Alexa Villareal is a Social Media Specialist at Spotify, however her story is even cooler than her job title. She got her start as a teen running a fan account, and quickly learned how to leverage her love of music and understanding of communities into very valuable skills in the music industry that she shares on this podcast. If you liked this episode do me the biggest favor and share it with a friend! Alexa Villareal: @alexavilla Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends

Where Are All My Friends

119: Alexa Villareal (Spotify) | Embracing Fandom in the Music Industry

Ed Walker is the VP of Original Content & Production at Vevo. He joins the podcast this week to teach you how to get better music video engagement no matter what budget you're working with and so much more! If this episode helped you out, please do me the biggest favor and share it with someone else who would enjoy it as well! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:30 - Ed’s Early Days 4:40 - Freelancing to Event Production 8:00 - Adapting the Path & Stumbling Upon Vevo 11:00 - What Ed Does at Vevo Now 14:50 - Working Closely with Mega Stars (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, The Weekend) 18:00 - Artist Should Be “Maximizing Every Opportunity” 21:45 - The Future of Live Performance 31:45 - Vevo Taking Visuals to the Next Level 35:40 - Evolution & Importance of Vevo 39:50 - How to Make Your Visual Content Better 46:10 - Making the Most With What You Have Ed Walker: @ed__walker Vevo: https://www.youtube.com/vevo Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends

118: Ed Walker (Vevo) | How to Make Better Content

Gordy comes from the world of music and touring in bands, then went all in as an artist and creative director and has an incredibly successful career since doing so. In addition, he's an all around rad dude with a super inspiring story! My favorite part of his story is his genuine love of creating and non-stop pursuit to push himself to do exactly that on the biggest level possible. I hope this podcast inspires you to do that as well! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro to Gordyland 4:25 - Roots and Community in Music 9:40 - Early Days in Music 12:50 - Starting a band with ModSun 17:18 - Designing Merch for His Band and Others 20:46 - Quitting the Band for Art School 22:11 - Don’t Compromise Your Dreams 27:00 - Using Your Time to Be Better 32:28 - Don’t Give Into Fears & Money 35:46 - Did Art School Help? 41:30 - Working at a Corporate Agency 43:28 - Reconnecting with ModSun 50:00 - ModSun, Bear, MGK Friendship 59:16 - Girl Skateboards 1:03:52 - Always Aim High for the Dream Job 1:06:45 - Conquering Self Doubt 1:10:05 - Gordy’s Next Big Dream Gordyland: @gordyland Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Subscribe: Here

117: Gordyland (Artist / Creative Director) | The Relentless Pursuit of Creativity

Will Tenney is the head of Streaming Strategy and Promotion at Crush Music, he was the co-founder of Sun Pop Records out of NYC and currently plays in the alternative band EXIT.  In this episode we take a deep dive into the current state of music streaming and promotion in 2021 and what the best practices artists and industry can use to stand out amongst so much noise.  Will also shares his come up story of playing in bands at a very early age, to co-founding a record label and so much more. I really loved this one. Will is a great friend of mine and shared so much knowledge in this one! If you like it, do us a massive favor and share it online or with anyone you know that would like it! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:34 - Who is Will Tenney 9:20 - Finding His Passion for Music 18:30 - Starting His First Band 26:50 - After College & Escaping His Bank Job 33:04 - How to Start A Record Label 41:50 - Becoming A Part of Crush Music 50:21 - Algorithmic Returns Over Playlisting 59:00 - The Power of Building a Community 1:03:32 - What the Industry Is Looking For In An Artist 1:07:09 - An Email Will Would Respond To 1:12:58 - Will’s Advice Will Tenney: @callme_will EXIT: @weare_exit Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited by - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: https://www.whereareallmyfriends.com 

