WEBVTT - Music Saved Me : Finding Legacy with AJ Croce 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.440 Music Saved Me taking all over thanks stuff, and I 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.720 think that's the beauty of the art of music is 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:12.760 never overthinking. I mean I practice every day, but practice guitar, 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:15.360 I practice piano, practice writing. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:17.000 It's what I love to do. 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.840 Welcome to another episode of Music Saved Me, the podcast 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.239 where we explore the transformative power of music through the 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:28.880 stories of artists, songwriters and musicians who have found hope, healing, 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:32.720 and inspiration in their craft. I'm your host, Lynn Hoffman, 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:34.839 And by the way, if you like this podcast, we 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.560 would love for you to check out our companion podcast 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.240 that I also host called Comedy Saved Me, which showcases 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:46.640 the healing power of laughter. Today, we are so honored 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:50.839 to welcome a very special guest, Aj Crochey. As a 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:55.080 celebrated singer, songwriter, and pianist. Aj is carved out a 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:59.240 unique path in the world of music, blending soulful, blues, rock, 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:04.320 and pop influences. The son of legendary musician Jim Crochey, 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:08.040 AJ has faced his own share of challenges and personal loss, 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.240 yet he has consistently turned to music as a source 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:15.240 of comfort and resilience, and on this episode, Aja shares 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:18.880 his journey from growing up surrounded by music, to overcoming 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:22.920 adversity and forging his own identity as an artist. We'll 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.520 talk about the songs that shaped his life, some of 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:29.240 the stories behind his acclaimed albums, and how music has 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:32.720 been both a lifeline and a source of joy throughout 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:38.240 his career. So settle in for an inspiring conversation about creativity, perseverance, 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.040 and the healing magic of music with the one and 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.240 only AJ Crochy right here on Music Saved Me. Aj. 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:47.960 Welcome to Music Save Me. It's so wonderful to have 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:48.360 you here. 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:51.120 Thank you, Lynn, I appreciate it. Now. 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.559 I want to start sort of in the early side 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:55.600 of things with you, because this is something that blew 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.680 me away when I first read about you. First of all, 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.080 you lost your dad when you were much much younger, 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:07.720 very young, and then you lost your eyesight a couple. 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.160 Of years later when I was four. 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:14.320 I lost my sight, lost my father at two, and 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.200 I was in the hospital for six months. During that 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:22.840 period of the loss of sight regained partially. I got 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:26.280 light in my left eye, and so there was hope. 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.799 It took about six years before I could see out 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:31.360 of my left eye again. So I was completely blind 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:36.840 and illegally blind during that time, and and music saved me, 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:38.000 it really did. 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.119 I mean, as a kid. 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.600 I had my father's record collection, which was so diverse 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.280 and amazing, I mean, all the good stuff. As a kid, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.560 you know, I would find the good stuff I couldn't see, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:53.200 but I would always put it on the left side, 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:54.720 so I'm left handed, so I'd. 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.280 Reached for one of those records. 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.919 And you know, I got turned onto Ray Charles real 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.880 early and Stevie Wonder because for obvious reasons of losing 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:05.359 sight and just inspiration. 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:09.280 And they were a foundation for me. 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.840 You know, Ray Charles played all kinds of music and 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:13.880 I can hear it in the other stuff that was 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.880 in the collection, from Fats Waller and Bessie Smith and 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:23.120 the Lady behind Me and and and there was great 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.440 blues and folk and country music, all kinds of rock 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.480 and roll and Little Richard. I mean that stuff. It 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:32.200 just it blew me away. And as a kid, it 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:37.040 was my it was my sanctuary. It was it was everything. 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:39.880 So you know, I started playing piano along with that 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:41.480 stuff before I could see. 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.720 Wow, that's incredible, but it definitely shows how you can 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:49.400 pull on the other senses that become extremely powerful at 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:49.960 that time. 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:56.760 Yeah, the sense I think people don't necessarily think about 0:03:57.320 --> 0:04:02.200 is the sense of of of heart, the sense of 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:10.320 soul and and intention. I think when you lose a 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:16.680 particular sense, you are vulnerable in a in a particular way, 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:21.720 and and so you find a way to to sort 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:30.200 of compensate. And and in that way, recognizing decent people 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.279 from from indecent is really important at a young age, 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:40.400 you know, and and and understanding the intentions of of 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:44.760 the things that you're seeing or hearing or feeling is 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.839 is really important. So it's not always like, oh, I 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:49.960 you know, I couldn't see so I could hear better. 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.960 It wasn't you're forced to listen harder. 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:53.320 You're not. 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.240 It's not that you hear better, you know. It's not 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.560 that you taste more. It's it's. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:05.839 It's not like Synastasia or something. It's just kind of necessity. 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.040 It's just I never evenly even thought about it that way. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.680 But you're so right. When you're forced into it, you 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.440 have really no choice but to rely on those senses 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.680 to make it. I'm just curious, when were you aware 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:25.800 of your dad and his incredible accomplishments in this world. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.039 I guess I grew up from the earliest days. 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:33.440 I mean my first concert was I was brought as 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.920 a baby just to hear my dad. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.960 And Randy Newman, you know, and Randy Newman played a 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:40.520 big role. 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:42.360 You know. They were on tour together for a year, 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:45.800 on and off for a year. And you know, my 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:50.720 father's career was eighteen months. You know, his entire professional career. 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.840 All the songs you know, were written, recorded, and toured 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:59.600 in eighteen months. So it's three albums eighteen months and done. 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:03.760 So it was a relatively short period of time. 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:10.560 Wow. Were there artists or genres that inspired you early 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.320 on that made you feel like this was something that 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.520 you could do as your art form? 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:19.359 Yeah? Absolutely. As I mentioned Ray Charles was he was 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:20.960 my gateway drug. You know. 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:25.239 In in the collection there was stuff like Fat Swaller, 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.120 there was stuff like Little Richard, there was there were 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:33.159 there were wonderful piano players in that mix. 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:36.200 But I, as as I got older, really. 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:40.719 Went down that that rabbit hole of piano players, you know, 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.960 from the stride guys like James P. Johnson and Will 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.600 lyon to the to the boogie guys and like med 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:52.279 Lux Lewis and Albert Ammon's Pete Johnson, the swing guys 0:06:52.320 --> 0:06:55.080 like Ellington and Basie and so many others. I mean, 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.000 I could name the jazz piano players for probably forty 0:06:58.000 --> 0:06:58.640 five minutes or. 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.120 An hour, and it all played a role. 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:05.680 But then also whether it was rock and roll and 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:10.760 listening to the way that the English bands UH interpreted 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.840 blues and someone like Ian McCloughan and how how he 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:18.160 played with the small faces and the Faces and Dylan 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:22.800 and the Stones and stored all those guys that were 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:28.680 that were Steve Wynwood, that were really interpreting an American 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:33.440 tradition and and I you know, as a kid, I 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:35.360 liked a lot of that, but it was in my 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.400 teens I started to recognize what they did that was different, 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:43.600 kind of simplified what the American players were doing. 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:48.800 It was just part of like gaining knowledge and learning. 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.680 And so it was you know, when I first when 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.960 I first met Leon Russell before we started writing together, 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.320 it was one of those things where we just spoke 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.680 about pana players for an hour, you know, because then 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:03.320 we had. 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.920 The same apparently we grew up with the same record collection. 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.400 Peek out with something like I love that, Yeah. 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.320 And of course I loved his music and is playing 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:17.000 and songwriting, but it was it was really our deeper 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:20.400 connection to being piano players, you know. And the New 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.280 Orleans stuff played a huge role Alan Tussont. From the 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.240 time I was about thirteen as a kid, my mom 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:30.680 would sing some of these songs Leap Dorsey working in 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:34.240 a coal mine, thinks that Alan Toussant had written. I 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:39.520 knew the songs, heard him on the radio, all of 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.240 the great artists that he worked with, but it didn't 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:44.960 click until I was about thirteen and I went to 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:49.680 see Jim Jarmusch movie and I think it was like 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:54.679 Stranger Than Paradise or something, and there was a version 0:08:54.679 --> 0:09:00.080 of Irma Thomas singing its Raining and which is an 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.560 all and two song production song. He's playing and singing 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:08.120 on it, and I just had to know everything about 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.400 the music, where it came from, who it wasn't just 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.880 it wasn't because it was complicated, like the complicated stuff. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.280 I was already diving into the jazz and the blues 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:22.520 and the stride and all of that, but gospel and 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:26.839 soul music, but it was something that was in its simplicity, 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:31.920 could communicate such depth that I had to understand how 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:33.200 it was done. 