Ian Osborne & Cash Callaway
Beyond the Infinite: power producer duo dueling the domain
Beyond The Infinites
power producer duo dueling the domain
Fellow Homies Ian Osborne and Cash Callaway are co-pilots for their production enterprise appropriately named The Infinites Music, for the limitless creative projects they tackle.
Their unique and evolving production sound encompasses hip-hop, R&B, electronic, and a hybrid of pop with a live band. Overall, their sound is beat driven with an aggressive edge.
Both Ian and Cash grew up in Dallas, TX, coincidentally 3 streets away from one another. However, since they are 10 years apart in age, their destined meeting occurred later when they crossed paths through Septien Entertainment Group around 2008. Cash was the lead engineer at SEG while Ian was a developing artist, so the two began their creative relationship while Cash was producing Ian's solo music. At the same time Cash was helping produce Ian’s pop music, Ian was also a student at Musicians Institute. Ian took advantage of the resources given to him at SEG and would ask Cash to help him on school tasks related to production, or just general curious questions about production. Through their creative, technical, and pedagogical interactions, the two built a close rapport and creative relationship that eventually lead to the inception of The Infinites Music.
With its start in 2016, the name of The Infinites Music originated from a conversation between Ian and Cash at a Sonic while eating burgers. The duo wanted a company name that would have an awesome symbol with it, to succinctly visualize who they were. In addition to wanting a symbol, the duo abides by the principle that everything has a narrative. So, abiding by a character driven idea in the world of graphic novels, the two imagined the bizarre, such as “Wobble Sauce and the Side Chain Assassin” (as a nod to the then prevalent dub-step culture). Eventually, they landed on The Infinites, which upon research they discovered were actually characters loosely related to the Marvel franchise, but the domain name was available, so they found a winner!
Not only does The Infinites Music name hint to awesome graphic novel characters, but it also yields to reaching beyond ordinary production tasks, being more than infinite.
Ian and Cash’s conversation at Sonic probably looked like this
One of the most exciting projects for The Infinites Music has been scoring the theme song for the 26th season of Power Rangers, Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Landing the project, though, began before The Infinites Music existed.
Back when Ian and Cash were in LA about 10 years ago, Cash was working at a Guitar Center in Hollywood. One day at work while Cash was tickling the ivories, his artistry drew the attention of Noam Kaniel, who is the composer for basically every 90s kid TV show, including The Power Rangers. Noam walked up to Cash and asked,
“Hey, you play keys really well. Have you ever thought of composing?”
which technically he did, since Cash earned his degree in composition. So, at the end of their 10-minute conversation, Noam gave Cash his info to hit him up about some projects. Not until several years later, when Cash was back in Dallas, did he finally contact Noam about composition work. Turns out, Noam actually lived (and still lives) in Paris, and was looking for singers without a French accent to do vocals for songs to air on TV shows, including Power Rangers Dino Charge. So, Cash sang vocal tracks for Dino Charge, which led to scoring the theme song with Ian for the next season, Power Rangers Ninja Steel, to only be dropped the week before airing for a different theme song, and eventually to score the theme actually used for Power Rangers Beast Morphers.
Another awesome project Ian and Cash have continually been working on is producing music for Wendy Child, who was actually the first ever Homie I interviewed and wrote an article for! Ian and Cash almost consider Wendy to be the third Infinite, since they work so frequently and flawlessly together. Not only does Wendy have the vocal technicality of a surgeon singer, according to Ian and Cash, but she also has helped the duo with songwriting on several occasions and has sung vocals for Noam Kaniel as well.
Wendy additionally was one of the many reasons that convinced Ian and Cash to both move to Nashville and join H.O.M.E.. All three being at an event for TONS and searching for a collaborative, co-working world, they found H.O.M.E. and became one of the first members. One of the reasons they passionately sought a collaborative working space is because they were part of a similar environment at a house in Dallas where a slew of musicians, producers, and artists were co-working and absolutely loved the vibe of so many creatives creating together.
Ian and Cash didn’t see a creative environment with a community-centric music culture anywhere else in Nashville. Being immersed in the positive energy at H.O.M.E. beats working in a solitary home studio, even though working from home is more convenient; however, convenience is a creature comfort that Ian and Cash can live without to be at H.O.M.E..
The duo admits that H.O.M.E. founder Logan is a visionary. People are coming from NY, LA, and Atlanta among other metropolises to be here in Nashville. In those other cities, collaborative communities are more common, and people will be seeking out that same vibe when they come here to Nashville. Since music creatives are coming from all over to be in Nashville, there is now a beautiful mélange of genres in the fruitful Music City, USA. Ian and Cash are excited to see what could happen as a result of the creative music mixture.
Last but not least, Ian and Cash from The Infinites Music want to connect with and help out more Homies! Their specialty is working with artists who don’t have a lot of playing background or who don’t a clear vision of their sound. Ian and Cash thrive on taking extra time to help artists do some creative soul searching for their unique sound. The duo also enjoys working with an array of genres; as long as the quality is there, they are passionate about the artist.
The Infinites Music has a plethora of projects on the release horizon, so follow their socials to stay up to date! And feel free to give them a big, warm hello!
Links:
Instagram - @theinfinites_music
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Shawn Carnes
From singer to journalist to PR to management to casting assistant for The Voice, there isn’t much in the music industry that Shawn Carnes has not had his hands in.
Gospel Guru Gone Global
From singer to journalist to PR to management to casting assistant for The Voice, there isn’t much in the music industry that Shawn Carnes has not had his hands in.
To dive into the music industry world in Nashville as a singer,
Shawn scanned the back pages of Nashville Scene, years ago when The Nashville Scene had a “musicians wanted” ad section, and answered the ads for singers. Shawn pushed his boundaries and answered bands in genres he never thought he would have performed with otherwise, venturing out of his gospel singer niche. What initially drove Shawn from his hometown in Missouri to Nashville was the desire to learn, grow, and meet talented people to inspire him, which he has certainly accomplished since.
Looking for work through magazine ads was an already familiar tactic that Shawn had used in high school. He always bought CCM Magazine at the store counter and flipped through the “auditions” section. His audition hustle landed him summer touring gigs, allowing him to pursue his passion during school breaks. Having his start in the church, which was the first establishment to hand him a microphone, Shawn pursued singing in a gospel choir; he lightheartedly admits that he was the “typical gospel singer,” look and all.
[Tangent: While most music genres have a unifying sound (by definition), contemporary Christian music is on another level. In most of the genre’s songs, Shawn hears four chords in common. Shawn even showed me a radio game he would play on the road, where the players would scan the radio stations and try to see if they could guess whether the radio station was a contemporary Christian station within the first few seconds of listening to a song.]
Today, Shawn is the Co-Founder of Nashville Underground Management, while also filling the role of artist manager.
Even though in business he is practically flying solo with only one intern working with him, Shawn views the relationship between him and his artists as a team building the business together, wanting the artists to make decisions with him.
By nature, management requires juggling several tasks simultaneously. So naturally, Shawn has many different projects growing, in addition to his managing job, such as assisting to orchestrate The Danish Writing Camp.
Additionally, Shawn has previously worked with The Voice in order to provide the show with some Nashville talent.
In fact, the Season 11 winner, Chloe Kohanski, made it on to the show because of Shawn.
The Voice shows a different side of music. For Shawn, it’s similar to sports in that it’s a competition allowing the audience to root for one person or a team of people.
Even though TV competition shows can be taboo, Shawn affirms that the shows provide more good than bad to the artists, based on statements from the artists themselves.
As far as seeking talent goes, Shawn relies on intuition. Proving and time again that he has a good ear, Shawn prefers to work with singers that aren’t necessarily technically good singers, but rather singers that have a balance of accuracy and raw authenticity. One reason he believed in Chloe for The Voice was because she wasn’t always pitch perfect but always had a certain rawness to her sound.
One critique that Shawn has about televised talent competition is that the producers and powers prioritize the success of the show over the success of the artists.
The events of the show happen so quickly that the (often) young competitors don’t learn how the industry works. One day the young artist performs in front of millions of people on TV and the next day they’re on their own trying to figure out everything. Because of this issue, Shawn wishes the shows would prepare the artists more and give them a Music Industry 101.
Ultimately, Shawn’s experience as casting assistant has ignited a desire to try casting for other types of shows, such as film.
On top of all his other musical endeavors, Shawn considers himself a lyricist too.
He loves putting words together, pairing unpredictable rhymes. In college, he was a Journalism major for mass communications, and his college education has carried over into his current work. In fact, he writes all the bios for his artists.
His artist management company, Nashville Underground Management (NUMGMT), which began in 2013, came about after a series of career-oriented events.
After working for LA based record labels, Shawn came to Nashville itching to do more things with radio, so he began a podcast called NURadio. His intention was to expose Nashville to things in music they didn’t expect. Seeking talent for radio led to him essentially acting as A&R for himself. Eventually, he began to dip his toes into management, though not on his own. Of course, the inevitable happened and Shawn used his golden contacts from his PR days to jumpstart his artist’s careers, establishing his segue from radio to management. Nowadays, Shawn sticks to only management, since there is not enough time in the day to do both radio and management.
Check out Shawn’s artists and see them perform live!
Links:
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Odessa Moon
As otherworldly and mystical as Earth’s moon, Odessa embodies her art and creates multi-media experiences for her audience.
The Woman On The Moon
As otherworldly and mystical as Earth’s moon, Odessa embodies her art and creates multi-media experiences for her audience.
Another rare unicorn, Odessa moved here to Nashville very early in her life and essentially grew up here, though personally she reminds me more of a mystic gypsy with a vivid third eye than a unicorn.
She began her creative journey in music when the people around her gave her the confidence to express herself artistically by reassuring her that whatever album or project she touched would turn to gold. Having grown up around music and always feeling an artistic itch, Odessa creates her own music and immersive experiences alongside her audio pieces.
Constantly surrounded by music growing up, the importance of music was ingrained in her brain, and she did not realize that not having music in someone’s life was an actual thing. Consequently, she and her brothers have always had a strong passion for music, playing games trying to figure out who the influences for a song were, referring to it as “treasure hunting.”
While Odessa certainly has played her fair share of instruments in her life, her main focus right now is polishing her voice.
Taking lessons, even in a short amount of time, has helped grow her voice. And because there are so many, I will list her musical influences at the end of the article in a “movie end credits” style.
These days Odessa is formulating a huge immersive experience event for her EP.
The tracks essentially tell the story of Odessa, but Odessa uses her artistic license to tell it through a love story of a goddess who has her heart stolen by a sultan. Alongside the music, Odessa envisions having visual and experiential aids, like differently themed rooms such as in a Haunted House, but more Alison Wonderland style. The audience will traverse through the differently staged rooms and eventually come to the end of the immersive art maze to see Odessa performing her tracks live and in her full Odessa garb, which she basically wears every day anyway.
Another incorporation Odessa would like to have is projection mapping, which is like having a projector “but times a billion.” The projector also interacts with the movement in the room, similar to what artists sometimes have at psychedelically themed shows (HOME’s Kari Leigh Ames specializes in psychedelic projections). With projection mapping, Odessa can create the true fantasy feeling she’s aiming for, which is to have people out of their everyday element yet still comfortable. For those familiar with performance art, that is the essential concept except revolving around Odessa’s music.
In short, she says, “I just want people to experience it.”
Her goal is to collaborate with different artists, such as aerial dancers, to add to the EP installation.
In her artistic time of need, Odessa came to HOME by way of one of her closest and most supportive friends, Karizma (who also has an article). The duo have a bubbling chemistry, supporting each other in their music endeavors while bringing out the weird inside both of them.
Odessa is more than happy to host her immersive experience at HOME.
Here, she can clearly envision the event. The vibe here overall makes her feel like she’s meant to do something in this space. Though, the only hard part is having the patience to build her brand to a point that would reach the most people who need the experience the most. It’s important for people to know who Odessa is.
So, let’s explore who Odessa is. While she has the voice of an angel (my words, not hers), experiences are more important to her than just hearing music. With both audio, visual, and experiential aspects, she feels as though people can better understand what she stands for. She doesn’t perform shows; she creates experiences.
One specific track off her experiential EP is titled “Orange Can,” which sheds light on mental awareness and addiction.
When she was younger, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and her doctor prescribed her medications that would help her manage the disorder. Eventually, she felt like “a pill popping mess,” as though “life was an orange can.”
With the song, she hopes to bring awareness to people who have not personally or adjacently experienced mental disorders. Unfortunately with mental disorders, there is no definite “healing” that entails the end of a prescription, like there is with pain medications and a broken limb. Mental disorders are an ongoing battle, though thinking otherwise is a common misconception. Sometimes, side effects of medications cause seizures, or even a phantom pain will creep along. Truth is, there is no magic cure for a mental disorder. Another common misconception is limiting the identity of a person with a mental disorder to only their disorder. Odessa puts it well when she says, “we’re more than this, but we are this.”
By using a giant orange pill bottle in her EP exhibition, the audience can relate to whatever it means to them personally, whether it be a vice such as food or tic tacs. Again, the giant orange can is all about expressing an experience for the audience. Also by using a giant orange bottle, Odessa feels like she’s able to talk about mental health awareness while not pointing a finger giving advice to people.
She believes that what truly matters is knowing your truth and what you’re feeling.
Additionally, Odessa feels pressure as a black woman to handle her struggle well. Growing up, she was taught that you can do it all and still be there for other people. She was also taught that having stress is normal and even good to have because it means you’re filling your plate and working as hard as you can to support those around you. Reality is, you have to take some time for yourself, sometimes by learning to say no.
Odessa is not slowing down, so keep an eye out for her to see what amazing things come next.
