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

Hi Tyrus, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I grew up in Winnipeg Manitoba. My dad is of Jamaican decent and my mom is a Danish immigrant. From day one I’ve always been around music. My dad is a DJ and my mom is a big music lover, so there was always some form of beats playing in the house. Weather it was my dad spinning vinyl from his massive record collection or my mom listening to RnB and neo soul when cleaning the apartment.

In house school I would freestyle with my friends in the cafeteria and watch as my friend’s older brothers would make music in their basement, but I was always too scared to make my own.

When I graduated Highschool, I went to university, dropped out after two years, and then took a firefighter training program. After finishing that program I applied to the Winnipeg Fired Department, and was accepted into their next hiring class. There was about a 1 year wait between that point, and when I was hired. In this waiting period I connect with a mutual of a friend of mine. His artist name at the time was Poetic Justice, and I went over to his place one afternoon to make a song. It was like magic. The whole process was so fulfilling and exciting that I needed more.

We formed a group called Two Above and made a number of songs together. We played multiple shows and were even invited to the A3C music festival in Atlanta to perform.

All during this time, I had been hired on with the Winnipeg Fire Department and was working as a firefighter/Paramedic.

Despite the long hours at work, I’d always be excited to go back to my studio and make music. I became more and more aware that I didn’t love what I was doing every day for work. the music was what I truly wanted to do every day.

After a while I realized I didn’t have enough energy or time in life to do both. So I chose. I still was young (25 at the time) and full of passion for music. So I quit my job, got accepted into an audio engineering school in montreal and moved to a brand new city to pursue my dreams.

Tyrus, 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?

I am an active performing artist by the name of Sir Louie and audio engineer for a self owned business called PALA Sound. As Sir Louie I am hired to perform at various shows, venue and festivals around North America. Additionally I host improvised jams on various nights and locations here in montreal.

As engineer for PALA sound I Record/mix/master music for artists, do live sound for venues and artists, as well as am contracted to record/edit and mix at a post production studio in Montreal named Agile Entertainment.

I got the Sir Louie name in highschool. me and the only other kid in my class who liked rap music would always dream about how one day we’d be rappers. We’d come up with different rap names we’d have and then days later pick a new one to don. One day my firend came up with the name André Louie and thought ir=t was the. dopest thing ever. I don’t know why it hit me so profoundly but it did. Of course he came up with a new name a couple days later so I decided to take it… but also make it m own. I’m not a thug or gangster and don’t pretend to be. I’m a gentleman and try to cultivate a royal energy. Who knows, there was probably a few kings in my ancestry. So naturally, I chose the name Sir Louie.

After moving to Montreal and taking the Audio Engineer course at Recording Arts Canada, I saw how many skills I had developed as an artist. Recording myself, mixing my own music, hosting my own shows and doing the sound/lights. They were all skills I refined at RAC and now was able to share with others to help them achieve their creative goals as well.

So I started my business, which is now called PALA Sound. PALA stands for Power And Love, Always. Love is a powerful thing. PALA is a mindset I try to bring to everything I do, weather rocking the stage with my band, or recording/mixing/mastering another artist’s project.

I know what it’s like to be an artist working with an engineer who doesn’t care about your music and just wants the paycheque… it sucks. Artists create their best work when they’re able to be vulnerable and honest. But how can you do that when everytime you look over at the engineer they’re on their phone, not contributing anything to what’s actually happening in the room.

What sets my business apart is that I analyze the needs of each artist and give my own creative input as much or as little as they need. I help them amplify their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses to make their project even better than what they could have achieved on their own.

I’m proud that my clients routinely mention how at home they feel in my studio or how after my performances people in the crowd stop me to tell me their favourite lyric or how they feel inspired to go chase a goal they have.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I think NFTs are a cool way to engage with your existing fanbase, but not a great way to grow one. NFT’s allow you to give your fans a sense of ownership over your art. They have something no-one or very few other people will ever have access to. The idea that they also might be sellable in the future is also enticing – like buying a rare CD hat you might one day sell on ebay.

Having said that, most people don’t know how to access or hold NFT’s, and this technological barrier is still pretty high. Also, lately they’ve been losing popularity and honestly one day might be completely regulated to something companies use in a technical way, and not something consumers actively engage with.

Overall, if you and your community are into crypto and are part of this world, I think it makes sense to see how you can use them in a creative way (Like whoever holds a verified version of this NFT gets free entry to any of my shows for life.) But if you’re just going to create an digital picture of an animal or your song and try to sell it in hopes of getting rich…. good luck lol

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Originally I had planned to just be a rapper. But surprise surprise, we don’t make too much money in the beginning of our careers. So I had to get creative. I thought about all the skills I was developping as an artists. Recording my music, mixing it, mastering it, organizing my own shows and doing the sound. Learning how to distribute my music and market it. Designing cover art. All these skills and more were things other artists and creatives were in need of.

So instead of having a day job doing something not music related, I doubled down, went to school and learned how to do these things at a professional level.

Now PALA Sound is the things that generates the bulk of my income. This allows me to work on music with other artists and stay in a creative mindset day-in-day-out. I’ve made some incredible connection when engineering projects for other artists that have led to opportunities for my own career. It’s all connected.

Be open to following paths that are adjacent to your main goal. You never know how they might open doors that lead you to your dreams even faster.

Contact Info:

• Website: msha.ke/sirlouie
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sirlouie555/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sirlouie4256
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sir-louie

Image Credits
Kaleo Patro https://www.instagram.com/keleopatro/ on photos with his name on he bottom. The can be cropped out if you need to.