Ep. 02: Creating a Life as a Professional Drummer with Arthur “L.A.” Buckner

[00:00:00] Stephen: On today's episode, we have Arthur L. A. Buckner. He's a performing musician, teaching artist, and producer from the north side of Minneapolis. He holds a master's degree in percussion performance from McNally Smith College of Music. Currently, L. A. is playing with his band, Big Homie, teaching drums, and also serves as co host for the two time Webby Award winning PBS Music Education YouTube series, Sound Field, a video project exploring the music theory, production, history, and culture behind our favorite [00:01:00] songs and musical styles. Back in 2020, L. A. took iTunes by storm with the release of his project, also titled Big Homie, which reached number one on the iTunes jazz charts. L. A. is a scholar and a master of all things percussion. He's proficient in many styles, including jazz, gospel, hip hop, and rock. He's played with a list of local artists. and bands too long to name, it would not be a stretch to say he's a local legend. Please welcome Arthur L. A. Buckner. We LA Buckner: Thank you, bro. No, Stephen: need the clap track. LA Buckner: that's tight. Thank you for having me. Stephen: Yeah, man, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. , it's been fun to even just catch up a little bit this morning as we've been settling in to do this. And,you know, we met each other over a decade ago at this point and,, you were still in school at [00:02:00] that time. LA Buckner: I pulled up to the house to the to the studio. I was just like, oh, whoa. This is a blast from the past. Let's go. I did some of my first sessions in this room. When I just got to McNally and just I probably only done maybe two or three recording sessions But I remember recording a whole album in this very room. It's really dope Stephen: shout out to the Credentials , and Patrick, cause I'm pretty sure that's how we would have met. Um, I wouldn't remember what the sessions are anymore, but you did some session work for me like really early on and you did the Nine Tomorrow stuff with me and yeah, so that's right, yeah, for both of us, yeah. But it's been fun to watch your, career develop. I mean, obviously you were, super talented back then, but you know, only sharpening those skills and getting better and becoming a bigger name in the scene and, the big homie stuff is super impressive. I know that you're working on a new album now and that's going to be coming out soon. Well, why don't you start by kind of taking us back to the beginning and walk us through your background, your [00:03:00] journey in music and how you got to where you are now. LA Buckner: Yeah. my journey in music, I come from a musical family. I have a gift though. You know, I was raised in, in church, in the black church, gospel music. which I think is one of the dopest training grounds for Yeah. Performing musician, mainly because you know, the standard You gotta be good to even get up there and, you know, and play. And it's like, it's so much improvisation. It's so much following and learning on the spot. it's a wild kind of like a, what's the word I'm looking for? It's a, yeah. Is incubator is the word I'm looking for, like where you something, something is stirring up, you know, and then I'm ready. Like when I got to college, I had so much performance experience just playing in church every single week, playing multiple times in church every week. So like playing in front of 100 people, 500 people was no big deal. But some of my classmates, it was kind of a thing. But so like churches is a amazing trading ground for musicians, you know, so that's where I came from Stephen: and there are a lot of musicians that come out of the church scene, a lot of crazy good musicians. and even now there's a lot of musicians that are still [00:04:00] supplementing their income, doing the church gigs with the megachurches and the ones that have the paid bands and all that kind of stuff. I grew up going to church with my parents and that sort of thing, but it, you know, there was no live music. This was like the old school, like, you know, Ayo lowkey at my church though. Like we had music, but my home church, it was only me and a piano player or me and the choir and the singers or me And I'm like 11. I was 11 when I became the drummer of my church, you know what I'm saying? so now like when the sound is acting up at church now or if it's on a live performance I feel at home. LA Buckner: It's just like, oh yeah, I was raised on this. Like, let's go. Come on, keep going. Show must go on. Stephen: When I say no live music, I mean there was live music. It was just like organ. There was no live drums, you know, there was definitely never any drums. so it wasn't something that you sort of aspired to as a young kid, you know, is like, this is not what I'm listening to. LA Buckner: I think people, people ask, what made you pick the drums? And it's just like, I didn't even pick the drums. I feel like I was [00:05:00] chosen. You know, the drums picked me. It was, it's a gift. It's a gift from God. Anybody with any rhythm, it's a gift, right? But I'll be staring at the drums all service. Nobody be even playing them. I'm three years old and I'm just like, naturally drawn to them. You saying? So, that's how I came into it. I've been playing. My whole life in school and outside of school. I've been just been playing. One thing I'm realizing it's like. We'll be able to make a living in this life, you know, and I'll be able to provide for my family just being who I'm supposed to be. Just playing the drums, right? I met a guy. His name is Masamba. Papa Masamba. he did all the African drums in Black Panther. All the talking drum, all the gym bay, all the African drumming in both Black Panther movies, right? he tours with Disney. He stays in four star hotels, first class, everywhere he goes and he told me, he said, this is the only thing I've ever done in my life is play this drum. This is the only thing, all his [00:06:00] children are super successful doctors, engineers, attorneys. He lives with one of his children in the back cottage like the dream, the dream, right? But he said, , all I've ever done was play this drum. My whole family were known for this drum. 01 LA Video and Audio: in Senegal LA Buckner: and I just like, you know, I was talking to him. I was like, Ima be able to do that. just being who I am. This is all I've ever done was play the drums, but he's able to live life on the fullest of experiences and the fullest scale, the highest level, just being. Who you are. So I'm realizing all my favorite musicians that I look up to, like, they just, we talked about this a little earlier. They just never stopped and they were able to reap the full benefits of their artistry or that they're doing it on a mega level, you know, just cause like they just never quit, you know? I really want that. That keeps me going. That's another battery I found, that keep me inspired to keep creating. Cause it's like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'll get there. We'll get there. Just keep doing you. Yeah. Stephen: So you start playing in church, you're getting that experience, you're building your chops.[00:07:00] When did you start doing like, Hey, I got a band now, kind LA Buckner: That's real. it was a long journey. and church was still with me all throughout that journey, but like even after music school, going to college and playing with a community choir during that time and getting a lot of out of school experience performing at three or four different gigs in a day. I remember one Martin Luther King day, we played at like a breakfast in the morning. We did like two, three rec centers or something like that at the end. It had an event at night. It was crazy, but like learning how to gig, right. Setting up drums and lugging drums using my mom's car. Cause I'm, I'm 19. You know what I'm saying? So like getting drums to the gig, getting friends rise to the gig, like learning how to. Mini tour, you know what I'm saying? Like that's the, that was the experience that I got finished school, did some, a lot of playing different ensembles, you know, the music school thing. after school, I was playing with a funk band, you know, playing several different projects at one time, at one point in time, I was playing with 13 different things like rehearsing on the regular. [00:08:00] Like it's just way too much, but I had a wife, no kids and I was still a student, you know, living at the crib. So it's like I can be stressed