"I jumped into the deep end of the pool": Robert Miller gets candid about reigniting his dreams of becoming a musician

Project Grand Slam leader and bassist, Robert Miller, sat with The Epoch Times for an interview, where he talked about his childhood as a budding musician, his family, and his dreams, which had a 15-year pause in between. The 73-year-old artist is not only a musician, but he is also the host of a podcast called Follow Your Dream. Miller's podcast is doing extremely well and belongs to the top 1% of all podcasts.

He mentioned how the Beatles had a part in inspiring him to become a rock star one day. Robert Miller was only a teenager when the Liverpool boy band came out for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show. However, after a while, he moved to another genre. In his words:

"Then I segued into jazz because I got lucky and I studied with this guy, Jimmy Garrison, who was John Coltrane’s bass player. But that’s what I was going to do."

When Robert Miller was in his 60s, it was this thought process that led him to reconnect with music. The Follow Your Dream host said:

"The bell went off and I said, 'Gee, if I don't do it now, when am I going to do it?' So I put everything else aside and figuratively, I jumped into the deep end of the pool."

Robert Miller opens up about his journey as a musician

Robert Miller's father was an amateur musician who played the trumpet at weddings. On the other hand, Miller's mother pushed her son to practice his music skills at least 20 minutes a day. In Miller's words:

"Every day she would say, 'OK, 20 minutes go in that room. I want to hear you practice.' I hated it. She said to me, 'One day you’re going to thank me for this.' And you know what? She was totally right,” the Project Grand Slam leader confessed.

However, with time, Miller got caught up in other things. He revealed the reason why he could not go forward and pursue his dreams, disclosing that his personal and professional life got in the way. Robert recalled:

"I had no time... The obligations started piling up and I stopped playing music for 15 years... Everybody starts out life with a dream of one sort or another... And almost all of us never go down that path. Life gets in the way, as I like to say."

But Robert Miller was determined not to let his dream go to waste. When he was in his 40s, Miller worked hard to find his way back to music. According to the bassist:

"I started to rehearse again... I recorded my first album. I put a band together. And we started to play around New York City, all the clubs, a few festivals, it was great. But it was still like having a hobby because I still had my day job."

However, this was not enough. Finally, in his 60s, Miller decided to pursue his passion with utmost dedication. He also disclosed his strategy. Miller explained:

"I have this philosophy, it’s called baby steps... If you say to yourself, 'I want to become an author,' that's a big daunting position to put yourself in. You don't even know where to start. But if you start, 'I need a title. I need a subject. Let me write the first paragraph.' You start doing things in baby steps and one leads to the next one. ... And I say, 'What’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work out.'"

Robert Miller's life experience led him to start a podcast of his own. He started the podcast during the pandemic and came up with the motto:

"You’re never too old and it’s never too late to follow your dream."

Trending

He ended his interview with The Epoch Times by saying:

"There's nothing more invigorating than doing what you love. [Older rock stars are] doing it with such incredible feedback from a live audience... I can envision thousands of people all around the world listening to what I’m doing, listening to my guests, listening to my music. That keeps me going for sure."

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback