Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Grand.
Hi Sean, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Definitely. I decided to quit my job and move to LA to pursue my dreams. I left in my parents’ 1978 Dodge Monaco RV. A week before I left, I convinced someone on Craigslist to let me live in their westside backyard month to month. The owner had rented the rest of the backyard to a hot tub repair business which was owned by a dude who used to roll around with Dogtown back in the day. It was a sh*t show. Absolutely hilarious the type of stuff that went down back there on the daily. I lived there by myself for a few months and convinced my best friend, Funk, and his music partner, LeChris, to move down from the Bay Area to really pursue their music careers. I started managing them and had never worked in entertainment before, but came to LA to work with creatives. My plans were shaky but my dreams were more alive than ever. I was also going to start a clothing brand — my lifelong dream.
The three of us lived in that 24” RV for a year & a half together. We bonded. Explored the LA music scene, making connections quicker than any of us expected. Used the inside of the RV like a transformer. Weekly maintenance. Roof leaks. Tarps. Electrical issues. Propane. Flooding. Mold. Mechanical issues. Broken water pumps. Showering out of a bucket with hot water from a tea kettle. Many ups & downs. The works.
Some of the freest moments I ever felt in my life were in that RV though. Waking up. Opening the side door. The crinkling sounds of the wood floors and the metal door hitting the side of the RV in the morning as the sun rose. Smoking on our wood steps. Sounds from the back alley just on the other side of the gate. Sounds of birds. Sounds of nothing.
We were making progress. The guys performed a good show at The Federal NoHo. We were tapping into some of the Hollywood music scenes. Starting to figure out what was what.
I had recently incorporated an agency to manage & market artists. I was experimenting with services. I also had a new business partner helping me start to make clothes.
My partner in the clothing business showed me around downtown. I loved it from the beginning. So much contrast. I was in Europe for a wedding when we leased our studio space. I never even saw it in person before signing a multi-year lease. It worked out in a way none of us could have imagined. Things with that partner didn’t work out but in the process, I had decided to build out a music studio to help my artists make their music. It was going to be half apparel, half music in a 370 sq foot unit. Trust, every square inch had a purpose.
My vision expanded into providing studio services too. The artists I managed were becoming business partners. I bootstrapped everything. We hired a contractor and started the build-out, helping with as much as we could ourselves to save money. It was now much more than a recording booth. It was a one-room music studio with outer seating and a small kitchen. Construction took us six months to complete. It was still just the beginning.
Covid hit the second month into the build. Funk went back to the Bay since he’s a Type 1 diabetic. LeChris & I held up in the RV together. We had bulk rice & beans just in case because everyone remembers what the shopping situation was like. LeChris is a Navy vet. I was a Boy Scout growing up & had been to Burning Man twice already. We were built for the moment. We got very close during that time.
The build-out took longer than expected but we opened doors June 2020. Downtown’s the wild west so we stayed open through the pandemic with safety protocols in place. We kind of had no clue what we were doing but we were doing it. We had to. There was no plan b.
Funk had enticed some of his best classmates from college where he met LeChris to come work with us. I learned a lot about professional engineering from Zen & Andrew. Kevn Blvk, a potential client turnt mentor, showed me a lot of love by showing me how to think about running a studio. With multiple studios under management and over 30 studio builds under his belt, including one for Nipsey, he knew the ropes in & out. His desire to share wisdom with me really helped us during that time. $200 a day.
We didn’t have a reputation. Fresh on the block, business came from relationships. Word of mouth. Our outputs were slow & inconsistent. It was really hard & frustrating at many times. We never gave up though. Never.
We were networking. LeChris opened the door to hundreds of artists on Clubhouse. That’s also where I met our advisor who I’ll talk about in the credits.
We were starting to do small deals. We had hundreds of artists interested in distribution we had through a label that ended up being smoke & mirrors. Once we knew it wasn’t going to work, we tried to save the deals and do right by the artists. We pitched to Empire & The Orchard directly. We weren’t ready. They knew it. We didn’t. It all worked out the way it was supposed to and thankfully, all the artists we were talking to understood. I’m grateful to each of them to this day because at that point, it could have bankrupt us. Mistakes cost me a lot of money personally but taught me a lot about the industry.
The team was shifting. We would grow the team. It would slim back down. Build momentum. Lose momentum. But we learned every time. Still, it was exhausting.
I got an email one day from a producer & engineer from the D who had been brought out to LA by Future’s best friend. Having co-founded one of the largest studios in Detroit and working actively in LA studios, Averi ended up being the missing piece in our studio operations. Funk saw that symmetry from the start. Funk always knew who had the right energy & skills for the music. Averi was versatile in his production which fit our multi-genre approach. Work got good quickly. We changed our pricing structure. It made us more competitive. We were churning out music fast. I learned the next layer of running a studio from Averi: how it actually works vs what you read in books or learn in school. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him.
