In Nashville, those of us in the hip hop and electronic music scene get our info on what’s good in a few different places. Eventually, we all take our cues from Sean Maloney. Writing for the Nashville Scene, he’s established himself as the voice of hip hop music and electronic music in Nashville. This gives him a unique perspective on a music scene and vast connection to all the different pockets of every genre. I appreciate that he took some time out to answer a few questions.

QE: I first knew you as Bawston Sean. Are you from Boston? How did you end up in Nashville?

SM: I grew up in Massachusetts and lived in Boston right before I moved here, though my family is actually from the city of Lawrence. (The same city as Statik Selektah for those of you keeping score at home.) In ’97 I had met the dudes from a now super obscure Nashville band The Methadone Actors and they told me that they studied the music business here. I forgot about that conversation for about five years, until I had a roommate steal all of my stuff and decided that it was time to get the hell out of Boston.

QE: My very first show in Nashville was actually filling in a slot that was left by you at Springwater. Tell me about how you got plugged in to DJ-ing in Nashville.

SM: Socially, I tend to gravitate towards record nerds wherever I end up and the nerdiest nerds even in this nerdy town tend to be DJs. About a year after I got to Murfreesboro my roommate Linwood — currently the drummer for Those Darlins — and I started a night called An Unzipped Fly at the Campus Pub. We played punk, soul and garage at a shitty dive bar. It sounds pretty by-the-numbers now, but 8 years ago nobody was doing that, so we ended up pulling a good crowd. Then I worked at Grand Palace Records for a few years, doing promotions stuff, booking shows and DJing at said shows. But mostly everything for me starts with figuring out that they had dollar drafts at the Campus Pub.

QE: How did you end up with the Nashville Scene? Had you been writing a lot before linking with them?

SM: I wrote lots and lots of bat-shit insane PR emails for Murfreesboro bands and for some reason folks at the paper paid attention. Well, the bands were pretty fucking awesome. Ghostfinger, The Bang Up, Glossary, How I became the Bomb. But ya, I had been deluging the Scene with spam and starting flame-wars on the Nashville Cream for years when I decided to move to the city. I just sent the music editor at the time, Tracy Moore, an email and said ‘Yo, I wanna write’. And she said yes.

QE: It appears that within that publication, you’re the official voice of the local hip hop and electronic scene. How did that fall into your lap? Or did you plan it that way?

SM: In that first email, I mentioned that I could cover hip hop and electronic music; even though at the time there wasn’t a lot of hip hop or electronic coverage in the paper at the time. And again, I’m a nerd, so when I commit my interest to a topic, I tend to go overboard. I’ve loved hip hop and electronic music since I was a kid and found it sort of frustrating that nobody was writing about it in the local papers. I’m lucky enough to have editors that have trusted my taste and instincts. It’s really just dub luck on my part that I started writing just as things were really gelling musically.

QE: I heard about you being a comic. How is that going?

SM: It’s…interesting. I haven’t been doing a lot of stand-up lately, because it’s really tough to turn my brain around from writing music criticism all day. I do have some new material I want to work up, but mostly I’m just making guest appearances on The Chris Crofton Show podcast. That takes care of my comedy-jones most weeks.

QE: Tell me about any other project you’re a part of.

SM: Currently teaching my cat monlogues from the work of Anton Chekov.

QE: How has being a writer helped you add value to the music scene?

SM: Fucked if I know, but it definitely keeps the lights on at my house.

QE: I wrote a blog about how to get a write up in the Scene. What’s your best advice to an artist trying to get press coverage or trying to get on your radar?

SM: Don’t be a dick. Get your shit together. Work hard on the art of music and don’t try to impress me with you tangential knowledge of marketing lingo. Nobody gives a fuck about your “brand”, just concentrate on making good records. Make sure your links work and your meta-data is complete. Don’t expect a response. Don’t let that discourage you. Go to shows, all the fucking time. Talk to people, meet people. Stop spamming Twitter if you ain’t gonna show up when it counts.

QE: You have a unique perspective in that all the different sections of the local hip hop community will contact you or try to keep you informed of who they are or what’s going on. What are some things that you wish everyone knew about the hip hop/electronic scene?

SM: That people even know it exists at all is enough for me.

QE: One day someone will tell me that Nashville’s hip hop scene is great; then someone else will say that it’s horrible. I like our scene a lot. But how do you think our scene compares to other scenes around the country?

SM: I think people forget that even awesome scenes with big national artists still have lots of shitty music. Most music, in any scene is generally going to be bullshit. I think a lot of people have these really crazy expectations for what a scene can be, and then they’re disappointed when their wildest dreams don’t come true. But if you want to eat, breathe and shit music 24/7, there’s no better scene in the world.

QE: What mistakes do you see being made in the Nashville hip hop scene?

SM: Too many people are trying to get everybody else behind their “movement”. Fuck a movement, make a record worth listening to. A lot of people put the cart before the horse, concentrating on branding and imaginary clothing lines when the need to be working on their craft.

QE: What about the electronic music scene?

SM: People need to rediscover the glory and the majesty of house music.

QE: 2011 was a great year for Nashville hip hop. What would you like to see happen locally in 2012?

SM: Some outside attention would be great, but I’d be happy with having more good music to listen to.

QE: What artists do you see “doing it right” in Nashville and what are they doing?

SM: I there’s a lot of artists that are “doing it right” but that also means different thing for different people. I think in general, it’s the people that are the most patient and willing to work, the people that have spent years doing their one thing regardless of the recognition they may or may not be getting. The folks that are concentrating on music rather than all the peripheral bullshit that are definitely doing it right.

I was talking to Ugly Lovely the other day. He has some new hoodies and t-shirts printed up. He was asking me what I was using to sell my own merch. So I wanted to put this out there. I am currently using Reverb Store through Reverbnation. I do this simply because they allow me and the customer to buy merch on demand. What that means is, I don’t have to print up a huge bulk order of t-shirts before someone can buy one.

This is great for me because I can’t always afford to buy a bunch of merch. I also don’t always have room to carry around a whole bunch of shirts that may or may not sell. I enjoy having this setup because the people who want them; will buy them.

