Famous in Kalamazoo: The Art of Finding Happiness Wherever You Are

This blog post begins with a song. Meet one of my most recent creations, “Kalamazoo.”

When I was just a kid

I always wanted to be

Just like pretty rockstars

I saw on MTV

I’d tease up all my hair

Wear my mama’s clothes

Grab the nearest hairbrush

And put on a show

Now that I’m older

I’ve got my own band

I sing my own songs

Guitar in hand

I’m still not a rock star

But I gotta admit

That celebrity kind of life

Just isn’t it

My biggest stage is the local bar

I might still drive a beat-up car

But I’m happy where I are

I don’t wanna be a star

But I’ll keep dreaming like I do

I just wanna be famous in Kalamazoo

I wrote this song a few nights back about my thoughts on fame and whether I even want anything resembling it at this point. You see, as a child, I desperately wanted to be a rock star. I was obsessed! I loved watching documentaries about my favorite musicians and how they rose to the top, and I’d always imagine my own story someday. I felt I was destined for the biggest stages on the planet.

Obviously, it’s 2025, I’m almost 32, and I still have not “made it” in music in any significant way. My closest brushes with fame were touring with a pop-punk band and getting to the third round in American Idol (which wasn’t televised, so it doesn’t even count). I’m not noteworthy by any stretch of the imagination — I don’t even have my own Wikipedia article (yet). I should be disappointed, and maybe I am a little bit.

But a part of me is almost relieved.

My girl Chappell was incredibly vocal about her struggles with fame after her meteoric rise to pop stardom this past year. Here she is, saying how she really feels:

Those are some harsh words, but there’s a truth to it. Fame can be crushing and scary if you’re not prepared. People can be cruel to celebrities online. Unhinged creeps are a real problem. Eminem’s “Stan” may seem like an exaggeration of obsessive fandom, but truth is scarier than fiction. The Bjork stalker sticks out in my mind as one of the most horrifying incidents in music history, and who can forget what happened to poor Selena Quintanilla?

I still want to make music, and to be honest, I still want to be “famous,” just on a much smaller scale. I want to be locally famous. I want to be a prominent figure in the community and music scene. I don’t want the Grammys or the Versace gowns. I just want a city where everyone knows my name, and that’s what my new song is about.

I posted a snippet of the song to social media, and one listener described it as the feeling of being content no matter where life takes you, and I really like that. “Kalamazoo” is kind of my new philosophy toward success. It’s finding happiness and fulfillment wherever you are.

So I’ll keep dreaming like I do — I just wanna be famous in Kalamazoo.