Mario Evon: Doctor of Music

You know, when I started this blog, my main goal was to tell stories about myself and others who ventured out into the world of the unknowing to simply pursue their dreams. Whether this is something that everybody else will be willing to deal with is beside the point. The strength of that inner yearning and the magnetic pull of that ‘what if’ is too strong to ignore – definitely stronger than the thoughts and opinions of others.

Growing up in the Caribbean where the occupation of doctor, nurse, teacher, lawyer, even secretary, is seen as the pinnacle of concrete success,  it’s hard for one to go to his/her parent or relative, or elder for that matter, and say, “I want to be a singer/dancer/an entertainer.” That’s almost blasphemous, because how are you truly going to make money? I have had first hand experience in that where, after years of shyness, I expressed my interest in singing, and someone I looked up to basically told me to forget it. To tell you the truth, I was broken, and wondered if I should REALLY be thinking of this singing career. No matter how hard I tried to be something else, music always came back to visit me and it told me where I belonged. It’s still doing that, even today.

Mario Evon

Mario Evon can attest to that. When I read a post of his some time ago, I related to everything he was saying. There he was, a doctor, one of the most prestigious occupations in the world, but his heart and mind were in a totally different place all together. Music. “My internship was with the government hospitals Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), Victoria Jubilee, and Bustamante Hospital for Children. Then I worked in Accident and Emergency/Casualty at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Mona for 6 months, then at Bustmante’s Emergency room for about a year. When I returned to Jamaica, I worked at Bustamante as well….I decided to go to Berklee [School of Music] and pursue my musical desires instead of moving on to specialize,” Mario explained.

I can just imagine how that conversation went down with his parents and family. But I don’t think any of that mattered because he went forward to conquer his dream. Since Berklee, he’s been singing all over the place ever since: primarily in New York and Jamaica. Most recently, he went all the way up to the final round in Amateur night at the Apollo, a feat I greatly respect him for. Even taking center stage at the 2010 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival. Seeing his post, and seeing how it met every single criteria for my blog, I asked him if I could use it. And of course, he said yes (smile). Here it is:

M.E. on Recalibration and Focus

“There are moments on this journey, not just of music, but also of life, when I truly felt like I was losing myself.  I felt this way when I worked as a doctor.  I could do my job well, but I had a performer burning inside of me, and that desire was way stronger than medicine.  I denied it for sake of safety and society, and also what I truly thought was right for me at that time.  I then took a risk and went to music school in Boston.  For me that was one of the biggest steps of my life, yet it didn’t seem like such a big risk at the time, but it definitely was one of the best risks I ever took.  That was me refocusing on PASSION and on what my life meant to M.E. and not to everyone else around me.  This realization is amongst one of my many blessings. The weird irony is that even after finding and pursuing my passion, I still had moments when I got lost.  I have had many days, especially here in NY, when I questioned whether I could carry on like this, even when everything else seemed so right.  Good performances, receptive audiences.  I am living my dream.  Performing at the Apollo.  Why stop.  The truth was that I started to feel like my passion was leading me blindly.  I missed my friends, my home, and my family.  I was alone.  It was scary.  Alone, with a vision, and no idea whether it will be fulfilled.  I needed to refocus again.  Recalibrate.  I found ways to do this, like my M.E. day in Central Park.  Calling a few people who mean a lot to me, and touching base with them; Planning a trip back home, and most importantly remembering why I took this risk in the first place, and realigning myself with my goals.

Thrilling the crowd at the 2010 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.

I share with you this snippet, because there will be many times when you are out of focus and feel lost, even within the things you love the most, and it is important to know that this is the time you need to step away and recalibrate.  Refocus, using the things that made you who you are and keep you grounded at all times – Family, real friends, religion, culture.  Whatever it is, just take a moment to remember it and touch base with it.  Realign.  Refocus, and come back ready to conquer again.  The journey wasn’t meant to be easy, but meant for you to grow, and learn from your successes and your mistakes, but preferably with no regrets. So as we would say in Jamaica…Jus wheel an come again!”

But if he’s in a restaurant and somebody is choking, will he still know what to do? Yes. “I’m a General Practitioner (I never went on to specializing), and I’m still registered, and I still practice in the holidays when I go home. I still attend medical conferences in Jamaica (when I can) to help maintain my registration, a.k.a, I still remember my medicine.”

Mario has his sights set on major success. Not mainly for the fame and fortune (although I bet that would be nice), but the mere fact that he can look back on his life and be satisfied knowing that he didn’t chicken out on his true dream. Mario, here’s to you taking The Big Risk! To get more acquainted with Mario’s music visit: www.marioevon.com.  There, you can find every link you need to know more about him, including a link to this blog post on his artist blog, M.E. Exposed.

I’ll leave you to watch him in action. Enjoy!

Until next time!