He opened up about doing the “Seniors & Songwriters” YouTube series. “It has been awesome getting to meet seniors and hear their stories and also be able to perform for them and brighten their day. I had a show in Brooksville, Florida for Operation HeartF.E.L.T (Feeding Empty Little Tummies backpack program) and it got rained out. There were vendors at the concert and I went around and shook the hand of everyone who came out and apologized to them for no one being there due to the storm,” he said.
Dawson continued, “I got to the last tent and they were a local assisted living facility called The Grande. I asked where the facility was and they said it was right across the street and they had been listening to us during soundcheck and enjoyed it thoroughly. I told them then why don’t we just go across the street and do a live concert while they are eating lunch. They arranged it and I did.”
“I pulled out some old Hank Williams Sr. songs and they sat up in their chairs and their eyes started glowing and it seemed like they were sitting front row at his show in the 1950s. It’s awesome how a song can bring back memories for someone. After I got through I got to shake hands and hug people’s necks pre-Covid,” he said.
“Kevin Carlin from Meridian Senior Living contacted me and the rest is history. I had an idea and he had his ideas and we put this show together and Matt Cohn and Joey Rosetti from Hitfire Media shot this episode for us. It was amazing meeting Mr. Perkins and learning about how he changed history and is a legend in my mind. I hope that this show really opens up discussions and helps us learn more about the heroes that are the foundation of our country and our world,” he added.
On his daily inspirations, he said, “When God gives me every single breath I feel grateful for each of them and try to impact as many people as possible with positivity. My wife inspires me and every morning when I wake up next to her I can’t even believe she’s real. My Family, friends, and strangers who are doing amazing things to make this world a better place inspire me as well.”
He opened up about life during the quarantine. “I have actually been pretty creative during this time. When life gives your lemons make some lemon meringue pie, At first, it was really hard being in quarantine but I knew that one day it would end and was just grateful to have someone next to me that got me through it when I felt cabin fever. I didn’t think my wife and I could get any closer but it brought us closer than ever before. It showed us how precious life really is,” he said.
“I do see a silver lining,” he exclaimed. “People are going to be more hungry for entertainment than ever and I’m ready to get back to playing shows for people. I can’t wait to play new songs and meet new folks and get back behind the mic.”
Regarding his plans for 2021 and beyond, he said, “I’m just going to keep on writing and getting better at my craft. You can never have too many songs and you never know when you will write a song that might change or save somebody’s life when they hear it.”
He listed Keith Urban, U2, or Bryan Adams as his dream collaboration choices in music. “Those are some of the best musicians that have influenced me. It would definitely be a dream to work with any of them,” he said.
On his definition of the word success, he said, “Success means so many different things to so many different people. To some, it may mean money and cars but to me, it means something completely different. I always had people ask me ‘When are you going to make it?’ I always follow that question with ‘I have already made it!’ I have a beautiful wife that loves me, I have a roof over my head, I have a car that runs, I have food on the table and I feel so blessed and feel so fortunate!’ The bigger I get the more I can give and the more impact I can make. I always say there is a huge difference between impressing and impacting. I work hard every minute I’m awake and am so grateful for what I have.”
“Like Markos Papadatos said in an interview I found online: ‘Success is not success unless it is shared with other people’,” he remarked.
On the “Seniors & Songwriters” YouTube Series, he said, “I would say if you want to have your heart warmed up like a piece of your Grandma’s apple pie then watch ‘Seniors and Songwriters’ you will definitely not regret getting to hear from some of the most amazing people who have ever graced this planet.”
“I have watched Mr. Perkins story too many times to count and I still get chills every time I watched how he impacted this world. When I was interviewing him I didn’t want to leave because of all his stories. We can learn so much from our seniors and that is why I’m going around with Meridian to digitally engrave these stories on the internet so others can learn from them and pass the knowledge down to the next generation,” he concluded.
