We were lucky to catch up with Zachary Kibbee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zachary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us 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’ve been lucky in music over the past decade. I’ve been able to tour around the world, branch out as a producer and even dabble with making guitar pedals, along with other music related ventures. That’s largely due to the fact that I’ve had several of my songs used in commercials and movies – including writing songs for a couple Scooby Doo movies, and in so many TV shows that I can’t even tell you over the last 10 years. It started in 2014 when I landed a commercial for Microsoft and was able to quit my restaurant job as a result. I remember at the time being a little scared that I wouldn’t like music as much when it became my full-time thing but I was so wrong! I’ve loved music so much more these past 10 years that I ever did before.

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

Born and raised in LA, picked up music in high school like so many others, but I think something that separates me from those others is my love is songwriting and figuring out why a song works. What makes a Beatles song sound the way it does? Led Zeppelin or he Chili Peppers, why do their songs sound so distinctly like them? I’ve found great joy in discovering those reasons and implementing them into my own music over the years with different projects.

I’ve been called a “song chameleon” by my peers because I have an ability to grasp a genre in music and create within that scope songs that fit, that’s probably my greatest skill.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The music industry is really hard. There’s so many talented people and someone is always going to be better than you, or have more money than you or know someone that can help them more than you, that’s just the way it is. And as a result of that, sometimes we gotta take some risks and/or pivot along the way. In 2017 I distinctly remember being a bit nervous to drop about $15,000 in a single day on studio gear so I could start creating music with more efficiency for myself and others. But it paid off and now I produce other projects besides my own, as well create custom works for film/tv. I’m actually quite grateful that I’ve had to pivot in my career because I’ve learned so many useful skill-sets as a result.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Buy merch. Prop up your creative friends. Go to their art or music shows. Don’t compare them to mega successful high budget artists, they’re still working to get there skill-wise and budget wise. The difference between a Taylor Swift song and your friend’s song is a ton of marketing and production budget.

Contact Info:

• Website: ZacharyKibbee.com
• Instagram: @zacharykibbee
• Facebook: facebook.com/zacharykibbee
• Twitter: @zacharykibbee
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ZacharyKibbeeofficial/videos

Image Credits
Photos by Jessica Goodwin