Express Yourself!

Whatever you feel strong about, whether it be dance, sports, music..etc, express yourself to the fullest and have fun. Don't back down from something your excited about. When you feel strong about something you have to give 100% and not let anything stop you.
" Follow your dream and one day you will succeed." -Brandon Zornado

Music should make you happy!

Music is something that many people appreciate. There are all types of music and each different style is unique in its own way. People can use music as a way of expressing their feelings. When you find the perfect melody that is catchy and you cant get it out of your head, it is wonderful. Tones that come together to form a melody are something special and should be appreciated. Listen to music that makes you happy and feel good about yourself.
" Melodies are special because you form a connection with them." -Brandon Zornado

Life is a Journey!

Growing up I always thought that I was going to be a professional Baseball player. I played baseball ever since I was 5 years old, and it was my favorite thing to do. I went to college and played baseball at Clackamas Community College and then transferred my junior year to Western Oregon University. I started the year off great and then I injured my right arm which ended my baseball career. Life throws you curve balls and it is your turn to hit the ball in another direction when that happens. After I was injured I started playing my guitar and really fell in love with country music. There are a lot of things that have inspired me throughout my life and I know that I am meant to be a writer. I love to write so much and I have taken a lot of my time this last year to really learn how writing is developed and how it is structured in songs. I am recently engaged and I am the luckiest guy ever. My fiance is beautiful inside and out and she is without a doubt in my mind, the perfect girl for me. We have dated for over 4 and a half years and it has been such an amazing journey. We will be getting married Oct 1 2010. We just recently went on vacation to Nashville TN where I hope to move later this fall to pursue my music career as a songwriter. I was amazed when I went to Nashville TN and I fell in love with the people, the buildings, the houses, the little towns, and the atmosphere. It is a perfect place to live and start the journey of marriage. I have a lot of inspiring things to write about in my songs, such as friends, my parents, sports, and everything in life but one of the main things is my fiance. I love her so much and I am so excited to get married and share the rest of my life with her. Moving to Nashville would be a huge step for us and it would be an amazing experience that we would share together. Something new is always something exciting and she will be finishing up at the Art Institute of Portland this summer. She is a very talented girl and I support her in everything that she does.I know that it will be different for her at first if we move, but I want her to know that I will always be by her side and love her forever. My dream is not only to make it as a country songwriter, but is to be the best husband that I can be and give my future wife and kids a wonderful life. I will work hard to provide for them and I will always put them first. We are so close to our families and it would be hard to move away because we love them so much, but we would be in contact with them every single day and we would make sure that we came home to visit a lot.
"Life is a journey, so make sure that you experience things when you can and don't hold back." -Brandon Zornado

The trip to Nashville!

Hello everyone! We are back from our trip to Nashville TN. It was honestly one of the best trips of my life. We had such an amazing time and we saw so many different things. Downtown is awesome and full of many different country boot stores, bars with live music all day, cafes, restaurants, guitar shops, Hatch Show Print shop, Rhyman Auditorium, Soubert Center where they have the CMA's and where the Predator's Hockey Team plays, the Convention Center,the Country Music Hall of Fame, and much more. Right across the river from downtown is Titans Stadium, where the NFL team plays. We checked out surrounding cities as well and they were all different but great in their own ways. Right outside Nashville is, "Greenhills," which is full of shops, writers cafes, a huge mall and really nice housing. When we move we are going to rent a house in Greenhills and then save up for a house a little further out into the country. We took many pictures and you will be able to see them on facebook. The city has so much going on and everyone there is so welcoming and nice. People always have a smile on their face and it seems like everyone is loving life. The music scene there is absolutley amazing. Everywhere you go there is music, which is perfect for me. We went to Vanderbilt University which is a mile from downtown Nashville, and it is a beautiful campus. We went to the city of Franklin which is such a pretty little town and a perfect place to start a family. We took a drive out in the country and saw some amazing land and houses and then ate at a little cafe where I played a Gibson guitar on the stage. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and that place is a must go if you are ever there. We went to the Donnelson Mansion, Hilsboro Village, The Blue Bird Cafe where everyone starts there career in music, the Gibson Showcase where they make all the expensive Gibson Guitars, the Grand Ole Opry, and probably my favorite place which was the Gaylord Opryland Resort. The resort is the most amazing place I have ever seen in my entire life. It covers almost a mile of property and inside there are gardens, waterfalls, a river, boat ride, amazing restaurants, fitness center, 2 pools, bars, dance halls, penthouse suites, and so much more. The whole resort is inside but it feels like you are outside. All of the plants are real and they have people who work there and their job is just to take care of the plants and flowers. It is so beautiful and there was a wedding that was going to take place yesterday at 5:00pm inside the resort. It was such a pretty setup and the perfect location for a wedding. While we were in TN it snowed which made the trip even better. Nashville is a great place to go on vacation and I cant wait to call it home.

