Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pierre De Reeder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pierre, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Sure, more so in the pangs of uncertainty. There’s no security in art, especially when you’re starting your journey. But there’s a great to-hell-with-it-all when you’re young and confident and aspiring, that you’ll scrape by and do your thing no matter what. But I suppose the most I ever felt like maybe I needed to get a “real” job was when it got real for me on a personal level… starting a family and becoming a young dad, mounting some real expenses and responsibilities, which happened to coincide with this amazing thing that I always wanted to do that wasn’t guaranteed anything. But my wife was very supportive of me following the ol’ dreams, as it were. So some age old insights I suppose… if it’s what you really want or need, well then, persevere, go for it, risk it. If you’re prepared to put in the hard work, whatever it is, then roll those dice.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello everybody. Well honestly, I’m not terribly good at promoting my wares and telling “my story”, so forgive me if I’m a bit rote. I suppose you could put me down as just another scrappy fella trying to follow his nose. And I’ve found myself, for a long time now, in the greater world of music. I say greater because there’s nothing really singular about any of it, but many tributaries that lead into some bigger stream. To summarize, since early in High School I always in some band, and being the guy in the band who would record stuff (4 track, 8 track, etc.). Eventually I moved to LA and moved in with my best bud and we and friends started a band called Rilo Kiley. We had a great run of it, making records, touring many months out of the year, being a tight musical family. I started a record label (Little Record Company) to release my own and a number of friends’ records. And then partnered in at a recording studio in North Hollywood, which I eventually took over and invited my friends Dave Trumfio (from Kingsize Soundlabs) and Curt Anderson to partner in with me, and moved to a new location in Highland Park. That studio is now called 64 Sound, a revitalized classic LA recording studio that houses an inspiring assortment of vintage instruments and recording gear, and has become a coveted destination for recording artists from all over the world to work on their projects.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Do you mean society in general? First I’d say continue the good things that we do… buy the tickets to the show, go to the art opening, line up for the book signing, order the vinyl and buy the merch, and so on. But we need to do more to nurture artists from the start, which begins with advocating for more arts integration in schools, with resources and support. We need to be aware of the ever evolving conveniences we have and how they effect the artist (think Spotify… a great consumer convenience, but dramatically cuts artist revenue as compared to sales) and do what we can to make purchases directly. There are grand scale things that society can/could do, as we all revere artists, but simply starting with what small things you as an individual can do to support is always the first step.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
Not For Thisguy :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.64sound.com/
- Instagram: @64sound
- Facebook: 64sound
- Other: LittleRecordCompany.com
Image Credits
Pierre de Reeder