WEBVTT 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:12.720 My role is not to impress the mind, but to impact 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:16.339 the heart. My role is to hold your hand through 00:00:16.339 --> 00:00:19.100 whatever it is that you're going through. And 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:24.280 my role is to sometimes even bring forth attention 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.940 to a need that you may not even know you had. 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:32.979 We live in a time where we have seen everything. 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:42.579 everything. And yet we live in a time where we 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:49.119 no longer feel anything. Be in an Uber in the 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:51.380 backseat with the window down and have a smile 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:55.119 on your face because this song just tracks so 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:01.140 well. That is what I hope my music will do, is 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:12.709 invite the listener to simply just... Welcome 00:01:12.709 --> 00:01:15.310 to the very first episode of Season 6 of The 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:18.489 Piano Pod, my friends. It's finally here. How 00:01:18.489 --> 00:01:21.510 was your summer? I had a great one. Not much 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:24.689 traveling, but a really productive summer. I 00:01:24.689 --> 00:01:27.469 share more about that in the Season 6 intro episode, 00:01:27.609 --> 00:01:30.390 which came out last week, so be sure to catch 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:33.030 up if you haven't yet. The link is in the show 00:01:33.030 --> 00:01:37.230 notes. This season is all about creativity and 00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:39.780 connection. And I can't tell you how thrilled 00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:42.859 I am to begin the season new chapter with you. 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:45.760 One of the biggest announcements is something 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.840 I have been dreaming of for a long time. Our 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.840 very first live event on October 4th, the Piano 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:56.099 Pot Live in Concert at Stiefel Hall, presented 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:58.819 in partnership with Manus Prep at the New School, 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:02.099 a pre -college music program offering comprehensive 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:06.040 and nurturing training for young musicians. All 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:08.400 the details are in the introductory episode as 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.460 well. And if you're in the New York City area 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:14.300 on October 4th, I'd love for you to join us. 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:17.919 Let's celebrate creativity, connection, and live 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:22.300 music together. And now let's talk about today's 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:25.400 guest. To start this season of creativity and 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:28.360 connection, I can't think of a more fitting guest 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.680 than Steinway artist, composer, and wellness 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:36.360 advocate, Chad Lawson. Chad is not only a composer 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:39.039 and pianist whose music has reached millions 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.919 around the world, he is also the creator and 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:45.360 host of the renowned podcast, Calm It Down, where 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.639 he helps people slow down, breathe, and find 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.319 a moment of peace in the middle of life's chaos. 00:02:51.740 --> 00:02:55.639 And in 2024, he became the very first musician 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.979 to be appointed a United Nations Ambassador for 00:02:58.979 --> 00:03:02.080 the World Federation of Mental Health, composing 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:05.599 The Light Within. as the official theme song 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.360 for World Mental Health Day. But what moves me 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.240 most about Chad is the way he approaches his 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:16.900 artistry with deep kindness and empathy. A little 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.360 spoiler here. He told me in our conversation 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.900 that there are artists who create for themselves 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:25.479 and there are other artists who create for their 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.020 audience. And he said, I create because I want 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:31.319 to help people with whatever they are going through 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:36.159 emotionally. That's my role as an artist. When 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.860 you listen to his music, you can feel the intention 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:42.360 that he is right there with you, offering presence, 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:48.020 compassion through sound. So, as we open this 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:51.219 new season, I invite you to lean in. This is 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:53.479 not just a conversation about music. It's about 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.719 presence, empathy, and what it means to create 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.870 with others in mind. And before we begin, I want 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:03.590 to thank you for being here. Every time you hit 00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:06.729 the thumbs up, leave a rating, subscribe on your 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:09.169 favorite podcast platform, or share an episode 00:04:09.169 --> 00:04:12.210 with your friend, it really helps this work continue. 00:04:12.590 --> 00:04:16.629 It means the world to me. Here is Season 6, Episode 00:04:16.629 --> 00:04:19.790 1 of The Piano Pod with Billboard chart -topping 00:04:19.790 --> 00:04:24.089 artist and UN Ambassador Chad Lawson. Please 00:04:24.089 --> 00:04:31.519 enjoy the show. You are listening to The Piano 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:33.899 Pod, where we talk to the brightest minds in 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.100 the industry about how they are bringing the 00:04:36.100 --> 00:04:39.019 piano into the future and thriving in a complex, 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:46.180 ever -evolving world. Chad, welcome to The Piano 00:04:46.180 --> 00:04:49.000 Pod, and thank you so much for being here today. 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:52.300 What an honor. Oh my gosh, Yukimi. I mean, honestly, 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:57.160 the honor is mine. Congrats on the new episode 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:01.410 series. This is fantastic. I'm going to turn 00:05:01.410 --> 00:05:04.970 the conversation just a little bit and ask you 00:05:04.970 --> 00:05:09.329 in the five seasons, right? This is season six, 00:05:09.410 --> 00:05:13.029 right? My word, so much work. In the five seasons, 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:16.949 what has surprised you the most about the conversations 00:05:16.949 --> 00:05:21.550 you've had? Like right now, I have never thought 00:05:21.550 --> 00:05:25.490 I would be asked that question. That's a surprise. 00:05:26.189 --> 00:05:29.800 You said, what surprised me? Yeah, if you could, 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:33.860 like, what has, like, yeah, like, what if up 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:38.939 to this point? That, wow, classical musicians, 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.879 you know, because this is a classical piano podcast. 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:50.360 We are so creative people. Yeah, you know, because 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:56.199 the training was so hard and as much as we love 00:05:56.199 --> 00:06:02.199 it, but. It was a strict rigor training. But 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:07.060 then when I talked to the people, wow, we are 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:11.480 such creatives. And I've been, I'm learning so 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:15.399 much. I've been so encouraged. Because the beginning 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:19.259 of, the reason why, one of the reasons why I 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:22.259 wanted to start it was that I was quite angry, 00:06:22.420 --> 00:06:25.740 you know? It's like, the classical music is dead. 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:28.449 it's dying. I've been hearing this over and over 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:30.430 and it's like, it is, you know, I'm teaching 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:32.930 young children. And then when I see them, they 00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:36.889 listen to pop music, which is great. But so, 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:39.209 you know, that's how I started. But when I dig 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:42.230 deeper into this conversation and meet more people, 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:44.709 and then lately I've been invited to so many 00:06:44.709 --> 00:06:48.029 events by guests. And then I realized, wow, we're 00:06:48.029 --> 00:06:52.949 a bunch of crazy creative people. Yeah. Well, 00:06:53.029 --> 00:06:56.540 I think you really hit on something. Um, which 00:06:56.540 --> 00:07:00.199 is like, I think that there is an audience that 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.379 we actually don't even see, right? Like, like, 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:06.420 like even with my music, and I think this is 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:09.079 the case with classical and neoclassical and 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:12.779 instrumental music is like, there's a large listening 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:15.000 audience for it. I mean, there are, you know, 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:19.439 you know, playlists on streaming music where 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:23.530 that's some of their largest playlisting. And 00:07:23.530 --> 00:07:26.449 it's this type of music. And so I think the interesting 00:07:26.449 --> 00:07:28.490 thing is, is like, sorry to dive in here really 00:07:28.490 --> 00:07:31.709 quick, but I think to your point of like, you 00:07:31.709 --> 00:07:33.370 know, I was thinking the same thing too, which 00:07:33.370 --> 00:07:35.850 is like, you know, classical music is dead. It 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:39.310 has no longer any relevance. Like people are 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:42.949 giving away pianos. I think the interesting thing 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:47.110 about what the pandemic did is it went back and 00:07:47.110 --> 00:07:49.629 it showed the importance of one creativity to 00:07:49.629 --> 00:07:52.529 your point. And it also highlighted just like 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:56.250 the need for us to create and to like really 00:07:56.250 --> 00:07:59.810 put our hands to things. Then also to like have 00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:02.089 that activity of like creating something beautiful 00:08:02.089 --> 00:08:07.370 that's also like calming music. And so it's one 00:08:07.370 --> 00:08:12.569 of those things where if you look at the genre 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:15.550 of the music that we're doing, like if we look 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:20.399 at my data, I'm a data nerd. Sunday night through 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.199 Thursday, like my numbers or streaming numbers 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.360 are super high, which I'm grateful. Come Thursday 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:30.500 night, they drop like a rock because nobody wants 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:32.559 to listen to this on the weekends. And then, 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.259 but Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening, they 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:38.320 come up again. Right. And so like you have like. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.440 This large group of people that just want something 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.600 on the background to either read or to study 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.700 or to relax or just not be distracted when they're 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:50.639 doing something. And I think it's really interesting 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:55.320 what the landscape has changed so much with streaming 00:08:55.320 --> 00:09:00.100 music because it's removed that barrier of this 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:03.500 is classical, this is not, or this is one genre 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:06.519 and this is not. And so like even now, I mean, 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.340 you know, my my oldest son, he turns 15 in two 00:09:10.340 --> 00:09:15.580 weeks and I'll go through and he'll be listening 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:20.159 to like, you know, solo violin or he'll be listening 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:24.080 to Queen or he'll be listening to, you know, 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.080 some random bands I've never heard of. But then 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.159 you go back again and then he's listening to 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.700 Bach, you know, and it's like I think the incredible 00:09:31.700 --> 00:09:34.990 thing is it's removed that barrier. that it has 00:09:34.990 --> 00:09:38.110 to be one of these things. And now that I don't 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:40.929 even know if the word curiosity comes into play 00:09:40.929 --> 00:09:43.490 anymore. Cause I mean, I think it used to like 00:09:43.490 --> 00:09:45.370 people used to have to be like really curious 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:47.990 to find good music. And it's like, no, it's out 00:09:47.990 --> 00:09:50.029 there. You just have to look for it. And I almost 00:09:50.029 --> 00:09:52.190 think we're at a point now where it's just like, 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:55.330 how much like, do you really have to go out of 00:09:55.330 --> 00:09:57.250 your way to find it? You know? And so I think 00:09:57.250 --> 00:10:00.009 it's beautiful. I think it's fantastic. Sorry. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:04.179 But I also I think that's why, you know, you're 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.200 starting off with season six, because like you 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.379 have so much conversation and so many people 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:10.860 that are not only wanting to share, but also 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.159 wanting to hear. I think it's really fantastic. 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:17.120 Oh, same. I feel the same thing way about you 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:20.659 and how you're reaching to your audience. And 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:22.980 then, in fact, a couple of weeks ago, I have 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:27.600 a lot of adult students now where they have never 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.139 taken lessons. They live in I live in Brooklyn. 