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Dreamer of the Month
TOBY WALKER, Guitarist/Songwriter/Singer  This month we are honored to have as our Dreamer an incredible musician by the name of Toby Walker. He's hardly unknown to the music community. His playing and story-telling songwriting style have earned him a reputation as a premier performer. Anyone who reads his story will be inspired to go for their dream ... no matter how far afield they have traveled from it. We will let you hear it in his own words. We give you ... drum roll, please ... Toby Walker. I'M OUTTA HERE ... I was earning a living as a musician even before I graduated high school. I have to admit it was pretty heady stuff to be able to afford to buy my own guitars, amps and clothes without having to ask my parents like all my other friends had to. One month after I graduated, I was hitchhiking around the country, playing the guitar for tips and having a ball. For two years I either played in bands on the road or went thumbing it to California and back, all without even having a driver’s license.
When I finally did return, I landed a job in a music store teaching guitar and playing gigs on the weekends. I had it made. I did that for ten straight years. While my classmates were either slinging burgers or sitting in college classroom chairs, I was playing music practically eighty hours a week. My vision of paradise for sure. Then I made three major mistakes. The first was getting married to the wrong woman. I say the wrong woman because her idea of a husband was someone who had – as she put it – “a real job.” Seeing as how the music business was in a real tailspin at the time – disco by means of DJ record-spinners had sliced up the music scene and was starting to put a lot of musicians, including myself, out of work – I committed my second mistake: I got a job in the Post Office. The Post Office. Well, what else could I do? I had absolutely no “real job” skills to think of and I needed a gig that paid steady and had some benefits. Benefits that I always heard of but never actually had myself, like vacations and sick pay. The funny thing was that when I worked as a full time musician, I never thought I needed a vacation and I never once got sick . . . probably because I loved what I was doing so much it kept me pretty damn healthy. That all changed working for the P.O. two days… TWO DAYS into that job and I knew I had taken a wrong turn. I was surrounded by people who hated what they did and all they could talk about was how much time that had to put in until they could retire. Some of them would walk around saying “another eighteen years, four months, two weeks and four days and I’m outta here.” The third mistake was buying a house. I know, it’s what you’re supposed to do when you marry and settle down but geez louise, to me it was like a thirty-year death sentence. Here I was stuck in a job I hated, a marriage that wasn’t working and a huge mortgage to pay each month. On top of all that I had this idea in my head that perhaps I could make a go of this . . . after all, this was a “real job,” a “real house” – I always used to live in apartments – and getting married was a requirement . . . or so I was led to believe. Besides, I still had a bitter taste in my mouth from the decapitated, automated disco-driven music scene. But that was about to change. A few years had passed when all of a sudden the music scene started to hit an upswing. Disco, thank god, had died and a lot of my musician friends were out working again. It didn’t take long for me to start missing what it was like to love what I did for a living. To live with a purpose, a dream, a sense of fulfillment was something that I had had and now I desperately wanted it back again. As if by coincidence a friend of mine called asking me if I wanted a gig opening up for Taj Mahal, one of the biggest names on the blues/folk circuit. I was going to be flown out to Columbus, Ohio, put up in a swanky hotel and paid a nice sum of money if I agreed to it. Within an hour that guitar came out of the closet and I was back in the groove once more. In six weeks’ time I had written, recorded and produced an album of twelve songs, just to have some merchandise to sell at the show. When I got back from Ohio I remember telling my wife how much fun I had had, how I had a purpose again in life and that, by gum, I bet I could make a living at this once more. Her answer to that was, "Well, if you think you’re going to just sit around the house and play your guitar, then we might as well get a divorce." That hit me hard. It wasn’t the best marriage in the world, but I loved her and her son and with the house still being owned by the bank, I felt as if my fate was sealed. The only thing I could do was convince her that I’d only do music part-time, and that I’d never quit that damn civil service job. And that drove me crazy. There’s nothing like being able to taste that sweet nectar of a purposeful life and have it taken it away from me forty hours a week at a job that drove me insane. All of what you’ve ever heard about folks going “postal” at that job is more than true. Most