TSRB 152 - Automatic Episode Transcript - Please excuse any errors, not reviewed for accuracy

Benedikt: I, remember listening to the first couple of demos you sent me. Even concepts like panning things left and right and stuff like that were kind of new and we had to go through these things and now we're not Listen to mixes you sent me. I'm like, yeah, that's perfectly in the ballpark. This is the Self Recording Band podcast, the show where we help you make exciting records on your own, wherever you are. DIY style, let's go. Hello, and welcome to the Self Recording Band podcast. I'm your host, Benedict Tine. If you are new to the show, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. If you are on YouTube, if you are already a listener, thank you for coming back. If you got any value out of these past episodes that you've been listening to or watching on YouTube, please make sure to share it with your friends. Take a screenshot of the episode, share your new socials. Tag us at Malcolm on flood, at Benedictine, uh, at the self recording band, and please tag our guests too. Help us spread the word because this really helps us find more people like you. Help more people like you make better records, because this is what we do here, right? Speaking of better records, if you want better mixes, mixes that stand out from the crowd. Mixes that sound better than 90% of all the mixes out there. Then go to the self recording band.com/standout mixes and grab our brand new mixing guide completely for free. It's a video tutorial plus the checklist that shows you the number one thing that absolutely matters most in mixing, and it's the one thing that also everybody seems to ignore. Nobody does it. And if you do, you will be in the top 10% of all mixes. Guaranteed. If you take that advice, if you practice that, if you take it seriously, even though it might sound basic, if you do that, your mixes will stand out because most people get so hung up on like details and they go down rabbit holes and they try to fix their problems with fancy plug-ins and all of that, but nobody does what really matters. The pros do it. They never skip the, the, there's the saying like the pros never, don't do the basics right? So that's true. The pros never skip that. But most amateur mixers completely ignore it. Don't be one of them. Be smarter. Watch that video. Go through that checklist and implement that process into your mixing, and I promise you, your mixes will be better. Instantly go to the self recording band.com/standout mixes and download that completely for free. Now on to today's episode. As you can see, I'm alone today. Usually I'm not alone. Usually I would introduce my co-host, Malcolm Own Flat. Right now, he's not here with me because I have. Another guest today, and that guest is Greg Bohen from Canada. He's a bluegrass musician, an awesome human being, and he's a member of the self recording syndicate our coaching program. I've been working with Greg for a year now. Uh, I've been guiding him, I've been giving him feedback, I've been coaching him and his results and his transformation is mind blowing. So, This interview has been recorded actually half a year ago. So right now it's January, 2023. The interview is from June, 2022. But still, his transformation in that first half year was incredible. That's why we did this interview and now his transformation since then has been even more impressive. So it's actually cool that this is an O interview because that way you can listen to the interview, hear him talk about the transformation he went through. Uh, then you can go to Spotify, search for Greg Behe. And listen to the two songs that he just released in December, 2022. One is called Live for Today, one is called Virtual Christmas. Check that out. It's amazing stuff. Go there, check that out. Maybe find some of the older music he published, and then you'll sort of get the idea of like that whole transformation, the journey where he started, where he is right now, and what it took to get there. I'm so excited to have him on the show because I love working with him. He's a sponge. He takes in knowledge constantly. He applies, he asks questions, and he's just, A great human being, . And that's, uh, all I have to say about Greg and, uh, I really appreciate you coming on the show, Greg, and uh, I'd love for people to check out your music. So, one final thing before we dive in. This interview has been recorded through Zoom, so it's not the best audio and video quality, not as good as you used to from the show, my apologies. But I think it's still good enough and you will hear and see everything clearly. Now here comes my interview with Greg Bohen and uh, yeah, have. Hey everybody. Benedictine here, and I'm here with one of my favorite coaching students. His name is Greg Bohen. I'm, I hope I pronounced your name correctly. Is it Greg? That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bohemi. Yeah. Greg is . Great to have you Greg. Greg is a musician and songwriter from Canada. He who is recording his own music and also what I found really interesting, you're building a community for. Around bands in your area. So that was what part of your story that I always found we really inspiring and cool you hear, and maybe you can talk more about that, um, today. So when we started working together, you were a very talented musician, but you were also in the early stages of like your recording journey and like how learning how to record mix and, and master and all of those things. So we were working from an untreated room with minimal gear. You had the talent, you had the songs, but you were kind of unsure. How to actually capture all of that correctly and whether or not this was good enough and, and all of that. But since then, I gotta say, Greg put in a sh a shit ton of work, turned into a sponge, basically soaked up all the knowledge and advice, and was always open for new ideas and things to try. And now he's built out his own studio, his own home studio, as you can see in the background. Uh, created processes and better workflows for himself. And he keeps me sending mixes that I think are phenomenal and an item day difference from where he was. Too long ago. So I hope you agree with all of that, Greg, but I really feel that way. I really feel like it's an night day difference to where we started. And just looking at the background there, how you've built out your home studio and all of that just makes me happy. So yeah, uh, thank you for doing this today. Thank you for coming on. And, uh, yeah. Yeah. Well it's