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:34.279 and williamsburg so the generation is younger 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:38.179 you know young uh millennials or gen z i'm seeing 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:42.279 gen z's as well and then they i'm surprised at 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:46.220 how much they are eager to learn you know and 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:51.840 they didn't receive proper music education per 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:55.240 se you know and so music to them is just pressing 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:58.600 their device and listening instead of creating 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:05.559 So, and they love listening to, yeah, minimalistic 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.940 music. And then I introduce your music because 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.639 I got to know your music through this conversation 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:15.899 before even then. And they love it. They fell 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:18.669 in love. And then they're like, when does this 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:22.289 episode come out? Oh, thank you. That's so kind. 00:11:22.309 --> 00:11:26.129 Yeah, so there's a magic that you do to be able 00:11:26.129 --> 00:11:30.309 to connect, not just in terms of this traditional 00:11:30.309 --> 00:11:36.710 concert, live concert setting, but also podcast 00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:40.710 has your music and also meditative because you're 00:11:40.710 --> 00:11:46.429 a certified meditation teacher, right? So certified 00:11:46.429 --> 00:11:48.929 in breathwork. I have a couple of certifications 00:11:48.929 --> 00:11:51.730 in breathwork education, and then I go around 00:11:51.730 --> 00:11:55.149 to universities and just help young adults just 00:11:55.149 --> 00:11:59.970 decompress. I help them learn what anxiety is 00:11:59.970 --> 00:12:04.169 or learn how to just kind of downshift, which 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:08.429 is, it's, I mean, it's, it's open doors that 00:12:08.429 --> 00:12:12.470 I never have ever imagined as far as like the 00:12:12.470 --> 00:12:16.080 mindfulness space. But I mean, that's, You know, 00:12:16.100 --> 00:12:20.440 it's funny because we have two types of artists. 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:24.539 We have the artists that they have to produce 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:27.860 art because that is what they have to do. So 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.840 like the David Bowies, right, or the Todd Rundgrens 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.220 or the Thelonious Monks. They didn't care. They 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:36.840 just had to create. And it didn't matter to them 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:39.220 what kind of response they received. So we need 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:41.750 those types of artists. And then the other artist 00:12:41.750 --> 00:12:44.789 is artists that create for their audience, that 00:12:44.789 --> 00:12:47.830 they know what their audience is and they want 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:51.529 to be able to say, I'm creating with you in mind. 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:53.990 We need those artists too. And I feel like I 00:12:53.990 --> 00:12:57.230 fall in that category, which is like I create 00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:01.029 because I want to help people. with whatever 00:13:01.029 --> 00:13:03.149 it is they're going through emotionally. And 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:05.070 it took me a long time to actually be okay with 00:13:05.070 --> 00:13:07.590 that. Not okay with like helping people, but 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:10.350 okay with the mindset of like, that is my role 00:13:10.350 --> 00:13:13.429 in creating. And the reason why I say that is 00:13:13.429 --> 00:13:15.549 because to your point, and you've spoken to many 00:13:15.549 --> 00:13:19.110 pianists, like we spend our lives locked away 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:22.590 in a room with one of these things and four hours 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.110 on end, right? Six hours a day to where you're 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:27.190 just mastering your craft, you're honing your 00:13:27.190 --> 00:13:29.470 craft, you're really wanting to be able to play. 00:13:30.190 --> 00:13:36.149 like perfectly, right? And so it only makes sense 00:13:36.149 --> 00:13:40.470 that as an artist or a composer or what have 00:13:40.470 --> 00:13:42.750 you, that they would then want to bring that 00:13:42.750 --> 00:13:48.970 music to fruition. But the interesting thing 00:13:48.970 --> 00:13:52.169 that I found for me personally, because I came 00:13:52.169 --> 00:13:54.210 from a really strong jazz background, and so 00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:57.250 like improvisation, and so it was classical, 00:13:57.330 --> 00:14:00.340 and then it was jazz. And I still study jazz. 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:02.759 I still take lessons. But it's one of those things 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:05.019 where it's just like when I started doing like 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:08.039 this solo piano, like neoclassical, post -classical, 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:10.480 minimalist kind of thing, you know, my mindset 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.500 was like, I'm going to raise the bar. Like I'm 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:15.480 really going to like, let's bring something like 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:19.580 really creative. And the interesting thing was 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:24.019 that music fell flat. It did not land anywhere. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:26.980 I don't say anywhere, but it was one of those 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:30.919 things where it's just like. it just didn't work. 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.360 And so I really had to stop and think about it 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.860 because I was really trying to do something incredibly 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:39.259 creative in this minimalist space. And what I 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:42.980 came to figure out is people don't want to be 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:46.159 challenged. And I mean that respectfully. And 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.200 so let me explain that a little bit. They don't 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:52.840 want to be challenged in the sense of they might 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:55.440 work a job that they don't enjoy. Or they might 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.200 come home to like a leaky faucet or maybe to 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:01.519 like a sick kid or to, you know, fill in the 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.980 blank of all the things that we go through every 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:06.879 day. And so like the last thing that they want 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.620 to come home and put on a vinyl or put on some 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:14.039 music and then have the, okay, now I'm going 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:18.039 to focus. Like nobody has that bandwidth whatsoever. 00:15:19.349 --> 00:15:22.090 And so like, that's kind of what was happening. 00:15:22.230 --> 00:15:24.149 It was just like, no, this is really creative. 00:15:24.230 --> 00:15:26.850 Check out this sharp 11 and check out these subdominants 00:15:26.850 --> 00:15:29.129 and the, you know, tritone substitutions. And 00:15:29.129 --> 00:15:31.129 people were just like, yeah, man, I don't have 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:32.850 the headspace for that. I just want something 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:35.289 that's just going to like make me feel better. 00:15:35.929 --> 00:15:38.570 Right. And so that took me a long time to figure 00:15:38.570 --> 00:15:40.830 out. And then once I figured that out, I was 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:44.620 just like, oh, okay. you know so going back to 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:46.419 those two types of artists the ones that create 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:48.580 the ones that you know create for their audience 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:53.220 i fall in that category because for me personally 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:56.860 um i'm an empath by nature and so like i don't 00:15:56.860 --> 00:15:58.840 want to create something and then put it out 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.840 there and then just ignore the audience like 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.740 like i want to be really intentional because 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.840 you know my audience which i'm really grateful 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.990 for they're very they reach out and they share 00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:12.889 and they share messages and they share emails 00:16:12.889 --> 00:16:15.509 and they share, you know, after a live performance, 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:18.009 they'll come up and they'll want to talk. And 00:16:18.009 --> 00:16:22.429 they'll say, you know, my father is, you know, 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:25.129 struggling through all these things. And I just 00:16:25.129 --> 00:16:26.850 sit and I listen to your music and I, I just, 00:16:26.889 --> 00:16:30.549 I cry. And so at that point, it really becomes 00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:35.509 less about creating for the sake of just creating 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:41.460 to like, to be. to be sharp 11 tritone subdominance 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:44.559 to where you're just creating music because you 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.860 just literally want to help people. And for me 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:50.519 personally, that is kind of what I landed on 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:55.320 two years ago, like specifically. I waited tables 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:57.019 for 15 years. I'm going to go down the rabbit 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:59.179 trail really quick. I waited tables for 15 years. 00:16:59.629 --> 00:17:02.409 And New York. Peter Luger's actually was my last 00:17:02.409 --> 00:17:05.450 job up in New York City. Oh, I live very near. 00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:10.509 Amazing place, amazing people. But I mean, you 00:17:10.509 --> 00:17:12.849 know, as an artist, I mean, that's the role. 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:14.829 I mean, you have a stake in one hand and you 00:17:14.829 --> 00:17:16.910 have a promo pack in the other. And so you're 00:17:16.910 --> 00:17:18.990 constantly trying to like, you know, find a gig 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:21.329 while still working and whatnot. But the interesting 00:17:21.329 --> 00:17:23.730 thing about waiting tables that taught me the 00:17:23.730 --> 00:17:26.529 greatest thing is how to connect with people. 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:29.619 Because at every given point, you have about 00:17:29.619 --> 00:17:32.240 30 different personalities that you're trying 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.359 to tend to and navigate and eggshell and connect 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:41.500 with and also just take care of. And that's the 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:45.240 role of someone, I see it, as waiting tables. 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:50.119 And so if someone ran out of their water and 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:53.539 they had to ask, then I missed that opportunity 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:55.920 to take care of them. I totally dropped the ball. 00:17:56.589 --> 00:17:59.950 Whereas if I refill their water without them 00:17:59.950 --> 00:18:02.730 even noticing that they were low or without them 00:18:02.730 --> 00:18:05.930 asking, then I'm taking care of them. I'm accommodating 00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:07.970 their needs even without them knowing they have 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:12.269 a need. Now, the way I see art, for me personally, 00:18:12.450 --> 00:18:16.990 is the same. My role is to hold your hand through 00:18:16.990 --> 00:18:19.750 whatever it is that you're going through. And 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:24.950 my role is to sometimes... even bring forth attention 00:18:24.950 --> 00:18:27.569 to a need that you may not even know you had. 00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:31.150 And so what that means is creating something 00:18:31.150 --> 00:18:33.950 where someone can just sit in stillness, close 00:18:33.950 --> 00:18:37.150 your eyes and listen to something. And then they 00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:40.869 begin to peel back some of the self -reflection. 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:46.069 They begin to ask, what am I feeling? What emotions 00:18:46.069 --> 00:18:49.509 am I going through right now? Right. But they 00:18:49.509 --> 00:18:53.230 have to have that bed. for that. And I think 00:18:53.230 --> 00:18:55.869 that's where the creative element comes in. So 00:18:55.869 --> 00:18:58.529 it's almost as if like, we're not creating to, 00:18:58.650 --> 00:19:04.269 I always say this, my role is not to impress 00:19:04.269 --> 00:19:08.589 the mind, but impact the heart. And I think that's 00:19:08.589 --> 00:19:12.289 really important as far as creatives. It's just 00:19:12.289 --> 00:19:14.069 like, we have to get to the point where it's 00:19:14.069 --> 00:19:16.609 like, it's not about impressing the mind. It 00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:18.789 really is about impacting the heart and just 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:22.549 letting that really resonate. Because songs are 00:19:22.549 --> 00:19:26.329 given to us. I have this woo -woo theory that 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:30.390 I might lose some people here. But what if, imagine, 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:33.549 Yukimi, that, like, every song has already been 00:19:33.549 --> 00:19:37.849 written. Every song, right? So, like, imagine, 00:19:37.890 --> 00:19:41.269 like, Fur Elise to where, like, Fur Elise was 00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:44.130 already created. It was just looking for that 00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:47.369 person, like, the specific person that was going 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:50.329 to bring that song into fruition. so like who 00:19:50.329 --> 00:19:53.849 is in the headspace to be able to say i'll take 00:19:53.849 --> 00:19:55.529 it i'm the person that's going to bring that 00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:58.730 to you right and the reason why this is the case 00:19:58.730 --> 00:20:02.029 and i'm just bear with me here it's just like 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:04.089 how many doors if you're at least knock on before 00:20:04.089 --> 00:20:06.490 beethoven was in the headspace of being like 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:11.150 i'm i'm the person for this because songs are 00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:16.089 given to us they're not ours We are a catalyst 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:18.789 of art. We are a catalyst of emotion. We are 00:20:18.789 --> 00:20:21.769 a catalyst of healing, of comfort, of dancing, 00:20:22.190 --> 00:20:24.609 of singing, of all the things that are attached 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:29.589 to art, right? And so like our role as artists, 00:20:29.650 --> 00:20:33.190 the way I see it, is we are given something and 00:20:33.190 --> 00:20:36.109 then we have to release what that is. And so 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:38.750 like when we release what that creative piece 00:20:38.750 --> 00:20:41.910 is, be it poetry, be it music, be it fill in 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:45.430 the blank. Then that piece of art is going to 00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:48.970 be able to go further because we're letting it 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:54.150 go rather than us saying, this is mine, I created 00:20:54.150 --> 00:20:57.329 it, and you should listen to it and then give 00:20:57.329 --> 00:21:00.670 me praise. At that point, the intention of that 00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:06.029 art is capped. It has a glass ceiling. So that 00:21:06.029 --> 00:21:08.170 can only go so far. Is it beautiful? It might 00:21:08.170 --> 00:21:11.529 be. Yeah, very much so. But have you just all 00:21:11.529 --> 00:21:14.460 of a