I understand that at live shows, it’s tough to get someone to buy anything online and have it shipped to them. Also, they don’t get that “take-home” item. Also I see now that with on-demand shirts, there is no scarcity. Meaning, there is no urgency to buy a shirt. No chance that I’m going to run out. So no need to buy TODAY. These are the only drawbacks. Otherwise, it makes great sense if you don’t have hundred or thousands of dollars to drop up front.

I’ve found that when I have shirts printed up; it’s easy to let the shirts go for less than what they are worth, just so that people will have them. I end up doing this to disguise and to hide myself from the simple truth: The demand for my merch isn’t that high right now.

Or put another way: No one wants to buy my merch yet.

It’s pretty demoralizing to just have a bunch of shirts and hoodies lying around. Just like it’s a bummer hanging on to a thousand CDs that no one is buying at the shows. So you end up just giving them away.

Mind you, if I were touring across the country. Being in front of a new audience every night. Introducing myself to someone new every time. It might make more sense then to have physical merch pressed and ready to go. As it stands now though, I’m working a day job. Looking for another day job. My work as a DJ right now is to create more music and content and to make money quickly and steadily as I continue. Here’s another great perspective on what I need to do in 2012.

Anyway, I use Reverb Store. It’s easy. Maybe one day I’ll use Topspin. Maybe not. What are you using?

(BTW: I’ve put up some pictures of people wearing their Quiet Entertainer shirt! Be sure to send them to me if you have pictures of yourself wearing one!)

The year is almost over! New Year’s Eve is a busy time of year for DJs. I’ve got two big shows coming
up this weekend. I’m grateful for every opportunity to do what I enjoy. Meanwhile, I want to look
back at some of my favorite shows of the year. Here they are in no particular order (maybe
chronological though).

1. Me with This is ART in Knoxville.
We did this show way back in January. It might be my favorite. It was the show that I unofficially
anointed myself as This is ART‘s understudy. This was the first of a bunch of shows we did
together this year. For this one, he gave me a great opportunity to go out there to Knoxville and
showcase my unique live PA set. They have a great music scene in Knoxville. We were part of
Midnight Voyage, which is a great weekly party based around their UTK radio show. Also with FTW (Meatball Madness & J-Mo).

2. Me with Spoken Nerd, Manchild, The Billy Goats, & Get Got
This was my Almost Too Good To Be True show at The 5 Spot. The 5 spot is one of my favorite places
to play in Nashville. Great vibes. It was also the show that I was kind of in charge of. Good
weekend for all of us. Great to do a show with friends. I got a lot of great video; including a
special moment with the MCs getting on stage with me and Jed Smith while freestyling.

3. Me with Evolution Control Committee, stAllio!, DJ Empirical and Pimpdaddysupreme at The End.
I felt like such a rock star that weekend. Great to mix it up with some pioneering electronic artists. I was inspired all weekend by watching ECC do their thing. Also the night before, I saw Hobbledeions. That was awesome.

4. me with Get Got, Sharone Digitale, & Orig the DJ
This was our I Love Trip-Hop show. It was a concept show from Orig (You know Orig the DJ). So we both like vibed out hip hop and trip hop. And he had a connection with Exit/In. This was a great show because it exposed a lot of people to Sharone Digitale. Also, this was a great show with Jed Smith. Jed has been drumming with me for a little while now. This was my favorite time to play with him. It sounded good and it felt good. I remember that most everyone was there to see Get Got and then a few people stuck around for Sharone Digitale. By the time I went on, there were just a couple of people left plus all the artists and bands. But that last group of people were going nuts for our set and dancing it up. It was one of the most fun shows I’ve done in a while. And my first time at Exit/In since Valentine’s Day in 2007 (my 2nd worst show ever). This was a great redemption show.

5. me with The Billy Goats, Smokee B, Bobby Exodus, Ugly Lovely, Darian D & Jermy J, Ol Man
Delusional & Blak Tha Map at The Coup
This was fun. We made it kind of a hip hop festival in Clarksville. Up to that point mostly
everyone had been doing only dubstep and bass shows. So it was very cool to get a group out to see
some good hip hop. We didn’t pack the place but we had a good sized crowd of people who were
really into each and every artist. I was glad to have put that show together. Also, it was good to
get some shows for guys like Darian D & Jermy J. I don’t book for other people really anymore. But
when I do, I’d rather it went down like this.

6. me with This is Art & Satoru at 12th and Porter
This was a Name Your Own Price show! I was scared of how that would go. We packed the place out. I had a good crowd for my set. I got to collab with Art on stage the way we did in Knoxville. I met Satoru. Met the sound people and light people at 12th. Also important, it was the first show I had done after releasing Q-Gaze. So it was the only time I had ever done the Q-Gaze mix live from start to finish. I got a great response. This was my favorite show I’ve done in Nashville.

7. Silent Disco with This is Art, Dope Dialect, & Beat Repeat.
This was very cool. Only because of the uniqueness of the Silent Disco. My set went surprisingly well. If you’ve never been to a Silent Disco; you have to try it. It’s very different. But I like it. I want to do more of these. The headphones made my computer voice trick more effective!

8. Sayonara at 12th and Porter.
My favorite show is always my next show. And this one is Tonight! It’s free. I’m opening. It’s Arkiteqt‘s debut performance I believe. Glad to be a part of that. Also with Ziggurat, Beat Repeat, Blaque Masque Bellydance and Umbra Fusion Bellydance in the main room. Squake, Saejma, Suga-Free, & Chris Rodriguez in the lounge room.

9. UNIFY on New Year’s Eve
This party is too massive to sum up in a small blurb. Yet I try. 3 rooms. 40+ DJs. Mostly dubstep with some drum and bass and house. Then there’s me. haha. Click the flyer!

