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

!mindparade, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started writing poems and playing instruments in childhood, while always being exposed to music by my family. My dad was into jazz and prog rock, and my mom was into pop. My older brother was always into alternative rock like grunge.

I learned ballet from 1-4th grade, and danced in Indiana University Ballet’s Nutracker performances. Being exposed to this much Tchaikovsky definitely had an impact on me at a young age.

I didn’t get serious about music until high school. I picked up the guitar at age 14, and my poems started to become songs. I joined all the music classes I could, played trumpet in symphonic and jazz ensembles, studied classical guitar, and music theory. I went on to study classical music composition in college, which led me more to the avant garde tradition.

I think the most essential thing to learning is the drive and hunger to learn. I have always had that. I am basically obsessed and music has always been my life. The biggest obstacle to learning your craft, or most skills, is time. You have to manage your life and time so that you can be immersed in your field as much as physically possible.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a songwriter, composer, producer, audio engineer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist. I started my band project in college as a secret recording experiment on my laptop. I continued to record and started releasing records seriously in my mid 20’s, and just kept going with it since then. I produce records at my home studio, and constantly study writing and production, while gigging as much as I can.

I love the entire process of making music; writing, recording, and performing. So I have sought to design my life in such a way that facilitates me learning about my craft while “on the job”. I work as a Live Sound Engineer or “Sound Guy” at venues, co/own a small record/instrument store, and gig with my band. I help other artists record/mix/produce records occasionally, when it is something I like, or a friend’s project that needs help.

I’m most proud of being able to make genre-bending records that live in their own little worlds and speak for themselves, and being able to perform that music at a high level with my friends. This is my main goal and life’s work. I am less interested in the industrial and capitalistic aspects of music as I am in the subject matter itself. This is my primary focus. You can find my music under my moniker, !mindparade, on most streaming platforms on the internet.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing that society can do to support artists is support artists. Pay them. Offer them work and money and benefits. In America, we don’t have the government-backed foundations that other nations do, we don’t really invest in the arts as part of culture that the government backs. It’s different in other places, where they are proud to support their national culture. Most artists work multiple jobs to make their work and make ends meet. If you like someone’s art, pay them money for it. Especially for music – if you stream a record online, consider going to Bandcamp.com and paying outright for it. You can stream it endlessly from their site after that – and that money supports the musician directly. Buy their merchandise, and hire them to perform live, and offer them a fair guarantee of cash.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My particular mission is to explore expression through sound. I think any art is essentially a method to unlock the ways of being and thinking that exist in all of us. If you can perceive it, you can learn from it, and it is in some way already a part of you. I always knew I was a lot to express from the chaotic void inside me, or, is it, the chaotic void outside of me? Probably the same thing. I use music as a way to explain these experiences, and craft them into what I call a little “thought-jewel”, something you can take with you through time, to remind you of that mindset, feeling, vibe, or whatever.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mindparade.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindparade0/
• Facebook: facebook.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandertarnold/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXwTxpkp95Q

Image Credits
Photos by: Rose City Review Christal Angelique Brick Kyle