I met our other producer Lipe in a hot tub. Chillest dude you’ll ever meet. Super talented. Discovered Alexandra Kay. Toured with Robin Thicke. Writes with Malik Yusef. Him & Averi clicked and now we work as a team with some of our clients on their release plans & music. What they do is magic. I help add structure & strategy.
Our engineering team’s fire too. Averi helped me reshape it. No matter who you come in to work with, you’re going to have a great session. Each of them genuinely care about the artists they work with and the music they help create. It’s always a vibe. The rate you lock in for recording is good for mixing & mastering too on in-house recordings. Shoutout to our main engineering team: Averi, Graham & Ruso.
Things started to click in year three which we’re still in now. Today, our studio’s home to many artists in LA and it runs smoothly. Our process creates value for artists and our prices are the best you’ll find downtown at this quality — possibly in all of LA. Plus, weekly & monthly discounts on top of that. Artists tell us all the time that they love how they sound and many times actually find their sounds working with us developmentally. That’s music to our ears.
We genuinely care for every artist that comes into our studio. It starts with booking a session, then they can access our marketing agency if they need services. There’s no one size fits all. We develop a relationship with them from the moment they come in. The depth depends on their attitude & consistency. We look for their dedication to their careers & our studio. We give free consulting to every artist who comes in as they spend time working with us in the studio, and also develop a very small group of them who show the right set of skills in both music & business.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road’s been anything but smooth. I believe the Universe kept us moving on the right path while our integrity kept us in the game. It made all the difference in our reputation when things didn’t work out as planned.
Like I said, our distribution deal didn’t work out. The deal was bunk. We didn’t know how distribution deals worked. We paid upfront for support & portal access only to receive shotty service & communication from the label who could never answer any questions. I can comfortably say I know distribution inside & out now. There’s light at the end of every tunnel.
Well before that, we moved out of the RV and into the studio at the soonest moment possible. I remember stretching out on the carpet. It was the best feeling ever after sleeping on a mildly moldy mattress with a couple of feet of headspace for over a year. LeChris, Funk & I lived in the crawl space we purposely built over the console room for 6-12 months. When the pandemic was at its height, gyms shut down. We were literally showering out of the shared bathroom sink in the building or going to where the RV was now in NoHo to use a hose with cold water. It wasn’t warm in LA by then. Being clean & comfortable was uncommon. A blessing every time. The simple things will set you free. Eventually, LeChris & I found other places to live, but Funk had trouble creating stability again.
I struggled to stay sober. Years of partying were starting to catch up to me. I saw my savings & equity rapidly depleting. I saw firsthand how the down-and-out happens. Watching the homeless around me struggle to stay afloat, I started to see it within myself. It wasn’t my first time battling addiction either. I had been playing around since I was 13. Addicted at 16. College at 18. Master’s degree by 23. It never stopped me, but, growing up in a broken home, drugs were the only thing that made me feel normal. Through my teens and for fifteen years, I struggled to understand myself and why I was “different” than most of my peers. That’s a story for another time, but my willpower kept me going. I’m proud of my struggles. I’m not embarrassed by them. I wear my scars proudly. They made me who I am.
The team had its ups & downs. There was so much to do I couldn’t focus at times. I felt like I was going crazy. The pandemic contributed to that and also helped us get by in certain ways. We kept it moving. We were able to keep a low profile. Funk held it down in the studio the entire time. He & LeChris both had kids up in the Bay from the beginning that they would go back as much as possible to see. I moved out and slept on my ex’s couch with her while her kids slept upstairs in their rooms. LeChris created more stability than either of us had after landing himself an apartment and a couple of acting roles. Eventually, Funk moved home to get his ducks back in a row. Everyone did what they needed to do the whole time to make it work. It was a lot of sacrifice for all. My promise from the beginning was that everyone would get what they deserved for the work they put in. I stay true to that statement today.
Our business model took years to develop. Part music. Part marketing. Part development. Ramping up. Scaling back. Constant value prop redesign. More new messaging. But it’s how we found our way. The model eventually made sense. It all starts by booking a session, then artists can utilize our marketing strategies & services if they want to. From there, we look at many factors in the small group of artists that we develop. Not all clients want or need the help. There’s no one-size-fits-all either. It’s there if you need it and there’s a lot of talent in our studio. It takes a lot to be a successful artist. It’s not just making great music.