Greg: been a long journey, but thanks for all your time. You've guided me throughout the way . Um, like you said, like when I started, um, I just recorded with like a USB mic, garage band, and, uh, very simple. And I thought, oh, cool. If found the keys to the castle, it's easy. Can do it. And then discovering your podcast and stuff, I realized, oh wow, there's so much to learn. Yeah. And, and that's overwhelming. When you check on YouTube, there's millions of videos of everything and they all claim to be the best. Your podcast proves that the longevity of it is like everything's there. And when you started the academy, I was first to jump on. I was so excited. And the way you laid out in different terms that like, um, the whole structure, the plan of it, it just really helped, um, give me something to, to aim for and follow. I still have a lot to learn. , the hardest part for me was, Um, juggling work and music. Mm-hmm. , um, trying to make ends meet. And I was worried that, um, I wouldn't have enough time to dedicate to this, but just following the steps, it really helps. And, uh, yeah. Uh, honestly, like I wish, uh, six months ago when I started the coaching, I wish I would've quit my job and just did this full-time and get full benefit of it because it's really, I would've progressed more. It's just, it was my, no, my own issues, my own life that got in the way. Normal life. Yeah. And I'm still moving. But that's honestly, like you, you're so generous at your time, at any time there's a question and it's always like you answer right away and awesome. Yeah, that's what's great about this program.

Benedikt: Thank you. So let's get back to the situation real quick. Bef uh, before you decided to join the academy and then the coaching program, because these are two different things. As you said, you were one of the first persons first, first people to, uh, join the Academy, which is our flagship online course. But this is not a coaching program. This is just an online course that is well structured and all of that. But you don. The, the personal one-on-one coaching and the guidance and all of that. So you did that first, and then you jumped on the coaching later. Now, before you decided to join any of that, like when you were on your own, like gimme a rundown of what things looked like for you as a self recording artist.

You, you kind of touched on that, uh, already, but Yeah. Uh, what, like what, how did you, how did you record back then, and what did you do and what, what

