17 Justus West - Exploring the Art of Making Music and Community Building

Exploring the Art of Making Music

and Community Building with Justus West.

 In this episode, guitarist and producer Justus shares insights into his musical journey, the challenges of mastering guitar, and the importance of community among creatives. Discover how his diverse experiences—from playing with top artists to building spaces for artists in LA shape his perspective on music and collaboration.

Key Topics:

• Justus early start in music and gigging at age 10 in Kansas City
• The complexity and craftsmanship of guitar playing, and why it can't be easily mimicked or shortcut
• The significance of credit, recognition, and systemic issues in the music industry
• The impact of winning the Guitar Center competition and what it did for his career trajectory
• How living in Nashville and LA influenced his growth as a creator
• His experience working with artists like Mac Miller, John Legend, and the story behind the NPR Tiny Desk performance
• Building a creative community in LA focused on genuine friendship and cross-disciplinary pursuits
• Perspectives on the current state of the music industry, streaming, and artist monetization
• Tips for young guitarists and creative entrepreneurs navigating their careers
• The importance of in-person connection and spontaneous creativity in vibrant city scenes like New York and LA
• Personal reflections on legendary artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder
• Connect with Justice:
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:01

Welcome to Shoot Wisely, the Content Creators Podcast. I'm your host, Amir Bahimi. With over 25 years of production experience, as a documentarian, my cameras have taken me across this country and around this amazing world capturing and telling stories. The Shoot Wisely Podcast is a conversation with fellow storytellers with the goal to inspire. Today's guest is one of those musicians you've definitely heard of, even if you don't know his name yet. Justice West is a world-class guitarist, producer, and artist who's worked with everyone from John Legend, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and Mac Miller. He's a Grammy-winning collaborator, a core part of the 15 or nothing collective, and someone who's quietly become one of the most trusted musicians in modern music. But beyond the credits, Justice represents a new kind of artist, someone who can move seamlessly between live performance, studio sessions, and building his own sound as a solo creator, while also spearheading a growing collective of creatives through in-person meetups that bring community back to the forefront. This is a conversation about musicianship, longevity, and what it really takes to thrive behind the scenes in today's music industry. This is Justice West. First of all, Justice, I just want to say thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Yeah, of course. And I I just want to jump into it. You know, you regarded as as one of the one of the up-and-coming and established young guitarists. Um I believe John Mayer said that he's that you're one of his favorite guitarists today, which is, you know, high praise coming from one of the greatest guitarists uh alive today. Um I want to start with uh correct me if I'm wrong, but uh you started playing when you were eight years old.

SPEAKER_05 1:49

Yes, I started playing when I was eight. Um I come from a musical family. Um all my extended family sings on my mother's side, you know, my mom's songwriter, my dad is a producer, and so I was just always around music growing up.

SPEAKER_04 2:06

And this was Kansas City?

SPEAKER_05 2:07

Yep. Back in the Midwest.

SPEAKER_04 2:10

Awesome. And how did you was it just did it come natural to you? Did it was it something that you really I mean, obviously you had to practice, but was it something that you just did to?

SPEAKER_05 2:19

Yeah, I mean, guitar playing came pretty natural to me. Um, I mean, I was already gigging by the time I was like 10 or 11. So it didn't take long for me to get pretty acquainted with it. And um I was homeschooled, so I would just do my schoolwork and then play guitar the rest of the day.

SPEAKER_04 2:37

Amazing. So what was it like gigging at 10 years old?

SPEAKER_05 2:41

Um it's it's a bit interesting being in adult environments. I think um one thing that you're never really prepped for as a kid is dealing with um the intimidation factor of being around adults. And it kind of goes both ways because I was already getting gigs that were paying what adults were making. Um then also me being a kid, you're just kind of scared because you're just in like not like scared, scared, but you know, you're just always in kind of these adult spaces. Um and I had plenty of people looking out for me, but you just, you know, it was weird always being a kid and adults being mad at you for just being good, you know.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

Yeah, I mean I've I've gone to Kansas City a few times for work and and um for lack of better term, la Kansas City can be very real. Yeah. And um, especially when you go outside uh the city. So for a young man to be playing in some of those places, I'm sure it it um it fast tracked your maturity, probably.

SPEAKER_05 3:42

Yeah, most definitely.

SPEAKER_04 3:44

I wanted to read you a quote uh by the uh late great Prince. It's important that kids actually learn to play the guitar. It's a tough instrument.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

It's not easy. Uh it took me a long time, and it was frustrating at first. And you just have to stick with it. And uh it's cool for people who don't have time to learn the chords or ain't interested in it, but uh it to play music is one of the greatest things to create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings, and I would I don't know, I wish it upon everybody. It's seven.