116: Will Tenney (Crush Music) | Streaming, Strategy, Promotion, and More

Shane Told is the singer of Silverstein and the host of the Lead Singer Syndrome podcast. He joins this week to talk about the early days of Silverstein and the specific moments he remembers of the band having success and “making it”. Then we talk about Lead Singer Syndrome and what it actually takes to keep a podcast going for 6+ years! If you listened all the way to the end of the podcast, you know we made a joke about how much we hate writing these damn descriptions. If you’re actually reading this right now, DM me and I will legit mail you WAAMF stickers for free as a thank you haha! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:45 - Loving what you do 5:15 - Early influences in music & podcasting 10:00 - How Silverstein stays ahead of the curve 14:50 - Be authentic 21:30 - The evolution of Silverstein’s writing process 23:00 - Did you have a specific “Wow, we made it!” Moment with the band? 30:00 - The golden era of a music scene 36:40 - How did you get started with podcasting and Lead Singer Syndrome? 43:45 - What Lead Singer Syndrome looks like 6 years into doing it 47:25 - What lessons have you learned after interviewing so many artists? 54:45 - What intangible benefits has the podcast brought you? 1:01:00 - What it actually takes to keep a podcast going 1:10:15 - Where can everyone find you? Shane Told: @shanetold Silverstein: @Silverstein Lead Singer Syndrome: @LeadSingerSyndrome Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited by - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends

115: Shane Told (Silverstein / Lead Singer Syndrome) Interview

Kenji shares the steps he's taken to successfully promote himself as an artist in 2021. We break it down and talk a ton of specifics like how to target and reach your ideal fanbase, then how to build real meaningful connections and how important that is. He also breaks down in detail the steps he took to get signed to help anyone else out there do the same. If this episode helps you, do me a massive favor and share it with someone else you know that will like it! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:35 - Who is Okay! Kenji  3:04 - OG Fan of the Podcast  8:00 - The Artist Journey 15:25 - Getting Signed is Easy 16:42 - Overvaluing Connections 22:30 - Facebook Ads Are a Game Changer 26:10 - Less is More for Social Media 28:37 - Targeting Your Fans and Audience 33:50 - Using Discord to Engage With Fans 40:00 - Easy Doesn’t Mean Not Hard Work 41:15 - Staying Focused on Three Things 43:18 - What Inspired the Discord 46:20 - Community Over Traffic 52:00 - What’s Next OKAY! Kenji: @okaykenji Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited by - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: https://www.whereareallmyfriends.com

114: How to Promote Your Music in 2021 | OKAY! KENJI Interview

Keith Canva$ draws musical inspiration from a wide range of genres in such a rad way. He’s been on my radar after being introduced to him by my previous podcast guest, Regular Marcus. This is one of my favorite kinds of episodes where I get to learn the come up story of an artist that I’ve been a fan of for a while. He shares how he got his start in hip-hop, and how lately he’s leaned into making music influenced by his love for pop punk. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:20 - Who Is Keith Canva$ 2:51 - Finding Music 5:12 - Meeting Reckless 8:00 - Good ol' SoundCloud Days 10:56 - Keith's Music Deep Dive 14:44 - Thoughts On Change 17:30 - Being a Multidimensional Artist 20:18 - Writing New Music 22:05 - Coming Up With Your Friends 25:26 - Staying Confident 28:42 - Touring and Performing 34:05 - Discovering Who He Is As an Artist 36:00 - Change is Inevitable 37:58 - What Keith Would've Done Differently  ---  Keith Canva$: @keithcanvas_ Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited by - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: whereareallmyfriends.com

113: Keith Canva$ | Artist Interview

Rod Chong is a Creative Director at Race Service and is the host of the Radical Strategies, a podcast that I so happen to produce! He joins this week to share his story along with some incredible lessons he's learned throughout his vast career including things like - finding great growth in failures, how to be authentic to yourself and in your craft, learning when it's time to pivot, and so much more. If you're in a creative profession, I guarantee you'll get huge value out of this one! If you do, make sure to share it with a friend or someone else that would benefit from it. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 6:33 - Rod's Early Days 12:30 - Manifesting Your Future 13:36 - College Experience 16:46 - Working as Music Video Director 20:25- Great Growth Happens With Failure 22:20 - Career Number Two 26:00 - Move to Another Country 28:20 - Be Authentic About Your Craft 33:26 - Working at EA 36:18 - Having Something Done at a Certain Age 58:48 - What is Rod's Radical Strategy? Rod Chong: @rev_sect Radical Strategies Podcast: @radical.strategies | Watch / Listen: smarturl.it/RadicalStrategies Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw  Produced & Edited by - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: whereareallmyfriends.com

