We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Spencer Brewer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Spencer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I had learned at an early age that if I played the piano well enough (with flair and verve) that people would pay to hear me, so I started doing simple gigs in my late teens. Little did know at that time that I also had a natural penchant for business. In my 20’s I played around Austin & San Antonio, wrote a musical, played for modern dance companies (all my own compositions and improvs) while being a hippy; doing all those activities.
I was determined in my 20’s to ‘make a record’ so eventually found a sponsor/partner, researched the record business and started a boutique label. We shipped out thousands of records (1982), had over 50 distributors and signed a small handful of like artists. Sounds impressive, but it was a mom & pop operation….which took a lot of time. Very quickly I learned that I was doing 80% business and 20% music (not what I wanted), so sold the label and my next seven records to my largest distributor, Narada Records. For the next 15 years I rode the ‘New Age’ music craze wave having two #1 records, playing hundreds of concerts and learning the music business. It was quite a ride.
Over the next 40 years I made another 12 records, became a record producer/engineer and helped create over 200 recordings, a handful of film scores and hundreds of radio commercials. While doing this I started and ran a recording studio, Laughing Coyote, a music store, a production company, a piano business and a school with a small performance hall. The constant through my entire career was everything I did hinged on being creative, thinking outside of the box across many ideas and disciplines. I thrive on multi-tasking and having many irons in the fire, all within the scope of creative endeavors.
Along the way I was lucky to start and run a hugely successful free concert series in Mendocino County, Sundays in the Park (winning two governor’s awards). I ran it for 25 years with an average of 10-15,000 people attending every summer the six part series. It paid ok, I got to pick the bands (187), and did all the PR, management and fund raising. Once again being creative in this space helped fuel my passion for it. It is now in it’s 32nd year. I also started and still run the Professional Pianist Concert series (32nd year), which is a huge blast for the players and our community.
When the economy crashed in 2008/09, I lost five companies and was forced out of the music business, as it collapsed as well. Almost lost our home in the country. A close friend asked me to run the Direct to Consumer (DTC) division of a winery so I jumped into the wine business nationwide as we were broke. Little did I know at the time that the music business was far harder and my knowledge of it would help propel our wine brands into the national spotlight on the DTC side. After four years, I quit and hung up my shingle to consult other wineries with their DTC divisions. I still was making music, but had a lot of time to pursue a new creative outlet since the music business was in the toilet.
I got into making assemblage art and turned our barn into a sculpture studio, Harmony Gaits where now 15 years later, my wife Esther and I hold monthly ‘assemblage camps’ where all ages of folks can come and be creative making assemblage sculptures. It is very rewarding to be part of people’s creative awakening or process. We were inspired by the medium and building a community around it, so took three years and published ‘Lost & Found – Assemblage Artists of Northern California.’ It won eight national awards as well first in the nation for interior design. Our goal was to highlight eight area artists, hopefully inspiring anyone who picked it up to find their own creative outlets….even as simple and fun as assemblage art is.
Today I make art, do assemblage workshops, still play a handful of benefit concerts a year, work on hundreds of pianos a year, and harvest olives, walnuts and grapes for juice.
My advice to anyone who wants to have a creative life is to start small with what you know or have an inherent talent at. I believe that everyone is given a skill, a gift or a talent at birth….our work is to find out what that is…from being a great plumber to feeling bliss while knitting….it doesn’t matter, as long as we fill the creative shoes, we were gifted at birth to wear. I often am told that accountants or lawyers, etc are not creative people….this is so not so. Creativity is accessible in any trade, any discipline, any decision. Do what you love and yes, slowly our lives will unfold into coming from a creativeplace, no matter what direction it takes.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Spencer Brewer is a storyteller, crafting conversations either through his musical compositions or assemblage art sculptures. They all take us on a journey. He creates ‘High Whimsey’ – fantastical pieces of sculptures out of vintage or unusual objects inspiring viewers with a sense of delight, surprise and wonder. Alongside his musical career, he worked on thousands of pianos, collecting unique and obscure vintage mechanical artifacts along the way while honing his shop skills. Working on vintage pianos for decades, he has a deep affinity for masterfully designed and crafted instruments.
Working on pianos, gramophones and pump organs offered him the opportunity to understand and appreciate the amazing designs, craftsmanship and artistic execution of functional analogue creations from the 1830’s through the 1920’s.In many of Spencer’s themed works, he incorporates the various inner parts from pianos, mechanical objects & instruments that few ever get to see. From these old parts, he endeavors to create sculptures that carry on their inherent legacy from the whimsical and humorous to the extraordinary.
He has been creating art and music his entire life, participating in dozens of art & museum shows, playing hundreds of concerts, lecturing musical master classes and having his work featured across streaming services, movies, TV, The Olympics & radio globally. With two #1 selling records as a composer, he has 15 solo records, is a featured artist on dozens, has produced hundreds of albums, film scores, radio commercials as well as concerts and festivals.
Over the last decade he has been an integral part of Wines That Rock, creating premium wines that enhance the direct connection between brands and fans like Grateful Dead, Cirque du Soleil, NPR, Virgin & TCM Wine clubs, Star Trek, Hallmark, Downton Abbey, Discovery Channel, The Bachelor, Rolling Stones, Woodstock and many others.
Truly a Renaissance man, Spencer creates music and art while supporting his local community
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When the economy crashed in 2008/09, I lost five companies and was forced out of the music business, as it collapsed as well. Almost lost our home in the country. A close friend asked me to run the Direct to Consumer (DTC) division of a winery so I jumped into the wine business nationwide as we were broke. Little did I know at the time that the music business was far harder and my knowledge of it would help propel our wine brands into the national spotlight on the DTC side. After four years, I quit and hung up my shingle to consult other wineries with their DTC divisions.
From here I joined Wine That Rock and helped grow the company into the huge success it is today. Who knew? The wine business.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The USA does not support the arts and it’s artists like many European countries do, where they offer more funds, grants and opportunities for creatives to do their thing. If we as a nation embraced this discipline more than the sales and marketing of the end results, our societies and communities would thrive, would blossom more fully. Artists through centuries have helped define an era, a nation, paths to new frontiers of knowledge.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.harmonygaits.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonygaits/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spencer.brewer.56
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-brewer-452586b/
- Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC5g7H4x8E21crM3n5CV3vlw/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mendocino-piano-company-redwood-valley
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sjb111ca-896878765
- Other: Bandcamp – https://spencerbrewer.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-veil
All Music – https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spencer-brewer-mn0000742442
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/sjb111ca-896878765
Linktree – https://linktr.ee/admin/account
CD Baby – https://members.cdbaby.com/Album/Review/wvalb02885339
Sound Exchange – https://sxdirect.soundexchange.com/statement/160/SX1019ZKYF
Image Credits
Nathan DeHart, Tom Liden, Tom Olin, Bobby Cochran