Dark Horse Institute Alumni Interview: Tony Bostic

Hey Everyone!   I interviewed DHI’s very own Tony Bostic to get an alumni perspective on the success, struggles, and lessons learned during the decision making process of taking the plunge and diving in head first into the music business.

 Danielle: At what age did you make a decision to pursue a career in the music industry? 

Tony: It started very young for me, you know, I grew up singing in church and by the time I was in high school I traveled with contemporary worship groups.  Starting my junior yr of high school I was gone 3-4 days/week traveling and I have always enjoyed that.  Singing has always been apart of me and I don’t know how else to explain it.  It consumed me, and still does… it’s my high.  At about 15 or 16 is when I knew I wanted music as a career.

D: Where did you see yourself within the industry? How did you get there?

T: I always envisioned doing vocal work.  I never saw myself being famous but definitely saw myself doing sessions or being a worship leader, etc.  I started vocal lessons very young with a lady at church and it just grew from there.  I attended a school here in Nashville for 6 different years that offered a summer program for 2 weeks.  As I got into high school, I realized I wanted to pursue a music degree in college so I began classical vocal training.  College was when I really felt my voice started to take shape.  I was a vocal performance major for 2.5 years and then switched to a different degree, but I was still apart of any opportunity I had to sing; Jazz Choir, Men’s Glee Group, and HeartSong, which was the band that got me all through college.  Jazz and black gospel was what really grabbed my interest and attention.  I cut an album with a group called Delivered Jude, and I recorded and produced that album entirely, which is when I fell in love with music production.’

D: What was the hardest thing about your decision to pursue this business?

T: “The first initial struggle was the fact that I had not come from a town that had a connection with music…. You’re kind of at the mercy of the passion of such a collective group of individuals.  So keeping a group together was hard because not too many people wanted to pursue the same things in the area I was.  The key is to find people as passionate as you are and run with it once you do.

I tried making the music business happen in Ohio and that just never happened.  It’s just not where it was.  It’s the setback of stepping out and chasing your dream and that really didn’t happen until I moved here…. You can only grow as the size of the fishbowl you put yourself in, and Dayton Ohio needless to say, cannot even compare to a place like Music City.

D: How do you feel Dark Horse helped pave a way for you to succeed in this business?

T: Dark Horse gave me the knowledge I needed to get into vocal producing and get into more studio vocalist type things.  It gave me the connections; the opportunities to prove myself here and I did to the point that they actually put me on staff.  They definitely have given me the step I needed to start in the business.  They give you just enough connections to have a starting point and then it’s up to you from there.

D: What are your future goals in this business?

T: For me I probably see myself diving more into vocal work at whatever capacity that is.  I would LOVE to produce vocal stuff for people.  Promoting and marketing/PR are all where my passions are for this business.

D: We are approaching 2014… what is your New Year Resolution?

T: Goal for after new year/resolution is to produce other vocalists and build rapport with other people that have the same passion for vocal work.

D: If you could do anything different, what would it be?

T: I would have either made my college experience in Nashville, or I would have moved here immediately after I had graduated.

D: What advice can you give to people who are debating whether or not to make the decision to pursue the industry?

T: Really decide if this business is your dream, and try to get some what of a focus on that.  If you decide at the end of the day that this is what I want to do, get to a musical city and get it done. Period.  Stop wasting any more time.  It’s all about making connections and building those connections… it certainly wouldn’t have happened in Dayton, Ohio.

D: Who has supported you in following your dreams?

T: MY PARENTS! Were HUGE in supporting my dreams.  Even from the time I was little, they were so encouraging.  They drove me all over the place for singing competitions growing up and actually won six annual competitions in a row, which was pretty cool.  My home church back in Ohio was always real supportive and still are today, and my wife of course has been very encouraging.

D: Were any of your friends or family skeptical about you trying to “make it” in the music business?

T: I definitely had people- a specific family member and an engineer I met down here were two people that were very cenacle towards the music business in general.  Even though you have an overwhelming support system, the smallest amount of doubt and negativity really can affect you I have discovered… I have let it eat away at me too much in the past.