INDEPENDENCE: Lauriana Mae on Owning Her Sound
Lauriana Mae may seem quiet in conversation, but give her a mic and you’ll hear a soulful, jazzy performer bringing classic sounds into the modern age. She performed for executives at Atlantic, where she clearly made a mark. “You sang for your life in there.” She got a record deal, but it was only “a part of success.” After some time, she realized she needed to move in a new direction. Lauriana has new music and projects she’s proud of, only now it’s her vision, her voice, and in her time.
Individuality: Val Shively
INDIVIDUALITY: Val Shively, R&B Records
What is it like to own a warehouse with over four million records for sale? For a music fan, it’s a dream come true. For Val Shively, it’s just another day with his “babies.” But don’t expect to browse the never-ending two-story vertical rows of musical gold: “Do Not Enter (unless you know what you want).” Val has always been unconventional, and that’s what kept his store going for 60+ years. As Val says, “Being different is very, very good.”
GAME-CHANGING: Greg LoPiccolo on Redefining Music Creation
Listen to Greg LoPiccolo as he shares his journey from being in a band to creating Rock Band & Guitar Hero video games, and the future of music production software. “Making pop music is not really more complicated than playing Grand Theft Auto, or Red Dead Redemption, or Fallout, or any of these kind of modern games… I have this belief that if we can create the right tool set and embed game-play into it… [people] can make music and share that music, and that would be a rewarding experience…”
Resilience: John Gilman
RESILIENCE: John Gilman on Pressure and Passion
Sharing the music you created with the world still matters, even if you’re not on the biggest stage. But how do you get back up after a loss? “There’s this massive amount of pressure on you by people to get back. You go from up here, and you fall… To me, the greatest enemy of creativity is pressure.” Hear from John Gilman, a songwriter, guitarist, and singer discuss how he feels about creating music after leaving The Voice.
INTEGRITY: Mastering the Indie Sound with Alan Douches
Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Alan Douches isn’t chasing a major label sound – he embraces an indie sound that competes with big labels. “We’ve gotta have the right gear…we’ve gotta have integrity.” Self-taught, Alan Douches has mastered some of the most iconic indie albums over the years including Collection II by Misfits, Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens, Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective, and many more. Hear from the master of indie music mastering at West West Side Music.
Inspiration: Louis Armstrong
INSPIRATION: Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives
“I’ve devoted 24 years of my life to his music, his legacy, and I’m not going to stop until the world feels the same way I do.” Get a rare look at the jewels within the Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives and feel the joy still in the building that was Armstrong’s original perfectly preserved home. Ricky Riccardi, Director of Research Collections, shows us what inspires him to trek four hours a day to spearhead the preservation of music.