Live Concert Pics by Raywen.org, Audible Imagery, & Ramiah Branch Photography

Today I have a guest post from Celeste AKA GalaxCgirl. Celeste performs as GalaxCgirl in Asheville, NC and the surrounding area where she combines her DJ set with live visuals. Celeste was actually sent to my post about booking your own live shows after she made a similar rant on her facebook page. (Thanks J-Mo!) She came to my site and left and comment. After talking with her a bit, I thought it’d be great if she could share her thoughts here. Below, Celeste shares her thoughts about how to make it easier to get booked by adding value to your music scene. Check it out here.

Enjoy the guest post and leave your feedback and comments below.

So you wanna get booked to play? While I have never wanted to call myself a promoter, ok, I admit…I do make some bangin parties happen sometimes, lol. And I get A LOT of people hitting me up wanting me to book them so I can only imagine how many inquiries people who do call themselves promoters get.

So some things to consider as a random DJ asking to get booked:

Talent aside, there are a million other acts with extreme talent lining up to be booked so it only makes sense for someone who busts their ass with the blood, sweat, and tears of countless hours of real back breaking, hair splitting, finger numbing work to organize and promote a party, to book someone who appreciates the hard work and dedication it takes and will help the party go off beyond just dropping in for their scheduled set. Unless you are way huger than you think and attracting gobs of fanatics who can’t get enough of you by the mere whisper of your name, what can you do to enhance the party? What else do you bring to the table?

Do you have an online presence? Are you even promotable? If you have NOTHING online and don’t even promote yourself how can anyone else promote you? But if you’ve made it past that genius step and do have some kind of even tiny presence to be promoted, why should they promote you and tell all their people about you when they have a ton of friends who also want to be booked but who actually return the favor and do the same for them? Have you shown support? Display excitement for their events? Do you like their facebook pages? Follow them somewhere, anything?

Do you promote yourself and the events you are doing? Do you tell and invite all your friends, post the page, post the flyer, make comments like a professional hype man to get everyone and their mother going out of their minds with anticipation for the best party ever even if they have to drive from Alaska? Will you help hand out flyers at every show to every person despite the mean people who act like you are scum for trying to invite them to a party and put up posters in the freezing cold with your nose about to fall off while your fingers are frozen numb and almost bleeding from not being able to wear gloves as you slap up posters in every possible spot? Then will you go check on these posters and put them back up the next day after they’ve been covered up or the haters have torn them down? If you don’t do that you should at least post it on facebook thirty gazillion times. (QE’s note: Be careful not to burn out your fans & friends on Facebook.)

Do you have anything to add to the party besides your set? Gear, deco, lights, tents, graphics, anything? Will you come help set up speakers and subs that weigh more than an elephant before the party and will you be there at 6 in the morning or the next day to help pack them up even though you are more dead tired than a zombie with it’s head shot off?

Do you also throw parties so you can return the favor of the booking if said promoter is also a performer and would also like bookings? Or will you encourage other promoters you know to book them? Or do you write a blog that you could help out by doing a little write up? Or own a cake shop and could bring a cake? Or a print shop and could print some posters? What else do you have or do that you could apply to enhance the party rather than just using and riding along on others efforts?

Do you come and make the party more hype by sticking around for the other acts, starting up the dance floor early in the night, exuding a vibe of uber awesomeness to inspire everyone to have the time of their lives? Or do you just show up for your set like you’re the only one that matters and possibly play the same tracks the DJ right before you just dropped rather than immersing yourself and becoming one with the party?

Also in initial contact, it helps to be somewhat articulate and include enough info on yourself and what you do – don’t make them go searching for you. Provide links, clickable links -don’t make it hard to check you out when they’ve got a billion other DJs with way more hype and professionalism hoping to get booked.

If you are past the point of “paying your dues” (aka playing for free and doing opening slots over and over til you have a real fan base because you are beyond awesome)(which you might think that you are but you’re actually still not and the harsh reality is that it can take a few eternities sometimes despite how amazing you are), is your price reasonable and flexible? In a lot of cases the DJ should really be paying the promoter for promoting them not the other way around, lol. If you are not bringing a million tons of gear that takes a million hours to rig up and can just mosey in and just plug in like a billion other DJs, you can’t expect an over inflated amount or maybe even anything at all when there is a trillion other expenses to be met until you are someone who is actually attracting the numbers to pull in the amount you want. If you’re not doing something extra or you’re not super famous and someone is paying anything at all, consider yourself very lucky.

Anyways, honestly, just to be straight up, I much prefer to book people who first like my facebook page, have shown me support, love or have promoted me even if it’s only for their own selfish reasons of knowing that supporting me just enables me to support them better, acts who will promote their little hearts out with the understanding that the better the party does, the more fun they will have and better we all do…not people who only think of themselves but people who let the love flow both ways and are willing to put in actual work to party…and I’m sure this goes for most people who bust ass throwing quality events. People who bust ass like other ass busters who return the love as it gets tiring busting ass to carry other’s weight when there’s already so much to do…

Good luck and blessings to everyone and your endeavors. May we all be warriors of ultimate truth shining love and bringing nirvana to the world in everything we do…

Thanks to Celeste for adding her thoughts here. You can find Celeste aka GalaxC Girl at GalaxCgirl.com or connect on her Facebook page.
Pictures from Audible Imagery & SIC Images

One of my email subscribers, Sandy, asked me recently, “What are your biggest influences? What are you currently listening to?” I hate to just give short answers to music related questions as personal as this one! Furthermore as I was looking at what I was listening to and matching it up with some of my favorite artists, I realized that a lot of music came out this year that I’ve enjoyed all year long. Let’s take a look in no particular order.

Wick-it the Instigator – The Brothers of Chico Dusty

Ok, there is a particular order. I mention this one first because it was actually released in December of 2010. But it’s so good. I listened to it a lot in 2011. Wick-it the Instigator‘s mashup album of Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Sons of Chico Dusty & The Black Keys’ Brothers. Deservedly, it went viral on the internet. I hope you grab this one right away.

Emancipator – Remixes

This was the sleeper hit of the year. I was addicted to this album for several months. I already liked Emancipator. This remix album added a lot of punch to his more vibed out tracks. As I type this, I’m inspired to start listening to this AGAIN. haha. Emancipator has been one of my favorite discoveries from Pandora. I even tried to remix/mashup one of his songs by the way.

