Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Duermit.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the artistry, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I fell in love with music when I was a little boy, no more than three or four years old. One of my first memories is of my mother and brother and sister singing a lullaby to me that my mother wrote.
Growing up, I remember watching my mom sing and perform with different bands around my hometown in North Carolina. It wasn’t long before I was up performing a song or two with her at shows. She would introduce me to everyone as her son, and I would nervously walk up and sing. One of the first times I remember performing together was at a little pub in downtown Hendersonville, NC.
We sang “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye and this young girl about my age came up to the stage while I was singing and motioned for me to come dance with her. I was nervous as all get out, but I agreed, and we danced to the rest of the song. That night was a lot of fun. From the age of five or six onward, I performed in school talent shows and musical productions, local community, and state theatre productions, and at shows with my mom every year.
I always remember the excitement of stepping on stage and performing. Every once in a while my mom would have friends and/or family over, and at the end of the night, she would perform original songs she had written. I always loved the idea of writing music and performing for people, but I was so busy with sports and school that I never took the time to learn an instrument and therefore never felt like I could write a song. That feeling stuck with me for quite some time, but I’ll get back to that later.
Fast forward five or six years, and I was a sophomore in college at Washington University in St. Louis. I was majoring in architecture, minoring in creative writing and poetry, and competing in Track and Field. I had set music and acting aside and was focusing on my education and my future. An opportunity presented itself, and I joined a small band at the university called “Jammin With Phil.”
It was a small group of five or six musicians and another singer and we would just get together and jam. Not long after I joined the band, we submitted to a competition to open for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on their show in St. Louis. We ended up landing a spot and our first ever show together was at The Pageant in St. Louis in front of about 2,000 people. It was after that show that I think I started to acknowledge what I had known since I was a little kid; music was something that truly gave me life.
I stayed in school for another semester and a half after that and eventually came to grips with the fact that my heart was pulling me in another direction. I took an indefinite leave of absence, and after a few months at home saving up money and gathering myself, I drove out to Los Angeles from NC. I didn’t know a soul in the city, and I had no job lined up.
All I knew was that my future was here and I was going to make it work. It took me a couple of weeks of couch surfing (with a few nights spent in my car in-between spots) before I landed a job working at a restaurant and began my journey in LA. Not long after I got a small studio apartment and really started to network and try to “break into the music scene” as they put it in the movies.
It wasn’t an easy process and it was about eight months of following random leads and references from friends, meeting with “producers” and “artists” who ended up having less of an idea of what they were doing than I did, and avoiding some potentially detrimental associations with people that didn’t have my best interest in mind before I randomly met my current producer and good friend, Keevan Miller, at the gym.
Long story short, he and I ended up having an hour-long conversation at the gym about life and faith and purpose, and in the midst of it, all realized we both worked in music. He had just started a small, independent record label with a few friends and they were looking for an artist. I met with the guys at Known Strangers later that week, and it was a fit. After that night, I wrote my first song from start to finish to a track they sent me.
Something about stepping into that studio space with them and finally feeling like I was seen and heard as an artist gave me the confidence to write my own song and tell my first story. Mind you, it was more poetry than a song, but it was something. More important than the song, though, was the feeling I had; I was a songwriter. That was important to me.
Over the last three and half years, I have worked closely with the guys at the label developing not only my sound but myself. We have collaborated with some incredibly talented people in the industry and have created some music and memories that I’m quite proud of. It definitely hasn’t been an easy journey, but there’s one thing that has remained true and has carried us to where we are today: We all love and respect each other and the music we put out into the world.
Each and everything we do revolves around the question, “Is this in alignment with who we are as artists and musicians and is it going to have a positive impact on the world?” If we can all agree that the answer is yes, then we continue to move forward. By always having that question serve as a form of checks and balances for everything we do, we have yet to find ourselves in a situation where we look back and regret anything.
Of course, there are always ways to do things better, and we try to learn from every experience, but as far as the music we make and the relationships we have formed with others in the industry, we are proud of where we are. Though I feel like I’m an infant in my career, it is already a dream come true.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t know that anything in life is smooth and I also don’t know that I would want it to be. This journey is no exception. I think the greatest challenge I face on a daily basis is staying patient and maintaining hope. When I first started, I would hear good news and get really excited, and then I would hear bad news and get really down.
While I don’t think it’s a bad thing to experience ups and downs, there is definitely a level of self-awareness and maintenance of reasonable expectations that tempers any extreme emotions you would otherwise be subject to. I have described it as my “cruise control.”
I’m always moving forward, and I always have a goal in mind, but I don’t ride the daily waves like I used to. To me, that’s one of the biggest struggles I work daily to overcome. The only challenge greater than that is maintaining my integrity.
There are a million shortcuts and a million different ways to achieve something. The hardest thing to do is to stay 100% true to who you are and who you set out to be. Not letting the ends justify the means.
No matter how great your goal is, I believe that the moment you sacrifice a part of who you are to reach them you’re never truly going to appreciate where you end up. That’s just me though.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
For me, my artistry is first and foremost being the best person I can be. I hope that everyone I have the opportunity to meet through both music and my personal life sees and feels that I genuinely mean everything I say and do.
I hope to leave a positive impact. If I can channel that same honesty into my music, then I think the rest handles itself. People always ask me what genre I place myself in, and my answer is always pop/soul.
Both myself and everyone involved in the process of making music always consider what is going to reach the greatest audience in terms of production and melody, but the lyrics and the vocal performance always come from my heart and soul.
I love the music I get to help create, both for myself and others. If I don’t enjoy it, I really don’t do it. I think that’s what sets me apart from some others. You can ask anyone I’ve worked with… I’m a stickler for integrity. I want everything to ring true and be an honest reflection of what we believe.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I would reiterate what I’ve said in previous responses; integrity is the most important thing. A very close second to that is patience and humility.
If I’m honest with my work and the music I create and I remain patient and humble, I don’t doubt that I’ll find success in this career.
What “success” is defined as may not be what everyone thinks, but I believe I’ll know it when it comes. Honestly up until this point in my career, I feel successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.connorduermit.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connorduermit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connorduermit
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/connorduermit
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6eWcQHUNxDteZZz4mblrwo
Image Credit:
Sam Bramble, Joey Martinez
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