The Story Of Count Morris
I was not born for success in the music industry. This may sound like a pessimistic statement, however I say this as I did not grow up with any kind of musical background.
My name is AJ Morrissey, and I was born in Danbury, Connecticut. As far as music goes, there is not a whole lot of musical super stardom that was born in this state. I spent the first 16 years of my life dedicated to sports (Baseball to be more specific) I played travel and AAU baseball for my entire childhood.
I learned a lot from playing sports and met hundreds of great people through it. What I really wanted to do though, was make music. Even though I had never played an instrument during my childhood days, when I hit 17-18 years old, none of that really mattered.
Thanks to advancements in technology, I learned through a friend that I could make music with software called a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) This was music to my ears...
I started my music career at the end of my senior year of high school (2012). I downloaded FL Studio and started experimenting with the software, just trying to learn the basics. After a few months of getting used to the software and getting past the initial learning curve, I was actually starting to produce beats, with no musical background. Granted, my earliest productions were god awful, I was at least doing something I had dreamed of doing.
Fast forward some time, I was starting to work with local hip-hop artists and started to produce singles and mixtapes for them. I even started learning the engineering side of the business, recording and mixing/mastering music for the artists that I was producing. After a couple years of constantly making music, I was eventually able to land place 2 of my beats to mainstream rappers; Ace Hood, Quan & Jim Jones, all thanks to the power of connections mixed with a strong work ethic.
Things were looking really up for me at this point, and I continued to practice my craft everyday. However, I eventually felt like I was 'stuck' in a constant creative block. I felt that I was producing the same type of track over and over again, and not able to really flex any real musicianship skills.
After about my 3rd year of making music, I decided it was time for me to take the next step and go to a school to study music production. I took the leap of faith, gave up everything I knew like my friends, family, my 3 jobs, and my then girlfriend, just to go to my dream school; Full Sail University.
Now here I am, 1 week from graduating at my dream school with a Bachelors in Music Production and I feel more ready for success in this industry than I ever had. I went through MANY tough spots during my time at school and in this whole musical journey of mine, but I do not regret a single decision. Every day I wake up and do something new and I'm constantly learning and perfecting my craft. This is the most rewarding job I could ever ask for.