Music influences:
Shade
Amy Winehouse
Pink Floyd
Haitus Kaiyote
Tame Impala
Robert Glasper
Gorillaz
Kendrick Lamar
Earth Wind & Fire
Michael Jackson
Billie Holiday
Bollywood music
Portuguese jazz music
Santana
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Nicks
Florence + The Machine
Links:
Website > https://www.iamodessamoon.com/
Spotify > https://open.spotify.com/artist/1L3spG4uVTqDa23uTRFgRh?si=5PvhSKDjQniyCBZUywkhEg
Bandsintown > https://www.bandsintown.com/a/13367833
SoundCloud > https://soundcloud.com/iamodessamoon
Twitter > https://twitter.com/iamodessamoon
Instagram > https://www.instagram.com/iamodessamoon/
Apple Music > https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/odessa-moon/1197881370?app=music&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Tidal > https://listen.tidal.com/artist/8455264
Google Play > https://play.google.com/store/music/artist?id=Agbxebrkhllqljteycs426wgzxi
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Emily Dodson
Emily Dodson leads kids to grow their own creative gardens while pursuing her own various artistic passions.
Music, and Theater, and Art, Oh My!
Emily Dodson leads kids to grow their own creative gardens while pursuing her own various artistic passions.
Muggy mid-June morning air waltzes around H.O.M.E. headquarters
and surprisingly stumbles upon 20-or-so chattering and giggling kids in costume perusing the hallway outside the closed event room doors. One of the large white doors cracks open, and Emily Dodson’s head peers out; she coaxes the gaggle of kids back into the event space, typically empty at this early hour, to continue rehearsing for their early evening showcase. Two of the kids begin to harmonize a familiar indie song as they all excitedly march through the doors gradually closing behind them. That evening would be the highly anticipated Red House Imaginarium Rock & Roll Theater Camp Showcase at the H.O.M.E. event space, streamed live to the kids’ family and friends unable to attend the performance in person.
The genius machine behind the event goes by the name Emily Dodson.
Resident of Nashville since before Y2K, Emily is the director of an independent Performing/Fine Arts youth education center called Red House Imaginarium. This past summer, she found herself in a pinch, suddenly without a venue to host Red House Imaginarium’s summer camp scheduled one week away. In order to find a solution to her predicament, she called Center 615 to see their event space ability. When they were unable to provide event space for her, Center 615 recommended Emily contact H.O.M.E. for a summer camp venue. The match was so perfect for H.O.M.E. and Red House Imaginarium that Emily has continued to partner with H.O.M.E. for her experiential performing/fine arts education programs, on top of enrolling herself as a H.O.M.E. member. The combo allows the kids to not only see production equipment in person, but to interact with it, learning how to use it hands-on.
Acting and singing aficionado herself since adolescence,
Emily strives to introduce kids to creative expression through performance. Her artistic inspirations that guide her through her passion include Ella Fitzgerald, Adèle, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, The Broadway Musical Les Misérables, and additionally classic rock, old blues, jazz, and alternative music.
Emily preaches to her kids and to others that confidence is crucial in creativity. She proclaims, “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance. If you can lie, you can act.” Of course some people have more of a knack for creative expression than others, but confidence goes a long way on a stage.
Another principle she teaches to her students is the importance of embracing delayed gratification. Working hard includes knowing that the reward will not be instantaneous.
Oftentimes with stage performance, the feeling of gratification does not come until after several weeks of hard work and practice. Today with everything being instantaneous, working towards delayed gratification is especially difficult for the kids, so they learn to support each other and push each other to be their absolute best.
Many times Emily has seen her students one week before showcase freaking out because they don’t feel prepared for the performance. She reassures them that one week is still enough time to polish their performance. When the day of the show arrives, Emily sees them light up on stage, truly allowing themselves to shine. Afterwards, the kids feel proud of themselves, recognizing the pay-off of hard work not only within themselves but also with others. One of the best places to learn teamwork, hard work, and delayed gratification is in music or theater stage performance.
Fun Fact:
Emily created a character she calls Mona, and sometimes portrays her for amusement. Mona’s background story is that she had been a stripper before she found the Lord and happily became a Mormon and second wife to her husband, Nathan. Once, Emily walked around Five Points as Mona and passed by people who knew her but did not recognize her persona. They unknowingly treated her as a stranger, but they simultaneously amused her and gave her a sense of freedom.
In the little spare time she has, Emily is working on her sophomore album.
When it’s been a slow day at one of her jobs working at an art gallery, Emily whips out her guitar and writes songs. She has stacks of written songs, so the main issue is recording the songs in a studio. Alongside writing, performing replenishes Emily’s energy, feeding her soul so that she can share the energy with others. Also, how can she teach others to perform without performing herself?
If there were a million hours in the day, Emily would additionally pursue more theater acting. Every now and then she’ll have a role in a film, but not enough to satisfy. One activity she does dedicate more time to, though, is literary writing, participating in a memoir circle. Emily also wrote a couple of plays and a musical.
At the moment, Emily is bouncing around an idea for a new musical,
though it is not top priority, as her students will always come first.
The script will be based off her past experience in college with a boy she met at a Julliard audition in snow-covered New York. After the audition, the two had a whirlwind romance, coincidentally on the weekend of Emily’s 18th birthday, enjoying picturesque activities like walking in the snow through Central Park and inevitably spending a full 48 hours together. The musical will appropriately be named “Audition.”
Emily holds a handful of cards, so stick around to see what she does next!
Links:
https://www.redhouseimaginarium.org/
https://www.facebook.com/redhouseimaginarium/
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
King Corduroy
An artist as unique as his music, King Corduroy embodies the best of the South, melding together east, west, and everything in between.
King of Cosmic Southern Soul
An artist as unique as his music, King Corduroy embodies the best of the South, melding together east, west, and everything in between.
Kurt McMahan, aka King Coruroy, wears every place he’s ever lived on his sleeve like a map, and his musical sound evokes the combined melodies of the cities where he grew and learned musicianship.
The three main areas that contribute to King Corduroy’s artistry are in Alabama, Texas, and Southern California.
Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, Alabama (where he spent his childhood) stick out as cities that emphasize the importance of family, community, and accountability. However, those cities were not 100% conducive for his creativity, due to common close-mindedness attempting to put people in boxes.
Austin, Texas (where he lived for 6 years) acted as a music college for King Corduroy. As soon as King Corduroy moved there, he realized there was a vast world of knowledge in writing and performing music.
In California (where he stayed for 4 years), King Corduroy lived in the beautiful and scenic Topanga Canyon, right outside of Los Angeles. The region is a true melting pot; walking into a room, automatically several varying languages fill the atmosphere. Hosting so many colorful cultures, LA and the surrounding regions offer a smorgasbord of food to experience, as well as authentic art and music. Plus, in LA King Corduroy stood out more from the crowd than he did in Texas, since his look radiates classic Southern Rock.
King Corduroy also lived in Baja, Mexico for 4 months. Several of the sites he’s lived, including Baja, he refers to as vortex towns, which are particular towns where like-minded people are drawn to each other like spiritual magnets. These cosmically connected cities pushed King Corduroy’s musical expressiveness to where he is today, Nashville.
As for King Corduroy’s music influences, he literally wears them on his arm. His ink-laden skin exhibits images that indicate the likes of Levon Helm, Townes Van Zandt, Stax Records, Gran Parson, Leon Russell, and The Rolling Stones’s Exile on Main Street.
Equally as important as an artist’s influences is an artist’s name, and the origins of King Corduroy’s name are surprisingly humble.
While on the hunt for a perfect moniker, he fiddled with the name King Biscuit, evoking the King Biscuit Flower Hour, until his eye landed on a (metaphorically) glimmering corduroy jacket in the room. His roommate’s enthusiastic approval officially legitimized the new pseudonym.
King Corduroy’s bio on HOME’s directory and ReverbNation describes his sound as “Cosmic Southern Soul” using such phrases as “the swamp sound of muscle shoals,” “the soul of Stax in Memphis,” “the funk of The Crescent City,” and “Country twang with a Cosmic message.”
As these are not typical, everyday phrases, the following terms have been defined to provide more insight.
Muscle Shoals: Jerry Wexler, a partner of Atlantic Records, had recently signed Aretha Franklin when he took her to Muscle Shoals, a swampy city in northern Alabama right along the Tennessee River. The swampy sound of the region seeped right into her song, “Chain of Fools.”
Swampy Sound: A style of music that is syncopated, or kind of behind the beat, while incorporating blues with a bit of twang.
Stax: Referring to the typical sound of a record store in Memphis called Stax Records. Their music sounded similar to Detroit Motown, except stripped down with fewer instruments while having more funk and groove. It includes certain sounds such as Otis Redding’s horn sounds.
Crescent City: Another name for New Orleans, Louisiana.
Country Twang: I assume we all know what this is.
Cosmic Message: Derived from the storytelling tradition of Country, it is a message delivered lyrically that tunes into the cosmos, acknowledges that we’re all connected to everyone else in this universe, and that we should look to everybody else with love.
One of King Corduroy’s songs featured on his album Austin Soul Stew is called “The Ballad of Douglas McAdams.” I asked King Corduroy if Douglas McAdams is a real or fictional character.
His response:
“The person is real. I had a friend doing a songwriting thing at a random spot in Austin, so I brought my first ever guitar with me, which was an old guitar from my Grandfather in Alabama. It was a 1935 Kalamazoo, which is a model that used to be made by Gibson.
So there was a cat that listened to me play and afterwards was itching to tell me about his guitar from his dad. Basically, everything in the song’s story is true, though the first line of the song is janky because of the way the guy told me the story.
But the thing he was telling me was that his father had a pre-fire Gibson, that the guitar was made in the original factory before it burned down. The truth is that Martin is the factory that burned down.
Anyway, this guy wanted to talk about the guitar, but he started talking about his dad instead. That’s when I started taking notes on my phone and asked the guy if I could use his story for a song. He said I could, so later I wrote the song.
Darry is the guy, his dad is Douglas McAdams, and everything in the song is everything he said.
Later on, I made a record with the song on it and went back to the same bar in Austin so that I could describe the guy to the people there in order to find him. Unfortunately, people at the bar didn’t know who he was.”
In any case, Darry and King Corduroy have blessed the listening world with an impressive ballad.
Like the inspiring old guitars and their colorful stories, King Corduroy seems like he could be from another decade. Although, he postulates that he is meant to be in the present, in order to keep the sounds of that day alive. Everything is cyclical, even in music.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/kingcorduroy/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/king-corduroy/1106870998
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Brian Bauer
Professional and knowledgable, Brian Bauer built his own booming entertainment marketing business from the ground up.
Marketing Mentor & Musician
Professional and knowledgable, Brian Bauer built his own booming entertainment marketing business from the ground up.
Marketing Mentor Brian Bauer was drawn to Nashville by an innate desire to play music in Nashville.
After working in New York City for nearly 8 years, Brian made the big move to Music City and joined a marketing agency, where he eventually became Agency Director. Today, Brian runs his own entertainment marketing company, Bauer Entertainment Marketing, which he built from the ground up. His business, love for music, and wife and two sons keep him rooted in Nashville.
Introduction to Music: Brian was born into it. He’s a third-generation drummer. Also, his mom was a piano teacher. As a kid, Brian would hang in the basement while his dad played with his bands; he would sit in the sounds and soak all of it in.
Music Influences: Growing up in Chicago, there was a prominent blues presence in which Brian would partake, going to blues festivals and blues bars. The Rolling Stones are an influence for sure. Also, Brian’s first CD he purchased was Green Day’s Dookie.
Instruments: Brian tried piano lessons from his mom, but changed his focus to drums at age 10. Since then, Brian self-taught himself to play bass and guitar. Brian can “talk the talk” with any musician regardless of instrument or genre.
HOME Membership: Brian discovered HOME through the guys at Root Note, Jason and Jeremy. They all met, connected, and went out to lunch together. Jason and Jeremy said they started working here at HOME, so Brian came by and saw the place at its grand opening. While chatting with Sam and Logan, he saw the need for a marketing mentor. So, Brian joined and jumped right in.
Musicians and music lovers make the world go round.
While Brian was playing music professionally, he realized the need to promote his own shows, music, and bands via digital marketing. Online promotion was very possible to do while on the road. Plus, Brian was able to expand his abilities by providing digital marketing for a variety of other businesses including law firms and insurance brokerages. He capitalized on the popular mantra that “you’re not a real business if you don’t have Facebook.” Brian learned a lot by doing, and he also knew he could expand his abilities and career trajectory by working in an agency. After receiving an offer to work for a live-event marketing company in Nashville, Brian made the move and advanced his career.
Q&A
What’s an example of an entertainment marketing strategy?
We start by taking a data-driven look at the audience. Who do we want to tell our story to? We use a lot of data to dictate that. We look at how they spend their time online and offline, what conversations they’re having, what purchases they’re making, what media they’re consuming, and more. A lot falls into place once you figure out who you’re talking to. You can determine what motivates the audience and how to tap into that motivation.
Once I had a client who ran a major festival, and they believed their audience was post-college guys. So, the image they conveyed with their marketing was bros drinking and partying. But their marketing was not generating engagement and ticket sales. So, we researched their audience and discovered it was actually middle-age females that made up their core fans. This led to a major shift in marketing. Engagement and sales went through the roof after that.
Typically, our client engagements start by analyzing their current marketing approach and identifying ways to be more actionable and clear for existing and potential customers. That’s our specialty: understanding the buyer’s journey and identifying for our clients how their audience finds their products, what they consider before they buy, the steps required to make purchase, and how to get them to stick around.
Through this strategic approach, we find constraints and missed opportunities for our clients that they never would have known.
For instance, I spoke with a theater last week that did not realize their customers couldn’t buy tickets through their site. Unfortunately for them, malware took over and was promoting Viagra ads instead of tickets. A less extreme example is an arena that didn’t know their customers were unable to sign up for their newsletter. Prospects were greeted with a “page not found” when trying to register.
