Todays word of the day, RESPECT, brought to you by the legendary, Nathan East.
I’d spent about a week trying to prepare for this once in a lifetime interview. I considered every basic question, from what’s your favorite color, to what was it like working with Michael Jackson? However, for someone releasing songs that have been in this world longer than I was even considered, no exact question seemed to fit.
I eventually decided that what our generation needs the most is a lesson in RESPECT, and who better to school us, than the legendary, Nathan East himself?
If you think you aren’t familiar with Nathan East, the reality is: you are. You may have heard Michael Jackson’s classic album, BAD. Those drums and funky bass lines you groove to come from East. If that doesn’t ring a bell, consider Daft Punk’s hit, “Get Lucky.” We’re all familiar with that funky bass line. So how did it all start? How did a young Nathan become responsible for so much of the music that influences everything we listen to today?
The fourteen-year-old Nathan East never really intended to be on tour by sixteen, or have a lasting legacy of two thousand plus song credits. All it really was, was a love for an instrument he’d walked across only by fate. Born in Philly, he grew up around family, and made a second home in the church. Nathan joined the church band, where he began to mess around with the cello, which eventually became the guitar, which would historically become the bass. “The bass was easiest to follow,” he explained. Easy enough, if that can be defined as managing to teach himself different notes and chords by following songs he would hear that caught his ear. This meant anything from Motown hits to Beatles classics.
The young musician eventually realized this was a little more than a hobby. He, at last, moved to LA, where he earned a degree studying music (as well as becoming a magician at the Academy of Magical Arts).
Considering myself and the miniscule goals I’ve set (such as running an entire record label before I turn thirty), I asked Mr. East what his initial goal in music was. “There was no goal,” he told me. All he wanted to do was follow his passion. Every interaction, every decision you make, they are all stepping stones, he reminded me. If you believe in yourself, believe in your passion, you’ll find your success.
If you think about it, everyone has their own vision of success. For me? I want to be able to help develop at least three artists in my lifetime that can reach the level of Micheal Jackson. But what is success in the eyes of someone who has already been there? “Success, to me, is the mental process of hard work, advancing you from who you were to who you are. It is also the relationships you build and keep up over years,”
It was at this point where Nathan East was trapped into listening to my outrageous dreams of wanting to invite Nas to my wedding. The humble East and I shared a laugh, and he goes on to explain that nothing is impossible. Lionel Richie was at his wedding!
Still on success, East reminded me of one crucial thing. “Of all the relationships, I feel most successful at home with my family.”
Flashback to December 8th, Nathan is home for his 61st birthday, amongst non other than his family. The first single release from his forthcoming album Reverence has just come out. Oh yeah, it’s 40-year-old “Serpentine Fire,” a cover edition of the Earth, Wind and Fire hit, unearthed by brother Marcell.
Just how it should be.
The road to success is bumpy, with or without family, and our generation knows this better than anyone. I had to ask, not only for myself, but all of my fellow millennial, what happened to Nathan East, good or bad, that may have affected or changed his musical career in any way? The most influential moment for him was packing up and heading to LA. This industry will not come to you, you have to go find it. And just like that, he did. “What will keep you going is your passion and individual strength. All of this is much more than money.” He went on to tell me that the only thing more valuable is your faith. “Keep praying,” he told me. God and the universe will hold you down!
The classic and legendary film (not to be debated), The Lion King, defines Reverence as a great respect. I had to ask, was that all the album title meant? A respect for his craft, the covered songs and the original songs? Or could there be more? “Music is spiritual,” East tells me. When coming up with the album title, he’d asked himself what does this silly world need right now? Respect and history. “RESPECT is the word of the day,” he laughed.
So how do we grow as young people, aspiring to rock today’s jazz industry? “Listen to everything,” he tells me. “Teach yourself. Learn everything. Develop a band with a strong drummer. Playing an instrument is like learning a new language. Give yourself the time to dive right in.”
Nathan East’s’ Reverence makes its debut on January 20, 2017.
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