We recently connected with Andrew McKee and have shared our conversation below.
Andrew, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I love having a freelance career as a creative, but it’s definitely not without its challenges as most who are honest about it would tell you. Having a regular job does cross my mind from time to time – steady income, hours, and benefits/retirement all have a strong allure when the number of projects on the horizon is thin.
I’ve seriously considered this path as recently as a few months back towards the beginning of the year – I think most freelance musicians will tell you that January/February are “light” months for work as it is, and I just had 3 wisdom teeth removed so I couldn’t even think past the pain for a couple of weeks let alone work. It took any horn playing off the table for me (I’m a touring trombonist for the band Hirie), and in February I had to give up one of our only spring gigs (we had received word at the end of last year that we would not be doing any major tours until the end of 2022).
Tax season is already stressful enough for freelance gig workers as it is, and with April looming near I was definitely running through options for steady work in my head – thankfully things have been picking up both on the touring and studio side of things and I’ve had a steady stream of work since then! I don’t anticipate slowing down until the start of 2023 – until then I’ll be enjoying the freedom of doing what I love!
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’m primarily a music producer/engineer – my business is called McKeezy Productions, and I handle everything from studio recording, producing, instrumentation, editing, vocal tuning, mixing, and mastering. I also tour and record extensively for a reggae band called Hirie.
I got my first taste of the studio world after college in ’08/’09 interning at Larrabee Studios in LA, and then decided to expand my knowledge in audio by attending the Center For Recording Arts & Technology in my hometown of San Diego. During that time I started booking bands & artists at the Imperial Beach Rec Center and came across E.N Young – we hit it off and I started touring with him, which soon led me to my next internship and first engineering gig at 17th St. Recording Studio in Costa Mesa. I was also working with E.N a lot in his studio, and one of the projects I recorded trombone for was Hirie’s debut album – shortly after that I went on my first tour with them supporting Tribal Seeds.
These days I do lots of recording with bands & artists out of my own production studio in Imperial Beach as well as out of Tribal Seeds recording studio, all while still hitting the road with Hirie. I love being able to have a wide range of clients and take pride in offering them an equally wide range of professional services, all aimed at bringing their projects to life without creative limits.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
The main social media platform I use right now is Instagram, but I still have a lot of friends on Facebook made over the years and I plan on getting to know Tik Tok as well.
I would say the majority of my audience on Instagram has followed me due to my involvement in Hirie, but I’ve steadily pivoted my content towards the various studio projects I’m involved in as well as family life. I’ve also been focusing more recently on developing video editing skills, and how to successfully translate that into new content.
I’ve also recently established a promotional partnership with one of my favorite software plugin developers that I’ve been using forever called Waves – about once a month you’ll see me creating a post highlighting one of their products.
I look forward to continuing to build my social media presence and creating better more engaging content!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I really enjoy listening to podcasts on the commute to my studio (which normally takes about an hour). For all things entrepreneurial I do enjoy Gary Vee’s content, but my favorite podcast (that also encompasses many other topics in life) is called the School of Greatness with host Lewis Howes.
Lately, I have particularly been enjoying any segments on there involving finance, but I can always count on finding inspirational conversations on there for whatever topic I’m inclined to listen to at the moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mckeezyproductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmckeezymusic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.mckee.58
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-mckee-45835334
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPwpbvQUHH4paRtr0O2uow
Image Credits
Chris Del Camino Jamey Jetton Nick Betts Jose Cavada