We recently connected with Nick Parrino and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always had an interest in music. When I was a kid I would watch the MTV top 10 videos every week and kept up to date on which songs were moving up and down the charts. I knew what was hot, and what was not. Even though my interest in music started when I was very young, my pursuit of a career as an artist didnt start until my mid 20s. I got invited to a music festival in 2015 and had no interest at all in making music. I wasn’t even sure what to expect as I walked into that venue in LA. I watched a few sets, took it all in, and imaged how exciting it would be to be on stage performing for so many people. It wasn’t only the music that captivated me, it was the whole culture, the entire scene that really sparked my desire to possibly try and create music. I was drawn to the community of thousands of people coming together to enjoy music and have a good time together. Despite how that show made me feel, I didn’t act on producing music until 2018. I was home for the summer between my junior and senior year in college and had attended several concerts during that time. I was once again inspired to start producing music and decided that before I go back to college, I would buy a music production software and a set of turntables. I ended up spending most of my senior year in college teaching myself how to produce music and DJ, finally acting on a motivation that I felt for years.

Nick, 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?

My name is Lewus, I am a DJ and Producer from Los Angeles. I strive to be diverse and work with a variety of singers and songwriters to create a wide range of genres varying from soul searching ambient sounds to vibey house music and songs designed for the club. I thought myself how to DJ and I got a job as an event DJ right out of college. I would play various events (corporate events, weddings, birthday parties etc.). I decided to quit that and move back to LA to focus on production and getting into the club DJ scene. I moved back to LA in October 2019. I played my first club show in December 2019 at the world famous Avalon Hollywood on Hollywood & Vine. I released my first single in 2020 and have been focusing on the house, dance and electronic scene since then.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are many aspects of being a creative that are very rewarding. When you create something that comes from you, you always leave a part of your heart and soul in it. Every piece of work you make, theres a part of yourself in it. It can be daunting to release something so personal out into the world where it’s free for criticism from everyone. There is a level of vulnerability you need as an artist and its not always and easy thing to do. When I release a track, or Im playing a live show and people are enjoying it, that is what being an artist is all about for me. I can see people dancing to my song, to something I made that came from me, there’s no better feeling than that. When I release new music, many times those tracks get added to playlists on Spotify and thats very rewarding. It shows people see something in that track, and they want others to hear it too. They want to share it with others and believe it needs to be heard. When people feel a connection with your piece of work, on a deep level, that is what makes being an artist worth it all.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There are so many ways now to support artists. Community is a big aspect of that support, for me. Finding your community that will share your art, tell others, post about it on their socials, buy a piece from you and help you network. With social media being so important in society today, posting their work is a huge part of supporting artists. Share their work, tag them, credit them, it helps increase their visibility and gets them a wider audience. This is a crucial part of creating a community where artists feel supported and encouraged to continue to produce work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lewus.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itslewus/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lewusmusic