Interview with ChasingSound Blogger Brian Sutich

Where did your passion from music come from and how did you know you wanted to be involved with it?

I've loved music for as long as I can remember. I remember wanting to be involved with it at different steps in life.  Playing piano, switching over to guitar, becoming an engineer.  There were certain bands I saw or studios I visited, and I just knew, no matter what, that in some shape or form I wanted to be involved.

What do you enjoy doing more, playing and creating music or engineering?

That's a hard question. There's nothing like the feeling of playing a great show, and there's nothing like having completed a CD. Both things are very therapeutic for me. Whenever I play a guitar, I am calm.  In the studio it can get stressful at times, but it's so rewarding.

Have you produced anyone of note, and who would be your dream production job?

I've been blessed to work with so many great artists. I've worked with everyone from They Might Be Giants to people on Blue Note, local NJ bands, and more. I really don't care who the band is, I take every session seriously, because who knows who's going to blow up next? My dream producing job would probably be producing someone like Metallica, The Chili Peppers, Taking Back Sunday or anyone really who looks like they have a good time in the studio. Makes the process so much easier.

Tell me a little bit about your band life? What were your bands, where'd you tour, how successful were you?

While I've been in a bunch of bands, I've been in two that have really done some special things. My biggest two were Fakeknife and Emergency Now. Fakeknife was a punk rock band in the style of Fat Wreck type bands. We toured the country twice, played all the biggest places in Jersey, including the Warped Tour. With that band, we were just 20-something's travelling the country as best friends and constantly playing shows on the weekends. That was my favorite part of that band. I still really consider everyone in that band some of my best friends.  

Emergency Now took this a step further. Me and one other guy from Fakeknife met a singer/songwriter and we started doing pop rock. Emergency Now had some great songs, and I loved creating with those guys. We played Maxwell's in Hoboken, my hometown at the time, and it was tons of fun. Somewhere down the line, I see myself working with members of both bands on some project. We shall see!

What do you do now as a profession, and is it hard to balance a music life with that of a professional/husband/father?

I'm actually doing social media for this company Wine Library. One of my heroes in the social/entrepreneur field, Gary Vaynerchuk was nice enough to have me on the team, and I am eternally grateful for that. Everyone who works there is extremely talented and amazing. I really enjoy connecting with people every day. I do my best to balance my day job with my true love, music. I try and combine the two in my own blog. Being a new Dad has it's challenges, but my wife is amazing, and I couldn't live without her! Every week I still mix, record, and work on projects. So far, so good!

Is your blog a good outlet to keep your creativity flowing and have any opportunities come from it?

It helps in such a major way. The main reason I started the blog is because I hate people in professions who keep secrets. That's the total opposite of what I'm about. I want people to learn from me. The more people know, the better music people they will make, etc., and maybe I'll hear that music one day, and directly benefit from it. I'm a huge tech/social nerd.  I'm trying to combine the best of both worlds on Chasing Sound.  The blog has been giving me opportunities here and there, and I think it's on it's way to becoming something really special.

Where do you hope to see yourself in the next five years? As a blogger? As a engineer/musician? As a person?

I hope to see myself with a happy wife, and happy son (and maybe another kid?...ssshh!)  I see myself writing a lot of music at home, working on tons of projects. I want to keep blogging, not only for Chasing Sound, but guest blogging and more. Music saved my life, and is in my blood, so in some shape or form, I'll always be doing something musical. If time permits, I'd like to mix as much as possible each week.

How do you feel about the state of music today, and do you think it's heading in a good direction or a bad one?

I think the state of music is great. What I really think is that bands and labels have to change their strategy, and change it now. They should have changed a while back seeing where the industry was going. Labels complain that people aren't buying CD's in stores. Direct your songs to iTunes and Amazon, where people most definitely are buying songs. Bands have to engage with their fans. They can't just put out a CD and hope for the fans to come to them. People want to interact with you, so go for it. Make a FB page, make a Twitter account, and really interact with people who like your music.  The state of music is 'great' for bands. They have more opportunity than ever before.

Top five bands or or artists?

Another really difficult question for me. I'm legitimately into pretty much every genre of music. I'm always trying to find the good in every style, so it can inform my mixes in interesting ways. Plus, I feel like if you limit yourself to liking only one style of music, you're really missing out. I can tell you what bands I'm listening to a lot this week, and some are my all time favorites. Listening to a lot of Soundgarden, Taking Back Sunday, Porcupine Tree, The Roots, and Deadmau5.

Anything else to add?

Thanks so much for the interview. Anyone who wants to catch up, talk about music, or more, should hit up ChasingSound.CO or follow me on Twitter - @BSutich  Plus I'm literally all over the web. If there's a new social app, search my name, and I'm probably on there.  Today, rather than worry about yourself, do something nice for someone else, teach someone, help somebody out! It's good for your soul.

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