We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ethan Kline a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ethan, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I First started learning drums in 4th grade at Orchard Grove elementary school. My teacher Ms. Dé la Rose saw my potential in drumming and encouraged me to keep pursuing it. In middle school I started making dubstep beats for fun on my ipad on garage band while I was also playing in concert band. Eventually in high school sophomore year I wanted to take it more seriously so I started private drumming lessons on a full set and started to get in cover bands playing in bars and small events. These events and lessons were set up by Frederick rock school run my Scott Marceron who was a huge supporter for my drumming. On the side I also started doing audio visual at my church. I got logic pro X toward my junior year and started to teach myself how to make beats professionally. From there I taught myself how to DJ and used that as a way to put my music out there. After high school in 2022 I found A trade school called Omega School of Applied Recording Arts and Sciences. I went there for a year and learned the art of recording, mixing music, Live sound, and post production.
Knowing what I know now, I feel I could’ve payed more attention in middle school to my musicality and love for it. I had a guitar teacher in middle school that I barely cared about cause I had a very low attention span. If I had payed more attention then I could’ve been better at guitar and started drumming on a full set at an earlier age. In high school there was a special music school in my area I could’ve tried out for and I feel if I knew about that then I would’ve tried out and continued on a more musical path. Overall I don’t regret anything as all this is part of my journey. I learned everything at the time I was supposed to and learned to love music at the time I was supposed to. There is no “right or wrong” time to learn music. It’s all about coming into an understanding of it and learning to love it.
I think my Audio Engineering skills are the most essential. You can be good at making beats but if they don’t hit then no one’s gonna like it. If they don’t hear that deep bass that hits their soul or those highs that give that extra boost of excitement then your beats are gonna sound boring even if the idea is good. If your a beatmaker that doesn’t know how to mix then I feel like your missing a huge part of being beatmaker. The ideas themselves are just as important as how the ideas sonically sound.
There were a lot of obstacles in my path both physically and mentally. I am introverted so it’s very hard for me to socially talk to people and i’m scared of what people think of me cause of my anxiety. Being an artists means not caring about what people think and being yourself. That was a VERY hard thing for me in high school. Learning more means putting yourself out there and getting experience. Experience means failing ALL THE TIME. I hated failure but I wanted to be really good. I had to come to terms with failing to move forward in my success. Physically i’m in frederick. This means not a lot of opportunity for music. I had to drive to Baltimore and DC to get more opportunities. The recording school, Omega, that I went to was in Rockville and the next closest thing was Frederick Community College. I went there for 6 months and hated the program since this was during covid. The classes were hybrid and I was a hands on learner so that did not help at all. Eventually when I found Omega it’s like everything fell into place and even tho it was a year straight with no breaks I knew this was for me and what I wanted to do so I did it. I gave up my vacation and all the fun things I usually did just for school. I look back on that today and I don’t regret any of it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Like I said before, music started in elementary school for me and I understood and learned to love it in high school. I didn’t want to do marching band at all because that took a lot of time and honestly I wasn’t a big fan of that specific program. I instead went to Frederick Rock School. Scott Marceron who is the owner then put me in drumming lessons with Ashley Maccabee who is an incredible drummer and instructor, definitely check his covers out on youtube and instagram as well as his original music too. From there I was in 2 bands at a time rotating to other bands trying to find others just as passionate as me. Scott was also the one that mentioned Omega to me as well. From there I was able to meet more people in the industry in both Frederick Rock School and Omega. Where I am today is because of the people I surround myself with. Networking is the key to getting farther in the music industry. I’m not saying i’m good at it but I’m trying my best to get better everyday. In high school I also started volunteering for Audio Visual at my church, ERUCC. I learned that I love the technical side of music as well so from there I went to Omega and after I graduated I got a job at a AV company that contracts with other hotels in DC. I eventually found a company called New Wave which is a live sound company that helps set up and mix bands all over DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We also do corporate events with just a few speakers and a wireless mic. Overall I’m trying to get my skills up in the industry by working for companies all over the place and putting myself in brand new scenarios so i’m prepared for any situation and can use any piece of gear. I also started to go to local events in my town and in DC. I kept meeting people and from there that’s how I would get more gigs and clients. I meet them at events and hit them up after to work on songs. I engineer for artists and make beats for them as well. Open producer sets and jam sessions are what got me deeper into the industry. It’s all just about knowing people. I use what