SPEAKER_04 4:25

Can you expand on that?

SPEAKER_05 4:28

Yeah, I mean, guitar is a tough instrument. Um, I was recently reminded of this because I thought for a minute I was going to teach myself how to play left-handed because I was just like, oh, I've been playing right-handed for 20 years. Like, I just wanted to see if I could flip the guitar around. And uh, it it literally like the first week of trying this, because I tried it for a few days before I gave up, just reminded me of what it was like when I first started playing. And it's funny because it's like once you reach a certain point of proficiency, you don't really think about um how hard it was at the beginning because there's kind of this uh flow state you reach when learning something. Like at first, learning, you know, a guitar solo or learning chords, or even just the action of pressing your fingers down against the neck is like the hardest thing you'll ever do. But once you get over the hump, there's like this um kind of like dangling carrot thing that happens where you know you just you're excited about getting over the big hump and it kind of helps you prep to get over more, you know, humps in the future. But um, so you often do kind of forget that like in the beginning, it's kind of like, yeah, it's a tougher instrument. I mean, it's rough on your fingertips, you know, you're getting blisters and bruises, and you know, I've you know, you don't really think about the days when your finger was split open from practicing too much and you couldn't play for four days. Because, you know, I think back all the time, like, you know, my fingers being literally raw because I'm playing for eight hours a day. And after, you know, two or three weeks of that, like your fingertips literally just kind of like evaporate. So even when I talk to people who have just gotten into the instrument, you know, talking to them always kind of reminds me of like how kind of rough it is in the beginning, you know, popping your first string, you know, just like all these like crazy things that come with putting like, you know, a hundred pounds of pressure metal on a on a piece of a tree that was carved out. It, you know, uh guitars are quite fancy now. I have some fancy guitars, but they're still like a pretty archaic thing when you think about it.

SPEAKER_04 6:35

What what makes a fancy guitar?

SPEAKER_05 6:38

Oh man, it's a whole bunch of just modern, you know, it's it's great woods and you know, it kind of feels like the same thing with cars, you know, like ultimately a good car gets you to and fro safely. Um, but you know, if you drive a Rolls-Royce after a Toyota Corolla, you start realizing that like there's like all these things that can make it a more enjoyable experience. And guitars are kind of the same way. Like, you know, I got guitars with fancy woods and different, you know, neck shapes, and you know, they're super smooth to play, and then you get into low action and you're getting into, you know, different string compounds, and and then you get into pedal boards and you realize oh, a compressor makes it so much easier to play because it's grabbing the notes for you and like all these things, but like ultimately, no matter what you have, you just kind of have like some metal boxes and and a piece of a tree with some metal strings, and that makes like a really enjoyable sound kind of wild.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

See, uh to hear you talk about that, I feel like there's no cheating playing a guitar. And for me, photography when people shoot digital, I always explain like, why don't you just pick up a film camera and just see what it's like to to learn like the the ins and outs of it? But after hearing you explain, do you think there in today there's ways to cut corners learning guitar?

SPEAKER_05 8:03

Nah, guitar is probably pretty much all the family of stringed instruments from you know orchestral instruments all the way through mandolins and banjos. There's just no way to cheat any of them because they're not. They're probably like the last, not the only thing in existence, but maybe one of the only things left in existence that just can never be digitized. Like no matter how hard you try, and you can do freaking, you know, they used to have like the music game on the Wii or like, you know, just like all these different attempts at like making democratizing guitar. Um, I think the closest you can get to is like, you know, maybe some of those contact libraries that Native Instruments makes, you know, where it's like you can put in the chord and the strumming pattern. Um, but even that still doesn't really have the life of a real guitar player. Like there are other things in creative discipline now that you can like very easily shortcut all the work to get to like a result. But guitar is just one of the few things that like it just it just never can really be hacked. Even if it's a digital guitar, like a MIDI guitar or something, it's still like you gotta know chord shapes and you know, understand how to make it sound musical. And then most of those still end up just being used on sims. You know, it's usually like guitar players use a MIDI guitar to play MIDI sounds, they're not trying to play guitar still. It's uh yeah, you just can't hack it, man. It's just real.

SPEAKER_04 9:32

So uh being an analog person in a digital world, what is I'm sure you know you're in high demand. So what is the difference between somebody asking you to uh send them a session as opposed to being in the studio with that artist?

