We had the good fortune of connecting with Gaurav Bali and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gaurav, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
There have been many difficult decisions over the last 20 years for me. I think the most recent one was at the end of 2015 when I decided to relocate to Nashville Tennessee. The reason why I had to make that decision was because of THe most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make: leaving my original band after 15 years.

We started out driving around with a van and trailer like every other band and 15 late years later we had made a few albums, toured with some really huge bands, and had a song that made it to number 15 on the Active Rock radio charts in 2014. However, with all the amazing experiences, the only thing that we didn’t do was earn a living. That’s always the hardest part of being an artist: paying your bills. Even with the success of our single in 2014, it was becoming obvious that if the momentum of a song being that high up on the radio charts wasn’t enough to turn the band into a successful business then it just wasn’t gonna ever happen. Also, at the time, we were having some disagreements about certain career moves, what direction to take, and who to work with. It was obvious to me that my time in the band had run its course, but after working so hard for 15 years and sacrificing so much it was still a very difficult decision to leave in the fall of 2014.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Currently, I’m focusing 100% of my energy on teaching; especially helping young aspiring musicians to acquire the skills that they need to become professional working musicians. I think that my experience over the last 25 years definitely is fairly unique in the sense that I’ve been an original recording artist, and a so-called “hired gun” (playing guitar and recording for other artists ), as well as a teacher since I was 18 years old. Bringing the practical skills that are needed to be a professional musician is very important. One of the main things I’ve learned over the years is that a majority of the skills needed to be a professional musician have very little to do with how well you player instrument, and more to do with how you get along and work with other people. Your students are going to ask themselves, “Why should I listen to this person? Have they actually succeeded in using the methods and techniques that they’re teaching me?” That’s a valid question, and I think when people see how privileged I’ve been and who I’ve gotten a chance to work with, tour with, and make albums with, they see that there’s got to be some thing to what I am suggesting that they do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes 100% to my parents and entire family. Once they saw how dedicated I was and that being an artist was going to be my life, they were “all in” also. Trying to succeed as an artist is difficult enough without having your family- who should be your support system- working against you. Even simple encouragement really helps, and my family has gone way beyond that for the last 25 years!

Website: Gauravbali.com

Instagram: Gauravbalimusic

Youtube: Gauravbalimusic

Other: Tiktok: @Gauravbalimusic

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