Regardless of size or stage of business, there are always opportunities to improve communications if you’re not looking through eyes of the buyer.
Are there similarities between marketing for sports and marketing for music?
Absolutely. Both sports and music share a common core - entertainment. Both want more fans, sales, and profit.
Sports events are now very similar to music festivals. There’s a real natural intersection between the two. While marketing motorsports events, I worked with Kid Rock, Luke Bryan, Kanye West, and Pretty Lights. Nearly all major sports events involve some aspect of music.
I recently ran a campaign for a hip-hop artist promoting their single. The music fit well with the JumboTron during games. So, we arranged to have the single played in 30 different arenas throughout North America, including Madison Square Garden and STAPLES Center.
The biggest difference between music and sports is in the scope of their “creativity.” Music can go anywhere; there are no rules. With sports, however, there are constraints — losers, winners, clocks, lines, finality. So, we use music to push those constraints and maximize the entertainment value of sports events.
Music can go anywhere; there are no rules.
There’s an amazing display of skill in both sports and music that is very compelling, but in different ways. One is more physical than another, but they’re both very inspiring.
Is giving 3 free “growth ideas” part of your business marketing strategy?
Yes, I like to offer something of value to a prospective client whether I end up working with them or not. A great way to help them succeed - and demonstrate the value I can add - is to put something on the table with no risk or cost. I’m not just saying “let’s work together,” but I’m offering them something valuable for free.
Final Thoughts:
Brian’s work mentality is to make it or break it. Do your homework, make tough decisions, then go all in for what you believe is right.
Links
https://www.instagram.com/bauerentmktg/
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Wilson Harwood
Sprinkling tunes with a tingly twang, Wilson challenges his musicianship by taking risks in his career.
Banjo Boss
Sprinkling tunes with a tingly twang, Wilson challenges his musicianship by taking risks in his career.
The early stages of Wilson’s music career begin with playing in a band for 5 years, accumulating 2 albums.
Then suddenly, Wilson made a choice to challenge himself as a musician and decided to operate solo style. He admits learning how to switch to a solo singer songwriter career was a long process, but his persistence gave Wilson the invaluable knowledge of different outlets for his specific genre. Relearning everything was a definite growth period.
Having released his second solo album Rooted In You in 2017,
Wilson earned the bragging rights (though he doesn’t use his rights to brag) to attest that he produced the entire set by himself, taking another large leap in his musicianship. The sound consists of layered instruments, all played by Wilson, except for the cello, bass, and background vocals. A really fun and wonderful experience, he used his home studio for his album science lab.
Though he had a lot of people warn him it was a bad idea to self-produce, Wilson recognized the perfect opportunity to experience experimentation. Not taking the heavy promo route, Wilson decided to just kind of see what would happen organically once he released it. The album earned some success, so now Wilson’s new musicianship goal is to learn different and unique ways to release new music.
Lightning Round
Second album Rooted In You: based around nature, pastoral/rootsy vibe, used organic nature to guide the lyrics, aiming for visceral images while also keeping it simple, working with the senses
Thoughts on writing solo: “Usually I’ll be practicing and then playing; then lyric progression or a lick will come along. And then bam! There’s a song, more or less.”
Thoughts on co-writing: “It’s different because it allows you to write full songs in 3 hours, but co-writing in Nashville me taught that, ‘you say what you mean, and convey what you need.’”
Years in Nashville: For nearly 2 years, Nashville has been Wilson’s home, having previously come from Colorado and lived there for around 10 years.
HOME: Wilson discovered us through meeting Logan at a Family Wash open mic night, and Wilson grew an interest to join HOME. A few months later, he filled out the form, and asked to check it out. This all occurring during the time headquarters was being built, around 8 months ago.
First CD owned: The Offspring, Americana; song—“Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)”
Other inspiring music: Green Day, Real Big Fish, Rancid, 90s rock, Blink 182, pop-punk scene The Grateful Dead, String Cheese Incident, Phish, some Latin world music, old 50s rock and roll, The Temptations, James Brown, etc.
Instruments: Learned to play violin at 5, clarinet and guitar at 9, and banjo 18.
Interestingly, Colorado has a huge bluegrass scene; the mountainous terrain serves as the perfect landscape for roots-y music.
During his time there, Wilson learned how to play the banjo as a freshman in college, with the intent to play with other freshmen who are identically into bluegrass music. In addition to jamming with buds, Wilson also played the banjo for a large number of weddings, since banjos are a huge thing in weddings in Colorado, apparently.
Wilson’s banjo playing experience additionally includes DIY touring both solo and with bands.
Examples of some tours:
Midwest — through Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas
West Coast — from LA, to Seattle and Boulder
East Coast — from Washington, D.C. to New York
Not sure if touring was his thing, Wilson packed up one final time and travelled to Nashville to build a studio and start producing.
Unfortunately in the mainstream side of music, banjo isn’t exactly the hottest item on the market.
Amazing artists exist, such as the Punch Brothers, but for the most part, they’re underground. Of course the banjo had its huge moment in the recent past with Mumford and Sons on their first and second records, but fans of the instrument, like Wilson and myself, are hopeful that the banjo will rise again.
For the time being, Wilson’s goal is to compile a library of banjo loops, compatible with electronic music and other genres, to sell to producers in Europe.
Aside from the banjo, Wilson utilizes his home studio for his production company, Elevated Music. Though the extra bedroom in his rental has a lot of bang for its little amount of space, Wilson has slowly begun to use the studio at HOME for some of his projects.
Some names on Elevated Music’s roster include: Claire Kelly, Emma Brooke, and Boyce Thompson.
Admittedly, working synch licensing takes up most of Wilson’s producer time.
Right now, he has 2 agents to whom he pitches songs. The business is super competitive, though not as competitive as gigging and touring; the business requires more patience than anything else. Media synch requires making as much content as you can to sound its absolute best, throwing it out into the world, and then trying to have it land in the right hands.
Having only played in the game for 2 years, Wilson acknowledges the main market is in LA, though it is growing in Nashville. An agent in LA, called MW Music and Wine, represents all of Wilson Harwood’s music as an artist. The marketing company pitches songs to commercials, film, tv, as well as books artists to play for high end wine events.
Reach out to Wilson on the socials and say hi, or offer to collaborate on a project!
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/wilsonharwoodmusic/
https://twitter.com/wilsonharwood
Written and edited by Andra Ingram
Simon Tam
Musician, Activist, Business savvy, and more, Simon Tam holds the key for social change through music.
Artistic Asian American Activist Advocates Action
Musician, Activist, Business savvy, and more, Simon Tam holds the key for social change through music.
The scene opens with Tarantino’s thriller hit Kill Bill exhibiting a sleek Asian American and woman strutting coolly into a sushi restaurant.
Blown away, that moment was the first time Simon Tam saw an Asian American depicted as cool, confident, and sexy in an American produced film. Though if Hollywood films are hardly representative of minorities, the music industry is worse. Music having always been present in his life, Simon Tam utilized his talents and his diversity to add color into mainstream music and created Chinatown Dance Rock band, The Slants. The intention of the band is to provide a bold portrayal of a culture from their perspective, or slant, on life as an Asian American.
Simon’s fire for justice began as a passion for helping marginalized communities in his hometown, San Diego. Having frequently been on the frontlines of Asian American issues, Simon also advocates intersections with other worlds, like gay and trans rights, Muslim and black Americans, and folks in general who have stories he can relate to about receiving the short end of the stick of justice.
For the last five or six years, Simon’s band, The Slants have been rather articulate with social justice issues.
The Slants are the first band Simon worked with tying music with community groups; Simon wishes for kids who have stories like his, who are tired of hearing stereotypes, to feel accepted. As a result, the band is rewarding on both a creative and an activist level.
The band’s advocacy led to an opportunity to tour for soldiers overseas; the need arose on account of Lieutenant Danny Chan committing suicide after being harassed for his Asian American heritage. The Slants provided the soldiers on military bases with their story and Asian American representation. Just one episode of many, The Slants continue to advocate awareness for Asian American injustices.
Not only is Simon the founder and bassist for The Slants, but he also has a knack for the world of business.
Even though Simon earned a master’s degree in Music Business, (originally from the San Diego area, Simon lived in Portland for 13 years after finishing his formal education in business) he learned the trade early on out of necessity. Since he involved himself in local community and charity events, oftentimes including a live band performance, somebody had to know how to lead the business side of the operation. Through trial and error and extensive law research, Simon mastered his niche.
Word of his quality work spread quickly, and record labels began to take notice and contact him to book their acts. Labels sought after Simon’s services because he genuinely took care of the talent. He would personally visit the hotels before booking rooms for the musicians, he would prepare a home cooked meal instead of ordering the bands pizza and beer, and he approached the task with the attitude of “treating others how you would want to be treated.”
Other business endeavors include his several books, such as Music Business Hacks, his correlating podcast of the same title, and his talks and speeches for various audiences like TEDx Talks.
Like a dusty cowboy in the Wild West preparing for a showdown, straddling between The Slants and his business operations (which aren’t entirely exclusive of one another), Simon stands at the ready, able to shoot his focus towards wherever the need lies.
After mastering his business skills, Simon formulated his “Chinatown Dance Rock” band.
Apparently, Chinatown dance rock has no official meaning, but really just sounds cool. Additionally, the genre name carries social connotations that provide a space for Asian Americans to feel safe and welcome.
The beginning stages of The Slants included registering their name for trademark in 2009, but the trademark office rejected their application because the band name was ‘disparaging’ towards Asian people. To no surprise, Simon&co. decided to fight back, because having a name, an identity, is worth the struggle.
Fast-forward to 2017 (yes, 8 years later), and The Slants unanimously won the battle in Supreme Court, a victory for minorities in the arts!
For all the nitty gritty details, Rolling Stone extensively covered the court case, among other big name publications. In fact, searching The Slants is impossible without “Supreme Court” also popping up in the results.
Other monolithic media features include filming a bit for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah in Portland.
Unsurprisingly from his previous involvement in the Portland arts community, Simon was able to provide the producers with contacts for the set, the studio, and so on. Mirroring the generosity, the producers for the bit also showed care and attention to detail by reading through all the legal documents and discussing with the band how to handle such a delicate, hot button issue productively and politely, leaving Simon with a good impression and a relationship that continues today.
The massive media momentum influenced major labels to offer the band very generous contracts, with the caveat of changing the lead singer to someone white.
Politely declining and partially heartbroken, Simon grabbed that pivotal moment and rode it onwards to continue changing the racial landscape of Western music.
Enter: Nashville’s scene and the hospitality of HOME
Less than a year ago, Simon switched over to Nashville’s scene on account of the relative affordability and the definitively amazing barbecue.
His discovery of HOME was a bit of a happy accident. Wanting to see Patty Smyth perform, he attended City Winery’s Women Who Rock event, and consequently won a prize including a HOME membership. Patty Smyth didn’t end up performing, ironically.
Now, (relative to when I interviewed Simon in July), the game-changing man is focusing on a new album, though the interspersed band members pose a collaborative challenge.
In the meantime, Simon consistently records and releases his podcast episodes among giving talks at conferences about the music business and being an Asian American.
Check out his TEDx talks, his podcasts, his books, his music, his broadcast media features, and educate yo’self
Links:
http://www.theslants.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw7_3modZ2kBr5sdbozj51A
http://www.theslants.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/SlantsVideos
https://www.instagram.com/slantsofficial/
http://musicbusinesshacks.com/
https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B007YTB25W?redirectedFromKindleDbs=true
https://www.facebook.com/SimonTheTam
https://www.instagram.com/SimonTheTam/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonstam/
https://www.ted.com/profiles/1157419
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Michelle Pereira
Sleek songwriter Michelle Pereira makes strides in Nashville’s music industry by bringing in her unique background.
This Bird Has Flown (From Canada)
Sleek songwriter Michelle Pereira makes strides in Nashville’s music industry by bringing in her unique background.
Traveling all the way down from Toronto, Canada, Michelle Pereira (PURR-AIR-UH) moved here fresh out of college in 2015 with a degree in vocal jazz performance in order to continue studying music through a 6-month program at Blackbird Studios.
Excited to experience a new city in an entirely new country, she moved to Nashville without knowing anybody, starting from ground zero, but with 100% moral support from her parents and family.
Though Michelle appreciates being in a new country with new opportunities, she reminisces that Toronto is a cool, multi-cultural spot with bars playing varied music genres. Plus, Michelle does occasionally miss the Portuguese bakeries to curb her authentic prerogie craving, since she comes from a Portuguese-European background and wishes for a taste of home.
As far as her melodic interests, Michelle knew from a very early age she wanted to do something in music. For fun, she would sing during family gatherings.
Her folks would ask her to belt “I Hope You Dance” by Leanne Womack. Later, she took vocal lessons (one year she took lessons from Shania Twain’s former coach), guitar lessons, and taught vocal lessons for a handful of years. Funny enough, she’s the only musically inclined person in her family, though she attributes her interest and talents to both her parents and sister who have a love and admiration for all kinds of music .
Even though she studied jazz performance, she didn’t grow up listening to jazz, besides Frank Sinatra, so she took a chance with the genre and loved it.
Like most of us, Michelle’s early passion for music did not necessarily guide her to a specific career path.
During a class at Blackbird one day, recording a song writing session, Michelle wondered what the songwriters were actually doing. They responded, explaining they were recording songs they wrote, but the songs are demos to be pitched to major potential artists to record and perform.
Once Michelle realized that recording and pitching demos was an actual thing people could do as a career, she was instantaneously driven to figure it out how to stay in Nashville long-term as a Canadian and work post-Blackbird program. Luckily, she found the grace of NSAI, who helped her attain a work visa. Even today, Michelle recognizes that she owes a lot to Bart and everyone over there, as they’re the whole reason she is able to stay and work here, living out her goals and dreams.
