Threefifty’s Brett Parnell & Geremy Schulick – HuffPost 8.23.13
Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?
Geremy Schulick: I don’t know if I have a better answer than I did before; I still feel like a new artist myself all the time. I would just say follow what feels most genuine to you. I personally know a lot of people that told me, “You know, when I was in school, I was told I should write a certain way.” Even writing tone music was just not in style and you weren’t a respected composer if you wrote tonally. I think that’s fine if you’re passionate about that kind of music, but I feel like a lot of people when they go to school for music feel pressured to write in a certain way or play in a certain way that they’re being told to. I think that’s a lot of the responsibility of the teachers to try to bring out a more personal, unique nature in each student, but it’s also the student’s responsibility. It’s a delicate balance, to learn what you can from your teachers and take in as many influences as feel right to you but then also to realize that no one’s going to want to listen to you if you just want to sound like someone else or if you write in a certain style because someone tells you to. You need to discover what’s deep down. What is it that you like to listen to when you listen to music? I feel like if you don’t enjoy listening to what you’re playing at least at first… It’s hard for us to listen to our albums after we’ve listened to them twenty millions times in the recording studio, I think that’s natural. But if you ask yourself, “Would I want to listen to this and would I enjoy it if I were listening to it for the first time,” if the answer to that question is, “No,” then I think you should reconsider what you’re doing.
MR: That’s good, that’s really smart advice. What about you, Brett?
Brett Parnell: I don’t think I’m as articulate as Geremy. I would say that when it comes to whatever you’re doing, give it hell, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and don’t forget that being a good person is way more important than being a good musician.
MR: I love that answer. That’s my favorite answer of the day.
BP: [laughs] I’ve met a lot of really terrible human beings who are musicians, but maybe it’s just because I’ve started to associate myself with a lot of different ones, or maybe it’s starting to turn around. But just here in Brooklyn, I know a lot of musicians who are just incredible people. I think it helps with that sense of community, which again is something I’ve always searched for. I’ve always wanted to have a community within a music scene. Who knows, maybe it’s turning around and musicians are going to stop being jerks and we’re going to have a whole bunch of nice ones.