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

Alright, Redd thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project as been the current format of my band and the task of making playing cover tune gigs more interesting and meaningful. A lot of times it has been discouraging and grueling, playing gigs, be it a wedding or a club gig and there is a D.J. there to go follow or to play in between sets for the band. Most times, when the band returns, the overall energy of the room/crowd is diminished when the band returns because they cannot match the energy or repertoire of the D.J. It’s a losing battle. With #TheAwkwardLife, we have been able to match the energy and capabilities of D.J’s without turning the gig into a hostile competition. We bring our technology and skill to enhance a compliment the overall experience.
Our format consists of playing along with tracks of the actual artist performing while band plays a live rendition or remix in real time.

Redd, 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?

I started #AwkwardLifeMusic out of despair, truthfully. I had just come back from doing a cover tune gig overseas in Maldives. It was a reminder that no matter where you went, the band was always limited by the capability of the participants. I had already been inspired by live band collectives like: Be On It Productions and Gummyworms2012, with their live arrangements that were all over YouTube years prior. When I returned home in 2016,  I began researching software that would help to dissect songs so that we could play along to isolated tracks. the more I learned the more I discovered it was a better way to make even covertune gigs more enjoyable for musicians as well as the audience. 
Fast forward to present day, this idea has evolved into a full band with DJ experience. we get to play songs in different renditions and different remixes, especially now with social media being crowded with DJs playing “mashups” of so many different songs together. now there’s an actual fully live band collective that can ride that wave, too. Note: It’s not an entirely new concept because there are some bands doing it in the midwest in Chicago and certain DJs who have bands come in every once in awhile in New York.  Along with that, once we perfected the concept of what we were going to do, we could actually format shows upon request when we did private parties or weddings and anniversaries. 
Currently, we take pride in providing any audience with an experience of a live band and still being able to hear the voice of their favorite artists. 

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

Absolutely! Throughout the course of honing your craft in whatever creative field, there is always this narrative or stigma that you have to do so many things that you don’t want to do to survive. In music, there’s a fine line between sticking to the record and being able to express yourself creatively. My goal was always to find balance with both. Finding the way to play expressively and with full creativity while still honoring and respecting the creativity that has come before me and learning from it all.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s truly most rewarding when…

a) you see the fruits of your labor. Knowing that all the studying and training is now bearing results.

b) Seeing your vision come to pass. It will always be gratifying seeing and knowing that what started as an idea has now materialized.

c) Always being inspired by something each day. An older musician told me to never stop playing.
He said “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @reddsplanet @awkwardlifemusic
• Other: All media coming soon…
  …Stay tuned.

  #AwkwardLife

Image Credits

I own these photos.