A Quick, On-The-Fly Conversation with Smooth Jazz Cruise Host Brian Culbertson – HuffPost 11.1.13
Mike Ragogna: Bryan, you are the maestro for this cruise. How do you feel about your musical cast?
Brian Culbertson: You know, the bottom line is that everyone is such a pro, it’s really easier than it looks. Everyone does their homework ahead of time; they come in prepared and we’re just putting the final touches on everything. I’m just making sure everyone stays in place, basically. I’m kind of conducting, like, “Oh, no, we’ve got to go over here now.” But when you have this caliber of musicians, they do their thing and it’s going to be great.
MR: This particular group, everybody learns something from someone. Did you personally take anything away from these performances, including your own?
BC: Wow, that’s a good question. I’m always listening and watching, so I would say yes, and I might not know it yet because I’m so nutty going from event to event to event. But once I have some time to decompress and download it all, I’ll probably think over some things like, “Wow that was really cool, I’ve got to remember that.” So right now, I don’t know yet, but I’m sure I did.
MR: [laughs] What about the non-piano performance that you did yesterday, flying off of the keyboard and then playing it backwards. Does anyone have the right to do that?
BC: [laughs] You know, that was one of those things that just kind of happened on one gig and the audience went nuts, so I said, “Okay.” That’s one of those things that I learned from a show and I kept that one in because, hey, you’ve got to do it. That’s the cool thing about shows; they’re always evolving and changing. We don’t necessarily put things into the show that we rehearse, they just happen sometimes, off the cuff, and those are some of the greatest things that happen. I think some of that definitely happened on the cruise as well. So many jam sessions that are unrehearsed, that’s an awesome thing.
MR: Do you ever walk away from some of these performances with big ideas? “That groove that we played over here, I need to work that out now.”
BC: Most of the time, if I like something, I’ll probably forget it by the time I’m working on a record, so I would say yes but then it never happens because I’ve moved on. Most of the time when I’m creative, I’m in the studio with a purpose. So that’s just kind of the way that I work and I’m about to go into this songwriting seminar and talk about it.
MR: Songwriting’s also a strong suit of yours. What’s the balance there between keyboards and songwriting, et cetera?
BC: Well, I think you kind of touched on how much technology do you use versus real instruments and to me, it has to do with what style you’re going for. What type of song is it? Is it more of an R&B-type song? Well, then I’m going to use the programmed drums to get that more edgy kind of sound.
MR: So that’s a part of the creative process?
BC: Yeah, I know what kind of song I’m in the midst of during the creative process and I’m sort of producing it as I write.
MR: Is it usually something very different by the time you’re done or is it close to what’s in your head?
BC: It definitely evolves, but once it gets to a certain point, then it stays.
MR: You’re about to do a certain project where you revisit older material. I expect you’re going to change things up a lot. What are you expecting to find when you start going back in time to fetch these pieces?
BC: Number one, it’s going to be different because of what the live musicians are bringing to the table. The first record, I pretty much did all the parts myself–drum programming and synth bass and all of those keyboard sounds and even sampled percussion stuff I was playing–trying to sound like a real guy. But all the real legendary musicians are coming in and I’m letting them do what they do. Obviously, there’s a guideline because I already have the songs. I’m like, “Okay, we’re going start here,” and then I let them do what they do and bring ideas that make it better.
MR: You like to mentor new artists as well, right?
BC: Oh definitely, I love working with new artists because there’s a blank slate.
MR: And you know where I’m going here, what is your advice for new artists?
BC: The advice is these days you sort of have to do as much as you can yourself when you’re first starting out because relying on other people is really tough right now. You’ve got to learn how to run Pro Tools and Logic and get in there and write your own songs and be a songwriter. Otherwise, the money’s going to somebody else. So write your own song, do your own tracks, and find your own sound. When you’re doing your own tracks, it’s easier to find your own sound, I think, versus finding a producer. When you’re starting out, what kind of producer are you going to hire when you don’t have much money? The more you can do yourself, the better. And you’ve got to self-market in the beginning as well, otherwise no one’s going to know who you are. You’ve got to get on the social media, you’ve got to post some YouTube clips of you doing your thing in your studio to get some awareness. Once you have a ground swell, maybe play out live, get a band together, become the biggest thing in your town, wherever that is, and put that on YouTube. You’ve got to use all of these tools that you have.
MR: Are you going to be using all these tools when you host your Napa Valley festival?
BC: Yes I am. It’s all about social media these days, just getting the word out, we’ve got a lot of videos out there already, highlights from the first two years. I’m excited about that because this year the lineup is really stellar.
Transcribed by Galen Hawthorne