We recently connected with Christopher Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

While my mother encouraged me to take piano lessons at age five, a real commitment towards music–and drums in particular–didn’t begin until age 12. And since my father had just left Diana Ross’s band as her drummer of 11-12 years, I was suddenly afforded an opportunity to observe his lifestyle more closely. And since I liked what I saw, I chose to create the same music-centered life as well.

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

My name is Christopher Brown and I was born and raised in Portland, OR. Upon completion of high school in 1995, I enlisted in the Marines as a percussionist for four years. I figured that with no clear plans for college on the horizon, that it’d be wise to put my time to good use in the military, as it was a way to plug some developmental gaps in my maturity, as well as to travel, network, exercise a ton, and get paid for doing what I was already doing, which was playing music–all of which was aimed at making my way out to NYC eventually.

After my discharge in 1999 I managed to make my way to NJ where I’d live for the following 13 years before moving back home to Portland. And the serendipity of living where I did in NJ was that it put me 45min South of NYC and 45min North of the NJ shore where my Army base was (I enlisted in the 63rd NJ Army National Guard band two weeks before 9/11 as their principal saxophonist). And lastly, it put me across the street from Rutgers University where I earned my BM and MM in Jazz Studies, as well as an adjunct position as a Jazz Theory and Jazz History instructor for four years after I graduated.

While it’s most likely not that obvious yet, it’s important to know that the above story is very much a calculated one. One where the central theme was designed to place me in the center of the Jazz universe [NYC] to earn my musical stripes before returning home with the insights of that environment. So with that said, the takeaway here is the value of having a clear “why,” as in my case it helped to reduce a lot of the mental friction that usually comes with charting out a direction in life when you’re young.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

As we know, symptoms always reflect the environment of systems. Therefore, when artists/creatives find it challenging to thrive in certain geographical environments, it’s usually because the value that the arts could be bringing to a society aren’t being reinforced across the sectors of education, business, and local and/or state governance. If, however, we’re talking about the internal culture of certain businesses, organizations, schools, and even in the home, then I believe a good practical response is for everyone to increase their leadership acumen, as to be a good leader you must learn to think outside the box! And when environments place a premium on creative problem solving for the benefit of others (aka the genesis of leadership), the symptomatic result can be one where upward mobility is tied to degrees of embodied leadership. Furthermore, when environments like this are created, they help to promote more conversations where notions of creativity are not only part and parcel for most interactions, but the exaltation of the embodied creative/artist archetype can stand a chance of becoming a reality.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had been given a better perspective on the value of books in general (especially those relating to business and personal growth). When you think about what a book is, it’s years of insight presented to you in a condensed and organized framework. Also, no one buys a book just to find one or more ideas that are valued at what they paid for said book. They buy a book in hopes of finding as many invaluable ideas as possible. And in doing so, potentially sparing themselves from the toil of having to learn the same lessons at the same rate as the author. So in short, books can be an efficient means of expediting one’s success.

To be more specific, however, in answering this question, I’d say that the authors I wish I had come into consciousness about when I was younger are John C. Maxwell and Robert Kiyosaki, as they’ve both left an indelible mark on the way I see the economy and the subsequent influence its had and continues to have on human behavior. And lastly, I wish I had seen older people as being the great containers of perspective that I see them as today. And while many may hold perspectives that are inconsistent with more well-documented accounts, there’s still value in knowing how pervasive certain beliefs were, as they help to better contextualize the trends and forces that inform the world today.

Contact Info:

• Website: coutureofmusic@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coutureofmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cwb1977/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-brown-27390b41/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp2m_liHKaZ6l-HDRgnijwA
• Other: https://www.amway.com/en_US/myshop/konosolutions

Image Credits
Ron Hope Geff Zamor Kathryn Elsesser Reed Ricker Daniel Orren