sudden... capped where that piece of art 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:18.900 can really go yeah and so if we get into this 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:21.720 creative vibe this creative mindset of like we're 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:23.920 meant to create but we also have to realize that 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:27.380 creation is meant to like go further than we 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:29.880 would ever be able to do it on our own right 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:33.000 so even with me with writing with writing music 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:38.079 i never name my songs so the songs are always 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:41.619 like whatever the key is so you know so on the 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:46.700 album breathe you know g minor c minor d right 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:49.039 and like even that like on the scores and the 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:51.500 charts they're all labeled that so because the 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:55.059 reason is i don't want to dictate what that song 00:21:55.059 --> 00:22:01.539 is meant to bring to life um so a lot of times 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.059 i have no idea what the song is about and so 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:05.920 for me personally the way i create the way i 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.960 write is i'll get a melody in my head and then 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:11.960 another melody in my head, and then another melody 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.319 in my head. And then once I have all of these 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:17.359 melodies in my head, then I go to the piano and 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:21.460 I write out the melodies. And then I go and I 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:23.759 start building the chords and the structure around 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.220 the melodies. But so I'm not one of those people 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:29.700 that just like... you know, sit for 45 minutes 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:31.599 every day and just write, you know, this is the 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.259 time. And there are people that do that and that's 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:36.519 good on them. That's fantastic. For me, I have 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:40.180 found that doesn't really work so well. And so 00:22:40.180 --> 00:22:44.960 we record the album and they're all called this 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.619 key signatures. And then I'll usually take about 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:52.240 a month away from the recording. So I won't listen 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:54.160 to it for a month. So I want to like kind of 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:56.900 step away from it a little bit. And then I'll 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:59.259 just, after about a month, I'll sit and I'll 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:01.680 have the album playing very lightly in the background 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:04.500 and I'll just read. I'll read poetry. I'm a huge 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:07.440 poetry nerd. And I'll just sit through and then 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:10.279 I'll just, as I'm reading something and I hear 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:14.680 something, then I'll be like, that kind of connects. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:18.119 What I'm reading right now and that song, they 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:21.519 kind of connect with each other. But the reason 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:23.740 why I do this is because I don't want, if I were 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:28.559 to write a song, and title it sunflowers you 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.779 instantly have an image of sunflowers whereas 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:34.819 like you might hate sunflowers and so like you 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:36.539 would probably see that and just be like skip 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:39.059 i don't want to hear that right and so like if 00:23:39.059 --> 00:23:42.599 we allow ourselves to be giving of whatever the 00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:46.000 song is and so case in point there is a song 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.480 on the album breathe um called called g minor 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:54.259 um called filter forever And it's very similar 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.500 to that song. Like that song began to tell me 00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:58.799 what it was about during the recording session. 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:03.799 So we were at Abbey Road Studio 2. I had cellist 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.539 Peter Gregson with me and I had violinist Esther 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:08.819 Yu. And so the three of us were literally in 00:24:08.819 --> 00:24:11.359 the same room together. The red light was on. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.880 We're playing this song called G minor. And in 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:18.359 the middle of the song, I started getting these 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:22.859 images just flooding me. of my mom and dad and 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:26.119 their happiest moments. And I had lost my dad 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:29.579 about two years before that. So fairly recent. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.319 And it was just overwhelming. And so like, and 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:35.720 they were like these little moments, like them 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.380 watching TV together or having a picnic or like, 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:41.599 you know, driving on the parkway. But like, I 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.140 instantly started getting flooded with these 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:46.339 images and just like to the point where like. 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:48.640 I'm like, okay, I really appreciate you telling 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:50.380 me what the song is about, but could you have 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:53.519 waited until after we recorded it? So it was 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:56.480 really overwhelming. And it was one of those 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.440 things where like, I allowed that song to kind 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:03.579 of tell me where it was supposed to go. And that 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:05.640 is the one song that every time I play that live, 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.039 someone comes up and goes, you know, I have no 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.359 idea what that song is about, but it just wrecks 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:14.059 me every time I hear it, right? So the role of 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:19.710 a creator. is to be selfless and to rid ourself 00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:22.750 of the idea of like, this is my creation. I own 00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:24.630 it. I created it. You should be proud of me. 00:25:25.529 --> 00:25:28.549 To where it's like, hey, you know what? I was 00:25:28.549 --> 00:25:31.589 given flowers and now I want to turn around and 00:25:31.589 --> 00:25:34.569 I want to give these flowers to you. So that's 00:25:34.569 --> 00:25:37.890 how I see creativity for me personally. Wow. 00:25:38.890 --> 00:25:44.599 Thank you. I know. No, lovely, beautiful. Thank 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:50.220 you so much. So I don't know, it's the way you 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:57.599 write songs, music, or the way you speak. There's 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:01.339 something about you, your artistry set them apart 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:07.000 from others. So what do you think that is besides 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:11.720 what you just mentioned? Well, I have a different 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:15.200 voice. Like every artist has, like, you know, 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.579 I hadn't planned on playing the piano, oddly 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:21.700 enough. But if you look at the piano, let's take 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:23.920 an octave, for instance. Yeah, you can see that. 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:27.460 And if you look at this octave, like each note 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:30.700 is entirely different. So like this C will always 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:34.059 be a C. This D will always be a D. They each 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:36.640 have their own tonality to them. I feel like 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:39.759 artists are the same way. So like, you know, 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:43.039 with certain songs, if I'm in the key of C, more 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:44.900 than likely I'm not going to be playing an F 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:48.119 sharp. It just doesn't fit, right? And so if 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:51.680 you think about how certain notes are really 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:53.819 important, they're actually, they're all important, 00:26:53.940 --> 00:26:57.859 but they're not always needed in that particular 00:26:57.859 --> 00:27:00.599 environment, such as a song in the key of C. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:05.440 And we know that like when you're listening to 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.640 something pleasant, it's because you have these 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:11.279 keys and they sound pleasant. I feel like artists 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:15.200 are the same way. to where every artist has their 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:19.180 own particular key. And for some people, that 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:22.160 note is going to ring out really beautiful on 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:24.579 a song. But some people might hear that same 00:27:24.579 --> 00:27:26.940 note or that same song and be like, eh, it's 00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:31.759 not for me. And it's no shade on the artist that 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:34.759 it's not for them. Everyone has their own particular 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.940 taste. I don't know if you've ever watched that 00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:41.680 Philip Glass documentary called Glass. The opening 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:43.200 scene is one of my favorite things in the entire 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.839 planet. It's like, it's him on a roller coaster 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:49.759 and he's doing this voiceover and he says it 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:52.619 so perfectly. The only, you know, Philip Glass 00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:54.900 is the only person that could say this. And the 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:58.059 voiceover is like, there is so much music out 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:01.240 there. You have Bach, you have the Beatles, you 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:03.400 have the Rolling Stones, you have any list, like, 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:05.740 you know, whatever. And he goes, you don't have 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:10.029 to listen to me. I don't care. Just go listen 00:28:10.029 --> 00:28:12.210 to something, something that like makes you feel 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:14.869 alive. And I'm like, that's it right there. Like 00:28:14.869 --> 00:28:19.470 we all have like our definitive note and the 00:28:19.470 --> 00:28:22.609 notes that I play, they're going to land somewhere 00:28:22.609 --> 00:28:25.410 with someone, but they're also not going to land 00:28:25.410 --> 00:28:29.509 with some people. Whereas like you, you can be, 00:28:29.609 --> 00:28:33.670 you can be, sorry. Your notes are going to land 00:28:33.670 --> 00:28:37.990 probably in an audience that. my notes won't. 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:40.730 And so I think that's really important for us 00:28:40.730 --> 00:28:44.170 to like, you know, to create, not compete. That's 00:28:44.170 --> 00:28:46.210 kind of a mantra to live by. It's like, we're 00:28:46.210 --> 00:28:48.470 not here to like compete. We're here to create 00:28:48.470 --> 00:28:51.069 and to understand that like everybody has their 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:55.490 unique key. And also a really big thing that 00:28:55.490 --> 00:28:59.650 I, I personally choose to do is not listen to 00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:05.700 artists in my circle, in my genre. So many of 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:08.839 them are friends. They're incredibly talented, 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:12.400 but I make it a higher priority not to listen 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.299 to them because I don't want to be influenced 00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:17.079 by them. And that's really important because 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:21.000 I recognize that they have their audience and 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:23.180 that their audience is their audience, whereas 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:26.559 my audience is my audience. And so why would 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:31.839 I try to deceive my audience in trying to sound 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:36.279 like someone else? So that's just me personally. 00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:38.339 Coming from the jazz background, it's one of 00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:40.900 those things where you hear something and you 00:29:40.900 --> 00:29:42.759 steal it and then you begin to play it and you 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:45.740 begin to make it yours. I want to make sure that 00:29:45.740 --> 00:29:50.180 I'm respecting those artists, the artists that 00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:54.019 are in this circle, and not trying to mimic or 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:57.200 replicate or to steal from what they're doing 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:59.500 as well. And so I think, I don't know if that 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:02.970 has something to do with why... as you mentioned, 00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:06.630 which is so kind. My sound might be a little 00:30:06.630 --> 00:30:10.250 different than others. I really am trying to 00:30:10.250 --> 00:30:12.890 keep it as pure and authentic to my own self 00:30:12.890 --> 00:30:15.990 as I can. That's my hope, at least, for sure. 00:30:17.349 --> 00:30:21.009 Let's talk about your actual album, the latest 00:30:21.009 --> 00:30:26.769 one, Where We Are, Unity Edition. I understand 00:30:26.769 --> 00:30:29.410 that you mentioned about your audience. There 00:30:29.410 --> 00:30:34.579 is an original version. which is the 2024, right? 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:39.079 Yeah. And then the 2024 version, I believe I 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:43.980 read somewhere that there were a lot of DMs or 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:48.180 emails from your audiences, your fans, and that 00:30:48.180 --> 00:30:53.480 inspired to create where we are to the original 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:57.880 2024. But that evolved into so many different. 