We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luke Wood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Luke thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I started taking piano lessons at age four but that started to become arduous by age twelve or so. I was so much more drawn to the music that featured guitars so I quit piano and started taking guitar very seriously. The first thing I ever played on the guitar was “Rock You Like a Hurricane” with my thumb on the low e string – that’s form that a professional would laugh at if seen at a session or a live show… but at least I had the ear to pick out songs, because that is how I would be learning guitar for the rest of my life. Aside from really only a few lessons, I never had formal training on the guitar and that’s why I have some decencies in the way I approach the instrument. I never had any singing help either and that is something that I work on every day. That came way harder than learning guitar. But all of this points back to the piano – I wouldn’t have been able to teach myself anything if I wasn’t grinding for 8 years on piano.
The hardest obstacle, and I hate to admit it, is my ability to sing. At certain points I feel I’m doing a great job and then there will be days where I want to hang it all up and go to medical school. I wish I would have spent some time learning how to actually sing when I was in maybe middle school or high school – but you can’t do it all. In high school I was playing in the drumline in the marching band, trumpet in wind ensemble, guitar in jazz band, as well as extracurricular rock band stuff I had going on on the side – as well as teaching guitar, piano, and bass lessons. I was getting a lot of great musical nutrients – just not nutrients that made me a better singer, which is what is paramount to me today.
I have gotten a lot better and am finally at a spot where I am more comfortable with my ability!
The most essential skill for a musician in my opinion is learning the piano. That set up my ability to self learn and to actually know what was going on music theory wise. I meet a lot of people that don’t know any music theory – they might be a better or worse musician than me, but regardless they have to work much harder if they do not understand the fundamental concepts.
Luke, 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 a country rock artist and songwriter first and foremost – but that breaks down into a lot of other things when you pull back the curtain. I also create music videos on youtube and have several that I am very proud of. I record bass and guitar on records for people and I produce, mix, and master songs for local artists. Music for me has always been an all encompassing vocation and I would not want to just be “a guitar player” or “a songwriter.” I like being able to do it all!
As an artist I believe I pull from many retro sources while still maintaining a modern flare – I just haven’t fallen in love with the modern bro country sound and so I am somewhere between Led Zeppelin, Elvis, and Vince Gill sonically. The thing with streaming now, is that radio format doesn’t matter because no one listens to radio. You can be whatever you want to be and so developing my sound with out limits has been one of the benefits of growing a fanbase in 2025 and not 1989.
Another thing that sets me apart is that I play all the instruments sans drums on my recordings. When a song comes out, it is actually me on it. When you hear “Check Yes or No” come on the radio and you exclaim “Wow! I love this song!” what do you actually love? Do you love the song? Well that’s not George Strait. Do you love the way the instruments sound? The mix? The arrangement? etc… Well none of that other than the voice is the artist… that always made my stomach churn… when you hear a song from me, I produced it, played on it, co wrote it, and mixed it too! Not many other people I know are doing that – and maybe there’s a good reason for. having many cooks in the kitchen, but that’s what makes me different for better or for worse!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The goal is simple: create music that people are willing to pay for. I am in love in the idea of making something yourself and a career in music is just that. You are the business. You work for you. I find it laughable that the expectation is to graduate from college and to go work for someone else and make him or her rich. Okay bro. I want the ability to attain an income from playing gigs, streams from songs, producing, session work etc…
I still work a day job currently and every moment I am at work I am scheming in my head how to get ahead of the game.
There are so many ways to make money in music today and with the onset of social media, there is no excuse to not be able to be your own business – the opportunities are endless for someone willing to put in a little bit of work with a little bit of talent. and that’s what I tell myself everyday. If i want things to change, and to go full time, and to have people love my music – I am the one that has to keep putting in the hard work.
No day job and no plan B
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
No one will ever get it. No one outside looking in will ever know why someone would want to dedicate their life to playing and singing. And I don’t know if I really have a great answer than, I think music is cool. I was never like taylor swift crying my eyes out over a guitar or feel the deep desire to pour out all feelings into a song – I just thought this was way cooler than being a baseball player or an engineer or a teacher.
This is really the only thing I have fun doing (other than golf). I get bored easily going to a sporting event or a movie or seeing a museum – when friends are hanging out, it is really fun to me if everyone is sitting around playing down songs.
So if you have a deep desire to do something you love and make money at it, why settle for a day job, why settle for making someone else money your whole life – you can make something on your own!
People will not understand that art is actually important and valuable to society. Now that doesn’t mean you should be able to say “I’m not getting a job” and then create no value for society and ask the government for unemployment. But if you are able to create value that people are willing to pay for, then this can be a viable career path.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/@LukeBWoodVideos
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukebwoodofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBWoodMusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LukeBWoodVideos
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7M296ECBZzydCfcMCHHEhi?si=gDuPHdmURtq2wTK29G_Bmg
Image Credits
Photos by Breanna Fabbie