Where Are All My Friends | Discovering Creative Careers with Inspiring Entrepreneurs

Bryce Carr is the Director of Artist Marketing at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. He joins us this week to share some tips and tricks on working with brands in the musical instrument space and to share some thoughts on brand partnerships.

In addition we talk about Fender as a brand and some of the incredible things they’ve been focused on lately.

Bryce provided so much value in this one! If you got something out of it, please do us the biggest favor and share it with a friend that would enjoy it as well!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro / Who you are and what you do

4:35 - Bryce’s backstory and early days

8:00 - Working at Ultimate Ears

14:20 - Working at Bandsintown

19:10 - Going back to USC for his MBA

21:05 - Is college worth it?

24:50 - Going to work for Fender

27:50 - How does an artist develop a relationship with Fender?

38:50 - Fender’s goal to elevate their artists by telling authentic stories

44:20 - Fender’s focus on diversity

49:05 - Where do you see the future of music going?

55:10 - Fender’s ethos is incredible

1:01:20 - How to get in touch with Bryce

Bryce Carr: @brycebcarr

Fender: @fender

Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw

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Josh Epple (Hopeless Records) and Ben Farber (Warner Music) are back by popular demand for a Q&A episode!

We ripped some jokes, had some laughs and covered some great questions.

Let’s get to it!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

5:30 - If you’re a brand new artist and you’re about to release music, should you release your best song first?

10:50 - How much planning and strategy should you put into a song that you think will be a single?

17:30 - How to get over the fear of putting out music?

23:00 - How many singles should you release before dropping an album?

32:20 - What does it look like when live music and tours come back? 

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Josh Epple: @eppelogue

Ben Farber: @blfarber

Me: @andrew_ftw

VERSION III: @version.iii

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Silver Sphere is 100% my favorite artist right now! She’s Incredibly talented with a rad story. It was an honor to do a podcast with her. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:35 - Creating music as the character Silver Sphere

7:50 - Touring with Omar Apollo and her love for tour

11:15 - What artists are you most inspired by?

14:30 - Constantly evolving her songwriting process

16:00 - Signing a record deal during the pandemic

19:15 - Writing with Dylan Brady and releasing Football Game

21:50 - Staying cohesive while not limiting herself to one genre or style

24:10 - Advice to any artists who are afraid to release music

29:00 - Where can everyone find you?

Taji Ameen is the host of One Star Reviews on VICE as well as a producer and videographer. This is his story!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:17 - Who you are and what you do

4:25 - An internship at VICE leading to so much more

10:05 - Going from skateboarding to getting into filming video and other interests

15:07 - Moving from New York to California, then coming back to NY

20:00 - Becoming a full time shooter at VICE and occasionally hosting

22:52 - Having major success with developing and hosting One Star Reviews

26:47 - Filming One Star Reviews in so many wild locations

30:07 - What’s it like being the host of One Star Reviews?

36:10 - Can we please get Taji a chair sponsorship??

38:07 - What’s next for you?

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Taji Ameen: @tajcam

Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw

Vice One Star Reviews

Where Are All My Friends Podcast: 

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Nick Nukem is the co-host of The Plug Radio on Apple Music. He joins us this week to tell his story, talk about never giving up on a career in music, and shares what it's like to finally have his own radio show! 

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

4:15 - Who you are and what you do

6:06 - The early days and getting fired from his first radio job

13:45 - Meeting PJ Butta and getting into music journalism

19:00 - The excitement of finding new music online back in the day

32:30 - Writing for OC Weekly then covering ComplexCon 2016

39:00 - Where video picks up

40:00 - Unknowingly interviewing for Beats 1, then getting a job with them

41:15 - The “Aha moment”

47:35 - The progression of Nick’s career since working at Apple Music / Beats 1

50:45 -  The beginning of “The Plug Radio” with him and Eddie Francis

54:55 - The payoff of chasing your dreams

1:00:30 - Were your parents supportive of what you do?

1:04:45 - The importance of grit and real life experiences

1:08:45 - Where can everyone find you and listen to your show?

Nick Nukem: @nicknukem

Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw 

The Plug Radio: apple.co/plugradio

Where Are All My Friends Podcast: whereareallmyfriends.com

John Herrera is brand building entrepreneur who works with streetwear brands such as Fatlace, illest, and many others with a focus on e-commerce and licensing. 

Outside of his work, his passion is teaching people how to become successful in life.  His early roots are in music, where he was a massively successful DJ and club promoter selling out 20,000+ venues and throwing some of the craziest parties the Philippines had seen!

He joins us this week not only to tell his story, but to share some extremely helpful and actionable steps to use to improve mindset and focus our energy to start achieving our big picture goals.

Timestamps: 

0:00 - Intro

4:30 - Who you are and what you do

6:30 - Growing up in Manilla, moving to LA as a kid, and finding music & DJ’ing

12:40 - Learning about goal setting & the law of attraction for the first time

15:10 - Starting as a promoter in the Philippines and blowing up

19:30 - Finding inspiration in music from VH1 documentaries, DVDs and magazines from the US.

22:00 - Building a network, then booking massive DJs and celebrities

25:10 - What made you pivot into fashion and streetwear after having so much success in music?

27:10 - What was the most surreal moment in your career in music?

28:30 - Becoming very interested in fashion and streetwear then becoming deeply rooted in it.