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:37.880 Wow, I mean, that's fascinating that you would even pick 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.439 up on that. Was there anything in there that told 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.720 you that this is healing me? Or when you realize 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:49.480 that music could be healing for not only the musicians 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.040 but the people listening to it. 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.199 I knew that from the earliest point in my life, 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:59.640 you know, as a kid that lost his sight, being 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.320 able to to sit down and play a piece of 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:06.480 music was it was more than just healing. 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:07.479 It was empowering. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:12.720 It was it was incredibly powerful. I knew that it 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:19.000 was my refuge, and at a certain point I recognized 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:24.040 that I was able to sort of communicate that to, 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:26.520 you know, to a small audience. 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:30.480 You know, I played my first gig at twelve for money, 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:34.240 and for you, it was for a it. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:39.480 Was for a bought mitzvah and I Love the Silverman, 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.880 Bob Mitzvah and and it was twenty bucks and I played. 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:48.880 I played Ray Charles and Chuck Berry and Memphis Slim 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:54.840 and I'm sure a few other, you know, oddball things 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:56.880 for a twelve year old to be playing, but it 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.480 was it was what I was listening to is what 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.320 I would do and so you know, at that point 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.040 I realized I got twenty bucks. Wow, if I keep 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.840 practicing and really work hard at this, I might be 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:10.000 able to do this for a living. 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:14.360 You know, amazing. How do you channel these personal experiences, 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.360 both you know, the joy and the pain into your songwriting. 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.880 I'm curious, Well, it's all there. 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.880 I mean, it's all here. It's in us all the time. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.000 It's not about I don't think it needs to be 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:32.360 channeled as much as it just you need to be 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.520 I think there's a part of it where you need 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.200 to let go. I think letting go is more of 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:47.840 it's losing a sense of control as opposed to trying 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:55.240 to control the environment. By letting go of the idea 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.600 that what you might write or say or play is 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:02.000 not good, or there's a stake, or you're you know 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.720 some or or it's been done before, or I've heard 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.240 that line or I've heard that passage, or the melody 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.559 of that is similar to this, or the chord structure 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.240 is similar. Forget it. It's an exercise. No one needs 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:20.199 to hear it. This is about being completely free and 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:25.800 being able to, in that way access the beauty of 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.000 what's around you. 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:27.600 All the time? 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.839 What's in you all the time? It's it's really it's 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:33.920 trying to channel things. I think that makes it harder 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:34.600 to get there. 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:37.960 Yes, And you know, it's interesting that you would say that. 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:43.440 For my next question, that really makes me curious finding 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:48.400 your own voice. Now you've already faced such adversity from 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:51.360 such a young age. You've already figured out at a 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.800 young age how to use music to heal not only 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:59.600 yourself but others and to be strong. And you know, 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.680 Liss almost in a way, how did it ever occur 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.800 to you that you had to sort of identify yourself 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.240 as your own artists because of the fame that your 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:09.920 dad had. I mean, I would think that that would 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.200 be another roadblock that you would have to overcome. 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:14.040 Absolutely, it was. 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:19.040 It was the It was probably the biggest roadblock. And 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.760 and I don't know if it was only external. 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:23.559 I think it was internal as well. 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:24.120 Right. 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:27.360 I think that the fact that in. 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.839 My up until my thirties, I didn't play guitar, so 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.720 piano was first of all, was my was my instrument. 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:38.880 And and it was. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.320 So by that by being playing a different instrument, I 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.560 was already a little bit separate. By the fact that 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:54.800 I was playing more complicated music, and it albeit you know, 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:59.440 maybe from my grandparents generation, some of it was from 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.440 my parents generation. There were, you know a few groups 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.600 of my generation that I was I was really really 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:08.640 liked a lot. 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:10.080 But it was. 