SPEAKER_05 9:55

Um, well, I mean, in my case, I don't there's always been kind of this tug because I'm in demand as a live player, but I'm also an accomplished producer. And so now it's like um I don't really I try to stray away from doing session work because because the the problem is people use my producer brain um and don't treat me like a session player. And it's like it's actually this interesting thing that I've heard other accomplished musicians and producers and let me just ask you, when you when you say session, you mean in session in person? Um I mean sending in or in person, just like session work in terms of like I'm not writing the song, I'm just adding to the song. Um but but ultimately, you know, um, unless parts are being dictated to you, you're kind of always a writer. Um, and so you know, um, in terms of songwriting and producing, you know, in-person is is usually better um just because the artist will normally be more connected to the piece of work, which usually ensures that it's more likely to make the album. Um, you know, sending stuff in works to an extent. Um, but there is kind of like a bit of show and tell when it comes to selling songs. And I've definitely seen the difference over the years of like in person with a concept, with the artists, with the writers, opposed to trying to, you know, send stuff in. Um but yeah, in terms of guitar specifically, I don't really track guitar for a lot of people because it goes unpaid or uncredited, or I end up adding more to the song, but then not it's never reflects my actual contributions, you know. Um it's like people kind of use the musician thing against you at a certain point, you know, like, oh, you're a really good player, but you know, I mean, I've been producing since I was 13 as well. I got my first placement at 13. So um on 98 degrees, funny enough. Um yeah, it's pretty wild. So, you know, it's been interesting always balancing that because most really great musicians don't produce and most really great producers don't play. And I've always been this like kind of odd hybrid. Um, so yeah, it's a funky, it's a funky experience sometimes.

SPEAKER_04 12:23

So I want to talk about um on stage with Vince Gill. How did that how did that come about and and what did that do for your career?

SPEAKER_05 12:31

Um, I was very ill at the time. I had gotten bitten by a brown recluse spider and had a very rare reaction to the venom. And so I was in the ICU for well over a month, almost two months. And then I was in recovery when that competition came up. So I had actually entered their previous competition with Zed and didn't obviously win anything. Um, but I was on their email list, you know, for the next comp competitions and the Vince Gill one came up, and I was like, oh, this one's actually a guitar thing. So maybe I can actually do this one.

SPEAKER_04 13:06

And is it a guitar solo that you have to perform?

SPEAKER_05 13:08

Or yeah, they gave you the song, and you basically performed as if you were the the lead guitar player. Um and so I just set up a camera, submitted my video. Um, I'm still not all too sure about how he found me or saw it. You know, I wasn't one of like the viral people, you know, or whatever, but he saw it and I mean he was like, man, uh that kid, he's special. And so I went and did the um, it was literally like a year almost to the date of me almost dying from the spider bite. I was like flying to LA um to play. So they they technically have five winners. One guy got the money, but we all five were like got all the same prizes. He just got money. He technically won, but we all won also.

SPEAKER_04 13:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um and so um it's like American Idol. You don't actually have to win to get a career out of it. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 14:05

And so from there, you know, it was just a lot of awareness, I'll say, because what ended up happening was most of my interviews and my performance kept getting screened in guitar centers across the country, and then the social media thing as well, you know, and I was already posting a lot. So it was kind of like already building kind of a social media community before a lot of guitarists were really even like posting videos like that. And so yeah, I was able to generate gigs and and a lot of notoriety and things from that that point. And then I ended up doing my first major tour the next year. So it just kind of all compiled, and then I moved to LA in 2018. So from there, it was like when I got some traction.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Before LA, what you moved to Nashville when you were 18?

SPEAKER_05 14:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:57

What what did that do for your creative process and just you as a creative?

SPEAKER_05 15:02

I wasn't actually there very long. Oh so not much. Um I played with Vince a handful of times in my short time there, which was awesome. And then he joined the Eagles. Probably I was there for like three or four months, and he joined the Eagles. And so I didn't see him much for a while after that.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

So Nashville came after winning the award? Winning the guitar center? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_05 15:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to Nashville right after the guitar center thing.

SPEAKER_04 15:31

And why why was that?

SPEAKER_05 15:32

Did it just feel like uh Um he did he actually asked me to go? He was like, yo, you should come to Nashville. And uh I just think even he didn't expect that the Eagles were gonna like ask him to join the band. So originally I was gonna go and play with him in the time jumpers and go to the Opry and different places and probably generate some gigs in the Nashville circuit that way. But yeah, he was um I mean it's the freaking Eagles, like he wouldn't say no.

SPEAKER_04 15:59

Yeah, exactly. And um, your first Grammy came with working with John Legend? Yes.

