Off the Record with Nick and Trey

Welcome back! This week we continued some of our conversation about abundance (spurred originally by Thanksgiving), and we talk about that fine line we, as creators, walk when trying to make music. We all know that slippery slope when you want more gear, or new sample packs, or shiny new plugins that might help you make your music. At some point you transition from having the tools you need to basically managing an insane collection of tools, of which you'll never be able to fully utilize. How much is TOO much? At what point does the gear actually HURT your creative process? More options doesn't always mean better creation.

We adamantly support making something. Anything. Writing. Painting. Producing music. Whatever. But we understand the challenge of getting started. It's overwhelming and difficult. Inktober is a daily challenge for artists to join and draw a piece a day, for all of October. Inktober. Great idea, right? What we love about Inktober is that the concept gives you everything you need to get started. They even provide daily drawing prompts that you can follow for a daily theme. Literally all you have to do is commit to do it, and DO IT. After 31 days of doing anything everyday, you'll see incredible progress and growth. If you can extend 31 days into an entire year, your artistic ability will become insanely more powerful. All you have to do is commit, and go. We also talk about Chase Manhattan (IG @ManhattanBeats) who recently committed to doing a full year of producing one beat a day. Chase produces and DJs 'Drippy, low-end, gangster beats'. Check him out. And we mention AmperMusic.com - an artificial intelligence-driven music production platform. By entering a series of parameters, the AI will put together a song in the key you want, bpm, style of music, and instruments playing. Unfortunately for all of us pedestrians, they are discontinuing the free public beta version later this month. Go check it out and get inspired.

Nick shares his account of the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, where good vibes struck a chord that resonated with a bigger question: Why are the masters of their craft so fearless? 

To kick off season 2 of Off the Record, Nick tries free range VR for the first time on the Oculus Quest, Trey recounts his visit to Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge, and the two offer their usual pontifications about the powerful bond between creation and experience. Please check out our friend’s work on STAR WARS™ Secrets of the Empire by ILMxLAB and The Void https://www.thevoid.com/dimensions/star-wars-vr https://www.ilmxlab.com 

In our final episode of the year we reflect on our progress and share some thoughts about open mindedness. A collaborative spirit knows no bounds, and we all have a role to play toward a brighter future. We also reveal the name of our new project and the inspiration behind it. Here's to new beginnings. Neil Degrasse Tyson's ‘We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 2) - A New Perspective: https://youtu.be/BFO2usVjfQc (1:30 to 4:34) And sign up for updates from us at wediscovered.earth

Approaching the end of a season, we take some time to appreciate some talented live streamers and gab about gear. Trey has a bone to pick with Apple, about his dongle dilemma. With the constant move toward better tech, are musicians of modest means doomed to port purgatory? Check out the video we mentioned: Boiler Room, Crowdsourced with Jarreau Vandal https://youtu.be/N9wsk6jWnIM

Welcome back! We invited our great friend and super talented producer, musician, and vocalist, Bryan Brunt, to come and hang out. He shares his musical background, his perspective on world building through songs, and we share one of his recent tracks with his band Suckerforlights' last album Hearts Fade. Check out Suckerforlights: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3RtM2XLtS1JcM6ItQCVTXW?si=ikHTTUixQZWrn4V1KWazpw iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hearts-fade/1290574291

As the holiday season is cruising toward us, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all of the mayhem of shopping season is here. Nick talks about the mayhem of brand marketing and advertising during that season, and we connect that to the wave of efforts that creatives and musicians put into their own attempts at successful releases. Don't get enamored by the small waves of pop culture hits. Focus on the bigger picture and stick to your focus and passionate expression. Persistence and consistency will always win over the 'flash-in-the-pan' wins.

In episode 13 we talk about the realness of Derren Brown's latest Netflix special - Sacrifice, and its impact on us conceptually and emotionally (link below to the trailer). And we touch on a similar heaviness of the Anime show Attack on Titan. We also chat about Nick's trip to La Paz, Baja California Sur, whale sharks, and last week's podcast, recorded by Trey all by his lonesome. If you haven't heard it, go check it out because it's pretty great. Sacrifice Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpUpNv9uNSI Nick's Whale Shark Guide in La Paz (Yosef): http://www.bajades.com/en/ Blue Snowball Microphone: https://amzn.to/2OHWHLj Blue Snowflake Microphone: https://amzn.to/2DJEsnL The mic we use for our podcast: https://amzn.to/2qS9FN3

Nick is living it up in Mexico and Trey is tasked with recording Episode 12 alone. A rambling exploration of chaos, meaning, and influence from the mess that is Trey's brain.

This week, we hit the alliterative jackpot. We chat about the new fancy future-toupees, the social pressures of staying beautiful, and our processes to put down song ideas, and subsequently transform them into full concepts, and mixed albums. We're soon going to be sharing our mega preset pack for Sylenth1, and showing the synths that shape our tracks. Stay tuned!

