The Power of Positivity: José Elias and Richie Peña on Overcoming Adversity (Episode 109)

Make Music Your Business.

Some episodes are about gear, gigs and getting paid. This one is about something bigger. In Episode 109 of The Career Musician, Nomad sat down with two longtime friends: saxophonist José Elias, known as EliSax, and drummer Richie Peña, who has played for Natalie Grant, Babyface, Toni Braxton, David Foster and Andrea Bocelli.

In 2015, Eli suffered a massive stroke that weakened his right side, in the middle of a recording session at Richie's place. He lost the use of his right hand. Today he plays again, on a saxophone modified so it can be played with one hand. This is a story about overcoming adversity as a musician, and about the power of positivity, persistence and good friends.

Don't take your gift for granted

Eli picked up the saxophone at seven, after finding his aunt's marching band horn in a box under his grandmother's bed. Once the bug bit, nothing else could replace it. Neighbors in the projects could hear him practicing while they played baseball. Even with a day job, he would come home and practice for hours.

So when the stroke took his hand, it took the one thing he always turned to, whether he was angry, sad or happy. He read the group something he wrote in his journal about three months in:

"From my brightest day to my darkest hour, I've always had one thing that has never left my side: the love I have for playing my sax."

José Elias, 13:25

Richie put the lesson simply before Eli told his story: we forget how lucky we are to have this gift of music, and we take it for granted. Eli's version, from the other side of it: don't.

Count every small win

Eli was paralyzed for the first few months. Hopelessness, he said, comes in easy when you can't see a solution. What pulled him through was looking at every step as a win. Six months in, he wrote that he had started walking without a wheelchair. In reality he got up, took two steps and sat back down. But that is how he chose to see it. The next win was talking loud enough for someone to hear him.

He was always a positive person, he said, but the stroke amplified it a thousand percent. If the stroke didn't kill him, nothing was going to bring him down. That kind of resilience is the Energy in the ETHOS code, and it applies to every musician facing the normal peaks and valleys of this life. As Eli put it, your musical life will have obstacles too, and people who try to put you down. Keep going. You are doing it for your love, not theirs.

Persistence: the email that sat in junk mail

Nobody was going to hand Eli a solution, so he went looking for one. Through his year of recovery he made phone calls and sent emails about his idea for a saxophone he could play with one hand. One instrument maker in Wisconsin didn't answer for months. A friend urged him to keep at it. When the builder finally called back, it turned out the email had been sitting in his junk folder.

Nomad stopped the show on that point. The person you are trying to reach is usually not ignoring you on purpose. People are busy. They want to help, on their own time. Follow up anyway.

"There is no secret. The secret is determination, perseverance, hard work. There's no substitute for putting in the time."

Nomad, 35:19

The call came, Eli said, just as his savings ran out after a cross-country road trip he took to prove to himself he could still live a normal life. With help from friends and a fundraiser, the builder modified his favorite horn, a Mark VI, so the changes could later be reversed. Eli still has to bend some notes with his embouchure, and his right hand's muscle memory still tries to play. He plays anyway. Luck = preparation + opportunity, and Eli made his own opportunity.

Put it out, and make time for your own music

Eli and Richie, with Nomad on guitar, had worked on an album years before the stroke. Eli kept saying it wasn't good enough. Now he tells every musician: put your ideas out there, because one day you might regret it. Those old tracks became the core of new live sessions he recorded with one hand.

Eli always wanted to be the artist, even when tours were offered. Nomad, after nearly 30 years making music for other people, had just shifted to focusing on his own. His challenge to listeners: even if you work for others, always make time for your own music.

Everybody needs a Richie

Eli gave Richie a lot of the credit. Richie was on the other end of every call saying go. Nomad agreed. He brought Richie out to audition for the Babyface gig, with no promises, and Richie earned it. They worked together for years. Richie was the one who'd tell Nomad he had worked enough for one day. When you find that kind of chemistry and synergy with other musicians, hold onto it. Work begets work, and so does friendship.

"When you see me, you still will see somebody that's handicapped, but my spirit is not handicapped. Only my body."

José Elias, 1:05:57

The takeaway

For Eli, success is waking up, playing his saxophone and being happy with it, and giving hope to anyone who needs it. For Richie, it is looking back on your work and feeling proud of it, whether 10,000 people noticed or nobody did. He also reminded everyone that it takes both sides of the brain: the talent, and the discipline to manage your next check. Have a routine, set goals on a timeline, and treat your music like a business. If you want a framework, start with the free plan of attack (POA) worksheet or the free Get the Gig guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

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