart and it's channeled in and it's a beautiful kind of work. So for our listeners out there, it's not you know, it's not the work that you know, Oh I hate going to work today kind of thing is like yeah, you know, sign me up, you know, like, let's go.

32:02 It was on I can't wait because my time is the morning. So when I get up in the morning, I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission to brush my teeth, feed the dogs, let them out, get my guitar, get my tablet, get my songs out, and go. You know, that's like my time in the morning is to do that. And I favored that hour that I get in the morning before I have to get ready for work and then the day starts at night and then I'm pulled away. But I crave those moments of just that piece where I can just zone in on the music and just be totally present with the music and not have all that other stuff swimming around. Although on the other hand, because I'm a mom and everybody everything else, I have a guilt about it too, So I mean it's real that, you know, that's really real that I feel guilty about it that.

32:54 I take that time for myself. But I need that time for myself, So. You know, there's always that, I guess, And when you're a mom and when you're a life and when you're tied to you know, a family and you have a bunch of stuff, it's like I always feel like, should I be doing something for somebody else or should I be No, I need this, I need to do this. Or I won't be. Good for this weekend when I have a show. You know, I have to do these things. So I have a little bit of both. So you have an agenda for your music, time for your practice. Yeah. So I want to mention this because it's going to just intertwine with what you're saying. And this show is not about me, It's about you. Like I always like my focus is on my guests. But I'm going to make a point. There was there was a time in my in my past where my my dad had passed away, and for me personally, it hit home so hard where it was like and I was I was living the lifestyle of at the time, I was single mom, living the life out style of a single mom, working six days a week and also living out my passion not only music but acting, and you know, I was doing the juggle and when my dad passed it kind of hit me straight on, like girl, like what is your priorities?

34:05 Yeah, like. What's going on here? Because you need to pre pre prioritize like what comes first. Right, So for me and I was we're talking about ten years ago, ten fifteen years ago. For me, that kind of like realigned. I had to do like an inner inventory. Yes, like you know what, I cannot lose myself as a as an artist. I need to be able to express myself. But I also have threads out to family members, and you know I can't not attend to that too. Yes, so you know, going back to that juggle, and there's really no balance, But it's kind of like meeting each responsibility where it's at and giving it just enough where it's not completely taking ourselves out of who we are completely. I mean, yes, completely, and so so it's it's again I'm calling it the juggle, not the struggle, because it's it's all fun, it's all good, it's all healthy. I think years ago I wrote a book called the Tree, not the Three, the Tree of Life, right and and what it I mean, it's a different topic, but my point is is that I so believe that every human being is so talented, especially our talented artists out there, musicians. We're this tree with many branches and it's like we need, We're thirsty, we want, we want

35:36 to be you know, we want the sun, we want we want the love, we need to be nourished. But at the same time, we also need to be able to grow. Yeah, you know, so it's it's it's a juggle. So and what's going to work for you might not work exactly for me, but that's okay. It's just it's it's making it work just at work. I mean, like I said, just try to state organized, figure out what needs to be done, you know, make a list. I feel like that with my family too. I have a lot of family things going on. I have my husband's family, I have my family. We have a lot of holidays at our house and birthday parties and things just because we are kind of in the middle of where everyone is and and and we have a nice big backyard and so it just works out.

36:25 And I just I always say it like, the only way I could do all this stuff is if I. Stay ahead of myself. Once I get behind and everything, then I'm I am struggling to try to catch up. But just planning things and making foods and doing the shopping that needs to be done for whatever, it's it's just a lot. And I. I feel like staying organized is the key to it all because define the way I can remember. First of all, I have to put everything in a calendar. I have to remember when even on my days off, whatever's happening, even if it's that time to practice that goes in the calendar, that's my time. That's my spendial time.