SPEAKER_05 16:07

How did how did that come about? Um, I met the other producer on that song, DJ Camper, in a random session one late night, and uh we started exchanging ideas, and he had that song, and he was like, hey, just need some more stuff. Can you add? And I added it, and then yeah, it won um RB album of the year. So it's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 16:31

And uh, you know, you hear so many stories about guitarists and and just musicians never getting credit, and even producers never getting credit for big names. So how how important was it that he gave you the credit that you deserved?

SPEAKER_05 16:44

Um, yeah, it's pretty important. Um I think even more so than trying to tell people, it's more so um labels and writers, publishing companies, check credit, see who's working on what, and being excluded um excludes you from potential opportunities that can be generated from that song's release. So, you know, there's um a laundry list of songs that my name has not found its way onto. And and there's a million reasons why. Um it's not always just like somebody leaves you off on purpose because they're trying to steal the work, but it's it can also just be labeled system problems and input errors and all sorts of things. Because especially a lot of stuff that I'm not credited on, I've still been paid for. So it's not like they didn't acknowledge I worked on it, but obviously there was some um system error at some point.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

And you know, the music, a lot of industries get such a bad rap, and so and rightfully so, taking advantage. What what is I mean, maybe now it's a little different because you can take so much control with streaming and and your social media presence. What what do you think for you the state of the music industry is if if there is a music industry still?

SPEAKER_05 17:58

I mean, it's kind of always been the same. Um people's intentions, you know, the the uh control and power that, you know, is kind of weighted always to one side and all these things, you know, these are these are ancient music business stories. Um streaming definitely is a little more complicated than you know when things were physical media, but but ultimately the idea is still the same. Um people with great budgets get great promotion, and you know, other people are independent artists that do it their own way, but ultimately sustaining a music and artist career and growing your fan base takes money similar to any other investment you would make um in any other.

SPEAKER_04 18:47

But those people with big budgets, those people with big budgets, don't they have to pay off a lot of people? Isn't there a lot of hands in their pockets?

SPEAKER_05 18:54

Yeah, there definitely can be. Depends on how much money you made and how much money you owe. Um, you know, but you know, if you're if you're hot or you're making a big splash, a big impact, and you know, it's not too hard to get pretty even kind of deals. You know, there's this thing that like everybody must be in a horrible deal, and it's not true. Like some people actually have really, really great situations and make great money with major labels. It's not all bad. But um, you know, it comes down to leverage positioning and and also how you assert your own personal worth when you go into these buildings anyway. Um so yeah, I mean, you know, streaming is pretty bad in terms of the pay scale. It's just a lot lower than what it used to be. Um, but on the flip side, you know, the discovery algorithms that power, you know, DSPs have also democratized um the amount of attention you can receive in comparison to somebody who has a lot more money than you, you know. So um, you know, the big question mark is how do people make money? Um, and that's that's still a pretty big question mark, even considering the state of the live touring industry right now. Um and, you know, most of us hire guns, make good money, but everybody else, you know, has to figure out where to actually get the budgets from. So pretty complicated stuff.

SPEAKER_04 20:18

You know, people uh fantasize touring and playing with with big artists and and going around the country and world. But I mean, I know with my little bit of of traveling in in my career that uh, you know, fatigue is real. So how how do you has that happened to you? How do you avoid it? How do you know when, you know, it's gonna start weighing on on your love for the music?

SPEAKER_05 20:42

Yeah, I mean, I've never really had any problems with um the music love balance. Um I'm pretty self-contained creatively. I create all day, every day. And making stuff for other people kind of becomes a treat because I'm usually just like making up projects and things to do myself, just because that's just the kind of person I am. And so touring, there can be a specific fatigue that happens, but it's just really tough on your body. Um most people don't eat good, they're going out every night or they're drinking and then you're not sleeping well. So, you know, any extended period of that is gonna do some damage. Um But in terms of like creative fatigue, it's never really been a thing for me. You know, I might have like two or three days every few months where I'm like beating my head against the wall, but really like I don't I I sit down and I hit one of these many buttons over here, and something interesting happens, and that's usually enough for me to get out of my funk, you know. Uh and there's so many music creation tools, plug in sounds, you know, freaking, you know, we have stem separation now. We have all sorts of just crazy tools to use to make music. So I I always tell people, um, creative block is just really not real. You know, usually what you're battling is just um you maybe consciously want to create something, and then your creative mind or your creative eye is just not in that place, and you're just feeling the friction of not being able to express what you're trying to force. But if you just relinquish to the process and and just create freely, then you'd probably have a blast. You just might make something you weren't expecting to make, you know. Um and so I think that's how I really battle block, because I just I'm free and I think I I do so much free creativity that when I do have to go in a room and do a specific thing, you know, it doesn't feel like I'm like quenching my soul, you know.

