We were lucky to catch up with Zach Reeder recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zach, 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?

I ask myself this question ALL the time, it crosses my mind at least every few months. I think “wouldn’t it be great if I could just do music and film projects for the fun of it? Out of pure joy? And to not have to worry about where my next paycheck is coming from?” I even start looking at job postings on LinkedIn that I would be more or less qualified for. I’ve even gotten some ideas for pursuing paid projects by doing that!

I think it’s healthy for creatives to constantly be asking themselves these kinds of questions. If at some point the answer changes and I think I’d rather have a regular job that allows me to pursue art and creative projects without worrying about the money side of it, that’s ok! Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to make a living in the creative arts in today’s society. I wish it weren’t the case, and that the rest of our world would recognize how important creativity and artistry are to everyday life. But that’s not the reality, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon, and it puts creatives in a very difficult place sometimes. We end up taking jobs for money that we aren’t passionate about, and we feel bad about it! We feel like we should always love what we do, because that’s what everyone expects. How could playing music for money be bad? Never mind the fact that I drove 10 hours each way for two gigs last weekend at a festival outdoors in 45 degree weather for less than 1,000 people. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and it was worth it! But sometimes it gets old, and we get tired, we feel unappreciated and unwanted, and we start to question it all. I haven’t reached that point yet, I’ve been lucky enough to find work just in time when things start to get tight, and somehow I manage to make it through those times, but I think about it all the time.

At the end of the day, I will ALWAYS pursue music, film, and the creative arts. If I decide to get a “regular” job to pay the bills, part of the agreement will be that I am given the freedom and flexibility to continue to perform and create. That’s not negotiable. I can’t live without continuing to do those things, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with earning a living with something else. As long as I am able to continue finding joy in the things that I love and don’t feel that I’m loosing touch with my artistry and creativity, that works for me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well… I guess I started playing guitar around the age of 6. I took lessons at a few local music stores, started a few bands in high school, and just always really enjoyed music. I was also pretty curious and hands on, so I built my own speakers for a sound system, and got into the technical side of music. I decided to pursue music in college and worked at local music stores teaching guitar and repairing equipment. I completed my Master of Music at Carnegie Mellon University in 2013, and landed a regular performing gig with a local country band and a job as a music director for a church. Both of those things made me start to become interested in video so that I could share the music that I was writing and performing with my friends and colleagues. I found that I was actually really good at that as well, and eventually landed a job in AV Production for a very large church. It was there that I first got to use cinema grade cameras, install large AV infrastructure, and learn to design systems and solutions for our campuses. I left that job, and did some consulting and freelance work, and eventually started my own business in music and film.

Today, I primarily work as a touring/performing guitarist, which I have done for over half of my life at this point. I also provide professional video services to many of my music friends and colleagues, and I feel that my background as a musician makes me really understand the vision and mindset of a musician. I also work on corporate video projects, shooting events, marketing materials, social media content, and various other types of audio and video content. I also run a small recording studio that creates demos and recordings for artists from all over the country, and do some work as a session guitarist.

I do still offer some AV consultation and integration services, and find that I do a lot of that kind of work with small to mid-sized churches, where I can communicate with people who are creative and artistic as well as those who are technical and more logistically focused. I’ve learned to compartmentalize my creativity, and to be organized and thoughtful when I need to be. I think that has made me an asset to many teams and projects over the years, and will continue to do so.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’d like to see a paradigm shift in our culture. I remember this time, I was playing a gig in a club that was known to be a live music venue. These two women were standing near the bar where I was sitting before the show, and they kept looking over at me and talking quietly. Eventually they came up and said they were trying to figure out what I do for a living. I was curious so I asked what they thought. One said I was a doctor, the other thought I was in business or marketing. When I told them I was a musician and that I was there to play a show that night, they didn’t believe me, and one actually said “you can’t seriously make any money doing that, right?” I’ll never forget that… these two women were there to watch live music, dance, and have a good time, but they didn’t think it was valuable enough for them to actually spend any money on it or to support the artists that are there to create that environment for them. Our society feels that art and music should be free and bring no intrinsic value to their lives, but without it life would be unbearable! Imagine a world without music, movies, paintings, photography, culinary art, etc… Life would not be worth living if we lost all humanity and became focused only on efficiency.

I think we need to go back to having good support for school music programs (maybe we could reallocate some football funding?), and communities should support artists and musicians with regular public performances and events showcasing artists in the community. I’d like to see people be willing to pay to attend those events but that will be tough, maybe we can ask for donations from those who are able. I’d also love to see some more public figures advocating for the arts in our society, particularly those who aren’t just super successful artists, but those who hold office in politics or run large companies, who are doctors and lawyers, anyone with a platform can make a difference.

I also think artists need to stop taking work for “exposure”, and start valuing themselves more. We put our entire lives into our careers, sacrifice stability, friendships and relationships, and many other things that people take for granted all to pursue this passion that we can’t set aside. It’s worth something! Don’t work for free! Stand up for yourself and make people pay you what you’re worth. When you take a job for little or no money, you only perpetuate the stereotype and make it more difficult for artists everywhere to earn a living.

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

As I dove deeper and deeper into music, and eventually video, I studied the equipment and best practices to get the best quality for my art. I wanted the best instruments, microphones, cameras, editing software, lighting, etc… and started to loose sight of the art itself. I have to check myself pretty often actually to this day. I start sacrificing artistic decisions to get the optimal lighting for a shot, or I put a music project on hold until I can get the right microphone, guitar, or other piece of gear. The point is to create and use my voice, these things are just tools, and not having the perfect tool or environment should never hold me back from being creative and expressive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zachreeder.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/zachrmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZachRMusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachreeder/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/zachreeder