Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Coates.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began learning to play the guitar around 18 years old and I learned with my friends acoustic and played on his back porch untill the sun came up one time, untill I finally got the money to purchase a guitar of my own while working my little part time job at my local Sears in their hardware department. I sang every time I got in my truck and I just assumed that if I kept it up I would eventually be able to sing well enough with the guitar too and I sung loud and well eventually got to where I could notice it ringing out and then I turned to my friend and said did that sound good enough and he went like yeah I think I know it did cause he knew I was going to take it way too far and the next thing you know I’m posting on social media about my new love for the outdoors while singing in my camouflage I think I can find that video somewhere I’m not entirely sure though. And here I am 32 years old and still making videos and sharing with my small following and my plan is to attempt to reach more Instagram followers with what I’ve posted to YouTube over the past few years whilst I had stopped posting to Instagram in the recent year or two because of the focus I wanted to put on being a YouTuber. I felt like folks would find their music that they listen to and discover now more so with YouTube than anything else. But hey who knows. So when an album does get released with likely the songs I’ve recorded live that are listed on my YouTube channel that I’ve written, I’ll potentially already have a following from some exposure on the platforms I’m on right now, right away from covers and as mentioned a brief second ago the really well written songs I’ve produced in the videos on my Instagram and YouTube played with only me and an acoustic. Thanks…
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it’s been a difficult one to say the least I struggled with my mental health being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and having to live with ongoing hallucinations that I’m really forced to go along with everyday in the everyday life that I’m living, while living with these voices who are present with me over other people and other things that I deal with on a day to day basis, I should not fail to mention going to jail on two separate occasions for once in all actuality for following the one female voice to a persons house and while being there I was charged for trespassing and then also charged for what I had in my pocket when I arrived at the jail and was searched properly I ended up with another charge that was considered contraband at the time. Fortunately a year later or close to it I got the charges dropped through the court system by doing just what I was supposed to do and followed through with the deal or program rather that my lawyer got me into called the pre trial intervention program. I completed that and since then returned back to my Dad’s business where I work alongside him most days and the voices have gotten significantly better than in the years past where I didn’t know if I was going to make it out in one piece I really didn’t. I since then purchased a newer model car, I’ve kept my motorcycle, which is what I was riding the night when I was arrested for trespassing to begin with. They had to tow it that night and fortunately my Dad got it out of the tow yard and my Mom paid my bail the first time I was arrested, the second time I was arrested on a warrant and I also did not have an eligible bail amount because of the charge so I simply had to do the 3 months that I was thrown into. I spent 4 months in the mental health hospital at the end of the 3 month sentence. Well basically I had only a week left and I whispered to the guard that I was thinking of death while in solitaire or maximum security because I was moved in there after an unavoidable confrontation with someone who wanted to start trouble and I had to take the fall for it and it would so happen that while in solitaire I whispered to that guard what I did and then I suddenly had my jumpsuit taken and was buck naked and then placed in a suicide vest that I couldn’t get on and then had a doctor then order me to a mental health hospital which was a very hard and long stay of like I believe I said 4 months. My Dad picked me up from the hospital well he did eventually and if it weren’t for them two meaning my Mom and Dad and I’d like to also thank my brother right now given the potential chance but thank them for being such a healthy family all together inspite of anything ever thrown our way at all. So..Use what you will. Haha
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I play and sing country music. I do a lot of cover songs and I’ve written some more personal other songs as well. I think I’m a world-class singer you know that reference to that movie with Will Ferrell ?
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I think people can work with me by showing me their work or introducing me to their social media.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coatescamlee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Rw3stCeer/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cameronleecoates