37:11 And everybody has to understand. I feel like a level of communication with your family and your and your loved ones and your spouse or whatever has to be happened to. Like I have to say, I need that time for myself. Please, don't, you know, be upset with me. But I need that time for myself to be inspired and to have peace and to stay calm and to be able to handle whatever comes my way. That's my time. And you have to sometimes, like you said, reprioritize what's going on in your life so that everything is important. Okay, nothing is not important, but you're trying to make time for all these things. And so it's it's it's organizing your thoughts, it's organizing your day, it's organizing your mind to do all that.

38:00 Having good communication with your. Family and your friends to help them understand, you know, what you need in order to make all that happen too, Like I need help. I can't always do everything by myself. I have to you know, I have to ask sometimes I have to ask my daughter, can you do the grocery shopping? I have to because I might not be able to get to it today, or it's just managing. It's man. It's like like you're the manager of your life and you have to be the manager of your life to make all this happen. And I completely understand. You have to. I do you. I live by an agenda if it's every day, even my days off. Everything is written down, even for. Inspiration, even for things that you should think would come naturally.

38:40 But if there's so much going on, that inspiration can't flow because there's there's so much blocking it. So you know, you almost have to make time for the inspiration, for the moments of nothing. I need those moments of nothing in order to feel inspired where it's like I don't have anything I have to do and I can just like we said, you know that that meditation moment, that time is just for you, has carved out just for you, and sometimes that needs to go in the calendar that time. Yes, absolutely, it. Definitely has to go in there. And I don't know if this maynor well, I would think it has something to do with what we're talking about. I have this conversation a similar conversation with my daughter and a friend of mine, and the moral of it all was we were talking about being in you know, having to go out and be around other people, or doing other things for not only ourselves, but having to be somewhere somebody else's house or somebody else's event, or just having to show up for somebody else. And my whole point was, and you know what, even though, as a musician and as a human being, when we have to step aside from that juggle of our regular routine of doing what we do, and we have to set aside to do something else that sometimes we really don't want to do.

40:00 It's for someone else and we're doing you have to remember our show. We want to show up for them, so we do exactly, but we really don't have time to do it or you know, yes, right, So I. Guess my point is is sometimes when those opportunities show up and you kind of get it, I don't know. Sometimes I feel under my breath, I'm a little annoyed. I don't want to do this or do that, but I go anyway, or I show up anyway. I have to remind myself it's not for me it's for you. Yeah, and that just kind of shines the light. And when I send this to a friend of mine and I said this to my daughter, I'm like, you know, you're making somebody else's day brighter just by showing up. Yeah, like forget like get out of your own way, get out of it sometimes, just like step aside from your routine and.

40:41 Just go show up for a minute. Yeah. It's sometimes to get out of that rut of routine because we get so like hamster. We have the hamster in our own hamster reel. Absolutely always I do have to do that, and I get that way sometimes and I think to I always think I'm going to get out when I don't have a show or when I don't have anything going on and go and see it another and go see my friends saying. And I sometimes have a hard time doing that because you know, I rarely get that time where I don't have to be somewhere, and so sometimes I just want to.

41:24 Hang out, you know, and do nothing. But I do feel like it's important, like you said, to get out of your head and show up for somebody else once in a while and do other things and get out of your own. Comfort zone and go do stuff. Sometimes you have to do that. Too, and then that could turn into an inspiration or something that you have no idea what. It could turn into. So you never know. You could see somebody you haven't seen him forever and make a connection. You could, you know. It's just a good thing to force yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone sometimes and go do other things. It's just sometimes that works out good for you too. It's the break that you needed, and you didn't even know that it was going to be like that, you know. Yes, so you might be fighting the whole way there, but then when you get there, you have a good time, you know, and then.

42:09 It's like, I'm so glad I went. You know. That's so true. Now, do you practice every day every day? That's awesome? Every day? Probably not for lengthy periods of time. But sometimes I get ten fifteen minutes to just like play a few songs, and sometimes I get an hour, you know, or whatever. But it's never it's never a set amount of time I like to. I like to I'd like to focus on my music for about an hour every day. I don't always get an hour, right, but I always do something even if it's just listening to a song that I'm trying to learn, even if it's just listening to it on repeat and just learning the words and learning the you know, the melody and stuff.

