Someday Damon Dotson may be telling high school physical education students of his musician days playing shows around the Midwest and rubbing elbows with a producer of Rolling Stones albums.

But for now, this Okoboji native feels like he’s right where he wants to be: Releasing “Atmosphere,” his first major studio album, on Saturday in Ames, increasing his fan base and getting his name out at different venues, all in efforts of trying to make it as a musician.

“I really want to give this a legitimate shot before I go back to teaching,” he says.

Dotson graduated from Dordt College in Sioux Center, where he played basketball and studied to become a teacher.

“I just thought it was probably the smartest thing to do – not necessarily what I wanted, but there’s definitely the possibility of not being able to make it in the music business,” he says.

Although Dotson was continuing his education, he also became more serious about his music. He has been playing the drums since he was 11, but he picked up the guitar in college because his roommate played it and drums were harder to haul around.

“It was more from a convenience standpoint,” he says.

Focusing on music has meant giving up some things, like playing college basketball.

Dotson says his last year of college was particularly difficult. All his peers were planning on finding jobs, but he knew he wanted to take a musical direction.

“I kind of felt outcasted a little bit because I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing,” he says.

Although Dotson considered the possibility of teaching music education, the rules that guide music turned him off of the idea.

“There’s part of the [music] education that I don’t get. I don’t really read notes that well,” he says. “I don’t like rules – it just seems too restricted,” he says.

Dotson is focusing on getting his name out and expanding to larger markets. However, the loyal fan base he has developed in Iowa, especially at home and in Ames, is important to him. In Ames, fans have become friends, and he always has a place to stay after a show.

He disagrees with producers who have suggested he move to a larger market now.

“If they listen to it and like it, they’re not going to care where I’m from,” he says.