Interview With Brad Lebakken, Artist
(added July
15, 2006)
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] I
have a new hangout online where I like to play when I need a break.
It is MySpace.
:) While there, I found some fabulous music bands and decided
to interview a musician who caught my attention with his song
"City Lights." Brad
Lebakken lives in a neighboring state to me and just released
his first album. He was in a band previously and decided to go
solo last year. I wrote him to see if he would like to do an interview
and share his story. He has agreed to...
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
How old were you when you started playing
guitar?
[Brad Lebakken] I started playing guitar in
8th grade when I got a guitar as a Christmas gift. I learned by
watching my cousin who lived down the street. He would play songs
and then I’d try to copy by ear the things he did.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
And other instruments?
[Brad Lebakken] I didn’t really start
playing other instruments until I decided to go to college for
music. While in music school I was taught piano and the Jazz style
of playing guitar. During this time I also taught myself to sing,
play drums, and bass. I started playing live about three days
a week with a rock band called Linus.
This is where I learned things about the music business I couldn’t
really learn in school.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Do
you have people in your family with musical talent? How did they
influence you?
[Brad Lebakken] My
cousin, grandfather and uncle all played guitar. We would play
cover songs together and I would learn by watching them all. My
cousin was the biggest influence on me because we liked the same
kind of hard rock music. My mother also played the accordion real
well but that was before I was born so it didn’t influence
me.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Did
you intend to make music your career?
[Brad Lebakken] As
a senior in High School I decided there was really nothing else
I would rather do so I pursued a career in music not having any
idea of what I was up against. I couldn’t read a note and
knew nothing about music theory, or the music business. I was
completely self taught. My first audition for a college was horrible
and I was told to get a tutor and audition next year. That wasn’t
good enough - I wanted to study up and audition sooner. Within
a 3 month period I learned to read notes and a ton of music theory.
Then I broke my wrist right before I was to audition for the second
time at the university. I continued to learn while in a cast by
visualizing myself playing the notes on the page. I got my cast
off and only had a week and a half to strengthen my hand back
up. On the very last day of auditions I played for the professors
and got into Duquesne Music School. This was only the beginning
of the hard work though. All four years of college felt like I
was playing catch up to everyone else. These were people from
all over the world that had been playing and reading music since
they were 5 years old – musical geniuses. So much hard work
and financial battles went into those four years. After I graduated
I went back for a Master’s which I just completed. But that’s
another battle story altogether.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Did
you have any particular musicians who have influenced the type
of music you play?
[Brad Lebakken] Chris
Carrabba from Dashboard
Confessional is my biggest influence musically and vocally.
I’m also influenced by Coldplay
and a band called Death
Cab for Cutie.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
did your first band get together? How long were you together?
Why did it break up?
[Brad Lebakken] My first
real band was called Linus.
We were together for four years and I gained a lot of experience
touring and recording. Jered
from that band is currently playing bass for my new project. Linus
broke up because small record labels wanted to sign us but we
wouldn’t be making any money at first, just touring our
butts off in hopes of building a name for ourselves. My problem
was that we wouldn’t be making enough money for me to pay
off school loans. Financially I couldn’t take the risk and
I still had one year of school left to get my Masters in music.
The band decided we couldn’t move much further so we broke
up. The timing of the record deal just came at a bad time. We’re
all on good terms with each other, it just wasn’t meant
to be.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Why
did you decide to go solo?
[Brad Lebakken] After the
band broke up I felt a need to reinvent the music I created, going
from hard rock to acoustic rock. I got bored with always doing
heavy music so it was time for a change. I had no band but I didn’t
want that to stop me from making music so I picked up an acoustic
guitar and started writing.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] While
making your first album, you wrote in your blog on MySpace, "All
instruments/vocals and the actual song recordings for the new
solo album had been played/recorded/produced/mixed/mastered by
me over the winter/spring of 2005/2006."
You were basically a one-man band! Was that intentional?
[Brad Lebakken] Since
I had no band I ended up recording the entire album myself. Down
at school I had free access to a decent studio, so I began a solo
album playing all the guitars, vocals, drums, keyboards, and bass.
I recorded, and played each part, one at a time, building each
song. I then mixed and mastered the whole thing myself. Towards
the end of the album a friend named Ron Kauffman helped me by
being a second set of ears in the studio. He would soon become
the electric guitar player so I could play the album live. The
other seven musicians were soon to join up too, so we could play
the album the way it was recorded. The amount of hard work and
heart that went into this recording can really be heard in each
track. It was the hardest project I’ve ever had to do. Nobody
records like that because it’s so time consuming. I had
no choice, I had to take advantage of the free studio and further
my musical career. Now I have a band that plays live so future
albums will be recorded the easy, standard way. No more taking
on a whole album myself.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
is the hardest part about the music industry?
[Brad Lebakken] Building a name for yourself.
It just takes years to get your music to a large audience. There
are so many musicians and bands out there all competing for attention.
You have to promote yourself relentlessly to be recognized.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Is
it hard to book places to play your music at?
[Brad Lebakken] I had connections
from my old band that helped me get shows, so that helps. With
the Internet and a press kit you can book your own tours or just
play around your hometown easier than 5 years ago.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
types of things do you do to promote your music?
[Brad Lebakken] I use flyers,
and lots of different Internet sites to advertise and expose people
to my songs. Recruiting people to give out flyers and spread the
word about your music helps tremendously. Playing live a lot is
also important to building a following.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
types of people help you: agents? managers? etc.?
[Brad Lebakken] I currently
work my butt off doing the promotions myself but foresee the need
for help from a manager soon.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
many music shows do you intend to do each year?
[Brad Lebakken] It depends.
I shot for at least one hundred shows a year. Hopefully we’ll
do more than that.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Do
you ever get nervous before a show?
[Brad Lebakken] I get more
excited and filled with adrenaline right before a show than nervous.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
is the coolest joint you ever performed at?
[Brad Lebakken] Mr.
Smalls in Pittsburgh is my favorite place because the sound
system is amazing. There is always a ton of people that show up
for shows there too.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
is a common question people ask you?
[Brad Lebakken] People
ask how the first album was recorded and did I really do it myself.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
do you wish to convey through your music?
[Brad Lebakken] My music
and lyrics are a reflection of who I am. Christian themes and
everyday life issues are a big part of my music. I just really
want people to relate to what I say lyrically while getting people
to think about spiritual and positive things.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Would
you consider having your music used in film?
[Brad Lebakken] I’d
love to have my music played in film. A common comment from people
is that they could hear my song City Lights in a film of some
sort.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Is
there anyone whom you would like to meet or record music with?
[Brad Lebakken] I’d
like to meet Chris from Dashboard Confessional and do a vocal
duet with him.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Do
you have any advice for people interested in making a career in
music?
[Brad Lebakken] Just be
prepared to work 60 hours a week and extremely hard to compete
with everyone else out there. Never stop educating yourself on
the ever-changing way the music business is going, and be prepared
to sacrifice a lot. It’s all worth it though, once you reap
the hard work you’ve sown.
Thank-you for sharing your story, Brad. I know
many musicians will benefit from your experience and advice. I
look forward to hearing more of your music!
- You may be interested to read more about Brad
Lebakken and hear his music on his MySpace
website. You will also be able to purchase his first album.
To visit Brad Lebakken's website » Click
Here
- Questions or comments for Wendy? » Click
Here
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