Interview with Luke Reyvn

Hello! It is Adam. Welcome back to bringin it backwards. A podcast where both legendary and rising artists tell their own personal stories of how they achieve stardom. On this episode, we had a chance to hang out with Luke Ravyn over zoom video. Luke was born in New Jersey, but moved to Hawaii when he was 11 years old, his family took a vacation out there and his parents fell in love with it, and they ended up moving there. Luke really got into music in high school. That's when he started writing music, at least him and his friends started writing music by downloading different beats off YouTube and writing raps over it. From there, he just progressed as a writer, a singer ended up going to college for one year, dropped out to pursue music full-time he knew that college wasn't for him. 4 (2m 11s): He wanted to just pursue his dream as an artist. He was always in musical theater, so he always enjoyed performing musical theater in acting, but his parents gave him one year to really put his head down and take a stab at taking on writing music and being an artist full time. He told us about meeting his manager or taking trips to LA to record his music, his struggles with alcohol, substance abuse and mental health and all about his new song called another day. You can watch our episode with Luke on our Facebook page and YouTube channel at bringing it backwards. It'd be rad if you subscribe to our channel like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Tik TOK at bringing back pod. 4 (2m 54s): And if you're listening to this on Spotify, apple music, Google podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, be amazing. If you follow us there as well, and hook us up with a five-star review, 5 (3m 5s): We'd appreciate your support. If you follow and subscribe to our podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts, 4 (3m 11s): We're bringing it backwards with Luke Ravyn. 6 (3m 14s): All right. Finally made it happen. Let's go. 4 (3m 18s): Yeah, man. I'm Adam. And this is about you, your journey in music and how you got to where you are now. 6 (3m 24s): Awesome, bro. It's nice to meet you. 4 (3m 26s): Nice to meet you as well. So I guess first off, born and raised. Were you born in Hawaii? Is that what I saw? 6 (3m 32s): Okay. So yeah, a lot of people think that I was born in Jersey, like on the east coast, moved out to Hawaii when I was like 11 years old. I grew up in Hawaii, born on the east coast though. 4 (3m 44s): Okay. So born in Jersey, but you were there till 11. So you were there quite a while. I'd imagine you'd remember the Jersey quite a bit. 6 (3m 51s): Yeah, no, absolutely. I was there for long enough. 4 (3m 55s): Sure. Well, what was it like being in Jersey? And then tell me about the move to then Hawaii. 6 (4m 0s): I mean, Jersey was cool. I was still pretty young, so I don't like, you know, graphs too much about like, remember like details of like visiting, like my grandparents and stuff, but it was cool. But yeah, the Hawaii move was honestly pretty. I guess you could say like leap of faith type of thing. My, my dad kind of works virtually now, so we were kind of able to be a little bit flexible with where we lived, but we came out here for a vacation originally. I'm actually in Hawaii right now on vacation as well. So we came out here originally for a vacation, just kind of check it out. And then while we were here, my parents just kind of fell in love with the place, which is a good time. 6 (4m 42s): And we ended up finding a property that worked out for us and just kinda like, we got home back to Jersey, my parents, like we're moving to Hawaii and we're like, what? 4 (4m 51s): Wow. 6 (4m 55s): I probably complained about it at the time. I was stoked after the fact, but you know, 11 years old, it was like, oh, I'm gonna lose all my friends. I'll never have new friends, you know? 4 (5m 4s): Right. I mean, you're what going into probably what sixth grade or middle school at that time? 6 (5m 9s): Yeah, probably a six, fifth grade, something like that. 4 (5m 12s): Okay. So when you get to Hawaii, where you like, like, what was it like moving there? I mean, I would imagine there's obviously not as many people as were in Jersey. And did you grow up, like where did you grow up in Jersey? I mean, 6 (5m 24s): I grew up in the Flemington area. It's like kind of by the Princeton college. 4 (5m 28s): Okay, cool. And then from there to what part of Hawaii? 6 (5m 32s): So I live in the north shore of Hawaii, which is the island that I live on. I live in a town called <inaudible>, which is on the north shore, like I said, yeah, bro. It was, it was fricking crazy. I mean, talk about culture shock east coast to Hawaii. And then now, now I'm based out in LA. 4 (5m 52s): So 6 (5m 54s): After growing up in Hawaii on the LA was also a culture shock. You know what I'm saying? 4 (5m 57s): Oh, yeah, for sure. So you get to, what, at what point do you start becoming interested in music? Were you already in Jersey? 6 (6m 8s): I mean, I can't, I mean, obviously I listen to the music when I was younger, but I can't say like I was like into making music yet, but yeah, once I got to Kauai kind of started getting, you know, it was like in middle school, high school, that's when I kind of started really like finding my, I guess, passion for music and kind of like making music and playing music in general. I grew up doing a lot of like musical theater. Cause my first dream as a kid was like, oh, I want to be a famous actor. Right. And then through like the theater, we do a lot of like, you know, musicals and plays and stuff. And that was like my first kind of experience with like live singing in front of like an audience and learning a little bit about like music, you know, I guess production and little bit of music theory. 6 (6m 52s): And then that kinda, I guess that kind of like was really what like got me into like entertaining. Cause like I always like knew I wanted to be an entertainer, but once I started like actually perform in front of people, like you get that, you know, the stage frightened and the rush once you're up there and then the adrenaline afterwards, like, you know, it's fucking, it's incredible. So yeah, I did a lot of that as a kid. And then in middle school, through high school, I played in like different like, you know, a little like punk rock bands growing up, mostly like covers type of stuff, you know, wrote some songs were pretty terrible at the time. And then 4 (7m 24s): W what type of like, what punk covers 6 (7m 27s): You do? Like, like, you know, oh, gee like blink 180 2 songs. We would cover some like black Sabbath songs, like pretty, pretty basic stuff. Then we did, we did a couple, like, you know, more modern covers, I guess, like Arctic monkeys, monkeys type of stuff. But yeah, I actually, 4 (7m 43s): It's not like traditional, like I, I'm just curious because of when I think Hawaii, I think of like, you know, traditional, like Hawaiian music at all. Like, were you interested in that at all? Kind of vibe or anything? Nothing like that. 6 (7m 55s): So that's, that's I talk about this a lot on music is that like, I've always been like a scene kid, but I was living in on a, obviously a tropical island. So I'd be that kid, like everyone was clowning. Cause I'm at the beach with like ripped skinny jeans on, 4 (8m 10s): Similar to you. I grew up in San Diego in California, so that's 6 (8m 14s): Kind of a surfer 4 (8m 16s): Town. And a lot of guys, I hung out with friends of mine was surfing and I'd be at the beach with them, like in ripped jeans and black, all black t-shirts and stuff. And they're like, is this guy 6 (8m 27s): Like you, can you see how I'm like, I'm dressed now? This is what I wore like through high school at growing up here too. So yeah, it's a bit of like a sore thumb here, I guess you could say, but it worked out. I mean, I made a lot of great friends and obviously I have some incredible memories here, but yeah. I mean, I love Hawaii, but obviously I moved out to LA to like really like immerse myself in the music scene. 4 (8m 51s): Is that why you moved out to LA was to really, 6 (8m 55s): For me, for me, it just made sense. I mean like there, like you were saying, there is a music scene in Hawaii, but it's not like the music that I necessarily make. Right. So, you know, I'm kind of in the alt rock, pop punk kind of world. So there's definitely not a lot of that in Hawaii, especially like on quite the island I live on there's a little bit more on a wahoo, which is, I actually went to a year of college over there and they have a better music scene, but I mean, come on, it's LA I mean, Hollywood besides like maybe New York or Atlanta doesn't get like anywhere near that. 4 (9m 27s): Okay. So you did move out there then to pursue pursue music. Like, were you writing music at all prior to making the jump to LA? 6 (9m 38s): Oh yeah, dude. So I guess the kind of tying to the story that I was just telling you is yeah. After high school and like, you know, playing in a band, singing in like the, my high school chorus and stuff, and kind of like getting more into seeing and making music and learning more about music theory and how to sing and stuff. It wasn't, it wasn't until actually after I graduated, I went to that first year of college on a wahoo, which was Honolulu. And I did absolutely terrible in high school. So naturally I wasn't that into college either, but, but I did, I did fall in love with like writing and like producing music. My buddy, my roommate at the time, one of my best friends from high school when he got like a, you know, got like a cracked door off the internet, a shitty mic, a little when I was little like focus, right. 6 (10m 26s): Audio boxes. And, you know, we started, we started playing around, you know, downloading type beats off of YouTube, spitting like freestyles over a B, and then trying to figure out how to mix it up. Don't like tons of reverb and delay on there. You know, at first it was like, yeah, we didn't know what we were doing because we didn't have like traditional training per se. Like I had like grew up like definitely singing and performing, but not like making music or whatever. Definitely not the production side, obviously like the more digital side, which is a whole nother fucking rabbit hole. But yeah, we just, I just fell in love with writing, fell in love with singing. And I started like, you know, going on YouTube, learning how to like mix and master stuff. 6 (11m 7s): And I got my own just kind of set up and yeah, dude, I would just skip all my classes and make music in my dorm. And I mean, looking back, it sounds obviously pretty terrible, but that's where like definitely the, the fire in me, I got like ignited, if that makes sense. And my parents, my parents were super supportive of it. And when I decided to drop out, they kind of gave me the option. They're like, Hey, listen, like, you know, we're not just going to, like, we're not going to kick you out of the family cause jumped into college. Like we get it. But either got to start working like a nine to five job every day and you know, paying your dues. Right. We're going to give you, we're going to give you like one year to like figure out what your passion is like, what you want to do. Right. And we'll kind of support you along that journey. 6 (11m 49s): So I was just like, at the time I was just like, it wasn't was kind of a no brainer. I was like, fuck it. Like you try to do this music thing. Why not? 4 (11m 57s): So I went out and got a nine to five and I said, thanks, mom. <inaudible>. I mean, yeah, yeah. Of course you would have went with the, the figure it out your, I least I would have for sure. 6 (12m 9s): Yeah. I mean, there's some people that, that don't want it that's fine. But for me it was just like, I mean, I just rationally, I was just like, all right, I got this kind of grace period year. Obviously I still worked, like I worked at the same restaurant in choir since I was 15 till I was 20. So yeah. So I mean, I was always working, but I wasn't like, I guess full time, I was like, you know, a couple of shifts a week, whatever. So yeah. I mean, I worked and then hustling music, just, you know, everyday writing every day, learning how to mix master produce. And like at first it was just me doing this stuff. Like I didn't have like anyone behind me. It was just me. And then at the time my dad was like my acting as my manager, whatever, not that there was like anybody that we even need to talk to you at the time, but, you know 4 (12m 52s): Yeah. But having somebody else kind of advocate, it makes it look better, obviously. 6 (12m 57s): Yeah, no, absolutely. And it was like, you know, he kinda gave me that backbone and my dad's pretty skilled in like the business world. So it gave me that like the knowledge on that aspect. And then I was more of the creative side and you know, he's still, he's still super involved. I talked to him every day and my parents were like, you know, they love the whole music thing and that's cool. They're really excited where it's going. But yeah, man, at first it was just like in the basement type of stuff, literally in this basement where I'm at right now at my family home in Hawaii, this is where I like it all started just me like downloading, like, so just downloading beats off of YouTube and then staying over them. But yeah man, dude, I just, I just kept at it every day. I linked up with some of my buddies from high school. 6 (13m 37s): I played guitar really well. And one of my, also my other friends from high school ended up like getting into like beat production. So we kind of like formed a little like group and we were doing our thing and our kind of process was we were, you know, we were just recorded the guitar stems, record the vocals. And then my homeboy would just lay down on like a, you know, a pretty simple beat, just so you know, we could keep rhythm obviously and timing. And then I ended up linking up with a really talented, mixed engineer on the islands who had also had a really cool studio, like 15 minutes away from where I live. And that was kind of the guy that like really helped me like start getting my songs to sound more professional, like off the rip. 6 (14m 18s): And then, yeah, I mean we just kind of self-taught ourself, everything. Me and my dad just kind of like on YouTube, like trying to figure out like, how do you, how do you release music on Spotify? Like how do you promote this cop? And at the time I had like less than a thousand followers on Instagram. Like I didn't, I was not in that world yet. You know what I'm saying? But I knew I wanted to do it. So it was just like, you know, kind of a learning curve and dude, I mean, I just fucking put my head down and like, I still do. I mean, every day I'm on this, like I'm writing music, making music, trying to promote on social media, trying to grow my brand, trying to reach out to fans, reach out to the audience. You know, I mean, especially in the small artists, it's like, you gotta, like, you gotta really want this shit. There's so many other people that also really want this shit. 6 (14m 59s): So it's like, they're probably already putting in their a hundred percent. So it's like, I got to put in 150%, right. If I want to beat them. So not that it's a competition, but it's like, it's just a saturated market. So it's like, you gotta stand out. And obviously coming in from Hawaii was like kind of a cool aspect of being like a rock artist from Hawaii. But it was also like very limiting in the fact that like there wasn't great networking, which I didn't realize at the time is a huge part of that industry is like, who, you know, you know, who knows what, who knows who, but yeah, I mean, so I was just like reaching out to people on Instagram DM-ing fools, like, Hey, let's collab this that, you know, kind of producers managers and yeah. 6 (15m 41s): But it, it really took off when, you know, we released our first a couple singles and then we actually one of my, one of, one of our family friends that we've known for a while, they actually like got into the film kind of stuff. And they were filming music videos for another artist in Hawaii. And we meet, we make like different type of music. He's way more like a kind of like, you know, like island blues type of stuff. I don't even know necessarily what to call it, but you know, my stuff is a little more like grungy. That's just like, it's more like, I guess classical like grunge rock type of stuff, like pop punk, whatever. But yeah, we, it linked up with these videographers to help me get my first music video together. 6 (16m 23s): You know? So our whole thing since the get-go was like, Hey, listen, when you might not have, we might not have the funding behind us. We might not have the team behind us. We might not even have the experience behind us, but like, let's make this look as put together as possible, even if it's not. Right. Right. So, you know, just through the relationships and you know, a little bit of hustle, I mean, we were able to get some pretty like professionally sounding songs released get some like real music videos together, you know, kind of orchestrate the social media pages, even though they didn't have a lot of followers, like all the, you know, all the photos were really good. Everything was like super planned out like super strict on the regiment of when we were posting when not posting, you know? So yeah. We just kinda, you know, you got to fake it till you make it a little bit sometimes. 6 (17m 4s): And obviously the music's very real to me, but you know, I was like, like I got to beat, become this artist. I gotta become Luke Raven. Like, and obviously now I'm very much live it every day, but at the time it was, I was Luke Reynolds and now, you know what I'm saying? So you gotta make that transition. So it's like, yeah, dude, I was just kinda like, it came, it just really just came together because we were just like, we wanted it so bad. And obviously I got, I have a ton of work to do still, but from where I was literally like a year and a half, maybe not even two years ago, it's like, it's like literally night and day you're. I mean, I'm now I'm in like huge studios in LA with Grammy winning producers. And literally a year ago was in my basement by myself with, on my high school buddies, Mike putting a mic up to the guitar to record stems. 6 (17m 49s): Like I didn't even know, like, I didn't even know you could fucking plug it into the middy. So it's like, 4 (17m 52s): Oh wow. Yeah, it was just learning so much. 6 (17m 55s): Yeah. Learning so much exactly. But did, yeah, it just came together. And then, you know, I started collabing with other artists. I ended up flying out to LA to shoot a music video and record some records out there. And that's where I met my current manager right now. And then he kind of, once we, once I met him, he like really took an interest in like, you know, the hustle and you fuck with the vision. And he was like, Hey, listen, like, I'll give you guys some support, like some advice, you know, whatever he can while we're out with why. And then we ended up developing a really good relationship with him. And once I moved up to LA, it was like, yo, let's, let's make this happen. So I signed my first like official management team and now I got like a really like solid group of people behind me kind of helping me orchestrate everything. 6 (18m 38s): You know, obviously this marketing side publishing social media, you know, there's a lot of different, 4 (18m 46s): A lot of different parts, 6 (18m 48s): A lot of moving parts. And at the time, you know, I didn't know that at the time when I first started, but yeah, we kind of got our in a sense to kind of have our shit together right now, but dude, yeah, it's super exciting. And I honestly just can't even, I can't even believe I'm in a position a year end. Are you gonna be talking to you about my music journey? You know what I'm saying? 4 (19m 9s): No, but it's awesome, man. That's so cool. So once you like, see, did you go out to shoot the video or once you shot this video in Hawaii, like you, what linked up with that person who ended up living in LA? Is that kinda, what took you there? Like, 6 (19m 24s): So my manager right now, he was, he was working with another artist that I ended up collabing with. 4 (19m 31s): Oh gosh. 6 (19m 32s): A song together. Yeah. So I went out there and just naturally met him through the artists, worked with yeah. And then, you know, we just kinda, we just kinda hit it off and you know, it's kind of worked out that way. It was like kind of like just, I don't, I don't even know like a little bit of luck, a little bit of, you know, a little bit of hustle, like I said, But yeah. I mean, it just kind of worked out and you know, now he's, he's repping me, full-time out in LA and we're, you know, on our shit. Yeah, dude, it's, it's really exciting. I'm pretty blown away with how fast it's moved. But I guess that's kind of how stuff is nowadays that either happens like super fast or it doesn't happen at all. 6 (20m 13s): Sure. You could definitely see it with like stuff like Tik TOK and all that stuff. You know, it's more like the immediate gratification thing. Not like long-term, you know, sustainability, I guess you could say, obviously that's definitely what I'm trying to do here with the music. 