Greg: did this look like? Well, actually to backtrack everything, I, I won this contest. The winner was gonna have this song recorded professionally and play on the radio, and I've never really won anything. So I won this contest, super excited. I got in touch with a producer and he is like, ah, it's not really good enough for the radio, right? Like my repetition to be on the line. And he is like, it was a songwriting competition, not a singing competition. Let's get a whole different band to do it. And at my ego, I was like, Ah, screw you. Like I'll do myself then. And that's what pushed me to learn how to record. And I had a few other songs kicking around and I just first said, I didn't know the interface. I just USB Mike and just put them together and just learned. So that's how it's really started. But then seeing your podcast, it was just, oh, there's so many steps of different stuff. And a lot of it went over my head. I didn't underst. That what you talking about? I'm still listening. So I think that's why. And then when you announced you have an academy, I was like, oh, that could helped me kind of guide me a little bit. But even then when I joined the academy, I kind of fell off because summer hit and then I got busy. So I went through a few modules, I kind of like, ah, whatever gave up. And then, and then it was in the fall, I think you're announcing the coaching and we met up again and you're asking, so how's it going? Like, well, I'm not really done. I guess I kind of fell off and got busy and and I think, so that's probably the progression, how that happened. And then, yeah, you were just kinda reminding. Well, you know, I can do this coaching, and I was saying, I'm not good enough, Benny. Like I'm not, I've done enough time to do this. Yeah. I say like, well, I guess you like the songs I was doing and how motivated I was at first until I kind of, it's not like I fell off, it's just the summer gets so busy, I'm sure for everyone, especially as a musician, like we were busking, we're playing outside all the time, and it was just when the fall came, I was kind of getting back into it anyway, and you kind of just reminded me of like, well, this is available. And it reassured me that it's not about like there's no prerequisite level. Skill to have this coaching. But even within the coaching, I came in guns blazing. Oh yeah. I like to have thematic songs like Christmas songs, St. Patrick's, everything. That's just the way my brain works. I get excited cuz it's in the season. And even then, like, oh hell yeah, I do a Christmas song right away. And I think it was like beginning of December even I told you that. And you're like, well dude, like you won't have time. Like, oh, of course I do. Like I do the old album in a month. No. And sure enough I didn't have time. And then that hit, so that's like our first task. And then I realized, oh shit as, as soon as January here, like, no, I'm done. I'm done with that song. And you're just following along. You're letting me take the lead. It's. And then it was like the next one. It's like, oh, St. Patrick's song, boom, jump in. And like I always had different stuff like that and you've kind of helped me like, Hey, like settle down. Yeah. Pick one, finish it. And then in the meantime too, you taught me how to treat the room first. And I've thought like, that's overkill. I'm just like a little DIY guy. I don't need treated studio. But what a difference

Benedikt: it makes. I, if you were, if you would've been at the point where, where I was, I would be like, yeah, you got all the basics. You've got everything you need, and now we can just crush the song in a week or so. Then I'd be all for it. But I knew that like a couple of, like two or three weeks, Four weeks before Christmas, even if we got it done, chances are to get it on Spotify and on playlists and all of those things were pretty minimal if not like, it wasn't possible to get it out there in time for to, to, um, to, to, for it to hit on Christmas. And, uh, so I knew that this is gonna be, this would be very difficult, if not impossible in general. And then you also had so many things that we had to do first because you, uh, in order to, to, for it to be, to become a really high quality product, you know? So that's why I was hesitant to. At the same time, I also don't wanna slow you down or like, don't wanna, you know, like, I love the enthusiasm. Enthusiasm and all of that. So this is always the balance that we have to, to juggle there. The thing about you, uh, because I, the, the reason why I reached out to you in fall basically was because I knew that you had the passion and the, the, the ability to, to like really set aside time for this, to really take this seriously. Um, of course life gets in the way, especially in the summer and all of that, but I, I, I could see already that you were willing to put in the work, that you were taking advice seriously. You were open. Years. Uh, and I just knew that if, if you just have some guidance and somebody to give you feedback and to hold you accountable and all of that, and you can do great things, and that's why I reached out to you and, and yeah, so I'm, I'm so glad we did this. Now specifically. Also, part of that was already answered kind of, but what, what made you take the plunge to join the program? Was it that, that sort of guidance and accountability aspect? Um,

Greg: yeah, really. And just seeing like, what am I missing here? What's the block like? And also, Having you guide me through everything and Yeah, that's really, and just having like the one-on-one is so valuable. Like just to be able to reach out and like, especially at first like unlimited code, like when and like Wow, I couldn't believe that. Cause I know you're a busy guy, . And just the fact and the system, the way you have it set up with the app where you just choose the date. We don't have to actually like email back and forth. It's like what works for you? And even with the time change, like you're in Germany, I'm in Canada, that's nine hours. And still there's never been a problem. We always make it work somehow and find times that work. Yeah, that's really it. Perfect.

Benedikt: Now roughly when we, did we start, we started in October, November, I think. Something like that, yeah. Okay. So let's say like seven, seven months or so in, into this, uh, six, seven months, roughly half a year later now, what do you, things look like now? Uh, how do you feel about your skill level, about the quality of your recordings, about your home studio setup? Any wins worth talking about?

