We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Holden Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Holden, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
It’s not unusual for people to take the time to reflect on their life and career and consider whether making different choices would have led them on a better path. When that career is one as a creative, it often feels harder to justify those decisions when safer, more traditional opportunities were passed on in lieu of pursuing a creative field. I’m no stranger to the feelings of uncertainty, even guilt, when reflecting on my own path. I was a decent student with excellent test scores and had the opportunity to go to a phenomenal college, all of which could have led me to a low risk, conventional career choice. Somewhere along the way, though, my life transformed into an all-or-nothing race to succeed as a full time artist and creative professional. On paper, it seems unlikely, but when I reflect on my life and the experiences that made me the person I am today, I realize that this trajectory was the only possible outcome. I played multiple instruments growing up, went to music camps, made home videos (before the smartphone era), competed at state in high school choir, studied music theory, majored in film and digital media. Whatever I could do throughout my life to meet the expectations set for me and still gravitate toward my passions, I did it. The last time I found myself considering going all in on a different career path, maybe in business or marketing, was in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. During that time, all of my income, all of the momentum I had built as a creative, an artist, an event producer, all of it- dried up. There were no concerts to play or film. My entire post-grad formula for fiscal sustainability depended on the possibility of in person events. Wouldn’t it be easier, I thought, just to get a remote day job and never be forced into a situation where I’m powerless again?
The truth I remind myself anytime I ask such questions is the same truth that allowed me to pursue my career choice from day one. Building a career doing something you love is its own reward, and it’s not mutually exclusive from doing whatever you need to do to get by at any point in the process. The biggest thing is knowing whether you love your passion enough to make those sacrifices. If not, you’ll never have the resilience to last.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When I summarize myself to somebody I’ve never met, the headline has always been, “I’m a lot of things.” In other words, I’m a professional event producer, content creator, music producer, performing artist, entrepreneur and business consultant. My background growing up always led to an emphasis on something in the creative spaces, and the two major areas that stuck are music and digital media (photo/video). Luckily for me, digital media and live music have a surprising amount of overlap. In many cases, I find myself shooting marketing content for events that I produced, and in some cases, even performed at. I’ve also had DJ gigs that led to media jobs, and gained networks from shooting events that led to DJ bookings. While it’s always important to be defined and focused in your trajectory, it’s also valuable to have multiple skills that are applicable to your field. It’s extremely difficult to be the best (or the top 1%) at any skill or craft, but sometimes being the top 10% or 20% at multiple related skills is more desirable. For example, as an artist and event producer, I understand the needs of the artist during every step of the touring process from the point of being booked, to the live performance. This understanding makes me viable as a tour manager (TM), but what has landed me work as a TM in the past is pairing that skillset with the ability to produce marketing content at the. same time. This saves artist teams a ton of money on travel logistics and is far more desirable to having a separate individual for each role.
While I’ve achieved a lot during my career, many of my proudest accomplishments are of the sentimental or somewhat intangible variety. The kind of thing that if you told your 10-year-old self you’d be doing someday, you’d completely blow their mind. Things like working with people or artist that are your idols or seem larger than life, pulling off massive events with thousands of people in attendance, getting to travel to new and unique places through working in your creative field. And maybe most of all, looking back after years of going through the grind of the process and realizing how much you’ve been able to accomplish at a young age.
I wouldn’t say I’ve “made it,” not by a long shot. But if I left my industry for something totally different tomorrow, I’d leave knowing I’ve done and experienced more through working in music than most people ever get the chance to.
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?
A common misconception I’m hit with a lot when talking to “non-creatives” is that following a creative pursuit, and even monetizing it, has to be an all-or-nothing game. When I first began DJing at clubs in Fort Worth during college, I often got asked, “So you’re trying to be a DJ now?” The reality of the situation at the time was that I was still a full time student completing my bachelor’s degree, had founded two companies by the time I graduated, and was making more money doing what I loved part time than any “college job” would ever pay. If you get a part time job while in college doing something “normal” like doing administrative work in an office or waiting tables, nobody bats an eye and people respect it. But when you do the same thing in a creative space, a common knee-jerk reaction for a lot of people is judgement, and I think that comes from a place of fear. Seeing someone pursuing their passion has a way of reminding people who aren’t of that fact, and it’s only natural for them to want to tear that person down in order to feel better about themselves. It’s something that took me a while to learn, and once I did, it brought me an unshakable confidence in what I was doing. Now, I usually talk to people who are secretly inspired and have a desire to explore their own creative passions, but feel like they can’t without exposing themselves to embarrassment, or having to quit their day job. Whenever I have those conversations, I always encourage that exploration with a no-strings-attached approach. If you’re interested in music, download Ableton or pick up a guitar in your spare time. If you like photography, get a camera and hit the streets. Following a creative passion or hobby is a super fulfilling thing, and there’s no reality in which you have to choose between that and your day job.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I’m a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. He gets a tough rap now because of how big his platform has grown, but he’s created a massive wealth of free, useful information for life and business. I have to think he’d agree with my insights on the previous question, as his advice for so many people is part of what inspired the mindset in my response. Another author and speaker I love is Tim Ferris. I highly recommend checking out his podcast and his books. “Tools of the Titans” is a personal favorite, and a super easy read. Generally, his emphasis on stoic ideologies has brought a lot of value to my life. Some of my favorite books that have helped me are “Howard’s Gift,” “The Little Red Book of Selling,” “Extreme Ownership,” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The first three offer priceless insight on life, mindset and business. The latter is among my favorite stories, but also demonstrates what mental resilience, ambition and drive can accomplish even against the most impossible odds and malicious injustices.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fancypants.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kydro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=kydro
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holdenapalla/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kydroponics
- Other: https://www.kydromusic.com https://apallalife.com
Image Credits
Dayton Scott, Steve Souza, Zach Dunham, Joey Zayga, Jae Kim, Brian Cook