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:14.920 I was looking for a timelessness. It wasn't about when 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.720 the music was from or whatever. I was looking for 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:23.440 finding a way to create something that could have been written, 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:25.920 you know, one hundred and fifty years ago, or it 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.680 could have been written yesterday, and not knowing when that 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.960 is gives you this flexibility. I think as an as 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.680 an artist, each component of what I do as a 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:42.160 performer in communicating with an audience, that's one skill set 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:47.240 that took development. As a singer, that was another skill 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:52.720 that took that took developing and understanding and work. As 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:56.120 a piano player, that was enough. That was its own thing. 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:58.880 Being being a piano player was its own thing, separate 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.680 from playing any other inst or other keyboard instruments or anything. 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:08.720 And then as a songwriter, and you know, I think 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:13.840 some people might think that it all comes together and 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:18.640 is developed simultaneously, and there's a part of it if 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:25.800 you're working on each facet that is simultaneous because by 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:30.000 becoming a better musician, you're giving yourself a better platform 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.000 to write a better song, to create. 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:33.520 A better melody. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:39.920 And by living life, the longer you live, the better 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.440 understanding of the world around you you might have. But 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.360 it all developed differently from me. You know, I think 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:51.640 I was a stronger piano player when I was, you know, 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:55.480 in my late teens than I was a singer. I 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:58.480 think the songwriting sort of came up in between the two. 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.960 And you know, I had bad habits as a singer 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:04.280 because I really came up. 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:08.640 In jazz clubs and blues clubs where there was. 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:12.800 No amplification, so I was shouting over the piano and 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.360 shouting over an instrument that large, you know, you tend to, 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:19.520 you know, grasp me real fast. 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:20.680 And I was. 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.640 I had bad habits, you know, for the first ten 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:28.840 years of touring. You know, it was creating issues. And 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.480 you know, you learn along the way, You learn to 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.480 be better at what you do and improve and continue 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:35.920 to learn. 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.040 That is so true, and hindsight is so twenty twenty, 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:43.080 isn't it. And when people say terms like that to you, 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.040 they may not mean anything at the time, but then 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.920 you look back and you go, oh, that's that's why 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.480 someone told me that, or that's that means. It means 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.520 so much more. And you did blend a lot of 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.280 really cool stuff, I mean blues, rock and pop and 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:01.200 jazz and all of that is it's so unique. 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:04.240 We'll be right back with more of the Music Save 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:12.960 Me Podcast. Welcome back to the Music Saved Me Podcast. 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.040 Can you walk as well? I think you just did 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.280 a little bit of your creative process when when you're 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.560 making like when you're writing a new song or putting 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.639 together a new album, is there anything that you do 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:26.160 specifically to get in that headframe or. 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:31.080 You know, each record is it's kind of unique. 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.720 And I've found in being able to look back with 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:39.240 twenty twenty Vision the only time I've had that. 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.720 No pun intended, Oh my gosh it looking back. 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:47.280 I think I think I've seen albums sort of work 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:52.639 in threes. The first one is kind of just getting 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:58.080 into finding this sound and space and storytelling style that 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.800 is work. It's like a palette, and I felt like 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:06.040 it's kind of functioned that way throughout throughout my career. 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.720 You know, on my eleventh just released the eleventh album, 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:15.040 and it sort of works in threes, in that you 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:18.520 have a palette of colors you're working with, and they 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.919 are used, and you find new ways to use those 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:28.520 to create new music and songs. And you might work 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:31.600 in that period with five or six or seven different 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:37.719 chord changes that are unique to themselves, tempos, time signatures, 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.280 all of these things that are relevant to that period 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.480 of time. And then and then by the end of 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:49.960 that third album, I find that I'm already ready to 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:54.400 do something new, and I've used those colors, and I'll 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.959 continue to be able to use that because I perform 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.240 live all the time, which means that the music from 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.879 those albums is still present. It's I don't need to 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:09.080 put it away. It's in fact, because I'm not putting 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:13.920 it away, I'm able to move to something else, find 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.320 new inspirations, you know, different styles of music, different genres 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:21.399 of music, whether it's Latin music or whether it's you know, 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.919 West African influences or or Indian scales or whatever it 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:31.840 might be, Western European classical music. There's no limitations to it. 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:35.280 But they it's for me. It sort of comes in threes. 