We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Reginad James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Reginad, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I think to be a full-time artist and creative is to sometimes be in a constant back and forth between “I’ll never do 9-5 work again” and then “man can probably make 3x my salary”. To be artist is to live through the hills and the valleys. I’m blessed to have stablish multiple streams of income to make those valleys not feel as impactful, but I’m sure all creative entrepreneurs can testify how unpredictable and expensive things are today.

Reginad, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a musician and show producer in Northwest Arkansas, and I’ve been full time music since 2012. I started by career as a touring musician with regional talents and have worked with artist like The Platters, Joey Williams of the Blind Boys, Byron Cage, and Ben Tankard and other amazing artist I admire. After burning out from touring, I decided to return back to Arkansas, and soon after built our booking agency Smoothman Music Production. We book premier corporate entertainment for companies like Wal-Mart, Tyson, LPGA, and countless weddings. This work has brought me so much joy! I get to provide living wage paying gigs and opportunities to countless musicians, DJs, and entertainers. In 2019, I co-founded Music Moves, an amazing non-profit that promotes Black art & culture through education and performances. The community we serve is prominently white with a black population of 4%. We are really proud to be able to provide access to culture education and contribute to the cultural exchanges in our communities.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Arkansas is an incredibly talented state, and oftentimes don’t have the same resources, platforms, and means to be a musicians or creative. My life’s mission is to defy the odds for myself, leave a blueprint, and a platform for other artist and creatives to stand on. I think I’m doing that through Smoothman Music Production in providing jobs, and Music Moves that focus on our youth and empowering them through music and education.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I often throw out the phrase “Teamwork makes the dream work!” However, how and when is it a good team to focus on building that team? My first decade of my career, I was a team of 1. If I would have sat down and put a plan together, I would be so much further along. When I first started, I was the band leader, marketing person, stage manager, and coordinator. Imagine playing a two or three hour show, watching your staff at the door to make sure we covered cost, running sound, and loading the sound out after selling merch. Looking back, I should have grew a team, invested in them, so I can focus on the things that I do really well. It’s a mentality shift that I didn’t make until a decade. I feel if I would have put some strategy to that amazing product we had, we would be further along today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.musicmovesar.com
• Instagram: @anthonyballnwa @musicmovesar
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthonyball89
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyballsmp/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MusicMovesArkansas