Tim G. Young of Clarkdale, AZ. on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Tim G. Young shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Tim G., so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Oh those “normal” days. Coffee is always the first thing on my mind. I make it before I sit at the desktop to look at and delete emails. I have a habit of subscribing to too many newsletters. I want to know many different bits of information, but then my inbox becomes a mess of clutter..

By the time I finish with the desktop, my appetite has kicked in so I make either a breakfast or a lunch depending on my mood.
I like, often, to get a nap after my meal. Not everyday but when I feel my eyes getting heavy, I want to close them.

Because of the intense summer temps in Arizona, I do not spend very much time outdoors. The AC is my dearest friend. Once up from the nap, if I take it, I go out to the mailbox.

A writer, like myself, doesn’t always pay attention to the time of day. Having said that, when I’m working on a novel, I need the comfort of a regular routine, a regular time. The part of my brain that dispenses the story appreciates knowing the time is right to write.
I also spend time in the afternoon searching for places to promote my music and finding honest people to connect with. It never ends.
Speaking of my music, here are a couple of links to my tunes over at You Tube. My partner, Paula, is expert at putting these videos together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e-HqXIRK8E “Just For You.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwK8vB8cRD0 “On the Road.”

Later in the evening, I pick up my guitar and practice a song I’m learning or try to expand my lead playing vocabulary.. By this time the coffee is all gone and replaced by a couple of beers. IPA are my faves.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I think I made a fair introduction to myself in the ice breaker question. but there is always more. For instance, I’ve been writing songs and playing guitar over forty years. I spent most of my life in New York City. I moved there for the excitement, culture, and the crush of the crowds. My ex-wife and I studied acting in college and so living in the city was the place to be. We studied acting in New York as well. We were lucky having found a group of people who shared our determination to act and produce shows. We called ourselves the 4th E company. It was exciting. We found a theatre who worked with us. Our deal was to split the box office with them. We could rehearse, build sets, everything we needed to do without worrying about the rent. Our artistic director was the playwright, Robert Patrick, author of the Broadway production of his play, Kennedy’s Children. He had a truck load of plays and we produced many of them.

During this time I began to write songs for specific productions and that’s when the music began to pull me away from acting. Although professionally, I did have extra and under five gigs on Soap operas and Hollywood films. Those times were a huge chapter. I belonged to all the actors unions.

In the midst of all this my wife and I raised a son, Adam, born in 1982. He’s a terrific guy who is an audio engineer for the Sports New York Network. He works in the city, but my partner and I are now in Arizona.
Right now I’m working on my latest novel, A Taste of Heaven. I’m very happy with the way it is working out.
You can read an excerpt here. https://gargoylemagazine.com/tim-young-2/
I’ve spent, literally, hundreds of hours writing, editing, and polishing the text of this novel. Over ten drafts. Details are incredibly important.
I’ve written several others and I love all of them but this one, I believe, will have the best chance to see publication.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
Actually three relationships. First was my ex-wife Bonnie, who always believed and supported me through so many artistic endeavors and adventures. And her support continues to this day. Because of her belief in me I could actually see myself as an artist. There were also a devoted group of friends in New York, I could count on to encourage me.

Second is my son, Adam. Once he was old enough to understand my artistic aspirations, he threw himself behind me a hundred percent. A guy who will never let me down.

Third is my partner for more than thirty years, Paula. Her encouragement and her belief in my abilities never wavers. She is an artist too and my support for her never flags. I am a lucky guy.

Every relationship is as important as the next.

When did you last change your mind about something important?
This is happening right now. I’ve played hundreds of shows in New York and now in Arizona. Right away, in both situations, I fell in with people who wanted me to sing and play.. It was a very busy time. I had steady gigs, meaning once a month, but once Covid hit, the scene changed. A number of my steady gigs evaporated. But it wasn’t just Covid, Some venues chose to not present music anymore. The pendulum was swinging.

What I’m getting at is although I’ll probably never stop playing music, writing songs, those pursuits are no longer the razor sharp focus they used to be.
My mind is now focused on my writing and being published. I’ve had some luck too in achieving those goals. My writing, prose and poetry, has been published in half a dozen different online magazines.

So it has been a recent change of heart but one I’ve grown comfortable with. I want to get as much work accomplished as I can in my time remaining.

Some of my writing has been published at Gargoyle Online Magazine (poetry & fiction) & The Whiskey Review, Six Sentences, Four Feathers, GALO, and Kaffe in Katmandu.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I’m talking about the music industry. Social media is loaded with companies and individuals salivating to separate a fool from his money. Enter this contest, send us your best songs, you can make it if you just pay us a fortune. It’s crazy.

There are no easy or simple ways to be a success in the music business. And I’m looking at this from having spent decades working hard, playing shows, writing songs. Not that I’ve seen it all but I have seen enough to know paying money to achieve your musical goals is not the way to go.

The old adage about it’s not what you know, it’s who you know is absolutely true. Meeting people who have the ability to help is most important. Look up almost any band or solo artist’s bio and you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about.

My response to the constant deluge of songwriting courses, classes and retreats is: How many songwriting classes did the Beatles attend? Or the Rolling Stones. It was their intense LOVE of music and the study of their early rock & blues heroes that set them on the path to success.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope they say I was a true artist. I’m hoping my writing and music I’ve recorded will still live somewhere and somehow. And someone will sill listen or read.

I’ve been prolific over the course of my career so I would love if people might still regard my work as a valuable commodity an emotional connection, and pass it along to the people they love.

It is difficult to think about the time when life is over but it’s something no one can escape.

I know I’ll never be a household name but in the big book of creative people, as long as I’m at least a footnote, I’ll know my work will cling to life.

A lyric from one of my songs often rings in my head. It’s a song called, Talkin’ About the Weather.

“If there’s anything I fear, it’s when I will not be here, when the wind and the rain blow without me.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timsored/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timyoung/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timsored
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0aRFKKajlY. Song – Tennessee.