Meet singer/songwriter Curt Yagi. Smart, savvy and posessing a 24 karat heart, Curt has one heck of a day job. Making music is one thing, and teaching others to do it, too, can be a tidy living, but as the Executive Director of ROCK, a San Francisco-area nonprofit, Curt really is in the business of changing lives. And, through ROCK, he's done a little changing himself.
"I spent over a decade in the corporate sector," says Curt. As a consultant with a BS from UC Davis in Computer Science, he was involved in the "dot-com times", and he even worked for a collection agency. It wasn't until he joined ROCK, first as a volunteer 1998, that he truly found his calling.
One can imagine that heading up an organization that provides opportunities for at-risk kids would be good for the soul. For Curt, who had previously played in a few bands where other musicians took center stage, a rather unintended side-effect occured. Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, he decided to take a leap of faith and strike out on his own, going solo.
"After all, if you can gain the trust and attention of 50 elementary school kids, performing at a gig is nothing," says Curt. "I really only started to write and sing about a year and a half ago after realizing that I could handle being the center of attention on stage. I don’t think I’d be where I am at now in my music career were it not for my job."
Ah. I love a good day job.
Visit the ROCK website to learn more about Real Options for City Kids, and check out Curt's Myspace page for more about the man, and the musician, as well as info on his upcoming debut album.
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