We were lucky to catch up with LOCKBOX recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi LOCKBOX, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
Going through Creativity Blocks is something I think every artist on the planet goes through eventually. This is a question I get asked from artists on my social media and public forums all the time. While I don’t think there is one answer that will instantly rid creative world of writers block, there are certainly a few things that have helped me along the way. I’m a strong believer that daily habits, routines and setting goals are extremely important to maintaining a healthy workflow. Simply showing up everyday no matter what you having going on and doing something creative keeps the gears winding and the inspiration flowing long term. That being said, of course you will have days where being creative feels almost impossible. During days like that, doing tasks that can indirectly boost your creativity like reading self improvement books, spending time in nature, working out, or watching production/tutorials on YouTube can be extremely effective in keeping momentum going. The last truly important thing to remember when seeking to avoid long term ‘writers block’ is to remember to just have FUN. Never spend too long overthinking a project, just keep it moving! Always set aside a couple hours a week to just experiment and sound design in the DAW with no expectations. Never stop sharpening your creative Axe!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My life has been quite intertwined with music since I was a pretty young kid. However, everything for me changed when I attended my first EDM music festival and saw Skrillex and Avicii live at Lollapaloza in 2016 (to this day, seeing Avicii is still one of the best sets I have ever experienced and I feel so lucky to have experienced his genius while he was still with us). After Lolla, I became obsessed with how I could work music into my professional life in some capacity.
After I graduated college in 2017, I moved to relatively small town in Northern Michigan, worked at a local winery part-time, and spent every other waking moment learning everything I could about the music production and branding. Eventually, I discovered a year-long EDM program/school called ‘Icon Collective’ in LA and thought that could be a perfect next step for my journey. I applied, eventually got in, and decided, despite them having an online program, that I would fully commit in person. A couple of months later I packed up my car with whatever could fit and drove across the country to LA so I could soak up as much of the experience as possible. Icon was an absolutely incredible program – I learned a lot, met some really talented friends, and continued to develop my sound as an artist. I spent two years after graduating using everything I had studied to create a signature sound and visual aesthetic for my music brand. In 2020, I released my first song and ‘Lockbox’ was officially born.
The mission statement behind my music and brand is to offer people a place a refuge, a safe space that anyone can become immersed within to leave their worries behind. Since then, I’ve released on labels I never would have thought possible, met tons of amazing fans, accumulated millions of streams, and played shows alongside some of my biggest heroes. In fact, next Month in April I am releasing two of my biggest songs to date. One is an official remix I did for a singer I really admire, Casey Cook. The second is my biggest label release to date on Insomniac’s label ‘Lost In Dreams.’ it has been an incredible ride, and I can’t wait to show everyone what else I have planned for 2024.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Love that question. The first would be to treat your music production as a career, not a hobby. Set aside a sacred time and space for your art, practice everyday and prioritize it above everything else.
The second would be to always remember to have fun. I feel like the deeper one gets into their music producer career, the easier it is to lose sight of that original ‘spark’ or ‘magic’ you once had when first getting into music. Always remember that ultimately, there are no rules and over analyzing your productions can be a huge creativity killer.
The third point is perhaps the most important for new musicians, especially in this age of social media we are living through. Comparison is the thief of Joy. You’ve probably heard that phrase before, but it couldn’t be more true. Keep your head down, stop comparing yourself to people on the internet, find your own lane and don’t stop until you achieved what you set out to do.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I read a lot of self improvement books, and one of my favorites is the ‘Compound Effect.’ This book speaks on how important micro sized consistent habits are in your daily life, and how they are possibly the greatest catalyst to living the life you’ve always dreamed of. I know I spoke about this already, but I cannot overstate how important little habits can be for setting yourself up for success. One or two hours of Netflix, Tiktok or videos games a day might not seem significant in the moment, but when you fast forward a couple years, you realize how different a direction your life could have turned out if you took that time to honing your craft. And onn the flip side – never underestimate how important it is taking time everyday to create without expectations. Regardless of the resulting product, it is these little acts of unrestricted creativity that will ultimately keep your momentum going and your art flourishing. TRUST THE PROCESS – everyone can have achieve their dreams if they take it one day at time and choose to build healthy, consistent daily habits.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lockboxmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockboxmusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lockboxmusic
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lockboxmusic
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4yqp9NiO7zJLy1eHzb54Ro?si=ezDRnAeJR1Sog4FdAuqWhg
