Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Brewster.
Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Venice, CA and went to school in Santa Monica. After high school, I joined a band from Los Angeles called The Untouchables (1984-1994). After the Untouchables, I joined another Los Angeles-based band called Fishbone (1994-1999). From there, I was hired as musical director for an artist on Loud Records named Davina. That led to work with a lot of hip-hop artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, The Alkaholiks, Mobb Deep, Xzibit, etc., doing remixes for all the groups on Loud Records.
Following that, I was hired to play with Nikka Costa, N’dea Davenport, Res and Jada Pinkett Smith. While with Res she was with Blacksmith Management, so I was able to meet a lot of the Phiily Crew such as Black Thought- one of my favorite MC’s ever. During my time with Res, I worked with Talib Kweli and Mos Def recording on albums or playing live shows. Through all of that, I have always had my own group: The House of Vibe Allstars.
We are a collective of musicians that have grown up together and have backed a lot of the artists that we tour with such as Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli, MC Supernatural, Citizen Cope and MJ Ultra to name a few. Colin Wolfe and Phillip Fisher are the longest-running guys with me having played together since the mid-80s.
I currently have a studio in Venice: House of Vibe Productions, where I work with my partner, Travis Margis. I met Travis at Universal working one of MJ Ultra’s albums. It became clear very quickly that we were a great team and we’ve been working together ever since. Over the years, we have worked on (played on, produced &/or engineered) music for countless artists including Ant Clemons and Rocky Dawuni, both of whom received Grammy nominations.
You can find House of Vibe live every Friday at Killer Yacht Club in Marina del Rey.
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?
In general, the biggest struggle about music is that it’s a business. Sometimes business can get in the way of great music. I think some of the best times in music can be when you’re thirteen and rehearsing in your parent’s garage before you’ve ever even had your first gig. That’s before the business kicked in.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We do all aspects of music including television, commercial, film, video games, and full album production as well as touring bands for artists. I also just produced a musical, 44, written by Eli Bauman, son of famed Sha Na Na singer “Bowzer” (Jon Bauman).
I think what sets me apart from others, on a personal level, is my commitment to transparency. On a musical level, it’s the people who I play with – the collective of musicians with that I consistently share space within the studio or on stage. Good people with good music can go a long way.
My forever goal is to be to music what Q-tip is to cotton swab! The branding is so strong that you ask for a Q-Tip which is the brand. No one ever asks for a cotton swab! You can have a band …or you can have House of Vibe!!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I guess the lucky part is the vision that my mom had. I grew up in Venice but she made sure I went to school in Santa Monica, placing me on a track for music early on. That was the beginning that set the stage. Being in school in Santa Monica meant that I was around kids like Charlie Sheen, Dean Cain, Karyn Parsons, Holly Robinson (Peete), Robert Downey Jr., to name a few. Those opportunities may not have happened at other schools. That set the path for some of the music opportunities that came about in my life. I still have friendships that were made in Jr high school in Santa Monica.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://houseofvibe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseofvibe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houseofvibe/
