Translator: Oliver Friedman Reviewer: Krystian Aparta
Alright.
I was born in Israel.
I started playing drums when I was 18,
with not much encouragement, you could say.
I was raised with pretty rigid ideas
as to what was considered to be a good profession,
compared to what was considered to be a complete waste of time.
My dad died, when I was 7 years old, in a car accident,
and my mom raised me and my 6 brothers and sisters by herself.
And like the typical Jewish mother,
it was really important to her
that all of us go steady and have a proper profession,
and let's just say a drummer was not on that list.
But regardless of how bad she thought the idea was,
I was determined to give my dreams a shot.
So, I decided that I was going to move to Los Angeles
and try to make drumming a career.
Should be easy enough, no?
Well, no. Pretty quickly, I realized
that LA was filled with unbelievably good drummers
that have been playing drums their entire lives,
and that no one was just waiting for me
to show up one day and say, "Alright, I'm here!"
You know, for the longest time,
I was just waiting.
I was waiting for something to happen;
I was waiting for, you know,
that one big opportunity that was going to propel me
into the professional drummers' world.
Or for someone to discover me.
It's so easy to get stuck in this victim mentality,
where we're the innocent bystander of our own reality.
That's pretty much what I was doing.
Then, one day a friend came with the idea
for us to shoot an audition tape
and try to get on "America's Got Talent."
And, so we did. We shot a video,
a rendition of "Toxicity" by System of a Down.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Well, let's just say the show didn't think much of us,
but the video quickly became an Internet sensation,
gaining millions of views.
And that just blew me away.
We uploaded this one video
and suddenly we were a part of millions of people's lives.
And even if, in a minute sort of way, I was doing what I loved,
people were digging it.
So, you know, I committed to an idea without knowing what will follow.
And, looking back, that's a huge reason
why I'm here talking to you today.
I picked a tangible goal
and I made my way to the other side.
As pointless as it may have seemed at the time,
or as much as people around me --
with the exclusion of my partner Lior --
thought that it was a complete waste of time.
As a result, I was not only practicing my craft and getting better,
I was actually sharing my experience with the entire world
on the biggest and most accessible stage out there: the Internet.
Albert Einstein once said,
"Genius is one percent talent and 99 percent hard work."
I don't think I'm the greatest drummer around.
Watching some of these early videos that I shot seriously makes me cringe.
But it's not about being perfect and most flawless.
It's about consistency, authenticity and, in a way,
being OK with the imperfections and going for it anyways.
And so, with this idea in mind, I consistently uploaded videos,
every Tuesday and every Friday,
building my own Meytal brand one video at a time.
The people who liked my videos shared them with their friends
on various social media platforms.
And every video I uploaded served as an ambassador
making more and more people, if nothing else, aware of my existence.
The more videos I had, the more people shared them,
until a snowball effect was created where there was enough body of work
for me to stop shooting videos and, yet, keep growing exponentially.
By the time I had 100 drum videos, I already had a massive online following,
I was endorsed by the biggest drum companies in the world
and had a re-launch pad to whatever it was that I wanted to do next.
And what I wanted to do next --
and the reason I moved all the way from Israel -- was this:
(Music)
That was me and my band.
We'd just finished a full US tour
opening for a legendary metal act --
last week, actually.
Through social media and crowdfunding,
I was able to raise funds for my very own original album.
That was the first time that I decided to try and write original music
after years of playing along to other people's music.
And after 2 years of writing, and what seemed to be an endless struggle
to keep myself from over-scrutinizing every tiny part in its creation,
the album was ready.
And yet, I wasn't sure if I could successfully release the album.
I had the notion that I needed the credibility
of a big label to come in and say, "She's legit."
You know, coming from YouTube, you're exposed to so much criticism
that the idea that I wasn't a real artist almost made me sign a terrible record deal
that would've taken all of my rights and given me very little in return.
But, thankfully, at the very last minute,
I decided that I wasn't going to sell myself short
for the appearance of success that the label offered,
and that I was going to independently release the album.
First week the album was released, it sold over 10,000 copies
and charted number one on the Billboard chart, "Best New Artist."
(Laughter)
(Applause)
The relationship between me and my audience
made that possible -- not a label --
a relationship which started out with one single video shot in my bedroom
while my neighbor was screaming at me to shut up, right outside my window.
(Laughter)
The music industry has always been this closed off, exclusive club
where you needed that fancy record deal to go along with the big manager
and the publicist that can get you on "The Tonight Show."
But that's not the case anymore.
The Internet has democratized the music industry forever.
You don't need to pass an audition.
You don't need anyone's approval. You don't need to be discovered.
You can do it yourself.
Start today.
Thank you.
(Applause)
(Music)
This life
will never be to you devoted.
This heart
will never let you in again.
High pressure, bonds breaking, held back against the wall.
Forever, not waking, in an endless free fall.
It's not in my head the way that you drag me out.
I will never bow down tonight,
even if you pull me under.
There's no way that you can block the light,
even if you kill the sunrise.
You try but you can't pay the price.
Oh no, nothing's gonna save you.
You scream but no one hears your cries,
'cause everybody hates you now.
Forget about the lives you once corrupted.
Your crimes have peeled away that tired mask.
I see you, still running,
still hiding there behind the lies.
Those doors now, they're closing,
slammed right before your eyes.
It's not in my head the way that you drag me out.
I will never bow down tonight,
even if you pull me under.
There's no way that you can block the light,
even if you kill the sunrise.
You try but you can't pay the price.
Oh no, nothing's gonna save you.
You scream but no one hears your cries,
'cause everybody hates you now.
It's not in my head the way that you drag me out.
I will never bow down tonight,
even if you pull me under.
There's no way that you can block the light,
even if you kill the sunrise.
You try but you can't pay the price.
Oh no, nothing's gonna save you.
You scream but no one hears your cries,
'cause everybody hates you now.
(Music ends)