The 30-year-old New Jersey native started playing piano and saxophone when he was a kid and ended up doing impromptu performances for friends during college. He remembers playing during a friend's 20birthday."She had no idea that I was going to be bringing my saxophone," he says,"but I show up with my friend and I played happy birthday." He was a hit.
For him,"it's been mainstream dance music and house music remixes and mash-ups with popular songs," he says. He listens to these types of music frequently and tries to figure out how to best play along with them at weddings. Playing music that's in demand but not necessarily your style"is a recipe for being burned out in the long run," he says,"because you're eventually not going to enjoy it as much."Nelson recommends you network to create real relationships, not just work connections.