1. Hey GrayBeat, super nice to have the chance to chat with you! First and foremost, what got you into music?
Hmmm. Dancing naked to kick drum heart beats? At a young age, Huey Luis sang to me through the stereo wires, and he said, “The heart of rock ‘n’ roll is the beatin’”. Then he ended with just a little guitar and a kick drum heart beat. I ended up scratching a lot of my Dad’s records when I was just barely out of diapers, due to all the dancing in the living room. I loved turning random knobs on his vintage stereo too :)
2. Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
I’ve played over eighty shows online over the last year and a half. It’s hard to nail one down, though I just played my first in-person shows as GrayBeat, so I’d probably have to go with that one. My most virtuoso performance would have come sometime in the last few decades when I performed with myriad groups and many genres as a drum set and percussion player.
3. What makes you different from others?
Probably the areas I excel in are really interpersonal areas, like empathy and self-awareness. Music helps get me in touch with the cool, calm and collected side of myself. It helps a ton in every aspect of what I do, which is all about connecting with people in new and innovative ways in order to improve their lives and self-worth.
4. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
At this point, I’ve developed a great sense of timing, dynamics, feel and arrangement from drumming all those years. Now, I’ve also been able to develop a keen ear for sonics as I’ve pursued my career in music production. It has really helped me to get in tune with frequencies, textures and emotions in audio.
5. How do you spend your time?
Making music and connecting with fans and other artists.
6. What is your creative process like?
Not giving into the “digital haze”. I’ve been involved with other budding producers in organized activities like collaborations and virtual online classes. It’s really helped me break free from distractions like social media in order to really bear down, focus and do what I love to do, which is produce records and perform. Once I’m in that zone, I have a very finely crafted methodology and efficient workflow that I’m always improving on. This means I’m also able to stay focused and keep making great art.
7. What is the best advice you’ve been given?
“It doesn’t matter.” To me, this means that sometimes you have to remind yourself not to get in your own way. Stress kills creativity. Don’t be distracted by what’s out of your control.
8. What’s your favorite movie?
Spaceballs
9. What’s your favorite 80’s album?
Def Leppard Hysteria
10. Do you often agree with The Pigeon?
Yes, with the disclaimer that I’m generally pretty agreeable :)
The Pigeon added the new single, "Levitron" to his Weekly Gems playlist on Spotify. You can check out the released music below. If you like what you hear, make sure to follow along so you can stay on top of future releases.
Interview by The Pigeon
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
This coverage was created via Musosoup
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