out with work. Right. But I wasn't be fulfilled. I was playing everybody else's stuff and playing in rooms that I'm the only black dude there, you know, traveling to middle of nowhere, Iowa playing at a bar with the confederate flag in the windows. It's like, Oh snap, I gotta, I can't, I can't invite my people to come see me play. Like I can't. I met a friend and they really changed my outlook on artistry and music and like being a student forever. Like no matter how dope you get, you still can learn from the beginner. you know, and my perspective is altering and I'm learning how to write songs. My friends is helping me realize like, no, that's, this is your song. Like this is an arrangement, like this boom shedding at 11 PM to 3 AM. You know what I'm saying? Like randomly again, wasn't married yet. No kid, you know what I'm saying? But like honing the skills, writing with friends and rehearsing and recording voice memos over and over and over [00:09:00] again. And just like the, those songs developing and then I'm able to gather my troops and be like, yo, I want to record. I want to do this and it's getting traction going into studio recording. So I'm fast forwarding so many things, but like. That's pretty much how it happened organically. You know, creating with friends, realizing, living life, realizing like, you know what? If I'm gonna be playing drums, I gotta try to be happy while I'm doing it. You know, I can't, I want my family and friends to enjoy this too. I do it for them, you know? as as I'm learning who I am. That's how the whole big homie even came together, you know? my my calling in life is mentorship. That's what I'm realizing and the vehicle is just the drums. It's just music, you know, but like I'm, you know, I'm teaching everywhere and it's like, big homie, we're educators in that band too. So, we do the whole educational thing. We do master classes, workshops, clinics, all of that and college too. We did a college tour just a couple months ago. So, it's like, the drums and the band. That's still the vehicle to the heavier impact that deeper conversation or that, you know, that inspiring word that I get [00:10:00] to have with whoever, you know, and your big homies can be younger than you. They could be older than you. It could be whatever, you know, it's just a term of endearment. Pretty much. It's like somebody, anybody that's showing you something showing you the way, Stephen: Yeah. Yeah. LA Buckner: anything. Stephen: Okay. I want to, I want to break down some of this along the way here, but then let's talk about big homie some more. you went to McNally and is that four LA Buckner: years? was that went for four years and then they gave me a scholarship for two more years for the master's Stephen: Oh, nice. That's right. Yeah. You have your master. So. You did that process. Obviously you're playing in all the ensembles. You're starting to be a gigging drummer. So you're playing in more bands, I'm sure throughout that time. it sounds like from that story that, the first time you feel like you're in a serious band that's like important to you is when you start doing your own thing. you were A professional. But but that felt like a new chapter LA Buckner: a A new chapter No, Stephen: I'm doing this. Yeah. When you sort of [00:11:00] discover that in order for this to be something that you can sustain and really, put in that, effort, it needed to be the thing that would fulfill you, LA Buckner: And it's like, I want it to be challenged a lot. And I want all my homies, all my friends around me who were playing with me or working, collaborating with me. I want them to be challenged as well. Cause when we're all being challenged, like the level is raising, it's raising higher. that's really a huge aspect of it too. So I want to be pushed. And if I can't find a push, I got to create the push. Stephen: It feels, at least from an outsider's perspective, you sort of equally pursue the creation of your own music as an artist, as a drummer, but also as being a teacher. And as you said, being a mentor. So where was your mind when you were going to college and that sort of thing? Were you thinking, yeah, I'm going to get into this and be a teacher? Was it always, I want to do LA Buckner: Yo, that's a great question because even as a kid, I remember in fourth grade really wanted to be a drummer and really want to be a teacher. okay. those those are the main two answers I had. And [00:12:00] I started leaning more towards drummer, drummer, drummer. I remember, I was going to the sixth grade. It was summertime. I was in a summer program. And we did this activity. Everybody's going to say what they want to be when they grow up. Right? So everybody's around the room like, I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, this, that, and the other. It's my turn. I'm like, all right, yeah. When I grow up, I want to be a musician. I want to be a drummer. I want to travel the world. I wanna play for thousands of people and blah, blah, all this. And the leader of the program, she looked, she said, A drummer, you ain't gonna make any money doing that. You going, you gotta find something else to do. I was like, oh, okay. So dang was I was like, that was brutal, but you know, it sent me on, it sent me on a journey for other things that I was interested in. now in retrospect, I'm kind of grateful for that moment because I'm learning. Which is a secret, right, to, to everything, everything we do. Steve, everything you do from the podcasting to the engineering, producing, musicianship, even being husband, even being a family person, it's all one thing. , it's all the same. , it all works [00:13:00] together, who we are, everything we love, everything, whether we're interested in me, the drumming, the teaching, the mentorship, creativity behind cooking and the. The way I, I'm a father, it's all works together is one thing. That's what Max Roach said. His activism, his drumming, why he wrote the songs he wrote. It's all tied in of who we are. That's just being an artist is trying to, perfect being because everything you are interested in, it's all connected. It's all one thing. It's all together, everything we are. I keep repeating it, but like, I find more examples of that every day. Everything that we're interested in, even with like content creating, whatever, like capture the natural stuff that you would do any day. You know what I'm saying? Like this conversation, we would have this conversation, but since these cameras are here, we're making, we're capitalizing on the natural sharing the natural conversation, the natural learning that we're doing. Even some of the best TikTok material. It's like people in their natural. You know, element. Stephen: The more, [00:14:00] authentic it is to you, the better the content is usually. LA Buckner: more authentic it is to you, the better the content is. People are gonna connect with The natural I don't know if natural is the the the best word but the authentic I would say. Yeah. Authentic. You know, the real, the the personal, But yeah, that's that's just one thing that's a reoccurring thing that I've been thinking about over and over the last few months is just like, Oh, because everything we do, it all works together is one thing. Stephen: I Couldn't agree more, and it feels so simple, right? but it's not, it's complex. and I think the more that we can keep searching for your own authentic. thing and how it ties into every piece of your life and that they work together. Because what can often happen is you get out of balance and one thing is not working towards the whole anymore because maybe your work Takes over your family life, for instance, that's a classic one you alluded to this earlier where you had a realization at a young age that, Hey, if this is going to continue [00:15:00] and work, I need to be playing for the audiences that want to be playing. I need to be making the kind of art that I want to be playing, or it's not going to be sustainable. that's not an easy thing. I mean, obviously hindsight's always 2020 and we go, yeah, of course LA Buckner: but like actually leaving all of those projects was not an easy thing. Having all those conversations and people feeling like friendships may possibly be terminated, but at the same time, like they understand get it. You got to do your thing. I get it. I know it's going to be banging. I get it. I get, you know what I'm saying? So, but that was very difficult to even, Oh, and I was married by this time, newly newlywed, but even my mom, my wife