We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniel Pepin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniel below.
Daniel, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
So I studied music with Steven Kirby who is a world renowned Jazz and Classical Guitarist at The Music Nook in Milford Massachusetts for many years. I then went to study Spanish Classical Guitar with Mychal Gendron at The Rhode Island College. The knowledge I learned from these esteemed musicians and institutions put me in a position to be involved in many musical projects as diverse as Music Production and Creation, to Scoring Strings and orchestration. I learned recording from Chuck Ladouceur while working on music for my band at the time LETDOWN, and even got to assist on recording ZAKK WYLDE when he did a live performance on WPXC. Letdown had played loads of national shows with the likes of Godsmack, Disturbed, Staind, Seether, Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, Zakk Wylde, Hatebreed, etc. So from Classical to metal music I have over 3 decades of experience in both performance and production. I have been making music for YouTube creators, Theme Parks, Podcasts, commercials and so much more. I now play solo, with my band Evil Bill and the Struggle Bus, and Classic Rock Legacy. Between these projects and content creating there are vast ways to monetize your musical skills.
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.
I am a Singer/Songwriter that has played professionally for over 3 decades. I have played with/or opened for artists as diverse as Staind, Disturbed, Seether, SocialBurn, Letdown, Chevelle, Zakk Wylde, Godsmack, Gary Cherone (Extreme), Michael Allman, Breaking Benjamin, and so many more. I went to Rhode Island College to learn music and I studied under Mychal Gendron and Steve Kirby. I currently play solo and also with Evil Bill and the Struggle Bus, and Classic Rock Legacy. I give lessons for many styles of guitar from full shred extreme guitar, to beautiful Spanish guitar on my YouTube site.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish early on I would have recognized the power of Social Media in our current age. It has significantly increased my reach and made it where I have been able to play venues all over the US and UK. It has also made it easy to find the appropriate audience for the projects that I am currently working on. Distrokid has also been an invaluable resource for musicians. With Distrokid you can get your music directly to all streaming platforms and circumvent record companies altogether. The AFM Musicians Union is also something you should join if you plan on making a career out of music not only for the benefits, but the guidance when you need answers to questions you dont have regarding everything from contracts, to help with touring.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There is nothing more rewarding than getting your music to the audience that appreciates your art the most. Building a fanbase is incredibly hard, but striking the right vein can mean the difference from poorly attended shows to a packed house. Getting more people to see yout content on YouTube and all of the streaming platforms is also a fantastic experience. Just watching your audience grow and starting to see the same people at shows and building rapport is priceless.
Contact Info:
- Website: danielpepinmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniel_john_pepin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanPepinMusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DanielPepin
- Other: Evil Bill and the Struggle Bus – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064137909947 Classic Rock Legacy – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076411148443
Image Credits
Amy Sexson