We were lucky to catch up with Andrew/laura Acker/pollard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrew/Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

Andrew: A few extra dollars isn’t worth giving up your soul to help someone else grow their business. That little bit of extra money can’t do much to make you happy when you’re miserable for 40-50 hours a week.

Laura: Work is just work. It is not the most important thing in your life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Andrew: I started making music about 20 years ago, when I was around 15. It started as just playing around on an old toy keyboard that had been forgotten in the storage shed, and I spent that entire day messing with it. My mom helped me with the basics of learning to read sheet music, and I started learning some songs. Eventually I started trying to play along with songs on the radio which helped me to learn to play by ear. After that it was a mix of playing in bands, producing a ton of electronic/hip hop beats, and constant learning from any source I could find. When I met Laura, sitting around the house and playing music together became a regular thing and I eventually roped her into doing vocals for some of the stuff I’ve written over the years.

Honestly, this whole thing is a big passion project that I’ve been working on since that first year. Some of our songs were written (at least partially) between 2005-2010, and I’ve just recently put lyrics to them for Laura to sing. I decided to start releasing them and if someone enjoys them- even just one person- then that’s great. It’s been a great way to push myself and improve further.

Laura: Both of my parents are musicians, so I grew up in a very musical family. Singing has always been a big passion of mine. I had never recorded anything, though, or done much outside of singing for my own pleasure, until Andrew asked me to record a song with him. It has been a really interesting learning process, and it’s really wonderful to get to create music with the person you love.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Andrew: For me, it’s really just about putting something out into the world that I’ve spent so much of my life creating. It’s not about money (there is none) or anything else. I’ve written so much music that I’ve never recorded, and the thought of something happening and all of that being lost just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s just a great way to put my art down on a canvas.

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

Laura: I just get intrinsic joy out of creating and the process. It’s wonderful when people appreciate what it is you’re doing, that is rewarding too. But the main reward for me is the just the process of creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/68N09TAYxJtmbCXYM9uJK1
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/catoonmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558644417996
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@catoon_band?si=_6FYAUVYrtCTlyv5
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/catoon-185054076?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
• Other: We would like the Spotify link to be the first option, that’s why I put the link in the Website section.

  Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/catoon/1741272273