00:30:58.619 --> 00:31:01.619 things and then came together as unity edition 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.539 so can you tell us what they are please sure 00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:07.099 absolutely i'd be happy to so the funny thing 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:11.579 about where we are um i had already started writing 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:14.839 a whole different album and it was about dreams 00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:18.539 it was about the dreams we chase like why do 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:20.519 you go after that dream that you're going after 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:24.700 and what if you never caught that dream like 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:26.519 what if it never happened would you still continue 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:29.339 every day like going after it So it was very 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:32.900 much like appreciating the challenge kind of 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:35.279 thing in a roundabout way. And so the album was 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:37.859 actually quite different than what most of my 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:41.960 albums have been. I wanted to be able to make 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:44.160 it a little bit more classical leaning and a 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.019 little bit more ambitious and rigorous and a 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:48.720 little bit more demanding, musically speaking. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:53.339 And as I'm writing this album, I was applying 00:31:53.339 --> 00:31:55.640 some of the dreams that I had in my life. There 00:31:55.640 --> 00:32:00.400 was a studio up in Norway. in Oslo, um, that 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:02.599 I had always dreamed of recording. So that was 00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:05.019 going to be part of it. Um, coming from the jazz 00:32:05.019 --> 00:32:09.059 head, the jazz nerds, um, the record label ECM, 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:12.359 uh, was based out there. So the, the, the studio 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:14.660 rainbow studio, I was like, I've always dreamed 00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:17.160 of recording the rainbow. So that was like part 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:20.039 of it. And so like, we had this date, it was 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:25.400 October, um, of 23. Um, and so like I had a deadline. 00:32:25.950 --> 00:32:28.549 And so like the album was coming along and I 00:32:28.549 --> 00:32:30.910 was really, really happy, but I was like, man, 00:32:30.910 --> 00:32:33.089 something's just not right about this. I can't 00:32:33.089 --> 00:32:36.130 figure it out. And so I was just kind of torn 00:32:36.130 --> 00:32:38.230 because it just wasn't feeling like it was completely 00:32:38.230 --> 00:32:41.009 settled. And then I was doing a live performance 00:32:41.009 --> 00:32:47.309 at Auburn and this young lady, she came up to 00:32:47.309 --> 00:32:51.450 me and she was just absolutely, she couldn't 00:32:51.450 --> 00:32:53.150 form a sentence because she was crying so hard. 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:57.460 And she said, my dad is dying of stage four cancer 00:32:57.460 --> 00:33:00.900 and all I can do is listen to your music. And 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:04.559 at that point right there in my mind, I heard 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:07.700 people aren't ready to dream because they're 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:11.599 still trying to heal. I have chills right now. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:16.180 And that really resonated with me. And so I was 00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:18.339 just like, why am I trying to create something 00:33:18.339 --> 00:33:23.890 that is about me? And so I went home. And I only 00:33:23.890 --> 00:33:26.069 had like, I want to say like two weeks before 00:33:26.069 --> 00:33:29.170 the recording date. And I was like, I need to 00:33:29.170 --> 00:33:31.410 start over and write like a whole new album. 00:33:31.589 --> 00:33:35.329 And so in two weeks, I created Where We Are. 00:33:36.009 --> 00:33:39.430 And that really was like an invitation to heal 00:33:39.430 --> 00:33:46.410 and an invitation to like, to find the idea of 00:33:46.410 --> 00:33:49.109 that, that young lady, she spawned everything 00:33:49.109 --> 00:33:54.130 in the sense of people are suffering people are 00:33:54.130 --> 00:33:56.069 going through difficult times and so i wanted 00:33:56.069 --> 00:33:58.190 to be like you know i wanted to create something 00:33:58.190 --> 00:34:01.170 that is like with them like where they are like 00:34:01.170 --> 00:34:04.769 emotionally and so but instead of like being 00:34:04.769 --> 00:34:06.950 like where you are i was like you know we're 00:34:06.950 --> 00:34:09.110 all in this together and so it really turned 00:34:09.110 --> 00:34:11.510 into like a where we are thing so i wanted to 00:34:11.510 --> 00:34:15.750 like sit and be with people like with them in 00:34:15.750 --> 00:34:18.710 all of this and so in particular there's a song 00:34:18.710 --> 00:34:21.949 called sanctuary on the album And it's like, 00:34:22.010 --> 00:34:26.389 what is your personal sanctuary? What is that 00:34:26.389 --> 00:34:30.309 healing space for you that you can just go and 00:34:30.309 --> 00:34:35.090 just like sit alone? And some people have never 00:34:35.090 --> 00:34:38.429 created that for themselves. And it's like, oh, 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:40.030 I didn't really thought about that, you know? 00:34:40.170 --> 00:34:42.269 So it was just like, it was an invitation for 00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:44.349 people just to pause and just to take a moment. 00:34:45.269 --> 00:34:47.389 And so the whole album was like really about 00:34:47.389 --> 00:34:50.860 just togetherness. creating something that's 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:54.860 like intentional about everyone understanding 00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:56.619 like what you're going through. You're not alone 00:34:56.619 --> 00:34:59.659 because I get emails all the time. And a lot 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:01.940 of times it's the same conversations, different 00:35:01.940 --> 00:35:04.400 people, you know, different, different people, 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:07.940 but like kind of the same story. And so when 00:35:07.940 --> 00:35:12.619 we decided to do unity, I wanted to extend that. 00:35:12.699 --> 00:35:15.099 I wanted to open up the idea of like bringing 00:35:15.099 --> 00:35:17.989 more people in. I've actually really never done 00:35:17.989 --> 00:35:21.269 like major collaborations. I've had, you know, 00:35:21.269 --> 00:35:24.550 as I mentioned, Esther and Peter, but for the 00:35:24.550 --> 00:35:26.949 most part, like I've never really done any work 00:35:26.949 --> 00:35:29.510 where it's like collaborating, but also like, 00:35:29.570 --> 00:35:32.639 here's the song. do whatever you want to do. 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:35.519 Like, put your emotion, put your fingerprint. 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.260 Like, what are you feeling when you are hearing 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:42.380 this? And it was just absolutely fascinating 00:35:42.380 --> 00:35:46.460 to work with, like, Helios and with Holly Kenneth. 00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:50.619 I mean, she's just fantastic. And it was just 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:54.380 really wonderful to, like, not, again, going 00:35:54.380 --> 00:35:56.519 back to the point to where, like, we're given 00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:59.869 something, and then... in order for us to like, 00:35:59.869 --> 00:36:02.090 let that be art, we also have to let it go. And 00:36:02.090 --> 00:36:06.010 so like my giving them carte blanche, I've been 00:36:06.010 --> 00:36:09.809 like, you know, Brian Senti as well, which is 00:36:09.809 --> 00:36:12.289 just a really wonderful, wonderful musician. 00:36:12.789 --> 00:36:14.510 I've just been like, you have carte blanche, 00:36:14.670 --> 00:36:17.789 like just put your, put your voice to it, you 00:36:17.789 --> 00:36:20.250 know? And so that's why I wanted it to be a unity 00:36:20.250 --> 00:36:22.949 because it just kind of, it did feel really together, 00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:25.570 even though like we were like, the creation process 00:36:25.570 --> 00:36:29.130 was not together whatsoever. but it was a continuation 00:36:29.130 --> 00:36:32.469 and it just felt really, just really natural 00:36:32.469 --> 00:36:34.869 and really beautiful to the point where there's 00:36:34.869 --> 00:36:38.730 actually something, you know, that's releasing 00:36:38.730 --> 00:36:41.829 in October, October 10th. And it's a three song 00:36:41.829 --> 00:36:45.730 EP just going even further with that, with these 00:36:45.730 --> 00:36:49.329 collaborations and the names are just fantastic. 00:36:50.329 --> 00:36:53.070 So, but I can't, can't spoil it because this 00:36:53.070 --> 00:36:59.119 is September. And so that's the wait. Okay. But 00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:02.579 so this new three, you said it's three pieces, 00:37:02.679 --> 00:37:07.000 right? Yeah, yeah. That are coming out of this 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:10.000 unity. So they're coming out of where we are. 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:12.780 So there are reworks of where we are. So three 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:16.219 songs from where we are. I will say one of them 00:37:16.219 --> 00:37:19.039 will already have been released September. So 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:23.019 that would be a song with Votus 8 and the cellist 00:37:23.019 --> 00:37:26.559 Seth Parker Woods. And then what we did, going 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:30.980 back to my being a poetry nerd, we took the poetry 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:33.099 of Rupi Kaur. I don't know if you're familiar 00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:35.860 with Rupi Kaur. So for those that are listening, 00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:40.199 her name is spelled R -U -P -I -K -A -U -R. A 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:44.639 wonderful poet, Canadian. And so we took one 00:37:44.639 --> 00:37:49.420 of her poems and Jeff Lawson, no relation, the 00:37:49.420 --> 00:37:52.179 arranger, he took her poetry and put it into 00:37:52.179 --> 00:37:57.260 the vocals, the lyrics for Votus 8. And it's 00:37:57.260 --> 00:38:00.280 just stunning. And see, that's so, that's, that's 00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:02.519 what I'm getting at like earlier. And I know 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:04.139 I'm kind of like, you know, hitting this now 00:38:04.139 --> 00:38:07.619 a little too much on the head, but like when 00:38:07.619 --> 00:38:12.900 you have. But when you can embrace something 00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:18.219 without suffocating it, there's so much that 00:38:18.219 --> 00:38:20.500 is going to surprise you. I mean, look at your 00:38:20.500 --> 00:38:23.239 podcast. Look at your podcast, like what you 00:38:23.239 --> 00:38:26.360 have done. Like you were like, you know what? 00:38:26.360 --> 00:38:28.480 I want to talk to musicians. I want to talk about 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:31.280 creativity, right? And I just want to hear stories. 00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:36.550 Now we're in like season six. And so because 00:38:36.550 --> 00:38:39.849 you created something really pure and authentic, 00:38:39.989 --> 00:38:43.170 I just want to put this out there and the energy 00:38:43.170 --> 00:38:47.989 behind that and just the selflessness in what 00:38:47.989 --> 00:38:51.610 you're doing. Because my word, I know personally 00:38:51.610 --> 00:38:55.349 how much time podcasts take. It's immense. But 00:38:55.349 --> 00:39:00.130 you're in season six, which is just unbelievable. 00:39:01.099 --> 00:39:03.199 And so it's the same thing, like, with this three 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:06.960 -song EP. Like, I never in my life did I ever 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:12.119 dream that I would get to sit and, like, in an 00:39:12.119 --> 00:39:16.539 old church, listening to Vocious 8, like, sing 00:39:16.539 --> 00:39:19.760 an arrangement to one of my songs. I mean, like, 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:23.579 and I literally, I was just like, I wish every 00:39:23.579 --> 00:39:26.059 artist could, like, experience this once. Because 00:39:26.059 --> 00:39:34.039 it was so blissful. I think because I've been 00:39:34.039 --> 00:39:37.320 able to like release the idea of like, this is 00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:39.119 mine, this is mine, this is mine, this is mine, 00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:41.699 this is mine. And so when you, when you turn 00:39:41.699 --> 00:39:45.739 that around and say, this is everyone's for them 00:39:45.739 --> 00:39:49.159 to experience, then it's just going to open doors. 00:39:49.260 --> 00:39:51.800 You just never even anticipated, you know, to 00:39:51.800 --> 00:39:54.460 be able to like. work with rupee and to work 00:39:54.460 --> 00:39:57.179 with morgan harper nichols who's doing the artwork 00:39:57.179 --> 00:40:00.880 for the ep and like it's just i have chills right 00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:04.619 now right um so yeah so that's that's kind of 00:40:04.619 --> 00:40:06.739 the parts where you know it started with where 00:40:06.739 --> 00:40:09.219 we are and then it went over to unity and now 00:40:09.219 --> 00:40:14.099 it's this is called together um so where we are 00:40:14.099 --> 00:40:17.059 together that's uh that will release october 00:40:17.059 --> 00:40:21.739 10th um but yeah it's it's mind -blowing so i'm 00:40:21.739 --> 00:40:26.989 excited wow But it sounds like, I mean, I used 00:40:26.989 --> 00:40:30.409 to practice yoga intensively. And the pandemic 00:40:30.409 --> 00:40:32.949 hit, and then I've been lazy about that. But 00:40:32.949 --> 00:40:37.010 what I learned from yoga is not only about breathing, 00:40:37.130 --> 00:40:41.849 but also letting go. So it sounds like that's 00:40:41.849 --> 00:40:43.650 what you're talking about, right? Letting go. 00:40:43.789 --> 00:40:48.050 It's not about you. Yes, it is, but it's not. 00:40:48.170 --> 00:40:52.030 And once you let go of yourself, this is mine, 00:40:52.090 --> 00:40:54.550 this is mine. And then you can invite people 00:40:54.550 --> 00:40:57.630 in and there's more opportunity, opportunity, 00:40:57.869 --> 00:41:03.889 not as in the greedy sense, but opportunity of 00:41:03.889 --> 00:41:09.349 people coming together. So much. I mean, you 00:41:09.349 --> 00:41:11.429 just said it so perfectly. I mean, if you think 00:41:11.429 --> 00:41:13.989 about like creativity, I'm a really big fan of 00:41:13.989 --> 00:41:18.789 reverse engineering. So like, you know, what 00:41:18.789 --> 00:41:22.760 is the end result look like? Right. And so you 00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:25.679 have to be kind of careful with that when it 00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:28.260 comes to art. Now, when I say reverse engineering, 00:41:28.500 --> 00:41:30.420 that's more of like the business side of things. 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:34.500 Whereas like with the creative side of things, 00:41:34.619 --> 00:41:37.719 I don't know if you can look at creativity with 00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:43.179 the end in mind. You know, I read this really 00:41:43.179 --> 00:41:45.239 fascinating article and then I reached out to 00:41:45.239 --> 00:41:47.500 a friend of mine that actually works at Amazon 00:41:47.500 --> 00:41:49.000 and they were like, yes, it's kind of how it 00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:52.769 goes. And the article goes that before Amazon 00:41:52.769 --> 00:41:56.769 even begins like designing or building or putting 00:41:56.769 --> 00:41:59.789 anything like time intensive into a new product, 00:41:59.969 --> 00:42:03.730 they build the press release first. And they're 00:42:03.730 --> 00:42:07.170 like, let's be very specific and write. What 00:42:07.170 --> 00:42:11.989 does this thing do before we even begin? Right. 