32:30 - Opening up a streetwear store in Manilla (Grey One Social)

33:20 - Meeting and working with Marc Arcenal from illest and Fatlace

34:10 - How Jon became the plug in both fashion and music in Manilla

39:00 - Being coached by the legendary Kevion Stirdivant and how much of a positive impact he’s made on both of our lives

45:50 - Finding our limiting beliefs, pushing past them, and the great success we can have

49:50 - The law of attraction and the magic of using your imagination

53:00 - Helping others become more successful and how rewarding it can be

54:15 - Actionable steps to start goal setting TODAY

57:00 - How do you get out of a funk?

1:03:30 - How do you set your goals and how specific are they?

1:11:00 - Working in music again and mentoring artists

1:14:00 - Where can everybody find you?

If you liked this episode, do us a massive favor and share it with a friend that would like it!

I'm @andrew_ftw and he's @limitlessjon

Harlym Nazeer is only 17 years old and has built an incredible artist project with the help of her super creative family. She writes all of her music and her sister (Abeni Nazeer) films all of her videos. She joins us this week to tell her story and talk about all of the current projects she's up to. 

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:50 - Early days and moving all over the country

10:15 - Where do you get your inspiration from as an artist?

17:20 - Matching great visuals with all of the music she makes and creating them with her sister

21:50 - Making a behind the scenes docu-series of her entire life

25:20 - Hows your experience been living in Los Angeles?

28:20 - What are some of your big picture goals?

Harlym Nazeer:

Instagram

YouTube

Spotify

Docuseries

Andrew Cramb:

Instagram

Twitter

Where Are All My Friends Podcast:

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A "Best Of" round up with my favorite clips from 3 of the latest episodes featuring: Gavin Chops (Chelsea Culter / Pack Records), Chris Ruff (Fueled By Ramn) and Jack Gallagher (Mt. Joy / C3 Management).

I've noticed that longer episodes do poorly around the holidays, so what better time to take the "Best Of" episode concept for a walk? Let's rip!

1:05 - Gavin Chops: Goals mean nothing if you don’t actually DO things to accomplish them.

6:15 - Chris Ruff: Taking pride in what you do, bringing it back to being a fan of the artists you work with and putting genuine care in it all.

11:50 - Jack Gallagher: Staying sane and centered while working through an insane year.

If you like this concept, let me know and I'll keep 'em going!

Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw

Gavin Chops: @gavinchops

Chris Ruff: @chrismruff

Jack Gallagher: @yackogallagher

Podcast: www.whereareallmyfriends.com

Gavin Chops is a rare breed of musician and business man all in one. Not only is he the drummer for Chelsea Cutler, he's also the founder of Pack Records and Bear & Owl Management.

He joins us this week to share his come up story, and explains how he manages so many projects while maintaining passion and attention to detail in all of them.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:20 - Who you are and what you do

9:25 - The turning point of committing to music fully

14:25 - How long did it take for things to start clicking in your music career?

19:40 - Goals mean nothing if you don’t actually DO things to accomplish them

21:30 - Balancing drumming for Chelsea Cutler, and running two companies

27:00 - How to efficiently structure and time block your day

34:20 - Dropping everything to drum for Chelsea Cutler

40:10 - Courage is more important than confidence

45:00 - Working on personal projects and self improvement

46:40 - Starting his management company Bear and Owl and his record label Pack Records

54:55 - It doesn’t matter if cliches are cliche. If they help that’s all that matters.

56:10 - Where can everyone find you?

Gavin Chops:

Instagram @gavinchops

Gavin’s Newsletter

Pack Records Instagram: @packrecs

Bear and Owl Instagram: @bearandowl_

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Andrew Cramb:

Instagram: @andrew_ftw

Twitter: @andrew_ftw

Chris Ruff from Fueled By Ramen & Elektra Music Group joins us this week to share his incredible story. We talk about his early days living in the UK and discovering music, then taking some serious risks to get to the US and work for several legendary record labels including Sub Pop, Atlantic, and now Fueled By Ramen and Elektra. 

A common theme in his life is thinking outside the box and disrupting things the right way. He shares some epic stories of getting super creative on artist marketing campaigns and also talks about the importance of caring about every artist he’s worked with and being passionate about what you do. 

Timestamps: 

0:00 - Intro

1:40 - Who you are and what you do

2:45 - Early days of getting into music in the UK

12:10 - A crazy moment changing his whole career path

17:00 - Getting an internship at Sub Pop Records and coming to the US

24:00 - Meeting his first mentor Jennifer Ivory

27:00 - Working at Atlantic Records with his second mentor Mark Mitchell

30:00 - Getting crafty with marking campaigns

35:50 - A changing of times in music

41:30 - Doing charity work along side of music

44:15 - Going to work for Fuel By Ramen & Elektra Music Group

53:50 - Supporting women in music

57:30 - Advice to anyone trying to follow a similar path

Mentioned On The Show:  

James Blunt Anonymous

shesaid.so

Love Music Hate Racism

Girls Behind The Rock Show

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Chris Ruff: 

Instagram: @chrismruff

Elektra: https://www.elektrarecords.com/

Fueled By Ramen: https://www.fueledbyramen.com/

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Andrew Cramb:

Instagram: @andrew_ftw

Twitter: @andrew_ftw