" Appreciate everything, you never know when you will have nothing to appreciate."
-Brandon Zornado

Plan ahead!

Most people have a vision of how they would like their future to go. I want to be a country song-writer, in Nashville TN. Just because I want to do that does not mean that I just up and move this second. Nashville TN is the capitol of " Country Music." Most country superstars come from all over the world to make it in Nashville. There are four reasons that people move to Nashville who want to succeed in the industry. 1. Become a singer. 2. Become a songwriter. 3. Become a backup singer or musician. 4. Become involved in the business of the music industry. So many people go to Nashville hoping for a miracle right away and the one's who have a plan before they go have much more success. I love writing and I want to do it because I have a pasion for it. I am going to visit this January for four days to map some things out and maybe get a couple contacts as far as places to live and jobs within the music industry. Everyone has to start somewhere and I am willing to give it my all to make it as a successful song-writer one day.

Whatever your vision is, have a plan of how you want to get there. You will have much higher chances of accomplishment. Start from the bottom and work your way up until you are where you want to be. Nothing is going to be handed to you, so work hard for what you want.

" A plan of attack will set you higher above the one's on the same battlefield." -Brandon Zornado

Chase your dreams!

Dreams are something that everyone should have. Whatever your dream is, do not let anything get in the way of it. Hold onto it forever and cherish it. I believe that anything can be accomplished if you put your mind to it. Set your dreams high but be realistic of a time frame to accomplish them. If you set too big of dreams too fast then you can become let down. My dream is to become a country songwriter. It is something I love and writing and music are a passion of mine. I am focusing on playing the guitar right now and learning more each day. I am also reading books and material about songwriting. People need to realize that their dream is not going to happen over night. It is going to take hard work and dedication, but if you believe in it then it can happen. Do not ever get discouraged when you come to a road block. Fight through it and keep yourself motivated. I know that I will not become a successful songwriter right now, but I have a plan. The more time I put into learning the better I will be down the road. I am planning on moving to Nashville TN within a year to pursue my music career. I know what I need to do in order to make it and I am 100% dedicated to getting there. No matter how long it takes me, I will never give up.

Do not be afraid to have big dreams. Everyone deserves to do what they want in their life. Whatever it is that you want to do, find out how to make it happen step by step and work hard to get there. The biggest thing in reaching your dream is your motivation. You will need it the entire way to get to where you want to be.

" Fight for what you want, and you can accomplish anything." -Brandon Zornado

Huge Event Tonite!

Today is November 11th which means tonight is the 2009 43rd Annual Country Music Awards. The show will be taking place in " Music City - Nashville TN." This is the biggest event in country music for the whole year and it brings all top artists together for one huge night! Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are the hosts of tonight's CMA'S. The big awards that will be presented are : Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. There will be a special performance from a country star that has been away for over four years. It should be an awesome show. It all starts tonight at 8/7 C on ABC.

I can not wait for the show tonight. I love everything about country music and the CMA'S are in Nashville TN where I will be moving to within a year. After you get home from work, make some dinner then sit down and relax and watch the best show of the year.

" I love Country Music." -Brandon Zornado

Get a hobby!

There are so many things that I enjoy. I am always trying to do things that are exciting and interesting to me. I have always been so busy with everything and lately I have had some free time. In the last 6 months I have really focused on learning how to play the guitar. I took lessons each week for 6 months and I gained a lot of useful information. I became better every single week and noticed a lot of improvement by the end of my lessons. I am now taking it a step further and teaching myself the rest. I am focusing a lot on finger picking right now and next I will learn how to actually read the music notes. I want to become the best that I can and the only way to do that is practice and keep learning. Playing the guitar is honestly the number one thing I like to do by myself. It is so relaxing and I have gained such an appreciation for it.

Everyone deserves to have a hobby that they can enjoy. There are so many different things out there to try and learn. It is amazing when you start doing something you have never done before. It feels so uncomfortable at first, but the more you do it the better you will get and the more fun you will have. No matter what it is, if you practice enough at something you can get good. Find something that you think would be interesting to do and try it out.

" Nothing is too big to accomplish if your heart is in it till the end." -Brandon Zornado