Rising Music Star Ian Flanigan On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
Hard work will always pay off, the saying is it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill: That saying has always stuck with me. I try to sit with my instrument either writing or learning something new between 2 and 6 hours a day. Music and theory didn’t come as naturally to me as they did for other people I knew. On my instrument I was no virtuoso, it took a lot of grueling years to get to a place where I felt comfortable. The main point is to trust the process and keep working hard even if you aren’t progressing as fast as you wish you were.
As a part of our series about rising music stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ian Flanigan.
When it comes to the troubadour lifestyle, Ian is no novice. For the last decade, Ian has toured his whiskey-soaked voice and evocative lyrics across America, with a country sound reminiscent of Joe Cocker and Chris Stapleton. His rubber-meets-the-road approach to his 10- year career in music is reflected in the way his singing, songwriting and guitar playing resonates with his audience. As with a bonfire on a crisp autumn night, Ian Flanigan is known to roar, and everyone around him responds.
Singer, songwriter, and professional nomad Ian Flanigan launched a new chapter of his life in the fall of 2019, when he and his partner Ayla sold their belongings, bought a Winnebago, and with their daughter hit the road in the lovingly-named Flanivan performing and writing as they traveled. Most recently a celebrated finalist on NBC’s The Voice, the world has since tapped him as an up-and-coming artist to watch. Following a year of milestones, Flanigan is overwhelmingly grateful for the response to his most recent single, “Grow Up” released under Reviver Music.
Flanigan also keeps his eye on life’s bigger picture. Celebrating 5 years of sobriety and commitment to being there for others, he serves on the advisory board of Hope Rocks, the New York organization that supports those who are struggling with addiction, depression and social isolation. Today you’ll still find Ian and his family on the road in the Flanivan, navigating the backroads and boulevards of the American dream. Through it, all, his faith in his family, his faith in himself and the faith he maintains in the path set out before him knows no boundary.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Thank you so much for having me! I was raised in a rural town called Saugerties, New York. My father, also raised in the same area, was a police officer during my youth and later went on to run the family dry cleaners in our town called “Flanigan’s Cleaners.” My mother was raised a few blocks over in the same town, worked full-time for IBM. As an only child from the country, I spent most of my younger years hiking, fishing, and playing in the woods. Besides my love for the outdoors, I began to experiment with songwriting around 11 years old. I wasn’t very good, but I knew even at that young age, that music was what I would do for the rest of my life. Thankfully, when I began to show an interest in music my parents were very supportive. The area of NY where I’m from has a very rich history in music is the neighboring town to Woodstock NY, where countless artists have retreated to over the years including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Levon Helm. Being raised in that area I always thought being a musician was a respected career path, even if you made very little money. School was not my strong suit, I was profiled for a jock-type which kept me playing a lot of sports and no one really took me seriously about music as a career. Despite all of that I was always dedicated to music, it’s always been the driving force in my life. I had a guitar teacher named Chuck Misasi from the age of 13, who I’m still learning from and I’m very close with to this day. Those were the lessons I chose to focus my energy on and were a big part of what I came to be. I went to try a program for music engineering in Orlando, Florida, and again when I went to study luthiering in Pueblo, Colorado. I spent that time also playing original music out at bars I wasn’t old enough to play at, all the while honing my craft and learning hard lessons. After spending time in Georgia, I finally came back to New York and recorded my first serious album, Shades of Blue. It was a mile marker for the team that I’ve built today and the most growing up I had done in my lifetime.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was little, maybe 5 or however far back I can remember, my mother and I used to play a very simple game. She would sing a line and then I would have to create the next one with a rhyme at the end. Seems silly, but I just remember it always being my favorite thing to do. That game became songwriting for me and is the memory I think of most when thinking back to how, or why, or when I knew I was going to be a musician. I just loved to write songs and my guitar was my best friend. My parents always encouraged me and put up with countless hours of bad playing, which is really what a beginner needs to explore a career path like music. I’m so grateful for the games, my first guitar, and the freedom to be creative.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Life just keeps throwing us curveballs, and I’m grateful for it because it keeps things interesting. Two years ago, my fiance, Ayla and I were trying to attract booking agencies. They kept telling us I needed more national tour history. Around the same time, Ayla got into a bad car accident and had to have back surgery. Our perspective of how we wanted to live our lives and manifest our goals changed immediately. We realized we needed to commit fully to the music and make our own reality because life is short. So, we sold almost everything we owned, bought a 24’ class C Winnebago RV and planned a tour route across America with our (at the time) 5-year-old in tow. I never knew anything about RVs, or homeschooling, or how to maintain a full-time tour, but we learned as we went. The best part was, everything career-wise began to fall into place. We began meeting the right people, and checking off goals more successfully than we had in the past. It was in no way easy, we were constantly going through growing pains and living in survival mode, but we were 100% committed and that made all the difference. Besides creating a life that we all wanted to live together, the most interesting thing was the appreciation that the outside world had for our journey and dedication. We were learning what we needed to get to the next levels, honing our communication skills as a family team, building a music career from scratch, and seeing this beautiful country all the while. Now, two years and an upgraded RV later, we’re still going strong and our story is one of the reasons why we’re finding success in this industry.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One time, I was at a festival where I was playing multiple shows a day. At that point in my life, I had been writing a really serious and moody album, and my shows reflected that. I hadn’t written a lot of upbeat music yet. So, I was standing next in line at a festival vendor, between shows and the next band got up to play old-timey covers, when I overheard one of the vendors referring to me as the “sad acoustic guitar guy” not knowing I was there in line, and expressing his relief to have a little more upbeat music instead of mine, which he said was “bringing the mood down.” Granted, the poor guy was directly across from my stage for the entire weekend and I was playing the same-hour show on repeat, so I thought this comment was very funny and didn’t hold a grudge. But, it definitely was the beginning of realizing the importance of the energy in a setlist and how much effect it can have on people. My favorite song might just be too melancholy for the moment and that’s OK! Made me recreate my setlist and his words have stayed with me to this day, which I’m grateful for. It’s so important to cultivate the environment for listeners.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Very excited and grateful for the opportunities my team is working on right now. This year, I signed with Reviver Records and JLS Artist Management. Together we released my new single, “Grow Up” featuring Blake Shelton and debuted it on the Season finale of NBC’s The Voice. My manager introduced me to Craig Alvin, an incredible producer/engineer that I have the honor of working with on that track and a couple more we’re hoping to release later this year. There’s an official music video in the works for “Grow Up” and I’m looking forward to a great year of touring, thanks to the awesome team at Kinkead booking. Recently, I also signed a publishing deal with Reviver Publishing. I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity, the writers I’ve been working with, and with the music we’ve been creating!
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Being a stepfather, I think it’s very important for kids to see people who look and sound like them in order to help them understand their own potential. I think so much of our lives are trying to find out where we belong and who we really are before we start contributing to society. The more diversity represented in the entertainment industry, the quicker that can happen for people on a large scale.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- There are thousands of people trying to recreate the same sound. Focus on originality and authenticity, over trying to be what you think someone wants: I spent the first few years pursuing music trying to sing in a higher range like all the other singers I heard. That left me with “less-than” results and often damaged my vocal cords with hours of pushing in the wrong range. It took me years to embrace my lower register and to really hone in and find my authentic sound. But that’s what ended up leading me to a show like The Voice, working with amazing people like Blake Shelton, and ultimately getting signed with a label and a publishing deal.
- Hard work will always pay off, the saying is it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill: That saying has always stuck with me. I try to sit with my instrument either writing or learning something new between 2 and 6 hours a day. Music and theory didn’t come as naturally to me as they did for other people I knew. On my instrument I was no virtuoso, it took a lot of grueling years to get to a place where I felt comfortable. The main point is to trust the process and keep working hard even if you aren’t progressing as fast as you wish you were.
- Keep passion above all, and the money will come: I believe following your passion will result in the best work. And the best work will eventually find a way to compensate. My goal was always to make a living as an artist. My love for creating was greater than my love of comfort. As artists, we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to create the best art we can and the bar is being raised all the time. Gear is expensive and gigs often don’t pay much. And sadly banks don’t trust us when it comes to loans! There have to be serious comfort sacrifices at times to be able to afford the equipment needed. My family and I moved into a winnebago van and worked at campgrounds across the country to keep our costs low while we were building our business. We’re still a long way from our goals but we keep the tours moving and growing and that’s what it’s all about!
- Start a business, build credit, and write everything off: speaking of banks and loans. This is an important thing to do! I, like most musicians, had no health insurance, no savings, and no long-term business plans, or records showing what I’ve made well into my mid 20’s. A lot of musicians and artists don’t treat themselves as a business, but you are! And if you don’t take yourself seriously, nobody else will.
- Baby steps count: even if it’s the smallest improvement it still counts! You don’t need to be headlining festivals or have 1million Instagram followers to be making great art or to feel more or less valuable as an artist. Wherever you’re at today is fine and there’s no better time to start than now.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
- Staying inspired is key, it can keep you excited during exhausting times.
- Sleeping is part of the job.
- Know when to say no.
- Take walks.
- Nothing is personal, don’t be attached to people’s opinions.
- No one does this all on their own, build your team, the sooner you realize that the sooner you can invest fully in yourself.
- Gear matters, there are 0% interest payment plans for the gear you need to make quality content, use them!
- Invest in a decent travel case for your instruments.
- This is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to be in it for a lifetime, despite the perceived rewards that may, or may not come.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Besides world peace, no phones during meal times. I know it sounds sad, for a movement, compared to recycling or to stop eating red meat, but I challenge you to try it for a week. If everyone took the time to reflect when alone and to connect when together, I believe we would appreciate each other and our time better. Even if it doesn’t end with more likes and follows.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes, my best friend who’s like a brother to me, Keith Smith, who got sober with me 5 years ago. Without him, I wouldn’t have been on the path I am today.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” I read this quote at my day job on social media, and I put my two weeks notice in the next day. Since that day, I’ve been incredibly articulate with who I work with and give my time to. Energy can build you, or destroy you.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Tommy Emmanuel, he’s been a huge inspiration to me for years. I’d love to buy him lunch.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram.com/ian_flanigan
Facebook.com/IanFlaniganMusic
Twitter.com/ianflanigan
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/IanFlanigan
This was great, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing this with us. We wish you continued success!