people on the outside will never really know how bad it really is on the inside. The intimidation, bullying, complaining . . . the boredom . . . it always got to me and everyone else who worked there as well. The only difference was that I had something that gave me hope. The hope of getting out of there . . . without having to wait twenty years to retire. The more I got back into playing, the more doors started to open up. Pretty soon I got a job teaching in a music store again and more and more gigs were lining themselves up. A local blues society asked if I’d represent them in a national contest and even though I can’t stand those things I agreed, went to Memphis and actually won the thing. Within a few months I had someone interested representing me in England and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy getting vacation time just to go over there to tour. But when I came back from that first tour with $5,000 net in my pocket in just ten days, I knew my Post Office days were numbered. It took me another six years of playing gigs, teaching and selling CDs before I had enough money in the bank to last me a couple of years if I never earned another dime. During that time I worked eighty to ninety hours a week between the two jobs, one of them driving me crazy during the day and the other returning me to sanity at night. And when I finally earned more in one year with music than I did with the Post Office, the time for me to leave had arrived. Besides, I was in so much trouble for taking so much time off from that job that there was no other choice . . . it was time to go. So I left and never, ever once looked back. I went back to earning a living the way I had done it for thirteen years prior to getting that “real job,” living with purpose, a drive and a sense that every day is lived to its fullest. The wife, the house . . . all gone. But that’s okay. By returning to my dream I was able to return to my true self and in the process manage to attract my true mate. I’m married again . . . incredibly, deliriously, happily so and I’m actually living in a real house again. One that is paid for. Imagine that. I have an agent who manages to get me work even in a recession and I’ve played with some of the best musicians on earth. Return to the dream. It worked for me." Visit Toby Walker's website to learn more about him, purchase his music, and see his calendar of gigs at www.littletobywalker.com Our Past Dreamers
Patty Howard, Café Owner  This month we are saluting the enterprising and immensely creative Patty Howard. Her life has so far been filled with the pursuit of many dreams -- raising four children, dancing, acting, and teaching -- but in the Fall of 2009 she will be swinging open the doors to her latest dream, Modern Leaf and Bean in Nutley, NJ. Patty has put her heart and soul into this lovely café and we know we'll be right at the head of the line to sample her offerings. In tandem with her new place, she will be starting a blog about coffee and tea. We can't wait and are certainly pleased as punch to highlight her here in our hall of dreamers. Read on and see what she has to say for herself. "I’ve always dreamed of opening a small café – a place where I could offer amazing restorative teas, energizing coffees, delicious foods, and, of course, music all in a welcoming atmosphere of calm. I’m working on making this dream come true with the help of dear friends and family. Pictured here is the 'before' façade of The Modern Leaf & Bean Café. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/modleafandbean."  Patty also has an absolutely beautiful blog, Gathering Home, where she offers creative advice on decorating, crafts, gardening, etc. Check it out: www.GatheringHome.com We think she's just amazing. Dream on fellow dreamers. Amy Schmidt, Children's Book Writer and Poet   We are pleased to salute Amy Schmidt, our first writer in what is becomming a wonderful list of "Dreamers." She and her talented husband, Ron Schmidt, just published their first children's book, "Loose Leashes." It is a charming, funny, and artistic work about dogs from a dog's perspective. We hope that after reading Amy's story you'll go to the Loose Leashes website and pick up a copy. (Please toggle down and read an excerpt from the book.) For more information please visit www.looseleashes.com Here is what Amy has to say about how she is returning to her dream: "My ultimate dream was to have a children’s book published. I had spent several years writing, submitting and getting my fair share of rejections. I was told that the market for new children’s book authors was very narrow unless you were Jamie Lee Curtis, Madonna or Jay Leno. Discouraged, I looked to find a 'hook' - someway to stand out and to be different. That 'hook' was actually my husband. He is a photographer who creates fun dog images and one fateful day, we decided that I should be writing about his dogs! It’s amazing how the universe responds when you hit on a great idea. I started writing about Ron’s dog images - a few short stories and a poem. At the same time, Ron was showing his work at a licensing show in New York City