Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Miller.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The clickbait title of my story would read: after dropping out of grad school and moving from NY to LA, I went from sleeping on the floor of a small, windowless music studio space to getting my first credit on a #1 charting Billboard Album. The full story is so much more nuanced, but what I’d like people to take away from my story is this: dream big, be patient, be consistent, and do whatever it takes to bring it into reality.
My first musical inspiration was actually from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I had never heard music like that before and was immediately whisked away into the sound universe. I wanted to be a video game composer after that moment, which led me to me getting my degree in Classical Composition in Arizona and moving out to New York to pursue a graduate degree at the Mannes Conservatory (which is now The New School). After going through many personal, emotional, and philosophical changes, I decided that I wanted to pursue music production in the pop/hip-hop/r&b world instead, and because of a serendipitous chance encounter, I ended up moving out to LA to follow that dream. Despite having a degree in Classical Composition, I really knew nothing about how a proper music studio worked, so with the help of some new friends and mentors out in LA, I got an internship at Melrose Sound Studios. After balancing working that internship with 3 other part-time jobs, I finally became a full-fledged engineer at Melrose with clients of my own. In October 23′, I had the opportunity to work a session with Freddie Gibbs, and that record became the song Back To Me, which ended up on Kanye’s album Vultures, which went #1 on Billboard for 2 weeks.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a bumpy, beautiful road. Before officially moving to LA, I would save up just enough money from my coffee shop job in Brooklyn to pay for a round-trip plane ticket and ramen from the dollar store down the street from the studio. I didn’t have anywhere to crash so I slept in the studio space, which was a small, windowless cube that was being rented out in the back of a huge building being used for all types of casting calls. The room wasn’t in bad shape by any means, but there was no airflow, so it was stuffy, and there wasn’t a whole lot of space to move around, let alone sleep. I’ll never forget the nights I spent on the floor shivering under a guitar case, which was the closest thing I could fashion into a blanket. Needless to say, nobody was supposed to be living there, so I had to make myself invisible most of the time. I had to wait until all the casting directors left to really start working, let alone leave the room to get some fresh air. Despite all these challenges, though, I was overwhelmingly grateful, driven, and motivated. I knew I was doing something special, something I loved.
Then, after officially moving to LA, I was balancing 3 part-time jobs while also working the studio internship 2 days a week. I was doing all of this while still adjusting to being off my medication (I was diagnosed Bipolar Disorder in 2016 but lost health insurance after moving to LA, and thus my medication), and on top of that my parents were going thru the process of getting a divorce. So yes, there were struggles, but like I said before, I was still able to maintain my love for music and gratitude for life through it all.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a music producer, composer, engineer, and songwriter. I absolutely love to learn, so I tasked myself with understanding every stage of the music-making process, from the creation of music to recording, editing, mixing, and mastering it. I specialize in music production and engineering, and I specialize in listening. I’m known for being able to hear and execute an idea that an artist is talking about, sometimes even before they finish the thought. I’m skilled at reading other peoples’ energies and meeting them where they want to go creatively while bringing my own sauce to the party. I’m most proud of my patience, imagination, perseverance, and my ability to be simultaneously creatively flexible yet authentic. I love to find out how I can marry what an artist is asking for with what I hear. I believe this is also what sets me apart from others, alongside my extensive musical background, which ranges from studying classical composition to being in hardcore screamo/emo bands to performing in a Javanese Gamelan ensemble. I love being a sponge of experience! As far as work that I’m most proud of, for engineering, I’d have to say recording Freddie Gibbs verse on Back To Me from Kanye West’s album Vultures, for songwriting, it’s Junk Food by K-pop group Omega-X, and for production so far, it’s Love On You by artist and friend Terrell feat. Lincoln.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The best part of the city for me is the diversity- plants, people, ideas, art, environments, food- you name it. You can find just about every type of experience you can imagine in this city- there’s just so much to experience! I love to immerse myself in experiences, and I find it always deepens my connection to gratitude, even if the experience is uncomfortable. What I like least is all the trash and waste of resources- especially food and water. For example, there is an abundance of beautiful agriculture that grows natively to California that doesn’t need extensive sprinkler systems. The amount of food that is wasted/thrown out instead of repurposed or given to those in need also makes me sad. The trash makes me sad for a different reason- and not just because we can see it, but because of the broader implication of how deeply ingrained the production of single-use, non-biodegradable materials has become in the economic structure of the country (which becomes especially apparent in the city).
Contact Info:
- Website: gorqmusic.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/papagorq
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/gorq
Image Credits
Nevada Tyler