DJ Shadow – The Less You Know, The Better

This was Shadow’s first studio release in years! When I talk about DJ Shadow today, people are very quick to point out that he’ll never release another record like Endtroducing. Ok, fine. Then, they tell me that he’s lost it. But come on. He was way ahead of everyone when he released The Outsider in 2006. Admittedly, I didn’t get it at first when that album came out. But now I look around, there’s all this bass music. I keep thinking, oh I’ve heard this before! I digress. So, Shadow tried to go back to his “roots” with The Less You Know, The Better. Here’s a great interview about it. I liked this record a lot. It reminded me of the UNKLE – Psyence Fiction album because it was super diverse. I listened to this over and over. You should have, too.

Mutemath – Odd Soul

Some of you know that I’m a longtime die-hard Mutemath fan. (I even got to open for Mutemath back in the day.) This is Mutemath’s best record. Great songwriting in the lyrics, melodies, & rhythm. This actually came out on the same day as DJ Shadow record. Yet, I was more excited about this one! It’s the perfect record for them. I don’t know how they top it. it’s a great pure rock album without a lot of the electronic and sample elements that I’m used to hearing. Actually, you’d think I would like it less because of that. But I love what they did. They were all over the place with the styles. I hope that since now they’ve proven themselves musically (as if they needed to), they can bring back all the samples and electronic stuff and make something ridiculous. But enough speculation, Listen to Odd Soul. If you haven’t already, you should have. Oh by the way, I entered their Odd Soul remix contest. I didn’t win; but I liked what I did. Download Odd Soul (Quiet Entertainer Remix)

BSBD – Noir

This album deserves its own blog entry. The reason I don’t: I’m not a music reviewer and don’t want to be known as a music reviewer. I don’t want thousands of rappers and bands sending me their music. But let me tell you. In my opinion, this is the best record that came out in 2011. It’s definitely my favorite. I don’t know what kind of genre you’d tag for Blue Sky Black Death. I know they are hip hop producers. However, the Noir album is kind of a shoegaze electronica triphop soundtrack-esque record. I’ve listened to this record the most. Every time I listen to it, I have a new favorite track. Every time I re-listen to a track, I discover a new element that I hadn’t noticed. It’s like reading the Bible. Yes, it’s a religious experience when I listen to this record. Is it kind of silly to talk this way about music? It’s just a record, right? If you feel that way, you probably need to leave my site right now. And then you need to go listen to Noir. You should have been listening all year long.

Quiet Entertainer – Q-Gaze

Shameless plug! I did my first ever mixtape EP this year! It’s called Q-Gaze. I mixed together some of the artists I listed here and a few others. You definitely need to grab that. It’s a free download. Get it here.

Like I said, I’m not a music reviewer. I’m more of a sharer. I’m just sharing music that I like. Through that mixtape and through this blog. I hope you took some time to listen. What records would you have put on this list for 2011? Let me know in the comments.

From L to R: Amerigo Gazaway, Kurtis Stanley, & Wally Clark

Nashville really is the perfect Music City. It’s full of surprises. When I first moved here, the surprise was that this is not just a country music city. There is a pretty nice hip hop scene in Nashville as well as an electronic scene. So as I was trying to carve my special place in local Nashville hip hop, I found another surprise. I was scrolling Facebook and someone had posted The Stuyvesants Meet Gummy Soul mixtape.

I was really impressed. As it turns out there was a lot going on with Gummy Soul that I didn’t even know about. A lot has happened with Gummy Soul since that first listen. I inquired to find out more about them. One of the members, Wally Clark, wrote me back with everything I was wondering. I’ll just tell you what he told me.

Walter 'Wally' Clark

Gummy Soul is a Nashville based record label and production company, founded by Walter “Wally” Clark. In 2006, Clark moved to Atlanta, to seclude himself while learning how to produce. Standing outside of a record store in the Little 5 Points district, Clark was approached by future Gummy Soul artist Rahlou “Nickel Plated Butter” Hodge. Impressed by Clark’s knowledge of soul music, Hodge surprised Clark with a unexpected gift the day after they met. He took Clark to a record collector friend of his, and convinced him to give Clark nearly 1,200 records. Clark spent a year in Atlanta, getting to know his collection, and perfecting the Gummy Soul sound. In 2007, Clark moved back to Nashville, to work on music with longtime friend and fellow producer, Amerigo Gazaway.

Amerigo Gazaway

Clark met Gazaway in 2001, when he was only 15. They connected immediately; Clark taught Gazaway about hip hop, while Amerigo taught him about production and writing rhymes. In 2007, the two started The Gummy Soul Show, a weekly radio show on 91.1 FM WRVU. Inspired by former WRVU DJ and now Stones Throw label head, Eothen “Egon” Alapatt‘s 911 Emergency show. the Gummy Soul show featured rare soul songs, sampled to make classic hip hop records. The show was a staple in the Nashville community, until WRVU abruptly sold it’s license, and was reformatted as a classical station.

Wally Clark & Kurtis Stanley performing their CD release as Gummy Soul

In 2008, Clark met Kurtis Stanley, who became Gummy Soul and began work on what became the label first official release. the aptly titled, Gummy Soul album. Showcasing Clark’s knack for soulful production and cleaver sample choices, as well as Stanley’s, accessible, yet intricate rhymes, the Gummy Soul album laid the template for all of the label’s future releases.

After releasing a handful of well received releases, the label earned it’s first hit, with the Fela Kuti/De La Soul mashup album Fela Soul. With over 300,000 downloads to date, Fela Soul gained praise from NPR and MTV, and established Gummy Soul as one of the most reliable sources in modern hip hop today.

The word that I got on the street was that Amerigo had the Fela Soul album done and finished for months and was just sitting on it while waiting on the right opportunity. ?uestlove was in town doing a DJ set. Amerigo gave it to him at his gig and then released it online via his site and on twitter. ?uestlove retweeted it. It got picked up on Okayplayer, NPR, MTV, The Source, NME, etc. They definitely knew how to take over the internet. They didn’t even have to tour. Gummy Soul is definitely my favorite hip hop group in Nashville right now. Honestly, they’re making music that’s comparable to anything else in the country. Check out the new Occupy Wall Street Anthem that Amerigo recently did.

