Interview with Brandon Meeks
Brandon Meeks is a bass player living in Indianapolis. He does a variety of musical activities including performing, recording, teaching, and producing, mostly in the jazz and hip-hop genres. For more information on Brandon visit brandonmeeksmusic.com, and the book’s companion website for links to some of the things that were discussed.
RW: You’ve worked in a lot of different situations. Have you ever toured, and is it something you’re still interested in doing?
BM: I like to mix it up. I don’t like to be on the road constantly because I have a family. I do Thursday through Saturday runs here and there, and have a few residencies at jazz clubs here in Indianapolis and in Cincinnati.
RW: Do you have a day job?
BM: I work full-time as a musician.
RW: What do you do to stay busy?
BM: I do a variety of things with my music to create multiple income sources. I play jazz in clubs and play at the Purpose of LIfe MInistries. I film my recordings, and give bass lessons and do session work online.
RW: How do your students find you?
BM: I’ve been building an email list for over a year. When I decided I wanted to start doing bass lessons I reached out to the list and a few people responded saying they were interested in studying bass. We meet via Google Hangouts or Skype. One of them is in the U.K., others in New York and Ohio.
RW: How do you get email addresses?
BM: I run some highly targeted ads on Facebook. People see a video of me performing or playing, and if they like the video they click on it and get free music from my website in exchange for their address.
RW: How do you feel about giving your recordings away for free?
BM: I feel good about it at as long as there is an exchange of value. An email address is pretty valuable. I can use it over and over to market anything that I’m doing.
RW: What is the band that you manage the social media for?
BM: Primarily Native Sun, and then I have my own jazz ensemble—the Brandon Meeks Quartet.
RW: How did you learn how to do that?
BM: Two ways. I have a background in advertising, and I’m a graphic designer. I’ve worked for several ad agencies over the past 10 years. I picked up a lot of strategies from two online classes: The Music Marketing Manifesto by John Oszajca, and The Online Musician by Leah McHenry.
RW: How did you start doing session work online?
BM: Primarily through fiverr.com, a site for creative professionals to offer services that gets a lot of traffic. Once registered and made a profile I started getting customers.
RW: What is the jazz scene like in the Midwest?
BM: Currently I’m targeting a lot regional cities like Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, I do a residency in Cincinnati. Most of the cities that are within a few hours drive usually have at least one or two jazz clubs. If you build up a good reputation you can work pretty consistently by cycling through the region.
RW: What’s a typical Thursday–Saturday run like?
BM: It’s usually between 8:00 to midnight, two-sets with a break in between. If it’s further out I’ll stay where I’m at overnight. If it’s in the region I’ll try to get back home within one or two days since I have a family.
RW: How do you engage with your fans?
BM: I have a blog and am active on Facebook and YouTube. I do my best to respond to every single person that likes or shares my work. It builds a feeling of camaraderie between me and the people that support the work that I do.
RW: Do you take suggestions or tailor future projects based on what people are liking?
BM: Not so much on what I decide to record, but I do take advice on titles for songs and what platform they would like to see it appear on. Mostly I do advice videos, bass covers where I play along with recordings of songs that people know where I add my bass part to it. I pay attention to what type of content people want to see the most, that influences future decision about what type of content to make.
RW: How much hip-hop music do you do relative to jazz?
BM: I do about an even mix of both. Of course there are hip-hop influences in jazz and vice versa, but I still do quite a bit of things that are more on the jazzy end, like upright bass, acoustic piano, and no vocalist, and then I do hip-hop shows at venues that are standing room. I have a three-piece band with me, a drummer, and an MC. I do the music production side of it and prepared the pre-recorded tracks. I play bass and trigger samples and tracks.
RW: I meet a lot of students that want to have a career making beats? How realistic do you think that is, considering all the competition? Should you know how to play an instrument, too?
BM: They need to have a good understanding of business models. I don’t think you can be tone deaf and no sense of rhythm. You need to be musically-inclined, but don’t necessarily have to master and instrument it, depending on what you want to do.
RW: Programs like FL Studio make it easier today to create beats than in the past. I think people run the risk of making the mistake of comparing their beats to those they hear on recordings, and then figure that they have a chance to be as successful as the people who made them.
