Music is an artistic endeavor.
But it takes a lot of hard skills to create and deliver it to the people!
Here I’d like to highlight some of those aspects of the work I do.
PRODUCTION
I still tend to shy away from claiming the title of ‘Producer’.. but it’s true that I have a lot of skills and knowledge gained from countless hours in the studio looking over the shoulders of some really talented DAW-masters.
Below is a little Christmas album I made with good friend and colleague Jakob Gunnarsson for our parents while we couldn’t make it home during the pandemic. He helped with the mastering and some of the final mixing adjustments, but otherwise the whole thing was produced and mixed by myself.
Of course, there’s a lot that goes into producing music, and different ways to do it. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience a wide variety of production environments, workflows, and people. Whether it’s modern hip-hop sensibility using a 2-channel interface or a legacy studio running 18 channels just for the drums, I’ve learned the benefits to different approaches and how to contribute within them.
EVENTS
Funk in the Forest is a festival started in Oregon in 2013 and grew to host upwards of 700 people from around the Willamette Valley area. I was involved from the very beginning, when we simply wanted to throw a fun(k) party in the park with our friends.
We made most of the big decisions of the festival together, 4 or 5 of us. As it got bigger, I managed a lot of the logistical operations: recruiting and organizing food and drink vendors, organizing professional security, constructing the festival boundary, etc. … and of course DTW performed every time!
I’m always happy to make things happen and get events together, large or small!
SPEAKING
As a performer, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with a microphone and with the pressures of a live situation. During my time in Dubai, I had the opportunity to use those skills in a different context, hosting a few episodes of the DXBFirst podcast! I had a blast doing it, and would love to expand hosting/interviewing as part of my work.
Tapping into more of my studio experience, I’ve also had the opportunity to do some voiceover work. I performed and recorded narration for some guided meditation programs, which you can find on the Berlin-based app ‘Skill Yoga’.
VERSATILITY
In consistency with the name of this page, utility is very important to me. As an artist, it’s often expected that you have a distinct, identifiable ‘voice’ in your work. And while I think this is valuable and uniqueness should be celebrated, I often have greater admiration for the ‘chameleons’. One of my biggest drum idols is the great Vinnie Colaiuta, whose album credits span an absurd genre range. Michael Bublé, Shania Twain, Megadeth… no matter what the music sounds like, Vinnie’s drums sound just right.
This is the kind of utility I strive for: as a drummer, a guitarist, a vocalist… simply as a person, and as any kind of ‘-ist’ I might later become. My work isn’t just about bringing my personal artistic voice to life; it’s also about contributing to others exactly what their art needs.
Tommy Jay Brownson 