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

Steve, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Learning the trade of songwriting and production has been a mix of both mentorship and trial & error. I’ve been very fortunate to learn from some awesome engineers, producers, and songwriters, but for me personally, the best learning has come from experimenting and “failing forward”.

When I first started out I was afraid to experiment. I was just replicating what I saw and heard. My thinking was “learn the fundamentals and try to write/produce a song that sounded similar to ‘X’ and try to make it sound like it belonged on the same album”. It’s a good strategy for learning the basics and setting a bar for quality. However, it doesn’t force you to grow and develop your own sound.

That was the breakthrough moment for me. Deciding to break out of my comfort zone and experiment with sounds and different song ideas allowed me to grow as an artist and formulate a sonic identity.

I think two very important skills to develop are perspective and patience. Time is one of those elements that you fight with because of budgets and deadlines. However, I’ve learned to take frequent breaks during the creation process so that I can come back to my speakers with clear ears and say “hmm, that’s not working quite right” or “oh, that’s actually really cool!”.

Steve, 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 am a music producer, songwriter, and an artist. Not only do I release my own music, but I’ve also been fortunate to work with lots of songwriters and artists in Nashville, Grand Rapids, as well as in other counties such as Canada, Germany, and the UK.

My services range from mixing, songwriting, to full-on song production.

Artists and songwriters come to me because they are looking for a different sound. My goal is to always collaborate and help bring out the artist’s unique sound. It’s my job to make their sonic identity stand out so when you hear their songs it’s undeniably them.

I’m also a big believer in remote collaboration. The world is a big place with lots of talent. With modern technology and the awesome tools that are now available, I can work with artists and musicians anywhere at any time.

In terms of my own music, I’m currently working on 2 new projects: 1) an alt-rock project called ‘Run The Distance’, and 2) an indie-pop / synth-rock project called ‘Stellar Tantrum’.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I love the concept. We have barely begun to scratch the surface of what blockchain technology can offer. Unfortunately, the public perception of NFTs has been cartoon monkey’s being sold for thousands of dollars. NFTs themselves offer the ability to provide tangible ownership of something in a digital age. This could be music, digital art, concert tickets, and eventually business and estate agreements.

Here’s an example of how a major artist could earn money from NFTs: the artist could set up their next major music release as a smart contact NFT. Fans could buy into this album by being offered (let’s say) 10,000 NFTs (copyright shares) for purchase. The fans would then own a piece of that copyright which could be re-sold in the future for a potentially higher value. The artist, in turn, not only makes money off of the sale of the album but they could also use the money as capital to fund their tour, merch, marketing, next recording project, etc.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I will always have a lifelong pursuit to try and create a better song. But mainly these days, it’s about demonstrating to my children that you can be hard-working, dedicated, and still be happy pursuing what you love to do. It’s not easy being a business owner and there are lots of struggles and unexpected curve balls. However, the good days and accomplishments always make those obstacles worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.steverivers.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/steveriversmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/steveriversofficial
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/steveriversmusic

Image Credits
Brett Berwager Breezy and Brazen