They’re a force to be reckoned with! Check them at their website: GummySoul.com

I was Bamboozled! Hoodwinked! Led Astray!

However, it’s really my fault. I don’t think I was sold a lie. But I believed a lie. But let’s start with the truth.

The truth is that I want to be a musician and DJ. I want to make great music and perform that music all across the country and all over the world. I want to do this just like all of my favorite artists have done. I also want my live show to create great experiences for people who like the music. I want people to be able to look back on a show of mine and say that it was one of their great life experiences either because of me or the people they met there; and of course, the art. I also want to act and perform on TV and film like my childhood heroes did. I want to be part of great storytelling and great presentation.

Additionally, I want to make a lot of money. I want to be able to be generous with that money in the same way that people have been generous with me. I want to support my local church. I also want to support organizations like Christ In Youth that really impacted me when I was younger. I also want a lot of free time. I would spend that time volunteering with kids at my local church, just like volunteers were there for me. I would spend time visiting all my friends all over the country and world that I’ve met over the years. I’d also spend time practicing my craft, both music and acting; and getting better. Eventually, I’d want to spend my time with a wife and kids.

That is the whole picture.

You can earn more money, but you can’t earn more time. We are always running out of time. Not only that, but we don’t know how much time we have left. I started looking to use technology in smarter ways to market music. I stumbled upon music marketing blogs. Those led me to lifestyle design blogs. Those led me to minimalism blogs. I settled on a few experts. One guy told me Sell all my crap. Another told me to stop being a wuss. Another said there is never a right time. Some more people said they quit their day job. What is a real job anyway?

Well, I quit my day job to pursue the music. I was doing great for a while. I had some shows lined up. I was making money. And then it all dried up. No shows. no money. No way to pay the bills. I was on the Ramen Noodles diet. I ate Ramen so often, one day I physically could not look at another packet of Ramen. I chose to just not eat. I’d never experienced it that bad. It was so bad, that I actually lost hosting on this site and the site was down. I suppose I didn’t work as hard as I could have.

A year and a half ago, I was inspired to run a full marathon. Not a half. a FULL 26.2 miles. Running a half isn’t on anyone’s bucket list. So I bought some great running shoes. Some insoles. I talked with a lot of runners. I signed up to a some running sites. Read some running blogs. I got a run your first marathon book. I suppose I did everything except actually get out and run every day. So when the marathon came, I wasn’t ready and I didn’t do it.

I suppose this quit your day job stuff is like that. I didn’t really hustle like I could have. I realized this when I read Jon Acuff’s book, Quitter. I should have figured it out sooner. I knew that there isn’t a lot of money to be made in music business. There’s just a lot more work that I have to do to make my big picture a reality. But that’s the task. I suppose I was seduced by the visions of trying to live the life now before it’s “too late.”

I really screwed it up this year. It’s tempting to focus only on these failures. However, I did have some victories. I played a great live PA show in Knoxville. I did a great DJ set this summer for some church kids (BTW: here’s the difference between Live PA & DJ Sets). I made my first DJ mix, Q-Gaze. And really, at least I tried it. I jumped without fear. It may have been financial suicide. But I tried it. So now that I have to take a minimum wage job just to try and catch up, I at least have a better perspective on what I need to do to create the life that I feel led to create. I need to hustle. I need to focus less on my marketing strategy and make sure my stuff is epic. I need to not care what other people think. I need to focus on the right things.

I say all this publicly so that I’ll actually have to do that. Hold me accountable.

Derek Vincent Smith (Pretty Lights) & Sophie Reeves

What is it that you do? What is your job title?

I am Pretty Lights Assistant Tour Manger / Production Assistant and also cant forget that I’m on Vibe Control! Vibe control is me keeping the peace

Did you have a vision for how you’d be involved in the music industry? What else are you wanting to do?

I never really knew how I wanted to be involved in the music industry. I grew up in Nashville with my dad in the country music business but didn’t know till I was in my early 20s that I wanted to also be involved in the industry. I changed my major up half way through college to Music Business and started learning more about what I could even do or be involved in. I did an internship at Capitol Records my last semester in College and got to see the jobs inside a record label. Now working with Pretty Lights I have been able to see so many of the different jobs that are out there from the hospitality person to the production manager to daily accounting. As of right now I am really liking tour managing and what I am learning going into bigger venues with Pretty Lights. I would love to get more involved with our Record Label over the next few months that we have off of the road and get to know that side of things. At this point I am really open to learning what is out there and seeing where things take me. I just know I love live music and I love bringing live music to people.

Were you involved in the electronic music scene before your job? In what ways?

I was actually not really involved in the electronic music scene for that long before I got this job. I went to my first music festival (Bonnaroo) in the summer of 2009 when one of my friends had an extra free ticket. That weekend I saw Pretty Lights for the first time and was immediately hooked. The energy that the he and the crowd shared was dope. I spent that summer before getting my job with PL going from festival to festival and got to know the electronic music scene pretty well.

How did you get connected with Pretty Lights?