SPEAKER_04 22:51

I wanted to go back to the the touring, you know. Uh I wonder if sometimes it has an opposite effect because you know, a lot of times we're in in in our studios and we're, you know, creating with because we have all these tools at our fingertips, but maybe there's an opposite effect when you are around other artists, you you get energized, and then you can take that back to your studio. Do you find that at all?

SPEAKER_05 23:14

Yeah, definitely happens. Encounter people doing all sorts of weird side projects, and that can inspire a million different things, you know.

SPEAKER_04 23:23

Yeah. Um, and I I wanted to so you've played with, let me name some people here. Beyonce, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Mac Miller, Alicia Key, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dollar, Miguel, Thundercat, Terrence Martin, Future. These are just, you know, some of the people that you've you've played with. Is there somebody out there that uh you haven't collaborated with that that you would love to?

SPEAKER_05 23:48

Yeah, I mean, again, I wear I wear many different hats. And so even within that list, like some of those people I produced for, some I toured for, some I music directed for. Um, you know, in terms of people that I really want to work with, like as a as a just a sheer player, I would love to play, you know, with like Cold Player, Kings of Leon, you know, one of the more alternative sides of music uh that I listen to a lot. Um also even like metal bands like Spirit Box, or you know, I would play with Sleep Token, do some drop A seven string stuff. Um, it'd be really fun. Uh I also have always wanted to play for corn. I just I just want to play like one show for corn, that'd be fire. And then um on the producing side, you know, I've checked off a lot of people as a producer and a writer in one way or another. Um, but if I was gonna write for anybody, um dang, that I haven't already worked. Um, because there's also so many like unreleased songs, you know. Like, you know, like even I would say for real, but I have a song with Pharrell, it's just the world will never hear it. It was just like this random thing, you know. Uh why is that um if the song doesn't really have a home or a space for release, then you know, I could, you know, creators just create. So not everything is always for a project. Or it's for a project.

SPEAKER_04 25:19

I thought with streaming that people can just release songs.

SPEAKER_05 25:22

Yeah, they could, but you know, there's there's um a million more pieces that go into releasing a song. Like uh a regular person can post a song, you know. We still we have hundreds of thousands uploaded every day. But what makes a certain artist stand out and actually make an impact? There's there's a trillion variables to that. And so, you know, we usually know if we're working on a song, it's probably not gonna come out because, you know, ultimately an artist is releasing something for brand to generate income because it's a job. And so, you know, good songs are not always guaranteed to do that if there is no narrative, story, marketing, album rollout. You know, people are in touring cycles and album cycles, and um they have to be that way so that um the focus can be heavier weighted to whatever their immediate goal is. And so, yeah, dropping a loosey goosey is usually not, you know, no major artist is usually gonna do that.

SPEAKER_04 26:27

Um I want to talk about the late great uh Mac Miller, uh the NPR um Tiny Desk. Yeah. What what was that experience like and um and how did that come about?

SPEAKER_05 26:46

Yeah, I mean, it was amazing. Um, his team was amazing, he was amazing, everybody was super kind. Um, you know, that came about another guy who's now passed away named Daryl Robinson, who's from uh Philly. He's a drummer, he played for you know, Pharrell and N-E-R-D and just tons of amazing artists, one of the most beautiful humans and um musicians. And um, he had sent me an email like randomly earlier that year. It was like, hey, would you be open to playing for Mac Miller? And I was like, uh, sure. He's like, Yeah, I think you know, it was in January or February or something. And he was like, Yeah, it probably won't come about till like September or October. And you know, at that time my life was moving really fast. And so I was just like, uh, yeah, I mean, sure. If I if I get there, you know, like I'm you know, I was like 2019. Um, yeah, the day actually did come and the gig did happen, and obviously the history was created. And um, yeah, it was it was an amazing experience. You know, I had already been to Tiny Desk a couple times at that point. Um with who? Um I did Logan Richardson and um who else did I do before Mac? Was Mac my second one? I think LaKey Lee 47 was before Mac. No, La Keely was after. Maybe the Mac Miller one was my second one. I have eight total now, but Oh my god. Yeah. Um yeah, but it was a it was a crazy experience. And that was in the early days, you know, before like a bunch of bigger artists were going. So we were like pretty much one of the first, you know, an artist who's like widely known to go and do one. Um, especially like a widely known rapper. Um it really hadn't been done yet. We were kind of like probably the the test the test dummies for that to Guinea Pigs.

SPEAKER_04 28:50

What do you um what do you feel like the LA music scene is like right now?

