We recently connected with Thomas Crawford and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I would say that I’m definitely driven to be happy as an artist.

I have worked in the tech and corporate sector for almost 20 years and learned a great many things about how to be successful. I was making a great deal of money and was able to afford a very comfortable lifestyle. However, it got to a point where I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. I knew right then that I needed to take the skills I had acquired and apply them to the music industry.

I’ve been out of that industry for over a year and I’m still maneuvering my way into music the afford a normal living. But it’s definitely hard and disheartening. At the moment, I’m doing small freelance jobs that allows me the flexibility to commit to music.

I still have a goal to get further in the music industry itself and hopefully make positive changes for the better. Since getting into music, I’ve learned that there are a lot of antiquated practices that works to benefit larger businesses and make it harder for the artist. It’s gotten even harder since COVID. The main way artists get income is from touring and merch sales. However, merch sales are down considerably since COVID and many venues are taking percentage cuts from those sales.

I’m working to find ways for artists to become less dependent on the gatekeepers and advocate for the end of merch cuts.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been playing music in some fashion for over 30 years and always had aspirations for being a “Rock Star” since I was a teenager. However, I became a father at a very young age and put music on the back burner in order to support my family. I got into tech industry in the mid 2000’s and started to progress in the corporate environment. During that time, I still dreamed of becoming a famous musician, but felt that maybe I was getting too old.

After my children had grown and left home, I started to get serious about writing music again, even if it was for my own enjoyment. I struggled to find other musicians to work and perform with and decided to go fully solo under the moniker of CERAPHYM; an instrumental project. I even performed by myself in clubs, only playing my guitar live to backing tracks I created in my studio. It was at that time I met Richard Cranor (who was my Uber driver during a July 4th holiday). He and I began to collaborate into what would become Fleischkrieg.

Richard and I moved to Los Angeles right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Given we were on lock down, we wrote several songs for what would become our debut album; HERZBLUT. We also began networking with many different people within the music industry. By the time things began to open up, we were already a successful regional act and even went on our own 17 date tour across the US.

For the past year, we got to work with Logan Mader who produced a re-imagining of our debut album. More recently, we completed a 19 date tour with Mushroomhead for their 30th anniversary and performed for a third time at Wasteland Weekend.

In 2022, I left the tech industry to try my hand at the music industry. I have joined as a hired gun and collaborator for other industrial musical groups (e.g. System 6, Human Factors Lab). I’m also planning to try my hand at managing other bands, taking what I’ve learned since getting back into music.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There are quite a few things that society can do to best support artists.

First and foremost, spread the word. Share them on your social media. Tell your friends about us. Invite people to shows.

Second. Go to live shows. Artists have to put a lot of time, energy, and MONEY into playing live and going on tour. Playing in front of our fans is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a musical artist. This is also where you’ll likely get the best merchandise, which brings me to my next point.

Third. Buy directly from the artist if at all possible. There are so many entities where artist products are available that are taking a major cut away from the artist. Go to their webstore directly or purchase items at a show.

Lastly. Subscribe wherever possible. A lot of artist now provide exclusive content to fans that are subscribers on platforms like Patreon, Instagram, or their own websites. This goes a long way for artists to be more successful and able to make more art.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, it’s the fans. While I do enjoy writing music, by far my favorite part of being a musician is playing live shows and interacting with the people that come to see us. When I perform, I do my best to interact with as many people in the crowd as possible. As soon as the set is over, I go to directly to the merch booth as quickly as possible. There I get to meet people and interact even further, sharing in their experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fleischkrieg.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/fleischkrieg
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/fleischkrieg
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/FleischKrieg1
• Other: www.fk-gear.com

Image Credits
Thomas Crawford Holly Earl Pablo Chang Richard Cranor