Like I said Bonnaroo was my first PL show. It was the Friday night and my roommate at the time Bo Cox had been listening to PL and told me I MUST MUST go. So we went, and as most people say when they go to their first PL show, I was hooked! After that weekend I went home and spent some time research PL and Derek (who is Pretty Lights if you didn’t already know). I found some really cool info about him. That he gave his music away for free online, was working on a new album, and that he had INCREDIBLE music! The following month after ‘roo I went to a few more PL shows and was more and more impressed. One day while I was at the computer I found his contact information on his website and decided I would send him an email and see if he had any opportunities for work or internships, I was only a month out from graduating and had no idea where I was going to go with my Music Business Degree from MTSU. I sent Derek an email telling him that I was about to graduate and that I would love the opportunity to work for him and help spread his music. Later that day I was out eating lunch with my good friend Jeremy who I had met at a Pretty Lights show and got an email back from him saying that he was about to go on his first fall tour and he would love to talk. Well to shorten things up he asked for my resume. I sent it to him and he sent back what could be my job description; Merch Girl / Assistant with long hours and a 5 week tour. His question to me – Why do you think you could handle this job!? I remember sitting at home writing the email back (which I still have and could forward to you) basically writing an essay on myself and how I could do this job. The whole thing was very professional from my end and my biggest selling point of myself; that I am extremely passionate about everything I do and I wanted to help bring his music to more people. After that we kept emailing back and forth till I went to one of his shows and finally got to introduce myself and talk to him one on one. We had a quick conversation after his set at King Plow in July 2009, exchanged phone numbers and he left me with saying, “let me talk to my agent and manager on monday and give me a call on tuesday.” Before I had the chance to call him tuesday morning he called me and told me that he would love to bring me out on a week tour and see how it goes. So yea I went on that week tour which was an SUV tour, we had no bus, no semi. Just a box truck and an SUV with 5 of us in it. I went on that tour and did a great job. After my first show with him which was in Tuscaloosa at Bama Theater, Derek asked me to come out to Colorado for the 3 day run of sold out shows and before I could make it to Colorado he asked me to come out for the fall tour with the 8 other guys he was taking.

I understand that you run the PL day to day operations. What kinds of things do you do on the daily?

Well at this point we are running a pretty big operation on the road with 14 people, tour tour buses, a semi and a trailer. The things I deal with daily are forever changing, which is part of the job. Some days I will deal with something that I have never dealt with before. Right now I am “in charge” of the merch, hospitality, catering, runners, daily accounting, being derek’s personal assistant, local opening acts on tour, tour / production assistant, and like I said vibe control. I am like tour mom on steroids i make sure things happen when they should, that people get what they need when they need to and I make sure everyone is happy, feed, clean, and well yea just happy. I would really need to think about this one and take a minute to write out what I do all day.

Max (stage manager), Phil (Production Manager) and Greg (Lighting Designer) and Sophie in front of two tour buses, one semi, trailer and vespa - Oct 2011

If an artist wanted to get to that level, what kind of work would that artist have to do? (What kinds of things do you see happening on your team everyday that an artist would have to emulate?)

Ya know one of the biggest things is putting yourself out there. We have so many opening acts and the one thing that I notice is that none of them really ever have flyers. When I use to actually sell the merch at our shows I would have people come up to me all night asking who was the opener and I would have to write it down on an index card or piece of scrap paper. I think that one of the best parts about opening for a bigger act is that you are put in front of an large audience that wants to hear music. So play music and put some cards at the merch booth so people don’t forget who you are. Also I think that giving your music away for free digitally is a great way to get yourself out there. These days people are either downloading illegally or getting music from their friends so why not as an artist get the credit for giving it away. I think it is a great idea and a great way to put yourself out there. I also think that you need to think about your business as a whole not just the music. Who you involve, where you want to go. You need a vision!

Does your job enable you to be in touch with lots of different artists/people in different music scenes? Do you see anything cool happening out there?

Yes! My job is amazing. I have done over 250 PL shows at this point maybe more than 300 I would have to think about it for a minute. But yes I am seeing some really cool things happening out here. Derek is involved in a new documentary called Re:Generation.

Also, Pretty Lights will be in Nashville on Oct. 31. Tickets are still on sale! Click the flyer to get those.

Click this to buy tickets!

Artwork: Josh Jenkins & Levi Watson

My new mix EP is up! It’s called Q-Gaze. Q-Gaze basically is a collection of songs that I’ve found recently that I really enjoy. Songs that I’ve discovered from my Pandora Station, soundcloud, or from going out to shows. It’s my first mix of any kind; so, I’m really excited and proud of it! You can download Q-Gaze for free here!

Artwork: Josh Jenkins & Levi Watson

If you can’t see that image, here’s the track listing.

Blue Sky Black Death – Farewell To the Former World
Saxon Shore – Silence Lends a Face to the Soul
Nordlight – Feel Yourself
Dead Prez – Hip Hop (Live Peripheral Remix)
DJ Shadow – Walkie Talkie (Irn Mnky Beat Down Mix)
RJD2 – One Day (Instrumental)
Lymbyc Systym – Pittsburgh Left (Eliot Lipp Remix)
Between The Buried And Me – Medicine Wheel (Instrumental)
Bassnectar – Dorfex Bos
Diplo – Big Lost
Charlie Blacksmoke and The Swamp Energy Mass Choir – Hippie Glue (Extreme Super Death Moon Mix)
Al B. Sure – Night and Day (Onra Mix)
(Interlude)
Tallest Trees – We Were Just An Echo (Echo 2)
P-Love – Palisades (Extendomix)
Rae & Christian – Swimming Pool
Bonobo – Recurring
This Will Destroy You – Quiet

I sent this mix to my email list a few weeks ago, and the response has been very encouraging. Definitely have a listen and let me know what you think in the comments.

Q-Gaze by Quiet Entertainer

Don’t forget that you can download the entire mix for free here.

Orig with Big Smo & Kinfoke

This is part three of my interview with Orig the DJ. If you missed part one or part two, you can click the links to read it. In this section, he discusses Big Smo, Spoken Nerd, and his philosophy as a DJ teacher.

QE: How did you end up working with Big Smo?

Orig: Well, Smo is a good friend of mine. John Smith. We’ve known each other a long time. I think I was still in high school. We met in 96. I was already a DJ in my bedroom. I knew how to make beats and sample just a little bit. I was real amateur at it. So, Smo wrote poetry on a personal level. He wanted to take that and do something with it. He figured rapping would be the route to go. We already knew each other at the time. He started to introduce to me his ideas. I told him “Come over. I’ll make some beats for you or whatever and we can figure something out.” Several years later, we’re continuing to do it. We created our own studio. We kind of went half and half on studio equipment. We got other people involved just so we could practice recording. It was really for me. I was the engineer, producer, and beatmaker involved with it. We made an album. His brother helped make it a reality. We took a bunch of our recordings. I did the best I could to make it sound the best I could. He helped us get it put on an actual CD. Shrink-wrapped with a barcode and everything. He helped us create a website for it back in 2002. It was called the Country Kitchen. It was cool. It showcased a lot of talent in our area. In Shelbyville of all places. You probably don’t even know about Shelbyville unless they’re into walking horses. Walking Horse Capital of the world.