SPEAKER_05 28:56

I actually really don't know because I do not play locally. Um Why is that? All of all of my friends are all touring musicians and very few of us actually play locally. I mean, there's a few things like you know, like I don't I don't tour as much anymore um just because I'm more focused on producing and songwriting and like my and I'm actually building a creative community at the moment, which is going really well.

SPEAKER_04 29:23

Um but for most that mean sorry, what does that mean you're building a creative community? Uh like a collective of musicians or what would it work?

SPEAKER_05 29:29

Um yeah, more of a more of a non-networking, non-industry uh community that's just focused on creating friendships, but before creatives, you know. So I I plan activities, outings, I reach out to local businesses and brands to request partnerships, you know, discounts and things in exchange for content and spotlighting them so that members of my community can have places to go that are really cool, try new things, new ice creams, new matchas, new things, you know, and and have an environment where you know everybody is creative, but it's not about what everybody does. It's just more so like us creatives think in a different funky way. And, you know, when it comes to, you know, the stressors that indicate a creative life, um, it's nice to know you're in an environment with people who understand that. Um, not to say being friends with people who are not creative is like more difficult, but there is like um, you know, like most people who are not creative do not understand what it's like to be an independent contractor, where your job is based on your talent, but your talent is connected to your soul, and you're constantly waging war with like um finding work that speaks to you, but also, you know, we live in now one of the most expensive cities in the world. Um, you know, and so I just really felt emboldened to create a community that was just based on friendships. I think even with the state of the world, it's it's just super important to like craft real connections with people in organic spaces. That way, if you're ever in a pickle, you got you got somebody to call on, you know. So it's beautiful from you know, from there. And and basically it's like, you know, I'm a firm believer that these brands who take all of our money and do all this calculated marketing to force us to spend our money. Um, I always am just trying to get brands to reinvest in their consumers, you know. That's kind of always been my my goal. Um, so I try to get these bigger brands to pay for everything because they should.

SPEAKER_04 31:36

Um is it called something?

SPEAKER_05 31:38

Uh yes, it's called Tensai, um, which is a word I picked up over in Japan, and it means uh multi-talented or gifted since birth. And so I named the community that because I feel like everybody who comes around should be encouraged and feel that um, you know, you you came here with your talent, and and it's a beautiful thing to nurture, and it's a beautiful thing to nurture within community. And me being a polymath type creator, I I've wanted to encourage creatives to take on different creative disciplines. Like in my case, I love videography and photography and just storytelling through different mediums. And so I've also tried to spread that mindset as well. Talk to a lot of musicians specifically, feel like they could never do another discipline, you know. And um, so you know, that's also kind of what the community is about as well. So, um, but with the touring, you know, it's interesting because I have so many friends um that don't play locally as well. And a lot of it has to do with first off, we're just all usually really busy. Um, I think a lot of people who actually play the LA local scene make good livings playing in local venues. Um, most of us who tour are usually, or if we're doing tours or sessions, we're like not available for maybe these spaces where you would meet local artists who are doing local stuff. Um and then like my friends who really tour, like that's the only thing they do. They're usually gone, you know, 70% of the years, 60% of the year. So and when they're home, they're just trying to like recover from being gone 60% of the years. You know, there are a few jams around town where you'll you'll see a lot of us who tour will go and play, but it's not as often that you'll see like, you know, people who are maybe in the higher tier of touring, you know, play locally a lot either. And uh, cause also like lugging gear, like I'm spoiled. I've always had, you know, a tech or you know, back line. So like, you know, getting all my gear out of the house, you know, to go play like a quick club gig, I always feel kind of lazy doing that. You know, it's like I don't want to carry all my stuff downstairs. And you know, so there's also some of that. I got friends who just be like, bro, I just never could uh think of like taking all my gear to like go make like a hundred bucks somewhere.

SPEAKER_04 34:05

Yeah. I wonder going back to your collective, because I I think that's beautiful. And I I wonder if a lot of that has to do with just LA in general, because I used to, I lived in New York for 18 years. And New York, you could just go out and stumble upon like just a random bar, and there's just somebody giving their heart out, you know. And and I remember constantly somebody saying, Oh, let's go out tonight. Oh, I don't really want to go, and then you find yourself somewhere, and just somebody is just like it's like almost like God speaking to you. Somebody's singing or somebody's dancing or somebody's doing something. And in New York, you feel like that. And I'm I'm talking about uh like the early 2000s. I don't know what New York is like now. But I always would think, like, man, I could have stayed home tonight, and this is like moving me to just it's just inspiring me. And there was also a feeling that this is going on in multiple places throughout New York City, you know? And then there was also a place called, I believe it was called St. Nick's uptown, where you could always just go there and you never knew who was going to perform. And everybody you were sitting next to eventually ended up playing the drums, or they they were it was just like this creative explosion. And and since I moved to LA, I had such a hard time meeting people. And it wasn't until I got my motorcycle and I ended up starting going to Old Place that I started meeting people that like, you know, it's it's like what you were saying, it's like you meet them and you're starting uh uh, you know, excluding like the the supercar guys or and women, but like you meet these people and you start talking, you go on rides with them, and then you find out it's a producer, it's a photographer, and it's just like a it's a bunch of creatives, and you realize that there's a frequency that you're both connecting on. 100%. Um so I wonder if if a lot of that has to do with LA, uh the sign of the times, but I think the fact that you're doing that is is incredible. Well, can you explain the last like just what was the last one that you did and where was it?

