The most common question I get asked is, “How did you come up with the name Quiet Entertainer?” The answer is pretty simple, but it deserves a not so simple explanation.

At the very beginning, Quiet Entertainer was just a screen name. Kind of an online alias. When I first went to college, I received my very first email address at MTSU where I attended. This was my introduction to the internet. I had a school email address but I wanted my OWN email. My real name is pretty common so when I signed up for a free email address I needed to come up with a name. I didn’t want to be gregfreeman12345@whatever .com .

So, the name Quiet Entertainer came to me quite easily. It most accurately reflected my personality at the time and still does today. When I was in elementary, junior high, & high school, I was the really quiet and nerdy guy. I didn’t really talk to anyone except for my one or two friends. And I usually only had just one or two friends at a time. In high school though, I started being involved in theater. Performing in front of a live audience, more than anything, made me feel very alive. So I was a very quiet dude, who suddenly had this very expressive outlet.

It not only reflected my personality then, but also what I wanted to be. I remember my high school self as being very self centered and egotistical. I really didn’t like a lot of other people. I loved to brag about how much better I was in whatever area. As I started to become more self aware about this, Quiet Entertainer as a name was a reminder to myself to practice humility, but put your best self forward. As it related to acting and theater, I wanted to stop being conceited, stop boasting, and just perform excellently. (By the way, I still am pursuing acting as a career. Take a look at my first national commercial.)

As life took its turns, I wanted my new title to spill into every area of my life instead of just acting. I think I parked quietentertainer@every-email-I-could-think-of.com at some point. I really didn’t know just how far you could take it or know anyone else who really embodied what I was trying to accomplish. As I type that, I realize I didn’t know exactly what I was trying to accomplish in the first place. That was until I discovered DJ Shadow.

I wanted to make people feel the way DJ Shadow made me feel.

So now, I had a template. In my mind, I had found the ultimate artist. I started looking for other artists like him. As I got more and more information, I started finding my favorite artists and watching their interviews and going to see them perform. I paid attention to everything. How they carried themselves. How they answered questions. All of my favorites had a few things in common.

They were all very humble.
All were doing things artistically that no one else was really doing.
They all were great performers.

Of course, I felt the same initial feeling that I felt when I would see these types of artists.

I suppose this is all very subjective from my point of view. Artistically, I’m influenced by DJ Shadow. Also, I got a lot from Blue Man Group. I remember seeing them in New York and I was absolutely blown away by what they were doing. It seemed like they almost appealed to all five senses with their performance. As I continued to learn more about DJ-ing, I wondered what would happen if Blue Man Group decided to become DJs?

So for me, it’s kind of an artistic pay-it-forward kind of thing. I want to intrigue and inspire people in the same way I was intrigued and inspired. I try to do that with the music, with my live show, with this blog, and especially through my emails.

If you have any questions about any of that, leave them in the comments below.

I get compared to Blue Man Group a lot. Sometimes, I try to think of what I can do to make my live show more dynamic like Blue Man Group. But then I started thinking, “what if Blue Man Group were DJs?”

Well, I know on their music tour; they traveled with a DJ, Mike Relm. The key to that, visuals. Check the video:

But there needs to be more. Blue Man Group uses a lot of props. So, they can’t just be stuck behind the decks all night. They need to come out and do something really cool. One guy who’s doing something like this already is RJD2. Look at this video when he puts on a spinning MPC harness.

So they are combining visuals, props, creativity…but what else? Maybe they could add 3d visuals to their show. I’ve never seen DJs do that, but I can imagine Blue Man Group giving everyone 3d glasses before their DJ set. Check out this band, Club of the Sons; who are already using 3d visuals at their live show.

Or maybe should just use very colorful visuals and project them on top of themselves! I have seen some bands do that to varying degrees of success. It would be a great addition to some slammin’ tracks. Would Blue Man have to wear all white though? Check out this band, Macrosick.

Whatever they did; I’m sure it would be pretty unique! I’m going to have to brainstorm some more ideas on what they might do as DJs so that I can know what I might do to be just as dynamic & interesting! Look at this!

Machismo EP

I’m really excited and please about the Machismo EP. It’s a collection of some tracks I’ve done with some of my friends & favorite emcees. Let me tell you a bit about it, track by track:

I definitely want you to have this music. Now that you know all about it, please go ahead and check it out here!,/a>

Click here to download the “Machismo EP”

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