can attest. Like that was a huge, like a personal battle for me, you know? And actually that was part of the narrative of the first album, like actually breaking away from these other projects that I couldn't really express myself and finding my own voice, really given my vulnerable truth, you know, out there, that was, that was part of that narrative of the first album. So like my emergence really [00:16:00] came from that separation and finding that balance. that, and that's another thing that Max Roach was talking about with everything we do is all together, but we have to give more homie Stephen: Yeah, well, let's get back to the big homie project Walk me through what this new album is all about and What you're doing in terms of content to promote it what the band looks like even The LA Buckner: Yeah. Stephen: how you make these records LA Buckner: the new record is called North Side, referring to the north side of Minneapolis, spelled with an F North side, right. , it's a rich. Black culture that comes from Minneapolis, North Minneapolis, specifically, musically Prince, Morris Day and the Time, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jelly Bean Johnson, like all those cats went to my high school, North High School, you know, that there's a Minneapolis sound that the world loves, you just listen to uptown funk, listen to others that you'll find it everywhere. I say this probably, Once, two times a month, probably, Oh, everybody love Minneapolis. Oh, everybody trying to sound like [00:17:00] Minneapolis. I'll hear something. I'll hear something on the radio or hear something in the video or whatever. It was like, Oh, Minneapolis, they trying to do the Minneapolis thing. But like, so that is, it's a very, rich black culture that comes from Minneapolis. And I just, I wanna represent that. I wanna beat that on my chest, right? My I sound, excuse me. I sound like Minneapolis. I sound like the north side. We have a song called North Side what does that mean? It's one of the most beautiful songs and most beautiful melodies that you'll hear in the beginning but then it gets real different, real funky, it gets real, real spicy, right? It's just like the north side of Minneapolis. One of the most beautiful communities. We respect the elders. We love the elders. We love education Northside, but then there's some pockets where it can get real different. It gets real hood, you know, get active, but the song reflects that, you know, I'm trying, I'm trying to do something new. I read Herbie Hancock's book and with all of his albums, he was trying to do something completely in the opposite direction of the last thing he did. All right. I got something new. I it's bigger. I think it's better than the first joint. ten tunes. the configuration of Big [00:18:00] Homie is myself on drums. I got my cousin Jumani Buckner on percussion. he grew up playing in church too. David Smith. On keyboards. He's a producer extraordinaire from, from the city, from Minneapolis or from Woodbury, but he, from the twin cities surrounding areas, you know, producer extraordinaire, he does, he doesn't did live arrangements for a hundred mainstream artists, just. Arranging their stuff for the tours, like, Hey, we need an intro, a transition between this song and then like an outro for the whole set. And he was in his dorm room just doing it all, like, killing it. I got David Feely on guitar, one of the coldest guitarists in the city. Ethan Yeshaya on the bass, one of my brothers from McNally back in the day. Jovan Williams on woodwinds. one of my students from SPCPA, St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts. I met Javon when he was 16, about to turn 17. First time we played together, it was just like, Oh, this is different. This is fireworks. Even all the students could tell, it was like, whoa. So like, he's 20 now, but he's been playing with me for [00:19:00] like a year and a half now. But like, there's a huge educational component, big homie, component within the band, too. You know, my cousin, he's... But he told me he's like, bro, I never even imagined like this music thing could be another stream of revenue for me. he always played percussion as a hobby or just as helping in church or whatever. But like he's down with me, he's seeing like we got rehearsals through the week. Like it's actually work, his wife came to rehearsal, recently and she was looking around and she was like, This is so freeing. This is so therapeutic. You guys do this for work. This is your job right now. You guys are at work and it was just like, dang, yeah, it is a privilege to even be an artist and like be in the vibe. We had the lights going and it's it's it's 11 AM. You know what I'm saying? We had the lights going. We had the music blasting loud, rehearsing intense, sweating like lit but That the moments like that, that makes me grateful that I could be an artist, you know, in this, this album, all the work that goes into it, meaning all these, graphic designers trying to design merch and [00:20:00] videographers trying to do ads. We're going to push ads on, on YouTube and on Facebook ads and just trying to promote different. You know, I want to tour. I want to do a release show in New York on in the bay. I'm trying to really get out here. it's really grassroots. It's the independent grind here in Minneapolis as we was talking about a little earlier. It's the independent grind here. So, I'm just trying to do something new to get new results. You know, my first release, it went number one on iTunes, which was a total surprise, you know, it was a huge blessing, but I'm trying to put a little more work behind this one and try to get a little more, Stephen: Yeah. Yeah, I want to circle back to the iTunes thing, but let's dig into the, the making of the record. the arrangements are, are crazy. They're, they're great. and you know, you're a frontman drummer, essentially, and then you have somewhat of a rotating lineup. I know that this is a little different lineup than the LA Buckner: up, I know that there's a little different line up for [00:21:00] you. Be the homies, you know, and whoever's in it right there is going, that's what we gonna have, you know? but how, how the songs come together. Yeah. I got you bro. I got you. I sing every little tiny little part I can to my voice memos. Oh, I love it. Right? Yeah. Um,whenever inspiration strikes sidebar for artists and, and songwriters and composers or musicians, when you hear the song, even if it's four in the morning and you half sleep. Grab your phone and just record. Fight the sleep. Fight the sleep because you're not going to remember that idea when you wake up. You're not going to remember. I done lost, I done lost, string quartet arrangements. I done lost beautiful songs because I didn't get up and sing it into the phone and record it. Alright, so it goes from the, it goes from the, phone into Logic. I created a demo track, a little drum loop, play my auxiliary keys, all my, all my piano. I play with these fingers, just, you know what I'm saying? Layering. I be cheating on the MIDI, you know what I'm saying? my demos have gotten a lot better [00:22:00] since I started to, you know, more sounds more I'll share that with the band, but I, I, y'all, study this for rehearsal, boom, and then they'll come to rehearsal and knowing and making my little fake piano parts sounds like some for real piano is just like, oh, that, yeah, like that they add in their flavor to it. I realized, You know, I can't do none of this without the homies, you know, without my crew, just like, you show love to LeBron. He always reflects the love back to his people because it's like, I can't do it without, it's a team. it's a team, effort. I just happen to be the face. It's just, it's just my name on it but like, David Feeley and just his production skills. Now, this music sounds massive. I wanna say that we have a song called Vengeance. Vengeance is mine. Save the lord it's an original. I wrote it and you know, I was playing it for about a year and then I just stopped playing it because it wasn't sounding the way I wanted to sound. It wasn't emotionally big enough. We didn't, we hadn't shed it enough. We hadn't had enough reps on it. now, it sounds, massive. It sound like some. Armageddon type video game going to [00:23:00] type music, you know, that's gonna be one of the singles too that we're gonna push but I'm excited because all the homies they're able to add Fireworks to these productions and it's like my next record or maybe when big homies on a