Provide a brief general introduction about yourself.

 

My name is Nick Sherman. I am a musician. I am from Sioux Lookout, Ontario. My reservation is North Caribou Lake First Nation.  

 

 

What does your daily job entail?

 

I am a musician, so I spend a lot of time preparing to perform. The core of my job is to get on stage and play the songs I wrote myself. My daily tasks are more administrative work such as answering emails regarding potential venues, seeking grants to fund a tour or a new album, partaking in other creative projects, and participating in non-profit initiatives such as this one.

 

Of course, I also spend a lot of time creating music, so I set aside parts of my day to that. I would rehearse, practice guitar and singing, and write songs. My day to day is pretty busy. I have a family at home. So, I have to balance taking care of family, house and music stuff.

 

 

What got you interested in your chosen career?

 

I became interested in writing music at a young age. I saw a lot of family playing music. They were playing guitar, learning songs, playing old gospel songs or stuff that they all liked. That was my initial interest in music. When I was a teenager, I got my first guitar and really wanted to learn how to play it, so I taught myself.

 

During high school, I met other people interested in similar styles of music that I liked. That was when I wanted to start a band and get people together. That is another reason I was interested in music because it brought people together. Being in a high school band was fun, but even after that I still wanted to be involved with music. I learned how to write songs on my own and perform on my own, which formed into a career I wanted to do.

 

 

What has motivated you?

 

What motivated me to play music has been being able to tell stories of where I am from and for people who are not able to have a voice. I get onto platforms and stages in front of people to share experiences that we have here in Northern Ontario. These are experiences of myself, family and friends have had. These stories keep me motivated.

 

 

Is there anyone in particular who has inspired you?

 

My family and my own family inspire me to have a career that I love and be successful. So I continue to find stories and be a better musician. I also hope my kids will be inspired and motivated to be creative and do what they want.

 

 

How did you get to where you are today?

 

I wanted to have a career that doesn’t have your conventional schooling. As a musician, you spend a lot of time creating something you are going to present to people. After learning all that then having a small career, which consists of being able to play shows regularly, to write songs that can make it in a television show or documentary, and be asked to write songs and have those presented in other creative spaces. Being able to do all that has taken a lot of initiative to learn new things on my own.

 

At some point in my career, I learned I should look for opportunities on my own without expecting them to come to me. I had to approach people, break down my fears of getting in front of people or asking for help, and all those things. It took a lot of motivation and people helping me along the way. I also had to acquire skills that allowed me to be organized, work independently and be self-motivated every day to keep on moving forward.

 

 

How do you keep developing your skills in your career?

 

I did go to school for Sound Engineering, and that was more to get me into the world of “sound,” as it is different from music. Becoming a musician on my own was vital for me, but I have always had a passion for radio and recording. Attending school in audio has helped me have a career in radio and put radio stories together, which is a small part of how I would approach music.

 

It's something that has helped me in my musical career as well because I was able to record my demos, look at my music more critically, and gain more knowledge on how sound and music complement each other.

 

 

Any health or physical requirements in your career?

 

In my career, it is essential to manage your health by being physically active. Sure, you sit around quite a bit writing, travelling in airplanes or vehicles, and so on. It all sounds very inactive, but in reality, you spend a lot of time carrying equipment, amps, guitar cases, drums, and all those kinds of things into the building. You are physically exerting yourself before you perform. Not to mention sitting and doing a lot of inactive things is not very healthy for you.

 

One example I can think of in my experience is when I injured my knee from sitting in the van for a very long time during a tour. It a very unusual thing, but it happens when you are tall, in a small vehicle for a long time and you're getting older because your muscles and tendons do not work the same.

 

Another health requirement in my career is to make sure you are mentally healthy. When you are younger, you get into a lot of different lifestyles, and they will affect you when you get older; they affect you when you are on stage and when you want to be creative.

 

Finding a balance between having a healthy mind and body is critical. Otherwise, you will not be able to play, write or perform music well.

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