112: Rod Chong | How to Stay Authentic to Yourself

Josh Madden calls in about one very specific topic, and shares an incredible idea to challenge the way we all look at music and genres for the better. I personally loved this format and doing something so quick and insightful. Let me know in the comments if you like it too and I'll do more of these.  Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:33 - “Real” Music Is Subjective 3:42 - Is Arguing Over Genres Worth It? 4:46 - Artist Should Move Together and Not Apart 7:26 - Keeping Music a Positive Space Josh Madden: @joshmadden MDDN: @MDDNco Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: www.whereareallmyfriends.com

111: Josh Madden | Keeping Music a Positive Space

Rob Laska is the lead singer of the band Valley. He joins this week to share his personal story along with the come up story of the band! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:42 - How Valley Began 6:10 - Leaving Their Old Bands to Form Valley 9:10 - Valley Success Was Not Instant Success 14:00 - Band Milestones 19:53 - Finding Their Direction 22:42 - Valley’s Path to Getting Signed 28:03 - Writing Their Debut Album 34:00 - Through Lines Within Their Music and Visuals 38:31 - Valley’s Songwriting Process 41:50 - The New Wave of Being in a Band 47:47 - Rob’s Warped Tour Kid Days 56:58 - Rob’s Advice to Artist 1:01:46 - Conclusion Rob Laska: @atlasbroker Valley: @thisisvalley Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By - Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Subscribe: HERE

110: Rob Laska (Valley) | Artist Interview

This episode is specifically for ANY creative trying to get their dream job or trying to level up to that next step in their career. First, Thaddeus shares his story of how he got his dream job of Creative Producer at Race Service. Then, second we get into actionable steps that any creative can take to level up their life and get to that next goal or dream job. Let Thad know if his advice helps you by shooting him a DM at @thvddeus Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 6:10 - Where It All Began 9:04 - He Didn’t Think He’d Be A Photographer 9:42 - When Skateboarding Came Into the Picture 10:51 - Graduating School and Getting Into Photography 12:07 - His Introduction to Cars 13:03 - Cars and Cameras 18:33 - Moving to LA 21:40 - Getting the Job at Race Service 24:20 - What is Race Service? 26:29 - Getting His Dream Job 31:06 - Don’t Question the Risk 32:40 - Visualizing Your Future 36:10 - Jack of All Trade vs. Being a Master 41:17 - How to Get Your Foot In the Door 43:20 - Defining Your Style 46:55 - Doubting Yourself 47:34 - Learning From Your Failures 49:10 - Having Better Attitude 51:07 - Advice To A Creative 55:40 - Standing Out From The Crowd 56:32 - What’s Next For Thaddeus Thaddeus James: @thvddeus Race Service: @race.service Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Produced & Edited By: Deanna Elise: @deannaelxse 

109: How to Get Your Dream Creative Job | Thaddeus James (Creative Producer)

From music, to comedy, to acting, David Banks has done it all! This was a particularly fun and interesting interview because David shared an honest look into what it's like to find a calling (music), then pivot to something new (acting), and find success in it. I love having guests from all sorts of different industries on the podcast because there are fundamental lessons that all feel the same as long as you're chasing a career doing something you love. David's story is exact proof of that. Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:09 - Setting Goals 6:41 - David’s Pivot From Music to Acting 10:46 - Getting into Acting 12:34 - Bringing NorCal Energy to LA 14:25 - Improv Roots 19:42 - Getting No’s and Fighting Discouragement 22:04 - The Vibe of a Waiting Room 23:54 - How Agents and Managers Work in Acting 27:40 - Acting is like Dating 32:32 - How Much Does Commercial Acting Pay? 36:40 - Commercials are a Great Starting Point 39:57 - Doing the Hard Time 48:28 - Not Wanting Stability 49:48 - Life is Supposed to be Hard 51:28 - Getting Bigger Roles 55:02 - Dream As Big As You Want 56:55 - Doing What You Love 1:01:33 - Conclusion David Banks: Instagram: @dynamitedork Andrew Cramb: Instagram: @andrew_ftw Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_TuYF3dJ0rF0L51_0DVaQ?sub_confirmation=1 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Produced & Edited by: Deanna Elise