break or whatever My next thing I do it got to be completely different. You gotta be stripped down. I gotta be You know, you know, because Stephen: it up. Yeah. Yeah. That's the LA Buckner: I'm, I'm really pumped about this record. I was excited about the last one. This one is just bigger. I've gotten better. It's gotten better. Stephen: You said something earlier I wanted to circle back to with, Big Homie, the band, , you pointed out that the meaning of Big Homie is like your mentorships, how you educate people and that you had done a college tour. And part of that component was doing like workshops. LA Buckner: Oh, yeah, totally Stephen: Tell me about that. LA Buckner: we kind of like let the audience in on the rehearsal process and like my whole goal is to like just show students who are interested how to be in a band, how it works and the respect that we all have for each other and how we work out conflict. We went to, Eau Claire. What we [00:24:00] did on the tour, we went to, Michigan Technological University with, one of my old teachers, Adam Meckler. we did a clinic for his students. We did, we played at an elementary school early that morning. We did a, gala, event at night. And then the next day we went to University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. And I was hoping, nice jazz program. Great jazz program. Aaron Hedenstrom is the teacher, horn player from here in the cities. I was expecting maybe 12 students to show up and 40 kids showed up to the master class and it was like it was a dope performance, but it was like a bunch of Q and a the questions were awesome that it was a hang and then like after the performance and we're asking questions about what just happened and all that. The most important portion of all of that was when we're tearing down instruments and like all the students get to chop it up and talk and like all the drummers came over to me, women and men came over to me and asked all kinds of great questions. Like you've got the real personal nuggets, the networking portion, all the Instagrams and oh yeah, we're definitely coming to the show where, That was the most important part, or even I do these, these jam sessions, right at McPhail, [00:25:00] I host jam sessions and I have all these young musicians coming out, just collabing together. But like the music is secondary to the connecting piece, to the networking, to the vibes, to like y'all starting y'all's own projects. Cause y'all met here, you know, that's the bigger impact. And so big homie is really just a vehicle to making those, connecting, networking impacts that mentorship kind of relationship kind of thing. Stephen: So, these masterclasses through the schools, you're doing a college tour so that it's connected to the music programs. Was that something that you thought of or did that kind of naturally happen because you got asked to do it or? LA Buckner: That's something I always wanted to do and one of the band members, he is our administrative guru. The term is music business, right? Business is a bigger word than music. My teacher Solomon tells me that business is a bigger word. So you really got to spend time on that business. The music is going to be there. We all love our art. We're going to perform. We're going to play. It's going to sound good. That business portion, you know, and David Feeley, we call him pops. We call him Gramps Unc [00:26:00] because he's like, he's older. He's been doing this on a high level for a long time. he always pushing me to. Update the website bro. Did you call back about that interview? He's the administrative Guru, and he's the one that was like yo, we should try to capitalize on this gig You know try to see hit up another college. See if we stop at eau claire on the way home He's talking all extra fast. Like that's how he does but you know He's a teacher as well And it helps to have a crew who, can catch the vision and then push me in the vision, push you in like areas where I made a blind spot, a blind area, you know, it helps to have somebody who's down with the vision, pushing the business portion as well, you know, helping me get right with all of that. Yeah, the business Even like reaching out to different booking agents put the draft into chat GBT and get the good words. Boom, boom. you know what I'm saying? Like, it's a nonstop grind and I realize working on the album, releasing the album, this could be a full time job. depending on what you put into it. Yeah, the, the business portion and the administrative that, plays a whole play into it as well. That's how geeks come up. Cause you know, feely. It's pushing to capitalize on these experiences. Stephen: [00:27:00] That's really awesome that you have somebody that's willing to take a lot of that burden off of your shoulders. Obviously, you're doing a ton as well, but, you know, I think a lot of people hope for that in a way that it's like not good because in the end of the day, if you don't have that person, then you have to do it yourself no matter what. LA Buckner: Stephen: But yeah, I, have met David again a long time ago through some jam band he was LA Buckner: Totally. Yeah. He's still the busiest person I know Stephen: yeah, LA Buckner: gig I asked David Feeley to do, he has to about something else cuz he's it's already booked. Like, that's how it is. Stephen: that's awesome. okay. the record's coming out, you're making new content, , you're working on the branding to get a narrative down LA Buckner: release, yeah. Stephen: talk to me about the narrative and how, how you think of that, how you approach it, how do you deliver it to the world? LA Buckner: That's real. That's real. the narrative is what makes the audience like the music. If they know what it's about, and the sound, it could sound really cool, but like it solidifies, you know, like they'll come back because they feel [00:28:00] connected to the story of it, you know what I mean? this narrative, I feel like we got to take pride in where we come from, no matter where it is, because that's essentially, you know, we're byproducts of our environments, you know? and I really want to do something new in jazz culture, in hip hop culture. Everything is about where you're from, Where you're from is a such a huge aspect and it's like it's a aspect of pride, you know taking pride and where you come from and says like I Want to bring that to jazz music even my visuals like I want to look like a rapper, but I'm a jazz drummer It's kind of confusing but it's like I think there's something That I really appreciate about that aesthetic and just doing something different, you know, for the genre. I'm trying to find the common thread for all the stuff too because a lot of these songs come from different places, you know I'm still Lamenting in some of our music I want to shine light on Minneapolis because I want to Express what it's like to be black in this city city. We're just going to get to it. I wanna express what it's like to be a black person in the city. And the best way I do that is musically, that's why my music sounds so intense sometimes. [00:29:00] So large or expressive because that's the outlet, you know, it's a peculiar experience being black in Minnesota. six international, police killings have happened in in Minnesota, now musician homies here, Minneapolis. oh careful out there it is. That's where George Floyd happened. You gotta watch out out there. Like, people know now about the city, but like, I want to, Express my feelings about that musically and also show the beauty of Minneapolis though and show the rich black culture and the talent and the skill level and what we really doing here is different than the rest of the world. Musicians from all over the world on tour come here and see that we be for lack of better terms. We be killing up here musically, right? but I just want to show that I want to. Broadcast that because you know, it's time for a resurgence. It's a lot of responsibility. Low key, you know, I'm ready for that and I want the jazz world to know about the north side of Minneapolis too. It's not just the funk. It's not just the punk rock cuz our punk rock scene was heavy back in the day too. the replacements, [00:30:00] um Chris Osgood played with them. I don't remember the name. Husker Du Husker Du. had a real thing. Minneapolis had a real strong musical culture but and it's not dead. It's not gone and that's really what this album is about. It's like putting off for my city. Especially the north side. So yeah, that's the narrative. I'm gonna I'm gonna push