What if the What ifs Were True?
What if the What ifs Were True?
How often have you asked yourself “what if”? How many nights have you laid awake thinking about all the “what if” situations? How many times have you asked yourself “what if instead of worrying about all the ‘what if’ questions, I decided to do something about them”? Yep. I just went there. Are you feeling the burn yet? Before you go dunk your head in a bucket of ice water, let me confess something… I STRUGGLE WITH THE “WHAT IFS” TOO. And no, it doesn’t feel good to admit that. It’s honestly embarassing. It’s defeating. It makes me question so many things I thought I was sure of. It’s the total opposite of fun. It is 100% NOT enjoyable. Call it anxiety, call it doubt, call it karma, (haha that was a band…my undiagnosed ADHD is kicking in and you’ve only just begun reading this blog. Let’s have some fun!) but it doesn’t matter what you call it, it matters what you do with it. Buckle up my friends, you’re about to read an epic story. “Paul, WHAT IF I don’t read it?” Your loss. You’ll never know if the “what ifs” are true! SO READ IT!
One of the “what ifs” I was struggling with last year was “what if I can’t play more shows?” The crazy thing about this is the very large number of possibilities that were clearly available to fix this problem. Let’s list a few…
Nike that junk and JUST DO IT.
Ask your band/artist friends.
Promote more.
Host your own.
These are just a few that were obvious, but in typical Paul/starving artist/full of doubt fashion, I just kept on letting the “what if” rule and slammed my head against the wall (metaphorically) and let worry do its thing. Then in November I got a message from a friend. “Dude, you should apply to this, you’d be a great fit.” Thanks to my good friend Chris Bernstorf, I applied to Winter Wind Down Fest, got accepted, and played one of my favorite festivals to date. I wrote more in detail about WWD back in March, so please go read the “What the Flip Am I Doing?” blog! Chris helped me through one of the “what ifs”. I not only got to play a show, but I got to meet a ton of rad people. Which brings us to the next “what if”...
“What if I don’t meet more like minded artists?” I LOVE meeting new people! My favorite thing is meeting people who play music or who love music. It’s an instant bond and leads to such solid conversation. 2025 was a great year for meeting new artists/people. My dear friend Zach Alexander and I did a short but rewarding acoustic tour. We had a few rough moments on the Kentucky shows, but they were still memorable and worth it. My rad friend Andrew Alojipan from Kept on Hold booked us a hometown show and not only did we get to play with him, new friends were made. It was a wonderful crowd.
I’ve had the privilege to play shows with some of the folks since then and it has been such a blessing! 2026 has been a continuation of meeting new artists/friends, and finally doing shows with some I’ve known for a bit. Here’s the story of one of those shows…
One of the people I met at WWD was Anna Owens. Anna is a fantastic songwriter, performer, and one of the most fun people I’ve gotten to spend time with. We had some great talks at WWD and I was determined to get her on the Mi Landing Podcast, and have her play some shows up here in Michigan. I honestly didn’t know how or when, but I knew it was going to happen. So this started more as a “how the flip do I make this happen” and not a “what if”, at least at first. A few months went by and I landed on a weekend, sent her a message, and she put it on her calendar. The funny thing is (I don’t think I told her this, so Anna if you’re reading this, hahaha now you know!) I only had shows pending. Nothing was confirmed but something in me said “there is no ‘what if these fall through’, there is only ‘somehow, some way, we are playing shows and podcasting this weekend!’” There were some headaches in booking this epic weekend. Emails getting lost, lineups changing, venues changing, and some other logistics. Thankfully, by the grace of God, everything fell into place, and Anna being the crazy adventurous person she is (and that’s a compliment!) drove to MI and played 3 shows. Friday night was WILD! We played at the Sanctuary in Detroit (shoutout to TSDMAAC! We love what you do and we love your new home!) and we had a killer lineup! Anna opened, and let her grit fly playing for her first Detroit crowd. Outside of her opening with my favorite song, she sassed the crowd when some folks were talking while she was on stage. I was SO PROUD of her for standing her ground and continuing to play a great set. Then my friends in Wane Poetic played and man, I love these dudes! Drew was very open and real about some details of his life (pray for him as he is doing chemo!) and the heart behind some of their songs. I have jammed with 3 out of 4 of them multiple times and they are so talented! This was my first time seeing them and I was not disappointed! After Wane Poetic, I had a career goal come true! I had been wanting to play a show with The Drive Home, especially after having Zelda on the podcast earlier this year. Well, that “what if I booked a show with The Drive Home” turned into “OMG I GET TO PLAY WITH THE DRIVE HOME!” I love these dudes! I’ve known Austin the drummer since he was a teenager, and he has grown up to be a good dude and a solid drummer. Sean is a sick bassist with a killer tone and great stage show. Zelda has become a good friend, supporter, and is a true artist. The dude is an incredible songwriter, frontman, and guitarist. He LOVES the local scene and truly wants the best for bands. They absolutely are a band you need to see live! They killed it that night! In addition to having Anna play her first Detroit show, getting to play with my friends’ bands, and play at a new venue, my band Think it Over did our first show in 7 years! We had a blast! It felt SO GOOD to play those songs again and to be in a better place now compared to back then. It was a special night, and I am so thankful it was shared with new friends, old friends, and memories were made!
