The outgoing and gifted Chris Vance wanted an easier-than-traditional way to learn the piano. So, he created it. Vance is the CEO and Founder of Playground Sessions, the globally acclaimed online software that teaches users to play the piano through interactive lessons featuring their favorite songs.
Teamed with icons like Quincy Jones and Harry Connick Jr., Vance’s Playground offers video tutorials with David Sides, bootcamp practice sessions, and easy to read charts that show your progress. Vance and his Sessions team even orchestrated the largest global virtual piano recital in history!
Chris Vance took time out his busy schedule to answer our “2020 Twenty Questions” questionnaire! We hope THIS INTERVIEW entertains and inspires you.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you to be alive?
10! That’s an easy one!
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Gosh, this is so dorky, but I wanted to be a college professor.
I should have said I wanted to be an online college professor because I knew where the world was going 20 years ago! I wanted to be the first and the best online professor! That was the dream!
What was your favorite cartoon?
He-Man. Good one, right?!
Tell us your favorite song as a kid, as a teenager, and now as an adult.
As a kid, probably “Meet the Flintstones”, The Flintstones theme! It’s certainly a good one and memorable.
As a teenager, “Motown Philly”. Let’s go. Boyz II Men, all day. A crowd pleaser every time. Unbeatable.
Today? What I do now working with Quincy Jones, my whole music repertoire is more expansive. I’m going to say Miles Davis’ “Blue In Green”. I love to chill out to that.
What’s an album that means more to you now than it did when you first heard it?
I guess Thriller because I think about my partnership with Quincy Jones and that partnership between he and Michael Jackson. And I just listen to the music so differently now. The musicality involved in it and the song selection, it’s no wonder it was so successful.
What are your 3 favorite movies?
Coming to America for sure! The original Star Wars. It’s pretty great.
And Top Gun or Gladiator, they were both good ones.
What’s the last film that made you cry or almost cry, and what scene did it?
Oh. Wow.
I don’t know the name of the movie, but I saw it on a plane. It was a Korean movie, a true story, about Korean mountaineers. There was this legendary mountaineer who didn’t want to train-up these younger guys, but the younger guys showed so much passion he eventually took them under his wing.
One of the three younger guys went on to become, like, the leader and he got lost in the mountains. The ex-leader went out to find him. It was memorable and it certainly made me tear up. True stories always get me.
What’s your all-time favorite TV show?
Martin.
Which character on that show do you identify with most?
Sheneneh! Because she’s strong and crazy and just living life, doing it!
What makes you laugh out loud or smile uncontrollably every time you see it or hear it?
I just have favorite friends and anytime they tell a story …
I have a couple friends who can just story-tell so well that I’m just laughing and happy. I wish I was surrounded by them all time but I’m not sure I’d get anything done. The roar of a good laugh and just letting it out, that’s the best!
Who in your family served you the most delicious, unforgettable dish you’ve ever eaten?
My mom. She was a good cook. I’m not sure great, necessarily. But given the fact that she had 4 kids and was a principle working, you know the saying “It’s made with love”? She certainly overdelivered with that.
I really loved her meatloaf. I try to make it now but it’s not quite as good.
Tell us the most nutritious thing you’ve fed your mind.
Sleep.
I love to be out in the woods, mountaineering and just being by myself. Climbing one step at a time. Just trying to get rid of all the distractions. But a deep sleep is probably the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.
When did you start to understand your value?
I think the answer to that question is once you accept yourself for who you are. For most of us that’s probably an ongoing process.
Once I started getting into my 30’s I just started to be a bit more comfortable and confident. God made me a certain way for a certain reason.
Who is the G.O.A.T. of your profession?
Elon Musk.
Do you aspire to be like them or more like someone you have a stronger personal connection to?
Elon Musk is a disrupter, right? He’s an entrepreneur, the technology, and he’s just such a big thinker and he’s willing to risk it all to make the world a better place. To create change.
What I do, being the founder of Playground Sessions, is create a new type of way of learning how to play an instrument. That’s something that’s, for some, been forever disappointing; 90% of the people who try, fail. So, that mission-lead, big thinking disrupter kind of fits.
I probably don’t want to be like him because he’s probably so consumed all the time with his stuff. It’s like celebrity-level. That doesn’t appeal to me at this point.
Day to day I work with Harry Connick Jr. who is super inspiring to me, Quincy Jones who is one of the best to ever do it, and my team. I certainly find inspiration within the organization every day.
Recall for us the first time you failed. What lesson did you learn from that?
It’s hard to say the first but there’s certainly been many. One of things I’ve learned in my career is there’s truth in you have to fail to learn.
I used to work at Procter & Gamble, a big organization known for billion-dollar brands like Crest toothpaste, Pampers, and Tide. I had this idea that I took from business school: let’s get employees to put on show for the organization. Like a musical or skits.
I pushed pretty far and got all the way to the CEO level almost with hearing this pitch. So many people signed up for it. What I learned was that the culture couldn’t bare the liability, like if people went up on stage and bashed the company.
I have no regrets. Sometimes you will fail but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it on.
In what way have you evolved over the last 12 months?
The last 12 months… I’m just thinking about Covid and the crazy, mind-blowing repercussions of this pandemic.
My mother passed away a few years ago from cancer. I’m more mindful, so even more now of just this concept of life is short. We can only control so much and what we can control is how we approach every day and the joy and happiness that we’re looking to get from it.
I’m a little bit more relaxed. I’m a little bit more accepting of my place in the universe and I just try to have some fun.
When was a time that someone you didn’t know did something nice for you? What did they do?
Just a few days ago I was stuck in line at the grocery store, at their deli-type thing. Something cost $6 and I only had $5 on me. Someone noticed what was going on and they offered me a $1. I thought that was super kind and generous.
How would you explain to someone the importance of valuing their time?
Time’s precious. It’s yours. The way you spend it, who you give it to, and the way you value it is super important.
I carve out certain times of the day, whether I want to get a workout in or going through the priorities of the day. I want to make sure I knock those out. Like what I said earlier; life is short, time is valuable, so it’s worth the time to be considerate about the way you want to spend it on a daily basis.
What’s been the biggest blessing of your life?
Being born into the family I was born into. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker and Alex aka Grand Kai]
