We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bernie Godwin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bernie below.

Bernie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

You could say that I was born into what I was going to become. I am a 5th or 6th generation musician on my fathers side of the family. My grandfather was a concert violinist (along with cello and piano), my father played every instrument that found its way into his hands. It was quite a cool thing to see growing up. However, his preferred instrument was guitar.

For myself, being a young kid growing up in the studio environment, its hard to determine which exact moment put on the path to become a musician. I believe my love of wanting to become a guitar player came from hearing the greats such as: Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Dito Godwin (my father), etc.

Bernie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello one and all! My name is Bernie Godwin III and I am Music Producer in the Los Angeles area.

I have been around the music industry since the day I was born. My father Dito Godwin was a music producer who worked with such artists as: No doubt, Motley Crue, Great White, Charlie Pride, Etc.
He also was a phenomenal musician on multiple instruments and a connoisseur in the studio.

I found my way into music through my father in the way of being around bands and artists of all different genres and styles and through my mother with her diverse vinyl collection.

When I first wanted to get into music my father had me memorize the entire fretboard on all strings before he would let me touch a guitar. Once I had that down, he had me also memorize the notes in the basic chords he showed me so that I would be able to see that they were in many different places on the guitar. You could say it was a little tough to get things started but he stayed on me and it paid off many dividends in my early development as a musician.

The next 10 years that followed on my journey in music was what I would call tough (but necessary) love. He would not BS me on anything musical EVER. I would have it no other way.
Without the high bar he set for me I know I would not be the musician I am today and the musician that I am still chasing after.

To me, a music producer has the same role as a movie director. They are responsible for every moment you see in the film. They are in the trenches with the cameramen, they are pulling the best performances out of the actors and making sure that improvisation is used in the right places at the right time.
As a music producer my job is to serve the song first and foremost. To bring out the best performances out of the artist/band. To get the band/artist to perform at the peak of their ability and truly live in the moment. I treat every song as if it’s the only song we are recording. When I work with a band/artist I become something of a fifth Beatle or a ghost member in the sense that I put myself in the band’s shoes and join them musically in the studio. Be it on guitar, bass, keys/synths or programming drums; I am there with them in the trenches navigating the musical landscape hunting for musical ecstasy.

There are plenty of times life will throw obstacles in your way to deter you from where you should be and where you need to be. Music is no exception. It can feel at times that music is something that is a hobby or a trend for the young and that you shouldn’t pursue a career. That there is no safety net to fall back on if things don’t “work out”. Nothing is guaranteed in life. But that does not mean we should be afraid of what we can become. This lifestyle is not for the faint at heart.

As my father used to say “If you aim for the stars you’ll never come up with a handful of dirt”. So
set your goals high! If they don’t make you nervous are they even worth going after?
My goal at the end of the day is this: “when I am done with you (the artist or band) you will be able to walk into a building that is on fire and the fire will back away from you” That is the only way to make mountains move.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am a mega extrovert! I love meeting new people and and seeing new places and cultures. I am fortunate in this industry that I get to travel and make music all over the world.

I have worked in a lot of different genres and aspects of recording, from Metal, R&B, Audiobooks, Voice overs for Film and TV, Sync placement, Country, Pop, Alternative, etc.

You never know who you’re going to meet in this industry and how fast things can change! I suppose thats a part of what keeps me on my mission in music.

Not to mention the other part is for playing live! There are few things in life as grand as playing live and seeing people live in the moment.

So I would say that Producing/mixing music and playing live is my life mission and I plan on doing so for as long as I can!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I am beyond grateful for where I am right now as both a musician and producer. The steps I have taken to get to where I am currently you might call baptism by fire. At times I might have been biting off more than I could chew, but it forced me to be a quick thinker and be even faster on my feet.

I literally got started on protools from watching a few YouTube videos and getting after it. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like going to either MI or Full sail for music production and engineering. To see who I might have met along the way and experience learning from a music school perspective. Perhaps I would have saved my self some headaches and learning curves knowing certain things earlier in my career. But I wouldn’t change a thing!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berndog667/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernie.godwin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernard-godwin-68a1764b?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
• Other: GodwinProductionsLA@gmail.com