108: David Banks Interview | The Come Up Story of an Actor

This is part 2 of the Aaron Gillespie podcast! We pick back up at Aaron playing drums for Paramore, then get into his personal journey as an artist and a songwriter, his hopeful views on the future of music, what personally inspires him, and the next era of Underoath. You can find part 1 of the interview here: https://youtu.be/44gS2U8trx8 And if you want even more, there's another 20 minute bonus bts episode live on the Where Are All My Friends Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:45 - Playing drums for Paramore 10:00 - Underoath getting back together with a new wave of inspiration 12:00 - What is your approach to writing music? 18:15 - How Aaron differentiates his artist projects / being a songwriter 20:15 - The next generation of artists innovating and pushing music forward 29:45 - The future of touring 32:55 - The future of Underoath 36:45 - Taking risks and trying ideas (Define The Great Line Livestream) 41:45 - Other inspirations in his life and career like how impressed we are with King State 48:45 - If you could go back to any moment in your career, what advice would you give yourself now? Aaron Gillespie: @aaronrgillespie Underoath: @underoathband Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Episode: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: https://www.whereareallmyfriends.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_TuYF3dJ0rF0L51_0DVaQ?sub_confirmation=1

107: Aaron Gillespie Interview | The Future of Underoath & Aaron’s Journey as an Artist (PT. 2)

This is Part 1 of the Aaron Gillespie podcast. In this half we talk about the start of Underoath, his first impressions of all of the members, the specific moment he knew the band was going to be big, and them writing ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ during a band rehearsal. The episode was SO good that we ended up talking for over two hours, so this one is split in half. Part 2 will be about his personal journey as an artist including a wild chapter of his life playing drums for Paramore, his success as a songwriter, his hopeful views on the future of music, what personally inspires him and the next era of Underoath and what’s to come. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss part 2!  Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:25 - How growing up poor shapes you as a person 11:23 - What were your first impressions of the rest of Underoath in the very beginning? 16:19 - Writing ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ during a band rehearsal 19:00 - Underoath breaking up and getting back together 23:04 - The specific moment you realized Underoath was a big band Aaron Gillespie: @aaronrgillespie Underoath: @underoathband Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Episode: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: https://www.whereareallmyfriends.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_TuYF3dJ0rF0L51_0DVaQ?sub_confirmation=1

106: Aaron Gillespie Interview | The Early Days and Come Up of Underoath (PT.1)

From record labels, to artist management, start-up companies, and now teaching as a college professor, Adam LaRue has truly done it all! He joins this week to tell his story and share some great advice specifically on how to avoid burnout in the music industry which is something I think is important to talk about and be more mindful of. I truly hope y'all love this one as much as I did. Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 3:57 - Who You Are and What You Do 3:58 - Beginning of Adam’s Career 6:30 - How Music History Can Help a Music Executive 8:40 - From Miserable Corporate Job to Fearless Records 10:42 - Beginning of Fearless-ERA  14:43 - IndieClick Years 18:20 - Queer Punks Forum 20:59 - Community in Music 24:06 - Working for Epitaph 26:03 - Music is Like an Abusive Relationship 29:33 - Management VS Label Life 30:34 - Checking Your Ego 33:40 - What Label Experience Teaches You 36:52 - Professor Adam LaRue 40:18 - How to Market Yourself as an Artist 42:09 - How to Avoid Burnout 51:08 - How to Keep Your Team Loving You 58:25 - Therapy 1:00:35 - Conclusion --- Adam LaRue: @adamlarue Andrew Cramb: @andrew_ftw Where Are All My Friends Podcast: Bonus Patreon Content: https://www.patreon.com/whereareallmyfriends Website: https://www.whereareallmyfriends.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_TuYF3dJ0rF0L51_0DVaQ?sub_confirmation=1

105: Adam LaRue | How to Avoid Burnout in the Music Industry

A music focused podcast featuring the risky yet rewarding come up stories of all my entrepreneurial friends in the industry. Ranging from artists, managers, A&R's, agents, creatives and all things in between. A chance to sit down with some of the most inspiring people I know - hear their stories and learn some important lessons from the beginning, middle and current parts of their journey.

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Where Are All My Friends

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