Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aaron Day. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Learning about the craft came from years of experience. I was in band throughout middle school and high school so music came natural to me. Learning about music production and mixing came from creating and recording hundreds of records for multiple artists and myself. I spent countless hours watching Youtube videos, tutorials, and Masterclass videos to be good at as a mix engineer and producer. Until I created my own sound. It also came from a lot of trail and errors. There is no “certain” way to make music, every song you make is always different and so you gotta come at it with multiple tools/skills ready to use. One thing I believe could have helped me speed up the learning process was to have a mentor/coach to be able to ask questions to or get professional feedback. Most of the time it was me producing/mixing in my home studio by myself. A skill I think was the most essential was being open to trying new techniques and collaborating with different types of artists/musicians. An obstacle that stood in the way of me learning more was learning patience, I really had to learn that being great at what you do takes time to master.
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?
I knew I wanted to create music at a young age, but I didn’t know how or where to start. That’s one of the main reasons why I joined band in middle school, I figured I could start at least by learning an instrument or music theory. I played flute and saxophone throughout middle school and high school. For the longest time, I thought you had to to go to school and learn every aspect about music or your were extremely talented and got signed to a major label of some sort to start off your career. Once I graduated from high school my music journey took a pause until I met my best friend and business partner (R3x Wonders) today, in college who was producing music and recording out of his dorm room. Once I saw that, it changed my whole perspective about music. As soon as I got my own equipment (a Mac Mini and Maschine Mikro) I was hooked. When I first started producing my own music though, it wasn’t with the intention of making a career out of it and selling instrumentals, it was more therapeutic for me. I fell in love with creating the world I see and hear in my head and my dreams. When I showed my friend some of the music I was making he immediately wanted to make something out of it and told me I should start selling my instrumentals to artists.
Throughout 2013-2016 I spend the majority of my time creating music, studying the craft, and working a full time job. It wasn’t until 2017 when I started to make money producing music and Djing at shows. Throughout that time I went to local events, shows, studio sessions, and met a lot of artists, musicians and producers. Shook a lot of hands and showed my face regularly in creative spaces. That was probably one of the best things I could have done, because now I have a community and network of talented people who are on a similar path as I am and are willing to help each other build and grow together.
It took me a while to figure out the type of product or services I wanted to provide to my clients because I didn’t want to only be a producer and sell instrumentals. I wanted to provide value and help artists, musicians, and producers grow in their music career. I currently specialize in artist development, from elevating their musical skills and music business to a profitable career. It came across to me that a majorly of my clients are trying to build their music career but don’t have much of a foundation or knowledge to build from. A lot of the problems I’m helping my clients with now are problems I was dealing with when I first started out. No guidance, no one to ask questions, or no knowledge on how to build a business or fan base. I currently sell courses and webinars as well as my music services as a producer, engineer, and DJ. I am also in partnership with my best friend R3X Wonders and SOM3WH3R3 where we create video/vfx, audio production, fashion, commercial, web3, and branding. Building that foundation is a whole other story in itself.
For me I turned my lifestyle into a career. I love every aspect of music and art. From creating it, performing at shows, collaborating, the creative blocks, building the marketing plans, to even the release and feedback from the audience. Something about bringing a vision to life and sharing it with the word is rewarding for me. Regardless of the outcome. I’m most proud of my clients who have stuck with their own journey in music and art. Seeing the growth of an artists, musician, or producer really shows who they are in many different ways. The amazing part about that growth too, is you can see and hear the evolution of that.
One thing I would like anyone who is reading this to take away, is stay committed to the things that you want to accomplish. No matter what it is, enjoy the grind, the late nights, the struggles, the little wins, the mistakes and lessons learned. All of that adds up. Surround yourself with like minded individuals and those who have similar goals. Step out of your comfort zone, shake as many hands as possible and show face. Step into every room like you belong there, but always be open to learning from anyone. Have fun along they way as well.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
For me, being able to adapt to change is something I had to get used to throughout my life (as a kid I grew up fast), but the main vision always remained. There have been times where I had to take a step back from pursuing my music business because either the money wasn’t fully there, I didn’t have a catalog or portfolio to show off my skills, or because life happens and I had to take care of some more important things. As I got used to adapting to change I started looking at life differently as well, I realized it’s all part of the process and I have to trust it. From rocks that used to be my stepping stones they are now pebbles I skip across waters.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want to able to do my part in the world, create the life I want with the people I have around me, while at the same time creating great music with amazing people, sharing knowledge, and helping others along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: dayproductions.me
- Instagram: @aaronday17
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Day.Productions.Media
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5IIrH8qieeV3EMfRCTk3fw
Image Credits
Photos by Richy Leafs, Tanis Howard, Stas Afanasiev. Last two photos I took during a producer cook up session in Portland Oregon.