It feels good to look back and say “wow, that ‘what if’ is now a ‘what’s next?’”. I have no doubt I will play with all these artists again, hopefully sooner than later. Anna will come back to MI for another show and another trip across the border to the great white north known as Canada. It “altered her brain chemistry”, for real, go ask her about it! Maple syrup is addictive! We recorded an episode of the Mi Landing Podcast that will drop in December, but until then, please go follow her and jam her music!
Another “what if” I’ve been asking myself is “what if this is all I’m going to be?” Yes. That is depressing. Yes. That is self-depricating. Yes, it’s honestly pathetic but it’s still honest. When you do something for so long but you always live in fear, you ask yourself a question like this. Being a “full time” musician has been my dream since I was 14. What that looks like has changed in 21 years (that’s freaking WEIRD to say, 21 years?! Don’t worry, that’s another blog coming soon!) but it’s still the goal. I’ve without a doubt made some great steps/choices toward making this dream a reality, but I’ve also made some weak steps and poor choices toward it. In the last year, in my head has been a rotation of the question “what if this is all I’m going to be?” and the question “how do I break out of this and move into something better?”. I’ve mentioned this before, but working 2 jobs while playing shows and trying to build your brand (Mi Landing) has been a growing/learning experience. It has also been exhausting mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically. I’ve been praying a lot lately and having conversations with people I trust about what I should do. Do I leave one job? If so, which one? What will people say? Should I care what they think? What does God want me to do? (As a Christian, sometimes that’s the hardest one. Because sometimes we don’t truly want the answer!) These questions have led to great conversations, and given me much to think over. After a year, I am finding myself asking the question “when do I make the move?”. It feels good to be asking that one, and not “what if this is all I’m going to be?” There will be another blog soon about how I plan to answer that question. There are things falling into place and I am excited despite some fear. For now all I can say is ML35. Let go of fear, don’t wait too long, and jump when you need to jump.
The last “what if” I’m going to mention is “what if I’m wrong?” It’s such a simple question. It’s such a common question. It’s such an ANNOYING AND DRAINING AND FEAR FILLED QUESTION AND I HATE IT. But I think we ALL ask it at one point or another in life. I shamefully admit, the older I get, the more I worry about being wrong. There’s been MANY times I have been wrong. But being wrong isn’t always bad if you LEARN. Sometimes you have to be wrong to learn the right thing. As I am trying to make better choices, set up the rest of my life, waste less time, and overall be a better human, I am learning sometimes I am going to get it wrong. But maybe “wrong” is more so “learn from this and do better next time.” Which doesn’t feel wrong, that feels like growth. Being wrong can hurt. Being wrong can be embarrassing. I am learning that “what if I’m wrong?” can be turned into “what can I learn?” But hey, maybe I’m wrong…here’s to learning and growing!
There’s a lot of “what ifs”. You might get some wrong. But you can turn the “what if” into a “what’s next?” and do something totally better than what you thought possible. So book the shows. Contact your artist friends. Ask for help. Make a decision no matter how difficult. Pray about it. What if you didn’t let fear control you? That’s a what if worth conquering. Don’t let all the “what ifs” be true, prove them wrong and grow. What if you read this blog and you hated it? That’s fine, I’ve been wrong before… but what if you read it and now you’re thinking “what if I finally did the thing?”. Yep. That’s what I was hoping for! GO DO IT.
Here’s what’s coming next with the Mi Landing Blog!
Good Idea! Too Bad You Won’t Do it (August)
Not Plain White Band T’s (September)
19 Years of “I Don’t Drink” and How I’m Still Messed Up (October)
That One Time I Missed Thanksgiving (November)
Another One Down (December)
Stay tuned. Through the ups and downs we go!
-Paul