Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Pruitt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

I’ve worked many service industry jobs off and on, and working in a restaurant or coffee shop teaches you how to deal with people fast. There is something to learn from your daily interactions, both positive and negative, in this line of work: often, it’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. This skill is its own currency in collaborative creative fields where other actors and interests are often involved in your work. Also, in service jobs where you deal with hundreds of different people daily, you realize that most people are completely caught up in their own world with their own problems. Often, their poor behavior has nothing to do with you or your service. You figure out pretty quickly that you can’t take these kinds of negative interactions personally. This is just a good life lesson, but it is especially important as an artist when your work is up for public critique.

Daniel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a musician and songwriter with the band Lord Buffalo from Austin, TX. We make psychedelic folk-rock music and tour all over the place. The band started in 2011 in Austin with a group of folks who had played together in previous projects but wanted to explore a heavier, more minimalist approach to dark folk and Americana music. Since then, we’ve released three EPs, three LPs, and various singles and compilations. The band’s lineup includes Yamal Said on drums, Patrick Patterson on violin, Garrett Hellman on guitars, keys, and synth bass, and Daniel Pruitt on rhythm guitar, bass, and vocals. We are excited about our new record, Holus Bolus, which will be released on July 12th by Blues Funeral Recordings. We will be touring the West Coast in July/August to support the new record and can’t wait to hit the road.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Creative ecosystems are complicated things, and there’s no golden ticket here. One important way to help support musicians in the age of streaming is to buy records. If there is music you find yourself streaming a lot, look up the artist and buy a physical or digital copy of their record or some merch. Financially, these sorts of purchases help an artist exponentially more than thousands of streams. Streaming is complicated; on the one hand, it’s an amazing way to reach listeners worldwide; on the other, it pays poorly and incentivizes a constant stream of mediocre singles over taking the time to make a quality record. Again, I’m not sure what the solution is here, but it seems like having more than two giant corporate players in the space would help.

Another way to support up-and-coming artists is to share their work online. Music is easy; add a song by an artist you dig to your social media post. This is free and helps the artist reach a broader audience. This is especially important as most platforms now nickel and dime small artists, making them pay money to show their posts even to their account followers. Or send them a message telling them you dig their work; a note from a listener can get you through some dark days.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the things I’ve had to unlearn about working in music was the idea that there is one right way to do it. Many careers have established paths: degrees, internships, entry-level work that pays a living wage, etc. Outside of classical and jazz (maybe), music doesn’t have that path, not directly. I would guess a lot of other creative work is similar in that regard.

This can be frustrating at first because you feel like you can’t seem to crack the code; what do you need to do to get shows, get into a recording studio, find a record label, tour, etc? I’d get frustrated reading musicians’ stories or seeing movies about bands because they gloss over that critical early phase in a creative person’s career. If the movies were right, you just need to write one good song, and the rest falls into place. This is obviously untrue (although you can never underestimate the power of a good song). A lot of unglamorous groundwork is required to get anywhere in music, which is probably why it doesn’t make the movies.

I’ve had to unlearn the idea that there is one (or even a few) right way(s) to do it. There are as many ways into the music industry as there are musicians. With that in mind, you also must be careful what advice you take from other folks in the industry—just because something worked for them doesn’t mean it will work for you. After a decade in the field and talking to other musicians about how they do what they do, I’ve also realized that there’s a component of luck: being in the right place at the right time. You can’t control luck, but you can increase your chances of getting lucky by doing the work, writing, rehearsing, recording, and playing shows. I think you have to love it to keep after it. But if you do keep after it, you figure out what works for you. Eventually, you start to see the path you took as it falls behind you. And it probably won’t look like anyone else’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lordbuffalo.com/music
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lordbuffalo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lord.buffalo.band/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lord_Buffalos
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lordbuffaloband
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mylordbuffalo

Image Credits

Chadwick Williams, Allison Narro, Xerxes Fotographia, Garrett Hellman, Russ Johnson.