Music Friday - Local Artist {The Experimentalist}

  Last week I was floored at the response of my blog! It's so exciting to be sharing such a big part of my heart with you all and to get good feedback is a huge plus! I had doubled the traffick from the very first music post, which blew me away! I am so thankful that you guys are enjoying this music project and you've been coming back every Friday to get to know a new musician! I can't say Thank You enough! 

  I have SO many good things to share about today's music feature that I don't even know where to begin. First off, I first discovered "The Experimentalist" when I moved back to California. I moved into a little duplex with a friend of mine and the first night she warned me..."Just so you know, we live next to a musician so it might be kinda loud sometimes." I will be honest and say my first thoughts were "great, someone is gonna be playing awful music and keeping me up at night" thankfully I couldn't have been more wrong! I was introduced to his music my second night and happily stayed awake to listen to him play his keyboard. I started to attend some of his local gigs and quickly realized he is incredibly talented! 

  This guy has so much dedication, passion and joy in his music! I've never met someone who could just create a beautiful song with amazing lyrics in under 10 minutes and I'll tell you a secret, he usually has the entire story/music video planned out in his head in that time as well. I'm telling you, this guys got skills and if you don't believe me just watch the video below.

 

My favorite thing about this video is that it's in his home, playing on his vintage organ. Seriously such a a treat to be able to capture him in such an intimate setting. I hope you guys enjoyed it and make sure to read the interview below and check out a collection of photos I've captured of The Experimentalist....

 What is the story behind your name “The Experimentalist”?
I had to come up with a band name for a social website some years ago and I thought,”Everything I do is just an experiment.” And boom, there it was. I also wanted to give my future fans a brain workout every time they said my name.

What bands are currently inspiring you and your music?
I’ve been listening a lot to this awesome band called Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias and a whole lot of Enya. It‘s my balance of mediation and dancing.

What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment thus far in the music world?
I feel my biggest accomplishment has been mixing and mastering my latest album. The whole mastering process was quite the feat.

What instruments do you play?
Piano, a pinch of guitar, a drop of bongo, and I play a mean mega phone.

What was your very first instrument you learned to play?
Piano. My parents bought my brother and I baby, baby grand when we were little. Haven’t stopped playing since.

Have you been in any competitions?
I’ve never been really huge on competing musically besides scholarship auditions in college. The last one I did was on a website called indaba where the challenge was to make the best John Legend remix. I was humbled to find that my remix made it amongst the top 10 out of hundreds of independent producers worldwide. I cherished that moment and have been working twice as hard ever since.

What are your fondest musical memories?
So I have three. One is playing my music a few years ago and watching my papa who was in his eighties dance nonstop around the living room like he was james brown’s daddy. Two is running to the piano room everyday after college courses to play music for hours. Three would be when I played my first show with albums to sell in 2008 at.

What has your experience been like so far working in the music industry and living out your dream?
It has been a wonderful experience. It’s been really cool seeing my dreams intertwine and grow with the norms of my life. I do hope that the dreams gain weight and take up even more space!

What are your songs about?
Well I’ve written a lot about love, heartbreaks, and those kind of themes over the years, but I’d say over the past four to five years I’ve been inventing quite new ones. Themes that capture a lot of the mysteries of my life, the galaxy, and complete stories based on small books I’ve been writing. It’s exciting, and I can’t wait to share it with the world very soon.
 

 Where can people find your music?
You can find my music on itunes, amazon, spotify,cdbaby,and on youtube. Just type in “The Experimentalist” and my album “Romanticism and I”.

What do the moments look like right before your about to perform?
I’m usually bouncing around with some kind of rhythm in my head while I’m hooking up my gear. I usually am pumping with energy and excited. I also like to connect with the early birds who are just as excited as me.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Yes… I have a black cat named LoLo and she is awesome!   

 

Make sure to like his page on Facebook!

 

I hope you all have a great weekend!

-Angel