Meet Evening Bass

We were lucky to catch up with Evening Bass recently and have shared our conversation below.

Evening, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Being a woman in this scene can be quite challenging sometimes. There have been times where I was booked for an event and showed up (early!) to another artist performing in my slot. There have been times where I was the only woman on the lineup and showed up to play only to be met with confusion and judgement from the other male artists. The amount of times I have been openly disrespected at an event I was scheduled to play at is honestly ridiculous. Unless I’ve already played at that venue then I never really know what I’m gonna walk in to when playing a show. I’ve had to learn to get better at my poker face and play it cool, no matter what is happening. One way to be successful in these situations is to take a breath and remember the goal: I am there to play music and curate an experience. First, I find the promoter or stage manager to confirm that I’m still on. Next, I find a spot where I can be alone for a few minutes to process what just happened and mentally prep for getting on stage. One way to be effective/successful in any scenario is by bringing your partner, best friend, or anyone from your support system to the show. Knowing I have at least 1 person there for me automatically gets rid of so many nerves. Thankfully the more I network, the more likely I am to be on a lineup with at least 1 other artist I know. Finally, the last thing that helps me in these situations is knowing what I bring to the table. If I am excited to play my set out to people then I don’t care what’s going on behind the decks. I am there to curate the vibes so I can’t let anyone else’s energy affect me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Growing up in Hawai’i, I fell in love with hospitality and event production. I went to the University of Denver for hospitality management and thought I wanted to make that my career. I love getting to create an experience for people, whether it was a wedding or a corporate luncheon. I worked in catering and restaurants for many years and when COVID hit during my junior year of college, it felt like my world was crumbling below me. I was about to graduate in to a world that was entirely shut down; no events, no gatherings, no connections through real events. Once I graduated (2021) and the world slowly started to open up, I was introduced to the EDM scene here. I fell in love with the underground! I had always wanted to DJ (since Pitch Perfect came out lol) but felt like it was only for frat bros with awful music taste. In the midst of a post-grad mental breakdown, I decided F-it I am gonna buy some decks and learn how to do this. I had no goal of turning it in to my career, it was more so a way to preserve my sanity in the post-COVID world we now live in. The moment I started playing around with it, something inside me clicked and I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I thought I wanted to create an experience through event planning but now I get to do it through music! From there I started my career and 3 years later I have gotten to play so many amazing and iconic venues around Denver. I got to play my first music festival this summer! Over the last 2 years I’ve been learning to produce bass music and am so excited to share some new music soon!

Another big project I’ve been working on is my podcast. I’ve wanted to start a podcast since 2020 but didn’t have a topic I thought I could sustain. Starting 303BPM Podcast this year is another exciting steps towards a career in the music industry. The podcast is about highlighting local artists, vendors, venue owners, promoters, and people in EDM who dedicate their time to contribute to this scene– whether it’s a full time venue owner or an artist producing music after working their day job. The more I dive in to Evening Bass and 303BPM, the more excited I get to watch it grow. I feel so lucky to have multiple projects that I am so passionate about. It would be nice to have Evening Bass and 303BPM become my full time job but if it doesn’t, I don’t care. I will be working on these projects for the foreseeable future no matter how much money I make. Find Evening Bass on Instagram and Soundcloud @eveningbass and find 303BPM Podcast anywhere you listen to podcast including Soundcloud and Youtube. Follow on Instagram @303bpmpod.
If you want to be on the podcast and fall in to any of the aforementioned categories, DM @303bpmpod on Instagram.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first thing I want to mention is the importance of self-love and self-compassion. Pursing a life as an artist is complicated because there is no roadmap. There are certain check points and things that happens that show you you’re on the right path but you create your own road. If you want to be a lawyer, go to law school. If you want to headlines Red Rocks, there are 1000000 ways to get there. You will face hardships on this road and the only way to carry on is by loving yourself through it. That means taking care of your body by eating and sleeping enough. That means working on your mental health to create an inner world capable of handing the high highs and low lows. That means not getting distracted by what other people are doing or getting stuck in the comparison game. Ultimately this is as much of a personal growth journey as you want to make it and self-love is the key to helping you along the way.

The second thing I want to talk about is the importance of knowing how to learn. I was a great student throughout my education and got amazing grades but I never really learned how to learn. I was great at memorizing and test taking. I could understand big concepts but most of the information I retained was about American history and little pieces of the few French and Spanish classes I took. I had to re-learn how to learn. DJing came really easily to me, luckily, but not production. Ableton feels like an alien language to me sometimes and can be really overwhelming. I’ve learned what pace I need to understand things and to not put so much pressure on myself. I tend to pick skills up fast so if I can’t get it, I’m more inclined to give up. No matter how many times I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window, I always figured it out whether that was with the help of a friend or Youtube university. Figuring out a solution on your own is soooo gratifying.

The third is understanding the importance of networking. You have to put yourself out there and meet other people in the scene. No matter what you’re doing or what industry, there will always be dedicated people also doing what you want to do. You can do it online and in-person! If you can’t buy a ticket to an artist’s show you can definitely like and share it. I’m not a huge fan of networking online but sometimes it’s faster and easier than waiting to meet that user in-person. It is so important to meet these people and integrate as much as you can. Being friendly and genuinely interested in other people will get you so far in terms of getting opportunities and having unique experiences. There is a difference between networking and using people. Networking is building a community whereas using people stems from being insecure. If you’re genuinely there to build a network and support others then you won’t go wrong. Good people know good people.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Putting more time towards music production. Of all the skills I’ve had to learn on this journey, the one I still dread working on is music production. I feel like I’m trying to write a book and I barely know the language. It is very frustrating still and because it’s not fun yet, I struggle to be consistent. I’ve been on Ableton more for my podcast in the last 6 months than I have with music. This is so embarrassing to share but I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles. In order to overcome this, I am carving out 10 minutes of my day to just open Ableton. I’ve found that when I open the software and just sit in it for a minute, a lot of that anxiety goes away. Once I start playing with audio clips and samples then I can get in to a flow state and before I know it an hour has passed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @eveningbass @303bpmpod
• Facebook: Evening Bass
• Youtube: 303BPM Podcast
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eveningbass