An Inspired Chat with Grant Zubritsky of Eagle Rock

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Grant Zubritsky. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Grant, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
As a professional musician for nearly 20 years, I try and think back to childhood when music was new. Of course I don’t remember when I first ‘heard music,’ but I do remember those early band rehearsals as a teenager. The moments when everyone was learning how to play together. Seemingly, all of a sudden, we would link up and the playing would become tighter. Everyone was just jamming on a riff and a groove seemed to appear out of thin air. We would practice, jam, or write for hours without really knowing what time it was or how long we’d lost ourselves perfecting a section of a song. These days, with obligations to my professional work and my family, time is precious and typically very rigorously scheduled. But I try my hardest to allow my creativity to have it’s moment when I sit down to work on music. Just today I was writing for a podcast and I absolutely lost track of time as I was caught up in the moment, making the perfect outro for the show’s credits. It’s those small moments that remind me of who I am musically, and moreover as a person.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Grant Zubritsky and I am a musician, music director, and producer. I’ve worked on four dozen or so albums and been professionally touring for the last 10+ years. As a music director, I’ve worked with artists to perfect their live performances for late night television, streamed broadcasts, and radio. I bring a large skillset and a deep musical knowledge to every project I’m involved in.

I got started in Brooklyn, NY in my early 20’s playing all genres of music all over the city. Since then I’ve moved around and worked with artists based in NYC, LA, Nashville, London, and Vancouver, BC. I’ve recently just moved to Toronto, ON and am looking forward to digging into the scene here.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
This story is a little tangential as it’s not a ‘work story.’ But the message is absolutely applicable across so many professional interactions I’ve had.

Recently a bond was broken in a familial relationship. To be clear, this person was an ‘in-law,’ and what broke the bond was disrespect. The details of the story are moot for the message, and this person would not own up to the fact that they were wrong until confronted. In our communication after the incident, it became really clear to me that this person found it nearly impossible to actually take accountability for their actions and the disrespectful interactions that had occurred.

What restored the bond was the idea that there would be respect moving forward. Music and art are personal endeavours. Artists are looking to communicate something to their audiences, possibly something they find hard to communicate head on. Being respectful of that communication is truly paramount when interacting with someone’s art. It’s a skill that I’m still honing and working on, but 90% of the time arguments happen within music, I find the root coming back to communication and respect.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Dedicating your life to the pursuit of art and music is not choosing a easy, defined path. I’ve had to look at how those around me do it, as well as look to myself for how I want to exist in this world. Some times of our life are good, others are practically bad. The idea of ‘giving up’ is something that I’m very familiar with as it comes up fairly often. When I don’t feel validated by what I’m doing, or if there are lots of opportunities that seem to not necessarily connect, it’s easy to feel like there’s just not a reason to be so vulnerable. I really think it’s the vulnerability that makes someone want to quit an artistic field. I’ve come up with a two pronged approach for dealing with these moments. First is to not make things so precious. Building up a gig, job, or opportunity, to where it’s the most important thing in your life is unhealthy. If someone is offering you something, that’s different than who you are. Maybe it’s a great fit personally or artistically, but it’s not YOU. The second half of this approach is to keep working. If something doesn’t work out, you have to just keep going with something else. If you write a song for an artist and they don’t like it, write a different song. Don’t continue to belabour what you’ve already done. Growth mindset is probably the closest applicable term. Don’t let yourself get caught up on one thing, create a new opportunity for yourself. If you can do those things, the moments where you want to give up will be fewer and fewer.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I love this question, particularly with rose coloured lens available with social media. I think that my public image is as close to the real me as it can be without showing the negative emotions, such as self doubt, that we all have. I could publicly post pictures of myself riddled with negativity along with a long personal rant about how hard things are, but I’m not sure that would help. It’s good to be genuine, but it’s also good to be positive. People like to work with positivity and if I’m presenting myself to the world, I want to put forth that positivity.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing? 
In the life of a freelancer, you’re constantly looking for more/new work as the work you currently have will inevitably end. That endless cycle of networking, communicating, and searching for the next project to keep you afloat doesn’t always allow much time for personal projects. While I find creativity in all my work, I rarely get to focus on writing and recording music that is truly mine. Music for myself. And really this harkens back to an earlier question where I wrote about searching for how I interfaced with music as a teenager. I have a lot of life to live, but I certainly already regret spending so much time worrying about the next thing, rather than seizing the present and making something out of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grantzubritsky.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grantzubritsky/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIWiggEn0vc&list=RDOIWiggEn0vc&start_radio=1
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/grantzubritsky

Image Credits
Emily Jackson
Danielle Ernst
3rd Eye Vision Photo