Having found her hustle, she started writing music every day, mostly two times a day. Of course, at the end of the day, constantly writing became very exhausting. Michelle admits that at first she overworked herself writing and doing gigs every day. She realized she needed to take a step back and re-evaluate her writing focus, which boiled down to choosing quality over quantity.
These days, Michelle attests to the importance of finding balance between working and relaxing, taking one day of the week for herself. In such a competitive industry, it’s tough to justify a work break, but that precise balance is key.
The following is Michelle’s current weekly work/relax schedule:
Typically, she works five days a week songwriting, mostly Mo-Fri, but uses Wednesdays for administrative tasks. Wednesdays have their own special tasks: catching up on emails and running errands.
In Michelle’s experience, Mondays are bad for sending emails since it’s the first day after the weekend. On Tuesdays, most people are still catching up on weekend/Monday emails, so Wednesdays are golden for immediate responses.
She prefers writing new stuff in the morning, around 10AM-1PM, and she takes the afternoon to recoup and put on her idea cap for the following days, planning ahead. Afternoons are also useful for balancing housework/the gym/meals and networking/playing gigs/going out to see gigs, such as Whiskey Jam Monday.
As a songwriter, Michelle doesn’t work in an office, but in order to have the productive mentality of coming into work, she walks into HOME and uses a room or the recording studio to complete her tasks.
One of her current projects is a startup business venture called Songster Catalogue,
which is a downloadable file to help songwriters and session writers organize all the itty-bitty details of their song catalogue. Michelle created and designed the entire service simply because she understands the importance of organization and professional appearance as a songwriter, which gives a competitive edge. Though, first and foremost she genuinely wants to help other people.
The reason Michelle is a HOME member is also due to the kindness of NSAI, specifically from our very own Trina, who used to work there and has a résumé longer than the rush hour drive-thru line at the Brentwood Chick-Fil-A.
In addition to Michelle’s other pursuits, she is currently singing with The Song Suffragettes. Already having a connection due to her thorough networking efforts, she auditioned, joined the crew, and has since made even more invaluable connections. Michelle thoroughly enjoys singing with the group, who are all incredible women. The fact that The Song Suffragettes are well known in Nashville doesn’t hurt either.
Last time I saw Michelle, which was in late July, she was recording at HOME for an acoustic project she will add to her extensive repertoire.
Her latest news is the anticipated release of her single, “Worthy,” which will be available everywhere on September 28th!
Links:
https://www.michellepereiramusic.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pereira-45aaa512b/
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleMusicTO2
https://twitter.com/MichelleMusicTO
https://soundcloud.com/michellemusicto/tracks
https://www.instagram.com/michellemusicto/
https://www.youtube.com/user/MichelleSP23/videos
https://www.reverbnation.com/michellepereira?profile_view_source=header_icon_nav
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Perrin Lamb
Refusing a 9-5, sync license pro Perrin Lamb pioneers his own career
Sync City
Refusing a 9-5, sync license pro Perrin Lamb pioneers his own career.
Picture a young chap heavily involved in school musicals and church choir growing up in the rural southeast US.
Five-part harmony Sunday hymns christened him into the world of music, standing in the pews and singing comfortably in the bari-tenor range. His dad’s old truck did not have a radio, so a transistor radio picking up 2 AM stations hung from the rearview mirror. Riding around, he listened to Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
Around college graduation, the now young man discovered the likes of The Beatles and David Bowie on account of his songwriting comrades. A Mississippi studio dweller buddy gave him positive feedback on his music skills at the 23 or 24-year-old mark, before he had written any songs or had given any serious thought to pursuing music.
Back in 2000, the turn of a century and the turning of a page, at 25 the young singer/songwriter moved to Music City, USA. Having only one or two contacts in the city of Nashville, the move here led to shadowing writers to learn the trade and eventually blossoming as a songwriter. Ten years later, that songwriter, by the name of Perrin Lamb, is grateful for having made the decision to become a songwriter, giving him the ability to support his family without clocking in and out at an office.
Though Perrin pursued an indie singer/songwriter career for at least baker’s dozen of years, he now focuses on his latest project: partner and A&R guy of Sorted Noise, a sync licensing company riding the Nashville vibe.
Perrin’s Business partner and one of the founding members of TONS, Josh Collum opened Perrin’s eyes to HOME through a TONS event held at our headquarters, though he cannot recall precisely when the event took place. Having been on the crucial lookout for a studio home base, Perrin had an enlightening chat with Logan and concluded HOME would be a good fit for his needs, though Perrin admits he and HOME are still in the early dating phase.
I asked Perrin how he would explain sync licensing to someone who doesn’t know the inner workings of the music industry.
He responded:
When you see a TV show or movie and there’s a pop or instrumental song in the background, those songs have to be licensed. The shows don’t own them, so the TV or movie company has to pay a fee to use the music; they have to license it. As far as price, there is a scale, based on the length of the track and whether or not there are vocals, etc. To choose a song, the music supervisor for the show or movie finds music and presents the director or a similar worker with the best music for each scene, based on what the director says the scene needs.
Sorted Noise comes in the picture when the supervisor either needs to find songs, or needs the sync license for the song. Sorted Noise will then negotiate the best price for the song’s artist, so the show or movie benefits as much as the musician does. Part of the licensing fee goes towards commission for Sorted Noise as well. Since sync does not necessarily correlate with music industry trends, so the songs synched with visual media are not always hit songs. Popular or underground, the visual directors seek what song fits best in a scene, since choosing the wrong song can ruin the mood of a particular scene.
Perrin enjoys working with TV production the most, since they tend to use more music with more of an artistic license as opposed to an attention-grabbing ad, or a blockbuster film that will hire a composer to create a score.
He and his business partner give more attention to Nashville artists simply because they are passionate about the community we have and believe in the city’s artists. In fact, about 99% of the artists they work with are independent, mostly discovered through trusted sources. Not to say that Perrin dislikes music submissions, but the quantity can become overwhelming.
What Perrin loves is discovering an artist and working with them to help develop their career, seeing them grow and blossom. Since Perrin himself was once a beginning artist, he understands the amount of gut it takes to submit music, so he always willingly gives submissions a listen. His job does include saying no to some artists, but according to his business partner Josh,
a person’s success is shaped by how many awkward conversations they’re willing to have.
According to Perrin, sync licensing is hugely important for an artist’s success, especially today with the state of the music industry. Case in point, all major publishers and labels now have sync teams, whereas before sync was basically an afterthought. One common complaint today is the drop in physical sales or the close-to-no-payoff of streams. With show and movie streaming services, however, sync opportunities increase by the day. A sync fee holds a quantifiable amount of money and does not fully depend on interaction with music listeners.
All in all, the importance of sync licensing is far more predictable and reliable than aiming for a radio or Spotify hit.
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Iron Vessel/Dylan James Smucker
Rock quad Iron Vessel evokes both classic and original sounds with a dynamic as unique as their look
Rock Revival Rogues
Rock quad Iron Vessel evokes both classic and original sounds with a dynamic as unique as their look
This particular article features an entire band rather than one Homie. Keeping in mind that one-on-one conversation is my strength, the following paragraphs are the result of simultaneously interviewing four male rock musicians in their mid to late 20s.
The interview occurred in late June, on a Saturday around 5:30pm. Saturday was the only day of the week between the four of them that they could all gather in one spot, due to their varying work schedules. As I arrived to HOME Headquarters, the sun glowed in orange and gold, low in the sky. My boyfriend tagged along with me for the interview, acting as my low-key bodyguard and innately occasionally engaged in the conversation.
Piece by piece the band arrived with their dinner in to-go containers and we gathered around the long, wooden coffee table in the lounge. Back in June, the coffee table sat parallel to the wall with hanging red and pink egg carton petals, and the brown and beige couch configured around the table facing one another. I perched myself on the (stage) left of the couch, my boyfriend chose to squat in a yellow, armless chair to my left, Dylan plopped on the right side of the plush brown couch beside me. Across from me, the other three members squeezed into the woven beige couch, with Caleb directly across from me, John in the middle, and Taylor occupied the end farthest from me.
Once assembled, they appeared to be in a black, wide-brimmed hat club, sporting the uniform of button down shirts, slim pants, and pointed leather boots. Eating salads while drinking beers, they were groomed in a mish-mash of long, hippie hair and hipster mustaches. Together, the band exuded a close and brotherly vibe: vocally playful with one another and communicating with an unspoken language. Two, in fact, are brothers.
The members are as follows:
DYLAN JAMES SMUCKER (lead vocals, guitar): The front man and email correspondence—I saw him the day before from afar at Musician’s Corner—he was walking around by himself and I was there as a volunteer (I never saw his face but I was certain I recognized his arm tattoos. When I asked, he confirmed it was indeed him that I saw). Music influences include: Zeppelin/Jimmy Page, and The Doors. By day he works freelance construction on properties. He prefers performing physical labor during warm seasons. When Fall comes around, he hibernates in a writing cave like a lyrical bear dreaming through the frigid season. For refreshment, his choice of bubbly poison is Sierra Nevada Torpedo.
CALEB SMUCKER (lead guitar): Dylan’s younger brother, and equally as heavily tattooed. Both he and Dylan grew up with a vocal performer father. Their dad owned several guitars that would lay around the house all the time; he taught Dylan how to play, and Dylan taught Caleb. By day Caleb wears a barista hat and creates latte art. In fact, he used to compete in latte competitions. Aside from his coffee love, his is favorite brew is Good People IPA.
TAYLOR PATTERSON (drums): The black sheep of the group, because he doesn’t strum strings and is the only one who thrives on Metallica. Both he and John reign from Franklin, having played in a pop-punk band together back in the day. Today, Taylor finds inspiration from Mars Volta, and during non-vampire hours he works as a farm manager/ranch manager, focusing on greener energy. Taylor likes to sip on Dale’s Pale Ale.
JOHN (vocals, bass): "The Irish guy," John had only been their bass player for six months—the bass player prior to him was a female who appeared to be very friendly with Dylan in old band photos. John admits he works as a Whole Foods minion for his day job. Specifically the foods department at the Cool Springs location, where rich and powerful people like the governor gather next door to eat pizza. As the Irish guy, John’s favorite beer is classic Guinness.
Since the conversation would frequently trail off the subject, maybe due to me asking them too many questions, the description above of the interview speaks as much about Iron Vessel as their answers to my questions do.
As a disclaimer, I did not take pictures or video footage—the descriptions are entirely from memory (so they may or may not be entirely accurate, but potentially biased).
The following Q&A I managed to salvage from my interview notes.
A: How long have you been in Nashville? Where did you grow up?
IRON VESSEL: As a band, we’ve been in Nashville for about 3 years, though half the band is from here. Caleb and Dylan moved here five years ago from Lancaster, PA, but formed the band 8 or 10 years ago back home. Once in Nashville, Taylor got involved right away, and John joined IV a few months ago. Now we’re in our final form. The reason we're here at HOME is because of Sam Jump, who we met at a protest.
A: What’s your music story?
TAYLOR: My cousin played drums, and she inspired me. At like 4 years old I asked for a drum set for Christmas and got a cheap MRS from an old music store over in 100 Oaks. Now the store is a Burlington. It had no cymbals, and I went to my three grandmothers’ houses on Christmas to get the whole set. They said to me, “We teamed up with Santa!”
JOHN: I started on drums and played to songs at a young age. I got a tiny pearl traveler set that had on dampening heads. I said to my parents, “this doesn’t sound right,” and they said, “we got the quiet ones so it wouldn’t be loud.” We switched them out later.
A: Is there a story behind the name “Iron Vessel”?
D: Kind of, it’s number 4 numerology stuff. January 4, four members, numerology of all the names. Plus, I liked the weighted sound of iron and wanted play some heavy rock and roll. For the symbol it would be IV (at this point Taylor blurted something along the lines of “look at her face, she has no idea what you’re talking about” referring to my facial expression as I typed Dylan’s response)
A: According to Bandsintown, you are currently on tour. Is that correct? (They had an Exit/In performance lined up for June 25)
DYLAN/CALEB: We haven’t played at Exit/In yet; we’re doing clubs still. Big bands will come through and play there, so we’ve wanted to play there since we moved. It was the first venue we was when we cam here; it’s just one you have to do.
A: Do you any pre-show/post-show rituals?
IV: We drink beers. Liquid courage, ya know? Listen to good music, talk about stuff
T: I listen to laidback r&b like D’Angelo and stuff. Ball Parks, Erykah Badu, Meshuggah when I'm tired, The Faceless
IV: (this is taken verbatim from my notes) “Try to hang out and kick it, Waffle House, Caleb lies down”
A: Who writes the lyrics usually? How does a song come about?
D: Caleb is writing some now. Usually I write solo, like a demo, and then the band changes it up and adds stuff, giving them the creative space to add and produce. We have a live studio album that we recorded in August, and we released it in January as an 8-song record. We did it in 5 days and just cranked it out. We recorded it the week of the solar eclipse at Gnome Studio, which is a cozy spot in a factory. We started at 11 or 12 in the morning and stayed until midnight. All the instrumentation was live, and we would re-track the vocals. Recording is about the magic, and getting the live feel which is about the energy. You have to transfer live energy of a show into a recording by looking at each other and watching each other play [in a non-creepy way].
C: You get some things [when you record live] that you didn’t expect that just happen, like doing reverb and warming up licks, and that tracked into the album. Don Bates produced our last record.
D: I also work with Don for solo stuff. I’ll be going on a solo tour in the Fall.
A: If you could open for any band ever, or could play at any venue, who and/or where would it be?
