My current musical project, electronic pop band Smoke From all the Friction, has been as much an internal development project, as an artistic one. We played a bigger show where we spent a lot of time and preparation trying to create an ambiance in the space that matched the musical performance of vulnerability and self-exploration.
After the show, some young guys came up to us and were really excited by the show and nervous to talk to us. It became a weird, epiphanic moment, where I realized that I had the ability, through my creation, to influence these guys. I could work on overcoming and pushing myself to be the best I could be, or I could be indulgent and focus on gathering attention and approval. Whichever I truly choose would end up being what I passed on to these younger guys.
So a sense of responsibility is an encompassing factor of my work, seeing that I have the ability to make the current and future a little bit brighter – but if I don’t work to overcome myself, I make it a little darker. I hope to continue exploring these themes through my music and this project.
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Reflection written by Cam Gillette, producer, guitarist, and lead vocalist in Raleigh-based Smoke From all the Friction.
