The Big Break

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Mario Lalli Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

Desert Rock is a sub-genre of rock known for it’s free-form, and trance-like grooves made popular by notable bands such as Queens of the Stoneage, and Kyuss.

How do sub-genre’s get created? What inspires a style? We’ll learn in a minute because our guest this week is Mario Lalli, one of the founders of this popular genre of alternative rock. He joins us to talk about how Desert Rock came to be. A melding of Classic Rock and the skater punk lifestyle of the Southern California Desert, Mario explains how the simple love of the music, and passion built the genre, on this episode of The Big Break.

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Mario's two bands:

Yawning Man

Fatso Jetson

Show Notes

1:32Living in Denver Colorado

2:55 Getting inspired by Classic Rock

3:50 Skateboarding, and discovering Punk Rock

6:00 Expression, sharing, and the rewarding aspects of music

8:13 Adopting the skateboarding skills for the music style

10:10Getting the band to move to Los Angeles

11:15Connecting with SST Records

12:30Different priorities in the art of music

14:25Getting traction as a musician

16:16Owning Nightclubs and providing a platform for creativity

19:32Balancing the creative and the business decisions to have them flow together

21:55How did you find that balance between the music and the commerce without conforming?

22:40The ripple effect that inspired other artists

24:18Kyuss, Queens of the Stoneage, and sharing experiences and connections

25:53“This is a huge pivotal moment, and a point that people need to understand, that this is what

you would call a break.”

26:50How history and influence created growth

28:24The Desert Sessions

33:45Do you feel pride for being one of the founders of this genre?

35:00Difficult decisions for the sake of music

39:59Pappy & Harriets

41:35Putting energy into creative pursuits, and making things happen

46:45Always stay involved and stay engaged with your art

50:50A story about chasing your passion

54:06Closing thoughts from Mario

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Brandyn Burnette - Eman8 Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

The boom and bust of the music industry creates some incredible life lessons. One month you’re on top of the world, the next you’re scrounging for any kind of placement.

This is especially true for our guest this week, Brandyn Burnette.

Brandyn got his first publishing deal at just 19 years old. He traveled all over the world writing and recording with different artists, learning how to collaborate, producing some amazing music. Then things began to turn.

After some internal politics at his label, he was dropped with little music to his name. After some time to adjust, Brandyn pivoted to become independent artist, taking control of his career, and giving birth to EMAN8. Brandyn joins us to tell his story, and the valuable lessons he learned on this episode of The Big Break.

You can Follow Brandyn on Instagram and Twitter

Show Notes

1:33Growing up and moving all over

4:14Starting writing music in St. Louis

5:50Getting a scholarship to NYU

7:01Did you have a goal for your songs when you first started?

8:27Leaving NYU and starting to record

9:07Getting a publishing deal and getting signed to Warner

10:01Moving to LA and starting to collaborate with other artists

12:38Who was the producer you met in New York that got you started?

13:45Getting news in Ballet class about how his mix turned out

14:50Evolving from a raw musician to a complex sound

15:58What was it like going to Norway and recording?

18:11Bombing the Warner Brothers meeting

19:39Getting the call about signing to Sony

23:35How big of a deal was getting the Sony advance?

24:10Learning the importance of money

26:27Time is money, and learning to value your time and not waste it

30:47What was that like going from a signed artist to an independent artist?

33:00Learning that the label is not prioritizing him, losing traction, and deciding what to do

33:56Thanks for Nothing and working with Mike Caren and Sean Douglas

35:09Making a hook for Cutfather

37:25Brandyn’s song outplays the song he wrote “First Flight Home”

38:30Getting dropped from Warner

39:40Bouncing back and pursuing independence

40:55What was your plan immediately after getting dropped?

42:09Struggling and resetting

43:451000 Degrees of Separation and making music unconventionally

44:50Learning about streaming playlists and pursuing curators

49:05Do you still see yourself as the “CEO” of yourself as an artist?

50:30Focus on the creative, but appreciate the value of your team.

52:39Helping the “next you”

54:03What other projects do you have in the works right now?

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Schmarx and Savvy Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

Marc Schneider and Savannah Giersch are the songwriting and producing duo Schmarx and Savvy. After being introduced by a mutual friend, the two began to write music together while living on opposite ends of the country. Some months later the pair reconnected in Nashville and became Schmarx and Savvy.

After getting signed at Round Hill music publishing they started to grow and refine their skills. After some grinding, the duo started getting placements with major artists like 3lau, Zeds Dead, Jordin Sparks, and more.

Today we welcome Marc and Savannah to the podcast to discuss hard work, and embracing your individuality, on this episode of The Big Break.

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“Somebody Real”

Show Notes

1:54Where are you guys from?

