Meet Melo Green

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melo Green a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melo, 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?

Most of the time I don’t experience writers block, there’s always a new angle or approach to come at a verse, or chord progression with and I believe the major antidote is practice and study. I think I get it from my parents. I grew up in an Art-positive household where we were always drawing and pretending to be different characters and both my parents were dancers. Everything could be sung about. I was drawing comic books and writing poetry by the time I was 12, and I wrote my first song when I was four years old. My dad was always the one behind the creative journey in a major way. As a rapper, a B-boy and a local producer, he was always teaching me new ways to think about lyrics and writing and the creative journey. The more progressions, and melodies and types of word play you’ve learned and can play and sing the easier it is to meet the moment. From there decisiveness is key. Being willing to let go is often the culprit behind major writers block. 9 times out of 10 it’s just a bad song, verse, note, or chord, and it’s time to try literally anything new. If my brains really tapped, jamming, or doing something fun or adventurous can ignite the flames of creativity. There’s always a way around the road block, you just have to look.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a recording artist. A lot of people don’t know the title of the profession, but that’s who Beyonce, Paul Mcartney, and Kendrick Lamar are, they’re recording artists. I LOVE performing, and playing shows, but my absolute favorite activity is to sit in my home studio and write and record music. I have a constantly growing archive of hundreds of drafts and completed songs. Ya’ll only hear the good ones. I can do it for much longer than I should. My mind for music is like pandora’s box and I’ve had to learn to hit the save button, and tell myself to stop.

The coolest part is, we live in a time where an artist can be totally self produced. On my album Laminar Flow, almost all the parts are played or curated by me. The only other musicians on the record are the horn players lead by my homie Joel Schnaper on Trumpet. He’s a boss and he lives in LA and you’ve got to check him out. He writes awesome lines. Because of the internet, and rapidly improving technology I was able to record everything in apartments, and bedrooms, and I was able to collaborate remotely across 2 years. The Mastering and Mixing was done by my buddy Ryan Adams in Colorado. Our ability to create total symphony’s with just a laptop, some microphones, and a small handful of talented musicians is uncanny.

My debut album Laminar Flow is all about ease, love, living in the present moment and accepting that just because it looks like we’re frozen in time doesn’t mean we’re not moving through life gracefully.
The sounds of this album range from heavy, cathartic guitars, to folksy acoustic R&B singer-songwriter vibes, giant reverberant choir vocals, to ska influenced, No-Doubt-esque horns, to smooth Neo-Soul grooves.

I’m hitting Club Passim November 26th to release to a small audience of 50 people. Tickets are selling fast and then it’ll be on all streaming platforms. If you’re feeling antsy and want to hear the music sooner you can head over to my band camp: https://melogreen.bandcamp.com/album/laminar-flow

Pssst. It’s already out …shhhhhhh don’t tell spotify.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I had a lot of tough experiences with running bands and trying to make albums happen and slowly realized I was the biggest problem. In some ways I was too lenient, and in others too rigid, but never quite balanced, so during the pandemic I started going to therapy, I learned to mix and record my own music, and I started practicing guided meditations. So my three most important qualities are self reflection, controlling the means of production, and taking care of my mental health.

This slow process now almost 5 years through has rewarded me with a clearer kinder mind and the ability to produce my albums mostly from home, setting a clear boundary for myself more than anyone, so I can figure out what the music is supposed to sound like before it makes it to the rehearsal.

My advice to folks who are early in their journey is don’t start a band or at least don’t start just one. Play with a lot of people, and a lot of bands, jam, go to concerts, write music, make friends with lots of bass players(they’re almost never available), guitarists, keyboard players, and drummers. Collaboration over small teams all day. There’s a much bigger circle and community if you don’t trick yourself into saying things like “my” bass player and “my” producer. No one belongs to anyone and for us to really achieve the highest work of art, just like raising children, it takes a village to create a stellar project.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Myself. I am my biggest challenge.
I”m constantly battling my own demons. Despite having an ultra supportive family and community my insecurities get the better of me all the time when it comes to releasing my music, playing my songs in front of audiences for the first time, or taking the time to reach out to venues and essentially say, ” Hey, I’m worth it”. It really is true what they say, nobody is fearless, we just learn to do it scared, uncomfortable, and with great uncertainty. And that’s usually how you know you’re on the right path. It’s important to have grit in this industry and to not wait for some magic money fairy to come solve all your problems, sign your deal, book your gigs, record your music, and write your songs. It’s also important to have self compassion because if you’re anything like me that can you open you up to all kinds of moments of imposter syndrome, self doubt, and self-sabotage. Do the hard thing, do the right thing, don’t expect anything to come easy but be kind to yourself. Take breaks, make time for family and friends.

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