Anything? Yeah, anything particular maybe that made the biggest difference. Just go ahead, like whatever you feel about that. The

Greg: biggest thing is confidence. Really. There's confidence and not just shooting in the dark. Now it's like, now I understand, okay, this worked for the last one. And every song, even though I'm working, I realize there's way more steps than I thought. And especially like just the initial tracking of it. Usually it's just whatever. I can change it later, but just to know, like to, uh, hit certain milestones. To be able to move on before I'd be going all over the place, throw on some eq cause I think that's what I'm supposed to do, and go back, oh wait, that sucks, and redo this. And it just didn't make sense. Now there's like a logic, um, logical order to what I'm doing and just that it's like, it's empowering. You feel like, okay, I, and I'm confident. I don't know exactly what to do, but just a rough idea of like, okay, I'll follow this real map. It worked last time. It's not a, the golden rule, but let's start with that and then kind of pivot from there.

And I just still a lot to learn, but it's just, at least it's to get to that point. It feels good how it's, yeah.

Benedikt: Yeah. How, how do you feel personally, because we've been talking about this before, um, before this, this, uh, this recording actually. How do you feel about your recordings and mixes? Because I feel like you said confidence, but I, I've, I could sense that you were still feeling like maybe. Quite there yet. It's a, and I really think, I mean, you are more confident than you were in the beginning, and I really honestly think, that's why I said it in the beginning is that it is an item day difference. Like I, I remember listening to the first couple of demos you sent me, and even concepts like panning things left and right and stuff like that were kind of new and we had to go through these things. And now when I listen to mixes you sent me, I'm like, Yeah, that's perfectly in the bar park. Like it's, it's like the balance is there. There's nothing standing out that kind of is distracting. There's no annoying resonances. The room sound is cool. The mic positioning seems cool, like little tweaks here and there, but this is a song I can focus on the song and not ever think about the recording, which is ultimately what we want. Right. So I have that feeling when I listen to your songs now. So I just wanna know, do you feel like that too? How do you feel about the, just the, the sheer quality of your recordings compared to like a year ago? And be honest here, like if you don't feel like that, just say it. The

Greg: recordings that. For sure up until the mixing. And I know that's a lot to take on, like what, we're seven months in and I'm already like teaching you the basics of mixing and that takes like decades . So I think for mixing, I'm still very shy with it, with the compression and stuff. But again, that's just maybe I don't hear it as much. Or maybe, yeah. Anyway, I think that might just be it where it's just with the conference up until the mixing part, like the balancing that now, I love it. I feel super confident. I know like adding doubles and just choosing different instrument. For sure. But definitely mixing is, I'm still lacking confidence in that sense, but that's normal. Like , I'm still so, so new to it. .

Benedikt: That's why this program is a, is a 12 month thing where we'd really take time to, to get the basics right and then we dive into the more advanced stuff and we don't put corners and skip things. So you just started your mixing journey Basic. You got the recordings right? You built out your studio. We did everything the right way. Uh, and now, now it's onto mixing and I feel like you've already made progress there too. I really like the mixes you sent me, but I think just like it took time for you to build confidence when it comes to recording, it takes a little time for you to build confidence when it comes to mixing. But that will be the same sort of journey and uh, I can't wait to to go that with you, uh, together with you and guide you. Now, how would you summarize the benefits you experienced from the program? Like everything, the academy, the community, um, access to the courses. Anything else, like what are, in your case, what are the benefits that that stood out to you? How would you summarize those? Uh, I'd like

Greg: you touched on the community. That alone is so cool to have like, um, I feel like we're part of like a, the little club of like people share ideas all the time and it's so cool. And like there's the Facebook one, the free also there's one for people from the academy and I've made friends through that. People that live close and far and we talk back and forth and send mixes and. Just, uh, trade it off like that, like just privately. And then it is just having that community and it's, it's all people that are like so passionate and driven because that's how we've found this , this path as, and some of them aren't part of the coaching and it's just cool to kind of like, you know, just share ideas anyway. And, um, definitely how I would summarize it is that it's just. It, it's nice to be part of this community basically. Cause I'm, I'm part of other communities too. It's never the same. It seems like there's always like, it's about the money. We need this here. It's way more about sharing and, and just the podcast shows that like, so much free content that you're giving out, but it's just going that extra edge of like having the personalized, uh, journey and feedback. It really helps, especially for me because it's not so much about, like, I do a lot of bluegrass and like, um, old time instruments, no drums. And so all that is like kind of different than what you're teaching on the podcast just. Of share numbers. There's more people in the rock world, so it's cool to see you adjust to my situation and that really helps me. Yeah,

Benedikt: I, I'm a sponge too, so I, I, I would never coach somebody where I'm like, I, I have no idea what this music is about, or I just don't understand it. I wouldn't do that. It's not something I work on every day, but I get the, I get the music, I get the instruments. I, I know how to record acoustic instruments. I've done it my whole life and it's not so different. And I, and I enjoy the genre. And it's also, but it's also a challenge because it's not exactly my wheelhouse, like, not the thing I do every day. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . And I must sponge myself. I like to learn things. So when I started work with you, of course I did my part of, of, of learning too here. And I, I did the research and I, I listened to a ton of bands in your genre. I really wanted to understand what it's all about. And maybe if. Things that I may be missing, and, uh, so I could really help you. And, and I enjoyed it a lot. I discovered new things through it, and, uh, so, so this is also something that that's super exciting to me. Uh, and I'm, and I'm glad I, I could help. And honestly, even doing the research and comparing that to what you do, that this gave me more confidence so that I was really sure that what you do is something special here and something great. And that you as an artist just are super talented because, you know, compared to other artists, even in like great artists in that genre, you know, you are up. And like you are, you're really, it's like, it's like that, and you just need to know how to package it all, and like how to make it into a final product. That's what we're doing here together, but you have the talent. So, uh, I, I enjoyed that whole journey with you too. All right. So what would you tell someone who's on the fence about joining the program? There could be multiple reasons for that, but as I said before, we were recording this. Um, I've talked to con a to a couple of people or like a ton of people actually now who were hesitant to do anything like that. Not just this program, but anything. Mm-hmm. because of limiting beliefs that they have because they think they will never be good enough. Just like you talked about the confidence thing. They just dunno if it's at all possible and they have a busy life and they feel like they are not talented enough anyways and nobody cared about them, cares about their music or whatever. So they don't really believe that they can accomplish anything, um, recording themselves. So what would you say to people like that you having also a busy life and, and. Same struggles maybe?

Greg: Um, like how valuable is your music to you? That's the I see. Because to me, like it's so easy to get caught up in the world though, you this weird, um, hamster wheel of like, you working to just pay the bills and like takes the, the back burner, the music. And honestly, if it wasn't for the coaching, it would've been the same thing for me the past year. Mm-hmm. and that, that really helped me to. So if it means a lot to you, just do it. Do it. And they don't. Then for the money too, at first I was kinda thinking, oh, the money side of it. But in hindsight, oh man, it's worth every freaking penny , like hands down because, and even just the accountability, just that alone. And then it's like, just feeling like at first I was like, oh, I need to do this for Benny. For Benny. And then no, no, I'm doing it for me and you're helping me , I'm not doing it for you. And it was just, at first, that's what the mentality was like, oh, I don't wanna let Benny dma, cuz you're always on it. As soon as I send a message, you. You're on it. So, but no, in the end you're doing it for yourself and it's, and just that it's, it's great. And I thought, like, cause I know the way it's set up was like six months and intense and then like six months of kind of in group. So I kind of thought after

Benedikt: six months, no, three months and nine months.

Okay. Yeah. I, I,

Greg: well see, I I, I couldn't even tell because you've been so generous. So I thought like after that would be like, oh, well here, like once a month email. No, no. It's the same thing. I didn't tell the difference cuz you're still on it even now, seven months in and it's like, it's just that, it's like, it's so valuable. Um, yeah. Anyone on the. Do it honestly, if you care about your music, if you wanna move ahead, it's a, it's a no-brainer. And even though I've felt that way too, trust me at the beginning, everything, and it's, it's, it's worth it. Awesome. Thank

Benedikt: you so much. So, so good to do that. I mean, this is great feedback for me too.

I mean, I am, uh, I, I, I'm talking to you about this because I want to help people who are on the fence, of course. Uh, but I only want to inspire them, but I also wanna have the feedback Of course. And you, and so that's so great. Great to hear. Uh, and I, yeah, I'm, I'm glad you, you feel that way and, uh, Also the coaching, the group coaching phase that we're now in, uh, where you barely notice the transition. Like this is, you're gonna notice it very soon because now we're gonna up the, the frequency of the calls that we, uh, that we have. So we're gonna do weekly calls now, regardless of there being questions or not, because usually we don't, we only do calls when there's questions, and now we're gonna do weekly calls regardless of, of questions posted in advance. And I'm gonna, you don't even know about that yet, GRE but Greg, but I'm gonna post. Sort of, uh, how, how we do things in the future thing in our community. And I'm gonna post, uh, like an agenda for those calls in there and it's gonna be so valuable. And the accountability aspect will now be beyond the one-on-one period in the beginning. Yeah. Hey, Don. Can't wait

Greg: for that. , . I mean, I shouldn't be surprised at this point. You always bring in new ideas to different stuff. They're like, yeah, that's amazing. It keeps evolving. I'm so happy I was there from the. See the evolution and not even like you had a beta program before , and even when I jumped in, I was like, I still feel like I'm still part of that original batch. And it's close to the progression and yeah.

Benedikt: Now back to your own music and your journey and all of that. So I, I mentioned in the beginning you were building this community, um, around you as. In, in around, uh, your, your hometown or your, your local scene basically. Yeah. Uh, can you talk a little bit about that? Because I really find that to be super interesting and I think that the community aspect is not only important in a coaching program like that, but it's important for musicians in general to surround themselves with other creative people, with like-minded people, with a creative scene with like, you know, I think that's so important because especially these. A lot of people and musicians spent their time alone in front of the computer creating their music, which can work. But I think there's so much value in going out there, doing it in real life with other musicians, having that sort of community and that real life interaction. And from what you were telling me, I just found that very fascinating and inspiring because a lot of the people in the heavier music that I usually work in, um, they are these like, uh, yeah, lone wolf. You know, in their caves, uh, and, and doing their thing and not really connecting with people in the real world. And, and while some of them do really great, great things, I wish they would, they put themselves out more and connect with people and they, there's so much benefit from that. And so, so please explain what you do there and, and what's great about it and what you love

Greg: about it.

Um, so I moved to the West coast like five years ago, so total side of Canada. So it's a new musician or a new person. In the town and I play upright bass, so I was just going to jams playing bass and there was a lot of open mics. So you'd go play three songs and that's it. But I found it was so competitive. People weren't collaborating. And sometimes I'd go there with my friends and they'd wanna base this, I'm up, but then my friend has to wait cuz he's the guitarist. And better players would come and sometimes we didn't get to play. So that's the change. And then I saw another like bluegrass. Style. They do like big circle jams where they're just going around and everyone plays a song. Oh, cool. And because it's acoustic instruments, it works great. Like I don't have to plug in. It's super easy to set up. So in 2018, uh, I started hosting a jam at, at this pub, this brewery, . Now fast forward to now, I've done 119. This Sunday we're doing 119 jams. So it's just, Gatherings and then someone told me, oh, you need to like make it a business and like make

Benedikt: it legit. You organize those chams, right? So, so you organized those chams, right? Yeah. Awesome. So great. Just

Greg: because there's so many guitarists, right? So for the bass it's cool to, and then now that's how I met my partner when I went down the mirror. She plays banjo cuz banjo and bass plus all these guitarists. And now finally we're getting paid. Cuz before we're getting like paid in drinks, whatever, it's hard to like make money off. Uh, now it's like now we're finally getting paid. We have this cool gig once a month, uh, Sunday afternoons. And it's uh, the Couch and Valley Grassroots Orchestra is the name of the business. So it's like CV Grow is the acronym. So our slogan CV grow musicians growing together and it's just a cool way of just having community. And from there I've built like an email list.

Benedikt: You've started to build a business there. This is so great. Yeah. And you know what, what's funny about that? That's so relatable because we made almost like a hundred episodes off the podcast completely for free, right? with the small, I mean we had the academy launch, but that was a small thing and our audience wasn't that big and like it was a couple of bucks, but like, it was not a real business. I was just, my full-time income was mixing and I only started making money or turning this into sort of a, a legit business when I started the coaching last year. And so I had to do like a hundred podcast episodes before I got to that point, and you had to set up 109 of those chances before you got to that point, you know? Yeah. So that's a, a very similar journey. So it's totally relatable and it just goes to show that you, you are just as passionate about this as I am about what I do, and we just love to, to do the things. And we didn't start because of the money or because of the business, but eventually when you do something really valuable for other people, opportunities might present themselves. So glad to hear that you're actually doing that. I had no idea. Great. Yeah. . And the idea too is that

Greg: there's so many creatives too that show up and I want it to be like, Hey, like eventually I can record you.

Like, uh, have this whole community of like recording these people. I just haven't been there yet. And again, it's all with the confidence to be to the point where I feel comfortable charging people to do this. I won't do it for free. And that's the ultimate goal. And it's all about the community and bringing people together.

So,

Benedikt: yeah. So I, if I remem, if I remember correctly, you've already recorded people from your, um, circle there and, and people, you in, in that, in that sort of scene community, right? A

Greg: little bit, just demos, but right now I'm kind of testing myself first. I'm kind of using myself as a Guinea pig, just see the, just to build the confidence. But I have people lined up, everyone's bugging me and they're like, Hey, when are you ready for me to, so soon it's just, I'm trying to find time for myself.

Benedikt: So exciting. Anyway, we need to, dude, we need to up the, up the pace there. We need to get you up to speed because, because, you know, I really, I'm excited for that and I see the opportunity there and we really want, need to make sure that you are getting those people into your home studios so you can create more together and, and more opportunities present themselves for you. So this is gonna be the next step in your journey, honestly, after this coaching that UD two spend even more time on, on music and make that your, your thing, you know, and all that. Yeah. Everything around it. That's so awesome because that would, that would be the

Greg: dream to quit the job and just do this full time. And I feel like I'm on the. Like everything's been lined up that now it, I hope your podcast never ceases this interview, yeah, but that would be the dream. It is lining everything up that like if something happens, okay, jump ship and then I know that's what it would really take to make that step. To have the time to record everyone. You have to go all in and I'm sure that was the same struggle with you at first. Probably there's a point where you had to quit the job to dive in and Yeah, it's,

Benedikt: it's a little different.

But, but if I'm really honest, because I never really had a job. I never had a real job. Oh, really? Not a single minute. Uh, I just, I started while I was still in school and, uh, I, I, I thought I had the same confidence issues and I thought I, I cannot make the living off of that. And I was really young and inexperienced. So what I did was I went to university, um, so sort of college in Germany and I studied, something dropped. Of college, because I just never was there. All I did was music. I never , I never did anything, you know, like, and then I signed up for another class, another university sort of thing. And I dropped out again because all I did was music and then after the second time, failing there, I was like, you know, I'm just gonna go for it. I know I'm meant to do this. Like, this is what I'm, this is my calling, basically. I don't wanna do anything else. I'm not gonna show up anyways. So I just jumped in, which was super scary. And also I wouldn't recommend doing that people, so , uh, I, I was struggling for like five or six. Where I really didn't know if I could ever make a living off of this, if this was ever gonna work out. And then we had, we got married and uh, then eventually we got our first child. And, and that was the point where I could have, honestly, I could have failed. Like I was like at the, I wasn't sure because then it was not only about me, it was about the family, but luckily that was around the time where things turned around and where I made it. Finally made it work, but it was the, the perseverance and the the sheer will to just make that happen. And eventually I, it worked, but it could have failed miserably. So I'm not recommending this , but like Yeah. Uh, but it's still, it's still what you said, it's still what you said. You just gotta, at some point decide that this is your thing and that you do it and you put all your focus on that. Um, in my case, it was not quitting the job in my case is what it. Not even starting the job. . So , but it's, it's the same thing. I decided that I'm gonna do this full-time, but, uh, this is, this is totally up to everybody. You know, this is a very, um, subjective thing and, uh, there's no recommendation there, but I agree. If you wanna do what you do now with the meetings and the music, the recording, the, the, you playing music yourself, recording other people at some point. You gotta make a decision. Of course.