2:11When did you decide you wanted to make music your profession?

2:50Fullsail University and Berkeley College

4:27How did you guys meet?

6:00Savannah moves to Nashville

8:55Birthdays

9:45What were you both doing aside from making music while in Nashville?

12:05What was the plan while you both were working and making music?

13:25Finding a publisher for the songwriting duo

14:34Did you run into difficulties being focused on Pop?

15:55Can you describe what meetings with publishers were like?

20:02If you could go back and give yourselves advice before your first publishing meeting, what would

it be?

22:27During the years of grinding, how did you get better at your craft?

25:08The importance of co-writing and learning from other people

26:10Did you know right away that Round Hill was the right publisher?

29:25How was the experience different with Round Hill compared to other major publishers?

33:21Moving to Los Angeles

35:40Did you have a network in LA when you moved? Or did you have to start from scratch?

37:00What was the first song you had released with Round Hill?

37:46Drive Slow by Carly Paige and Touch by 3lau

38:50How did the releases for those songs happen?

42:50Did anything change for you guys after these songs were released?

45:20How did you guys get connected with Angry Mob Music?

48:10What were you guys looking for in a deal after Round Hill?

50:22How did your Round Hill contact become your manager?

52:22What advice would you give to a songwriter in LA who is considering getting a manager?

55:15What is your vision for where you guys are headed?

58:11Somebody Real and releasing your own music

61:19Do you have any tips for people navigating the politics of getting a song on an album?

64:17What is the kindest thing that someone has done for you guys so far in your career?

66:25Meeting and connecting with Brett James

69:46Lessons and Takeaways

71:14Parting words and advice

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Mr. Robotic Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

Marcas Harris treats his music career like a business.

Music for marcas started as battle-rapping in the lunchroom in high school. After gaining recognition in the battle-rap scene under the name “Bullet”, Marcas began to book shows around his hometown of Chicago. When his performances began to generate some money, and he decided to take his music to the next level.

He rebranded his unique sound and style under the name Mr. Robotic, and began building the foundation for a business. Today, Mr. Robotic has had hundreds of sync placements in popular shows like The Jersey Shore, Black Lightning, I Feel Bad, and more.

We sit down with Mr. Robotic today to hear about his growth from battle-rapper, to producer and entrepreneur on this episode of The Big Break

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Check out Mr. Robotic’s Website and Merchandise

Show Notes

1:33Growing Up in Chicago and getting into music

3:15Chicago Writing Sessions

4:20Performing on the Sunkist truck

5:05Changing schools and practicing rap battling, and thinking about college

6:20Columbia College in Chicago

8:30Winning studio time in a rap battle

9:45“If you do not have any money to do music, don’t do it.”

10:57Funding the business of your music career

12:15Making club songs and using Myspace

13:30Starting to get booked and making money for performing

16:00Starting to see the industry landscape change

18:05Getting a publicist

19:09After college

20:34Getting his first sync placement

21:30Branding Mr. Robotic

24:05Watch the Club Go

27:11Getting connected to pluggers and figuring out splits

29:23Were you surprised at the response from your sync placements?

33:18How did you make yourself findable?

35:06Using sync placements to get discovered

37:40How has streaming from your perspective changed the game?

39:26“How do I make my music make money, so I can continue making music?”

41:18How do people respond when you tell them music is more about sales?

45:56Thinking about your songs as the product

47:34Learning from the billboards, and learning why songs become hits

50:14Having more than one product to sell and multiple streams of income

52:17“Focus on building the foundation of the business”

53:30What are your goals looking like for the coming years?

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Beat Billionaire Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

Shamann Cooke grew up in Richmond, Virginia. As an escape from the drugs and violence in his neighborhood, he began rapping, and cultivating himself as an artist. When he got recognized at a rap battle in New York, Shamann was connected to industry superstars like T.I., Young Dro, Rick Ross, and more.

Today, Shamann goes by Beat Billionaire. He produces many of the hits you hear coming out of Maybach Music Group, including “Purple Lamborghini” by Rick Ross, which was the featured song in the blockbuster film “Suicide Squad” and got him a Grammy nomination.

Beat Billionaire joins us to talk about how he went from selling drugs in his hometown, to a premiere producer with Roc Nation, on this episode of The Big Break.

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Show Notes

1:33Growing up in Virginia

3:40What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

4:23Being inspired seeing Virginia on the map

6:00Rapping, and getting discovered by Parish Smith

7:57Did you travel to New York often?

9:09Moving to Atlanta, and linking up with T.I.

10:27How were you sustaining yourself while you were producing in Atlanta?

11:45Takeoff with Young Dro

12:40Getting introduced to Rick Ross

14:23Loyalty, and honoring the people you’re with

15:20At this point are you familiar with the structure of the music industry?