Orig: At the Time, Smo and I were just doing hip hop. Straight rapping about what everybody else was rapping about. He eventually hired Haystak to be featured on a song. Haystak was really impressed with him. Kind of took him under his wing. Smo not only was a rapper at the time. He could make beats, but that wasn’t his forte. That wasn’t his thing. He could also record. He did a lot of recording for local artists. I went to school at SAE. Every day I’d get out of school I’d come home and show Smo what I learned. So, that’s kind of how he developed his professional recording abilities and skills. We were also doing music videos. I was helping him back in 2003 doing our own home music videos and trying to figure stuff out. Trying to sync the music with the video. Anyway back to Haystak. Haystak started to hire Smo to do his music videos for him. And then he got Smo to be his backup. His right hand man on the stage when he did shows. Smo got to learn a lot about the business on an independent level through Haystak. Got to travel around the country on a tour that Haystak was on with the Dark Lotus tour with ICP. Smo was promoting his album. I made a mixtape for him. We had already done an album together called The True South. So there was Country Kitchen. There was True South. So that was what Smo was promoting out there. Selling whatever he could. He got to meet a lot of people along the way. that’s where he started to develop the idea of the hick-hop sound.

Big Smo

He didn’t pioneer it. But he realized that the urban hip hop was not his true passion. It was too much of trying to do that. Like the hood, hip hop dirty south type deal. So he actually did his third album, American Made. I wasn’t around at that time. He hired a guy, Charlie Bonnett, who was a guitar player. kind of a heavy metal rock singer, country singer to work with him on certain song ideas. He had other beatmakers working with him and I made a few beats for him to help him out. American Made was really the beginning of that sound that was Smo was able to pinpoint. The Hick Hop sound. Basically, hip hop beats with southern rock guitars. And southern rock type of hooks but with rap verses. Instead of rapping about the hood, he raps about back roads, cornfields, John Deere tractors, moonshine, home grown pot, all that good stuff. (laughs)

QE: yeah man.

Orig: So that’s what he’s been doing since last year. He called me and asked me to get involved in a new project called KinFoke. It was Smo, Charlie Bonnett, Brahma Bull, Mr. Sneed who really helped Smo develop his sound also. He needed me to come in and help him finalize the album. He had a lot of tracks on his album that he needed to finalize. He asked me to come in and finalize it. Make it sound like a mixtape. Master it. I was responsible for turning all these song ideas. I was more or less just the DJ portion of it. The songs were already done and recorded. I had some beats on it but I was mixing it together. Last fall was when I went abroad to do a show for the first time. It was the first time I went away from Tennessee to DJ. It was an awesome experience. Unfortunately, Kinfoke’s not really around anymore. couple of guys went different ways. Kind of left us in the air. But we’re back at it. Smo and I have been together for a long time. I’m still his DJ but Smo is the main focus. We’re working on a new album called Grassroots. Smo’s been able to land a legitimate management deal with a guy out of LA, Dan Nelson. His father is Jay Nelson who managed Queen. Hopefully I’ll be able to land a management deal sometime soon. Everyone needs a manager man.

QE: This is great stuff. Who else have you been making beats for? You did an album for Spoken Nerd as well, right?

Orig: Yeah. Spoken Nerd came to me. He was digging me as a DJ. When he found out I made beats, he approached me with an idea for an album. He wanted me to help produce it. So I said “OK cool.” So he came over. It started out with him. He brought his acoustic bass guitar. He had a melody and played it for me and I recorded it. I took that recording and chopped it up and edited it in Ableton. Made a loop out of it; and started making beats to complement and support that and then make a bass line. And whatever else. We’d make a basic beat. Then we recorded vocals. After the vocals were on, I started to tailor the beat to go along with the vocals. Maybe a drop here, add something there. A Scratch there. For the most part that’s how that went.

Orig: I also made some beats on the side that I’d let him go through. A list of beats that I’d made. He would pick some stuff that he liked. So it was a combination of him on guitar and then also me with beats from years ago that he picked through. But it wasn’t that simple. About halfway through the album production, I lost everything from my computer. It was my fault. It was a stupid dumb mistake. I hope nobody has to go through this. I was doing what I thought was the right thing. I was cleaning my computer, I was backing stuff up. So I go through my music folder and I dragged all my important stuff to my external hard drive. I was mainly focusing on music that I use to DJ with because that took up a lot of space. And all the music I used for producing, that wasn’t backed up. I was going to leave on my computer because I was working on it. So what I accidentally did in the middle of all this dragging and dropping, I drug the entire music folder to my trash. I didn’t even realize it; I didn’t notice I had done that. And when I clicked empty trash it was taking SO LONG. I was wondering why. After it was done, I noticed my music folder wasn’t there anymore. I lost so many beats…

Orig with Spoken Nerd

Orig: Man, I had to break the news to Nathan. He’s such a good guy. He just said “Oh well; let’s re-do it. Are you up for re-doing it?” And I was like “Of course, it’s the least I could do.” So, I had to remake a bunch of the beats. It was hard to recapture some of that feeling and emotion of the originals. Even when you’re chopping and editing, programming drum machines and stuff; there’s still an emotion there. It’s very similar to capturing sound from a microphone. There’s littlie mistakes you make in the editing. Very subtle things that aren’t otherwise reproduced. But anyway, we got back on there and started the album in 08. It took a long time because of that and all the other stuff I was doing. All the beats for Smo… Get Got…. my own thing…. Really my own thing, which usually ends up being things for other people. I’ll do little beat sketches in my program. Then, I’ll come back at it with another artist or rapper; or turn it into a Get Got song. Well, we had the album near completion. Nathan had a guitar player, 2Shon. He’s a very interesting guy; I got along with him really well. He laid down guitar. The funny thing about it; we had no guitar parts for him. We had no melodies for him, no sheet music. We just said, “play along and do whatever the heck you want.’ All I did was hit record and just let him play from the beginning to the end. I captured whatever ideas that he put on the recording. I’d take those and slice, chop them, and piece them until I came up with something that I liked. Even the guitar solos on some of the tracks are just pieced together parts from somewhere in the song. You can’t really tell because I’d splice them together where a snare hits. You can use a snare to cover up an edit.