BM: It’s all about understanding business models, what genre and subgenre you’re in, and the people who follow that and how to connect with them. That’s the critical thing. If you can understand the target for what you’re doing, and really hone in on how to get in front of those people consistently and build a community around your work. That determines success, more than whether you play an instrument or not. Of course the end product has to be good, but when it comes to the business side it’s more about marketing and reaching people once you have the product once you have it.
RW: Is the hip-hop community as much online as jazz?
BM: Acoustic jazz audiences tend to be a little older. Hip-hop audiences spend more time on smart phones and iPads and social media. They’re more adapted to those.
RW: What are some good websites for hip-hop?
BM: That’s a very broad question. There is a whole network of blogs and websites, and big YouTube channels for each type of hip-hop.
RW: What is the hip-hop scene like in Indianapolis?
BM: In the last few years there has been some interesting things going on, especially with the revitalization of Fountain Square. There’s a lot of talent congregating between the Hi Fi, the White Rabbit, the Pioneer, and a hip-hop festival in Fountain Square called Chreece which brings everybody from every subgenre of hip-hop to perform. You get a good feel of what everybody is doing. It’s really exciting. When I first moved here there were things going on, but’s it’s grown in the time I’ve been here. I think it’s promising.
RW: You’re from Gary, Indiana. Are you connecting with the Jackson family legacy?
BM: I’m from the same neighborhood. Their home is fenced off and being preserved as a historic site.
RW: Would you recommend touring in order to build your skills and fan base, or can a musician now stay at home and build an audience using social media?
BM: It’s still important, but musicians now have more options. You can build your audience online without going on tour. There are several artists with six-figure incomes doing music that don’t tour at all. They are so in tune with their support base, and everything they do is monetized. They understand what the various streams of income available for musicians and how to work them. Going on tour is just one. It expense-heavy compared to what you can do online. I would recommend going on tour to get the experience, but don’t look at it as your bread and butter. You definitely want to have things going on online.
RW: Any other advice for musicians?
BM: If you have a passion for music and it’s the thing that you really want to do in life, don’t be afraid to get out there and learn whatever you need to in order to make it happen. Don’t let anyone discourage you from doing it.
©2017 Brandon Meeks and Robert Willey
RW: You’ve worked in a lot of different situations. Have you ever toured, and is it something you’re still interested in doing?
BM: I like to mix it up. I don’t like to be on the road constantly because I have a family. I do Thursday through Saturday runs here and there, and have a few residencies at jazz clubs here in Indianapolis and in Cincinnati.
RW: Do you have a day job?
BM: I work full-time as a musician.
RW: What do you do to stay busy?
BM: I do a variety of things with my music to create multiple income sources. I play jazz in clubs and play at the Purpose of LIfe MInistries. I film my recordings, and give bass lessons and do session work online.
RW: How do your students find you?
BM: I’ve been building an email list for over a year. When I decided I wanted to start doing bass lessons I reached out to the list and a few people responded saying they were interested in studying bass. We meet via Google Hangouts or Skype. One of them is in the U.K., others in New York and Ohio.
RW: How do you get email addresses?
BM: I run some highly targeted ads on Facebook. People see a video of me performing or playing, and if they like the video they click on it and get free music from my website in exchange for their address.
RW: How do you feel about giving your recordings away for free?
BM: I feel good about it at as long as there is an exchange of value. An email address is pretty valuable. I can use it over and over to market anything that I’m doing.
RW: What is the band that you manage the social media for?
BM: Primarily Native Sun, and then I have my own jazz ensemble—the Brandon Meeks Quartet.
RW: How did you learn how to do that?
BM: Two ways. I have a background in advertising, and I’m a graphic designer. I’ve worked for several ad agencies over the past 10 years. I picked up a lot of strategies from two online classes: The Music Marketing Manifesto by John Oszajca, and The Online Musician by Leah McHenry.
RW: How did you start doing session work online?
BM: Primarily through fiverr.com, a site for creative professionals to offer services that gets a lot of traffic. Once registered and made a profile I started getting customers.
RW: What is the jazz scene like in the Midwest?