D/C: It would be the coolest thing opening for Alabama Shakes, Gary Clark, JR., or Rival Sons
J: Muse
D: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown. They played with AC/DC on their farewell tour. For venues, I would love to play at The Ryman, or at Red Rocks, CO.
J: We’re going to CO in early July to see Umphrey’s McGee. They have a 3-night gig at Red Rocks.
Coincidentally, Iron Vessel have a gig the day this article comes out! Go see them play at The High Watt on August 20th! (I’m not sure how long the link will last)
Also, buy Iron Vessel's newest album!
LINKS:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2o1wxqfQWBsb4HYxry5C5A?si=PbdOXuNgTQKuOqDuaOfR7Q
https://www.facebook.com/IronVessel/
https://ironvessel.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.reverbnation.com/ironvessel/songs
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Phillip Clyde Bernier
Singer, dancer, actor, motivational speaker, husband, and father Phillip Clyde Bernier marches on despite of difficult circumstances by seeking to bless others.
8 Counts To An Open Door
Singer, dancer, actor, motivational speaker, husband, and father Phillip Clyde Bernier marches on despite of difficult circumstances by seeking to bless others.
PREFACE: This spotlight article is considerably longer than most; therefore, it is split into 4 episodes. If you are to read only one episode, I strongly recommend reading Episode 3.
EPISODE 1: Phillipping the Switch
Phillip’s HOME story starts when he was cut from his college’s wrestling team. In High School, in the middle of suburbia right outside of DC, he was known as “the wrestling guy” and “the music guy,” so having wrestling suddenly pulled away from him came as a major shock. Even though Phillip felt completely stuck, only a few agonizing days later, he swore he could hear an audible voice from God assuring another door will open soon.
Since he also had experience doing stage performance, one community theater role being Peter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he decided to audition for his college’s Spring musical. Of course he was cast into the show, but he was just one of two freshmen in the entire cast. Plus he was the only student who wasn’t majoring in music or theater.
Phillip had enrolled in the communications major track to later go into radio broadcasting. That way, he could be talking to and around artists and managers, using a direct approach tactic to present his music to them, as opposed to simply having a signed piece of fancy paper declaring in decorative font that he can sing well.
Regardless, the director of the musical pulled Phillip aside after rehearsal one evening and suggested he audition for the music business major.
Two weeks, lots of praying, and one Italian song later, Phillip auditioned. And, by the fighting grace of the musical director, Phillip received approval to enroll in the music business track.
Hardly by coincidence, without a communications major, and still a student, Phillip landed a radio broadcast job through contacts at his church. The gig was on Saturday mornings, and it required Phillip to wake up at 4am. However, being the sociable guy he is, Phillip would still hang out with his friends on Friday evenings and laugh until the sun rose. From there, he would go straight to the radio station without any sleep, which was ok because he also worked as a barista in a coffee shop. Though Phillip shortly learned, after waking up on the coffee shop counter, that six shots of espresso can only do so much for the human body. Phillip also learned, through his radio job, what truly and unexpectedly happens behind the microphone, which is practically nothing at all. No artist or manager interactions, nada.
Needless to say, Phillip was glad he did stage performance instead of wrestling and did not go into communications like he had initially planned.
EPISODE 2: The Big Move
A short recap: as Phillip was nearing his December graduation, he worked in a coffee shop and as a Saturday morning radio DJ, all while taking 18 credit hours of classes in VA.
During his last Thanksgiving break as a student, Phillip worked at the local coffee shop in the middle of a typical college town.
Since all the other students were home with their families the neighborhood was desolate and motionless. The night after Thanksgiving Day, aka Friday night, Phillip swept the floors and wiped down the tables, preparing to close the shop. Then, 5 minutes before closing time, two guys walk in, order coffee, sit at a table, and hang out. In passing, and not purposefully eavesdropping, Phillip heard one of the guys say that he was looking for a cool Christian roommate to live with in Nashville. Phillip enthusiastically raised his hand in the air and explained he is perfect for the position, so the two immediately exchanged information.
Fast-forward to 3 weeks after Phillip’s graduation, at age 23, on January 5th, by the grace and guidance of God, he moved into his already furnished apartment with his new roommate in Nashville. Fast-forward again to one week after moving, Phillip landed an unpaid internship at the Sound Stage recording studio on Music Row, but of course shortly realized he needed a paying job to cover rent and groceries. To solve his unpaid predicament, Phillip found a ballroom dance instructor job in Hendersonville.
All was moving at a reliable and steady pace until one night walking down Broadway . . .
EPISODE 3: Do What You Dream (Blessing In Disguise)
One seemingly normal night walking down Broadway, a female stranger strolled up to Phillip and smoothly asked him if he wanted to audition for a televised singing and dancing competition. He eagerly answered yes and auditioned the next morning. After landing the audition, Phillip soon found himself in LA filming for a reality TV show called Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. Note: the term “reality” is used loosely; most of the off-stage “behind the scenes” segments were scripted or coached. So, in addition to singing while dancing, Phillip took on the role of being an actor for the show.
After winning the competition as “the underdog/dark horse,” Hollywood Records wrote songs for the contestants to record for a post-show album.
One song the big guys wanted Phillip to sing was too raunchy for what he could morally represent, so he gave up the opportunity for a huge solo moment on the album in exchange for being an uplifting and positive influence for his younger audience. Though, Phillip recorded non-solo vocals for two other songs on the album.
Once the cast finished recording the album, the big guys instructed the crew to go home and rest, and that they would call them back when they’re ready. Phillip assumed they would call back a week later to tell him to move to LA, so he made the conscious decision to not renew his apartment lease, keep his belongings in storage, and sleep in his Jeep in the meantime.
One week turned into one month, which turned into several months.
The entire time, Phillip kept telling himself “they’re going to call back soon” and refused to crash somebody’s couch, becoming a burden for an unknown amount of time. Since fans of the show would stop him on the streets to take a photo with him, treating him like a celebrity, Phillip refused to tell any friends or family that he was actually homeless. He considered getting a job, but how would working at IHOP after just being a TV celebrity look?
Finally, after three months, the big guys called Phillip, stating they did not want to renew his contract. Being rich and famous was not Phillip’s reality.
After living in his Jeep for three months and not having any sort of job, he asked himself the big question: now what?
Phillip returned to Broadway to book shows on his own and consequently met a majority of the homeless community living on Broadway.
Phillip then decided the best way to be a blessing and minister to the homeless was to be homeless himself; he wanted to reach them by being able to somewhat relate to them. Again, not telling anybody in his life what he was going through, he ministered to his peers.
Thinking back to the number of weeks he spent in LA and did not attend church services, Phillip calculated the amount of money he would have tithed to the church had he gone, which added to $1K. Regardless of having a limited supply of cash left to his name, Phillip sought to contribute $1000 in some way to bless others. One homeless man Phillip had come to know well was honest, sober, and never begged for money; he would only ask for work. On their following encounter, Phillip invited this man into his Jeep and handed the man an envelope with $1000 cash.
The kind act made no logical sense, but Phillip held onto his strong faith, knowing that good would come out of it one way or another.
Eventually, Phillip developed the idea of putting a spin on motivational speeches for students in school. He formulated a half performance, first catching the students' attention with uplifting song and dance, and a half motivational talk, telling the kids how valuable they are, that they are never alone, and that they are never without love. During his encouragement deliveries, Phillip was still sleeping in his Jeep house. While he was homeless, he told students that they could achieve what they dream, to chase it and just go for it! No matter what situation someone is in, there is hope and something better around the corner; that is what Phillip firmly believes.
Believe it or not, Phillip’s belief proved itself true. One night, while he was booking shows for himself on his laptop using Panera’s Wi-Fi, one worker set down a plate with a warm sandwich in front of Phillip. The worker simply said, “I thought you should have this Panini.” That one incident became nightly, and Phillip no longer had to worry about going hungry. In fact, right before closing, the worker would pack up all the pre-made sandwiches left over and give them all to Phillip.
Even though he had given away the last of his money, he had an abundance of food, and he chose to share his abundance with other hungry people.
Approximately one month after giving away his money, someone at Phillip’s church had invited him over to his house for dinner. After the warm and nourishing meal, the guy pulls Phillip to the side, hands him an envelope, says, “I think you should have this, but I don’t know why,” and kindly asks Phillip to open it after he’s left the house. Later that night, Phillip drove to a Walmart parking lot and opens the envelope to discover a check written out to him for $1000. By that time, six months had passed since Phillip left the TV show in the hopes of shortly becoming rich and famous.
Phillip acknowledged he needed to think carefully and precisely about what his next move would be.
He still wasn’t ready for a “normal” job, so it was now or never for him to fully focus on his music career; though, he still had no clue how he would continually finance his career.
First priority was finding a place to live other than his car. Luckily, Phillip found a CL ad for “Musician’s Paradise” aka 7 dudes in one house. The check covered the deposit and 1st month’s rent, giving Phillip one month to figure out how to finance the next chapter in his life.
Of course, not long after, a woman who had seen him on TV reached out to his mom, who gave the woman Phillip’s contact info. The woman said that she admired where Phillip’s heart is, having seen his website promoting his inspirational school talks, and wanted to do anything she could to help him on his journey. Phillip, however, gently denied her generosity. After the woman persisting, Phillip reflected and considered how he’d feel if the homeless man he gave his money to had denied his gift. Swallowing his pride, Phillip he decided to accept her blessing.
Having never met this woman who lived all the way in Seattle, practically the opposite corner of the continent, one month after receiving the check from the man at church, Phillip received a letter in the mail from the woman containing a check for $1K and a note explaining that she would send him the same amount each month until he expressed that he didn’t need it anymore.
On the generous monthly check, Phillip survived and thrived, all while pursuing his music career. Not to mention Phillip also found the woman he was destined to marry in that time. As a parting/wedding gift, the very last thing the woman from Seattle sent Phillip was a TV (which they still have after 8 years) and a note expressing that she was happy for him but sad to stop correspondence.
All in all, even during extremely rough times, Phillip received love and care far beyond what he could have ever imagined.
EPISODE 4: HOME Sweet HOME
Today, Phillip lives in a cute little house in Nashville with his wife and 3, soon to be 4, kids. Now a member of HOME, Phillip envisions using the space to incubate his next big multi-media project. Here, he can rehearse what he wants to perform in the same space he plans on performing it.
He envisions performing a live entertainment show, ideally with a full band and background dancers, but he doesn’t have the budget for that yet. Instead, the plan is to have a green screen and record himself playing all the instruments and being his own background dancers in all different outfits. With a green screen, he can act as though he is interacting with his multiple digital selves. Plus, for on the road, all he’ll need to pack is a screen and a projector, nothing else. Before the rehearsing starts, Phillip is spending time to gather like-minded team members who believe in his creative vision.
Long story short, Phillip firmly believes that HOME is his latest blessing from God.
John Keathley
Multi-instrumentalist John Keathley taps, strums, kicks, and whistles his way through the town, and he means business.
Mover & Shaker Music Man
Multi-instrumentalist John Keathley taps, strums, kicks, and whistles his way through the town, and he means business.
Guitar, harmonica, a little bit of bass, piano, and drums are among some of the instruments that homie John Keathley primarily plays.
Basically, he plays a little bit of everything. Given his multi-talent, John formulated a one man band, sitting perched on a cajón, maybe a kick drum for his right foot, a jangling tambourine on his left foot, his trusty acoustic guitar in his hands, and an old school harmonica almost floating in front of his bearded face, secured around his neck by one of those cyborg-looking holder things. Think along the lines of Shaky Graves, not so much Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins; John sits down during his sets and never ties huge cymbals around his knees.
His solo super act sort of started out of necessity;
John would play live acoustic sets with his guitar, but his true musical genius lies behind a drum kit. One day while working at Guitar Center, boredom crept into John’s head. To fight the bore monster, he began to experiment in the percussion section at Guitar Center, sitting with a kit and aimlessly plucking at some guitar’s strings; and voila, a one-man band was born. John’s preference, though, is to play and perform with other guitarists and the whole band shebang. While he has fun playing all sorts of instruments at once,
John admits that it is difficult to fully concentrate, since he’s constantly multitasking.
To write out John’s “performed in” city résumé for his recent music career, John has rocked in Little Rock, jammed in Memphis, and fiddled throughout Florida. According to him, the crowds differ from spot to spot. Memphis has a heavy rock tourist scene that is light on local rock acts. Florida has plentiful local dives with lots of talented, artsy, and creative kids, but John perceived as though he was on a different page than the Floridians. With one band in Florida John took part in, he felt ahead mentally and tactically in business, strongly seeking to take his act to a professional level.
Before arriving in Nashville, John debated between moving either here or Austin, two cities thoroughly saturated in music and music culture.
However, John had no connections in Austin, whereas he already knew a few fellow folk here. Additionally, Logan hooked him up with a job, so John even had a steady support start already in place, which we all know is vital.
John had met Logan back in their home state of Arkansas playing gigs around town. Consequently, John was one of the first official members of HOME. He enlisted as a member for networking purposes. Having now been in Nashville for about two years, after a while John grew tired of going out to bars and spending money trying to randomly meet industry people. Also, the utilities and recording spaces at HOME attract him, since he needs them to further his music career.
During his adolescence, John started playing the drums on account of his cousin, who played in a band in High School. His cousin owned a drum kit in a shed and John would go over there after “finishing” his dinner to bang on it. Oddly enough, John’s cousin primarily played sax, so John eventually bought the kit from his cousin around age 14 or 15.
The guitar came in the picture near college graduation, when he realized he had not performed with a band in over a year. In that moment, John decided that he wanted to learn guitar, so with the aid of website tutorials, he taught himself. Today, John appreciates his decision to learn guitar. He finds it useful for writing songs, plus it adds variety when he craves a change from banging on drums sans accompaniment.
