[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
like suicide
Sam
[Music]
[Applause]
I decide sleep
[Music]
like suicide justice
[Music]
don’t die I didn’t drown injured
[Music]
like Zeus
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
they see the
you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
my name is joy irons and I’m a rock
musician I’d like to thank bread in the
TEDx team for giving me this opportunity
to share my ideas you guys I don’t first
off bat you guys are a great crowd I
mean it stained in 10 a.m. or something
like that and we’ve already reached the
subject of suicide and most people are
just having their first coffee so big up
you guys so I launched right into it I I
want to talk to you today about how to
make it success right the American Dream
it’s such an integral part of our
society I mean it spans across
generations we see it with generations
II always trying to go viral on Twitter
Instagram or Millennials trying to find
that dream job that not only makes you
happy but also pays your rent which is
like a weird thing and apparently we’re
hooking up in record low numbers so the
romance is not even a part of the
equation globally speaking though it’s
kind of this never-ending cycle I mean
you grow up you go to school you finish
school you need the job you get the job
you need the partner you get the partner
you need the house you get the house you
need the kid and you need to send that
kid to the best school possible or at
least better than your neighbor’s kid’s
school so it don’t know it’s never
ending it’s like success is almost
always one step ahead of you inevitably
there are days or long periods of time
where it feels like you will never make
it and I should know because that song
that we just play it called today I
wrote that when I felt like I would
never make it just a little background
on my life story my parents are both
musicians so music came fairly easy to
me I mean I I picked up the guitar at
age 12 and by the time I was 14 I signed
a six-figure recording contract with RCA
so you can kind of imagine the high of
studying for finals week
and then immediately flying to New York
and playing for all these bigwigs and
then flying back to Los Angeles and
going to all these Hollywood parties and
having these fancy meals that you don’t
have to pay for so I went from that high
to below of being 18 and living in my
car and having no deal whatsoever so I
had to quickly regroup and think okay
what’s my plan for success cuz that
obviously that didn’t make me successful
how am I going to make it so I thought
in my head okay I got it I’ll be a
songwriter I’ll become a songwriter like
Diane Warren so I decided I’ll get a
publishing deal
so you weren’t by I went through the
motions I got a publishing deal and they
you know the dream is we’re gonna get
you in the room with top producers and
you know you will sell your songs to the
biggest artists and you know the little
songs that don’t place we’ll put them in
film or TV and a year went by that
didn’t really happen so I’m again at my
wit’s end
and I regrouped I thought okay that
didn’t make me successful how am I going
to make it this time so I decided okay
well I’m older now I’m better that at
writing songs and I’ve ever been before
I’ll just get another record deal so
again I went through emotions you went
by and I signed my second record deal
and I thought this is it I’ve made it
I’m going to be successful now so I
created this body of work that I thought
would change my life and that body of
work sat on my hard drive for about a
year and you might imagine that after
seven eight years like highs and lows of
the industry I was a little disheartened
more than a little disheartened I
basically gave up I I stopped caring
about a lot of things I stopped caring
about what time I got up in the morning
I stopped caring about a certain level
of personal hygiene but most importantly
I stopped caring about whether or not I
was going to be successful and because
of that an interesting thing happened
I started playing the guitar again like
just for fun I didn’t I didn’t think
about formulas or is this going to be a
hit song or not I just would noodle
around every day and write about how I
felt so I I wrote today and I wrote this
song that we’re gonna play next called
call me and it’s about someone I wish
had never called me
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
to
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and so as the beautifully ironic
experience that we call life would have
it those two songs are the ones that
motivated the label to move I mean I
sent those two songs in and these
archaic suits that had been asleep at
their desks suddenly woke up and said
this is great we’ve got to release it
immediately you’ve got two weeks
finished mix and master it go so that’s
my happy ending in a sense so to speak
so I took a step back to assess this
happy ending and how I got to this
cathartic moment and I realized that
through this journey I had found the
secret to success and if it wasn’t the
contracts or you know the industry buzz
and all the hoopla that happens because
those come and go obviously what was it
so I went back to that phrase that I had
kind of been trying to manifest for the
past eight years at that time making it
making it what what is it I believe that
inside of every person is a passion a
desire a seed that’s waiting to bloom
and be shared with our fellow humans who
are going through similar experiences to
our own and no one can take that away
from you or control that it’s it’s
completely up to you to share that seed
so whatever that is for you I hope that
for your sake and mine you make it we’re
going to close with one last song it’s
called worse habit
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
she swallows you
no URL clean conditions at all mr. such
brain
just like mercy
so freedom
got you
me
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
my eggs
[Applause]
[Music]
get ahead
[Music]
the food
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