for this. How do you know, the album cover, I got this animated, this graphic design album cover, It's a huge drumzilla taking over the city, destroying the city with his drum body, right? And you see it's the city of Minneapolis, that's, you see it, you know what I'm saying? So that's more of like a... a little hidden kind of thing, but I'm just saying the name, Minneapolis, bro. Like letting it be known every YouTube video. This is where we from. every interview I get, every podcast I get to do putting on for Minneapolis, especially the north side. And you never know who's connected , to your city. one of the biggest musicians in the world right now, Terrace Martin. He produced for Kendrick Lamar, toured with Herbie Hancock. He's a [00:31:00] jazz musician, saxophone player. Super dope. But he, he lived in Minneapolis for years, you know, on and off, , for about nine years. His pops lived here. So we would visit his dad here all the time. He was talking about cub chicken and cub donuts. He was talking about shoveling snow here. He talked about all the street, like he, he's one of the biggest musicians in the world. Biggest connected networking cats ever, but he has a real special tie to Minneapolis, you know, and I just want to show love to my city too. People say, you can call it your city. I'm like, yes, yes. I call it my city. Because, like, I'm one of the most Northside people you're gonna meet. I'm like, Stephen: yes, yes, it my city. Cause like, I'm one of the most side people you're going to meet. Whatever that means. How did it happen? LA Buckner: I think, my support system, my family, my crew, really people, hearing about it, going to buy it, going to purchase it on iTunes, purchasing instead of just streaming, just it's that network, it's [00:32:00] that word of mouth, it's that connecting. I think the sound field thing helped, also playing the numbers game you know, I got some help from some people who, have a better idea of the numbers game. He was like, you know what? Try this I got a checklist from, my buddy Scott Harold, a checklist of all these things that you should do if you're trying to release an album. it was 10 things. I crossed off eight of them. And I think some of that worked. I think it worked. Okay, registering PRO, Performing Rights Organization, performers. putting the songs on SoundScan, make sure you got your codes. basic things that need to be done, right? But I think some of the support from SoundField definitely helped the album reach some success. community support from the city. Really, and like influencers speaking up about it to influencers that I, that I know, you know, there's an artist from here, from Minneapolis, Jovonta Patton, a gospel artist who is doing what nobody in Minneapolis has ever done in gospel in our genre, really in any genre, but as an independent artist, [00:33:00] he got, he has five or six number ones on billboard. You know, his album just went number one. The one he just released last year just went number one on billboard. So like he plays the marketing game. He's not really even focused on advertising to Minnesota. his ads and his radio tour that he does is all over the world, really all over all these other cities. So it's like it's the independent grind though that we keep going back to. That's the culture here in Minneapolis is the independent thing. He helped with some, ideas. He still helped me with ideas to where I should focus my ads. Like somebody who spends that much time playing the game of the numbers game and watching the charts and seeing what artists is releasing when, so I don't want to put mine out cause I don't want to compete with them. And they're boom, boom. It's literally, it's reading analytics and spending more time on your. On your analytics, then you're on your timeline scrolling. You know what I'm saying? That's the work that goes into it. playing And seeing what's popular and then putting more money behind the popular ad or whatever it is. You know what I mean? That's what I think did the iTunes thing too. Just networking, [00:34:00] the people buying it. You know? I Stephen: You doing ads at that time? LA Buckner: wasn't doing no ads at that time. Stephen: So a lot of that was still just your network your LA Buckner: Just grassroots. Yeah. Shopping Stephen: it out and sharing it and then just getting a surge of support to LA Buckner: And then I think, jazz numbers are much different than hip hop or pop numbers. And, and, you know, Stephen: you may not need to have as LA Buckner: as many physical sales to make an impact, you know what I'm saying? But still it worked though. People was buying that joint, you know? So I'm super grateful. I'm super grateful for that. Stephen: That's cool. Um, I LA Buckner: was, I was just like, what the heck is this? I had to screenshot it to make sure it was real. I'm just like, Whoa. I was in a lesson. I was in a lesson with like three of the little homies as I was getting the news and I was like, oh, snap. That's crazy. But I just went back to teaching. I was you gotta keep going. like, all worked together. Like just balancing in the different [00:35:00] areas. Stephen: Well, let's use that as a segue to talk about your teaching a little bit more. you know, you had mentioned Sound Field, but for people that don't know Sound Field, can you walk them through what that program is? LA Buckner: a,Can you series of mini documentaries, music education, mini series. You can find it on YouTube but PBS Sound Field we ask and investigate all kind of questions like who invented. Trap music how did James Brown event funk or like, what are the differences between a classical musician and improvisational jazz musician or, talk about theories and all kind of history. And what's really cool about this show is, I'm the host, right? So I'm learning. All the information as I'm presenting it, as I have to memorize these paragraphs and this information. So it's like it was a huge educational experience for me. People think I'm writing these facts. I'm like, no, no, no, no. This is not my research. It's seven different people writing the script. It's seven different researchers. Like this goes through, So many hands before it comes to me. I just present it, you know, I present it relatable way. I'll teach it. teach something that I that I i'm [00:36:00] still learning. You know i'm saying Bro, it's it's a I agree I would like it even if I didn't do it You know what I'm saying? it was a great experience. It's opening mad doors and, , the coolest thing that happens is like if I go to NAMM or something, I can like say what's up to like my favorite musician and they'll kind of be like, yeah, you do the, the videos. Yeah. Like, yeah. So it's, it's really helped me with my networking. It's been opening mad doors for me. Oh, with PBS, , I spoke at this, panel, right? I met Herbie Hancock. I got to meet Herbie. Like, he's like the Miles Davis of our generation, like changed music several times over. But yeah, I got to kick it and chop it up with Herbie for a nice little 10 minutes, just kick it, got a picture with him, but like, I'm just grateful for the opportunity. Herbie been locked in with PBS for, for years since the seventies, you know, so the doors that that's opening, it's always been, I'm just super grateful for that. And you know, we're on, we're on a pause right now, but like we can be on pause for a few months at a time. Then [00:37:00] episodes come out of nowhere and I'm back recording. I still got all my gear, my camera, just waiting for the next ideas to pop up. Well, Stephen: two questions. One is how did you get the opportunity? How did it happen? And then ? How has making that content, changed how you make content now for your own projects? LA Buckner: Word word. I got that opportunity. A random call. Okay. I played drums on an album for a friend of mine, my friend, Toussaint Morrison. He hosted a show, a different show for PBS called America from Scratch. and it's still on YouTube. You can go check that out. But, they called him and was like, Hey, we need a musician to host a music education, mini doc series. When he called me and they told me what it was to host the show. I thought it was like a one time event. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'll do it. Let's do it. And then I show up To the meeting and it's like a board room full of people. Then the flu folks in from Canada, from New York, DC is catered food at the deadline. Oh, this is a, they're like, no, we want, we want to do a series. Like it's a music education show, like multiple episodes. I'm like, yo, this is [00:38:00] dope. I'm down. Let's do it. I met Narae. She is the truth. Nahre Sol. She was the first cohost that I worked with. she'll sell out. Orchestra halls all over the world. So the piano, like she's dope, right?and now the second co host we had was Linda Diaz. She was the tiny desk winner. during the COVID year, I think, she's amazing host as well, but like, we just get these musicians who can relay this information in a cool way and can kind of like verify, like, I wouldn't say like, man, all the way, I would say like this, like, boom. You know, so but the way I, the way I create content, I realized creating with sound field or just like recording into the camera. It's so similar to drumming. It's so similar to recording drums, which is my favorite way to. Work to make money is like recording the studio. Right. But it's like, you have this information that you want to convey. You're maybe reading this information. You may be hearing this information and now you have to do, you have to perform. Right. But then like, Oh, I can do that way better. Okay. Different take, do it again. And you see it, you see the changes, you see the growth [00:39:00] per take. but everybody knows exactly when the one is that one. You know what I'm saying? Like after each one, that the good one, both me and the producers is like. Yeah, that was it. Next, next, next part. Here we go. it's just like drumming, like you working with the producer, you just, you're constantly grading yourself and seeing where it could be better until you're satisfied with the product. And then you move on. It's a performance still. Yeah. it made me more confident in speaking arenas. I realized that is a slight form of journalism. since I was told I couldn't be a drummer when we were going to sixth grade, I said, I said I was going to be a sports broadcaster, a sports journalist, you know what I'm saying? So I still got to do my journalism thing a little bit. one of the last conversations I had with my grandmother, she said, you need to be using that voice some more. She said, it's a shame you got all that talent. You just sitting behind them drums the whole time. I was like, granny, okay. she But no, she was right though. She was right. I gotta use this voice. I gotta use it. She wanted me to sing. She wanted me to sing. I ain't comfortable doing that yet. I love singing. I [00:40:00] love singing. I don't know you know, you know, you only, nobody, nobody's heard me sing but I'm fire but like, I'm not gonna do that, bro. I'm like, no, it's too much work. It's so hard. Yeah. Sound fields gave me a chance to use my voice and the way I create content now is just like, okay, if it ain't on a certain level, I'm not even sharing it. I'm not even releasing it. Like, cause it's a standard, you know, that people used to seeing. So I want to make sure it's, up to par, you know, but the quality, it really made me, ensure the quality of my performance. like seeing, like I'm recording this stuff when COVID hit, I start recording sound fields in my basement. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Just like changing up the design. I got a hundred drums in my basement, so I just moved drums around for another background and just like, okay, just trying to do something else, but like , we was grinding, but you know, they made that stuff look like amazing. It was just like, you know what? It could be done even from this little tiny room like we can, we can capture this, we can do this. So it gave me some more confidence speaking, gave me more confidence just to get it out there and record. And so, yeah, Stephen: I'm impressed by the content. I think it's really great. I would [00:41:00] say though, too, that, as much as it's nice to make the content look as good as possible, that there's definitely a desire for the raw stuff to, you know? Yeah. I think particularly newer generation too, right now, like they can almost prefer in a lot of ways, the stuff that looks more off the yo, produced, not edited LA Buckner: not produced, not Stephen: not looking well, LA Buckner: Yo, I'm I'm learning like musically too. Like, it don't even take all of this extra. my, my bandmates, they hate when I get to this. They hate when I get here, but it's just like, Fam, my favorite bass player, Mono Neon, he got like 14 albums out and like, , they sound like they just, and like, there's a decent mix on them, but it's like, it sounds raw and raunchy and crunchy and gritty. . Or like, this song got this many million plays and it was recorded on an iPhone. It was recorded in somebody's bathroom and just raggedy folk, Stephen: it doesn't LA Buckner: It doesn't really even matter. Like people trying to make it sound trashy, but in the grand scheme, like it don't matter. Yeah. [00:42:00] You can tell a, between a 6, 000 mic you can tell the difference, but like, it don't matter. Like put that art out, bro. Stephen: a 6, 000 mic and a 200. it don't matter. you know, from an artistic standpoint, I enjoy making it sound good. I want the content to be good, and as a teacher, you know, that's represented in the most succinct way you know, maximize the educational value, those kind of things. so, you struggle with that desire of perfectionism, wanting it to be a really good representation, but we also just need to be creating and putting things out. LA Buckner: certain point, we gotta let the perfectionism go and didn't put that thing out cuz it's gonna help somebody and We prolonging the inspiration. Stephen: The conversation I've had with artists that come through here, is I often say you don't have to pick, you can do both, you know, sometimes life is going to pick for you because maybe you can't get that nice microphone or that nice camera yet. And you got to work with what you got and move forward. But maybe you do have the [00:43:00] budget to either go into a studio and make a really professional record or set up a great camera and great mic to make, high quality content online, whatever, but it doesn't always have to be one or the other, you know, just because now that you can get into a studio and do a studio record, it doesn't mean that everything you put out has to be that, you know, LA Buckner: love that. That, Stephen: matters. LA Buckner: right now. That's inspiring. Right now. Stephen: Cause what matters is the connection between you and your audience, you and your community. And that can happen in multiple formats. , , you know, back in the day you had, the studio records and we might have some live records or some bootlegs that would get recorded and released And things like that. LA Buckner: bootlegs be having a fire on them. Stephen: And some fans think LA Buckner: I love the, I love the, bootleg stuff. Stephen: I think it's just a matter of being confident in what you're doing LA Buckner: yeah. Stephen: and yourself and being willing to capture as much of it as you can and decide this is the stuff that I want to be produced and this is the stuff that can be raw and people will probably like both sides of it LA Buckner: That's real. That's encouraging, man. [00:44:00] That's great. That's great. Cause I, like, even with, after this Northside release, excuse me, after the Northside release, I'm thinking about my next record and just like, the risks that I want to take, risks or like the differences in the sound. My favorite drummer just released a record, and like, he's singing and yelling and screaming, it sounds so crazy, you can't even understand what he's saying, but it's so dope. I love it. I love it. It's wild. It's not nothing like anything I would make, but I dig it so much. Like, I appreciate it. And it's expanding my mind. You know what? It's important to have friends. That puts you on to weird music. Okay music that you would consider strange or music that you wouldn't even give any intention to I Have a couple friends. I have a cousin and a good friend of mine as far as I play with Thomas I'm realizing like so much inspiration comes from what we thought was whack what we thought was like What is this? And then like really seeing the art behind it. actually he's one of my friends. He's amazing drummer, super good drummer, but like he'll show love and react to like my [00:45:00] eight year old student who's not really doing what he's trying to do all the way. But, but we can hear where he's trying to go. It's just like, Oh, that's killing. So it's like, he's this super advanced drummer, but he's still learning from this kid, you know? So, so