00:42:12.760 --> 00:42:14.639 And I thought that was really wonderful because 00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:17.280 then there's like a clear definitive, like, and 00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:19.619 then they work backwards. Like, okay, so it does 00:42:19.619 --> 00:42:23.099 this. Well, how did we get it to do that? Well, 00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:25.579 because we put these things into place. Well, 00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:27.599 how did those things get there? Right. And so 00:42:27.599 --> 00:42:29.360 from a business mindset, which I love talking 00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:32.239 about business, it's brilliant. Now, from a creative 00:42:32.239 --> 00:42:34.639 perspective, I don't think that's really the 00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:40.349 way to go as far as. artistically so if you think 00:42:40.349 --> 00:42:44.550 about it like if I play this note I'm not playing 00:42:44.550 --> 00:42:47.730 it with a I'm going to record that and it's going 00:42:47.730 --> 00:42:49.849 to be like epic and it's going to get on a TV 00:42:49.849 --> 00:42:51.869 series it's going to get a commercial for Apple 00:42:51.869 --> 00:42:54.750 all these things just like no I play this note 00:42:54.750 --> 00:42:57.809 because I wanted to hear what it sounded like 00:42:57.809 --> 00:43:01.570 right And so like, I think we have to like, when 00:43:01.570 --> 00:43:03.969 you say letting go, I mean, you hit it spot on 00:43:03.969 --> 00:43:06.190 to where it's just like, we have to let go of 00:43:06.190 --> 00:43:09.610 the idea that there is an end result. Like when 00:43:09.610 --> 00:43:12.289 we create, if you're creating with a mindset 00:43:12.289 --> 00:43:17.989 of like, I want this to be X, then you're already, 00:43:18.070 --> 00:43:21.730 again, putting that glass ceiling on whatever 00:43:21.730 --> 00:43:23.650 it is. Plus you're taking the fun out of it, 00:43:23.710 --> 00:43:26.349 to be honest. But like, if we have the approach 00:43:26.349 --> 00:43:33.030 of like, if I'm literally just. The sound of 00:43:33.030 --> 00:43:39.909 that note just brings a smile to my face. And 00:43:39.909 --> 00:43:42.789 if you just imagine the color and the warmth 00:43:42.789 --> 00:43:47.929 and just the tone of it, you're like, well, what 00:43:47.929 --> 00:43:51.090 can I do with that note? I want to have fun with 00:43:51.090 --> 00:43:54.130 it. So you have to let go of the idea, to your 00:43:54.130 --> 00:44:02.880 point, of it. That note. perhaps that I just 00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:07.219 played, its only purpose was to bring a smile 00:44:07.219 --> 00:44:13.300 on my face just now. Right? And for that, that's 00:44:13.300 --> 00:44:16.539 enough. And so like a lot of times I think we're 00:44:16.539 --> 00:44:20.500 in this, you know, where we are with the world 00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:25.360 and screens and all the things, you know, I have 00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:28.650 this theory like a social media. Really, it's 00:44:28.650 --> 00:44:30.849 boiled down to two things. There are two things 00:44:30.849 --> 00:44:34.489 on social media. Someone's either screaming or 00:44:34.489 --> 00:44:37.670 they're selling. And once you learn it's one 00:44:37.670 --> 00:44:40.550 of those two things, try it. Next time you go 00:44:40.550 --> 00:44:42.909 to Instagram, watch every video. Either someone's 00:44:42.909 --> 00:44:44.889 trying to sell you something or they're just 00:44:44.889 --> 00:44:48.610 screaming mad about something, right? And so 00:44:48.610 --> 00:44:51.110 it's difficult for us to be in the mindset of 00:44:51.110 --> 00:44:55.269 just doing something for pure pleasure. I'm not 00:44:55.269 --> 00:44:58.269 trying to sell that. Nor am I trying to tell 00:44:58.269 --> 00:45:00.469 you how amazing that is. I'm not screaming at 00:45:00.469 --> 00:45:03.670 you about it. I'm just inviting you just to be 00:45:03.670 --> 00:45:11.829 like... Watch this. I got this in London when 00:45:11.829 --> 00:45:16.530 I was there earlier this year. And this thing 00:45:16.530 --> 00:45:19.590 is like 100 years old, this bowl. What is that? 00:45:20.230 --> 00:45:23.849 So this is a singing bowl. And I have like eight 00:45:23.849 --> 00:45:26.989 of them. I have way too many of them. But if 00:45:26.989 --> 00:45:40.929 you think about a singing bowl. That moment will 00:45:40.929 --> 00:45:56.880 never happen again. Like you and I can get on 00:45:56.880 --> 00:45:59.820 another interview and, you know, we could have 00:45:59.820 --> 00:46:01.679 the same lighting, you know, we could wear the 00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:04.000 same things that have my little Pellegrino, my 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:05.920 dog snoring, like on the other side of the camera. 00:46:06.440 --> 00:46:09.380 And if I strike this, it's going to be different 00:46:09.380 --> 00:46:11.139 because we're going to be somewhere different 00:46:11.139 --> 00:46:12.800 emotionally. We're going to be somewhere different 00:46:12.800 --> 00:46:15.559 in the day. Maybe, you know, I spilled coffee 00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:19.539 on myself. Maybe, you know, maybe someone gave 00:46:19.539 --> 00:46:22.119 me a free donut. Right. So like emotion, like 00:46:22.119 --> 00:46:25.139 really. affected by this and so like the interesting 00:46:25.139 --> 00:46:30.440 thing about like art and creating is um twofold 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:32.920 but i'll stick with one just for now um is it 00:46:32.920 --> 00:46:37.199 really is about like how do i create something 00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:42.800 just for pure pleasure but also to like bring 00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:44.719 me into the moment you know you were saying earlier 00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:49.400 that you you were doing yoga and because it allowed 00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:55.650 you to let things go and i love that I actually 00:46:55.650 --> 00:46:58.869 started yoga at the pandemic. So I've been doing 00:46:58.869 --> 00:47:00.750 it for like five years now, like an hour every 00:47:00.750 --> 00:47:03.730 day, as much as best as I can. And the reason 00:47:03.730 --> 00:47:06.829 why I do it is because it gets me out of my head. 00:47:07.650 --> 00:47:10.150 So like for an hour, I'm listening to someone 00:47:10.150 --> 00:47:14.050 like instruct and I'm listening to someone. guide 00:47:14.050 --> 00:47:16.289 me through something to where i'm not thinking 00:47:16.289 --> 00:47:19.510 about a free donut or if someone spoke coffee 00:47:19.510 --> 00:47:22.849 or me or whatever and so like i have that time 00:47:22.849 --> 00:47:26.510 to where like i'm just literally out of my head 00:47:26.510 --> 00:47:30.010 and art is kind of the same way right to where 00:47:30.010 --> 00:47:32.909 it's just like just sitting with the singing 00:47:32.909 --> 00:47:36.170 bowl or the piano or in the shower and just singing 00:47:36.170 --> 00:47:41.880 that like that is to really just get yourself 00:47:41.880 --> 00:47:44.340 out of your head and to just be present in the 00:47:44.340 --> 00:47:46.980 moment and to actually just enjoy something. 00:47:48.280 --> 00:47:51.719 Yeah. And, and that's, that's, it is sticky because 00:47:51.719 --> 00:47:53.739 like as a creative that's doing this for a living, 00:47:53.840 --> 00:47:57.480 you do also have like the monetization of this, 00:47:57.559 --> 00:47:59.539 which is like at the end of the day, it's still, 00:47:59.559 --> 00:48:03.980 let's be blunt. It's a product because like it 00:48:03.980 --> 00:48:08.170 is an offering. And it puts food on my family's 00:48:08.170 --> 00:48:11.750 table, for which I am grateful, incredibly grateful. 00:48:11.889 --> 00:48:15.510 And so it is difficult to sometimes separate 00:48:15.510 --> 00:48:18.650 the idea of it being music or it being manipulation. 00:48:19.550 --> 00:48:22.190 Let me say that one more time. As creatives, 00:48:22.190 --> 00:48:25.349 it can be really difficult to be able to separate 00:48:25.349 --> 00:48:30.190 the idea of it being music or manipulation. Because 00:48:30.190 --> 00:48:34.409 anytime that you involved a return on something, 00:48:35.019 --> 00:48:38.340 then that opens the door for there to be a manipulation 00:48:38.340 --> 00:48:42.119 for that set of return, right? And so it's really 00:48:42.119 --> 00:48:45.719 difficult to make sure that you're not all of 00:48:45.719 --> 00:48:48.579 a sudden turning into a manipulation factory, 00:48:48.920 --> 00:48:52.980 right? It was like, oh, I know what works to 00:48:52.980 --> 00:48:55.400 make this end result. So I'm going to do that 00:48:55.400 --> 00:48:58.860 again. And I think when that happens, I think 00:48:58.860 --> 00:49:00.820 when we see that with artists, I think that we 00:49:00.820 --> 00:49:04.219 see that like after two or three albums of that, 00:49:04.300 --> 00:49:06.659 people are kind of like, yeah, done. It's not 00:49:06.659 --> 00:49:09.260 really hitting the same anymore, right? And it's 00:49:09.260 --> 00:49:12.300 not because the music isn't great, but I think 00:49:12.300 --> 00:49:14.739 it's because like it's lost what the purpose 00:49:14.739 --> 00:49:19.400 of that creation was intended for, right? So 00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:21.380 like, I mean, if you eat the same exact meal 00:49:21.380 --> 00:49:26.019 for, you know, six straight days, like everything's 00:49:26.019 --> 00:49:28.559 the same, it's going to lose its flavor no matter 00:49:28.559 --> 00:49:30.320 how much that was your favorite meal to begin 00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:35.260 with, right? And yes, obviously, you know, we 00:49:35.260 --> 00:49:37.300 do get tired of things, but also like everything 00:49:37.300 --> 00:49:41.340 around that mill changes constantly, right? Your 00:49:41.340 --> 00:49:46.000 emotions, your interactions, you know, all the 00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:49.679 things that are just tied into life. And so I 00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:52.079 think art has to be the same way where there's 00:49:52.079 --> 00:49:56.539 like this ever, ever evolving space of what art 00:49:56.539 --> 00:49:59.739 is, of what creativity is, of what. the meaning 00:49:59.739 --> 00:50:02.619 behind it all is, which is why it is so important 00:50:02.619 --> 00:50:04.599 to like grab a singing bowl and to hit it or 00:50:04.599 --> 00:50:07.860 to sing in the shower or to like, you know, turn 00:50:07.860 --> 00:50:09.900 on the radio dial and listen to something that 00:50:09.900 --> 00:50:11.539 you've never listened to just because it's going 00:50:11.539 --> 00:50:13.360 to like bring you in there just for a moment, 00:50:13.500 --> 00:50:18.440 you know, or listen to a podcast. Just one, one 00:50:18.440 --> 00:50:20.940 more thing from the album. I'm curious about 00:50:20.940 --> 00:50:25.840 the light within, which became the world of mental 00:50:25.840 --> 00:50:30.480 health, the theme song. for official theme song 00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:35.579 for world mental health day and uh is also somewhat 00:50:35.579 --> 00:50:39.139 connected to you being the united nation ambassador 00:50:39.139 --> 00:50:42.360 for the world federation for mental health so 00:50:42.360 --> 00:50:46.800 i really would like to know the backstory and 00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:49.840 i tell you it's one of those things thank you 00:50:49.840 --> 00:50:51.340 for asking actually it's one of those things 00:50:51.340 --> 00:50:53.460 where like i still just shake my head like i 00:50:53.460 --> 00:50:56.710 have no idea like i'm in an ocean i'd I don't 00:50:56.710 --> 00:51:00.309 even feel like I belong in it to be honest. Um, 00:51:00.610 --> 00:51:04.269 because like, you know, creating music to help 00:51:04.269 --> 00:51:06.349 people heal, to hold their hands and all these 00:51:06.349 --> 00:51:10.690 things, um, really it stemmed from my doing the 00:51:10.690 --> 00:51:13.869 podcast, to be honest, the whole UN and all those 00:51:13.869 --> 00:51:17.670 conversations. So once COVID hits, I was grounded. 00:51:17.769 --> 00:51:21.590 I couldn't tour, but I still wanted to like be 00:51:21.590 --> 00:51:24.730 relevant to my listening audience. And so instead 00:51:24.730 --> 00:51:27.460 of just, connecting with them from the stage, 00:51:27.679 --> 00:51:30.360 I thought I would connect with them through the 00:51:30.360 --> 00:51:32.699 microphone and created a podcast that centered 00:51:32.699 --> 00:51:36.760 around mental and emotional health. And so what 00:51:36.760 --> 00:51:38.900 that did, I thought, you know what, this will 00:51:38.900 --> 00:51:41.780 be temporary. This will be just for this few 00:51:41.780 --> 00:51:44.679 weeks for this whole, you know, COVID thing, 00:51:44.739 --> 00:51:46.519 whatever it is, it'll pass away and we'll all 00:51:46.519 --> 00:51:49.860 get back to normal. And what the incredible thing 00:51:49.860 --> 00:51:52.820 is, is it became a whole life of its own, the 00:51:52.820 --> 00:51:56.340 podcast. It's called Calm It Down, as in calm 00:51:56.340 --> 00:51:59.739 down the mind. And the interesting thing is that 00:51:59.739 --> 00:52:04.039 opened doors into avenues that like, I don't 00:52:04.039 --> 00:52:06.079 know if music would have opened necessarily by 00:52:06.079 --> 00:52:08.579 itself, but because it was related to music, 00:52:08.619 --> 00:52:12.659 it had an opening, which is like, oh, he talks 00:52:12.659 --> 00:52:16.079 about breathing and decompressing and anxiety. 00:52:16.760 --> 00:52:19.039 Oh, Yasuo plays the piano? Oh, this is great. 00:52:19.159 --> 00:52:23.260 Let's talk to him. And so there was an introduction 00:52:23.260 --> 00:52:29.400 to, October is World Mental Health Day, October 00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:36.400 10th each year. And in 2024, we started having 00:52:36.400 --> 00:52:38.639 conversations about, okay, what can we do around 00:52:38.639 --> 00:52:43.159 World Mental Health Day? And so we met the World 00:52:43.159 --> 00:52:46.760 Federation for Mental Health. And we just, I 00:52:46.760 --> 00:52:51.219 had their secretary general on my podcast and 00:52:51.219 --> 00:52:53.739 we started talking about what can we be doing 00:52:53.739 --> 00:52:57.800 globally for the young adults that are struggling 00:52:57.800 --> 00:52:59.860 with mental health issues or emotional health 00:52:59.860 --> 00:53:02.480 issues. And really we just built this relationship. 00:53:02.699 --> 00:53:07.280 And then one day I got an email from them and 00:53:07.280 --> 00:53:09.659 it was one of those things where like, I literally 00:53:09.659 --> 00:53:13.639 start crying. um i'm with my older son we're 00:53:13.639 --> 00:53:16.000 out and about somewhere and i get the email and 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:17.840 i open it up on my phone and he's looking over 00:53:17.840 --> 00:53:21.019 my shoulder and basically the email was like 00:53:21.019 --> 00:53:23.599 we would like for you to be a representative 00:53:23.599 --> 00:53:30.179 at the un for mental health and he looked at 00:53:30.179 --> 00:53:33.880 me with the biggest eyes and like for my entire 00:53:33.880 --> 00:53:36.780 life of all the things i've done musically there's 00:53:36.780 --> 00:53:39.380 like okay whatever but like with this he was 00:53:39.380 --> 00:53:43.500 just like it's a big deal, you know? And so like, 00:53:43.519 --> 00:53:46.039 we had this really bonding moment together of 00:53:46.039 --> 00:53:47.699 like how cool it was. And I have to, I have to 00:53:47.699 --> 00:53:50.719 admit to me, it was just like, even now just 00:53:50.719 --> 00:53:53.079 thinking about it, it's just mind blowing. So 00:53:53.079 --> 00:53:57.019 what, so sorry, rambling. And so like when we 00:53:57.019 --> 00:53:59.519 started talking to the Federation, World Federation 00:53:59.519 --> 00:54:02.800 for Mental Health, we're like, you guys need 00:54:02.800 --> 00:54:05.340 a theme song. Like let's create something that 00:54:05.340 --> 00:54:08.519 like we can center around World Mental Health 00:54:08.519 --> 00:54:12.099 Day. And let's talk about the Federation and 00:54:12.099 --> 00:54:16.079 let's talk about like, what does this young audience 00:54:16.079 --> 00:54:20.079 need? Young adults need right now. And so that's 00:54:20.079 --> 00:54:23.000 where the idea of the light within came, where 00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:27.880 it's just like, we, we have, we have so many 00:54:27.880 --> 00:54:31.239 things that we're like trying to find solace 00:54:31.239 --> 00:54:33.360 and, or hope and, or comfort and, and all of 00:54:33.360 --> 00:54:36.039 these things. And it's just like, when we can 00:54:36.039 --> 00:54:39.860 actually sit still and like, just like, for a 00:54:39.860 --> 00:54:42.940 moment, put those things away, we begin to like 00:54:42.940 --> 00:54:45.960 search within ourselves. And that's really difficult. 00:54:46.099 --> 00:54:48.599 It's actually quite difficult because there are 00:54:48.599 --> 00:54:50.400 a lot of layers in there that we don't want to 00:54:50.400 --> 00:54:52.679 address yet. But when we begin to like peel that 00:54:52.679 --> 00:54:55.559 back and then we begin to heal and we begin to 00:54:55.559 --> 00:54:57.840 have conversations with other people about healing. 