42:49 So now you play guitar, do you play by ear or do you read sheet music or you do both. I just read chords. I have like a Ultimate Guitar app and it's got chords and lyrics, and I save the scores that I want and I send it to I have four Score in my on my tablet, and that's like an organization for I guess for lots of other things, but I do it for the music. So I save the music sheets from guitar tabs and I send them over to my four Score and then I can organize them into playlists and stuff like that, and then I can just use that as my practice thing. So I can just pull up any song and I've got the chords and the lyrics, and then I still sometimes have to go through it and go through the song a few times to remember like the rhythm or the case, the tempo and stuff like that.

43:46 But that's how I that's how I do it. I don't. I started to learn to read music and I was just getting there, and stuff happened. Life got in the way, and I have to stop the lessons that I was taking. And so then I just went to reading guitar chords and trying to figure out how to make the shapes with my hand, and I watch YouTube and I don't take any official lessons right now, but I'm considering going back to school for it because i feel like I'm a little stuck at this one place and I'd like to progress. So I've been talking. To my husband about maybe taking lessons again, but I'll wait till we get into season because I'll need to make more money.

44:30 Yes, well there's if you ever have questions, just to me a text. I mean, we're the happy to answer questions for you. Awesome. Yeah, so it's a practice. So really you're like self taught. You're working every day, you're committed. I've taken lessons a few times, just for short periods of time, like for I took it lesson for like eight months one time and like eight months another time, and then I would watch lessons on YouTube. Yes, while I did that for a while, I haven't done that in a while. I might start going back to that before I can take like real paid lessons, and that's helpful too, But just repeating certain patterns over and over and over again with your fingers, trying to just kind of make it second nature. That's what I find needs to happen with singing, vocalizing and playing the guitar.

45:18 Is a lot of people do it and do it very well. It's hard. It's really really hard to sing well and play the guitar. So I can sing well, but put a guitar on my end, and the same song that I could soar at, I can barely eke out because I'm so focused on what's going on down here that it's hard for me to really use my true voice. So, yeah, you sound right. I don't mean to cut you off, but we have a woman it's left pay sure with our listeners, how are we get in touch with you so we can we can book you for a local venue, or we can connect with you and listen to your music on Facebook or online.

46:04 Okay, I have a Facebook it's called Tia Marie Music, and you can look me up and you can find they'll you'll they'll be videos on my page of little little clips of me singing places and me and Dwayne or Dwayne and I, I should say, and our duo is called Gypsy Cowboy Duo. And also you can find me. I don't have blink Tree up yet, so I don't have that to give to you, but I can give you my phone number and you can call me. But finding me on Facebook is probably where you could find me and message me right now is the best thing I could give to you.

46:47 So Tia Karamita Harden or Tia Marie. Music on Facebook dot com and that's where you can find me and and message me on Instant Messenger or me because my phone number is listed there. Okay, awesome, awesome, well, Tia, thank you so much. It's been such a joy to have you on the show. And for our listeners, you've heard Tia here first and hope you get out to see her and connect with her. And if I don't see you this weekend, have two awesome shows and I know that we'll talk soon. Thank you so much. I've enjoyed this very much. Thank you. I'm honored to be on here. Thank you.

47:28 You're welcome. All right, we'll talk to you bye bye. Thank you so much for tuning in today that was tiam Marie Harden and as you heard tiam Marie Music, I'm sorry you have my cat here who wants attention to Oh, she has to be on the show. She's insistent. Again, thank you for tuning in. Tune in next week as you will find out who our guest is next week, our music guest. And in the meantime, let's keep music alive. Let's keep it going. There's lots of talent out there. Go out up to your local community venues, find out who's playing, go out support them. And if you are starting a musician, go out and play and you'll find you have an extended music family out there waiting to meet you and to hear you.

48:16 And no doubt. Yourself, give yourself lots of credit to be all that you are. And yeah, so thank you so much for tuning in today, have a wonderful week. See you next Monday. Keep music alive.