Now, John seeks to expand his repertoire to include the dobro, slide guitar, or steel guitar, to get that sweet, swampy sound.
His childhood influences include classic rock from his dad such as the notorious “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction),” Peter Frampton, and Led Zeppelin; whereas his mom dug more pop music like Elton John and Whitney Houston.
John vividly remembers riding in his mom’s van during the summer driving to the pool and listening to her pop hits.
His first big concert he attended, when he was 12 or 13, resulted from his friend’s mom having an extra ticket to see Shania Twain; ironically, John didn’t listen to country until he was older. His first rock concert, though, was seeing Aerosmith at The Pyramid in Memphis before they stopped using it as an event venue.
In regards to his current career, John is still trying to figure out exactly what his sound is. He loves all music and writes all genres of songs, but other people would agree that his music is Southern rock/blues-y/Americana-ish. He believes that, while America gave everyone jazz, that jazz music came from the blues, which is the true foundation of modern music. What a lot of people don’t realize is that a lot of iconic 60s/70s rock groups used old and underrated blues songs without accrediting the original blues artists. While learning more about the history of modern music, John realized today’s rock heroes weren’t exactly superhuman and did not recreate the music wheel.
Songwriters today also face the issue of not receiving credit for their work.
The reality is that what an artist listens to shapes the music they create; so, John spends time carefully researching how to navigate songwriting and song production in order to rightfully receive credit for his hard work. John is among many in the same boat, so those of you who can relate or possibly help out, reach out!
Also, John starts recording for his new music project this month!! The plan is to record and release one song each month for a full year. Stay tuned!
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/johnkeathleymusic/
(or search John Keathley Music across all social media platforms)
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Richie Acevedo
Richie doesn’t believe in coincidences; he’s meant to be here.
Destined To Be a Creator
Producer/Creative Richie Acevedo doesn't believe in coincidences; he's meant to be here.
PART I
Richie had been in Nashville for 6-7 months at the time I interviewed him mid-June.
Fairly fresh to the city, he already felt as though he found his place here, though that confidence took his lifetime to build.
For those like me who are visual creatures, here's a timeline to illustrate Richie's life journey.
Growing up in Milwaukee taught him life survival skills that carried him into his present day. He credits his grandfather as his pillar, who was the 2nd African-American administrator in the NBA and established important community programs to help people living in the long impoverished city. Even though Richie came from a somewhat ok background, living there was surreal and made him who he is today, along with his other monumental life experiences.
Fast-forward to 2008 when Richie joined the military, he was stationed in Germany where he performed as an opener for American artists coming through.
He traveled the entire country and even trekked out to the region between France, the Netherlands, and Italy. Being in the military was one of the best experiences for Richie because it taught him discipline and grounded his previously free flying spirit. He learned how to be cultured, how to do business with all walks of life, and how to understand somebody else’s perspective aside from your own, knowing they, too, are human.
Once he was out of the military, Richie utilized his GI Bill to attend Full Sail University in Orlando in 2012. After completing his education, he gave everything away and moved to Seattle, which was another priceless experience for Richie. In the very top Northwest corner of the US, Richie made an immediate impact on the community; so much so, that by the end of the year he was invited to perform at KUBE 93 Summer Jam. All the events in Seattle, however, are only a beta run for what Richie wants to do here in Nashville.
After the Seattle chapter ended, Richie packed up again and left for Atlanta.
He shortly noticed the vibe and atmosphere was different in Atlanta, and it conflicted with his positive spirit.
In the Atlanta hip-hop community, the more negative you are, the more exposure you receive. Especially in hip-hop, the cities that everybody looks to in order to chase their dreams are no longer NY or LA, but Atlanta. Despite the toxic environment, Richie continued to work in the hopes of making a change.
To clarify, Richie believes Atlanta has wonderful and beautiful people, some of the best in his life today; in fact, they’re like family. Though, witnessing the oppressive culture that Atlanta promotes affect his loved ones was difficult for him, specifically the inorganic appropriation of oppressed lives by the big guys with the big money. Richie’s mom taught him at a young age to never glorify the hood you get out of because you want to be out of it.
And so, after returning from a performance in the Dominican Republic in April of 2016, Richie finally realized that he needed to change his strategy as to how he can affect the most change through his talents. That’s when Nashville caught his eye, due to a well-kept secret among the hip-hop community that record label offices are moving from NY and LA to Nashville. Thereupon, Richie told his wife about the city, the two sat down and prayed, gave everything away again in a week, and moved to Nashville for another fresh start.
PART II
Once in Nashville, Richie won his membership to HOME while attending a Who Knew event.
Unsure exactly what HOME was, he talked to Tom who coordinates the Who Knew events, and Tom reassured Richie that there is no need to worry and to enjoy his membership because it will help him on his path. After visiting the mid-renovation headquarters and instantly hitting it off with Logan’s energy, Richie knew that the space would be perfect for incubating his visions. Today, Richie spends more time at HOME than he does at home, all to say that he firmly believes the universe is doing its thing.
He says he’s been blessed with doors opening for him, that people he meets during one part of his journey lead him into the next part,
where he meets even more guiding people to help him continue further, and the cycle goes on. Richie is passionate about pouring the energy that’s been blessed with into others, so they can also benefit from the overflowing positive energy.
Recently, Richie recorded new material in our top-notch HOME studio with some help from magician Anthony Falcone to be released in August; the music’s aim is to direct people back to HOME. For Richie, the space is not exactly a community center, but rather a beautiful art collective.
Though Richie produced music when he was younger, he picked up the pace and started seriously producing two years ago.
To him, creating compositions is therapeutic.
Although, he went through a tough period of terrible writers’ block; he was completely frustrated that he was struggling to write out the sounds he had in his head. Instead of continuing to brood, however, he decidedly stood up and just started using technology. While his producing skills have improved since then, he admits there is still a lot for him to learn.
Despite being a mover and creator in the hip-hop world, Richie’s greatest musical influence is actually gospel music.
His uncle was a profound songwriter in the gospel scene, having written songs people still sing today. More specifically, the most influential style is Church of Christ a capella. Next to that, Kanye’s fearless production style of pushing boundaries largely influences Richie. Throwing it back, he believes Pink Floyd, another influence, was 30-40 years ahead of their time when they created their music. They concocted today’s ubiquitous digital sound using all analog instruments; also notable as one of the first multimedia artists, they merged audio and visuals to artistically express ideas. Additionally, Miles Davis along with early Motown music creep into Richie’s creative brain.
Being familiar with a wide variety, Richie believes there are similarities in all genres of music. For instance, the only difference between country and hip-hop is guitar; both sing about problems with women and problems with money. Using that knowledge ultimately to heal people, Richie strives to bridge the gap so people can realize that we’re all walking down the same road.
In the end, art is unfiltered truth.
With the new technology we have, we need to affect change and make a difference both short-term and long-term, not for personal glorification, but to help the world around us.
Written and interviewed by Andra Ingram
Patrick Nehoda
Patrick mixes early 90s grunge and Americana music to create his unique “grungicana” sound, picking up momentum in unlikely places
Ex-firefighter Spreading Like Wildfire
Patrick mixes early 90s grunge and Americana music to create his unique “grungicana” sound, picking up momentum in unlikely places
Radio tuned into local Lightning 100, driving down a brown tree-lined road in chilly yet still somehow humid Nashville November, an ad for HOME popped on, listing all the amenities we have to offer (including unlimited free coffee).
Patrick Nehoda, a 6’7 giant puppy, urgently pulled over to the side of the road to fill out an application to become a HOME member (I picture him driving a classic red pick-up, but I’m not sure what kind of car he drove). Lo and behold, a couple months later, Patrick is a fellow homie, hopping on board the awesome music community dream train.
Before coming down to Nashville about 2 years ago, Patrick lived in artsy, rainy Seattle for 3 years, and before that he lived in super Red Sacramento, CA. For those of you who have seen the movie Lady Bird, which takes place in Sacramento, the writer of the film, Greta Gerwig attended the all-girls sister school of Patrick's High School.
The first time Patrick visited Nashville was back in 2007/2008; he was instantly impressed and immediately sensed it was a great and affordable city. Ten years later, though the city is not as affordable, but it is still a terrific place! The siren song of the music scene coaxed Patrick into our town, but not the country music scene, specifically not country music. For him, it’s beneficial to not be part of the majority, so he came to join the rock side of the city, influenced by the local domicile of Jack White and Alabama Shakes.
Patrick’s tendency to swim upstream began as an adolescent. About age 10, Patrick experienced a monumental musical epiphany.
Nirvana’s Nevermind album had released mid-September, including their hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” One particular weekend night, young Patrick had stayed up way late watching Alt Nation on MTV; sitting there in front of the screen, he witnessed the first airing of the hit single’s legendary music video. That game-changing video hit a chord in Patrick’s music heart. Having listened heavily to smooth 50s and 60s pop on account of his parents’ tunes of choice, the sweet buzzing whine of the grungy electric guitar was a sound he had never experienced before, and now he could never get enough of it. From that moment on, his ears sought the music of Smashing Pumpkins, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Cream, and of course Nirvana. The specific rock music he listened to was almost feminist, especially when compared to the objectifying and misogynistic songs of hair metal. Respecting women in lyrics was logical to Patrick, thanks to strong influential women raising him, such as his mom and grandmother.
More fun facts about Patrick, he was a firefighter in Northern California for several seasons.
He became a firefighter when a band he was in during his early 20s started falling apart. His mates were getting married, having kids, and pursuing other careers, so he decided to choose a different path as well. He attended and graduated from a firefighting academy and paramedic school to become a trained and certified firefighter. On good days, the gig was like being paid to go camping with friends, but on bad days it was like facing the Grim Reaper. After risking his life fighting a natural forest fire nowhere near any residential neighborhoods, Patrick took a step back to evaluate where he was going in life; he decided fighting non-civilian life threatening fires was not worth the risk. Also, the difficult and backbreaking work was something he couldn’t picture himself continuing into his mid-50s.
Patrick felt replenished with life when creating art, but he chose to be a firefighter instead to make his dad proud.
Caring only about what made Patrick happy, his family encouraged him to pursue his music again, so he flipped a coin to determine the fate of his fresh start: tails to visit New Orleans or heads to visit Seattle. The coin landed on heads, so he packed his bags to go up travel northward to the tippy top of the West Coast, where he instantly fell in love with the city and was undeniably certain he wanted to live there after only a week and a half. And of course three years and one album later, he moved to Nashville to continue his music career!
In his music, Patrick experiments with combining sounds that people don’t often hear together, such as old school western mixed with 90s grunge.
Some call it “grungicana.” Interestingly enough, his American-rooted music has a large following in Europe, though that didn’t happen by accident. The story begins when Patrick met Elles Bailey, a contemporary blues/rock artist from England, and Elles insisted he share his newly recorded music with the masses. So by her request, he sent to her an email containing a short bio and all the music he had, to later find out she submitted everything to hundreds of rock & roll/blues stations across the entire European continent. One particular FM station in the West England city of Gloucester, the host town of the Rhythm & Blues Festival, played his over-7-minutes-long song “Devil’s Bitch.”
Towards the end of 2016, the radio station hosted a contest to determine from a list of frequently played songs, which included some Stones stuff, their “Best Track of 2016,” using call-ins and emails from listeners to vote for the most popular radio tune. In early 2017, his radio dialed to their frequency, Patrick’s surprised ears heard each individual word as the station announced his song had won the contest! The international radio victory led to an open invite to play at the Gloucester Rhythm & Blues fest in July, so Patrick along with his music partner in crime/guitarist arranged a July 2018 European tour. Though he had never been to Europe before, he knew from experience and word of mouth that folks across the pond had a certain appreciation for blues and Americana music that we Americans don’t seem have as much of here.
Fast-forward, Patrick is scheduled to play Sunday evening July 22nd at the Fountain Inn for the festival!
If you happen to be there at the particular time, I strongly suggest you show Patrick some love!
Meanwhile at HOME,
Patrick was the first homie chosen to participate in a Homie Makeover, where one of our producers chooses one of our artist’s songs and re-records and re-produces it according to his vision. So our dear Matt picked “Anymore,” a song previously recorded in Seattle with a raw and retro sound, moved and shifted things around and Nashvillicized it by recording it nice and crisp and clean and ready to be all done up in the studio to make it shiny and perfect sounding.
Check out the makeover results when they come in, and let us know what you think!
Also, Patrick just released his album, Don't Forget The Hat, on Spotify, so be sure to give it a good listen!!
Links:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7eYFQSupLc2Nos4g7wH2fA?si=xSmyk1YyRmG3d3uO92y84A
https://soundcloud.com/patricknehoda
https://www.instagram.com/skyscrape81/
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Nicole Nehrbas
Nicole is a pop artist manager, business co-founder, pedal tavern lifeguard, and experienced food truck driver.
Job Juggler On Her Way Up
Nicole is a pop artist manager, business co-founder, pedal tavern lifeguard, and experienced food truck driver .
Previously a member of an entrepreneurship center that jacked up its rates, Nicole found solace at HOME a handful of months ago after hearing about us through TONS.
Grown from the mystic soil of Arizona, Nicole Nehrbas trekked here to Nashville five years ago after just having graduated from college. Unemployed and minimal familial connections in town, Nicole braved the unknown and allowed herself three months to find a job to sustain herself living in an apartment with no roommates. Luckily, only two months in, Nicole joined the Country Music Hall of Fame hospitality team, helping with ticket sales and guided tours of RCA Studio B. While at CMHoF, Nicole met other transplants around the same age and in a similar situation as her; in short, she found a place where she fit in.