00:54:58.440 --> 00:55:02.019 And sometimes that means with a professional 00:55:02.019 --> 00:55:05.519 guidance counselor or a therapist, we begin to 00:55:05.519 --> 00:55:10.739 like see that like. Our true selves and the sense 00:55:10.739 --> 00:55:16.159 of like, it's really hard for people to love 00:55:16.159 --> 00:55:20.659 themselves. It is. Oh, yeah. There are so many 00:55:20.659 --> 00:55:23.380 factors, right? Like we're constantly judging 00:55:23.380 --> 00:55:27.420 ourselves, right? We're constantly like, we have 00:55:27.420 --> 00:55:34.380 this grid of a spectrum of like where we should 00:55:34.380 --> 00:55:39.699 be. But the crazy thing about this, though, there 00:55:39.699 --> 00:55:44.599 is no spectrum. There is no official, this is 00:55:44.599 --> 00:55:48.960 great, this is not great. Where do you fall in 00:55:48.960 --> 00:55:51.920 this category? Because there's nothing that says 00:55:51.920 --> 00:55:55.219 officially, well, this is great and this is not 00:55:55.219 --> 00:55:57.920 great, because it's different for everyone. And 00:55:57.920 --> 00:56:00.739 so when we begin to get rid of this idea that 00:56:00.739 --> 00:56:02.699 there's this gauge, that there's this measuring 00:56:02.699 --> 00:56:07.719 system of, who's good and who's not. And we begin 00:56:07.719 --> 00:56:11.000 to like, let go of the idea. Okay. We're talking 00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:13.599 to classical pianists right now. Right. So if 00:56:13.599 --> 00:56:17.760 we look at all of the classical pianists that 00:56:17.760 --> 00:56:20.019 just dominate, you know, I don't want to mention 00:56:20.019 --> 00:56:22.699 names right now, but we all know who they are. 00:56:22.719 --> 00:56:26.739 I was like, I'll never be like them. I'll never 00:56:26.739 --> 00:56:32.000 be that great. Or, you know, or I can play better 00:56:32.000 --> 00:56:34.539 than so -and -so. And so there's always this 00:56:34.539 --> 00:56:40.139 constant measuring of pianistically of what we 00:56:40.139 --> 00:56:45.320 can and can't do. But if we were to close the 00:56:45.320 --> 00:56:49.039 lid on that just for a second, and then we ask 00:56:49.039 --> 00:56:53.280 ourselves, why do I play piano? Like, really? 00:56:54.079 --> 00:56:57.039 When was the last time any of us actually stopped 00:56:57.039 --> 00:57:03.530 and said, why do I do this? What? It makes me 00:57:03.530 --> 00:57:07.190 happy. Right. And then you begin to like, tell 00:57:07.190 --> 00:57:10.690 that back. Okay. So if it makes me happy, then 00:57:10.690 --> 00:57:15.650 why am I so worried about how they're playing 00:57:15.650 --> 00:57:20.750 10, 10 BPM is faster than I am. Right. And so 00:57:20.750 --> 00:57:23.809 it's like, maybe that song is connecting with 00:57:23.809 --> 00:57:26.610 you at the tempo that you're playing it and letting 00:57:26.610 --> 00:57:30.570 that be enough. Whereas perhaps, you know, they're 00:57:30.570 --> 00:57:33.170 playing it at a different tempo. for whatever 00:57:33.170 --> 00:57:35.550 reason that they have. But what their reason 00:57:35.550 --> 00:57:39.409 is, it's not my concern. Like I should not be 00:57:39.409 --> 00:57:42.630 like wrapped up why so -and -so is playing at 00:57:42.630 --> 00:57:47.829 this tempo, at this veracity that they are, because 00:57:47.829 --> 00:57:51.730 that's them. What I'm concerned about is like, 00:57:51.849 --> 00:57:56.530 why am I doing what I'm doing? And then when 00:57:56.530 --> 00:58:00.760 we get to... like, ask that of ourselves, like, 00:58:00.800 --> 00:58:04.679 in an honest way, then we begin to understand, 00:58:04.940 --> 00:58:08.760 I like playing piano because it just makes me 00:58:08.760 --> 00:58:12.239 feel good, right? Now, I'll take that to, like, 00:58:12.340 --> 00:58:15.059 ourselves too emotionally. When we begin to, 00:58:15.079 --> 00:58:18.340 like, find that answer, like, there is this light 00:58:18.340 --> 00:58:21.139 that's within us, and we're not trying to look 00:58:21.139 --> 00:58:23.519 at the light that someone else has that's really 00:58:23.519 --> 00:58:26.460 bright, that's, you know, or maybe it's not, 00:58:26.639 --> 00:58:31.460 right? So I think for me personally, the whole 00:58:31.460 --> 00:58:33.639 partnership with World Federation for Mental 00:58:33.639 --> 00:58:36.179 Health and The Light Within was just trying to 00:58:36.179 --> 00:58:39.539 illustrate that. It's just like, who are you? 00:58:40.559 --> 00:58:43.139 And it's really hard to answer a lot of times. 00:58:43.199 --> 00:58:46.000 It's really hard for us to answer because sometimes 00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:47.880 we don't want to go there because then we're 00:58:47.880 --> 00:58:52.500 just like, well, I'm nobody. Let's open that 00:58:52.500 --> 00:58:56.860 up a little bit. I'm no one as a pianist. Why 00:58:56.860 --> 00:59:00.519 is that? Well, I'm just not like them. Okay. 00:59:01.579 --> 00:59:03.719 Right. And then you begin to go even further 00:59:03.719 --> 00:59:07.559 with us. Well, do you want to be like them? No. 00:59:09.239 --> 00:59:11.300 So then why are you comparing yourself to them? 00:59:11.780 --> 00:59:15.360 I don't know. You know, but then like everyone 00:59:15.360 --> 00:59:20.239 has the reason why they do something truly authentically. 00:59:21.039 --> 00:59:23.440 And then I think to some degree, we all have 00:59:23.440 --> 00:59:27.960 like this also idea of what we should be. And 00:59:27.960 --> 00:59:30.800 I think it's okay to aspire to play that 10 BPM 00:59:30.800 --> 00:59:33.840 faster, or I think it's okay to aspire to play 00:59:33.840 --> 00:59:36.579 certain pieces that maybe are just like steps 00:59:36.579 --> 00:59:40.679 ahead of us right now. But also like we have 00:59:40.679 --> 00:59:49.019 to remember why, why we create, why we're actually 00:59:49.019 --> 00:59:52.440 at this thing for like six hours a day. And it's 00:59:52.440 --> 00:59:56.440 not to play fast and it's not to impress. And 00:59:56.440 --> 01:00:02.059 it's not to like sit center stage and say, look 01:00:02.059 --> 01:00:07.719 at me, right? Because if we pursue it that way, 01:00:07.760 --> 01:00:10.659 we're going to burn out. We're going to have 01:00:10.659 --> 01:00:13.179 that moment towards just like, this isn't fun 01:00:13.179 --> 01:00:17.940 anymore, right? And so I really encourage anyone 01:00:17.940 --> 01:00:20.519 listening right now that's kind of like wondering, 01:00:20.800 --> 01:00:25.980 you know, when will I get there? Maybe pause 01:00:25.980 --> 01:00:29.840 for a second and just be like, let me enjoy where 01:00:29.840 --> 01:00:35.340 I am right now here and just enjoy this and just 01:00:35.340 --> 01:00:43.179 play a note and just let that like reside in 01:00:43.179 --> 01:00:47.900 you for a moment. So that's how the conversation 01:00:47.900 --> 01:00:49.860 with the World Federation for Mental Health. 01:00:51.050 --> 01:00:54.090 And, you know, it ties into, you know, even I 01:00:54.090 --> 01:00:59.070 know the UN right now has like mixed, not mixed 01:00:59.070 --> 01:01:02.530 feelings, but like people look at the UN kind 01:01:02.530 --> 01:01:05.949 of mixed right now. Some good, some bad. And 01:01:05.949 --> 01:01:07.429 I think it's one of those things where it's like 01:01:07.429 --> 01:01:13.409 the experiences I've had there at the UN has 01:01:13.409 --> 01:01:16.030 always been about like, how do we take care of 01:01:16.030 --> 01:01:21.280 people? And I think that's. something i just 01:01:21.280 --> 01:01:25.619 i'm incredibly grateful to be a part of like 01:01:25.619 --> 01:01:30.699 what are we doing to truly just make people's 01:01:30.699 --> 01:01:37.019 lives better even just five percent ten percent 01:01:37.019 --> 01:01:40.159 fifteen percent right and a lot of times that 01:01:40.159 --> 01:01:42.619 that's through art a lot of times as to what 01:01:42.619 --> 01:01:47.639 we create um as long as it's like created from 01:01:47.639 --> 01:01:56.000 a pure intentional motive. Sorry. What you just 01:01:56.000 --> 01:01:58.320 said, no, please don't be sorry. But what you 01:01:58.320 --> 01:02:02.260 just said, just really coming through your creativity, 01:02:02.460 --> 01:02:06.380 like artistry, and you mentioned about, you know, 01:02:06.380 --> 01:02:10.239 healing and so on. So I'm curious about this 01:02:10.239 --> 01:02:14.519 one moment of your life. You had some challenge. 01:02:14.619 --> 01:02:17.949 I mean, we all have challenges in lives. in our 01:02:17.949 --> 01:02:21.170 lives but this one particular moment of health 01:02:21.170 --> 01:02:27.750 care is is that okay yeah absolutely yeah so 01:02:27.750 --> 01:02:34.570 did that anything to do with your maybe mission 01:02:34.570 --> 01:02:40.650 and artistry right now yeah the interesting thing 01:02:40.650 --> 01:02:43.170 so i had ulcerative colitis for many years and 01:02:43.170 --> 01:02:44.530 for those listening that don't know what that 01:02:44.530 --> 01:02:46.469 is it's kind of like crones and around the body 01:02:46.469 --> 01:02:51.949 it's like the the spouse, the sibling of Crohn's. 01:02:52.050 --> 01:02:58.550 So it was quite debilitating. It was very... 01:02:58.550 --> 01:03:02.670 My dog is no longer snoring. Now he wants to 01:03:02.670 --> 01:03:04.829 be in the interview. Sorry, buddy. It's okay. 01:03:06.070 --> 01:03:08.510 So I had all sorts of clients. So basically, 01:03:08.670 --> 01:03:11.329 I lost like 40 pounds in a month and a half. 01:03:11.570 --> 01:03:15.750 I mean, I was bedridden. I just went. to have 01:03:15.750 --> 01:03:18.909 three major surgeries. But even before the very 01:03:18.909 --> 01:03:21.170 first one, I had to be in the hospital for two 01:03:21.170 --> 01:03:24.710 weeks just to let my body heal. The amazing thing 01:03:24.710 --> 01:03:29.070 is all of that was going on right before I recorded 01:03:29.070 --> 01:03:32.289 my very first solo piano album called Set on 01:03:32.289 --> 01:03:37.849 a Hill, which was the very first solo piano album. 01:03:38.130 --> 01:03:40.929 And so I recorded that album in a day and a half. 01:03:41.130 --> 01:03:44.329 I think we had two days for it. We were living 01:03:44.329 --> 01:03:47.030 in Brooklyn, and so we drove up to, like, Vermont, 01:03:47.269 --> 01:03:51.369 I think is where the studio is. And during the 01:03:51.369 --> 01:03:55.030 recording process, I mean, it was rough. It was 01:03:55.030 --> 01:03:58.449 really, really rough. So, like, we would record 01:03:58.449 --> 01:04:01.010 a track, and then I literally would lay underneath 01:04:01.010 --> 01:04:03.730 the piano while my wife and the producer would 01:04:03.730 --> 01:04:05.849 listen back. And they were like, okay, it's a 01:04:05.849 --> 01:04:08.090 good take, or can we do one more kind of thing? 01:04:08.510 --> 01:04:11.769 And so it was really, really, really challenging 01:04:11.769 --> 01:04:15.710 time. Um, but I will say like that, you know, 01:04:15.750 --> 01:04:18.070 the next day when we got back to Brooklyn, that's 01:04:18.070 --> 01:04:19.530 when I went into the hospital for two weeks. 01:04:19.769 --> 01:04:22.849 So there was like this emotional element behind 01:04:22.849 --> 01:04:28.190 that album of like as a healing process. And 01:04:28.190 --> 01:04:31.610 it was, it was kind of a battle for me a little 01:04:31.610 --> 01:04:34.110 bit because that's where I began understanding 01:04:34.110 --> 01:04:37.989 where coming from the jazz background that I 01:04:37.989 --> 01:04:41.769 did and then releasing this album that was very 01:04:41.769 --> 01:04:44.889 meditative. like the opening notes of that album 01:04:44.889 --> 01:04:48.050 were very calming very like draw you in kind 01:04:48.050 --> 01:04:50.230 of thing and i had so many people push back on 01:04:50.230 --> 01:04:52.429 that like dude you can't start an album this 01:04:52.429 --> 01:04:54.829 way you gotta like have energy and make it like 01:04:54.829 --> 01:04:57.829 really interesting like no no i think it's meant 01:04:57.829 --> 01:05:01.949 to be this way and that album is when i started 01:05:01.949 --> 01:05:04.050 getting feedback from listeners getting emails 01:05:04.050 --> 01:05:06.789 from people saying You know, I'm going through 01:05:06.789 --> 01:05:09.170 a divorce right now and I just go home and I 01:05:09.170 --> 01:05:11.590 lay on the floor and I listen to this or I just 01:05:11.590 --> 01:05:14.289 lost a loved one and I just I just put this on. 01:05:15.030 --> 01:05:17.369 And so that album really began showing me like 01:05:17.369 --> 01:05:19.789 the importance of healing. And for myself, it 01:05:19.789 --> 01:05:23.309 was a healing process as well. But the power 01:05:23.309 --> 01:05:26.050 of music and healing, the power of music and 01:05:26.050 --> 01:05:28.730 being able to just like embrace someone. And 01:05:28.730 --> 01:05:32.190 so that really was like a eureka moment for me. 01:05:33.219 --> 01:05:35.280 because I will say it's been really difficult 01:05:35.280 --> 01:05:39.000 because like, I joke that I chose the wrong career. 01:05:39.760 --> 01:05:42.800 I don't like the spotlight. I don't like the 01:05:42.800 --> 01:05:45.199 attention. Like seeing my name on a marquee is 01:05:45.199 --> 01:05:47.360 not why I wake up every day. It's actually like, 01:05:47.360 --> 01:05:50.139 I, if I could be on the other side of this camera, 01:05:50.219 --> 01:05:54.159 I would be, that's just me personally. And so, 01:05:54.159 --> 01:05:56.119 you know, it's something I really have struggled 01:05:56.119 --> 01:06:01.349 with because like that's, I'm just not. I'm a 01:06:01.349 --> 01:06:05.170 quiet introvert, right? And so this is something 01:06:05.170 --> 01:06:06.829 I was really dealing with for quite some time. 01:06:07.389 --> 01:06:10.969 And this one lady, she emailed me on a Saturday 01:06:10.969 --> 01:06:13.269 morning. It was 7 a .m. on Saturday morning. 01:06:13.349 --> 01:06:17.429 I'll never forget this. A couple years ago. And 01:06:17.429 --> 01:06:19.250 she goes, I'm sitting here listening to one of 01:06:19.250 --> 01:06:23.590 your songs. And the tempo of the song matches 01:06:23.590 --> 01:06:26.869 the pacing of my husband's breath as he takes 01:06:26.869 --> 01:06:35.980 his last one. I get those a lot. Wow. And at 01:06:35.980 --> 01:06:42.400 that point, that's where my mind said, you're 01:06:42.400 --> 01:06:46.179 being on camera or on a magazine or in a playlist 01:06:46.179 --> 01:06:50.179 or on a marquee. It's not for your own benefit. 01:06:51.300 --> 01:06:54.539 It's to bring people some hope, some healing, 01:06:54.619 --> 01:06:58.219 some comfort, some peace, some calm. That's why 01:06:58.219 --> 01:07:05.150 you're doing this. And that really, I needed 01:07:05.150 --> 01:07:09.210 that. I needed to hear that because then that 01:07:09.210 --> 01:07:14.349 became my purpose of like having the experience 01:07:14.349 --> 01:07:17.389 physically where like, I literally thought I 01:07:17.389 --> 01:07:21.130 was going to die and just the struggle that that 01:07:21.130 --> 01:07:26.250 came with and how like, even just like my laying 01:07:26.250 --> 01:07:27.989 on the floor underneath the piano during that 01:07:27.989 --> 01:07:30.949 recording session, was almost like, you know, 01:07:30.949 --> 01:07:35.230 this bomb, if you will. We're like understanding 01:07:35.230 --> 01:07:40.090 that, well, why would my music not be the same 01:07:40.090 --> 01:07:42.949 to someone else going through something difficult 01:07:42.949 --> 01:07:45.989 as well? And so that's something I've always 01:07:45.989 --> 01:07:49.130 have really tried to keep in mind, going back 01:07:49.130 --> 01:07:51.449 to even where we are, the album and creating 01:07:51.449 --> 01:07:55.489 the process. I was like, I needed that kind of 01:07:55.489 --> 01:07:58.110 shake, slap in the face, wake up. I'm like, no, 01:07:58.210 --> 01:08:02.590 no, no. Don't forget why you do this. Chad Lawson 01:08:02.590 --> 01:08:11.230 is not meant to like, wow. Right. I'm meant to 01:08:11.230 --> 01:08:16.310 just be like, I needed that. Yeah. So for me 01:08:16.310 --> 01:08:18.090 personally, yeah. Going back to your point of 01:08:18.090 --> 01:08:22.750 like having that physical period that I did really 01:08:22.750 --> 01:08:26.989 allowed me to understand that, like the importance 01:08:26.989 --> 01:08:29.810 of it. the significance behind it. And I think 01:08:29.810 --> 01:08:36.789 that's also where like, where I, it's, how do 01:08:36.789 --> 01:08:40.369 I say this? I think certain people create music 01:08:40.369 --> 01:08:44.310 just for knowing that going back to that point, 01:08:44.350 --> 01:08:46.310 knowing that there's going to be a return, a 01:08:46.310 --> 01:08:48.789 financial gain behind it. This playlist, the 01:08:48.789 --> 01:08:50.350 style is doing really well. So I'm going to do 01:08:50.350 --> 01:08:53.350 something with that. And I have a hard time with 01:08:53.350 --> 01:08:56.880 that. because actually i i personally know artists 01:08:56.880 --> 01:09:01.720 that do that and it's really i have a hard time 01:09:01.720 --> 01:09:03.920 with that because you're messing with people's 01:09:03.920 --> 01:09:07.159 emotions at that point right like you're you're 01:09:07.159 --> 01:09:10.300 creating something those artists that are doing 01:09:10.300 --> 01:09:15.060 that they are creating for the sense of seeing 01:09:15.060 --> 01:09:19.279 that there is something that they can sell and 01:09:19.279 --> 01:09:23.060 that just doesn't sit well with me and so um 01:09:24.390 --> 01:09:29.069 I think all of that stems from the idea of I 01:09:29.069 --> 01:09:32.229 know what I've been through and I hear all the 01:09:32.229 --> 01:09:35.789 time what others are going through. And so, man, 01:09:35.829 --> 01:09:41.350 shame on me if I ever just decide to try to make 01:09:41.350 --> 01:09:45.989 a money machine out of it, you know. So because 01:09:45.989 --> 01:09:49.970 like when you go through something so difficult 01:09:49.970 --> 01:09:53.010 as what I did or as what other people are going 01:09:53.010 --> 01:10:01.260 through. as well. Our role is just meant to just 01:10:01.260 --> 01:10:05.319 be there for them. I hear all the time from PTSD 01:10:05.319 --> 01:10:09.720 and people that are suffering with PTSD. And 01:10:09.720 --> 01:10:16.520 it's just the fact that I am able to create something 01:10:16.520 --> 01:10:20.279 that's allowing them to just find some rest. 01:10:24.720 --> 01:10:27.779 And it's important to me because like I've been 01:10:27.779 --> 01:10:30.560 through seasons physically where, you know, it 01:10:30.560 --> 01:10:34.939 was tough. And so now I understand, I get it. 01:10:35.159 --> 01:10:38.800 Right. So does that affect my writing? It does. 01:10:39.199 --> 01:10:44.279 Absolutely. Because at the end of the day, I 01:10:44.279 --> 01:10:50.180 want to create something just to help. Is that 01:10:50.180 --> 01:10:54.819 where this wellness bring? music and wellness 01:10:54.819 --> 01:11:00.060 together came. The idea of, not idea, but I guess 01:11:00.060 --> 01:11:07.159 inspiration. Yeah, it's funny. Years ago, somebody 01:11:07.159 --> 01:11:08.899 asked me, you know, if you weren't doing music, 01:11:09.000 --> 01:11:12.779 what would you be doing besides music? And I 01:11:12.779 --> 01:11:14.239 was like, oh, I probably would be a psychologist, 01:11:14.560 --> 01:11:17.000 you know, because I love talking about this stuff. 