Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brox. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brox, thanks for joining 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?

For a little over a decade, i ran a recording studio in a warehouse. It was mostly local bands that would hire me to do demos/EPs/full lengths for them. I initially acquired the space as a means to produce my own work, but eventually invited people/bands to come in as a way to offset the costs. After a few years, the place was paying for itself, and i was making a little extra dough each month, which i would reinvest in my own projects. The significant benefit to all this was working on other peoples art. Working with different genres constantly, i found all these little universals that would pop up and help move a song/idea forward. Not being directly tethered to the work gave me the liberty to explore things in peoples music that eventually led me to being able to do it more effectively with my own. I would also try to champion the artists i worked with to try recording themselves, without my help. If they were going to be a working artist, it was important to me that they understood that it was a necessary resource that would help them flourish. It also offered me a humility in my own work; not viewing myself as someone all that special, and that enough hours could make anyone proficient in recording/mixing. Dedication is one thing, but recognizing when something needed (or more importantly, didn’t need) something, was massive to moving forward in my creative outlets.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a musician and multi instrumentalist, I have been active in music for over 20 years. Born and raised in Chicago, it started in high school with punk bands, over the years making the rounds through folk, garage rock, no wave, noise, and pop. Having experience in touring North America and Europe, the solo project Brox has become the answer to the time constraints and personal responsibilities at home in Chicago that prevent long stints on the road.

It’s often a struggle being in a band with other people. Mostly this is because of scheduling conflicts, but there are a number of hurdles outside of that which can make the whole project more demanding. Renting vans/backline for tour was an expensive cost that was necessary to hit the road. Rent on a rehearsal space every month was another cost, as bands have to rehearse. Then comes splitting the earnings 4 ways or more, which made making any money back damn near impossible. So often its a “labor or love” which over time, felt extremely unfair to demand that much time from everyone involved without everyone getting paid decently.

I set out with this project as basically a Lewis and Clark expedition; if it gained interest from audiences/promoters/etc. over time i would be able to hire a band instead of dragging people through the formative years of it for little or no pay. I easily take flights to LA from Chicago every few months on a weekend to move the brand forward. The other 2 cities im working on next (now that LA has become far easier to book from my adventures out there) are New York and London. Both of which i have more contacts in initially, so when it comes time to travel to those cities, it should be far easier getting to the same position i’ve managed to acquire in LA.

This effort is not in response to anything, it is merely my attempt at making some art using my past experiences as the inspiration. i chose to navigate former relationships, toxic behaviour, and the thresholds of insight regarding pain, sadness and frustration. I feel these are universal songs that can connect with a broad audience, and that is my hope.

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

The most rewarding thing i find in being an artist is my abilities to be creative in my own life from the problem solving techniques i learned in making art. I found competing against myself was far more rewarding than against someone else. Frustration is a normal thing that can occur when things aren’t working out the way you would like them to, and its important to know that can happen at any moment, with anything. My response to it is all i have. And that sets me up for whether or not i will be successful. And that success can be achieved not only by overcoming something, but by letting it sometimes overcome you.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Jorge Luis Borges and his collection of short stories are a massive influence on me. Borges defines metaphor very simply: it is something made ‘by linking two different things together.’ And with the number of objects, concepts and nouns available, the number of possible metaphors should be near infinite. Abstractions are everywhere, and they can be easily digestible if presented in a way that allows the audience to grasp it.

The insight i’ve gained from that idea, is that communication is always possible, but it not only relies on the ability of the speaker to orate a concept as much as it does the audience to understand it. Impasse if always possible, but if presented accordingly, connection can also be inevitable      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://broxmusicbox.wixsite.com/website
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brox____/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaceBrox
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-FDhqMpqVlENThqNqsriA
• Other: https://brox.bandcamp.com/album/summer-2021

Image Credits
Joseph Mietus. https://www.instagram.com/mietustouch/ (Single upload pic + sitting pic 1 in 8) Zachary Keltner https://www.instagram.com/odd_vagabond/ (B=W screaming laying down photo 2 in 8) Venom Verbatim https://www.instagram.com/venom_verbatim/ (pointing upwards pic 6 in 8) Rhea Fogle. https://www.instagram.com/rhea.fogle/ (last image 8 in 8)