BY BRITTANY DANIELLE for WEEKLY VOLCANO 4/17/26 |
Perfectionism has been at the center of our world for so long. If something is not done or said right the first time, we move on. We demand the finished product as if we forgot that there is a path from the beginning to the end. They are a hack. They do not know what they are doing. They are canceled.
We, the consumers, do not seem to care where a person came from, where they are going, or what drives them. Instant gratification. We are interested in what they can provide for us right now, and if there is something ugly in their past, we do not care that they have learned from it. We do not forgive, and we absolutely will not forget, because we have the screenshots.
Artists living in this kind of world lose interest in development, and exploration dims. It becomes secret or silent, or it is not explored at all. AI and apps can round the imperfect edges that we do not want anyone to see, and we advertise a polished, societally polite version of ourselves. Finished products only. Not even a montage to show the audience how the ending came into being.
When artists stop exploring, playing, or questioning for fear of cancellation or failure, there is no art. There are corporate and politically correct echo chambers resembling art, completely devoid of a message or feeling. When exploration is fraught with landmines, the product becomes safe. It is no longer an expression of the artist; rather, it becomes an acceptable and watered-down version of what it once was.
Imagine your favorite artist. What would have happened if they were never given the chance to develop? Think of artists who have been in the industry for a long time and how much they have changed, and the negative press they received when trying something new or when they had a very human moment.
So, what if the exploration was safe?
On Purpose Studio, run by Chris Blount, is all about the development of the artist. The mission is clear: “Come here, get messy, be ugly, invite failure, learn about yourself, collaborate with others, and develop your art on purpose.”
Blount, who is originally from New Orleans and came to the Pacific Northwest through Dallas and Chicago, was raised with music and theater at the forefront of his upbringing. His father worked at the Ethiopian Community Theater, where Blount was exposed to the stage, acting, music, and dance, and saw firsthand what artist development looked like.
In his early years, he was what he described as “a sponge for music, consuming everything I could get my hands on. I wanted to hear what each area had to say. I could literally hear the heartbeat of Atlanta and know what was going on there by listening to the music. I did not need to read the news to know; it was in the music. Same with the West Coast and the Seattle area, New York City, etc. You can hear what is happening in an area through the music.”
“Now,” Blount laments, “that has been lost. Because the practice of artist development and the permission for artists to develop have been lost. We are worried about what will hit, cancel culture, what will go viral, and we lose our voices. We also stop leaning on each other. Collaboration is a huge part of development, and it also builds a strong community within the artist network.”
After years of his own musicianship, Blount took a step back from making music, but he has not hung up his hat. Instead, he leaned into the need he saw for musicians to have a space where they did not have to be right. He asked himself, “How do you enrich a community?” when you are facing the daunting “curse of a blank canvas.”
In 2019, he started a studio. If you know how to put two and two together, you can imagine part of what happened next. But it was not lost to the wind. This first studio was in a shack at his rental property, and when the world shut down, so did the shack. It was torn down, and he had to start over regardless.
Four years ago, Blount had a friend reach out to let him know there was a space he could probably use if he wanted, and he was off to the races again. Through his own artist development, he has found that his joy is providing rehearsal space for musicians of all levels. He loves watching and helping them work through their music and find their vision. “The action of creation is exciting. Watching people feel safe in this space to just be themselves and move with their art and their intention is inspiring because I am still learning too!” Blount enthused.
On Purpose Studio has also been used for podcasting. As the podcaster for Big Brother Club for Grown Men, Blount found that when other podcasters used the studio, the same thing happened. People felt safe, honest, and unencumbered to pursue their passion with intention.
Blount is opening the studio for a jam night next month and hopes to make it a regular event. “Loneliness comes when we stop learning from each other and try to be perfect in front of each other. Jams are a perfect opportunity for genres to collide: genres in music and in lifestyles. We must talk to each other and hear each other’s views.”
This concept works when artists make the agreement with each other that we are all here to learn something from one another. No fear of cancellation, being wrong, or being right. This is how we start to build dialogue with each other and take actionable steps toward healing as a society, one artistic step at a time.
Keep an eye out for the next open jam session by following Chris Blount at @onpurposerecordings on Facebook and Instagram.
On Purpose Studio
1130 Broadway #206, Tacoma WA 98402
@onpurposerecordings
Email: onpurposellc3@gmail.com