01:11:17.380 --> 01:11:20.380 And they're like, well, you kind of already are 01:11:20.380 --> 01:11:24.750 with your music. I'm like, huh it's interesting 01:11:24.750 --> 01:11:27.289 to think about right but when you when you when 01:11:27.289 --> 01:11:30.529 you see the connection of music and wellness 01:11:30.529 --> 01:11:35.130 and music and mindfulness there are i mean scientifically 01:11:35.130 --> 01:11:36.890 there's a couple things that are going on but 01:11:36.890 --> 01:11:39.630 then also like in the wellness space emotionally 01:11:39.630 --> 01:11:41.409 there's a couple things going on so scientifically 01:11:41.409 --> 01:11:46.550 if you look at music there was a wonderful study 01:11:46.550 --> 01:11:49.939 by harvard and oxford press That said, listening 01:11:49.939 --> 01:11:52.060 to calming music three to five minutes, just 01:11:52.060 --> 01:11:55.039 three to five minutes raises this thing called 01:11:55.039 --> 01:11:59.140 BDNFs, which is a fancy like protein in your 01:11:59.140 --> 01:12:02.020 body, basically around the beltway. But it's 01:12:02.020 --> 01:12:04.739 what makes you feel good if you work out or if 01:12:04.739 --> 01:12:07.380 you have coffee with a friend or if you take 01:12:07.380 --> 01:12:10.819 a walk in nature or if you, you know, one of 01:12:10.819 --> 01:12:12.380 those things where like you just feel better 01:12:12.380 --> 01:12:15.380 when you're doing it. Those are your BDNFs that 01:12:15.380 --> 01:12:18.640 are being elevated. Well, music does the same. 01:12:19.119 --> 01:12:21.819 But the interesting thing about this study is 01:12:21.819 --> 01:12:26.239 that music was the only passive thing. Everything 01:12:26.239 --> 01:12:28.779 else had to be like an active participatory, 01:12:28.899 --> 01:12:31.920 you know, walking, talking, you know, all the 01:12:31.920 --> 01:12:34.880 things. Whereas music, you could just lay on 01:12:34.880 --> 01:12:38.319 the floor and hit play. And then all of a sudden 01:12:38.319 --> 01:12:40.939 you started feeling better. So like there's science 01:12:40.939 --> 01:12:44.220 to this, like neurologically speaking. And so 01:12:44.220 --> 01:12:47.079 like. You're feeling better scientifically. But 01:12:47.079 --> 01:12:49.600 then if we look at this from a wellness perspective 01:12:49.600 --> 01:12:52.420 or from an emotional perspective, what music 01:12:52.420 --> 01:12:55.340 does is it brings us into the present moment 01:12:55.340 --> 01:12:58.859 if we allow ourselves to be there. But think 01:12:58.859 --> 01:13:06.819 of months ago, I was in LA in an Uber, had the 01:13:06.819 --> 01:13:10.109 window down. and like a song came on and i literally 01:13:10.109 --> 01:13:11.970 just started like smiling ear to ear because 01:13:11.970 --> 01:13:14.329 it was like it was perfect day it was like temperature 01:13:14.329 --> 01:13:17.649 was amazing the sun and the song came on i don't 01:13:17.649 --> 01:13:19.369 want to mention who it was but like it was so 01:13:19.369 --> 01:13:22.989 it was a pop song and i'm just smiling and i'm 01:13:22.989 --> 01:13:27.390 just like man like how often do we just forget 01:13:27.390 --> 01:13:30.470 to like just enjoy music just for a second and 01:13:30.470 --> 01:13:32.890 just like all the things that's related to it 01:13:32.890 --> 01:13:35.149 right like i have still all that imagery in my 01:13:35.149 --> 01:13:40.569 head But even going back to this, I mean, music, 01:13:40.670 --> 01:13:44.489 the reason why I love it so much attached to 01:13:44.489 --> 01:13:49.189 the wellness idiom is that it does bring you 01:13:49.189 --> 01:13:51.649 into that moment. But the way I like to describe 01:13:51.649 --> 01:13:56.510 music is it can be a distraction for your distractions. 01:13:57.710 --> 01:14:01.729 And so what I mean by that is we constantly are 01:14:01.729 --> 01:14:05.510 being bombarded by like 10 ,000 things, right? 01:14:05.609 --> 01:14:08.270 And so we have all of these distractions. And 01:14:08.270 --> 01:14:11.449 this is why when I teach meditation or when I 01:14:11.449 --> 01:14:14.029 share this with young adults, I talk about even 01:14:14.029 --> 01:14:18.470 just trying to be still and to breathe or trying 01:14:18.470 --> 01:14:21.130 to be still and just to sit silently just for 01:14:21.130 --> 01:14:23.710 a little bit. Because what you're beginning to 01:14:23.710 --> 01:14:25.850 do is you're beginning to build this internal 01:14:25.850 --> 01:14:29.670 mechanism. where you can, I don't say turn off 01:14:29.670 --> 01:14:32.170 those distractions, but you can acknowledge them, 01:14:32.250 --> 01:14:34.829 you notice them, but they're no longer pulling 01:14:34.829 --> 01:14:38.109 you, they're no longer distracting you. And so 01:14:38.109 --> 01:14:42.090 music can be the same thing. So what we're trying 01:14:42.090 --> 01:14:44.310 to do, for instance, here, I'll do this with 01:14:44.310 --> 01:14:48.710 you, if you don't mind. And if you're watching, 01:14:48.890 --> 01:14:50.750 for those that are watching, if you would just 01:14:50.750 --> 01:14:55.899 close your eyes. And with your eyes closed, I 01:14:55.899 --> 01:14:59.520 want you to wait until I hit the singing bowl. 01:14:59.779 --> 01:15:01.939 And when you do hear it, just keep your eyes 01:15:01.939 --> 01:15:03.920 closed. But right now what we're doing is we're 01:15:03.920 --> 01:15:11.880 simply waiting to hear it. No peeking. Keep your 01:15:11.880 --> 01:15:38.739 eyes closed. You can open your eyes if you want. 01:15:39.579 --> 01:15:42.800 So during that 30 seconds or so that we just 01:15:42.800 --> 01:15:48.239 did, we had our mind focusing on one thing, waiting 01:15:48.239 --> 01:15:51.960 for the sound of the bowl. We weren't thinking, 01:15:52.079 --> 01:15:55.560 is my car on the wrong side of the street? Am 01:15:55.560 --> 01:15:57.300 I going to get a parking ticket? We're not thinking, 01:15:57.460 --> 01:16:00.500 you know, all the things. We're literally focusing 01:16:00.500 --> 01:16:04.060 on when is he going to strike the bowl? And so 01:16:04.060 --> 01:16:07.870 what just happened is we began meditating. We 01:16:07.870 --> 01:16:13.670 created a distraction for our distractions. And 01:16:13.670 --> 01:16:15.250 so what we're trying to do is we're trying to 01:16:15.250 --> 01:16:19.409 get our mind to focus on one thing. So we have 01:16:19.409 --> 01:16:23.369 this thing called the ANS, basically, just like 01:16:23.369 --> 01:16:25.670 your nervous system, that we're trying to get 01:16:25.670 --> 01:16:29.390 it just to focus on one thing. Music can be that 01:16:29.390 --> 01:16:33.930 distraction. So be it practicing piano. be it 01:16:33.930 --> 01:16:36.850 focusing on scales, be it focusing on Bach and 01:16:36.850 --> 01:16:40.149 the fingering, that is meditation. So a lot of 01:16:40.149 --> 01:16:41.569 times people are like, I don't know how to meditate. 01:16:41.930 --> 01:16:43.649 What's something that you really enjoy doing, 01:16:43.810 --> 01:16:48.310 right? So for us as pianists, it's practicing, 01:16:48.430 --> 01:16:52.689 like slowly, intentionally. And if our mind begins 01:16:52.689 --> 01:16:55.550 to wonder, I'm hungry. What's going on in the 01:16:55.550 --> 01:16:58.590 news? I should check my phone. But if we pause 01:16:58.590 --> 01:17:02.850 and if we bring back to one, four, two, three, 01:17:03.109 --> 01:17:07.949 we are returning to meditation. We're creating 01:17:07.949 --> 01:17:10.890 that distraction of our distractions. Or when 01:17:10.890 --> 01:17:14.229 we listen to music, if we turn everything off 01:17:14.229 --> 01:17:16.050 and we close our eyes and we put on Horowitz, 01:17:16.310 --> 01:17:20.069 right? Or we put on, you know, Murray Pariah 01:17:20.069 --> 01:17:25.090 or Yuzhu Wang and we just... Listen. That's meditation. 01:17:26.029 --> 01:17:29.829 Right. So that's, that's why I love, like, I 01:17:29.829 --> 01:17:33.390 mean, I feel like it's just wellness and music. 01:17:33.630 --> 01:17:37.130 They're just, they're one. If we look at it in 01:17:37.130 --> 01:17:40.270 the right way. And that's at least how I see 01:17:40.270 --> 01:17:45.310 it. Oh, thank you. Well, I really needed the 01:17:45.310 --> 01:17:50.319 30 seconds. It's so good. Right. Yeah. look how 01:17:50.319 --> 01:17:53.520 good you felt doing it. Like even myself, it's 01:17:53.520 --> 01:17:56.680 like, it's good. It's a brainwash. That's what 01:17:56.680 --> 01:17:59.000 I call. No, you just close your eyes. You just 01:17:59.000 --> 01:18:02.079 imagine like, you just like scrubbing your brain. 01:18:02.100 --> 01:18:04.779 You're like, Oh, this feels so good. Why don't 01:18:04.779 --> 01:18:09.760 I do this more often? So I want to talk about 01:18:09.760 --> 01:18:12.340 your podcast. So bringing everything together, 01:18:12.399 --> 01:18:16.970 basically your wellness and music. And also you're 01:18:16.970 --> 01:18:19.989 literally speaking to people. And every episode 01:18:19.989 --> 01:18:24.869 comes in like bite -sized, you know, 10, 15 minutes. 01:18:25.149 --> 01:18:28.590 And you also do meditation, like two -minute 01:18:28.590 --> 01:18:33.550 episodes, right? Yeah, I do morning affirmation, 01:18:33.670 --> 01:18:38.090 yeah. Oh, they are so great. And then every episode 01:18:38.090 --> 01:18:42.550 has a specific message, whether that is anxiety 01:18:42.550 --> 01:18:46.170 or whether that is, I don't know. different topics 01:18:46.170 --> 01:18:50.750 i think so yeah so again going back and you know 01:18:50.750 --> 01:18:53.590 i'm not licensed i'm not a therapist i just i'm 01:18:53.590 --> 01:18:57.710 really curious and i love to read um and you 01:18:57.710 --> 01:19:00.350 know with the podcast it took me a little while 01:19:00.350 --> 01:19:01.909 to figure out took me a little while to find 01:19:01.909 --> 01:19:05.229 my own voice as all of us with our pianistic 01:19:05.229 --> 01:19:11.710 approaches um and what i found like was two things 01:19:11.710 --> 01:19:17.409 um bite size Cause I tried different like lengths 01:19:17.409 --> 01:19:21.149 of the podcast. Like I think 30 minutes was the 01:19:21.149 --> 01:19:23.130 longest I ever did. But when I started getting 01:19:23.130 --> 01:19:25.250 around that 15 minute mark, that's when people 01:19:25.250 --> 01:19:27.869 really started being able to comment and just 01:19:27.869 --> 01:19:30.029 kind of, Hey, I really liked that. It was really 01:19:30.029 --> 01:19:32.390 wonderful. Cause also this is a very, it can 01:19:32.390 --> 01:19:34.989 be a heavy subject because we're dealing with 01:19:34.989 --> 01:19:38.630 heavy things. And I wanted to make sure with 01:19:38.630 --> 01:19:41.689 the podcast, it's called calm it down. I wanted 01:19:41.689 --> 01:19:45.420 to make sure that it was. lighthearted, encouraging, 01:19:45.720 --> 01:19:48.500 and that there was always one or two little takeaways, 01:19:48.800 --> 01:19:50.760 like something that the listener could take with 01:19:50.760 --> 01:19:52.739 them until the next week that they could work 01:19:52.739 --> 01:19:56.460 on and try through. Because I had found for me 01:19:56.460 --> 01:20:00.439 personally, a number of podcasts in this space 01:20:00.439 --> 01:20:03.340 were kind of heavy, you know, because it is such 01:20:03.340 --> 01:20:05.899 like a heavy topic that I almost felt worse after 01:20:05.899 --> 01:20:08.760 listening to the episodes. So I was like, you 01:20:08.760 --> 01:20:10.020 know, I want to create something like kind of 01:20:10.020 --> 01:20:12.699 lighthearted and just encouraging. And so with 01:20:12.699 --> 01:20:15.939 Calm It Down, it really is meant to be just, 01:20:16.020 --> 01:20:17.960 you know, 10 to 15 minutes of something really 01:20:17.960 --> 01:20:21.020 encouraging. Now, the subject matter is really 01:20:21.020 --> 01:20:24.220 interesting, though. Like, where do I find the 01:20:24.220 --> 01:20:27.500 subject matter? And I have to be honest, I get 01:20:27.500 --> 01:20:31.119 it from TikTok. So because you have this young 01:20:31.119 --> 01:20:35.779 audience who they are unapologetic in how they 01:20:35.779 --> 01:20:41.609 feel. And they are just without, they are just 01:20:41.609 --> 01:20:43.869 brazen and they just put it out there. This is 01:20:43.869 --> 01:20:45.829 what I'm feeling, right? Whereas like, I feel 01:20:45.829 --> 01:20:49.029 like maybe my generation and my parents' generation, 01:20:49.210 --> 01:20:51.329 it was complete opposite. And it was very suppressed. 01:20:51.510 --> 01:20:53.430 And we don't talk about things and we just keep 01:20:53.430 --> 01:20:55.909 them inside. And I feel like this younger generation, 01:20:56.029 --> 01:20:58.590 they're just like, no, like this is what I'm 01:20:58.590 --> 01:21:01.149 feeling. I want to share. And then you have other 01:21:01.149 --> 01:21:03.649 people that are like, oh my gosh, that's exactly 01:21:03.649 --> 01:21:06.569 what I'm going through. And now you've got this 01:21:06.569 --> 01:21:09.409 shared opportunity. I mean, there are a lot of 01:21:09.409 --> 01:21:11.770 shade that we can throw to social media, such 01:21:11.770 --> 01:21:14.090 as, you know, TikTok and whatnot. But also I 01:21:14.090 --> 01:21:17.390 think there's a lot of things that are like good 01:21:17.390 --> 01:21:20.289 about it, right? So it's getting people to talk. 01:21:20.390 --> 01:21:22.470 It's bringing up conversations. It's bringing 01:21:22.470 --> 01:21:24.750 up points that like people feel like they're 01:21:24.750 --> 01:21:28.770 just alone in. So most of my stuff, as far as 01:21:28.770 --> 01:21:32.010 topics are concerned, it comes from TikTok. Again, 01:21:32.109 --> 01:21:33.909 going back to being the data nerd that I am. 01:21:34.729 --> 01:21:41.310 My listening audience is 73 % female, aged 14 01:21:41.310 --> 01:21:45.630 to 28. It does go up to like 32, kind of in that 01:21:45.630 --> 01:21:51.250 area. And it's over 7 million downloads right 01:21:51.250 --> 01:21:58.989 now. That is a lot. And it's one of those things 01:21:58.989 --> 01:22:02.170 where, like, I literally thought this was going 01:22:02.170 --> 01:22:04.720 to be temporary. And even to the point where 01:22:04.720 --> 01:22:07.159 like when the last, I think even two years ago, 01:22:07.260 --> 01:22:09.680 I'm like, you know what? I should really want 01:22:09.680 --> 01:22:12.039 to get back to my piano, you know, because it's 01:22:12.039 --> 01:22:13.699 like two or three days I didn't have in the week 01:22:13.699 --> 01:22:16.979 to begin with. But each time like that's come 01:22:16.979 --> 01:22:19.939 to mind, there's always been like an email about, 01:22:20.060 --> 01:22:24.220 you know, all the things, right? I mean, I get 01:22:24.220 --> 01:22:26.760 emails that literally say, you know, I woke up 01:22:26.760 --> 01:22:28.880 this morning and I was going to take my life. 01:22:29.239 --> 01:22:33.510 And I heard your episode and decided. One more 01:22:33.510 --> 01:22:36.270 day. So like, how do you say no to that? How 01:22:36.270 --> 01:22:39.590 do you say, I wish you well? You don't. Right. 01:22:39.789 --> 01:22:42.949 And so like, this is the part of like art that 01:22:42.949 --> 01:22:45.289 I was saying earlier to where it's just like, 01:22:45.369 --> 01:22:50.289 you create it because like there is an audience 01:22:50.289 --> 01:22:54.829 that really, really is affected by it. Right. 01:22:54.909 --> 01:22:58.170 And so I'm fortunate enough. I'm grateful enough. 