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A producer, lecturer, author, mentor, and songwriter who has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, ranging from Barbra Streisand to Hillary Duff to The Doobie Brothers to Cher, James Brown, and many more. He has earned Grammy and Golden Globe nominations and he has been involved in the writing, conceptualization and production of albums throughout his career that have sold in excess of 50 million copies. As a performer he had gotten signed to a major record label.

Notable Guest Quotes

“You do good work.  That has to be your first objective.  Everybody wants to have a hit song or success of some kind, but first you do good work, you put it out there.”

“Have the creativity be an end in and of itself, put it out there, and don’t whine about how long it’s taking you or how tough the road is that you’re traveling because it’s tough for everybody.”

“The only thing we can control – that’s in our power to control – is what we create, that moment.  So your satisfaction in that creativity has to be enough to keep you going to the next one.”

“Just because… I work in a field where the possibilities of great financial success exist doesn’t mean necessarily that that great financial success is gonna come to you.”

“If you get a record deal, it could be really good, it could be really bad – it could crush you.  And the majority of artists that get signed are not successful after that signing.”

“The five elements that won’t guarantee you success but will help you survive your emotional journey to success… are collaboration, relationships, ambition, passion, and persistence.”

“Deserve has nothing to do with it.  You gotta go out there and get it and hopefully get somewhere where you can be satisfied with where you are in life.”

“Invest your time, your energy, your passion into your art – into getting yourself out there – to keep your credibility.”

Songs on this episode

“How Do You Stop” (by Joni Mitchell, featuring Seal)
“Living in America” (by James Brown)