Her first real job in the music industry didn’t come along until around the 8-12 month mark after moving to Nashville, which was an unpaid internship with a small record label that no longer exists. Finally, five months later into the internship (that’s a year and a half after moving), Nicole landed her first paid industry job as a promo coordinator. Woohoo!
The reason Nicole wanted to move to Nashville of all places was because she craved to work in artist management. Since she graduated from The University of Arizona with an impressive GPA in Business Management and a minor in Music, plus 2 years working part time at a record label in AZ already under her belt, she assumed she held all the cards in her hands to immediately land an industry job in Nashville.
Then reality hit. Typically in the music industry, fancy diplomas and beefed up resumes don’t guarantee an entry-level job.
Having connections with the right people and actually demonstrating your skills is what pushes people ahead in the industry. Now having that knowledge, Nicole landed her first major gig by going above and beyond at her internship. She talked with everybody, asking them questions, seeking for advice, and offering a helping hand whenever possible. Acting proactively painted Nicole as a genuinely passionate person eager to work in the industry, which left an impression on the big guys.
Nicole’s dream to pursue the music industry manifested at age 12, though the picture wasn’t clear as to what that entailed. Her hard working inspiration comes from Simon Cowell, who started in the mailroom at a record label and worked his way up to millionaire status/mad scientist who formulated the highly profitable, perfect five-piece combination of entertainment talent to make young girls world-wide lose their minds. During his American Idol years, Nicole was obsessed with Simon and aspired to be him.
Certainly well on her way to the top, Nicole is now co-founder of Vibe Entertainment, a joined media and management company helping artists push their careers further through creating digital content and promotions.
The other co-founder is her business partner Randy, who she met while working together at CMHoF back in 2013. The two are the perfect business-meets-creativity team, and their high compatibility shows in the quality of Vibe Entertainment.
Nicole is simultaneously living her dream as an artist manager, presently helping a Nashville alt pop/rock group called Lost Stars.
She discovered the boys, who all attended Belmont (surprise), while on set during a music video shoot through Vibe Entertainment. The lead singer blew Nicole away because, instead of lip-synching as most artists do, he was actually vocally singing the song on set with the camera rolling. His singing voice astounded Nicole, and she enthusiastically committed herself to managing them; not only are they super talented, but the boys also all work well together as a band. Since becoming their manager, Nicole helped them release an EP and a couple singles, executed a successful DIY tour, and booked all their shows for about 20 different cities. Not to mention, she also worked as their road manager, aka mom/cat herder.
Overall, the tour was fun and indie. When crashing at hotels, the 7 of them crammed into 1 room, occupying two beds, an air mattress, and the floor. The boys are like brothers to Nicole, while being very entertaining and easy to travel with. Their gnarly road stories include losing car keys, running out of gas on the highway, and driving through a snowstorm in NY.
For Nicole, it feels as though she’s always working 2-3 jobs at any given time. Even though she is already a co-founder/co-owner of Vibe Nashville and artist manager for Lost Stars, she is also working odd jobs with particularly flexible hours to supplement income. One of her grinds, which she regularly works Thurs-Sunday, is with a pedal tavern called Sprocket Rocket. Because hours are solely on weekends, Nicole has the ability to work as artist manager during the week. Not surprisingly, several other musicians and music industry folk work with her at the same company, so they are extremely lenient about giving time off, even weeks at a time, as long as someone else covers the hours.
At the time I interviewed Nicole, she had just returned from hustling a food truck tour job for a queso company.
The gig lasted for 5 weeks, so she needed to take a leave of absence from “Sprocket Rocket and The Drunk Bachelorette Parties,” but she was stoked to do it since she absolutely loves traveling. The food truck itself was brand spankin’ new, and Nicole basically assisted with driving the truck, handing out samples and swag at grocery stores in between doing product promo at events, including the Indy 500.
Juggling several projects at once is nothing new to Nicole. When she was in 4th grade, she played both the clarinet and the saxophone, she joined her school’s jazz band in High School, and she sang with her church choir, not to mention being able to play hand bells. In fact, her superlative in school was: “Most Likely To Be The Entire Tonight Show Band.”
Nicole has acquired and completed so many jobs through her 20-something life, as a matter of fact, that there was not enough room to include them all here.
She has vast experience and knowledge in several touring/promotion/assistant/administration music industry jobs, so if you need any more information about the business end of music, before you rake through annoyingly vague or excruciatingly specific articles on Google, give Nicole a shout! Bonus points if you’re an advocate for growing Nashville Pop like she is!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nnehrbas/
https://www.vibenashville.com/home
https://twitter.com/vibenashville
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Kari Leigh Ames and Brianne O'Neill
Kari (left) and Brianne (right) joined forces to revive the psychedelic art and music scene in Nashville while simultaneously hustling their own projects
Far Out Fest Fierce Female Duo
Kari (left) and Brianne (right) joined forces to revive the psychedelic art and music scene in Nashville while simultaneously hustling their own projects
Hold onto your seats, folks, this week you get a 2 for 1 deal at no additional cost!
That’s right, this weekly spotlight features TWO Homies, Kari and Brianne, who are the hared working genius machines behind Nashville’s very own Far Out Fest. Technically, only Kari is the HOME member, but she and Brianne are a symbiotic creative entity deserving the spotlight. Plus, Brianne will definitely join eventually.
Brianne O'Neill
Brianne is a 2010 Nashvillian, having moved from Philly, while Kari kind of grew up here and there, and attended Nashville School of the Arts, but graduated in Michigan. Both Kari’s parents are professional musicians, so growing up with them meant going back and forth between Nashville and other cities; she describes her experience at NSA like the movie Fame, but grungier. The reason Kari finally decided to permanently reside in Nashville was her love for the arts scene. Having been in rural Michigan, she craved to be around creative people again. Nashville was the perfect choice for her, since you can’t turn your head without running into a musician or artist. As for Brianne, she came for the freeing music. During her time in Philly, she worked a corporate job for a kids’ TV network, which was cool, except for she had to wear business clothes at the office. She already had a friend who was living in Nashville, so it made sense for her to swap to Nashville business attire (aka jeans).
The two met when they both started working for a mobile boutique called The Trunk; the job involved lots of teamwork but also lots of downtime. The two quickly realized that they worked extremely well together and have not stopped since. Later on, their friend PsychedelRick was diagnosed with cancer, so they organized an event with a raffle, among other fun engaging activities, to raise money for his hospital bills. After that event, Kari realized that she could organize festival-like events, and decided to reach out to friends willing to help organize a full-on festival. Funny enough, Brianne mixed up the day of the initial meeting, and didn’t show up, but she was the only friend of Kari’s who stayed to see the festival project through to the end.
For those of you unaware, Far Out Fest is an annual multi-media psychedelic weekend spectacle in East Nashville, chock full of music, light projections, art installations, and good times.
All the event information your heart could ever desire is on their website and Facebook page.
HOME entered their picture via Sam Jump, who met Kari through the Nashville art scene and invited her to participate in a light show event. In Nashville, especially for the DIY scene, there is a deficit of venues for events, but here at HOME, there is more control to make the space your own; our community went hand in hand with what Kari and Brianne were cooking up. Kari eventually did a light show for King Corduroy in the space and began curating playlists for heavy metal yoga, sometimes hosted here. On the wall at HOME to the immediate right of the super-secret entrance, there was a Far Out mural, painted for a reveal party, but is unfortunately no longer there, completely covered in white blankness.
For Brianne, she grew up with her parents listening to anything and everything Irish from Enya to U2. Later on during her rebellious phase, she would sneak around to watch MTV, introducing herself to the pop world. Then, when hardcore was a huge trend in the music world, she would attend shows at the YMCA and YWCA. Deftones became a favorite because they weren’t too hardcore. Once college rolled around, Brianne began experiencing the world of listening to the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, which is how the psychedelic bug bit her. These days, she is the lead singer of Black Moon Mother, reaching its 1 year mark this mid-summer. Of course at Far Out Fest, after she had been serving bands vegan food to performers in the green room and running around doing general “make sure this festival runs smoothly” tasks, she and her band floored the audience once she took center stage. In addition to being a musician, Brianne is a writer, both in music and literature. Her years working for kids’ public TV still lingers with her while she writes a children’s book; all she needs to complete the project is an illustrator.
Kari Leigh Ames
Kari’s music/arts origin story is slightly different from Brianne’s, starting with parents who are already in the music industry raising her. They were session and touring musicians, serving as an example to Kari that it was possible to be a part-time professional musician. Though for Kari, she prefers to be behind the stage (or audience) during live shows as opposed to front and center like performing musicians; she desires people to see her art through her light shows, but not necessarily see her. She does, however, jam with her close ladies in a chill setting. Her musical influences include: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, which are the main ones, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, and other psychedelic bands that utilize(d) light shows during their performance, expressing themselves through both sight and sound. To hear Kari’s curated music listening, check her out on her radio show WXNA 101.5 FM as DJ Karl. That’s spelled K-A-R-L, which is homage to people always misreading her name.
What goes down during a liquid light show is astonishing.
Traditional artists at the Fillmore, as well as the Allman Brothers, first inspired Kari to indulge in the world of liquid lights. The process involves old school overhead projectors, colored oil and water, and concave/convex glass lenses; when mixed together properly, the ingredients create colorful dreamscapes that illuminate any surface in front of them, with the possibility to integrate light transparencies with colored prints or patterns to further create unique visual experiences.
Liquid light shows speak to Kari because she likes chaos in her visual art, to experience a moment for what it is, and for the art to never repeat itself, to be impermanent and one-of-a-kind. If it is hard to capture on camera, it’s perfect. Light shows, therefore, are definitely a form of performance art.
When the already incredible experience of live music collaborates with live light shows, everyone in the room travels into another realm.
From a performing musician’s perspective, having a light show during the set takes some of the pressure off. Instead of staring at the walls or down at their hands, the musicians can interact with the swirling colors, enjoying their bright and omnipresent embrace.
“Far Out” and “psychedelic” are two terms rarely thrown around today. Kari and Brianne chose those adjectives for their fest not because they only showcase music that “fits in the genre,” but primarily because their fest benefits MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). In fact, they both consider music genres to be very fluid labels; psychedelic is more of a feeling or transcendence than a label. Anything that allows the mind to reach an altered state, to open something new, is psychedelic; so the term can technically be applied to anything, like eating glorious soft-serve ice cream or watching an incredible and moving kid’s movie.
For a first experience using music to heighten physical experiences, I (and Brianne) suggest attending heavy metal yoga here at HOME. The playlist consists of metal tunes leaning more towards the drone-y end of the spectrum. The empowering feeling of practicing yoga and the intensified listening of metal music simultaneously amplify one another during the metal yoga session, channeling a heightened sense of power through the whole body.
If Kari and Brianne’s vibe speaks to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to them via phone or socials. They would love to talk and continuously expand their artist network!
https://www.facebook.com/faroutnashville
https://www.faroutnashville.com/
https://www.instagram.com/faroutnashville/
https://www.instagram.com/karileighames/
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Lauren Ashley Autrey
Fully committed to starting again. Lauren began following her entertainment and writing passion at an early age, and she's also possibly part mermaid.
Music Mama Making Moves
Fully committed to starting her music career again, Lauren began following her entertainment and writing passion at an early age, and she's also possibly part mermaid.
Lauren recently made the committed switch from corporate with a music hobby to all creative all the time.
Having been in a corporate setting for about 10 years in Memphis, she knew she needed to make the move to Nashville. At heart, Lauren always has been and always will be a writer and singer, so last July she dived in head first into the music world, arrived in Music City, and found a quaint abode in cozy Franklin, TN. Today, Lauren is fully committed to her music career, but above all, family comes first! Lauren's daughter boasts to others about her mom's musical talents!
Today for inspiration, Lauren enjoys floating on the waters of Center Hill/Pickwick Lake, or just being around water in general, whether it be in the shower or elsewhere. In fact, she tries to go to the lake at least once every weekend. Being from Florida and later moving to Gulf Shores, AL, Lauren was born and raised by the ocean, which definitely stuck to her core, like a barnacle to the bottom of a boat, but more fabulous. She admits, though, that her writing technique is slightly backwards; first she writes the lyrics, usually with a melody in mind, and then picks up a guitar to pluck out the right tune. The only danger is that if a song isn’t finished in about two hours, then it often becomes an unfinished product. To remedy her dilemma, she seeks to co-write, collaborating with like-minded creatives to help find the missing piece of the puzzle for the song to come alive.
As far as her introduction to HOME goes, she first heard of us through Trevor Hartz, who had met her little sister, who is half singer half doctor, at Hang Out Fest. Then Lauren’s sister introduced her to Trevor who introduced her to Logan, and once you meet Logan, there’s no turning back. So, Lauren became a member in early May.
The family’s musicality comes from her dad’s side. Her great grandfather had his own radio station and an entire wall covered with different instruments that he knew how to play. Lauren’s father also could play guitar, sing, and write music, but he never pursued his musical side; instead, his musical passion transferred over to Lauren, becoming her first major musical influence. She even recalls singing and recording “I Wish I Was A Baby Bumblebee” at 2 with her dad.
Both her parents fully supported her young ambitions and enrolled her in a performing arts school in Orlando.
After dancing and singing locally, Lauren landed her first big gig at Universal Studios as a regular performer in a Barney parade. Her very first job required her to leave her elementary school and be tutored from 2nd through 5th grade at Universal with the other performing kids. Unfortunately, around that time, she and her family moved from house to house and during the hustle and bustle of moving, lost all the important contacts to the producers; the numbers had all been written down physically, since digital cell phone contacts were not yet a thing.
Regardless, during her middle school years, Lauren was in the church choir and began to write music around age 12 or 13. In school, she was a bookworm and worked extremely hard, making all A’s in her classes; since she absolutely adored writing, other students would pay her to write their homework for them! Her musical/lyrical writing, though, really picked up at 18, and she would write like crazy.