01:22:58.229 --> 01:23:00.470 And there are many other podcasts in this lane. 01:23:00.510 --> 01:23:05.609 Some are great. And, like, I am fortunate enough 01:23:05.609 --> 01:23:07.390 to be one of those people to where it's just, 01:23:07.430 --> 01:23:10.689 like, I feel like what I've been given to say 01:23:10.689 --> 01:23:14.670 is resonating. And so I'll continue doing this 01:23:14.670 --> 01:23:20.369 until it no longer resonates. And it's a lot. 01:23:20.850 --> 01:23:26.689 But, you know, if you think about it, like, the 01:23:26.689 --> 01:23:32.579 whole idea, you know, my average. listening audience 01:23:32.579 --> 01:23:39.220 for the episodes is roughly around like 20 ,000 01:23:39.220 --> 01:23:43.380 or so per episode. And, you know, I think of 01:23:43.380 --> 01:23:47.060 that number and I'm like, okay. And I shared 01:23:47.060 --> 01:23:49.960 this with a friend recently and they were like, 01:23:50.000 --> 01:23:54.880 you realize that's a stadium. That's literally 01:23:54.880 --> 01:23:58.220 a stadium listening to you every week. And that 01:23:58.220 --> 01:24:03.449 really got me because I was like, Oh, to look 01:24:03.449 --> 01:24:06.409 at it in that perspective. Right. But I don't 01:24:06.409 --> 01:24:09.250 look at it in the perspective of like, here's 01:24:09.250 --> 01:24:13.029 a stadium listening to me, but here's the stadium 01:24:13.029 --> 01:24:15.270 of 20 ,000 people every week that are wanting 01:24:15.270 --> 01:24:23.489 to like find help, find hope, like find what 01:24:23.489 --> 01:24:27.270 it is that can like make them look forward to 01:24:27.270 --> 01:24:29.770 the sun coming up the next day. You know, I'm 01:24:29.770 --> 01:24:32.199 not saying that like, you know, my listeners 01:24:32.199 --> 01:24:34.819 are like all like manic depressive. That's not 01:24:34.819 --> 01:24:39.340 it at all. But you do have like, you do have 01:24:39.340 --> 01:24:42.319 to look at it and say, these people, they need 01:24:42.319 --> 01:24:44.619 encouragement. Right. That's what we all do. 01:24:45.159 --> 01:24:50.300 Right. We all do. And so like, that's really 01:24:50.300 --> 01:24:53.479 just hard to let the podcast is kind of. slip 01:24:53.479 --> 01:24:56.140 away and just you know go back to my selfish 01:24:56.140 --> 01:24:58.859 practice time it doesn't that's not because then 01:24:58.859 --> 01:25:01.020 i think if i were to do that i'd be at the piano 01:25:01.020 --> 01:25:04.279 and that probably would even affect like what 01:25:04.279 --> 01:25:06.859 i'm producing musically speaking because now 01:25:06.859 --> 01:25:10.560 it's about me again and uh i i want no part of 01:25:10.560 --> 01:25:14.060 that so i appreciate you bringing up the podcast 01:25:14.060 --> 01:25:17.079 very much oh yeah of course and so it's called 01:25:17.079 --> 01:25:21.539 calm it down and available everywhere On podcast 01:25:21.539 --> 01:25:27.600 platforms. And also you can check out Chaz's 01:25:27.600 --> 01:25:32.500 website for his works. Oh, I was wondering, so 01:25:32.500 --> 01:25:34.699 all the music you produce, do you have scores, 01:25:34.979 --> 01:25:39.079 sheet music? I do, yes. Oh, great. Oh, wonderful. 01:25:39.260 --> 01:25:42.180 So they are available on your website at chadlawson 01:25:42.180 --> 01:25:47.979 .com? Yes, absolutely. Wonderful. So, I mean. 01:25:48.470 --> 01:25:50.670 we're coming to toward the end of our conversation, 01:25:50.810 --> 01:25:53.569 but I have one more question that would be, I 01:25:53.569 --> 01:25:56.810 know you're not the me, me, me person. And then, 01:25:56.810 --> 01:26:00.130 you know, what you do is like you said, it's 01:26:00.130 --> 01:26:04.850 to serve like service, right. To people. But 01:26:04.850 --> 01:26:10.470 I like to ask this, what do you hope your artistic 01:26:10.470 --> 01:26:17.970 legacy will be? I know you're still very young, 01:26:18.050 --> 01:26:22.210 but. Oh, thanks. I appreciate that. Very kind. 01:26:23.869 --> 01:26:32.869 As a man of 50. My legacy, I hope. There was 01:26:32.869 --> 01:26:35.890 an amazing book years ago called Good to Great. 01:26:36.810 --> 01:26:39.810 And in this book, Good to Great, I'm obviously 01:26:39.810 --> 01:26:43.489 a big reader. And this book, Good to Great, this 01:26:43.489 --> 01:26:45.789 guy followed all of these businesses throughout 01:26:45.789 --> 01:26:49.270 decades. And he was curious why some businesses 01:26:49.270 --> 01:26:52.810 were able to, like, sustain whatever the scenario 01:26:52.810 --> 01:26:55.909 was. And some would start and they would fizzle 01:26:55.909 --> 01:26:58.609 out. And he was like, what was it about these 01:26:58.609 --> 01:27:04.390 ones that last, you know, for even today? And 01:27:04.390 --> 01:27:09.869 he coined a phrase called just cause. The ones 01:27:09.869 --> 01:27:12.569 that were successful, they each had a just cause. 01:27:13.109 --> 01:27:17.409 And that just cause was basically what did this 01:27:17.409 --> 01:27:21.470 company stand for? What was their purpose? What 01:27:21.470 --> 01:27:24.369 was their meaning behind it? And it wasn't like 01:27:24.369 --> 01:27:26.489 an elevator pitch, but like if you could put 01:27:26.489 --> 01:27:30.770 like into like one or two words, what you do, 01:27:30.970 --> 01:27:37.920 what you are, that is your just cause. And I 01:27:37.920 --> 01:27:39.800 had to sit with that for a little while. Because, 01:27:39.859 --> 01:27:42.079 I mean, you know, I'm 50. I started playing when 01:27:42.079 --> 01:27:44.680 I was five. So I've been playing piano for a 01:27:44.680 --> 01:27:48.460 really long time. And it actually made me stop 01:27:48.460 --> 01:27:53.720 and ask, why do I play? Why do I do this? What's 01:27:53.720 --> 01:27:59.220 my point? And that really brought to the attention. 01:27:59.420 --> 01:28:01.500 And I chewed through this for, like, months. 01:28:02.060 --> 01:28:06.399 And I came to help people. Those three words. 01:28:07.020 --> 01:28:09.060 Like literally to help people. And if you look 01:28:09.060 --> 01:28:10.899 at it, it could be through the podcast. It could 01:28:10.899 --> 01:28:12.460 be through music. It could be through breathing. 01:28:12.579 --> 01:28:14.680 It could be through conversations. It could just 01:28:14.680 --> 01:28:19.199 be just sitting down with someone. And I think 01:28:19.199 --> 01:28:24.739 for musically speaking, my hope is not for someone 01:28:24.739 --> 01:28:28.119 to hear my music longer after I'm gone and to 01:28:28.119 --> 01:28:30.979 be like, that was incredible. My hope is for 01:28:30.979 --> 01:28:37.260 them to say, I really felt something. Like that's 01:28:37.260 --> 01:28:38.979 so emotional. Like my wife can't even listen 01:28:38.979 --> 01:28:41.159 to my music. She's like, it's just too emotional. 01:28:42.100 --> 01:28:46.779 So it's like, yeah. So I guess my legacy, I would 01:28:46.779 --> 01:28:52.899 use that word is to invite people just to feel. 01:28:54.159 --> 01:29:00.000 Okay. That's and I'll end on this because I think 01:29:00.000 --> 01:29:04.020 that's something that we've kind of lost. Yeah, 01:29:04.119 --> 01:29:10.960 I open every show with this. I say, we live in 01:29:10.960 --> 01:29:15.140 a time where we have seen everything. And we 01:29:15.140 --> 01:29:18.119 live in a time where we have heard everything. 01:29:19.920 --> 01:29:24.359 And yet we live in a time where we no longer 01:29:24.359 --> 01:29:29.600 feel anything. We've seen it. We've heard it. 01:29:30.260 --> 01:29:34.350 But we don't feel it. And I think that's the 01:29:34.350 --> 01:29:39.149 importance of music is for us to like understand, 01:29:39.270 --> 01:29:45.369 to strip away everything and to be able to have 01:29:45.369 --> 01:29:47.810 the wherewithal to just sit and to listen to 01:29:47.810 --> 01:29:50.949 a singing bowl or to listen to someone play Chopin 01:29:50.949 --> 01:29:55.270 or, you know, or Billie Holiday or whatever it 01:29:55.270 --> 01:29:59.039 may be. to be in an Uber in the backseat with 01:29:59.039 --> 01:30:01.199 the window down and to have a smile on your face 01:30:01.199 --> 01:30:05.979 because this song just tracks so well, right? 01:30:07.920 --> 01:30:13.039 That is what I hope my music will do is invite 01:30:13.039 --> 01:30:19.100 the listener to simply just feel. That's my hope. 01:30:20.739 --> 01:30:26.100 Well, thank you. So Now, what's next for you? 01:30:26.159 --> 01:30:28.800 I know you mentioned there are three songs coming 01:30:28.800 --> 01:30:32.000 up in October, but is there anything else? Some 01:30:32.000 --> 01:30:35.220 ideas, cooking? I start hitting the road soon. 01:30:35.720 --> 01:30:39.619 End of September, I go to Tokyo. Oh, that's where 01:30:39.619 --> 01:30:46.729 I am originally from. Oh, fantastic. uh speaking 01:30:46.729 --> 01:30:49.810 at a un world health organization engagement 01:30:49.810 --> 01:30:51.829 there there's a conference going over there um 01:30:51.829 --> 01:30:54.109 as well as doing a performance my very first 01:30:54.109 --> 01:30:57.630 time in tokyo and then i have some dates in europe 01:30:57.630 --> 01:31:01.949 in october i'm in dublin amsterdam hamburg and 01:31:01.949 --> 01:31:06.770 then in london um so london is some private things 01:31:06.770 --> 01:31:10.050 there are no no live performances but if you 01:31:10.050 --> 01:31:14.500 are in the dublin amsterdam or hamburg area Do 01:31:14.500 --> 01:31:16.899 look up on my website. I would love to see you. 01:31:16.899 --> 01:31:19.819 Come and say hello. So, yeah, I've got a couple 01:31:19.819 --> 01:31:22.159 of busy months ahead of me. So a lot of practicing. 01:31:22.880 --> 01:31:25.640 Oh, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. Great. 01:31:25.800 --> 01:31:27.939 And in the meantime, we can listen to your podcast, 01:31:28.239 --> 01:31:31.579 right? Indeed. Every Tuesday. Every Tuesday. 01:31:32.100 --> 01:31:36.140 Every Tuesday. Got it. Wonderful. So it's been 01:31:36.140 --> 01:31:38.079 a wonderful conversation. But before I let you 01:31:38.079 --> 01:31:40.060 go, we have one more thing. It's the rapid fire 01:31:40.060 --> 01:31:45.479 questions. So it's the each question is silly 01:31:45.479 --> 01:31:48.779 and fun. And I would like for you to answer them 01:31:48.779 --> 01:31:52.739 with shortest response possible. No explanation 01:31:52.739 --> 01:31:56.640 is needed. Okay. So level one. Can I like plead 01:31:56.640 --> 01:31:59.640 the fifth? There's like a fifth. Sure. Sure. 01:32:01.020 --> 01:32:04.699 All right. First one. What is your comfort food? 01:32:06.720 --> 01:32:12.159 Sushi. Great. Amen to that. How do you like your 01:32:12.159 --> 01:32:16.760 coffee in the morning? Black, 100%. Sunrise or 01:32:16.760 --> 01:32:24.039 sunset? Sunrise. Summer or winter? Winter. Okay. 01:32:24.739 --> 01:32:28.319 Level two. What skill have you always wanted 01:32:28.319 --> 01:32:31.029 to learn but haven't had a chance to? Handstand. 01:32:32.050 --> 01:32:37.369 Oh, handstand. Okay. What is your word or words 01:32:37.369 --> 01:32:43.630 to live by? Be kind. Oh, wonderful. Do you have 01:32:43.630 --> 01:32:46.689 any favorite venue you've performed in or a dream 01:32:46.689 --> 01:32:52.890 venue? Oh, gracious. I mean, Concert Cabal and 01:32:52.890 --> 01:32:55.470 El Philharmonic. I've done both of their recital 01:32:55.470 --> 01:32:58.550 rooms. Hopefully one day I'll be doing their... 01:32:58.989 --> 01:33:02.470 their main rooms. So that's those two. That's 01:33:02.470 --> 01:33:05.329 what I'm looking forward to. Oh, wow. Yes. And 01:33:05.329 --> 01:33:08.350 I know your dream will come true. All right. 01:33:08.390 --> 01:33:10.909 What is the most important quality you look for 01:33:10.909 --> 01:33:15.489 in other people? Kindness. Name a composer you 01:33:15.489 --> 01:33:20.569 wish more people knew about. Oh, fantastic. I 01:33:20.569 --> 01:33:24.010 really, I can't even pronounce her name to be 01:33:24.010 --> 01:33:27.590 honest, but can you give me two seconds? Yeah. 01:33:27.689 --> 01:33:31.539 Yeah. I'm sure many in your audience know her. 01:33:32.140 --> 01:33:34.619 Mel Bonas. Are you familiar with her at all? 01:33:34.979 --> 01:33:38.939 So she came, there we go. She came out of like 01:33:38.939 --> 01:33:42.460 the Debussy, Ravel kind of era. Look her up. 01:33:42.460 --> 01:33:46.079 I don't know. I didn't know. She is, I have three 01:33:46.079 --> 01:33:48.100 of her books I'm trying to like go through and 01:33:48.100 --> 01:33:51.460 like, not only analyze, but just play her stuff. 01:33:53.079 --> 01:33:57.619 This piece. Sorry, I know this is supposed to 01:33:57.619 --> 01:34:00.460 be rapid fire. It's okay. No, no, no. So look 01:34:00.460 --> 01:34:02.359 for this on streaming. Come on. There we go. 01:34:03.020 --> 01:34:08.960 Ophelia. And again, Melbonis, M -E -L -B -O -N 01:34:08.960 --> 01:34:16.199 -I -S. You may see her name listed as this. Right 01:34:16.199 --> 01:34:22.840 there at the very top. Okay. Beautiful. Gorgeous. 01:34:23.399 --> 01:34:28.420 Like I'm all things like female composers. I 01:34:28.420 --> 01:34:32.600 wish more people talked about them. When I am 01:34:32.600 --> 01:34:37.000 asked to create playlists for Apple, if they 01:34:37.000 --> 01:34:38.899 are like, hey, will you create a playlist or 01:34:38.899 --> 01:34:42.060 Spotify or anybody? I have a very strict rule 01:34:42.060 --> 01:34:45.680 and my team knows this because someone tried 01:34:45.680 --> 01:34:52.590 to tamper with it once and I got vocal. I have 01:34:52.590 --> 01:34:55.890 a very strict role of 60 -40. 60 % female, 40 01:34:55.890 --> 01:34:58.289 % male. Because I think a lot of times in this 01:34:58.289 --> 01:35:02.029 space, you have the same people over and over 01:35:02.029 --> 01:35:03.630 and over again that are always in the playlist, 01:35:03.829 --> 01:35:07.369 and it's very male -dominant. And I'm like, that's 01:35:07.369 --> 01:35:11.449 bunk. So I think, for me personally, there is 01:35:11.449 --> 01:35:14.970 a very strong 60 -40 rule when it comes to anything 01:35:14.970 --> 01:35:20.920 related to art. in my opinion, because there's 01:35:20.920 --> 01:35:23.819 a lot of creative women out there. I have an 01:35:23.819 --> 01:35:27.619 internal team, not related to the label that 01:35:27.619 --> 01:35:31.300 are seven people and all of them, but one are 01:35:31.300 --> 01:35:34.579 female. And there's a reason for that because 01:35:34.579 --> 01:35:38.199 I think women are smarter to be honest, because 01:35:38.199 --> 01:35:40.619 you all see things that like a lot of times, 01:35:40.680 --> 01:35:43.439 like I'm speaking just from my own personal experience. 01:35:44.239 --> 01:35:48.579 We don't. And so like, there's some, Insanely 01:35:48.579 --> 01:35:50.899 creative women out there. And I'm like, why are 01:35:50.899 --> 01:35:54.420 these women not being put into the spotlight 01:35:54.420 --> 01:35:58.359 more so? Caroline Shaw, buckets. Like, why are 01:35:58.359 --> 01:36:00.060 people not listening to Caroline Shaw, like, 01:36:00.140 --> 01:36:04.340 as much as anybody else, right? Sorry, it's a 01:36:04.340 --> 01:36:07.520 little tangent of mine. So check out, I know 01:36:07.520 --> 01:36:09.800 I'm pronouncing her name incorrectly, but Mel 01:36:09.800 --> 01:36:12.039 Bonas or Mel Bonet, or I don't know how it's 01:36:12.039 --> 01:36:14.100 pronounced, but definitely worth looking into. 01:36:14.300 --> 01:36:16.800 Yeah, well, check her out. Thank you so much 01:36:16.800 --> 01:36:19.619 for sharing. And I'm sorry to go back. There's 01:36:19.619 --> 01:36:21.779 one more going back to the rapid fire thing. 01:36:21.840 --> 01:36:23.039 When you said, what do you look for in people? 01:36:23.619 --> 01:36:27.859 Or do you wish people could be curious as well? 01:36:27.979 --> 01:36:30.239 Curious is one of my favorite words. So sorry. 01:36:30.479 --> 01:36:34.000 Yeah. No, it's okay. Thank you. So speaking of 01:36:34.000 --> 01:36:37.039 playlist, name one piece in your current playlist. 01:36:42.050 --> 01:36:45.470 Anything by the yeah, yeah, yes. I'm a huge yeah, 01:36:45.489 --> 01:36:50.850 yeah, yes fan. So maps, I guess. You know what? 01:36:50.869 --> 01:36:55.229 Also, let me see. Now I'm really curious myself. 01:36:55.770 --> 01:36:58.130 I've been listening to a lot of traditional Indian 01:36:58.130 --> 01:37:02.310 music lately. Like a lot. Again, I like listening 01:37:02.310 --> 01:37:05.909 to things that are outside of my circle just 01:37:05.909 --> 01:37:11.569 because it makes me learn something. I'm not 01:37:11.569 --> 01:37:16.649 really exposed to. Great. Wonderful. Last question. 01:37:16.890 --> 01:37:20.890 Fill in the blank. Music is blank. Everything. 01:37:21.710 --> 01:37:27.789 Ah, great. Chad, thank you so much for joining 01:37:27.789 --> 01:37:31.069 us today. Oh my goodness. Yukimi, you have been 01:37:31.069 --> 01:37:34.489 so kind and so inquisitive and so like patient 01:37:34.489 --> 01:37:38.039 with my rambling. So thank you so much. It's 01:37:38.039 --> 01:37:40.239 been like over 90 minutes and thank you so much 01:37:40.239 --> 01:37:43.199 for staying with me and then sharing your artistry 01:37:43.199 --> 01:37:46.239 journey and an innovative spirit with such openness 01:37:46.239 --> 01:37:49.420 and creativity and connection. So to our audience, 01:37:49.479 --> 01:37:52.180 if you'd like to explore more of Chad's work, 01:37:52.220 --> 01:37:55.100 please visit his website at chadlawson .com. 01:37:55.140 --> 01:37:58.260 Follow his YouTube channel at Chad Lawson Piano 01:37:58.260 --> 01:38:01.579 and Instagram. at Chad Lawson. And of course, 01:38:01.579 --> 01:38:05.359 you can please listen to his enlightening podcast, 01:38:05.680 --> 01:38:08.800 Calm It Down, wherever you listen to podcasts. 01:38:09.380 --> 01:38:12.260 All the links will be in the show notes. And 01:38:12.260 --> 01:38:14.880 of course, a huge thank you. You're so kind. 01:38:15.420 --> 01:38:19.600 Congratulations on season six. Fantastic. Thank 01:38:19.600 --> 01:38:24.800 you so much. Thank you. Thank you. So for those 01:38:24.800 --> 01:38:27.800 who are listening, please stay tuned for more 01:38:27.800 --> 01:38:31.779 episodes on the Pianopod on YouTube and wherever 01:38:31.779 --> 01:38:35.140 you get your podcast and follow us on all the 01:38:35.140 --> 01:38:37.979 social media platforms. I will see you in the 01:38:37.979 --> 01:38:40.079 next episode of the Pianopod. Thank you, Chad, 01:38:40.260 --> 01:38:44.039 so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. My dog 01:38:44.039 --> 01:38:46.619 is saying goodbye. So cute.