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

John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

My journey from guitar player to music producer started in 2016. I had been playing guitar and bass for local musician and songsmith, Tracy Bonham & learning a lot about the music industry. She asked if I would Co-Produce her new album, which would be a 20th Anniversary re-record of her first record, The Burdens of Being Upright. Having never produced another artist’s music, I saw this as a great opportunity to level up in music. I agreed to work on the record and we ended up making Modern Burdens, a 2016 version of her 1996 album. It ended up being number 45 on the Rolling Stone top 50 records of 2016.

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

My name is John Wlaysewski, I am a music producer and multi-instrumentalist currently living in Brooklyn, NY. My interest in music making started in high school and has followed me into my adult career. As a music producer I help musicians realize their musical visions as well as push themselves into more creative territory during the recording process. Artists and musicians send me their songs and I help them realize their vision, whether that involves me recording bass, guitar, drums, keyboards etc, or if it’s more about helping with the creative vision of a band and their new music direction.

Currently I am the music director on Kevin McDonald Superstar, a Kids In The Hall adjacent Rock Opera that will have it’s NY debut August 31 and Sept 1 at The Bellhouse in Brooklyn NY (August 31 already sold out, Sept 1 a few tickets left, get yours now!)

I am also currently mixing some songs for the rock band Wheatus (Teenage Dirtbag) & producing a full record for Minneapolis-based indie rock outfit December Friend.

My band Late Cambrian is also currently in the studio recording new singles to follow up our most recent record, Future Snacks, which came out in September of 2022. I can’t wait to reveal our new music to you all!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is what keeps your journey on this floating space ball interesting& rewarding. I’m always on the lookout for a new opportunity that will either advance my music career or teach me a lesson about certain aspects of my industry. Looking back, most of my ‘level up’ moments came from meeting the life defining moments head on with courage and adaptability. I gave one example earlier in the interview where I agreed to co-produce a record for Tracy Bonham and ended up with a Rolling Stone Top 50 record!

Another big opportunity that came along was playing guitar for the Kevin McDonald (KIDS IN THE HALL)’s One Man Show Live on 42nd Street, NYC. In 2019, the singer and songwriter for Wheatus, who I had mixed some songs for and toured with in the UK, suggested me to Kevin McDonald when Kevin asked him to play guitar for his one man show.
I jumped at the chance to be a part of it and dug in on all the songs and staging for the show. The relationship with Kevin was a supportive and artistic one and I even got mentioned in the New York Times review as “Unflappable guitarist, John Wlaysewski.”
The Kevin McDonald performance opened the door to this year (2023) where Kevin asked me to music direct and perform his Rock Opera at The Bellhouse, with a small cast of actors and comedy/musicians. I am so excited for these shows & have been recording my own versions of the rock opera songs (bass, guitar, drums, vocals) for the whole cast to use when learning the music. Kevin McDonald is so happy with the recordings, he will be using them to teach other casts when he brings the Rock Opera to Canada and other states.
One thing I’ve learned working in the music industry in this capacity, is that being able to pivot is the best way to expand your knowledge base and work portfolio. Just the announcement of my music directing on the Rock Opera has brought me a much larger amount of mixing and producing work just this year. Follow the work and don’t be afraid to pivot.

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?

Every human is creative in some fashion. People with full time, non-creative jobs still have to be creative during the day. They have to trouble shoot issues at work, or find a new way to think about a job they are doing to make it less stressful or more efficient.

In my experience working in the music field, the creativity also manifests as the ability to sell yourself as the right person for the project. If you aren’t working full time for a company, you are basically selling your brand, your talent and work style to people all the time. For full time workers, the resume and job interview portion of your journey happens once at the beginning (and every time you change jobs). For me, it’s every time a music project is complete.
Recently, the jobs are coming to be without me looking for them, which is one of the goals of freelance work as I see it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5HkefJhMRmCYoz6CV8yXCR?si=tFtM-ThkSY6iKRIjVXjZjQ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latecambrian/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LateCambrian/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-YdAA2vLZZVgK_DyGKuuw

Image Credits
Simon Ackerman Zhen Qin