We’re looking forward to introducing you to Colt Ball. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Colt, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
Oof… that’s a good question.
I guess I’m chasing a consistent form of happy… And I’m also chasing down the skill set to problem solve through the unhappy, ya know?
Sort of just using the travels to gain perspective over why this or that generates certain emotions. Learning from those emotional responses and being aware enough to recognize if they benefit myself, or those around me, any more/less..
What would happen if I stopped chasing that? Hmmm, hahahaha. I don’t know, I don’t think it would be a life worth leading. If you have no challenges then you probably don’t have the desire to set many goals. If you feel as though there’s nothing more to achieve then you’re just taking up space blindly…. I want my eyes to be focused. I wanna see what the world has to show me!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a Barefoot Traveling Garden Gnome from the cornfields of IL. Rooted in the Bluffs Missouri but mainly on the open highway these days. I’m actually on the road from Arkansas to Colorado as we speak! Hahaha.
I guess I’m a musician… but it feels more like I’m a truck driver or a salesman at times! My days are riddled with long hours of territory management and spinning wheels.
When I’m not doing management or clerical work for the business, I write original music in the style of Reggae, Folk, Funk, Jam, and Hip Hop. I try and use music as a tool to work through problems I see in the world, as well as the problems I create for myself. My focus is positive intention. A lot of the time that means taking a bad situation and turning it into a melody I can’t help but smile at. Energy is energy… how we dance with it reflects whether that energy is good or bad.
A big part of what I do is trying to connect with various folks from all walks of life. I just wanna meet people, observe them, learn from them. I wanna party with them and have deep conversations until 3 in the morning! Ahaha. And really I just want to feel more comfortable in my own skin. Playing music as a career forces me to step outside of my comfort zones.
As far as what I’m working on at the moment, I am becoming obsessed with learning more about audio engineering. I’m currently in the process of building out my home studio with some more professional gear/software. I’m also spending a lot of hours pushing and growing with the band Colt Ball & The Git Down. The main goals right now are to record all the content I’ve been creating for the past few years, play as many shows as I can with the fellas, and get our sounds to the ears of the public!
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
Ahh man! I don’t know if I can narrow it down to just one person who’s taught me the most about work. I’ve had alot of mentors and influences!
But for starters…. My parents. I watched them work manual labor jobs for years. They taught me if I want something bad enough I can build it for myself. My dad taught me how to use my hands. My mother taught me how to use my mind.
The Deckers are a family that will always hold a special place in my heart as well. They taught me how to organize the skill sets to sustain what I’ve built for myself. Wayne Decker taught me how to reach out and grab opportunities.
My time in manufacturing allowed me to meet various people who taught me how to manage not only people, but machines. And to be honest I don’t know which holds a higher value in my current career path.
You have to keep workflows well maintained. Check the oil levels, swap out a bad breaker or two, and clean the filters from time to time. That same analogy goes for people. Check in on em. Don’t be afraid to swap out the rotten apples in your life, and understand that sometimes folks aren’t bad, they just can’t breathe at the moment.
It’s all part of the process! And collectively those 3 areas taught me the most about being effective with my work.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
You know it’s weird. Success has a way of teaching you that you’ve got it down pat. It’s almost like a little reward saying “you were right!”
And if you’re right all the time you’re not looking for new answers. You’re not growing.
It’s the failures that teach you what to do next. It’s kind of like a scientist. You go through everything it’s not until the only thing left is what it really is.
It’s those suffering moments that show us, well that wasn’t it! That was the wrong move! Won’t make that mistake again!
Those are the actions that truly shape us. They refine us to a more consistent approach. Consistency … that’s what it takes to be successful in the first place. Every time I’ve suffered in some shape or fashion, it’s only taught me how to be more consistent.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Thinking of what they can gain now instead of planning for a better tomorrow.
And ironically living for tomorrow instead of being here in the now, today.
It reminds me of a quote from a philosopher that’s slipping my mind at the moment. He said, “Man is the most foolish creature in existence. He worships a god he can’t see while destroying a visible nature, without realizing the visible nature he is destroying IS the invisible god that he worships.”
I see alot of smart folks these days skewing their moral compass for some sort of instant gratification. I think it creates a dissonance amongst ourselves and those around us.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Traveling long hours to play to empty rooms and wearing all the hats.
I remember seeing a meme that broke down the life of a musician.
It said musicians are some of the only folks take $10,000 worth of equipment, shove it in a $5000 car, drive 500 miles, play for 4 hours for 5 people, and make $50.
Now imagine doing all that plus contacting the venue, setting the date, negotiating to even get that $50, and plan not only your setlist/travel routes, but run your own sound and wind your own cables. Hahaha. It’s a lot! It’s a hustle! It’s a grind!!! It’s what they refer to as “paying your dues”.
But I know it will pay off one day. And by the time it’s all said and done I’ll have a level of respect for this industry that I never would have known had I not had to do all those things for the past 4 years.
I do trust and believe that eventually the sounds will ripple in relevance and people will start showing up to the gigs!
(Not to say the crowds are dead every night. But it’s still building momentum ya know?)
Image Credits
Glow N Photography
C. Mac Photography
Derek Doyle
KaitLens Photography
Brightside Photography
Rob “Hobbes” Tayloe
Zen Lens Photomedia
