Behind the Issue:
Sucré
We live in a town of dreams, the likes of which have been the subject of many songs, movies, TV shows, and urban legends. Almost without exception, the key word in these stories about big dreams is well, big. Nashville (both the show and the movie), or “Down on Music Row,” wouldn’t really work if the characters therein had reasonable expectations. If they did, the whole narrative—that rote yet beloved story told most recently by nowOscar winner Lady Gaga—would fall apart. After all, who wants to watch a movie about a guy who moves to town with nothing but a secure, decently paying day job and dreams of one day opening for a mid-level touring act, or maybe just coming close to selling out Exit-In? Regardless of artists’ ambitions when they move here, the scenario we just described is what “making it” actually looks like for most folks in town. Some people may call this settling; they may think anything short of selling out Bridgestone or having a crappy biopic made about their meteoric rise to fame signifies failure. Well, we’re not part of that camp. We think making a modest living doing something you love—and doing it to the absolute best of your ability—is not only admirable, but enviable. If you’re doing that now, maybe it looks a little different than what you initially had mind. Maybe you have to supplement your income with a day job you’re not crazy about; maybe it means you’ll never be roommate-less; maybe it means touring in a 1997 Ford Aerostar
instead of a Learjet. No, the Country Music Hall of Fame won’t come knocking on your door anytime soon, and no, Rami Malek will never play you in a bad movie. But you’re doing what you want to do and making the art you want to make, so who gives a shit? If you got into the entertainment industry for stars on sidewalks or gold-plated plaques, not only are you delusional, but you are doing it for the wrong reasons. At the risk of sounding like a Nashville fortune cookie, we’ll simply sum it up by saying this: it’s the stuff you make that matters, not other people’s evaluation of it. That’s why we admire and respect the stories in this month’s issue. Whether it’s a group of local fashion designers, restaurateurs (we use that term loosely here), or musicians, the people in these pages are happy with what they’re doing—even if what they’re doing doesn’t involve world domination. To quote Darren King, one half of this month’s cover story, Sucré: “It’s okay if part of the dream has to die. And if maybe that part of the dream is that you’re super successful or really famous, maybe that part should have died a long time ago. And it’s even hard to let go of that. But I think we’ve done that to some degree slowly over the last few years, and now we just want to do something we love and be great parents.” That’s the sort of big dream we can get behind. Read the whole story beginning on page 32, and keep in mind that there’s no shame in landing among the clouds—they’re better than the ground.
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