BM: Currently I’m targeting a lot regional cities like Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, I do a residency in Cincinnati. Most of the cities that are within a few hours drive usually have at least one or two jazz clubs. If you build up a good reputation you can work pretty consistently by cycling through the region.
RW: What’s a typical Thursday–Saturday run like?
BM: It’s usually between 8:00 to midnight, two-sets with a break in between. If it’s further out I’ll stay where I’m at overnight. If it’s in the region I’ll try to get back home within one or two days since I have a family.
RW: How do you engage with your fans?
BM: I have a blog and am active on Facebook and YouTube. I do my best to respond to every single person that likes or shares my work. It builds a feeling of camaraderie between me and the people that support the work that I do.
RW: Do you take suggestions or tailor future projects based on what people are liking?
BM: Not so much on what I decide to record, but I do take advice on titles for songs and what platform they would like to see it appear on. Mostly I do advice videos, bass covers where I play along with recordings of songs that people know where I add my bass part to it. I pay attention to what type of content people want to see the most, that influences future decision about what type of content to make.
RW: How much hip-hop music do you do relative to jazz?
BM: I do about an even mix of both. Of course there are hip-hop influences in jazz and vice versa, but I still do quite a bit of things that are more on the jazzy end, like upright bass, acoustic piano, and no vocalist, and then I do hip-hop shows at venues that are standing room. I have a three-piece band with me, a drummer, and an MC. I do the music production side of it and prepared the pre-recorded tracks. I play bass and trigger samples and tracks.
RW: I meet a lot of students that want to have a career making beats? How realistic do you think that is, considering all the competition? Should you know how to play an instrument, too?
BM: They need to have a good understanding of business models. I don’t think you can be tone deaf and no sense of rhythm. You need to be musically-inclined, but don’t necessarily have to master and instrument it, depending on what you want to do.
RW: Programs like FL Studio make it easier today to create beats than in the past. I think people run the risk of making the mistake of comparing their beats to those they hear on recordings, and then figure that they have a chance to be as successful as the people who made them.
BM: It’s all about understanding business models, what genre and subgenre you’re in, and the people who follow that and how to connect with them. That’s the critical thing. If you can understand the target for what you’re doing, and really hone in on how to get in front of those people consistently and build a community around your work. That determines success, more than whether you play an instrument or not. Of course the end product has to be good, but when it comes to the business side it’s more about marketing and reaching people once you have the product once you have it.
RW: Is the hip-hop community as much online as jazz?
BM: Acoustic jazz audiences tend to be a little older. Hip-hop audiences spend more time on smart phones and iPads and social media. They’re more adapted to those.
RW: What are some good websites for hip-hop?
BM: That’s a very broad question. There is a whole network of blogs and websites, and big YouTube channels for each type of hip-hop.
RW: What is the hip-hop scene like in Indianapolis?
BM: In the last few years there has been some interesting things going on, especially with the revitalization of Fountain Square. There’s a lot of talent congregating between the Hi Fi, the White Rabbit, the Pioneer, and a hip-hop festival in Fountain Square called Chreece which brings everybody from every subgenre of hip-hop to perform. You get a good feel of what everybody is doing. It’s really exciting. When I first moved here there were things going on, but’s it’s grown in the time I’ve been here. I think it’s promising.
RW: You’re from Gary, Indiana. Are you connecting with the Jackson family legacy?
BM: I’m from the same neighborhood. Their home is fenced off and being preserved as a historic site.
RW: Would you recommend touring in order to build your skills and fan base, or can a musician now stay at home and build an audience using social media?
BM: It’s still important, but musicians now have more options. You can build your audience online without going on tour. There are several artists with six-figure incomes doing music that don’t tour at all. They are so in tune with their support base, and everything they do is monetized. They understand what the various streams of income available for musicians and how to work them. Going on tour is just one. It expense-heavy compared to what you can do online. I would recommend going on tour to get the experience, but don’t look at it as your bread and butter. You definitely want to have things going on online.
RW: Any other advice for musicians?
BM: If you have a passion for music and it’s the thing that you really want to do in life, don’t be afraid to get out there and learn whatever you need to in order to make it happen. Don’t let anyone discourage you from doing it.
©2017 Brandon Meeks and Robert Willey