BJSR - A. The Creative
Even though I had very close ties to UD my whole life I was never sold on attending. I really wanted to find a school with a studio. I took a tour of UD with a faculty member and was introduced to 2 students. These three people showed me around Street Sounds. I started to be invited to sit in on sessions at UD while I was still in high school. Quickly I fell in love with UD mostly through this student ran studio and the guidance and mentorship of these people. I didn’t even apply anywhere else.
One of these students was Ben. He was very instrumental in terms of developing my love for music, production, and engineering. I always looked at him as a mentor. I would send him songs I was working on and he would give me some of the most valuable feedback. He was always around to lend a hand, ear, opinion. I valued his feedback and took it to heart.
Fast forward. After I returned from Nashville, Ben and I spent countless hours editing takes from sessions he recorded while I was still in Tennessee. Then we both got distracted and left the sessions untouched for a while. In 2015 I entered another phase in our relationship. He brought the MEGA PIXEL project to me to help finish out and a year later we worked on Dave Zup’s album. Ben and I decided in late 2017 to push as hard as we could to get his debut album done. At this point it was pretty surreal to be working on a project with someone that played such an influential role in me finding my passion. We worked all of 2018 on finishing the production, mixing, and mastering on this and I could not be more thrilled to share it.
I am so incredibly blessed to have been a part of this project. I am extremely honored that my name is on it alongside extremely talented musicians, producers, and engineers whom I have the deepest respect for. Working on such a meaningful project with someone that helped me find and continues to help me find not only myself and my life meaning but fosters my relationship with my passion is awe inspiring. Ben has steered me away from the “man I need to quit doing music” ledge more times than I can count - and for that I am forever grateful. Ben’s guidance has been very instrumental in paving the way for me to pursue opportunities that I never dreamt possible and travel down a life changing path.
Not only am I extreme proud of the focused, dedicated work we put in I am insanely proud of the work that we produced. Needless to say this is by far one of the best and one of my favorite projects I have ever been a part of. Take a listen to one of my best friends album. BJSR “A. The Creative” is available on all streaming platforms.
