In a candid new interview, Periphery guitarist and founding member Misha Mansoor opened up about the emotional toll of turning a creative passion into a career — and how it nearly made him walk away from music entirely.
Speaking with American Musical Supply, Mansoor admitted that when Periphery became a full-time job, it deeply affected his connection to music.
“There was a point in time where Periphery was a job, and I think that was the point where I enjoyed it the least, and it sort of ruined my relationship with music,” he shared. “To most people, if you’re going to turn your literal favorite hobby into your job, that almost seems like a dream, but you can ruin it.”
Mansoor explained that the shift from wanting to write music to needing to write for deadlines or obligations took the joy out of the process.
“Maybe not everyone, but for me, it definitely ruined it, because it ruined my dynamic with it. It made me not enjoy writing. Like, you realize so much of it is because you get to do it, not because you have to do it, and the second you have to do it, then it’s not fun anymore.”
Fortunately, the progressive metal virtuoso has since found balance again — one that allows music to feel like a source of joy rather than just another responsibility. He continued:
“It made me wonder if I should even be in a band. I think rediscovering this as the hobby that it should be, that it always was, brought me a lot more happiness.”
“The jobs can be the jobs, and those are passion projects too, but they generate income. So, you know, everything’s a give and take. I think I have a balance that I’m pretty happy with now.”
Misha Mansoor has long been praised not just for his work in Periphery, but also through side projects, production credits, and solo ventures like Bulb, making his perspective especially resonant for musicians navigating similar paths.
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We can tell
Dude, I feel like being behind the music keeps the passion so much longer than being on stage. Talking to musicians they see it as a job that they get burned out of because they get stuck in a hole but us in the back ground every day and every gig has totally new hurdles. Plus we get to scream and yell at each other when shit is fucked without much of an ego