The next phase in Lauren’s life was not as musical. She took a break and had two gorgeous kids, and, like mentioned earlier, worked in corporate for 10 years. Now that her corporate life stage is over, Lauren is jumping right back in music with full force! Starting last year, Lauren found a producer in order to aggressively move forward and make things happen. They created an EP, but they’re waiting until the right moment to market the EP before its release. Lauren is also currently working on scheduling a showcase for herself. With a former plan to go on tour this summer, coordinating and booking as an artist is rather difficult, like juggling while balancing on a beach ball.
Difficulties aside, Lauren believes that music has a purpose.
Striving to reach people on a deeper, spiritual level, while embodying the country-pop genre, Lauren’s biggest musical influence is Carrie Underwood. For Lauren, Carrie does more than simply record and perform tunes; she motivates people who are experiencing bad situations and tries to serve a higher purpose using her songs. Lauren additionally looks for musical inspiration from Maren Morris due to her ability to seamlessly shake up and change her sound. Though, she admits that, as a child, Mariah Carrey was her idol. As a principle, Lauren looks up to musicians who use their talents for a purpose besides becoming rich and famous. Music holds the ability to move nations, so it should be utilized for spreading positivity and a sense of community to the world. One of Lauren’s most-loved songs, “Sunglasses In The Rain,” pushes people through rough circumstances by acknowledging that life is worth living, even when times are tough.
Despite her evident musical and lyrical talent, Lauren repeated a music theory class five times in college in order to attain a passing grade; the theoretical concepts just didn’t click with her. Of course, an artist can be successful without knowing how to transpose music, but Lauren agrees with her recently connected aunt, who is an insanely musically talented classical piano and voice instructor in San Antonio. Her aunt encourages students to enroll in music theory classes, because once you understand music theory, sky is the limit. When your skills include quickly transposing sheet music and identifying keys by hear, you hold the upper hand in the industry. So, Lauren completed her Bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in music.
To date, it has been challenging for Lauren finding loyal musicians to rehearse and commit for one show, let alone finding musicians to form a band.
It is possible for Lauren to perform guitar and vocals on her own, but she acknowledges her self-taught six-string shortcomings, and prefers singing with highly skilled guitar players on stage. Back when she was in Memphis, she met a large human-sized teddy bear named Charvey, who has incredible music chops. Lauren and Charvey are highly compatible and collaborate extremely well together; however, Charvey is a musician always in demand and plays shows nearly every night, so it’s difficult for the two to reunite.
Lauren’s ideal collaborative partner is someone with a hunger, but has their own musical goals they also want to pursue, someone who is willing to commit to her projects and is at a similar stage in their career. One showcase experience with an in-house guitarist taught Lauren that having a true flow with the musicians onstage is vital. Needless to say, she prefers to work with musicians she knows on a personal level, rather than musicians who work for the venue.
At the end of the day, musicians and creatives need one another to succeed.
To taste a sample of Lauren’s music, visit her pages on ReverbNation and Spotify! Don’t forget to show some love!
https://www.reverbnation.com/laurenashleyautrey
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JMTBPF9EzyPIqGCyjVMNC
https://www.instagram.com/laurenashleyautrey/
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Brad Dollar
Has the tools and the know-how to move music from dusty hard-drive to audience's ears; Brad gears towards helping artists on a deeper level to reach people through music.
Seasoned Producer Flowing Energy
Has the tools and the know-how to move music from dusty hard-drive to audience's ears; Brad gears towards helping artists on a deeper level to reach people through music
Supreme pizza
Imagine living in a city where the weather is nearly always perfectly warm and sunny, where the art scene is oozing with creativity, and where the civilians are as diverse and multi-cultural as the toppings on a supreme pizza.
That dreamy city is exactly what Brad left behind one year ago in July to become the New Guy in Nashville; who knew July heat here wouldn’t turn a West Coast native away.
More specifically, Brad hails from The Bay/Oakland, California area, which he dubs a haven for hyper-creative music and technology makers. The mix of minds and cultures transfers over into the music Brad creates; it allows him to broaden his perspective for what is possible to concoct. The danger, however, is remaining in the clouds. Too much freedom can be counter-productive and can build a never-ending list of unfinished projects, in Brad’s experience. The unbound freedom is abundant in The Bay, which provides a fantastic environment for performers to flourish; Brad, however, is no performer. Relocating to a city where music business individuals use a timeline was Brad’s best option, so he decided to pack it up, expand his music ecosystem, and move to Nashville. Creative discipline, a sense of adventure, and massive amounts of music drew Brad to our great city.
The buzz of HOME reached Brad’s ears in January, when he met Logan for the first time. However, he only recently signed up as a member in early May. For Brad, energy and synchronicity is vital; he needed a studio space and writing room that wouldn’t separate him from a community of creatives. Also, at HOME, we are a no-schmooze-necessary zone, and everyone here has a vision to build something greater, which helps Brad break the barrier to network with others. According to Brad, HOME is a signal of what is happening in the world in a broader sense. People crave a dialogue about creating. People desire to learn and discover answers to their questions. Here, the HOME community embodies a constantly flowing synergy for people to grow without limits.
Brad’s earliest music memories are blurry from ages 3-7, but he remembers playing on the piano with his mom while she sang, and drawing dots on a page trying to write his own version of sheet music. When he was 11 he picked up the guitar, which quickly led to the desire to play with other people. Soon he also began recording his music in order to show other people what he could do, and shortly realized his talents were stronger in the recording field rather than the playing field. So, at age 17 he started a studio business out of his grandmother’s garage, a precursor to going on small tours to LA or Oregon. Nearing the end of his High School career, Brad was certain he was not going to enroll in college because he wanted to do his own thing; however, he did attend Ex'pression College for Digital Arts and earned a Bachelor's of Applied Science in Audio Engineering. Even so, at age 20 he assisted Stephen Hart with mixing at Bay Area Sound Studios as an intern, leading to becoming a studio manager. Fun fact: his first ever recording session at BASS was in 2008 with Van Morrison. Two years later, the ownership switched over to Bob Weir and became TRI Studios. Next scene, Brad freelanced, flying all over the country producing and mixing records. To date, he has over 2,000 recordings under his belt and counting. Of course, some recordings are released while others remain dust-covered in an attic, waiting for the perfect moment for reveal.
Rewinding back to 25/26 years old, Brad shifted his focus and he began working for Zoo Labs in 2013 as a producer/mentor, helping artists put their work together, think about who their audience is, and learn about the business side of making sweet music.
The company Zoo Labs came to Brad during an important intersection in his life when he was trying to establish a thriving producing and engineering life. He was frustrated that he had music sitting on hard drives breeding dust bunnies, and he wanted to understand why; he wanted to know how to give design and purpose to things so that they can be distributed into the world of music. Today, we expect all artists to have everything already figured out, but the reality is that musicians don’t automatically know how to market their music to the ears of the masses. Artists aren’t always business savvy. Zoo Labs takes that ethos and goes into the paradigm of the music industry; they are genre agnostic and try to make sure that the music teams are working cohesively and effectively moving product. In this age with highly accessible technology, the recording industry is an unguarded castle: there is nothing to prevent artists from creating and releasing music, which also means that artists assume the role of entrepreneur.
The creative production sound Brad embodies in his work derives from heavy 80s influence growing up. He has three sisters 14, 15, and 17 years older than he, and they obsessively played old 80s hits in the 2000s as if they were new smash singles. As a result, the synthetic sound weaved itself into the fabric of his creative mind; though, he tries his best to utilize the distinct sound without cheesing it up. Particular 80s artist influences include Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, and Oingo Boingo; more contemporary influences include Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
The list of artists Brad has had a hand in recording/producing is as long as the Chick-fil-a drive-thru line, and includes names such as Father John Misty, Lukas Nelson, Journey, and Grateful Dead.
Thanks to working with Bob Weir in his studio, Brad has also had the opportunity to work with local Bay artists such as Van Morrison, Primus, and Metallica.
When the studio changed ownership, Brad helped rebuild the studio with Bob, and Journey was one of the first projects to record in the newly renovated space. The band waltzed in with an entire touring set-up for live tracking to create their most recent record, which is now on Spotify. When participating in Lukas Nelson’s recording project, “and The Promise of The Real” had not yet amassed. Instead, Bob Weir and Lukas were consistently writing at Bob’s house with guitar, and then they came to TRI to lay down the original acoustic tracks. Those tracks were later re-recorded as transposed pieces for the full "and The Promise of The Real" band, what we now listen to today.
In summary, Brad is the New Guy in town with energy already flowing, ready for creatives to tap into the energy and flow with him. He realizes there is a lot of potential and that artists here feel pressured to create something new and groundbreaking. Reality is, there is no need to re-invent the wheel of music; the key is bringing in more of who you genuinely are into your music. What truly makes music come to life is every person and everything happening around the music during its conception. Everyone leaves their own thumbprint on music.
Visit his website for more info and show him love on his socials!
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram
Karizma aka Lord Goldie
Native born Nashvillian growing the overshadowed local rap scene through live performance, cross-genre collaboration, and spreading good vibes
Hip-hop Unicorn With a Vision
Native born Nashvillian growing the overshadowed local rap scene through live performance, cross-genre collaboration, and spreading good vibes.
Check out her interview with Rick Barker below 👇
Read on for the full ‘Homie Spotlight’ article on Lord Goldie…
One of the rare ones who stayed, Lord Goldie, otherwise known as Karizma, was born and raised in the 12 South/Wedgewood area; bonus fact: the unofficial official term for a born and bred Nashvillian is “unicorn.”
In fact, back in ’97, Karizma had an old friend who owned a record shop on 12 South, which is no longer there and is now probably a brunch place. She decided to go against the current and stay in Nashville because she saw the city changing around her and wanted to become part of the change; though, Karizma also firmly believes that as an artist, it is important to journey outside of home, at least for a short moment, in order to grow mentally and creatively. To fulfill her nomadic artist development requirement, Karizma has travelled back and forth between here and Texas since her childhood, mainly to Houston. Other visited spots include Memphis and Atlanta. She plans on expanding her horizon by venturing up to New York by the end of this year as well.
Karizma also goes way back (as in back to the start of the year), with her introduction to HOME. Being a member since January/February, Jeremy and Jason of Root Note introduced Karizma to HOME Owner Logan, and set up a meeting before The Grand Tour existed, while the space was still under construction, transforming from a garage to the cozy spot it is today. The lack of a magnificent Tour did not sway Karizma; she saw the vision and baby HOME’s potential. Clearly Karizma has flawlessly tapped into her third eye, as HOME continues to grow and blossom.
Karizma’s introduction to music happened when she was a little kid. She had always been into poetry, and by age 9 she had written her first rap. In High School she was in a large group with a wide array of members. It was around that time when she started recording her music. After graduating High School, she attended SAE in Nashville, studied audio, learned how to mix, and earned a bachelor’s degree in something like Audio of Applied Science. Today, she sports a soundboard in ink on her right forearm.
In 2014, Karizma continued to write and create, and she added Producer Kyd Dynomyte among several others to her creative team to compose and release her first project onto Bandcamp.
To create her first project, titled Built 2 Last, she worked with producers Tim Hall, Syk Sense, Play Dat Beat Wee Wee, and Jeffo The Hitmaker in studio to write, record, and repeat. She tells me the recording experience varied depending on which producer she was working with that particular day; since producers are humans, they each have their own individual personality and creative flow. On top of the different personalities and different vibes, whether or not the producer played an instrument added another layer of diversity. Overall, the recording process was not at all difficult, since Karizma vibed well with each producer.
Also a member of TONS, Karizma is one of the growing number of non-country identifying artists in Nashville, though she is open to collaborate and create with anyone in any genre. Karizma knows hip-hop is her personal strength, but for her, if it works, it works, even rap country. She sees the hip-hop scene in Nashville growing and evolving, but the current obstacle is that Music Row doesn’t yet know how to market the genre. To counter the obstacle, Karizma mashes hip-hop with more currently accessible music. Creatively claustrophobic, Karizma has already collaborated with r&b vocalist Odessa Moon to cook up “Embers,” but she would love to exchange brain waves with underground rock band The Weird Sisters, thanks to the influence of her uncle raising her on rock, listening to legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana.
Being a mythical Nashvillian unicorn, Karizma has witnessed the rapid expansion and growth of the Music City: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Believe it or not, there was once a time when cars roamed free without thousands of stoplights or being gridlocked in traffic jams on the interstate; though, the large influx of people means that there are always new faces to meet every time you walk through a door.
There are speculations as to why Nashville is growing at such a rapid rate, that Karizma and I discussed and agreed on. One speculation is the rise of Nashville hot chicken. Apparently, Hattie B’s is not the original; they grabbed the recipe from local, family owned Prince’s Hot Chicken, she tells me. Regardless, The Food Network featured our spicy poultry and informed the masses that our amazing and yummy city exists. Another speculation, of course, is the rise of country music in the mainstream, which could be attributed to Blake Shelton’s popularity from his coaching gig on The Voice, as well as Florida Georgia Line’s cross-genre creations, introducing non-country fans to the sound of country. Despite the speculative reasons, it is evident that Nashville is expanding daily, maybe even hourly, as more artistic folk discover the welcoming energy we emanate.
Focusing back on Karizma, another critical moment for her creative career is performing at SXSW every year since about 2013 or ’14. Her connection with DJ Money Green, who has 2 stages every year, opens the door to meeting different artists of all flavors. The Spring weekend even is a hot hub for indie artists, where business cards and CDs are handed out like candy on Halloween.
All her collabs and performances have guided Karizma to where she is today, with her latest release, “Like I’m Broke”; though, more is to come in August!
Go show her some love at her live shows and on her socials!
Interviewed and written by Andra Ingram.