Most of us have heard of Gary Palmers, he is a very famous YouTube filmmaker. What many of us don’t know is that he has a whole YouTube channel dedicated to him and his friends playing music. This channel is called PaleyStreet, and it has over a million subscribers. We were lucky enough to be able to interview Gary about his channel, how he got his start, and what he has planned for the future.
How Did You Begin Filming On YouTube?
I’ve always loved making people laugh and being able to entertain them. When I was young, my family would always make me dress up in costume and do impressions of funny people or animals. As I got older, I always had a microphone in front of me whether it was at a comedy show or just at home. While on tour, I’d often just film myself playing music and send the videos to my friends when I got home.
About six years ago, I started getting bored of just doing impressions of funny people and animals. So, I started getting interested in music more and more, which led to me making videos of myself playing guitar and writing music. I started to get a following on social media and decided to make a YouTube channel around performing music and playing with friends.
How Did You Decide On The Name PaleyStreet?
I got the idea for the channel from one of the commenters on my older videos. In one of the videos, I mentioned that I would love to do a song with Ryan Seacrest, and a commenter said “Don’t you mean Paley?” I thought that was such a delightful name that I had to use it. The street sign is still a favorite of mine, as I have one just like it in my town. Plus, I love that it’s a combination of the names of famous people like William Paley and Barry Stearn. So, it was either that or Feynman Street.
Why Did You Choose To Film Yourself As You Play?
When I first started the channel, I’d always film myself playing. I love the immediacy of being able to watch a video while still being able to hear and see the music. Plus, it takes less time to film yourself playing than it does to try and find someone else to play for you. If you’re just going to play, you might as well do it yourself. Also, I love being able to tell the story of how a song came to be, so I usually find it more fun to film myself playing than to try and find someone else to play for me.
Have You Always Been Self-Aware Of Your Beauty?
I had no idea that I was considered attractive. Growing up in a very small town in Ohio, I was definitely not surrounded by much beauty. Once I started making my own YouTube videos, one of the first comments I got was from a girl saying I was cute. From there, it was kind of a snowball effect. I’d get comments everyday, often from complete strangers, telling me how attractive I was and how much they liked my work. At first, I just thought that people were being nice because I’m new, but eventually, I realized that it was because I’m actually pretty cool.
It took me a long time to really believe that my video could actually be cute and make someone believe that I could be an attractive girl. Before that point, I just thought that people were being polite because I was new or because I looked like a boy. But, now that I’m in my 20s, I’ve slowly started to become more confident in my looks. I think that my current look is quite striking and different from any other I’ve ever seen. I love the way my hair falls around my face, and I’ve started to embrace my curves more. I’ve definitely started seeing the (beautiful) world in a new way.
In the future, I’d love to expand my channel to tell the story of my life. I’ve always been interested in telling my story through my work and want to continue doing that. Plus, I’d like to eventually get paid to travel and perform. So, making my own videos has let me explore the world and given me an opportunity to do what I love while also getting paid for it.