The Music Community I Want to See...
Photo by Bryan Flores
I’ve been trying to write this blog for a long time, since the EP was released in November. Sometimes I’ve been very happy and loving about the recording process, but too busy. Sometimes I’ve been angry and frustrated about the process, and what I wrote wasn’t productive. Mostly, though, I’ve been overwhelmed.
I am incredibly proud of the work that my team and I did on the E’ville Experience’s first EP. It was more work and more money than I ever thought it would be, but the product speaks for itself. With “Dare Me” at over 25k streams on Spotify and the rest of the EP catching up, numerous Spotify Playlists adding our tracks, fan response and growth, I can’t help but feel that, for a first attempt, it went very well. I also was very vindicated reading what my team experienced (check out Murmur’s thoughts on the process here, and Genesis’ thoughts here). I’m so proud I helped make that real for them.
I had many mixed emotions while trying to write my perspective because, well, I was jealous of Nick, Genesis, and even Bill. I am jealous, still. When I first started working on music seriously, I wanted someone to do for me what I am doing now. I wanted someone to organize everything. Pay for everything. Put all the pieces together. Take care of me on studio days. I wanted to be the piece of the puzzle that sings, plays some piano, and writes music. I was happy if that was ALL I did. But here’s the truth: that’s not a realistic expectation, for ANY member of a band.
Nick and Genesis both wrote about loving studio time. About having time to try creative things, about being fed and taken care of. It’s harder to have that experience when you are the person 1. scheduling the amount of time in the studio and paying for it, 2. buying lunch and snacks for the team, 3. being the point person ON studio day.
Rose singing in the studio while Bill records and mixes.
Bill and I are the only 2 people on the team that were at every studio day. I wanted to make sure everyone had everything they needed and were taken care of. Drum day, bass day, guitar day, vocals day, that was the general order. So on vocal days…who was taking care of me? Especially vocal days where Nick was present for backup vox, I was absolutely still making sure everyone else was taken care of first. Bill has always been an excellent partner in the studio, he gets the best out of everyone he works with, but it’s not his job to bring lunch for the talent. It’s not his job to make sure I have everything I need to be delivering my best performance. That’s…my job. Because I’m not a piece of the puzzle anymore. Now I’m the person in charge of putting all the pieces together.
That’s why I’m changing my expectations from “I want what they have, I want to be taken care of” to, “I’m so proud that I’m a leader that gives people what I wanted in my career. I want an experience for my team that was what I always dreamed I would have.” I’m going to keep trying to create the music world I want to exist, and I’m going to continue treating the musicians around me how I always wanted to be treated.
I would like to talk about my team, though, because they’re amazing.
Photo by Bryan Flores From L to R: Rose Gonzales, the Ghost Guitarist, Murmur, and Genesis Valentine
Genesis wrote about her audition experience, and I need to tell y’all a secret. I paid her to attend that audition. I had a terrible experience with my drummer right before we found Genesis. He quit less than a month before a gig I was excited about and I could tell my band didn’t trust me to find us another drummer. To earn the trust I knew I deserved, I didn’t just post fliers and hope for the best. I went looking for my dream drummer. I went to GigSalad and looked through their drummers for hire, I needed someone professional and incredibly talented because they didn’t have much time to learn our set. I reached out to a few people and asked them to come to the audition before I came across Genesis’ profile.
I can’t tell you how blown away I was by her work. Genesis has a great social media presence with lots of top-notch videos to judge her talent. Her energy was magnetic and her drum work had some great rock influences that I related to right away. I wanted her to be my drummer immediately. So I asked her to attend the audition….and I paid her $25 for a 30 minute audition. I didn’t offer that to anyone else auditioning. I’ve never paid someone to come to an audition, and I don’t know if I ever will again. But I can tell you, Genesis was worth it and I have never regretted it.
The discussion after the auditions was simple. Genesis was the best. Here’s what I sent her after the audition:
“It was an easy decision. Your professionalism when we first met you was great, but somehow your chops were even better! We love the work you've already done on our songs and we are so excited to play live with you! Bill (our producer) also thinks you're a great option for studio work, so if we enjoy working together, we can hopefully keep working together even after this gig.”
Genesis at El Rio, October 2019: Hold on to people that are as excited about The Nightmare Before Christmas as you are!