he can see the art in almost anything. So I try to challenge myself with that. like I played some really crazy, violent, raunchy lyrics for my buddy. Right. Just trying to, it's a spoof video. But the first thing he says, he was just like. But do you hear how the beat is lining up? The beat is killing though. The beat. I was just like, he still found the art in this crazy video. He still found the art. So like I challenged myself to like, listen to as much weird textural stuff as possible , to try to appreciate the art. Stephen: I love that. And I want to go deeper into that because it translates in everything. And we, a little bit before we were kind of talking about mindset of stuff, you know, and like everything can be a win as long as you have the right mindset for it. If you try something, you take a risk and it fails. Well, now you learned what not to do. you got lessons, you know? that's kind of the same thing as [00:46:00] this. Whereas, no matter what you look at, no matter what you hear, decide to find the art in it. Right? here's something, I'm sure you have this happen all the time too, where people hear something or are complaining about new music that comes out. Like, I don't know why this isn't good. does anybody like so and so, you know? And it's like, well, listen to it and find the art in it because somebody else is, that's why they're why They might be popular also for other reasons and celebrity and, you know, virality of LA Buckner: know, morality, Stephen: point is, is something connected with and find what that was. LA Buckner: And really, when you see that something connecting with folks, it inspires me. It inspires me to like, go ahead and write your music. If that's what came to you, if that's the idea you got, build that idea. You know, it's not too much. It won't be too weird because like animals as leaders, they got crazy following hundreds of thousands of people get down to that difficult the kind most calculated kind of stuff I've ever heard. Right. But it's just like people find the art in it. So it's [00:47:00] encouraging to see. The death grips, you know what I'm saying? It's like how people really vibe with really Stephen: vibe. Don't go LA Buckner: Yeah, the Stephen: that. I'm trying to subscribe to these. Instead of trying LA Buckner: more we One thing that I heard that I'm trying to subscribe to is instead of trying to appeal to the masses right to the whole mainstream. Just like find your niche, find your crowd, your specific crew that's going to rock with what you do. Like that's where the success lies. It's like the specific folks, the ones not, everywhere. Like that's, that's way harder of a game, Oh, crew, the Patreon crew, you know? yeah, Stephen: and that's, you know, circling back to the, music scene 2023 everywhere, but also here in Minnesota, , we don't have major labels and industry and all that kind of stuff where somebody is going to pick you up and now, you know, develop you, although that's going away. Most [00:48:00] places, unless you're out in LA or Nashville or whatever, Atlanta, So where the industry is now in my viewpoint is it's, exactly about that. Finding your community, finding your corner of the internet that loves the sh*t that you're doing. because if you are trying to appeal to everybody, most likely you're appealing to no one it's okay. If. What you're making turns some people off. It probably means that you're on to the right thing. That you're getting specific enough now. even like this podcast, right? I could have easily said this is just going to be any independent musician. It's just going to be all artists, but I specifically want it to be, no, it's just going to be Minnesota. Wow. That's real. That's the people in this city doing stuff here. , I don't care if anybody outside of the city finds that it's not useful anymore or whatever, you know, like I want to narrow it down. That's part of being more niche. Just exclude people. Fine. This isn't for you because the people that it is feel like it's more special to them. I want to get back to some of the stuff that we were talking about earlier, and it's come through a lot of the, [00:49:00] you know, different threads to these conversations, but the community, right? Your community started, I think, pretty clearly through the church and growing up, learning your music there, getting opportunities to gig through that. but you've obviously been able to just expand, expand, expand, and,, keep meeting more and more musicians. LA Buckner: Totally. Stephen: How much effort is that for you? Or is it always come natural? Like, how do you look at your network, networking community? LA Buckner: Yeah, I love that. That's a that's a dope question. Stephen: How do you maintain those relationships? How do you expand them? LA Buckner: How do you maintain those relationships? the best currency. He said, relationships better than any money. when you have the right relationship, you don't even need money realizing that is just like totally, this is what it's all about. It's the connection, right? Every gig that I've had after school has come from some person one way or another at the school, you know, from McNally, I tell all my students now or any college student I come in contact with now, your college experience is not about you. Your grades and test scores or, [00:50:00] cramming all night for homework , or summa cum laude or it's not about none of that GPA. No, it doesn't matter. it's about your homies. It's about your friends, it's about becoming friends with your teachers and eventually becoming colleagues, you know, it's about visiting your teacher in the office hours and borrowing a book from them or what recipe they try and or it's about the personal connection. It's not all the subject matter and the stuff like you can learn that on your own. You can learn that from YouTube anywhere. You know, okay, a lot of people need school attorneys and doctors and engineers. We get it, but still, but still. Even those fields are all relationship based to Anybody can do the job, but how are you gonna get in that position? It's the relationships. It's the kick in it. It's being cool. not too cool like this, but being cool, like being easy to talk to, you know, trying to just be yourself, just being cool, being comfortable in your weirdness. You know, everybody, a little bit weird. You know, in every circle. So it's like, the networking portion I realized that's where the gigs come from. It's like the hang, you know, the relationships. [00:51:00] Relationships is main thing we get into. The music is secondary to the relationships. Stephen: I agree. And I think particularly again, going back to when it's an independent scene and you're out there, it's your network. are going to come through your network. I mean, the, the common phrase you hear is your net worth is your network network is your net worth. every musician that I know that rings true for him. LA Buckner: Bro, like even we worked together 10 plus years ago and then I saw your number today and I saw the association with the old band. I was just like, yo, oh, this is a vibe. Yeah, let's do it. Like we back here is full circle in like our city so small. You know, it's a big city, but like it's totally small. So it's like things can happen. We'll be working together. I'm sure this is not the last thing we're going to do years down the road. You know what I'm saying? So I'm realizing that once you start a relationship, it has potential to be a lifelong growing thing. You know, even like my young students, I tell them like, okay, yeah, you're nine right now, but like, When you come back to me when you're 14, it's going to be like [00:52:00] lit, like you just keep practicing this and like, and then you see me when you're 17 and for, another six months and like, I'll see you out at shows or whatever it is. Like, it's a lifelong relationship. then I'll be able to pass you gigs then you'll be able to sub for me on the gig I can't make. And like, I realized that I'm showing my students how to make a living being a drummer. But being an artist, an artist, because I can't just drum, but I gotta teach, I gotta produce, I gotta make records, I gotta speak places, gotta play a lot, you know. Stephen: about that. how does your income break down in terms of the different things that you do between you know, big pool being teaching big pool being playing live other miscellaneous things like. LA Buckner: That's a great question. That's a great question. I got some anchors, you know, church. Definitely. It's