We were lucky to catch up with Evan Reeves recently and have shared our conversation below.

Evan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I remember driving over the Bay Bridge at 4:30AM on my way to my job in the financial district of San Francisco. I was twenty two years old and making great money working as an assistant bond trader. I was also side hustling as a performing musician, recording studio intern, and upstart music producer. I listened to Smooth Jazz on KKSF as I drove, chock full of anxiety and discontent. This was the moment in my origin story that led me into a career in music. It wasn’t the money, in fact anyone you met in the music industry highly discouraged you from making the sacrifice- work is hard to come by, the hours are long, and it’s rough to maintain personal relationships. The advice-givers didn’t discourage me. It actually helped me lean in because I knew intuitively that I found meaning in the service of music, not in the service of dollars. The last time I wondered what it would be like to have a regular job was in 1994, when I had a regular job. I worked another year in the financial sector before I left that life, and I have never looked back.

Evan, 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’m a music producer, audio engineer, songwriter, university professor and program director. I am humbled to have been working with songwriters and music industry colleagues for many years- here in Boulder, across the nation and abroad. Recently I began teaching audio production and running the Songwriter Program at CU Denver. What I’ve been fortunate to learn, whether working with professional artists, or, up and coming student artists, is that my gift and my joy is in creating community. Building connections is by far what I’m most proud of. Whether I’m helping artists create their masterpiece in the studio, or transmitting knowledge and experience to students, creating a greater community I believe is my service and product!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Most creatives are not straight-ahead, linear thinkers. We can be lateral thinkers. But creativity is not binary. I know many technical creatives, live sound engineers, developers, etc., even artists, who lean linearly in their processes, but are also open to their brain circulating problems, as opposed to maneuvering head on. In my experience, most non-creatives tend toward logic, cause and effect. It can be challenging for them to watch a creative solve a problem because there can be an endless “well, what if…” I am empathetic to their struggle. As a lateral thinker, it can be a painfully slow process to get to a solution, or conceive a direct answer. But we never lack a dramatic finish.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is helping others achieve their creative goals. It often takes an enormous amount of patience and kindness. I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide those to others. Equally important to me, is valuing and fostering the work and achievements of underrepresented populations in the creative arts. For instance, audio engineering comprises roughly three percent women. Yes, three percent. Students in CU Denver’s MEIS (Music & Entertainment Industry Studies) have organized a campus-based group called SWAG: Supporting Women in Audio Group. I’m acting as a faculty advisor and our goal is to dramatically change the representation of women in audio. @ucd_swag

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.evanproducer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evanproducer/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-reeves-productions/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYgKEL0qakpTEg_IFuoGoTYThVbGjXRt
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7nRs6ixxyLHmgn9ZkX4TeE