Defining Success: Taylor Goldsmith
Taylor Goldsmith is a professional singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, born and raised in Los Angeles California. He's best known as the guitarist, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the band Dawes. After forming Dawes in his early twenties alongside his brother Griffin and lifelong bass player Wylie Gelber, Taylor has stayed busy cultivating and expanding his catalog.
Often noted for his lyrical and melodic aptitude, Taylor has found himself on stage, in the studio and shoulder to shoulder with greats such as Elvis Costello, Jim James, Jackson Browne, Conor Oberst, and others.
How do you define success?
It's always meant staying busy and staying mindful of when things are good. Success means making sure I don't lose sight of that.
How do you measure your own success?
More than the amount of fans or records sold, I like looking at things like how many records we've made or how many shows or songs I am in some way a part of. To me, success looks more like a large body of work than some huge house or a bunch of money.
How does success feel?
I don't feel particularly successful. At least I don't put it in those terms in my own head. I feel really lucky and grateful to be so busy but otherwise I'm always focused on what comes next.
When was the last time you felt successful? What happened?
Every night on stage is a reminded of how lucky we are as a band. Any moments of feeling like we are losing sight of how lucky we are to do this for a living are immediately cured by a show on any given night.
How do you celebrate your success?
I don't.
Again, I just try to be reflective of the wonderful experiences I've had and make sure not to take those memories for granted.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to be successful?
Be obsessed. The hardest working, most motivated, most obsessed people always are the most successful in their field. It's never been about who's the most talented, but simply who wants it most.
CONNECT WITH TAYLOR:
Twitter: @dawestheband | Instagram: @dawestheband | Facebook: Dawes the band | Website: dawestheband.com |