Seriously, this deserves it's own post

There are times when you just want to burst with pride.

For nearly my entire life, I have watched my cousin, Jon Schmidt, joyfully attack the life of a solo, self-produced musician.

Not an easy path. Like authors, most musicians work really hard to be noticed by someone with money and get signed to a label. Although Jon certainly entertained that option at times, I'm sure, he is a self-made musician. Growing up I watched him create concerts, publicize them, produce CDs, sell them, and basically do all the things it takes to get people to know who you are.

Today he is known internationally, but that is not a mistake on his part. He tours and performs constantly, continues to write new, fun music, and is utilizing YouTube to find new fans and create new interest in his work.

He's been on the ball, and today national media finally gave him a shout out. I wish you could just see the goofy smile on my face right now. Seriously, after 25 years of hard work, it's fun to see him highlighted. But what makes me even prouder is that Jon's vid got over 2.5 million combined hits before the article ever ran.

That makes me very, very happy! Can't wait to see what the count is after this article runs its course :)

The article is from Entertainment Weekly: http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/10/21/taylor-swift-coldplay-viva-la-vida-cover/#more-22698

It speculates as to whether Taylor Swift took Jon's cue with his mash up when choosing to perform Cold Play.

Below are 3 videos. Jon's official mash up vid, a cool fan vid of the same song, and Taylor doing "Viva la Vida" for BBC. What do you think? Did Taylor catch wind of Jon's song and pick up her guitar to sing along? :)