QE: How about that, learning all the tricks! So you were saying about you never get to work on your own stuff… Why are you always helping people?

Orig: Yeah that’s become my style, man. It’s fortunate, but unfortunately I don’t focus on myself. I’m always helping people out. Everything I’ve been doing as a DJ, producer, an engineer; it’s been for other people. I DJ for a crowd. I DJ for a wedding. I DJ for a birthday. I DJ for a rapper. I DJ for a band. I DJ… You name it: I DJ. That’s what usually DJs do; they take care of the crowd anyway, right? Then as an engineer, I’m recording other people. Recording rappers, singers, guitarists… whatever. Capturing sounds. Capturing videos. Live sound; I’m making sure that whoever’s on stage sounds great. Even when I make beats, I think I started out making stuff for myself. But as soon as I started getting involved with other people, I was more selfless. Everything was for my friend. I make a beat for my friend. I’d do whatever I can for whoever whether it’s Smo, or my band Get Got, or MASHVILLE. Even going to school for engineering; the best thing that’s come out of that has been the ability to teach other friends. How to work software, engineering, acoustics, tips and tricks, techniques, philosophy. I learned a lot from school. And mostly from magazines and a lot of trial and error. I wish I could say that I learned a lot from others that are above me in the industry, but I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to be around mentors. I’ve always played the role of mentor for my fellow DJs. Whether it’s scratching, or letting people borrow equipment, you name it. If there’s help to be done, I’m there to help.

QE: Is that part of your personality? or are you doing it on purpose?

Orig: I think it’s part of my personality. I do get frustrated sometimes where I help and help and help and when I need help I don’t get it. So I do get frustrated. But I think it’s just that I come across as such a nice guy and really I’m willing to help. I always ask if I can help. I am always making myself available for stuff like that. When I probably should be in the studio working on my own stuff or practicing my own set, I’m at a friend’s house with my hard drive letting them have my music. When I should be making my own beats, I’m at another friend’s house helping them learn how to make beats. So actually, I think it’s a combination of doing it on purpose and also accidentally being someone that someone else can call. I’m not gonna stop.

Orig: As a matter a fact, I’m taking this helping curse…but really it’s a blessing to be the unofficial teacher to my fellow DJs and producers. I can’t tell you how many times I’m navigating through a program over the program saying “Go to Options, and go down to Preferences, and go to Audio, and blah blah blah.” I can troubleshoot any program over the phone. Anyway, I’m going to take that skill and I have the opportunity now to be a teacher. Thanks to a guy I met: Victor Chatman. At the last MASHVILLE, I was trying to kill some time before we set up. So I went to Guitar Center. That’s my Toys R Us. They have the DJ room, so I went over there and I was messing with the Numark NS7 with the Serato Itch. This older guy came up to me and said “Hey, that’s pretty good! Where else do you DJ?” and I was saying ” I don’t really have a club or anything; I do this thing called MAASHVILLE.” We were just chatting. Anyway, he had this idea to teach children how to set up sound systems and how to DJ. and I was like “Yes! That’s my vision too! That’s my dream and I’m teaching a lot of my friends how to do stuff anyway!” So we exchanged numbers, and even as busy as I am; I just called him on a weekly basis. We never were able to get together. “I’d just say “Hey this is Ray. Just wanted to call in. I wish I could come out to your spot sometime but I’m really swamped right now.” And he’d say “Oh, I appreciate you calling man. That’s cool.” When we finally got a chance to sit down to talk about it; he said his idea launched and it blew up more than he expected. He’s got a bunch of kids and they’re really eager to learn. He’s already got the ball rolling. Probably within a month; I’ll be teaching my first class. it’s at the Hickory Hollow Mall next to Macy’s is Victor Chatman Studios. So I’ll be able to take that dilemma I had of helping all these people and getting frustrated. Now I’m getting the help I wanted to get. That just goes to show: Don’t expect anything. Just do it. Unconditionally. Just like you love your family. Love your art. Love our THING. You know? don’t expect money back. Until you get a manager. Then your manager will be the one that will fight and get that money for you. Be smart in choosing your manager! Yeah so that’s what happens when you’re selfless. You always get rewarded.

Victor Chatman with MC Lyte

QE: Man, this was awesome. Anything else you want to say to people who might be reading this? DJs? Musicians?

Orig: I’m not going to say what most people say in their closing and just say “Love the art and keep practicing.” That’s known. That’s a given. It should be a default. I think that you should take care of yourself first and foremost. If you want to pursue a career, no matter what it is, make sure you’re prepared. There’s really no guideline because everyone has a unique list of things to do. So make sure you know that list. An make sure you ACT on that list. Whether it’s financially, relationship-wise, emotionally. Take care of that list. Clean your room.

QE: Wow.

Orig: (laughs) As silly as it sounds, it’s true. You got to organize yourself before you can organize stuff around you. It’s all about organizing schedules. gigs. Being prepared. Prepare Yourself for your dream. Figure out what your dream is and start preparing for it because it’s going to happen. The more you prepare for it; the easier it’s going to get to you. Or it’s not going to be easy at all. Really, it’s still not going to be easy, but at least you’ll be somewhat prepared. Love your family as best you can; they’re your first audience. Take their opinions under considerations all the time but then do what you really feel you want to do. Don’t just go with the crowd. Don’t go with what everyone else is digging on. You can dig on it too, but don’t use that as YOUR platform. Everybody has their own unique sound. Everyone has their own two cents. Stick to your two cents. Stick to your sound. Listen to everybody and soak as much as you can. Listen; that way you can develop your style. The more you listen, the better words you can speak without speaking so much.

QE: That is absolutely relevant to me. That was great.