My life journey can be summed up in a few words: musician, father, talk show host, author, entrepreneur and CEO of a nonprofit. Each responsibility planted seeds the others help cultivate and nurture until the whole blossomed into adulthood. When a saxophone was placed in my hands as a child, I knew we would fit together like “a hand in a glove.” Fatherhood amplified my life, but challenged my confidence in fulfilling such an important role. Entrepreneurship forced better organizational skills, creativity, competitive analyzation, attention to detail and increasing delivery of service. Becoming a DJ and author were like icing on a cake . . . it wasn’t complete without the “sweet stuff.”

PATH OF A MUSICIAN

“Blow your horn, Parham,” somebody once said, and . . . I have spent most of my life doing that! Making music is an essential element of my being, and I feel “naked” without that horn. It has been used to celebrate weddings, ease the pain at funerals and reach out to music lovers worldwide. Take a listen!

Being “real” has been my motto in negotiating the crooks and turns of life. It was truly and expedition! Easy was never the word . . . it was determination. When the going got rough. . . I got going! Here’s what the voyage looked like. . .

THE VOYAGE OF FATHERHOOD

Joy and pride fill my heart when I think of my three daughters. They have made the voyage exploratory and exciting! Each has a special place no one else can fill. Seeing them grow up to be wonderful mothers and successful career women, is more than I could ever ask for. A pathway loomed in front of them, they mapped it out, channeled and watched over it until it reached fruition. Daddy says, “Love you, and keep shining your light in the world!”

A LEAP TO TALK SHOW HOST

“Celebrity Interviews” on EAMTRADIO was not only a leap along the way, it was really “the place 2B!” Sitting in front of some of the world’s greatest musicians and writers gave me a view from a mountaintop. This view took-in faces like: Motown Writer Eddie Holland, Musicians George Bohanan, Kerry Campbell, Pat Lewis, Gino Washington, Ortheia Barnes, Kamau Kenyatta and Activists Dick Gregory and Martha Jean the Queen. As they shared their stories, it was not difficult to see the parallel between their life journeys and mine. I also shared a mic with local artists.

THE ROAD TO ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Every successful artist understands there are two (2) mindsets relative to business and performance. Mastery of one does not necessarily mean mastery of the other. Positive life direction leads to proficiency in both. Development in business led to a record label called Saxville Avenue, EAMTRADIO and Educational Arts Society, a 501 c 3 nonprofit. See the following:

The mission of Educational Arts Society is to assist aspiring young artists in achieving a positive life direction. We give FREE music lessons and instruments. Core values are stressed in partnership with the chosen skill set.

Saxville Avenue is a record label that produces artists in the following genres: Smooth Jazz, Motown Covers, R&B, Classical and Gospel Jazz.  The latest production will be an online, drama mini-series broadcasted on EAMTRADIO.Com.  Four music videos highlighting several formal legendary Motown singing groups The Four Tops, The Contours, The Vandellas with the new, soulful sound of Vocalist Tammy Trele Davis and Saxophonist Duane Parham.

EAMTRADIO is an online radio station that streams music in a variety of genres. They are jazz, smooth jazz, gospel, blues, R&B, and country. It also has several DJs that talk worldwide with guests on numerous topics. It streams 27/7.

THE BOOK: MY JOURNEY OF LIFE

My pathway in life is chronicled by the autobiography “Can You Hear Me Now?” It summarizes my journey in life—a life that begins with the endearing whispers of childhood, evolves into the struggles and pains of adolescence and explodes with the musical development, excitement and ecstasy of early adulthood.  You will travel with me as my life intertwines with famous musicians, mayors, historians, actors, entrepreneurs and even the family of the Late Martin Luther King Jr.  As the journey into adulthood broadens, widens and yields to the twists and turns of maturity, the whispers, struggles and excitement yield to contentment and near the book’s conclusion, develops into a strong statement of affirmation: You Can Hear Me Now!