We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Short. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Alright, Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

“f1oater.” grew into its own organically. Starting a new venture whether in the music business or any other is difficult, but the idea of “f1oater.” was something that came candidly and naturally.

It started with a simple question from my first producer, Johnny Cochran. “What kind of community will you tailor your brand?” I thought for a second and replied, “I don’t know. I don’t have a specific group of people I fit in with, I’m kind of a floater.”

The light bulbs went off. What if we created a music community that celebrated the pillar of being exactly who you are, right where you’re at, as an individual. Punk-rock / pop-punk music has always been an underground safe space to be weird, outrageous, and raw. This is exactly the kind of band and atmosphere I created through my original music by bringing together people who were just as authentic and real as I wanted to be on and off the stage.

We knew we were fighting an uphill battle putting a “1” in the name alongside a period, but it felt right.
I wanted to differentiate from standard spelling to give a nod to the band being a founding member of one person who had a dream, but also to pay tribute to the fact none of us are exactly alike and each of us have a specific story to tell of our own.

Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ever since I can remember I loved music. At age three in church choir, if I didn’t know the words, I made up my own. I started learning piano at age 8 after aurally teaching myself my favorite tunes and knowing I had something there. I began writing my own tunes, melody and lyrics at age 9 and before I knew it was fully combining all those talents by age 14. I knew I had to pursue music in any way shape or form. So I set my sights on Nashville, the songwriter’s mecca, and focused on honing all the business and creative skills I naturally possessed to turn them into real assets to propel my writer and artist career.

Once I graduated from MTSU’s recording industry / songwriting program, I spent the next couple years writing all styles of music to figure out what exactly I wanted to say and sound like as an artist.

After a few solo releases and an alt-rock duo, I found myself needing a new endeavor to push, so I started “f1oater.”

I didn’t really know what I was doing when we started.
All I knew was that I had a clear vision of wanting to start a punk rock/ pop-punk band and had the lyrics, melodies, and chords to do it. I teamed up with a local producer and we created “CARDBOARD”. With no budget or paid marketing, we saw great organic outreach to real individuals also finding themselves belonging to everything and no one. A community for people to be exactly who they are.

This propelled me into performing live shows, continuing to write a full concept record depicting the road that led me to “f1oater.”, and finding a kick-ass band who could really hone that pop-punk writing style and sound. 

After about a year of cultivating new songs with guitarist and writer Steven Martin, the record has been written and two songs released. We are playing monthly in the Nashville rock scene and have more music in store for our listeners.

I’m proud that we create songs for people who not only love listening to our original music, but a band they can feel apart of. Whether it’s a live show or a music video, the work that is put in behind the scenes is immense. However, that work transcends into something so rewarding when someone asks for an autograph or when a song idea pops up from a late night band hang.
I’m proud that people want to be apart of this movement and volunteer their efforts because they simply believe in the vision.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Being a founding member of a band and label that you built is both an honor and a heavy responsibility.
Not only is it on you to have all the needed nuts and bolts of the operations running, but it’s also your obligation to be understanding of each human’s personal lives.
Every member has unique needs and schedules that you have to ebb and flow with.
Respecting peoples boundaries while also including them as teammates is the ultimate balance.

It’s important for everything to not be solely business. It’s necessary to have high level commitment to be able to run an efficient business, but it’s even more dire to spend quality time with the people who build you and your business up.

My band, producers, videographer/photographer, fans, merchandise team, etc. are all an integral part of the ecosphere that make “f1oater.”. Without a team, it’s nearly impossible to do it on your own.

I ensure I don’t only focus on when we can practice next, when we can make new merch items, when we can get new mixes, but where are we at as people today. Not just in six months or five years, but where do we ALL want to go together and how that will harmonize in each others lives.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I love small businesses and supporting individuals with certain skillsets.
Something I’ve learned is that you’ll need to ensure the products will have longevity.
For instance, hand pressing band t-shirts or printing stickers. It’s great to be able to do things DIY or at a lower cost. However, if the product doesn’t print correctly or washes away after cleaning/numerous uses, your customers won’t be able to keep and represent your product for years and will most likely not come back for more.
I suggest reviewing companies’ products long term depreciation before buying again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://f1oater.me
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/f1oater.me/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/f1oater.me
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-short-70671592/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCocFYYiGrmsDMx0wUc94yBA

Image Credits

Carlos Torres – Vintage Mynd (SOLO SHOTS)
Sara Escobar – Awkward Bear Artwork (BAND SHOTS)