SPEAKER_05 36:00

Um yeah, for sure. We um did a matcha shootout in K-town. Um again, the community's based on Japanese values and ideals. Um, they always have such a reverence for the arts and also for their communities and their neighbor. And so I just, you know, wanted to build it on that. And so, you know, everything's kind of gonna have a Japanese or or you know, South Korean or even Chinese kind of influence, just because, you know, their cultures are just wired to be a little more respectful of of certain spaces and again, just the love and the honor for the arts. Like they really take art seriously still. And, you know, when musicians play, they sit quietly and they they really soak in the moment. And I think that's beautiful. Not to say people can't be like rowdy and clapping, but but there's like that's that's also still a form of engagement as opposed to like, you know, people literally are just not listening sometimes. They're just talking and interrupting performances. And so yeah, we went to a couple of the most popular matcha spaces in um in K Town, and you know, we had like 25 or 30 people, which for these very small coffee shops was a lot of people. Yeah, you know, you're like, oh, okay, that's it's like 30 of us, shouldn't be bad, and then go in there and they they, you know, these places only seat probably like you know 40 people, so we're like taking up half of these tea houses. Um which is cool. And then we have one coming up on Friday. Um going to another place off of Santa Monica called um Miuwame, and they do uh shaved ice using coconut milk, so they don't use any GMOs or any artificial flavoring or colors or anything, you know. So it's very tasty stuff, but also, you know, it's not super unhealthy, which is nice. And uh it's cool because they we're doing a secret code word, and whoever comes with the code word gets 15% off. So it's really fun.

SPEAKER_04 37:57

Nice.

SPEAKER_05 37:58

So it's just doing just doing more of that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_04 38:01

You're talking about Japan. I'm I'm I'm obsessed with just Japan and Japanese culture. I've been there a couple times, and um yeah, it's just their their appreciation for the arts and also the way that they're able to take uh cultures from other countries and like kind of flip it on its head and and do it just a little bit better. What was your what was the first time that you went to I'm assuming you've been to Japan and that you performed there? What was the first time you went there? What was that experience like?

SPEAKER_05 38:28

I went last year. Um I was there for Yeah, I was there for two weeks, and um it was great. Like I literally had no complaints whatsoever, just running around every day. I was supposed to see more Japan than Tokyo, but Tokyo just ended up being where I, you know, rested my hat. And so I'm definitely gonna try to make it back um pretty soon, hopefully next month.

SPEAKER_04 38:56

Beautiful. Yeah, Osaka's a another good city to go check out. I know. And then if you could go to the uh uh Yamanashi is also a really cool spot. But uh, I mean, there's so many places to see there. I wanted to ask you, you know, you're you're I have a five-year-old, and um I wish I could, and maybe someday I will homeschool her, but I don't know if I have the patience for that as much as I love her. Um and I just wanted to, are your parents still alive?

SPEAKER_05 39:23

Um, yeah, most of my parents are alive. I'm I'm closer with my mother than my father.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Uh this is Carmel and my son.

SPEAKER_05 39:32

Justice.

SPEAKER_01 39:33

And this is our first cover together. Uh, we've been singing this song yesterday now for a little while, and it just seems appropriate for it to be our first to be post yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

Oh for me, oh yes today.

SPEAKER_05 40:34

But yeah, they're both alive, still.

SPEAKER_04 40:36

Can can I ask you how I mean, they must be so proud of you and and uh and of themselves for for what you've become.

SPEAKER_05 40:45

Yeah, my mom and I talk about it pretty often, actually. Um, you know, I'm always grateful for a lot of the sacrifices she made so that I could have a space to explore and you know, um grow my gifts in the way they've been grown, you know. So um I'm not all too sure exactly how my dad feels about all of it, but um, you know, I think you know, it's it's neither here nor there.

SPEAKER_04 41:12

Yeah. Uh do you get to go back to Kansas City?

