We recently connected with Jeff Lusby-Breault and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I would say I was about 13 years old when it first hit me that music was going to be my career. I began learning music in school at age 10. Discovered the guitar at age 12. I learned how to play the songs of my favorite artists at the time. First thing I would
do after school every day was lock myself in my room and play my guitar along to albums for hours. I began to imagine what it might feel like to perform with my guitar on stage. I would fantasize about playing rock n roll shows in front of big crowds. I knew right then, on a gut level, that I would be perusing a career in music.

Jeff, 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 started my first band at age 14, went on to be in several bands throughout high school, then after high school started a rock band called Mercy Fall.
2 1/2 years later, Mercy Fall would sign a contract with Atlantic records, then released a full length album in 2006.
During the time we were signed to Atlantic, I took it upon myself to be the person in the band that recorded song demos for our management. I began to fall in love with the recording process.. in my free time from the band, I started to offer free recordings to a few friends who played music. Instead of going to school for recording, I purchased a few microphones and learned by doing. I was also lucky enough to have worked with a few really great engineers by this point, who I could call for tips and pointers.
Eventually, Mercy Fall would break up, and I would pursue recording as my main focus.
I began to charge people for recordings (very minimal amounts). I spent the next few years, developing my skills and slow slowly upping my recording rates. My experience with the band, having done many recordings in professional Studios and working with professional producers/engineers gave me an edge as a producer and engineer.
My studio, which was a makeshift one in a garage, eventually became my only job. I was able to pay the bills without working for anyone else. Since then, it’s been a slow and steady trajectory. The value that I think I provided to musicians in the studio, was that I understood what it was like to be on the other side of the glass, as the musician being recorded. I could relate to them in a different way than someone who begins as an engineer without the experience of being a musician first.
I’ve never been an electronic music producer/engineer. It doesn’t interest me. I specialize in recording real instruments with microphones. This day and age, I feel like that sets me apart in certain ways.
I love working with clients on their music when they would like my creative input. I have an ear for how to present a song and it’s best possible form. Whether it’s arrangement, chord structure, layering, mixing, etc..

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the best thing you can do to support artists and creatives in this day and age is to buy art and music. The music streaming industry is something I struggle with all the time. We as musicians are not being paid fairly for our work.
If you are going to stream music, that’s fine, but also buy merch and physical copies of music from your favorite artists. That is the best way to support them. I always tell people that when I go to see a live band, even if it’s one that I have recorded. I make sure to pay the full ticket price for admission, even when the artist offers a guest list spot for free entry. I often times will purchase a vinyl album copy of albums that I produced as well,

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do as a producer and studio engineer would be; seeing and hearing an artist’s positive reaction to my creative ideas that I think will benefit their song. The best thing I can hear from an artist in the studio is, “ wow! I never thought to do it this way, but it makes the entire song so much better!”
I look at this concept as “paying it forward”, because I remember my first few moments of feeling this way as a musician, before I knew anything about production or engineering. Having such inspiring ideas coming from a producer or engineer that I was working with as a young musician was such an incredible feeling. These mentors of mine helped me to discover how to pull the most out of a song and present it in the best possible way to an audience.