Through the ups & downs, friends became partners and sometimes we had issues. Departures occurred and were sometimes necessary. Time healed as it does. New partners & team members arrived. Again, some departed. Brothers stayed brothers because real friendships last forever.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Adjacent Studios?
A full-service, multi-genre studio, marketing agency & artist development group in Downtown Los Angeles.
C A T C H A V I B E
We’re multi-genre & multi-cultural. We respect all walks of life in our space. We’ve been through a lot in our own lives to make it this far & this is still just the beginning.
From the first time you step in the studio, we spend all the time we can getting to know you: what you like, how you work, how you think, what your goals are — even your skills as they stand & what you could do next to improve your artistry.
Music is all vibes. If you make music for a living, you’re probably passionate about it. Hopefully, you like where you work & enjoy the music you get to make with artists. If they don’t feel that from you, they’ll quickly book another studio & you’ll see it on Instagram.
When you visit us, you’ll notice engineers like being here & you’re having fun working together. Producers are really into the music they’re making. If anyone’s stressed, it’s because they care that much about giving you the best studio experience you’ve had.
M A K E M U S I C
Our studio team loves making music & genuinely enjoys working with you in the studio.
We all have hip-hop roots with varying taste profiles that we know how to see in artists too. We make a lot of Pop & R&B too. Plus, some of us specialize in other genres like EDM & Indie. We blend things & bring in live instruments too.
The same engineer might hand you a designer mix that’s 100% digital or be working on a full stem, analog composition with instruments they played themself. Usually, it’s a combination of the two because we think it sounds the best.
G O F U R T H E R
As a marketing agency, we specialize in digital promotion through our network of industry-leading music marketing partners. We offer clients who make music in our studio a combination of industry best practices, strategic planning & hands-on project management.
There are only 24 hours in a day, right. Every artist who shows consistency in the studio that wants help with marketing will get back what they put in. We don’t fund projects, but we will talk with you in detail about marketing between sessions and help you create a great plan that fits your budget.
For artists who are open to development, we’re interested in the ones who aren’t only focused on making good music when they think about the future of their music careers.
We offer years of knowledge & experience from all facets of the music industry to every artist that shows the same dedication, loyalty & investment in us. We love it every time you tell us how happy you are with your results.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
– I met our advisor Scott Gordon on Clubhouse judging music with him on a panel. He took me under his wing. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Something like a father figure. One of the biggest things Scott taught me is to look out for smoke & mirrors. He’s always been there through the ups & downs. A made man in the music industry, he was the only manager to get a signed split sheet from Death Row on Pac’s All Eyes On Me album. He’s also partially responsible for the Bay Area’s Hyphy movement that we grew up idolizing. Truly a god in my eyes.
– Todd Greene’s another person who I learned a lot from. With ten years of experience managing artists, administering royalties and dealing with distribution companies, he was intimately involved in the deals we tried to strike with The Orchard & Empire. My confidant in many situations. Still close to this day.
– Zen, our first head engineer. Dopamin Media, our content partners who supported us a lot along the way. All the interns we’ve had who have helped us get here, especially Lorena Moore.
– Felipe, a new member of the team, who’s working with us to get to the next level of our journey. More to come…
– My parents. My mom & stepdad helped me start my journey. Moving from the Bay Area to Stockton in 2010 during that recession was a culture shock for me but I loved it. They gave me the old RV I moved to LA in even though traveling in it was one of their favorite things to do. They’ve always been there to help me throughout my life — physically, emotionally, and financially. Whatever they had, they gave. We wouldn’t be here without them.
– My father. For instilling resilience & determination in me from a very young age. Fresh off the boat at 25, he came to the US as a refugee from Hungary to escape communism in 1956, starting his American Dream in Chicago working as a machinist. Nothing was given to him except $5 by his distant aunt when he arrived. That’s all he started with and that’s why I believe every person is in control of their destiny no matter their background.
– Jana Townsley: for being there supporting me through my struggles for over two years, giving herself and her home selflessly. You’ll always be remembered in our journey.
– Lastly, shoutout all the cats downtown where we’re at who embraced us in the community. We appreciate you all for seeing & accepting us for who we are. It really means the world.
– And another shoutout to our music team. We wouldn’t be here without each & every one of you. For real.
Pricing:
- Rentals: $9-30/hr
- Recording/Mixing/Mastering: $30-60/hr
- Production: $80/hr
- Marketing services: $250+/song
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adjacent.la
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/adjacent.la
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1oD4iGtFwCBv4jwx4UX6ob?go=1&sp_cid=7ae11cce7d516b3f197c70387ac6c7d0&nd=1
Image Credits
@seangrandforever @adjacentstudios @dopaminmedia