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:39.560 Interesting, You're like a musical athlete. 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:46.200 I don't know, you know, it takes. This is a calling, 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:50.520 you know, this is this is I've I've worn a 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:53.679 lot of hats in the in the business of music 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:59.120 because it's a necessity, certainly as an artist. I think, 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.480 you know, my first couple albums were on a major 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.000 label and then I was on indies, and I figured 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:10.680 once I was on indies, I really had to learn 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:14.239 every facet of the business because the bottom line is, 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:17.680 you know, the artist is paying for everything, yep, and 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:19.520 so you want to make sure you know where the 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.680 money's going. You want to make sure that you're responsible 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:25.760 with it because this is your livelihood. And as time 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:29.920 changed and there were a lot of different changes in 0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:32.359 the in the business itself, I had to be aware 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:36.640 of it and had to be involved. Yeah, more than 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:40.520 just adapt, I had to be involved, and I had 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:44.399 to be more than just involved, but engaged. 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:48.360 Now that you know, somebody very smart, and I wish 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:50.359 I could remember who it was in my life growing 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:53.760 up when I was younger, told me, whatever it is 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.000 you want to do in life, the job that it is, 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.280 make sure that when you get there, you also get 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:01.200 to know how everyone else does their job right, because 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.160 it will make your life much easier. And also you'll 0:21:03.160 --> 0:21:05.879 have a better understanding so that I've never actually heard 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:11.840 anyone say that before, especially being an artist, So that's 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:14.080 pretty cool. I mean that must also mean you've got 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.400 both sides of the brain firing at the same time, 0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:19.280 which can also be a detriment to some of us. 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:21.160 You never get anything done. 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:25.080 I can all overthink stuff, and I think that's the 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:29.000 beauty of the art of music, is never overthinking. I 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:33.679 mean I practice every day. I practice guitar, I practice piano, 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:37.720 practice writing. It's what I love to do. And I 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:41.560 need to be able to live life in between the 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:45.520 recording and the touring and the writing and the practice, 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:49.160 because that's where all of the stories come from. 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:51.480 It's where you would draw your inspiration, right And. 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:54.800 The bottom line is that is that whether it's instrumental 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:58.160 or there's lyrics to a song, you're telling a story. 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:03.400 I think it's really important to be able to tell 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:07.159 a universal story in a very clear way. Obviously it's universal, 0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:10.240 so you want anyone that's listening to be able to 0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:13.800 get it. Maybe not be their style, or may may 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.560 not may not be what some people listen to, but 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:21.359 they're going to appreciate that it's it's a complete and 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.679 well crafted story. And that's and that's the goal, you know, 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:31.280 is writing a timeless, universal story and having a beginning, 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:33.560 a middle, and an end. And the frame that you 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:37.080 put around it, which is the production, can can vary. 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:37.359 You know. 0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:40.680 It can be as simple as metaphorically as a magnet 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:44.119 that goes on a fridge or a beautiful or ornate 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:48.520 you know, rococo frame that that has a lot to 0:22:49.280 --> 0:22:51.480 say and contribute to the art inside of it. 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:53.359 And I love that you brought that up, though, And 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:54.960 I love that you brought up the fact that you 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:57.119 have to live a certain way in order to create 0:22:57.200 --> 0:23:01.439 these masterpieces. And in order to do that, you have 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:05.359 to know, like oxygen mask on you first. You know, 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:08.720 if you can't live that lifestyle that you want to 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:12.880 live to be inspired to write these songs, then where 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:13.840 are you? 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:15.320 You know, So it's. 0:23:15.119 --> 0:23:17.440 Almost like you need to know what to do when 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:18.359 you are successful. 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:22.960 I don't know that I ever think about the success factor, 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.000 because I feel that being able to do what I 0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:28.600 love is a success and I don't ever think of 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:30.640 anything as being a masterpiece. 0:23:30.640 --> 0:23:31.720 It's an exercise. 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:34.719 I call it that thought, because I think anyone who 0:23:34.760 --> 0:23:39.000 can do what you do. Well, that's just my personal. 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:43.760 Well, that's very that's very kind. But I think I 0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:45.119 think of it as an exercise. 0:23:45.160 --> 0:23:48.760 Some of them, you know, just like just like inn 0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:51.880 at tude, you know of showpins. 0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:56.000 These were these were practice scales. 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.359 They were working with every key, they were working with 0:24:00.560 --> 0:24:04.560 all of these different facets that were designed to teach 0:24:05.000 --> 0:24:09.800 his students, and in the process, some of them, you know, became, 0:24:09.960 --> 0:24:13.960