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

Ed, appreciate you joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

Willie Nelson. He was a client, but he was clearly the boss. As I launched my automatic concert recording business, Willie taught t me that humor bolstered by being incredibly good at what you do, is the easiest path to success.

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

When I was fourteen years old I made my first record in a recording studio. As we performed I became more and more intrigued by what the engineers were doing on the other side of the glass in the studio control room. I soaked up as much as I could each time I was in the studio and saved enough money to buy a small cassette based 4 track recorder. I made a lot of noise in my parent’s basement. This early passion has translated to a life in music and audio engineering. in 2006 I founded Aderra Inc. This company provided onsite recording at concerts and instantly delivered those recordings to fans 3 minutes after the show on flashdrives. I developed a unique hardware/software system that allowed us to burn up to 15,000 USB drives at once. The 2008 financial crisis hurt this business as disposable income became scarce. However, I had developed relationships with the artists that we had been on the road with and they asked me to work with them on studio recordings. This led to the founding of WayOut Sound. With a Los Angeles based studio I began working with not only the established touring artist I had been working with but also emerging artists, most singer-songwriters in Folk and Americana music. Several of these young artists asked if I would flow our work in the studio by serving as their manager. Wayout Sound pivoted from a recording studio business to an artist management business. At about this time, I relocated my recording business to the Highland Park neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles. The studio business was dubbed “The Barber’s Basement Recording Services” due to the fact that it is located directly beneath a barbershop. The Barber’s Basement includes a full service studio as well a specialized room for Dolby Atmos surround sound mixing. As these two businesses ran in parallel in early 2023 I started a new company to design and build unique handmade effects pedals for guitarists. In August of 2023 our first products hit the market. By Q1 of 2024 we will have six products available for order.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Art is a visceral expression of emotion, but many people confuse this with simple entertainment. The most emotionally compelling art creates long-term sustainable revenue because humans always feel, no matter the trends of the day.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Walter S. Thompson described the music industry, ” The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs.” If you can walk down the plastic hallway and never ever screw anyone over while always striving to support artists who work to create timeless songs, you just might not die. Like a dog or otherwise. And that type of integrity is recognized and trusted by the vulnerable souls who make great art.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://barbersbasement.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/thepedalcompany
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-donnelly/