We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ethan Carr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ethan below.
Ethan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Since a very young age, I’ve been interested in many different forms of modern art. I was always fascinated by how movies were made and what the process of writing songs looked like to different artists. As I grew older and started going more in depth with my interests, I found that music was a very strong passion of mine. So by age 11 I spent every day playing guitar and drums and challenging myself to learn new songs and styles by the different artists I enjoyed. I’ll be the first to say that I am not a very technical musician, and that is something I wish I had spent more time focussing on. It definitely would have helped me figure out more aspects of music over the years. Since October of 2021, I have been working at multiple recording studios, learning how different styles of music are produced. This has been one of the most impactful times of my life. If anyone reading this is at all interested in music, please consider interning at a studio for at least 3 months. The skills you learn and the people you meet are vital to a career in music.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My journey begins all the way back in 2014. I remember being in the back of my moms car, on the way home from school when I decide to check out a band called Nirvana. I put on their most popular song, Smells Like Teen Spirit and I immediately knew exactly what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my life. The following years consisted of me learning guitar and drums and diving deeper into the mysterious nature of music. I was always looking to learn new things about music and by 2019, I began learning the fundamentals of music production and audio engineering.
During my senior year of high school, in the year 2020, I made the decision to not go to college and dedicate my time to breaking into the music industry. I spent multiple hours a day networking and building relationships with anyone I could in the industry and found myself in close contact with some of the biggest producers and entertainers of the time (Poohyouafool, Travis Barker, members of Internet Money, etc).
Since I graduated high school, my creative works have catered towards producers, musicians and artists. I think most people would recognize me as a guitarist but I will say I do much more than just write guitar parts. I’ve spent the past year and a half producing for artists, mixing and mastering projects, recording and editing audio for film and radio, and of course, recording my own instrumental parts for clients from home (live drums, guitar, bass).
No matter what project, genre or song an artist brings to the table, I will always give 110% of myself. Nothing less.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
To me, creativity and vulnerability go hand in hand. Knowing that there is a transcendent space and language we all universally connect to and understand is mind blowing. The fact that a simple piano part such as Fur Elise (written by Beethoven) can make the average human feel certain emotions is what the idea of music is all about to me. It’s not about how many notes you can perform in under four-minutes or how fast you can play a drum beat. It’s about the emotions you share that makes your piece of art creative and unique.
At the end of the day, the point of music isn’t to come up with the most impressive piano part with the most challenging chords to play. It’s to allow a connection between you and the listener. It’s the ability to metaphorically sit in-between the song and the songwriter and share the same feelings communally. For both the creator and the listener, that is the reward.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The book that changed the way I approach music from an entrepreneurial stance was Travis Barker’s memoir “Can I Say”. Barker’s life story inspirational on so many levels outside of just playing drums. He is truly one of the hardest working musicians and producers alive today and this book is just a small glimpse of how disciplined and driven he is. This book made me recognize how my own talents can take me from just a musician to a multi-award winning, platinum artist and producer.
Another book that impacted me from an entrepreneurial perspective was Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. For a book released in the 1930’s, Carnegie absolutely lays out the importance of communication from a personal and business perspective. Anyone, not just entrepreneurs will get something from this book. It is a book I recommend to anyone looking to improve their relationships with clients or even friends and family.
Lastly, John Mayer’s Berklee clinic, available on YouTube, is a must watch for artists trying to find their place in the music business. Mayer does a great job of explaining the importance of creativity while also recognizing yourself as a business.
Image Credits
David Carr