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| Garrett Lofgren onstage - Photo by Ron Resnick/Blurrylens Photography |
Introduction by William Mortensen Vaughan:
An actor who stands well over six feet tall, Garrett Lofgren has three credits on his IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862253). A musician, Garrett is part owner of Haven Recording, an L.A. recording studio. He also has a "day job" in Hollywood, California, where he has "the pleasure of running the training department" for a company that raises funds for non-profit organizations. I worked for Garrett Lofgren at this company on Sunset Boulevard, in 2012. He paid me the first two dollars I made after I moved to Hollywood, which I still keep in my wallet. Two and a half years later, I am delighted that he granted LA Libertad an interview!
DBL: You're part owner in an L.A. recording studio, is that correct?
Garrett: I am. I opened a studio in Huntsville, Texas back in 2001, while attending Sam Houston University. Made a visit to Los Angeles a few years later, and after having a great experience at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, I took the show on the road with my team and brought our studio, Haven Recording, to L.A. in 2010.
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| Partial views of Haven Recording Studio which uses Pro-Tools HD, and offers equipment rental, as well as rehearsal space. See www.havenrecording.com for equipment details, services, pricing, etc. - Main Photo by Ron Resnick/Blurrylens Photography, inserts by Mike Kendall |
DBL: Who's the team?
Garrett: Myself, Calvin "Cody" Blake III, and Kevin Chubirka. Cody is a multi-instrumentalist and resident music theorist. Kevin is an excellent drummer and chief engineer.
DBL: What got you into music, and how long have you been working as a musician?
Garrett: My mother and father met in the theatre, so I grew up with them singing and playing guitar. Mom got me piano lessons when I was young, then I started playing saxophone in the Sixth Grade. In high school, I played sax in the Jazz Band and tuba in the Marching Band. After a little of both at Sam Houston University, I took a guitar class to have a more accessible instrument for hanging out. My understanding of guitar and the bass lines from tuba I then applied to bass guitar.
DBL: So you've always wanted music as your profession?
Garrett: No, I wanted to be a cop, even through high school. After two years in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston (well-known for their C.J. program) I went to the police academy one summer. And had a crisis of conscience; I realized that there are bad guys on the "good guy team," and good guys on the "bad guy team." And that the world's not black and white, but shades of grey. This reality conflict had me reflect... I looked back at what gave me joy for the majority of my time, and music won by a landslide. I've never looked back.
DBL: Are you currently in a band?
Garrett: I play acoustic bass for Skip Heller and the Hollywood Blues Destroyers, and for the Skip Heller Hot Five Quintet. I also lay down some rock bass for Scott Bernhardt. We play gigs various times at various places, but you can catch the Hollywood Blues Destroyers the second Sunday of each month at the Redwood in downtown L.A.
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| Skip Heller's Hollywood Blues Destroyers Band (pictured here at the Redwood). Left to Right: Sam Williams, Lee Toft, Cody Blake, Owen Jenkins, Skip Heller, Kevin Chubirka, Ashley Kay, and Garrett Lofgren - Photo by Ron Resnick/Blurrylens Photography |
DBL: What have been your biggest challenges working within the music industry?
Garrett: You must be very thorough. There's a reason music is considered a discipline, an art, and even a science. It’s because music is all-encompassing. If you perform, you must practice and grow. You must be hyper vigilant with your paperwork to be paid and/or not sued. It's important that you love it; it shouldn't feel like a job, or there is no way you would commit that many hours of work with no guarantee of financial gain. I do it because it's rewarding to me. When the money happens, it's a bonus to the feeling I get creating vibrations with people I love, and creating an emotional response in others.
DBL: Have you had to face any legal issues as a musician?
Garrett: I’m pretty good about my documentation. None so far (as I knock on wood)...
DBL: How has the economy affected your business?
Garrett: The economy is all relative. I have had some of my best financial years during the “crisis” we're in. For me, I’m trying to become wealthy from comfortable. Financially, many of the titans, the Kennedy’s, the Carnegies, were all people that launched from poor to rich during tough times. When there is instability, you can make power moves.
DBL: Where do you see your recording company in the next few years?
Garrett: We will have been a part of a tremendous body of work that I'm proud of. Our costs to operate will go down, and our equipment will continue to change with the times. I will have been happy exponentially more times than upset. All of these things I know to be true.
DBL: What are your professional goals, and in what time-frame?
Garrett: To have our studio pay for itself with a healthy payroll for our incredible staff is an immediate goal. Long term, to use the unique experiences of my life combined with the talent of those around me to do something that is ground-breaking. It would be nice to see that breakthrough, but, even if it's something not recognized until after I’m gone, music and performers will still benefit.
DBL: What issue(s) dealing with the rules and regulations of government affect you as an entertainer?
Garrett: Copyright laws certainly are fundamental to getting paid correctly as well as protecting your intellectual property. A.S.C.A.P. [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers] was in Washington last month, pressing Congress to consider a new music equity act. So, as we begin to have music licensing reform, we may see fairer distribution of the money being made through streaming music online.
DBL: How did the Doctor Dre sale of his "Beats" software encourage/discourage you about the industry?
Garrett: Inspired! Arguably, Doctor Dre learned the same lesson taught by Fifty Cent; Fifty made about forty million from his amazing album sales. Within two years, Fifty then had made over four hundred million from his vitamin (using the term loosely) water. Dre multiplied his worth to the tenth power through “Beats.” A byproduct of his music was financially worth more, but it would never have happened if not for the music.
DBL: Do you also have a job outside the music profession?
Garrett: Like many other musicians, I have a “day job,” working for a company that raises funds for some great non-profits and political groups. I have the pleasure of running the training department.
DBL: Where are you from, Garrett, and how long have you been in Los Angeles?
Garrett: I was born out here. We bounced between here and Texas until I was ten. Then we stayed there until I graduated from college in 2009.
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Garrett playing in Huntsville, Texas - (unknown photographer) |
DBL: Have you experience and/or interest in areas other than music in the entertainment business?
Garrett: Acting has always been something I’ve enjoyed. I performed in some shorts as a kid, for [a] local T.V. station in East Texas, and then in high school and college. I studied acting at Sam Houston, and performed in a film which took Best Horror Film out here in the Action on Film Festival. The last few years, I played a biker in the pilot for "Uncle Nigel," and background on "Hawthorne" and on "Entourage," and the lead in a short called "Courtyard" that's not yet been released. Acting is currently on hold for me, since the studio requires a lot of my attention at this time.
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| Garrett Lofgren - Photo by Michelle Alizabeth Blake |
DBL: What do you most enjoy doing in your "down" time?
Garrett: I do what I love, so I'm doing it constantly. In random free moments, be it forty-five minutes or three hours, I dig documentaries and well-made T.V. shows and movies.
DBL: You're known for having a heavy-duty positive attitude; to what do you attribute that?
Garrett: If instinct and intuition are traits that you are born with, I just knew it. I have felt this way my entire life, so it must have been implanted in my genes or instilled at an age I’m too young to remember.
DBL: What advice would you give to a musician who's just arrived in Hollywood and wants to be a part of the industry?
Garrett: Embrace the community. None of us can do this alone. For everyone you can think of, solo artist or not, it took a team of individuals to bring them to the forefront. Be true to yourself and your art. Don’t compromise your values, and don’t eat TOO many drugs. Most importantly, always work harder than everyone around you; people can't help but notice.
Interview by (anonymous)
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