France

I was preparing to travel to Brazil when I got a call from my band manager. He said, “we’re going to France”. Regrettably, I would have to cancel my trip to Brazil. It bothered me a little at the time but in retrospect it was a crucial development and my song writing career.

He said we had been invited to the MIDEM Music Conference in Cannes France. MIDEM is an international music conference where musicians and record labels seek international licensing and recording contracts. It was a thrilling event, held at the same location that the Cannes Film Festival.

It culminated in our band Eddie Mac getting signed to a four-album deal with SPV Germany. This was a life changing event for me. It solidified my rockstar status. Not that I think I’m a rockstar, but it made me feel like one. This event set me on a course of adventure and filled me with confidence. We would end up recording at the world-famous Pachyderm Studio and touring the continental United States for the next 12 years.

What I found the most heartening was the outpouring of support from everyone who knew us. I believe people want something to get behind and we always shared our success with all who would join us. I received tremendous energy from the experience. I began booking the band and promoting the band with exuberance. I saw my efforts making things happen and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was creating my own reality. This energy fueled my creativity. The song writing had purpose. Songs were coming alive. We were performing new songs for our fans and people were singing along with the songs that I wrote. Witnessing this inspired more and more songs.

Everything happens for a reason. The reason we were signed to SPV was to keep me writing and to remind me that writing songs is my purpose, my meaning.