Episode 10! We've made it this far, and we're stoked to keep going with you. This week we chat about Music platforms like Bandcamp and ReverbNation and their purpose in the independent music scene. We also chat about cover songs and what their value is for independent musicians. Finally, we hit on the bigger concept of being authentic in your music, or your brand, and how EASILY modern culture calls out the bulls%*t. Thank you for listening! If you have questions, or have specific needs that would help you pursue your goals, send us a voice message on Anchor, or hit us up on social media.

Thank you for listening! This episode goes into an interesting exploration of dreams and fear, which are often related. Watch the Funny or Die parody video that started this entire conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk2L8xU5jNs All fear boils down to the instinct of self preservation, and that social norms and taboos are constructed on the basis of self preservation, but that in modern times it's mostly unnecessary outside of your core group or community. The world is so big and so many people are communicating so quickly that we respond to social pressure when it may not have any real threat to us. Our survival instincts are far behind our rapid progress with culture and technology. but the basis of our fear is almost a law of nature: survival at all costs, even when there is no threat. So... if you were able to remove all of your instinctual reactions to fear – if you could erase fear of failure or embarrassment what would you do? If you found out that all of your fears are simply not logical, and your community gave you complete support, what would hold you back from pursuing your dreams? Just some deep thoughts, all spurred by a joke commercial about a toilet.

This episode is truly about the road through life. How long does it take for us to realize that the destination, the final product, the next album release, or whatever, is NOT the fulfilling part of our creative lives? The road to get there is where the magic lies and where we grow as individuals. Our journey through life is filled with challenges, and those challenges are what shape us. We talk about music performance, finding your inspiration within DAWs, what is or is not 'acceptable' at live shows, and we share our track from 2013, The Road, which is literally about enjoying the ride through life because sometimes.... it is JUST the ride that makes this entire trip worth all the while. If you're inspired by this, or want to reach out and share what you're working on – whether it's music, art, or anything creative – please reach out to us on twitter (@nickwichman) or instagram (@nickwichman or @treyhtatum). We'd love to see your projects! You can find The Road on our album Twin Paradox on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6eKRUemv0lO9wqHTz0Rhzc

S01E06 - The worst show we ever played was on Halloween, 2010. We had a huge production and costumes, and costume changes, but we could never really anticipate the total failure that happened due to our lack of resources for music groups like us in the electronic music scene. Listen and let us know what you think. We also talk about our last album, GOLD, Justin Boreta and his produced meditation with Ram Dass, the challenge of performing with only two members and super emotional music, and truly being present in every moment. Thanks for listening. Justin Boreta's 'Imagine' w/ Ram Dass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPrjX2yqGC4

This last week has been packed with changes, big events, and inspiring moments. Nick and Trey talk about The Beyond – a sci-fi movie on Netflix that totally surprised us by its powerful themes and creative execution. Nick talks about his experience going to Vandenberg Air Force Base to shoot video and photo content around NASA's ICESat-2 satellite launch – using the very last Delta 2 rocket. We also chat about Mel Robbins' book, The 5-Second Rule, and it's impact, as well as Nick's coincidental purchase of the book only hours after the NASA launch. Listen and you'll hear why that's so interesting. We also chat about how NASA and astrophysicists have inspired our work, and share one of our most researched tracks from our album Twin Paradox (2013). Links mentioned in this episode: Twin Paradox Album: https://open.spotify.com/album/6eKRUemv0lO9wqHTz0Rhzc The Time Machine music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_HaITmpNNY Science pals: Peter Neff, Nathan Kurtz, Brooke Medley

Episode 4! We chat about the epic experience that Nick had when meeting a glass replacement guy - Don Calvin. We also chat about paying it forward with positivity, and how to escape the digital advertising hell that is social media networks.

Are you a creator? A writer? A musician? Have you struggled with self-doubt? We talk about how to follow YOUR OWN heart to produce work that is objectively you, un learning to see beyond your fear of failure and judgement. We all started somewhere and, whether or not you look back on your first creations with pride and/or embarrassment, that led you to where you are today, and will lead you to where you'll be in 10 years. We talk briefly about Candice Pool Neistat and her rad company, Billy!, as well as her and her husband Casey's podcast 'Couples Therapy with Candice and Casey', and we share one of the tracks on our first album, From Satellites. Our origin. Both the catalyst for our creativity and a not-so well mixed audio experience. We also mention our great friends, Bryan and Olivia in the Portland shoegaze / dreampop band, Suckerforlights (https://suckerforlights.bandcamp.com/). Go check them out.

In our second episode of Off the Record, Nick and Trey talk about violence and the downtown Portland homeless community, the cannabis industry and some epic industry technology, and we push into the importance of open source tech/creative and the impact that has on the future of humanity. We also share a new track from our next album. For your eyes only. First preview. Ever.

This is our first official episode! Thanks for listening! We discuss our music backgrounds and licensing, augmented reality, Trey's job doing web dev and support, Nick's NASA content opportunity, vape culture and Juul, Artlist.io's licensing platform, and objective creative concepts standing firm despite subjective personal opinions. If you'd like to come and join one of our episodes and talk about music production, creativity, tech, or other random cultural moments, reach out to us on Instagram (@nickwichman or @treyhtatum).