Feel Good Friday: A Hobby That Inspires

When Director – Food Service & Ingredients Financial Analysis Rocky Bodsberg started his hobby a little over a year ago, he didn’t realize the positive effect that he would have on his community. 

“It's helping kids that have an interest in music and doing their own thing, realize that ‘Holy cow, somebody from my small hometown of Boyceville, Wisconsin did this, I can go do this, too!’” 

Rocky has always had an interest in melodies and harmonies even though his day job is about dollars and cents. 

“I've been a lifelong fan of music. It certainly started with growing up with older brothers and my dad really being attached and connected to music. I always was very attached to the story and the storytelling part of the country genre.”

That was the extent of Rocky’s music involvement - until last year.

“I noticed that Dreams Unlimited Music Store in Plymouth was offering songwriting lessons. I went in and signed up for lessons. I clicked right away with the instructor, Shannon Brunet. He really showed me the ropes in terms of how do you even get started with writing a song? Where does it even start? Where can inspiration come from? How can you come up with ideas?”

Rocky explained how his first song took the longest to write.

“Shannon told me, ‘Don't worry about it. Just write what you want to write and figure it out along the way. Don't worry about if it's good or bad. You're going to be harder on yourself than anybody else is.’”

After learning that lesson and wrapping up his first song in about a month, Rocky went on a family trip. During the week he was on this trip, he wrote six more songs – two on the way, two while there, and two more on the way home. That’s when Rocky started believing in himself.

Losing both of his parents to cancer in the past 10 years, coupled with Luke Combs lyrics “I will, but my song will never die,” gave Rocky all the confidence he needed to record and release his music.

“There are days that I wish nothing more than to just be able to hear their voice one more time. That thought really hit me. I thought, ‘What if I do this?’ It's something that I can leave behind for my family that on those days where they might just want to hear my voice when I'm gone. That's really what sealed the deal for me to say, ‘I'm going to do this. I'm going to get over my fears. I'm going to gain that confidence. I'm going to do this because I want to have this to leave behind.’”

Rocky admitted that when he decided to record his music, he had no idea how the process worked or what to expect. Rocky quickly learned he first had to record just his voice and his guitar as the scratch track. Next, each instrument was recorded, one by one, using the scratch track Rocky recorded. After all the instruments were added by supporting musicians, Rocky recorded his final vocal.

“But that’s just the start,” shared Rocky.

Shannon Brunet then had to go in and adjust the volumes of each instrument to make it sound like a cohesive song. Finally, the song went through the mastering process. The mastering process is what ensures the song will sound correct in different applications, such as a phone, a car, a computer -  wherever people can listen to music.

At the end of this whole process, Rocky had his final album – 8 songs, totaling at 28 minutes. The name of Rocky’s album is Lessons and Losses, under the artist name “Rocky Thomas,” which uses Rocky’s middle name. Rocky started out with the goal of releasing one album – which he accomplished in a year. He credits reaching that goal to his support musicians and Dreams Unlimited Music Store. 

His hope is to continue creating music. 

“An artist’s work is never done. I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to keep creating. I'm not going to close the door,” he shared.

Rocky also hopes his songs inspire others, including the Sargento Family, to pursue whatever it is they want to pursue, even if they’ve had some hesitation.

“Why wait? We're not promised tomorrow. Nobody is going to do it but you. Fears hold everybody back from so many experiences in our lives. We can't let fears get the best of us. There's a song on the album called ‘Some Day Today.’ It is about recognizing that we all, in our lives, have that idea of something that we're going to do someday. The concept of that song is that it's time to make that someday be today.”

Since releasing his album, Rocky has received much unanticipated praise. He shared that sometimes opportunities in his hometown in western Wisconsin were seen as limited, so now that members of that community are seeing what Rocky is doing, they are being inspired to pursue their dreams. Rocky fondly shares how he could not have made this happen without his support system, and now he is a part of the inspiration others might need to follow their dreams.

Although Rocky isn’t looking to do any performances, his songs can be found on all music platforms.

Click here to listen to Rocky's album.