Joaquin Cotler (@ShinyIslands) is a musician based in Brooklyn, NY. In the ten years since finished his degree in music, he’s discovered the many strange sides of being a working musician, from recording and gigging with bands, to writing and performing solo, to teaching and conducting workshops.
This conversation covers the music industry, the struggle of working musicians, how YouTube is changing the game, and how musicians across the spectrum learn, perform, and produce music.
Catch up with Joaquin via his website, JoaquinCotler.com Check out our episode below, as well as some of his tracks embedded after the jump.
 



Show Notes & Links

The Busy Creator is recorded at a standing desk
BBC Radio mounts their microphones in the ceiling

BBC Radio 1


Shure SM7B mic
Blake Stratton, [now retired] singer-songwriter, appeared previously on The Busy Creator Podcast
“Musician” is an all-encompassing trade, according to Joaquin
Joaquin and The Hot Knives on Facebook
“Creative-class Hustler” who is part of “The Portfolio Generation”
Squarespace can be frustrating
Disney used to have working musicians, so did Warner Bros. Not so much anymore.
Carl Stalling, composer for Warner Brothers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers needed a guitar player for their tour
Mark Wahlberg, played the lead in the film Rock Star
Sir George Martin CBE, legendary producer for The Beatles 
Ringo got sick, and was briefly replaced by Jimmie Nicol
“Ringo isn’t the best drummer in the world. He isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” —John Lennon Jasper Carrott
“Baby Blue” by Badfinger


Cher
Steely Dan
Michael McDonald, legendary studio musician
Sound City, documentary by Dave Grohl
20 Feet From Stardom, documentary about backup singers
WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
The Beach Boys
The Laurel Canyon Sound
Bob Marley
Burning Spear
Stax Records
Motown Records
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Gold Records & Platinum Records
Spotify
Pharrell not happy with his $3000 check from Spotify
Gain
Slapback
Demo Tapes
Casio Keyboard
Sly Stone
Rhythm Ace or Rhythm King drum machine
Charles Penn’s previous appearances on The Busy Creator Podcast — episodes 1 and 17
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull
Auto-Tune
Anthony Kiedis
Ke$ha
Dr. Luke
Max Martin, Swedish songwriter who dominates the pop charts


“If it’s annoying enough, it’ll be a huge hit.” ← Click to Tweet
Performance Art
All the songs from 70s sound alike
Girl Talk
Pitch Perfect


Anna Kendrick, my crush

Anna Kendrick


Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”


Toni Basil, “Hey Mickey”


Bulldog Pitbull, a singer, apparently
Accounts Payable
Dribbble, and how designers just flood it with junk
Vine, not just for twerking videos
“toiling away in obscurity”
“Wake up early and work hard all day” —Philip Glass ← Click to Tweet
Benjamin Franklin
Amelia Earhart
Johnny & June Carter Cash
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, forthcoming Spike Lee Joint, out Feb. 10 (Soundtrack on Epic Records)
“Space Patrol” by Illegalize : song on iTunes
“Doggies Don’t Ride The Train” by Chickentown : album on iTunes
Joaquin and the Hot Knives on SoundCloud
Ratfink on SoundCloud
Chickentown on SoundCloud
Illegalize on SoundCloud
Joaquin plays at The Manhattan Inn, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Tools

Pro Tools
YouTube
iPhone, or handheld recording device

Techniques

Diversify as much as possible; don’t rely on one source of income or type of practice (gigging vs. recording)
Learn to speak “Pro Toolsese” with the studio engineers; acquire as much technical prowess as possible
Best way to record drums is in a natural room sound. Create a room-within-a-room, and them mic that
Connect your social media accounts 
DON’T conduct your job interviews by asking candidates to record themselves on YouTube
Change your routine and creative

Habits

Be reliable. Deliver the goods, consistently.
Practice on your own. All the time.
Wake up early. Drink coffee.
Backup your phone; download your recordings and whatnot

Get The Episode

Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 41(MP3, 1:00:59, 29.4 MB