MY INSPIRATION FOR BECOMING A SINGER SONGWRITER by Ryan Van Sickle

A few of you have asked where my inspiration to become a musician came from. In 2003 I bought a general admission ticket to a Springsteen concert, got lucky and ended up against the stage right below his mic stand. I didn't know what to expect as I had only ever listened to his music on the radio. Little did I know I was in for the rock n roll experience of a lifetime. From the moment he took the stage, strummed the first chord to The Rising I was hooked. The intense energy that buzzed through that arena was absolutely incredible! We were all invited to go on a musical journey with he and his band. The power of Bruce's storytelling through his voice, his musicianship on the guitar and raw emotion was really quite amazing. I knew that night I wanted to tell stories as well. 
So I picked up a guitar not to long after that and began to teach myself to play and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I heard Johnny Cash say once in an interview that if you don't believe in the story you're telling as a singer then why would you expect anyone else to believe it? As a singer songwriter I live by that quote and apply it every time I play. That night in a packed house in Charlotte, NC. Bruce believed every story he told and so did the other 20,000 people. That's inspiring and for me it was life changing. Who knew that 10 years later I would be on the same album as Bruce? ONE Campaign's Agit8 Protest Song album. Hard work and belief in a dream does pay off.......

Ryan Van Sickle is a brilliant singer-songwriter who can be found at http://ryanvansicklemusic.com/. Follow him on Twitter @Ryan_VanSickle. Follow him on Google+ at +Ryan Van Sickle.