and was approached by an art director and editor from Random House Children’s Books. They loved Ron work and asked if he wrote. He replied, 'No, but my wife does!' We sent them some images and writing samples. The editor liked my poetry and asked if I would attempt to rewrite a few of my stories in the form of poems. Could I? I didn’t know. I had never studied poetry but the first poem did come easily. When I put pen to paper, the poems seemed to flow out of me. It was incredible and fun. We were offered a book deal and the result is my dream come true. Loose Leashes was published this January. It’s a book of my poems and better yet, poems about images my husband created. We are working on our next book now so I will keep dreaming and taking action to make all of my dreams come true!" Amy lives in Keyport, New Jersey with her husband Ron Schmidt, their children Rory and Tess and their huge white dog Sam.  Monte and the Demise of His Eyes There once was a dog that could read With amazing page-turning speed. People thought it an act, But it was a fact - This dog was an uncommon breed. One evening a strange thing occurred, While reading his sight became blurred. He squinted his eyes But was sadly surprised To see lines blurred, word into word. A vet claimed, “Your dog is alright. Just weak eyes affecting his sight.” The dog got new glasses, Began taking classes, And now he is learning to write! From the book "Loose Leashes," Copyright 2009 Rock Wilk Vocalist, Poet, Performance Artist  Rock Wilk is our featured Dreamer this month. An incredibly talented vocalist, poet, and performance artist, he is committed to bringing his message of social responsibility to the stage, airwaves, and even to the streets. Recently he has collaborated with Return to the Dream on one of our tunes and performed with us at the wonderful Acoustic Long Island venue in January. We have chosen Rock as our first ever Dreamer of the Month because he is the very embodiment of returning to the dream ... Here's what he is all about in his own words ... "Return to the Dream was kind enough to ask me to write a 'stream of consciousness' about my personal 'return to my dream', so here I go…….. 'off the dome' as we say in the hip hop and poetry worlds…………… My art is my life, and I finally realized that I have no choice but to accept that. I’ve always been committed to my career, but it took me this long, took all of my life experiences to make me totally clear on the fact that, for me and my existence, it’s all about the art. That singing, doing poetry, rapping, writing, performing and screaming about issues that are important to me, and I DO scream….. all of this is not really what I do, as much as who I am. When I was given the opportunity to create my album, BROKE WIDE OPEN, I was asked to be honest in my work, to reveal myself to anyone and everyone who would listen to me, and at that exact moment, my life and my career became the same thing. Amazing, scary, liberating, lonely all at the same time. For me personally, I have to say I am reborn, in a sense. I understand I have a purpose in my life, and it is undeniable what that purpose is. As a result, I finally feel settled. I have never been able to do anything in my life without singing or writing, constantly creating my next piece of music, my next poem, I’m always documenting my life as it’s occurring. [careful, you might wind up in a song or a poem of mine] I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember, from the time I was a little boy. For me personally, I have let go of, or sacrificed alot of things in my life, to live my dream. The reality is that this includes the good with the bad, the sweet with the sour, but for the first time since I was playing basketball in a schoolyard as a kid with nowhere to go but dusk, I feel like I recognize myself, I know who I am again, and since my work is so completely personal and revealing, I am open like a child, I am living like osmosis, inhaling everything around me and changing with every experience that I encounter. I am being inspired by 16 year old poets, 80 year old poets, I am rehearsing and developing my one person show, Ma’Plej in the streets, parks and subways, I am now performing it in Theaters all over the place, I am finding hip hop open mics and poetry slams every night of the week, I am attending writing workshops, I am using the skills I’ve developed over the years to create music that is being played on MTV, in shows like 'Making The Band 4' and 'The Real World Brooklyn', I am energized by my life, and that is because I’ve returned to my dream and now it’s my reality. This is all a gift. I’m honored to be a contributor to the amazing band, 'Return To The Dream', they are an inspiration to any artist who has paid their dues and arrives at the crossroads where they have to make a decision. In or out. If you are truly an artist, there IS no decision, and as this band will tell you, it’s time to do the next right thing and return to your dream. Peace, Rock WILK" To learn more about Rock Wilk you can visit his website at www.rockwilk.com |
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