a regular place that I've been holding it down. I teach through McPhail. sometimes they have me in multiple schools a couple days a week, you know what I'm saying? and then outside of that is the gigging, the freelancing. I do lessons,private lessons and group lessons pretty much out of my house. And then it's like the freelance gigging it all comes together. And honestly, I got a [00:53:00] lot of faith to a lot of faith. Okay. And, I'm making, I'm making a nice living, bro. make a comfortable living. I have one baby, a wife. I'm surprised. It's a miracle every, every month. And I say this all the time. It's a miracle that I get to do this as a job and I can still, Take care of business, you know, but like the teaching and the playing and the recording playing with this artist and then like this special gig over here, like it's all, it's several different streams of, Income, several different jobs. You can't just be a drummer though, you know? So, this check came from doing this bucket class. It's a master class or okay. Now, we travel, did this gig here. It's coming from all over all over the place Stephen: it's pretty well evenly spread out , or is the teaching like 70 percent and then the rest is 30 percent the reason I want to get to that level of specificity is that if somebody's out there like, I'm a drummer, I'm killing it, it's like, maybe you need to consider looking at how much more money can be made if you expand into this skill set as well. LA Buckner: the teaching would be 70 percent of it, yeah, yeah, really, no matter what the teaching is [00:54:00] looking like, because it always looks so different. I'm teaching kids how to be in a band. Pretty much. Oh, no, that's that's like you talk about relationships. A band is like the relationship vehicle, right? It's just like playing on a team. You know, it's lit. It's so many dynamics. Okay. It's like learning. Okay. Learning how to be cool or like not speak over your your partners or okay. Learning how to take criticism or like when your idea isn't included or if it skipped over or if it's like you. if you offend somebody coming back from that and on the road, it's like, bro, like you only plan one or two hours out of the day. The rest of them hours, you got to kick it, you know, so it's just like teaching students how to just be, you know, convey your idea, be creative to teach them how to all the musical stuff is going to come, but like it's really relationship based stuff, how to speak to people respectfully showing middle schoolers and high schoolers and young college students like that joke probably shouldn't be in this room. No, not that one. Yeah. You know, it's like, [00:55:00] it's that Stephen: Yeah. LA Buckner: stuff that we're teaching the music. Of course, you know, you're going to be learning that forever, you know, but I keep circling back to the relationships, Stephen: Communication skills though. I mean, many, I mean, LA Buckner: a band. Stephen: break up, most all of them because they can't figure it out. You know, sometimes it's just a bad fit or life changes and people go on different paths. A lot of LA Buckner: it's time to go yet in different directions. Yeah. Stephen: can't stand each other because they can't figure out how to communicate effectively. LA Buckner: Or what about the bands who are the classic, you know, rock and roll, big time, heavy, heavy bands that still don't get along, but they just got to work together. You like, yeah, you're on these tours, but you can't even ride in the same thing. You can't do the same because like, y'all ain't talked to each other in 20 years. The only time you see each other is on the stage playing. Like, I don't want to do like that. I'm trying to be, Stephen: In their case, the damage might be done, you know, it's like. there's not forgiveness at that point, but having better communication in the first place, you know, that's huge and that's cool that that's a thing that you're teaching. I don't know if I've ever heard people doing that before. I'm like, LA Buckner: Yeah. Stephen: a band? LA Buckner: Yeah. But it's like, [00:56:00] it's really what I'm meant to do. That's through McPhail. And it's really, I've been doing it for, through a bunch of different places but like McPhail, we have a global music initiative. , you know, McPhail is known for typically being the classical music you hear Suzuki students learning and it's very, you know, well, we're trying to really bring in, more flavors, musically and global music initiative. Like we're doing this huge show in February and it's like every song is deep in the bag of the genre. Like we don't do a punk rock song. It's like super fast, crazy punk rock song. Like, are we doing this Latin thing? It's like really involved, like a samba, like lit, you know what I mean? So we were trying to express, bring the global music to McPhail, hip hop, jazz, rock and roll. Okay. And then we got. Earth, music from all over all kinds of regions, some Native Americans, some African stuff. So yeah, we're trying to elevate it and really bring that college education experience back to the city because so many schools have closed down in Minneapolis. IPR shut down just recently. McNally Smith closed down. there's a lot of young artists who [00:57:00] could use some of this. education that we giving out, you know what I'm saying? So it's like that's a new thing. That's really popping with me and McPhail is like the global music initiative, teaching young artists, how to be in a band, how to be an artist. it's going to keep the arts in our city thriving is passing it on to the youth. You know, Stephen: Well, man, this whole conversation has been fantastic. LA Buckner: you know, Stephen: I feel like we've gone everywhere. Yeah. I want to give you an opportunity just to, tell people where to find your stuff, how to connect with you, like, LA Buckner: where Stephen: would they, get in touch or follow along. LA Buckner: your stuff, how to you, how would they get in follow along? That's gonna be pretty sweet. So, I'm excited. That's the next thing we got coming up. Halloween, Tuesday, the thirty first at Dakota. bunch of bunch of special guests. it's good. It's actually, it's gonna be a, it's a long night. It's gonna be a long night, okay? A lot of intense, dope [00:58:00] music, special set, set list. It's gonna be dope. I'm excited for Stephen: what do you think are your secrets in terms of, longevity, finding success? You know, I do think that the education thing is something we talked about. I think that, hanging in there, you know, that was one of the first things we said to each other, not stopping, LA Buckner: Not Stephen: stopping. just keep going. LA Buckner: I think a common thread that, you know, that we've been mentioning through the whole episode is, working together. It doesn't have to be separate. I like the common theme you said about the show is like, you can do it all. You can do both things. You can do all those things. I would tell my students like, I told this one young lady, I was like, okay, yeah. If you like doing hair and doing makeup and nails and lashes and stuff like you could definitely make that a hustle too And the wrapping can happen for you Actually, you probably don't have to do both. You know saying to make this really pop for you. You gotta But every that's who she is though She's an artist. She loves being expressive with like you can make all of this work for you like it's going to develop and you're going to get better and better and like you're going to be putting other people on, consulting got to find whatever you do, you find your special niche and all the [00:59:00] things that you are interested in. They can work together to be your own specific I think that's what I want to say. That's a common theme and like the balance in each each of those fields like everything you do. they don't have to be separate. . You can do it all. Stephen: Yeah. Making sure that it all works together, that the content you're putting out is going to help you grow and. connect all the moving pieces together to work towards one successful end goal. Thank you for sharing LA and thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate your time, your stories, your advice, all of it. There's so much to learn from. Thank you for sharing. I'll throw all of LA's links in our show notes and you can follow him online. Definitely make sure to check him out live, his band, big homie. And for all of you that have listened and watched, thank you so much. I'll see you next time.