16:47Getting signed at Maybach Music Group

17:24The story of Bag of Money

18:47What did it feel like getting a #1 hit?

20:45What’s the story behind the ‘Beat Billionaire’ name

23:25Do you ever think you would go back to rapping?

24:06Blue Cheese

24:30If you could pick out one moment as your ‘big break’ what would it be?

25:45Making Purple Lamborghini

26:45Do you think working so closely with a small group makes your work better?

28:03What was it like working with Skrillex, from a totally different genre?

29:30Roc Nation

30:50How was the transition going from a producer to a ‘boss’

32:00If you could go back, would you have done anything differently?

33:45Did you feel pressured to make music? Or was it something you just naturally always did?

34:40What is your biggest motivation?

35:03Do you have any new stuff with MMB coming out in the next couple years?

36:45Do you use the internet at all to market yourself?

38:22Do you think a lot of your success is from being in the right place at the right time?

39:14With the popularity of streaming, do you see music changing to fit this new format?

42:00Do you have any other thoughts to share?

44:02Giving back to your home town

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Ben Tankard Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Things don’t always go according to plan, and that rings especially true for our guest this week, Ben Tankard.

Ben had just joined the NBA when an injury ended his basketball career before it even had a chance to start. After a few years of working as a dog catcher, Ben started taking his lunch breaks playing piano in a music store. After the shopkeeper asked him to ditch the dog-catching uniform and demo pianos for his customers, he realized music was more than something to pass the lunch break.

Today, Ben is a highly regarded Gospel-Jazz musician, a preacher, and even has his own reality show. He joins us to tell the story of how he went from a local dog-catcher, to the musical pioneer he is today.

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Show Notes

1:41 Growing up

2:53 Playing sports and music in high school

3:45 Getting a basketball scholarship and going to the NBA

5:30 Starting to take Christianity seriously

6:45 Playing piano for the first time

8:16 Making ends meet, as a dog-catcher

10:30Playing piano at a music store

12:19Joel Osteen shares the Ben Tankard Story

14:00Keyboard demonstrator for Main Street Music

15:45Developing a home studio, and starting to make money from music

16:19All Keyed Up

16:33Tribute Records

18:39Were you musically literate before you got to really pursue piano?

19:54Would you say there was a definitive moment when you realized your success?

20:20Discovering Yolanda Adams

24:45Being a ‘back-burner’ musician

25:53Being his own manager

28:12Do you prefer to be behind the scenes more?

28:45The start of the reality show

30:55How did you bridge the gap between Gospel and Jazz for people?

32:40Getting commercial radio plays with instrumentals

34:14Do you think your life would be different if you didn’t get hurt playing basketball?

35:40How basketball came back into Ben’s world

38:45How much has hard work played into your success?

41:00Did you have any mentors when you first started playing music?

42:26Do you ever feel like your success is surreal?

43:27The power your network plays in your world

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Daniel Capellaro Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

You know the feeling when everything seems to be falling into place? Things just seem to work out in a way that seems too good to be true?

That’s exactly what it was like for our guest this week, Daniel Capellaro. See, after he learned guitar and started singing, a chance encounter with a record producer in New York got him in the door with major studios all over the country. And, this was when he was just 19 years old.

But, and there’s always a but, Daniel faced a difficult decision. One that ultimately stopped him right in his tracks and putting him back at square one.

It was a tough break, but it came with many lessons, and Daniels perseverance and talent allowed him to reset and flourish as a lyricist and music producer. Today he has songs with superstars like Chris Brown and Pitbull.

Listen to his story, now on the big break

Check out Daniel’s recent solo project “DVNIEL”

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Show Notes

1:57When did you start to get the sense that you wanted to make music a career?

4:21From starting to learn guitar and bouncing around the country, what was the next big step?

5:14Meeting a music producer in Bryant Park

7:06Getting a production deal with Sony, and recording a Demo

7:55Meeting George Clinton

9:03How would you describe a production deal?

10:35Meeting with L.A. Reid at Arista

14:45Moving from New York to Los Angeles

17:15Meeting with Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records

18:49Sticking up for yourself

23:17The remake of “The Monkees” on NBC

25:30The decision of who to sign with

28:30NBC Cancels the show

29:30Starting to work in the restaurant business

34:00Networking and being present

37:32Performing on The Bonnie Hunt Show

39:08Working with Emile Ghantous and getting a Pitbull placement

41:09Committing to getting out of restaurant service

42:02Pitching music for The Wanted and One Direction

44:10How long were you working in a restaurant before the Pitbull and Chirs Brown song?

44:46The importance of team building

46:06“You have to create your own enterprise.”

