We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris DuPont and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Being a full time musician is insane. Some day, it’s logistically impossible and flat out silly. Other days I completely resent every adult in my young life who ever told me it was a bad plan, because on the best days, so much thriving is possible.

I have two sons, and they need a lot of attention and presence right now, so it’s tricky releasing music, running rehearsals, pushing shows, and constantly trying to re-invent the wheel in an ever changing industry. But the past year or so, the balance has gotten better.

One big thing that helped my work/life balance, was stepping away from a lot of gigs and musician side-jobs that weren’t in line with my overall vision. I dropped a big slew of church gigs, partly because I had no time to be creative or be a dad, and partly because I was profoundly stressed out by the “culture war” aspect of many of those places. I slimmed my private teaching schedule way down too. It was a tough call, but I just decided the time needed to go into my studio and performing work. I raised my wedding rates, and said no to any hired event that sounded weird.

Another big part of my work life balance comes from having a great teammate. In my case, having a really grounded partner, who is also a musician herself, has been really illuminating and life giving, because we can get lots of great work done together, and then we can rest hard. We both get the stresses of the job.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a singer/songwriter, and a music producer. In this day and age, home production is the most common approach, so there are many people doing this at a very high level, and in many ways I’m trying to learn and keep up. But if anything sets me apart, I’d say that it’s in my songwriting, my guitar aesthetic, and my taste for thick sonic landscapes.

As a writer, I almost never put down lyrics that aren’t the result of extended periods of thought, mulling, and consideration. I often wish I DIDN’T work that way, but it’s who I am. I think my lyrics tell a story, and I think they give language to uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, and give my listeners a comfortable place to deal with them. I think my music asks for patience on the part of the listener, but I do my best to offer enough interesting turns to make it worth riding along with me.

As a guitarist, I have a long list of disciplines and tastes in my background. I was way into the metal/hardcore scene in the early 2000s, and still love listening to Circa Survive and Deftones when I’m all by myself. I studied classical guitar in college, and that helped me get really technically proficient, and also encouraged me to ditch the flatpick and use fingerstyle work to paint in my songs. On the electric guitar, I’m often building a landscape rather than “playing the guitar,” and I’m always searching for sounds that will sort of envelop the listener in a blanket.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Dude, firstly, we would eat. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti have a great food scene. I love getting breakfast at Jefferson Market, that place is second to none. We’d get coffee from Hyperion. There are many great nature walks to be had, like on the trails off Huron River Drive, or further west in Chelsea at Park Lyndon. If this was a week in Michigan, and we weren’t limited to my town, we’d hit Grand Haven or South Haven and see Lake Michigan and drive around on the Red Arrow Highway. We’d hit some cocktail bars in Detroit, and hit some of the burger and taco spots in Ferndale. See a show at the Magic Bag for something loud, and at The Ark for something more like what I do.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shout out is KYLEE PHILLIPS. I’m likely biased, as I am her partner in life as well as music.
But she’s the real deal. We met a little over a decade ago, and I remember thinking “holy shit, that’s a voice.” She’s one of the best singers and songwriters I’ve ever heard anywhere, and I was always a bit baffled that she wasn’t trying to take over Nashville or LA.
The past couple years she has been a massive encouragement to me as I re-launch my songwriter efforts. We back each other up however we can. I lend guitar parts, back vocals, and some band-direction and arrangement contributions to her live shows and albums. She does keys and vocals on my music, and makes my live shows immensely more polished. She also does a lot of back end branding and logistical work when I’m doing a release. But most importantly, she is a great teammate in the never-ending conversation that is songwriting. What is it, how do I do it better, and why the hell do I keep trying. If it wasn’t for those conversations, and her undying belief in what I do, I might have hung it up.

Website: chrisdupontmusic.com

Instagram: instagram.com/chrisdupontmusic

Twitter: twitter.com/chrisdupont

Facebook: facebook.com/chrisdupont

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKf5yCS7sOR_vfBuI6kQkWQ

Image Credits
1st image: credit: Leisa Thompson 2nd image: credit Robby Fisher I’d like to submit the rest via google drive if that’s okay.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMichigan is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.