We were lucky to catch up with Patrick Windsor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Patrick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For anyone in the creative field, it can be a challenge to balance art made to fulfill your creative needs and art made to get paid. I have a power pop band called Black Mail House that I use to fulfill my personal creative ideas, and our last album, Catacombs, is the most meaningful album I’ve made. When I started the project, I set a goal for myself to make an album using all real instruments played by real people. Since the album includes strings, woodwinds, brass, and multiple keyboard instruments, it wasn’t an easy task. I also decided that a project is way more enjoyable when I involve more people, so this album had well over a dozen musicians playing on it. I was able to make the songs I wanted to make, and the result is something I’m very proud of. I feel very lucky to have a recording of my exceptionally talented friends helping make the music I wrote come to life. I also think it’s the connection to other people that make it the most meaningful.

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.

My introduction to music followed two paths – in the mid-90s I started playing Alto Saxophone in school, and also playing guitar in rock bands. This gave me both the formal music education, as well as the more feral nature of playing rock ‘n roll with your friends. From there, I just kept playing and playing, as well as learning music production. Eventually, I went to college for jazz guitar performance, but ultimately got a degree in computer music and new media technology. As you learn all of these things, you make your own music with it. That music ends up being your advertising tool to get other gigs. People see what you’ve done, and they ask you to play guitar for them, or produce some tracks for them. Every time you make something new, more people hear it and reach out.

The more I got involved in music, the more well-rounded I wanted to be as a musician. I wanted to be able to do many things, and be well-versed in any style. Today, I work as a guitar player, arranger, music producer, and writer. The projects I work on are diverse; I’ve recorded guitar samples for a software company, edited vocals for a tv network, and written for pop, rock, metal, jazz, industrial, and many other styles of music. It’s my genuine nerdy love for all kinds of music that I’m most proud of, and what sets me apart from many producers and players. I’ve spent my life devouring all kinds of music, and learning how to play all of them.

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 creatives is to elect officials to governmental positions that will make laws to protect these people. The way in which people consume art has completely changed in the last 20-30 years, and the government hasn’t caught up. Artists need to be paid at life-sustaining levels, and the fewer artists that have that, the more art will suffer as a whole.

The number 1 most important thing a society can do is enact universal single-payer health care. Too many brilliant artists are tied to jobs they hate only for fear of bankruptcy due to illness.

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

A difficult thing for many creatives can be getting feedback for that thing they’ve created. Sometimes the uncertainty of the quality of the work will hold you back from getting it out there. Brene Brown’s book, “Daring Greatly,” is an excellent guide to taking risks and being vulnerable. It’s good for anyone, not just creatives. She talks about how the only way to get the things you want are to be vulnerable to failure. You have to take risks in order to progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.patrickwindsormusic.com
• Instagram: pwindsormusic
• Facebook: blackmailhouse
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blackmailhouse
• Other: blackmailhouse.com

Image Credits
Edson at Lucky Shot Photos Andrew Kowalski Jamie Kaufman Show Shots LA