Meet Preston James

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

Preston , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”. This quote from Nelson Mandela has inspired me since I can remember. The key word in this quote for me is ‘capable’. Once I knew what I wanted to do and found a way to do it, I put all my time and energy towards that vision. To have resilience when things don’t go the way I planned, or to have optimism when a situation may seem to be going sideways, is one of my key ingredients for having a strong work ethic. Its all about how you see it. Knowing that we are all capable of so much more than most of us even attempt to pursue in our lives is heartbreaking to me. I believe in people, I want to see people succeed. Having a strong work ethic is one of those characteristics that people, in my experience, tend to steer away from. As I continue to study my craft, commit to the research, and learn as much as I can, the common thread seems to be that of hard work (work ethic), or in other words, persistence and passion.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’ve known I wanted to work with music since I was 7 years old and heard Beethoven’s 5th in a movie. My love and passion for music only blossomed from there. My mom took me to my first concert at Sandstone amphitheater in Bonner Springs Kansas to see the band BUSH when I was 10. I Had never been so excited for something in my 10 years of life!! It was here at this concert that I knew I wanted to be a part of. Something people could listen to, relate to and identify with. As I got older, I played in bands, toured with those bands, met with producers, engineers and managers, all just to try and figure out what it was exactly I wanted to do with music. At this point, the vision was becoming more clear. It wasn’t until I was 26 when my principal of the school I was working at asked me if I wanted to teach students how to compose music on a DAW, or otherwise known as a Digital Audio Workstation. I agreed immediately. I had taken some classes in college during my undergrad that gave me enough credits to enable me to teach a “production” class in the Denver Public School district. It was through working with my students that I realized I wanted to record and mix records. Recording and mixing records is the process of working with artists (vocalists and instrumentalists) to capture (record) their best performances and then using digital audio techniques to balance, enhance and amplify those sound(s) to the best of its ability. I realized I wanted to help artists be the best version of themselves through this process. Reaching their highest potential. And I wanted to give that sound to the world.

After working with students for 4 years, playing in bands around Denver, going through a divorce and going through what some might call a “rough patch”, I decided to move out to California in order to pursue that dream. As soon as I came out here, found a job teaching at a middle school in south central, I posted threads on craig’s list, went to meet up groups and talked to people face to face, covid hit. We were on lock down and I had made little progress in accomplishing that dream. I took that time to dive deeper into my craft, as well as come up with a game plan to make things happen when the covid “stay at home” ordinance was lifted. A few months had passed and before I could take the first step of this ‘plan’, a co-worker called me to see if I wanted to work with her cousin and his group of rappers. I immediately said yes. Started working with them 3 nights a week after my day job and 1 night on the weekends. I did this with them for 2 years while working with any other clients I could attain. Through this journey I had met my ever supportive girlfriend Vanessa. As time moved on, working with this rap group, Vanessa and I ended up moving in and living together for a little over a year. Within that year, we got pregnant with our first child Ella. Life was not getting easier, but it was definitely getter better. I had the vision of working with top-tier artists in a studio and after 2 years of working with these guys, it was over. Now it was back to square one, looking for more artists to work with without a studio of my own. I wasn’t sure what to do. While only working with a few artists over the last 2 years in person and online, it just wasn’t enough. I needed more work and I needed more experience. And then all of a sudden, BAM!!! We were pregnant with our second child Jackson and life was ‘really’ starting to pick up. I was out of options, I needed more clients and needed to make this happen before I inevitably got sucked into the stay at home life and endless cycle of a 9-5 work life with something I did not want to keep pursuing. This is when I said to myself “you will make this happen, you will figure it out.” This is when I decided to take out a loan and open my own studio.

The search for the studio began. I searched for 9 months. Looking for the right studio with the right feel, environment and overall location. It was not the easiest thing to accomplish. Which at first seemed odd, living in one of the biggest music capitals in the world and not being able to find a recording spot just didn’t add up. After 9 months of patience and persistence, I finally found it! I immediately took the loan and signed the lease papers within the next 2 weeks. I continued to work my day job as I worked on getting my studio prepared for opening. Working day and night, having just had our second child, life was ruthless. The studio wasn’t ready to be open yet and life overall was just a lot to take on. As my will to succeed got stronger and my hunger for success grew, I worked and worked to get those doors open and 6 months later, we were open.

As clients were slow to come and I was figuring out marketing strategies on how to bring in more business, I had the great idea of starting a podcast. A podcast that centered around the other goal in my life, which was helping people, making a difference in people’s lives through conversation and education. I wanted to start a podcast that inspired people to pursue their goals and dreams while optimistically looking at challenges or occurrences in their life as part of the process. I wanted it to be anywhere in the realm of self help and motivation, like relationships, communication, working out, reading, understanding cultural differences, philosophy, taking chances or risks etc…I wanted it to be a podcast that gave people hope for becoming a better version of themselves. Turning their dreams into a reality. The Reflection, I decided to call it. A podcast that focuses on just that. Reflecting on ourselves and our community, so that we may lead a healthier, more positive and productive lifestyle. As of right now, the podcast is bringing in new members everyday, the studio is bringing in clients weekly and the life and career in the music/entertainment industry is slowly but surely coming into fruition

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?

Persistence, Resilience and Patience/Optimism. You have to have a positive mindset towards ANYTHING you set out to accomplish. No matter how hard the task may seem. Now a days there is endless information at our fingertips, on our phones and computers. We can virtually figure out how to do anything we set our mind to. You must set aside the time, day in and day out, to pursue and achieve that goal(s). Set backs and challenges are inevitable, but you must be willing to except them and move forward. I learned almost everything I know about audio engineering from youtube and books. Along with being a highly social person and constantly talking with people, I taught myself how to do the thing I wanted most.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am constantly looking for people to work with and collaborate with. I am looking for artists, producers, engineers, authors, entrepreneurs, athletes, psychologist, nutritionist, yoga instructors, business owners and anyone out there who wants to somehow collaborate. Im looking for people who want to make a difference in the world for themselves as well as others. I primarily work with artists for music, authors for audio books, and podcasters for their podcasts, but I am also looking for people to talk with on my podcast to promote positivity, growth and community. At the end of the day, I want to make great sounding records that people can constantly listen to, and I want to make podcasts, or content, that people can learn, grow and be inspired from.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thelaughingbuddhars.com
• Instagram: laughingbuddha_studios
• Youtube: @laughingbuddharecordingstudio
• Yelp: The Laughing Buddha Recording Studio

Image Credits

N/A