Managing and Producing Talent
Photo by Alisha McKellar (Click on Photo to visit Simon's Myspace page)
For a man weighing around 40 pounds, 33-year-old Simon carries a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. It’s harder to know what the consumer wants when many of the consumers are running to music-sharing websites. But Simon must press on, doing what he does best–finding and producing talent.
What projects are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working on projects with Singer/Songwriter Margie Chadburn, Nate Currin, Funk/Soul artist George Tisdale, D. Wood (formerly of Danity Kane and MTV’s Making the Band), VIDA, and [I am] co-writing with several artists as well.
Also, just had a few records come out: Vonnegutt “The Appetizer EP” executive-produced by Big Boi of Outkast, Charlie Heffley “Conquering The World” single, and a remix of Manchester Orchestra’s “Tony The Tiger.”
As a music producer, how do you define talent?
Well I think the word talent is relative. As in, how do you determine what is good? It’s all a matter of opinion. For the most part, I see a lot of people that just have a natural gift for what they do…whether that’s singing, playing an instrument, composing music, vocal arranging, producing, etc…. In some people, including myself, it’s something that is naturally in you but is brought out over time and with a lot of practice.
What challenges do you face in your position as a music producer? How do you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges is to get artists to open up personally and vocally. When I work with someone, I usually take some time to get to know who they are as a person which should be reflected in the music they make. I have worked with artists that are extroverts as well as introverts. As a writer and producer myself, I come from my own experiences of being somewhat shy and timid about my skills early on, and that allows me to understand and identify with artists. I like to create the environment in the studio that is a place to convey musically who and what an artist is without any apologies or expectations–basically to lay it all out and let your guard down. There is a tremendous amount of vulnerability in making music or art of any kind really.
Describe the feeling of helping someone’s album or music career to be a success.
To me, it all starts with making great music with an artist or group. When you create music that everyone involved in can be proud of, its simply the first step. Its almost like creating a family–each song is a child that you create and mold to the best of your ability and release it to the world. When I finish a song with an artist and it evokes some kind of emotion with those involved and those that hear it, it’s really incredible. When I see songs I have produced or co-written performed by the artist and the crowd is reacting or even singing the lyrics back to the artist, its a feeling you really can’t put into words.
Rap music is kind of a touchy subject. Many feel it’s bad for a lot of reasons. Others think it’s a raw and uncensored form of communication. Why do you personally like rap music? And describe what you feel the current state of the genre is both morally and financially.
Well, I like and work with all types of music. I think that rap music is sometimes singled out as bad. My basic argument for all music is that it is up to the consumer to make determinations on what they do and don’t want to hear or what they do and don’t find offensive. I do not agree with music censorship at all as it is, after all, a form of art. We have a choice of what each of us wants to listen to. I remind people all the time that it is called the “entertainment” business for the simple reason that its not all true and believable. For example, when a violently or verbally graphic movie comes out, no one has a problem because we know it’s entertainment; music should be viewed the same way.
Financially, the internet is slowly deteriorating the industry. Most people believe that ‘sharing’ music is fine and doesn’t hurt anyone. But when someone, such as myself, makes a living from music sales, you see the real impact it has on people in the industry. I put it this way, for anyone who works a 9-5 office job, it’s like working your ass off for two weeks and at the end of those two weeks, your boss comes in, says ‘great work’, pats you on the back and walks out and that’s your only paycheck. We need to get back to appreciating and supporting great music/artists by “buying” albums. There are so many great outlets online to buy music at a great price.
What are you most proud of at this moment in your life?
That’s a tough one. I think overall, its that I have always stuck to my forward movement in the music business and always while maintaining my own integrity. Also, learning to see that so-called “setbacks” are merely learning tools to move you forward even further.
What do you still hope to accomplish—future goals and plans?
A few Grammy nominations and wins? Wife and Kids? Maybe another place in Miami, NY and Los Angeles? Most of all, I just look forward to making great music that people can get something out of, just like I get from making it.
Simon currently runs an organization called Mind for Music which provides “music equipment, such as computers, software, and other technology to individuals with physical challenges that are not able to learn and explore music through traditional means.”
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