Greg: Yeah. And to bring it back to the coaching, like I said, like I wish I would've quit my job into this full time. And I would learn like, and I'm still learning. Like even with the job, you're still able to learn a lot. And it's basically just saying that the course, it's not the course that's slowing me down, it's my life. And anyone can take what they want with this coaching. And it's like all the tools are there and it's just putting the time and learning it and Yeah. Yeah. For

Benedikt: sure. Yeah. Well, awesome. Now, if people are interested in what you do there with, let me see if I can, if I can pronounce that correctly. The Kwik Valley grass roots. Orchestra. Is that what you Yeah. Yeah.

Greg: Couching Couch and Valley Grasso,

Benedikt: couch Couching. Couching Couch and Valley Grassroots orchestra. Cool. Uh, if people wanna find out about that, what you do over there, um, how, how that all works, like your music and all of that. How can people find you? How, what, what's a good way to check that out? Um,

Greg: probably just on Facebook. Like I don't have too much. Yeah. I hate to say that rather we're working on having our own website. Uh, I just dunno. But that's another thing on my to-do list that keeps taking in the backseat. But just that, or more maybe just to find me personally and then we can connect whatever's through that. And, um, yeah. And ultimately where, like if people

Benedikt: are close to you, like where, where, where can they go if they wanna see a jam or a show or something You do Or even

Greg: they participate. Yeah, it's on Vancouver Island in Canada and the whole idea is that my hometown is a shadow gay valley. It's in Quebec, the whole other sign. So if I ever go back home, it's still the same acronym. See if you grow as the Shadow Gate Valley . So I've set it up that like it could be coast to. AM might expand, I don't know, but far now it's in Vancouver Island, the couch

Benedikt: in Valley. Awesome. Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. Have you, by the way, have you ever met Malcolm in real life? Because he's also on Vancouver

Greg: Island? No, no, we

Benedikt: haven't met, he's in Vancouver Island, so he could, I mean, Canada is big and probably Vancouver Island is bigger than I think it is, but maybe, uh, I don't know. Maybe you could at some point this could work out. I mean, you know, you've been listening to over a hundred episodes now and you're living pretty. Yeah. So yeah, he

Greg: lives probably half an hour away from me. Like just . Yeah, no, we have to beat for sure at

Benedikt: some point. Yeah. Awesome. Great, great. Cool. Anything else you wanna, uh, you wanna say to people or anything else you wanna, you wanna say about your own music or, or point people to, or any, anything, um, that we might have missed?

Greg: No, I think that pretty much covers it. Yeah. I don't have much music to point people towards, but kind of took everything down. I'm waiting to rerecord everything with the new knowledge I have, so I'll be posting it within the next year or two probably. But , I wanna make. Yeah, I guess the confidence thing, but I'm getting that , that's the, I'm

Benedikt: pretty sure it can be quicker than a year or two. Oh, for sure.

Greg: Yeah. , no, definitely. Yeah, soon. Awesome. In the next year?

Benedikt: Yeah. Okay. Cool. Thank you so much for taking the time to do, to do this, Greg. Um, I appreciate it a lot and I really hope it inspires people and helps people, um, with, with all of that and give some confidence. Thank

Greg: you and no, thank you for all the help you've been providing throughout this, all

Benedikt: this. Yeah. Appreciate it. Awesome. Thank you. All right.

This has been my conversation with Greg Bohen. Now, if you want to take your recordings to the next level, if you wanna go through that same journey, that same transformation, if you wanna learn a process that works for you, that is efficient and that actually leads you to results, that leads you to music.

That you're actually proud of, that you can't wait to put out into the world, uh, music that you're excited about, music that connects with your audience. If you wanna completely transform your skills and the results you're getting in your home studio, then go to the self recording band.com/call and book your free first one-on-one call with me.

It's completely free, no strings attached. Best case scenario, we end up working together and completely transform the way your music sounds. Worst case scenario, you get an hour of free. All right. Sounds fair. Good. Go to the surf recording band.com/call and I hope to see you very soon. Thank you for listening.