Genesis has become a real part of the E’ville Experience family, and it’s hard for me to imagine a different drummer at this point. Which could be problematic, because she is in so many incredible bands. We’re just trying to make it big before her other bands do. I say that often, jokingly, but in reality, it’s probably true. She was always going to do great things. I’m honored to be a part of her story.
I worked hard to find Genesis, but, I work hard to find all the members of my team. Like when I found Bill, which is an experience I am grateful for every time I listen to the EP.
When the E’ville Experience decided to try recording, the band had lots of ideas for how to get it done. I’d done enough, uhhhh, “home studio” setups to know that it is a challenge to get right. So I looked up local recording studios to see what it would cost. I requested a quote from Skyline Studios and it was VERY reasonably priced! So we decided to try to do a live recording of the band, all playing together, to get our song “Olivia” down. When we arrived for recording, our engineer was Bill Snyder III.
I don’t have good luck for many things. I don’t win on scratch tickets. I don’t win raffles. I never win call-in radio contests. But I have VERY good timing for life events. And meeting Bill was some of the luckiest timing I’ve ever had.
Bill in the Studio
Bill is way too good to be working with such a green band, but I think he saw our raw talent. I remember being in Skyline Studios, we had the take we wanted, and Bill was doing some VERY QUICK mixing. I hope he heard the potential the song had, and he was trying so hard to make it sound amazing in almost no time at all. He did a spectacular job, and I tipped him $100 after that session. I’ve been a gig performer for a long time and I know what a $100 tip would mean to me. I wanted him to know how grateful we were for his work, because I could see his talent from a mile away.
Bill went home and, on his own time, worked on the mix for “Olivia”. By the time he was done with it, and shared it with me, it was….it was how I heard the song in my head. I just can’t tell you how much I struggle to make the things in my head translate to the real world, but Bill is one such translator. Every track he works with us on is better for his input. He’s great at being an outside, unbiased voice for the band. He worked with us on the EP from the very beginning, from choosing the songs and order, to recording each song in the studio, to mixing every song and giving feedback on the masters (done by Waltz Mastering). He’s a vital part of our band and, again, I can’t imagine not working with him. I am honored to be a part of his story as well.
Which leads me to Murmur: AKA Nick.
Rose and Murmur onstage at El Rio 2019
There is no the E’ville Experience without Nick. He recently made a birthday post for me that said, “When Murmur originally reached out about collaborating with other musicians, Rose was the first one to respond. That initial collaboration blossomed into the E’ville Experience as we know it today.” Well, that’s kinda true, but not really the full story. We met at my favorite place to get work done, Black Diamond Café, during their Open Mic. Nick enjoyed my Ida Maria, Steven Universe, and Pokémon covers, and I loved his guitar work. However, he had another band, Toadhouse. And they were good. I mean, really good. I didn’t even THINK to ask him to work with me because he already seemed to be in a successful band. I met a drummer at that open mic as well. I started working at that drummer’s family’s restaurant so I could ask him to drum in my band. That was the start of the E’ville Experience.
That’s when Nick made it clear that he was looking for collaborative opportunities. I JUMPED at the opportunity, I RESPONDED SO FAST to work with him, he’s such a talented guitarist. I didn’t know this at the time, but he is more consistent in his rehearsal than ANY musician I’ve ever met. He truly loves music and I appreciate how open-minded he is about influences and ideas. He’s the other essential part of the band. We understand each other very well, and when we don’t, we talk as long as we need to until we do.
I think Nick would have been fine without me, but I hope I’ve helped him on his guitar path.
The band has disagreements, the band has fights and awkwardness. That’s how you know we’re honest with each other. We always figure it out. We work through the uncomfortable. We find the best solutions. Nick and I are in talks right now about what the next stage of the E’ville Experience looks like in terms of getting us out of COVID-19 and getting back to collaborative music (I can’t wait!).
The first EP was amazing, I learned so much, and the next round of releases will be better for it. Now instead of waiting to be discovered so someone can give me the experience I dream of, I’m making my goals happen for myself and giving the people I work with the best experience I can. Being the change I want to see has never felt so literal or possible as right now in this moment.
Thank you for listening to our music. We love what we do
Top L to R: Rafael Chacon, Murmur, Nick Lovato, Bryan Flores, Bill Snyder III, Elliott Blake, Desire Lacap, and Jonathan Garcia
Center L to R: Rose Gonzales and Genesis Valentine