[Applause]
[Music]
like suicide
Sam
[Music]
[Applause]
I decide sleep
[Music]
like suicide justice
[Music]
don’t die I didn’t drown injured
[Music]
like Zeus
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
they see the
you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
my name is joy irons and I’m a rock
musician I’d like to thank bread in the
TEDx team for giving me this opportunity
to share my ideas you guys I don’t first
off bat you guys are a great crowd I
mean it stained in 10 a.m. or something
like that and we’ve already reached the
subject of suicide and most people are
just having their first coffee so big up
you guys so I launched right into it I I
want to talk to you today about how to
make it success right the American Dream
it’s such an integral part of our
society I mean it spans across
generations we see it with generations
II always trying to go viral on Twitter
Instagram or Millennials trying to find
that dream job that not only makes you
happy but also pays your rent which is
like a weird thing and apparently we’re
hooking up in record low numbers so the
romance is not even a part of the
equation globally speaking though it’s
kind of this never-ending cycle I mean
you grow up you go to school you finish
school you need the job you get the job
you need the partner you get the partner
you need the house you get the house you
need the kid and you need to send that
kid to the best school possible or at
least better than your neighbor’s kid’s
school so it don’t know it’s never
ending it’s like success is almost
always one step ahead of you inevitably
there are days or long periods of time
where it feels like you will never make
it and I should know because that song
that we just play it called today I
wrote that when I felt like I would
never make it just a little background
on my life story my parents are both
musicians so music came fairly easy to
me I mean I I picked up the guitar at
age 12 and by the time I was 14 I signed
a six-figure recording contract with RCA
so you can kind of imagine the high of
studying for finals week
and then immediately flying to New York
and playing for all these bigwigs and
then flying back to Los Angeles and
going to all these Hollywood parties and
having these fancy meals that you don’t
have to pay for so I went from that high
to below of being 18 and living in my
car and having no deal whatsoever so I
had to quickly regroup and think okay
what’s my plan for success cuz that
obviously that didn’t make me successful
how am I going to make it so I thought
in my head okay I got it I’ll be a
songwriter I’ll become a songwriter like
Diane Warren so I decided I’ll get a
publishing deal
so you weren’t by I went through the
motions I got a publishing deal and they
you know the dream is we’re gonna get
you in the room with top producers and
you know you will sell your songs to the
biggest artists and you know the little
songs that don’t place we’ll put them in
film or TV and a year went by that
didn’t really happen so I’m again at my
wit’s end
and I regrouped I thought okay that
didn’t make me successful how am I going
to make it this time so I decided okay
well I’m older now I’m better that at
writing songs and I’ve ever been before
I’ll just get another record deal so
again I went through emotions you went
by and I signed my second record deal
and I thought this is it I’ve made it
I’m going to be successful now so I
created this body of work that I thought
would change my life and that body of
work sat on my hard drive for about a
year and you might imagine that after
seven eight years like highs and lows of
the industry I was a little disheartened
more than a little disheartened I
basically gave up I I stopped caring
about a lot of things I stopped caring
about what time I got up in the morning
I stopped caring about a certain level
of personal hygiene but most importantly
I stopped caring about whether or not I
was going to be successful and because
of that an interesting thing happened
I started playing the guitar again like
just for fun I didn’t I didn’t think
about formulas or is this going to be a
hit song or not I just would noodle
around every day and write about how I
felt so I I wrote today and I wrote this
song that we’re gonna play next called
call me and it’s about someone I wish
had never called me
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
to
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and so as the beautifully ironic
experience that we call life would have
it those two songs are the ones that
motivated the label to move I mean I
sent those two songs in and these
archaic suits that had been asleep at
their desks suddenly woke up and said
this is great we’ve got to release it
immediately you’ve got two weeks
finished mix and master it go so that’s
my happy ending in a sense so to speak
so I took a step back to assess this
happy ending and how I got to this
cathartic moment and I realized that
through this journey I had found the
secret to success and if it wasn’t the
contracts or you know the industry buzz
and all the hoopla that happens because
those come and go obviously what was it
so I went back to that phrase that I had
kind of been trying to manifest for the
past eight years at that time making it
making it what what is it I believe that
inside of every person is a passion a
desire a seed that’s waiting to bloom
and be shared with our fellow humans who
are going through similar experiences to
our own and no one can take that away
from you or control that it’s it’s
completely up to you to share that seed
so whatever that is for you I hope that
for your sake and mine you make it we’re
going to close with one last song it’s
called worse habit
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
she swallows you
no URL clean conditions at all mr. such
brain
just like mercy
so freedom
got you
me
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
my eggs
[Applause]
[Music]
get ahead
[Music]
the food
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
Please follow and like us: