Music Therapy with Jessica Risker
Music:Music Interviews
What's it like to walk away from the music industry?
Steff Reed is a New York-based musician, educator, and activist. As a musician and producer, he has produced many tracks that have made it to Billboard Charts. As an educator, he has taught thousands of youth over the past 15 years, and was nominated for the Grammy Music Educator Award. As an activist, he is currently building a non-profit in Brooklyn called Power of Love.
We explore how Steff went from grinding in the NYC music industry to teaching to starting non-profits. Steff’s throughline is a total devotion of his life to social change, forward movement, hope and inspiration.
Like the title of the episode, there are some amazing nuggets of wisdom in here. I walked away from my conversation with Steff Reed totally inspired, which makes sense, because he’s an educator and a social justice worker and has been working in the music industry for years, and these are all things I believe in.
He shares why he pivoted away from the music industry, which he feels was a traumatic experience in some ways, to pursuing an independent music career more aligned with his own beliefs and values.
He also told me off-tape an important thing he learned producing music for the industry all these years: even if your track has heart, it’s gotta *slap* to hit the listener - a piece of advice I’m taking to heart as I work on my new album.
Steff says he’s hopeful about the future - so I am, too. Give it a listen.
Songs featured in episode:
"Get Free" and "Power of Love" by Steff Reed
Visit musictherapypodcast.com for show notes, past episodes, and upcoming events!
Music Therapy Podcast Credits:
Music Therapy is hosted by Jessica Risker, produced by Sullivan Davis of Local Universe, and engineered by Joshua Wentz in Chicago.
Opening and closing music composed by Joshua Wentz.
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Episode 78: Jessica Takes a Break Until 2022 for Self Care and the Holidays!
Episode 77: Camilo Medina (Divino Niño) Is Vibing in the Bath
Episode 76: Darien Williams Can‘t Say No / Balancing Work & Creativity
Episode 75: Steve Malden on Comedy vs Music and Moving to NYC
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Episode 73: Savanna Dickhut (Burr Oak) Pours Her Heart Out
Episode 72: Pandemic Burnout - Dealing With Prolonged Stress w Dr. Caroline Adelman
Episode 71: Macie Stewart Needs Some Alone Time
Episode 70: Andrew Sa Is Better With Others
Episode 69: Hausu Mountain Will Dominate the World + live performance by Pepper Mill Rondo
Episode 68: Nathan Graham Keeps His Cool
Episode 67: Jess Viscius of BNNY on Grief and Making An Album Blue
Episode 66: Chris Koltay’s Rock and Roll Fantasy
Episode 65: All about SONGWRITING! with Jean Cochrane of Hard Femme
Episode 64: Girl K Talks Songwriting, Finding Each Other and Crying in The Green Room
Episode 63: Dr Lauren Neaman on Social Anxiety in the Time of Covid & Being A Social Being
Episode 62: Adam Schubert (ULNA, Cafe Racer) Talks Addiction, Recovery, and Staying Sober in the Music Scene
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