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

Luke, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a performer, but never in my life anticipated that I would have the opportunity to make a living as a professional musician/entertainer. As a child I was always drawn to performance, whether it was musical theater, instrumental music through school, karaoke, I always felt comfortable being on stage, on a microphone, in front of a crowd.

As a high school student looking to college, I remember saying “I love music, but I don’t want music to be my life.” In college, I was a music education major who had plans to graduate and go and teach high school music somewhere. My entire life my father, who has been a rock n’ roll drummer for 50 years, has encouraged me to try to find a band to be able to play with.

It wasn’t until a fateful December in 2014 where I ended up at Charlie Brown’s, a local watering hole and piano bar in Cap Hill in Denver. I had been a regular at the bar for a few years at this point but that night there was a new piano player there. For 4 hours. she proceeded to play any and every song that was requested with 0 help from a phone, iPad, or sheet music in front of her. I spent the evening living my best life singing along to every song that she played. On her break, she came up to me and asked, “Who are you and what do you do?” To which I replied, ” I play trumpet and sing karaoke.” We exchanged numbers as you often do as a horn player when talking with someone who says they may need horns in the future. You hope as a horn player you get the call, but my experience to that point was the phone hardly ever rang.

4 days later, I received a voicemail inviting me to a gig that needed a trumpet that weekend. I was told to show up with a trumpet and a suit and that was the extent of the information I had received. No set list, no details about the gig, just show up and figure it out. The gig ended up being a wedding that hired out Dueling Pianos and specifically asked for trumpet. A literal baptism by fire, I was thrown into the show and would have about 15 seconds to figure out what song they were playing, what key the song was in, and how I could play trumpet along with the song.

I was brought on full time to work with the company to work in corporate sales, tour management, and entertainer in training. With my limited piano skills I had acquired in college, I spent 3 years failing my way to success, trying to learn how to perform a dueling piano show. That job taught me to rely on my performance/hype skills to help drive a show. If I wasn’t the best piano player, I could be the most fun to watch.

Soon after the passing of my mother in the winter of 2015, I realized I needed to do something I had always been talking about and bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam and hoped for the best. Traveling with a back pack and a pocket trumpet, I left for 3 months and traveled to 27 different cities and 11 different countries. While on that trip, music became my true solace. Over those 3 months, I definitely experienced very high highs with amazing people doing creating amazing memories, but I experienced some extremely low lows. When the lows hit, I found the best thing for me was to go and play music. Whether it was a piano on the street, busking trumpet in town squares, or finding full bands/jazz clubs that would allow me to play, I found my most peace when I was able to play.

When I came home from that trip, I knew that music was the path I not only wanted, but needed to pursue. Life was too short to do stuff that didn’t make you happy, so I put all of my energy into doing what I loved, and surrounding myself with like minded people that believed in the same mind set.

Those journeys planted the foundation to allow me to have played music across the country and world for thousands of people with music spanning all genres. I joined Float Like a Buffalo 2 weeks after arriving home from my trip and have never looked back.

Luke, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In short, I am a high energy, multi-instrumentalist based out of Denver. My main band is called Float Like a Buffalo, a 7-piece Funk Rock band that has been working in the national music scene for over 8 years. After I joined the band with Cory “Beef” Meier in 2017, Float has shared the Stage with: WAR, Sting, Turkuaz, HER, Dragon Smoke (members of Galactic & Dumpstaphunk), Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Magic Beans, Marchfourth, Face Vocal Band, Steady Flow. We have played at Red Rocks Amphitheater 4 times, sold out the Gothic and Blue Bird Theater in Denver, and in the past 2 years have toured multiple times across the country. This power house of a group throws a party that will have you dancing and smiling all night.

When Covid hit and the world shut down, I did try my hand a live streaming my solo sing-a-long piano show with not much success. I had been interested in pursuing live looping for a few years but never had the financial means to afford the gear to get started. Then for my 30th birthday, my amazing girlfriend Alyssa Montaño, of Rocky Montaño Photography and Rocky Mountain Virtual, organized a fundraiser with family and friends to raise enough money so that I would be able to purchase an RC-505 loop station and all other necessary gear. the the assistance of the CARES act, I was able to take a break from delivery driving (how I had be making ends meet so far through covid) and spend two months in my basement studio learning how to live loop.

Two months later, Loop Story was born. Taking my musical knowledge from dueling pianos, my music theory knowledge from college, and my skill on piano, saxophone, vocal percussion, and vocals, I was able to create a show that incorporated my entire musical identity. Since Loop Story was created in 2020, I have sold out Dazzle Jazz in Denver, been an opener at venues across the city, and built a steady list of bars, restaurants, and breweries across Colorado. With no end in sight Loop Story continues to grow each day.

After Float’s 5 week national tour in the Fall of 2021, the band decided to take a pause so that everyone could get their life right after being away from for so long. In the two month break, I worked on networking and was asked to share the stage as a featured soloist with so many amazing bands. Groups like Buffalo Commons, Megan Hamilton, Melody Lines, Profetic Calavaras, Pj Moon & the Swampers, and many others, allowed me to join them at amazing shows where we were able to create a special performance.

So long story short, I am a bald headed, fancy jacket wearing, saxophone/trumpet/piano/singer that can be seen on stage rocking with Float Like a Buffalo, live looping as Loop Story, or sitting in with anyone who is kind enough to let me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My overall goal is to entertain. Regardless of the project that I am working on, my goal is to make good music for people who are willing to listen. As the success of each project grows, so does the goal. There will always be a world full of people looking to be entertained, and I hope to always be there to oblige

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

For Christmas a few years ago, my older brother who works in sales management training, gifted me a brand management class that he had developed for his company. It boiled down 3 main concepts. 1) discovering your brand and what is your right to win, why should a customer book/buy you over any of the other products that are available. This helps you clearly see your path and have 0 questions with what is your product you are trying to sell.
2) Properly identifying who you are selling your brand to. As an early musician, I believed that the fans was who our work was for. The fans are the reason that we perform and what we do we do for them. I then learned and realized that fans are the people who are signing your checks at the end of the night. The bookers/talent buyers/venue managers, those are your clients, your fan base is a part of your right to win.

Learning these two practices completely changed how I viewed and navigated the music business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loopstory23/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loopstorymusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-story-a36807185/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0vdXC6kw2zzVTjj8zrr4ZA

Image Credits
Rocky Montaño Photography