How did you get into making music, and how did arts education (or lack thereof) affect you and your music?

I first got into making music at age 10, back in New Zealand. I was starting off at a new school and had great envy for the kids who got to play before the school assemblies. The band consisted of all the music students; 10 guitars, two bangos, bass guitar, drums, flute… about 15 people total in the band. But the best part was seeing the three drummers sharing the set. I thought to myself “this is the coolest school ever!” From that moment I started drum lessons and got myself into the lineup. I’m so grateful to have been introduced to the drums and music performance at such a young age.

Arts education has been so important! I’m also an art director, and I’ve found that both my art and music development have been fueled by an early arts education. As a result I’m continually trying to blur the lines between design and music, and that’s probably why our sound has a cinematic quality to it. We create as many purely instrumental tracks as we do with lyrics. Sometimes the inspiration comes from an image, a tone, texture or a color, and the idea of music as the soundtrack to that picture. I attribute a lot of our musical aesthetic to our education in the arts.

QuarterAcreLifestyle “Drive By” (mp3)

(Official) (MySpace)

This post is part of our 60-hour blogathon in support of music development and literacy within the Twin Cities. We appreciate you visiting the site – but before you go, we ask that you consider clicking the Donors Choose banner below and giving what you can to help enrich the lives of a number of local children through music and reading. Thank you. – Culture Bully