We recently connected with Paul Niehaus and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has been my work with St. Louis Soul Legend Roland Johnson. Roland is 74, and the first music we released with him was back in 2016 when he was 68. It was his first original music ever published in his entire career, a fact we are most proud of. To have the opportunity to work with a Living Legend at the top of his game was such a blessing. We still feel like our best work with Roland is still ahead of us, despite the health challenges he’s been going through the last couple years.

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?

Blue Lotus Recordings strives to curate an environment in which an artist can create their best work. We are steeped in the Blues and Soul tradition of St. Louis, which some call the “St. Louis Sound”. We strive to carry that torch and be the modern curators of that culture in our own unique way. Through the combined musical abilities and sensibilities of myself and my partner Kevin O’Connor, we are influenced both by the long and deep tradition of the “St. Louis Sound” and the Classic sounds of historical regions including Muscle Shoals, Memphis Soul, Detroit’s Motown, and the “Wall of Sound” of LA in the 1960’s. We hold the great classic records of the golden era of music from roughly 1960 to 1974 as our benchmark and quality threshold. We don’t necessarily use what’s popular or trendy right now as our guide. We strive to make records that will stand up over time and not be forgotten as a passing fad.

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

In. my view, society needs to reject the corporate mass-media driven fake culture that is forced upon them by super powerful and influential forces. This fake “top-down” culture is void of any spiritual nutrition and doesn’t care about people or their well-being. Things like following sports on TV consume vast amounts of attention and energy that results in a net negative outcome. Too many people in our society live vicariously through following sports and entertainment that is “top-down” and designed to hook them in and make them passive consumers of fake corporate culture. Society should reject these negative forces and rediscover local community and grassroots artistic and cultural movements.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

My favorite books on the subjects of Art and Music are “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, “Zen and the Art of Producing” by Mixerman, “Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig, “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius, and “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big” by Scott Adams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bluelotusrecordings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluelotusrecordings/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulniehausiv
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulniehausiv/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueLotusRecordings

Image Credits
Dawn Wilcox, Sarah Fenske, Corey Woodruff