Made In Madison Release Party

ELIJAH PAHLS 

MADE IN MADISON PROJECT

PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PROJECT FOR THE CITY OF MADISON

#madeinmadison

Madison, IN is a small town. There is approximately about 11,000 people there including myself. When I was 17, I had graduated from High School in Madison where I had planned on going on to college for an acting degree, I had then planned on moving out west to Los Angeles to pursue acting further.  Never, could I have guessed that my life would have taken the direction that it proceeded to take in early to late 2017.

Going into my sophomore year in college, the thought of anything going wrong had never crossed my mind once. I always had good reports, my attendance was never lacking, and my mind was directly set on acting. My dreams were right there and I could practically reach out and touch them. It wasn’t until the middle of the year hit, when I would come to discover news that absolutely rocked my world. My mother had gone in to see a doctor after scheduling a mammogram, later come to find out the results had come back negative, she had developed stage 1 breast cancer that they said was spreading if not treated immediately.  

This hit me like the same kind of feeling you get when you have the wind knocked out of you. I didn’t know if my education mattered anymore at that point, I just needed, above all to be at home with my mom. This news broke me in a way that I had never been broken before; I had stopped being involved in school because what was the use? I was losing time with her that I realized I couldn’t get back. I was missing her surgeries, and chemo, and everything because I would be in school taking an exam while she was having needles driven into her body. The pain and constant judging of myself was a lot. But I had remembered when I was a boy that when I didn’t want to associate with anyone, I’d go to writing.

So I grabbed my pen and started staying at home in my dorm everyday writing, not scripts, but heartfelt lyrics that felt like they were being ripped out of my soul. I then, grabbed my guitar and through this I started re-finding my love and true passion for music. I started playing more and more shows, even if just for a couple dollars it was still worth it. My music helped me tremendously through the pain and it gave me a voice when I felt like I was alone in the dark. 

A few months later a couple of my friends had heard my music and convinced me to put them on a short record. So I dropped, came home from school, and worked a 9-5 job at a seafood Restaraunt where I made exactly enough money to go and do just that. I recorded three songs at a studio in Lexington, KY for 3 hours and for 300 dollars. The name of that record was “Everything’s Roses”, little did I know that this small little piece of my heart and soul would help kickstart something absolutely crazy. It was In the Middle of 2018, I had decided to start posting some of my music and lyrics on social media, I had stumbled upon someone’s live feed and decided to make a short comment about a question I had, next thing I know that person reaches out to me and offers me the opportunity of a lifetime. I would find a producer who had worked with everything from Usher, to Sean Garret, and beyond that. And who I can truly call a brother now. 

Soon after I’d be flying to LA, Miami FL, Texas, all over the country doing what I love and being able to start my first full length record about the town I spent most of my life in.  This is my life now, I had a really trying year last year but I think it was truthfully god giving me options and showing me what the opposite end of the spectrum looks like. The places I’ve seen are amazing, and I am so glad that I can say I come from Madison. This small town with these amazing and dedicated people, let me help make y’all proud and help me in this endeavor. I’ve met so many amazing people and have come so far and I know that with your help, we can even get to the Grammy stages one day. My first show will be in Madison, I’m getting ready to release my record Made In Madison 2019! If you’re able to donate, you will be reviewing free merch and a digital copy of the record! with your support we can make this an amazing journey, and a momentous occasion for this town!