I know from my jobs and what I taught myself to work freelance as well. I’m slowly building up a arsenal of gear so I can support bands, artists, DJ’s and Corporate gigs. I also go around with that gear and use it for my own DJ gigs and shows that I put on and organize myself. I also like to put shows on as well. I use all the artists I know and call them and I use the front of my church with all my own gear to support the sound. Back in july 2023 I was part a collective called “1221”. On the 29th of july Gabe who started 1221 and I put on a show with 4 artists in front of my church from 4:30 to 8:30pm. I used all my own gear and set up all the gear myself. Wasn’t the best the gear but it still sounded good as people were giving us compliments on the sound. That gave me more confidence in my ability and showed me that it doesn’t matter what gear you have, it’s all in how you use it with skill. Recently I’ve started jazz drumming. I have been taking lessons for 4 months since january 2024. I hated jazz until I was a junior in high school and then I understood. After that I started sampling jazz in all my electronic music and hip hop. Now i’m so happy that I actually get to play and be apart of jazz. It’s insanely complicated the more I learn about it but honestly I love a challenge. Jazz drumming has actually helped me in understanding how to sample jazz and helped me get into even more experimental music. I think what sets me apart from others is not my skill but my personality, ambition, taste, and love for music. Anyone can get really good at DJing, anyone can get really good at mixing and recording, anyone can get really good at beats(almost anyone). What sets you apart I think is who you are. You could be a good engineer but if your difficult to work with then no one is going to hire you. You could be good at transitioning and using the DJ board but if you don’t put some creativity and have interesting remixes, intros, outros, interludes, your own beats, songs no one has heard etc. then what makes you stand out. Why shouldn’t they just get that other DJ that just plays top 40 hits. You could be good at making beats but if you just make “type beats” or try to sound like your favorite producer then what’s so unique about you that everyone wants to work with you and not the producer your trying to copy. I try to put my own flair into all my work. Your mixes aren’t gonna sound like that engineers mixes their going to sound like mine. My DJ sets are gonna have a planned out set and have moments that translate to experiences. My drumming is going to be in my style and no one else’s. I feel like it’s all about your attitude and how creative you can get. I’ve been making beats for 5 years, Drumming for 6 years, and professionally engineering for 2 years. The main philosophy I follow in music is your always learning. I always welcome new opportunities to learn and get better at the things I know and the things I want to know. I will never stop learning until the day I die.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me the most rewarding aspect of this is the fulfillment. It makes me happy being able to DJ, Make beats, Engineer, Work with other artists, Release my own music. I love when Someone gets introduced to a new song when i’m DJing, I love when I can get the venue sounding really good and everyone is enjoying themselves, I love being able to understand a artists creative goals and what they want, I love making beats in general. Even if any of this stuff didn’t go where I wanted it to go I’d still be happy cause at least i’m trying and I don’t have a what if. I love doing music because it makes me feel like I have a purpose. I love learning as well so as long as i’m better than I was the week or month before then i’m happy. As long as i’m doing something music related then I will be happy.
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?
As a creative talking to other non-creatives I always get asked “so when’s your next job” “You still doing the music thing”. I get judged a lot because my life isn’t very consistent. I can’t always fill my whole week up with gigs so I have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. I don’t always have DJ gigs. Not a lot of people like my music. I can’t always find people to work with creatively. You have to make content that no one cares about. You have to constantly put yourself out there and that’s mentally a lot. Your art is a representation of yourself. You’re selling yourself. Rejections are common. People blowing you off happens all the time. Unfortunately this is the life of a creative. That’s why everyone says you have to love it. You are definitely not gonna be anywhere in 2 years but if you work hard enough, pay your dues, and show up then in eventuality you will get somewhere. People fail because they stop taking opportunities not because their career didn’t go anywhere. In the beginning it feels like we are all failures. In order to be successful you have to have experience and experience means failing a lot. You have to go out there and accept that most stuff you try people aren’t gonna like. Your not gonna be immediately great at music but as long as you love it then you will find your place. I just want people to understand that being a creative is different than working a 9-5 and white collar job. I don’t have anything against people who do that and they are just as important as us creatives. The beginning as a creative is hard cause it’s never consistent and it takes a very long time to get into a consistent flow of work where people are calling you giving you opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/TheEklipze
- Instagram: theeklipze_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theeklipze/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theeklipze
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQafFjMMRfJFFb-ODdiV77g
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/the-eklipze