49:02Summing up Daniel’s lessons

50:55Listen to criticism and pay attention to trends

54:26Do you have any advice for your younger self or fledgling artists on the cusp of success?

57:38What are you working on now?

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Andrew Cedar Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Our guest this week is producer and songwriter Andrew Cedar. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve probably heard his songs Flo Rida, Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. That includes Grammy Nominated song, “See You Again.”

Andrew grew up taking weekly piano lessons from when he was just 3 years old. With encouragement from a musical family, he earned him a full scholarship to UCLA’s music program. After a few short years studying, he got connected with the talent at Artist Publishing Group, and received a publishing deal before he even graduated.

Andrew joins us today to talk about the steps and methods that propelled his career forward, on this episode of the Big Break.

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Show Notes

1:20What was it like growing up?

2:14Was there ever a time growing up when you thought you might move away from music?

3:20What did you want to do after High School?

4:05Studying Jazz at UCLA

6:05So what happened after you graduated?

6:50Being introduced to Sam Martin and DJ Frank E

8:14Starting to move away from Jazz

10:16What was life like after getting signed with APG?

11:50What was the ‘mentor’ relationship like with DJ Frank E?

13:00Was there a point where everything shifted for you?

13:40Celebrate by Pitbull

16:05What was the next big step for you after ‘Celebrate’?

16:21GDFR by Flo Rida

18:03Did a lot of your songs get big over time? Or did you pursue songs you knew were hits?

19:03Are you working with mostly APG? Or other artists?

21:34How did you handle the momentum you gathered?

23:58What would you have done differently without your connection to APG?

25:13Being unemotional about music

27:22See You Again by Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth

29:30Is it easier for you to make music knowing where it’s going to live?

31:41Is it just your style to get right back to work after getting such a huge hit?

32:50What have you been working on since and what do you have coming up in the future?

32:58Think before I Talk by Astrid S

34:00What’s your take on the international side of music?

35:21Do you think growing up in a musical environment really contributed to your success?

37:20When you’re creating these days, are you pulling inspiration from the radio?

39:15Do you have any big plans for the future?

40:04Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to your younger self?

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Amadeus Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

Antwan Thompson, better known by his producer name, Amadeus, is a heavy hitter in the music industry. He has credits with an extraordinarily long list of superstars which includes Jennifer Lopez, Trey Songz, Justin Bieber, Tyga and many more.

Growing up in the Bronx in New York, Amadeus started off learning to play the drums with his school band. His natural musical talent was only enhanced by his work ethic and dedication. That talent and dedication got him in the room with legendary producer Buckwild when he was only 15 years old.

Amadeus joins us to share his story, and what steps he took to become the powerhouse producer he is today.

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Show Notes

2:09Starting in the Bronx

2:55What was your first job?

4:05What was the music scene like when you were growing up?

5:18Block parties

6:10Learning a musical instrument in school, and starting with drums

8:33Did you know in highschool that you wanted to pursue music professionally?

9:16Meeting Buckwild

11:30How did you get connected to Buckwild?

13:45What kind of sacrifices did you make as a kid?

15:28Out of school, what did you first trying to “break in” to the music industry?

16:40Taking a meeting with Interscope Records, and placing with Foxy Brown

19:22Working a room and cultivating relationships

21:00What do you think you did differently that allowed you to sustain and grow?

26:30Would you say being a connoisseur of different style sounds was a key to your relevance?

27:33What advice would you give to someone creative entering the industry about relationships?

30:03The importance of getting your work out there, and being proactive

35:19How did you finance your career from the early days?

40:53What advice do you have for artists who don’t get credited for their work online?

44:45What advice would you give to your younger self getting started?

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Damon Sharpe Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

A lifetime performer, Damon Sharpe started his career as a touring dancer when he was only 15 years old.

His early success as a dancer led to multiple acting jobs, a television show, and even a record deal before it all came crashing down around him, teaching him the first and greatest lesson of his career- work ethic. This ultimately became Damon’s greatest asset, and led to the creation of songs like “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” by Jennifer Lopez and more.

Today, Damon is an international producer working in several different genres of music. He joins us this week to talk about his journey, and the importance of working hard and never taking no for an answer, on The Big Break.

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Show Notes

1:33How did you get started with music?

3:01Being a dancer with Tiffany and New Kids on the Block

4:10What was it like touring at 15?

4:34The first big break

7:00Meeting Ric Wake

9:01Ric Wake gets some of his songs placed with Jennifer Lopez and Anastasia

9:50Seeing his name on a magazine

11:57Damon’s friend Deric Battiste and how the Ric Wake introduction happened

13:26How did you deal with the ups and downs as a songwriter

16:36“You don’t want to chase the whales every day”