SPEAKER_05 41:15

Yeah, I go back pretty often. You know, it's home. Always will be home. Um the Midwest is just a whole different thing, you know, than being off the coast.

SPEAKER_04 41:27

And then I w I just wanted to ask you for um a young guitarist starting out, what would your main advice be to them?

SPEAKER_05 41:36

For sure. Um dedicate a lot of time to it, as much time as you can, and approach it um through the lens of you know, music is a gateway to understand people and other cultures and other ways of life, and so have an open mind with what you listen to and what you practice and um and then of course most importantly have fun, find somebody to jam with and make it a lot more enjoyable. I learned most of what I learned because I started gigging so early that everything was learned in context, you know, while playing gigs. And I feel like a lot of, you know, especially now with social media, you know, you want to sit home and look at tutorials, but you know, it's not really the best way to learn. It's a good way to pick up tricks and tips and maybe answer certain questions that are harder to find answers to, but ultimately you won't get good unless you find a few buddies and start playing music together. That's where the bulk of your learning will come from.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

Beautiful. And can we expect a a project that is totally produced by you with uh like a a collection of artists?

SPEAKER_05 42:50

Yeah, that's um, you know, hopefully where this community is going to. Um, you know, I eventually want to craft events and meetups where, you know, I can partner with a couple creatives to craft unique experiences for the rest of the community. And obviously music will be involved in that. And so that's the hope is then to create, you know, platforms and space to ideate a concept. And, you know, it's not for a you know a specific work thing, it's just out of passion and then sharing that passion with other community members. So that's where we're hoping it's going.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

Do you see more producing in your future than actually playing the guitar?

SPEAKER_05 43:33

Uh, you know, I I find spaces to do both. If I'm producing a lot, then I'll usually go heavier on guitar content just to force myself to play, and vice versa. So um I just I do whatever fits the fancy for that day.

SPEAKER_04 43:47

Perfect. I have uh one last question. This uh podcast is called Shoot Wisely. It's uh something that my my late brother used to say quite a bit, and I would interpret it in different ways. So I'm asking all my guests what And you can interpret this or or say whatever you want. What would your advice be to shoot wisely?

SPEAKER_05 44:05

Yeah, for me, that immediately sounds like um understand what you're trying to achieve. I think you know, people set a lot of goals grandiose, some not grandiose, but ultimately um make sure you do the research on where you're trying to go to make sure that it is what you think it is.

SPEAKER_04 44:25

And then last question, and I probably know who you're gonna say, but um one artist that is not living today that you would love to work with?

SPEAKER_02 44:33

Prince.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

Yeah, saw that one coming.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 44:38

Never fails. This is Prince.

SPEAKER_04 44:41

Um one of my favorites is is is Stevie Wonder, and I haven't seen him uh perform live. Is that somebody that you've ever encountered, or is that somebody that um only in passing.

SPEAKER_05 44:51

I've never officially met him, but I've been the five feet away from him or you know, at the foot of the stage when he was there. It's uh, you know, he's he's a unicorn though, man. He's a magical being.

SPEAKER_04 45:04

Yeah, I'm I really need to. Have you seen him perform live?

SPEAKER_05 45:08

Um I've only seen him um pop onto people's sets. I haven't gone to see a Stevie concert, but I probably should.

SPEAKER_04 45:16

Um I know I keep saying one last question, but I I I love music. Uh Erica Badu, have you ever worked with her?

SPEAKER_05 45:22

I have not. That would also be really fun. She posted one of my tributes to D'Angelo, so she's seen my work at least at some point.

SPEAKER_04 45:31

I feel like she's one of the most underrated artists today, and and I don't think her body of work gets any respect really that it deserves.

SPEAKER_05 45:41

Yeah. Um around my side of the music community, people definitely revere her. I think she also enjoys her placement in culture um because she gets to reap the benefits, but also be very eccentrically herself, which must be pretty nice.

SPEAKER_04 45:57

Yeah. Perfect. You know, Justice, I really appreciate your time. And of course, um, I um I just wish you the best. And I th I really do, you know, the music is amazing. Um, but I'm really um I'm really excited about the the community that you're creating because I think in this day and age, yeah, in this day and age, in this digital world, I think people uh really not only need to connect in person, but are starving for it even if they don't know it. So you really got to keep that going, and I know you will.

SPEAKER_05 46:28

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll show you an invite if you're free.

SPEAKER_04 46:32

If you know someone that would find this conversation useful, please share. Your support is greatly appreciated as we build the Shoot Wisely community. Thank you for listening to the Shoot Wisely Podcast. I'm your host, Amir Bahimi.