4 (20m 29s): Sure. With like, did you say your dad was helping you in the recording process or just helping you kind of push the songs? 6 (20m 36s): No. So musical he's not musically inclined at all. 4 (20m 39s): God, he's just helping on the business end. Yes. 6 (20m 41s): He's very business savvy. Very smart, but no creatively, not, you know, he would get my family, you know, they would always give me a feedback. They're like, they're my number one supporters. But they're also like my number one haters in a sense, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, not that they're actually hating, like obviously they support me and everything, but you know, I'll yeah. I'll send them videos. I'm making it. I'll be like, yo, like what do you guys actually think? You know, you should, somebody show that shit to your friends. You're like, ah, that's cool, bro. And it's like, you don't really know what they're thinking about. My dad and my family they've always been straight shooters. So, you know, 4 (21m 18s): You talk about some heavy subjects in your songs. Is that, was that something hard to be like vulnerable enough to, to put that out there. And I know you had some struggles with, with drugs and alcohol and myself included, I've also had those same struggles and having to clean up and all that stuff. So like bringing that into your music, was that hard to do like hard to be vulnerable like that 6 (21m 38s): Definitely dude. So like I said, I mean, when I first started making music, it was like freestyle, like SoundCloud wraps, like stuff just like me and my buddies was jumping on SoundCloud. Like barely a mix on there, you know, was talking complete nonsense, like talking about cars. I've never driven and you know, money I didn't have and jewelry I didn't have. So I was like, you know, just kinda like go, go with what we hear on the other side. But once I like really started to like get into and I was like, okay, like what do I actually, what do I, what do I want my legacy to be music wise? And for me it was, you know, obviously there's a lot of like trials and tribulations that led to this. I'm very much like a mental health advocate now just because, I mean, like obviously I had a great childhood growing up in Hawaii. 6 (22m 25s): Like I know like that's definitely like a privilege and a lot of people have, but yeah. I mean, I've always struggled with pretty severe depression, anxiety. And then as I got older, I've definitely like slipped into addiction, like drinking drugs. That's like a way to cope with that. And you know, obviously when you're a young teenage guy in high school, you're not like you want to be telling girls you're depressed and stuff. So it's like, it kind of came out in other ways. I definitely have like more like anger issues growing up more like, but now it's like, and then like after high school, I was definitely more like Ashley, that goes shit. Like, I'm pretty sad. Like I don't know what I wanna do with my life. Like I just like, you know, I can't shut my brain off. I'm trapped in my head. 6 (23m 5s): And I talked about that stuff with my music all the time. It definitely led me down some, you know, I don't want to get too graphic here, but definitely led me down some like pretty dark avenues. And I've had some pretty, you know, scary experiences you could say. And you kind can kind of read between the lines there. But yeah, I do. I definitely like kind of hit a rock bottom at a certain point. And this was like right after I graduated college. Right. Kind of right before I made that decision to pursue music, I kind of hit like a rock bottom in a sense. And you know, someone, you know, what, if someone told me actually they were like, they were like, Hey, listen, like when you're this point, there's only two places. 6 (23m 46s): You can go one, you ended up daddy ended up in jail and in jails, if you're lucky, otherwise you probably, you know, and otherwise, you know, it's like the only other place you got to go is up. So, you know, what do you want, what do you want with your life? And I've never been like a high achiever per se. Like, I'm not like I don't like you get what I'm saying, but like I wanted to, you know, I wanted to make something of myself. Like I, you know, I've always been like, I knew I wanted to be an entertainer. I knew I wanted to make it in the sense. And but yeah, I just kinda got lost in the sauce through high school and was really confused with what I wanted to do with my life after, after I graduated and kind of had a little bit of an identity crisis, like, like, you know, who is, who, who's this like fake cool guy, high school, Luke or island Luke, and then who's the real Luke. 6 (24m 35s): Right. And then, so that definitely just led me to like, you know, like I said, a lot of trials and tribulations, but once I kind of hit that rock bottom and started like clean up my act and you know, naturally I did my writing. I just, I, you know, I started like kind of even happened by accident. I wasn't like sitting down like, oh, I'm going to write about my trauma. Right. It's like, it's just something that kind of naturally starts coming to you. And it's like, I didn't even realize at the time, but it ended up being like the most healing thing for me was like, cause I, you know, like as a young man, you know, every guy knows, it's like, unfortunately you are raised or at least, you know, maybe it's starting to change now, but you are raised to like be tough. And like, especially in Hawaii, it's very like old school. And a lot of the guys here are very like traditionally masculine and strong, hard workers using their hands out in nature. 6 (25m 19s): You know what I'm saying? Good or bad thing, but it's just, that's just kind of the environment I grew up in. So for me it was like, you know, I kind of had to crack that shell a little bit to start talking about things, letting it out, even being able to accept, help, you know, physically, mentally, whatever it was. And yeah, the music ended up being the most healing thing for me, you know, like besides like medications therapy, whatever, like it was like writing it down. Like, you know, people don't realize this, but it's like, you know, you can loop this stuff in your head a million times, which, which I think most times it's going to make it worse, but you write something down on a piece of paper and you read out loud yourself suddenly it's a lot more real than you thought it was. 6 (25m 60s): Right. Right. So, yeah. And like, so once I started kind of, you know, writing about some of the, the way I felt, some of the things I've gone through, it like really helped me kind of actually let go of those things, which, you know, I was holding onto for a while or hadn't really forgiven myself for yet. And you know, obviously you, everyone's got to live with their mistakes and consequences, but I just like made it like a absolute goal of mine that like, you know, Hey, if I'm going to hit this point, like I'm going to sure as damn well gonna learn from it and grow from this, like become a better version of myself because of this. That's kinda been my, my whole thing, you know, from there. And you know, I really try to push that in my music, especially to other, you know, young men in my situations, young girls, you know, whoever, but, you know, I just want people to feel comfortable being themselves and feel comfortable expressing themselves and understand that it's like, there's other, you know, it's like so cliche to say, but you know, the like get help line, you know, like the suicide line is like, you're not alone. 6 (27m 4s): And it's like, that's so cliche in a sense. Cause like, you know, someone that's really in a dark place doesn't want to hear, oh, you're not alone, but, and I didn't want to hear it at the time either, but you know, it's still something I'm like, I feel like it's so necessary to just push that message because it's like, when you're in that space, in that dark spot does feel like you're the only one going through it. Right. And of course, I think that's just the human condition. Like I'm only ever gonna live and look through these eyes, same as you're ever going to look live and look through your eyes. Right. So of course when you're in that like fucking gutter of a space, it's like, you know, it's even a little, it, I even realized after the fact I was like, God, like, this is almost a little bit selfish of me to like be acting this way. It's like all these people around me trying to help me show me love. 6 (27m 45s): And I'm just being an absolute fucking asshole. And obviously, you know, at the time, like I said, you know, I was really like suffering from some like depression, anxiety, and then the addiction made, it, makes it all worse. And then, you know, I just grew up with, you know, kind of a plethora of kind of issues with school and, you know, different diagnosis, ADHD, you know, dyslexia, all, you know, the whole nine yards. I'm the whole package, as you can tell. Yeah. No, but there's a lot of people like that. There's a lot of, especially young boys. I know for sure why a lot of these kids have ADHD and they're getting thrown on Adderall at a young age and never really like never even really like properly diagnosed. 6 (28m 27s): It's just like, you know, there's doctors still these pills like these kids now. And it's like, you know, and some kids do really need it. And I don't want to like put like a damper on that, but you know, I do think there's like, there's something really special about, you know, like taking a step back kind of breaking that barrier, cracking the shell, opening up and you know, learning more about yourself. I think that, that, I think that was the biggest thing for me was just like, I didn't really know who I was, you know, I'm saying it's like I had everyone in high school builds this persona of who they want to be. Right. And then, you know, you kind of carry that into college and it drops a little bit as you get older and kind of figure this shit out. But I guess in a very loose fashion, I did it very, like I had to do it in the most dramatic way. 6 (29m 10s): Of course. So, you know, it came to all of these very climactic experiences for me and some of my friends and family, but yeah, dude, I mean, I just, I wanted to take all that pain that suffering, you know, whatever it was trauma and I wanted to make something beautiful out of it. And when I started like really like getting serious about the music, I was like, this is my legacy. Like, you know, like I want, I want to support people that are like in this position or help them, you know, whatever it is. Like maybe it won't help, you know, maybe I won't fucking help anyone, but at least like, I'm trying my, you know, I'm trying my best. Cause like I've always just been the type of person that's like, you know, I put like my friends, my family, like before my own needs. And I know, I know, especially in the music industry, sometimes you gotta be selfish, but it's like, I'm just, that's not who I was. 6 (29m 51s): It wasn't how I was raised. So, and I get that, like, this is like me, this is my brain, I'm the artist. But it's like, I very much so for me it feels more than about myself. It feels about me, the audience and listeners, the people I collaborate with. Like, it's like kind of like, you know, I'm trying to build something here that's bigger than just myself. If that makes sense, 4 (30m 11s): Completely makes sense. The 6 (30m 12s): Mental health thing is definitely like the backbone for, and you know, I, I, I see a lot of artists kind of like hop, hopping on the wave and I know that sounds so weird, but I don't, I don't like really, like, I hate the fact of like using mental health, like mental illness or whatever. I was like a way to like, seem relatable if you get what I'm saying, 4 (30m 37s): I hear ya. 6 (30m 38s): But yeah. I mean, if you can just hear my music like that, shit's pretty fucking raw. Like there's no, like, you know, a lot of this shit is actually true stories. Like if not, most of all of it is like two stories, two experiences. So yeah, man, I just, you know, try to spread them, spread the word and hopefully people resonate with the music and we can kind of connect on that level. So yeah. I mean, that's honestly the most exciting part about this for me is that I get to like, you know, share it, oh my God, sorry. There's like a guy outside blowing leaves. I don't know if you can hear that, But yeah man, that's like, that's like, that's it like, that's, that's the legacy of trying to build? That's the real passion there. 6 (31m 19s): It's like, you know, and music for me was so healing too, and was like a big part of my process of growing and becoming a better version of myself. So it's like, even if you know, a kid in whatever, halfway across the world, you know, maybe doesn't want to be a musician, but maybe the music can touch him in the way that it's touched me and at least help him through a dark time or get him past that one night that he's thinking about doing something terrible or maybe, you know, stop him from taking that last drink, that last pill, whatever it is like, you know what, I don't, I, I don't know. Like I can't, you know, I don't know how it's going to roll out, but I have gotten some pretty, really powerful messages from some of the fans and comments and stuff. And you know, kind of reassure me that like, Hey, this is like, definitely like the path I want to be taking, because I know it is very easy to hop on and be like, yo, I'm the coolest guy in the world. 6 (32m 7s): I got all this money. You girls car. I'm very much doing the opposite of that. In fact, most of the music is very self-deprecating I guess you could say it, but yeah, for me, it's very empowering, very freeing, I think for a lot of people, it is as well. 4 (32m 22s): For sure. For sure. Wow. I mean, that sounds like you're doing this for all the, all the right reasons and you get out to LA and you just would start putting songs out at that point. When you get there, you had songs out prior to moving in Lausanne. Oh you did. Because you, you collaborated, but like you see, been in LA a little bit and then the most recent song you put out it's called another day. Is that 6 (32m 43s): Sir? 4 (32m 43s): And is, are you doing like singles now and then maybe a record or? 6 (32m 48s): Yeah. So I haven't like officially announced this anywhere, but I'm gonna roll a couple of singles this year. They've all obviously been produced and done in LA now. And then yeah, I guess I kind of dropped a little hint here, but there's definitely a project coming up the end of the year that I'm very excited about and yeah. Hopefully, hopefully we're definitely gonna make that happen. Well, no, definitely gonna make that happen. But yeah, man, I got some special stuff coming, but single you can expect singles for the next couple of months and you know, cool. You know, obviously lots of content, videos, music, videos, you know, social media stuff behind that. And you know, I try my best. Like I'm not I'm by no means like a tic talker or like, you know, like social media guy per se. 6 (33m 32s): Like, it's just like, it's not even like as relevant in Hawaii. So like I never like felt the need to be obsessed with it. And obviously moving to LA I'm like, oh wow, this is like really fucking important. It's like people judge your, your worth as a person based on like your fucking followers on Instagram. And do you have a blue check or not? So it's like, you know, it sounds insane, but like that's very much how the culture is developed. It's like, it's very much numbers, numbers, numbers, money, money, money, like cloud cloud cloud. And you know, this should sound like a joke, but like people really live that way. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's a lot of people that live that way, especially like, you know, the major like very like pop culture S cities, but just, you know, it was just fine. 6 (34m 13s): I, you know, it's kinda like comes with the territory of being a musician. You gotta deal with that crap. But yeah, man, I try my best. Like I'm trying to get better at making content. Cause I do know that obviously the fans love to engage and talk with you and I'm very active. And if anyone's listening to this, you know, you can always reach out to me on social media. I respond to absolutely. Everyone respond to all my comments on all the DMS, even, even the negative ones. I'll try to say something nice back. 4 (34m 39s): I like that. 6 (34m 40s): I know someone will be like, you know, like, you'll fuck you, bro. Your music chasse. I'll just like, I'll like it. And like send them a heart emoji back, you know, whatever. Like it's just whatever man. I, I mean, I just feel like, Hey look, they're going to take the time out of their day to talk to me. You know, nobody came from Hawaii, then I can respond. You know what I'm saying? 4 (34m 55s): That's amazing. Well, I appreciate your time today, Luke, this has been awesome. Thank you so much for, for hanging out with me, 6 (35m 3s): Dude. Honor's all mine. Like I'm fucking, really excited to be on here and talk about this stuff with you and I'm glad we could make it happen because I know we had some scheduling issues. 4 (35m 11s): Yeah. All good man. Well, I guess my last question for you is if you have any advice for aspiring artists 6 (35m 18s): First firing artists. Yes. I lot more. Lots of advice. Lots of stuff. I wish I knew when I first started. I guess the first thing would definitely be as crazy as this sounds. Make sure like everything is put together. Like I said, doesn't have to be perfect, but so much of being, especially an artist too, like it's a little different when, you know, if you're in a band or depending on what you're doing, but if you're a solo artist and you're trying to create this whole thing around yourself, make sure you got it all together. Like I kind of naturally fell into the look of like how I dress because I just, this is always how I've been. But get your, look down, get the hairstyle down, get the social media tie, like get it all together because I didn't realize for so long how much that mattered. 6 (36m 6s): And then once you get that together, it just, it adds so much to what you're doing with the music, right? Like I'm not gonna get on here and be like make music. I mean, I can't, you know, I don't, who might just say someone's music is good or bad. Right. But I would say definitely the advice is like, make sure, make sure you you're really living what you're trying to portray because otherwise it's like, it's not believable. You know what I'm saying? Like, you gotta be the artists that you're like trying to be. And for me it was like, you know, I'm like, you know, I want to be a fucking rock star. So it's like, I really lived that shit. You know what I'm saying? So it was like, yeah. I mean, like I would say the biggest advice is like, you've got to immerse yourself in it. I said it in the beginning. It's like, there are people out, there are hundreds of thousands. 6 (36m 47s): If not millions of people giving their 100% to music and 99% of them never make it, never see the light of day, never even get more than a thousand views listened to on a song. Right. If some of these people are actually incredibly talented, but it's like, it's that extra one, 2% pass the a hundred that extra grind, the nights you don't fucking go to sleep as you're up all night writing or up all night researching how to promote a fucking song. Like that's what like really matters. So it's like, I would just say immerse yourself in the shit. If you want it, you've got, it's like, it's gotta be everything for you. Like I dropped out of school, quit my job. Like, you know, basically did it have anything to my name except for my phone and some lyrics in my notes. 6 (37m 27s): But it's like that, like that was like the only way I was able to make it happen. Cause like, otherwise it's just, life has so many distractions. If you don't, I feel like, you know, it almost applies to anything you do, but I would just say it for aspiring artists. It's like, you got to give it your all it. There's no other way to do it. It will never happen otherwise. And even, yeah. And even the guys that you think blow up like that, you know, it's not, there's so many, there's always so much more to the story than that. You know what I'm saying? That in fact that's what they want you to see. It's always, there's always so much more so it's like, you know, don't think it's locked. Don't think it's chance it's fucking work. And I want, you know, and I'm not trying to be some preachy guy, but it's like, I want people to know that it's like, fucking, you gotta do it. You gotta want it.