Meet Graham Bockmiller of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Graham Bockmiller.

Hi Graham, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been living in LA for the last 15 years, playing in bands, producing, and writing music.

My music journey started when I got my first acoustic guitar at age 11. Then decided I wanted an electric guitar. So on Christmas Day when I was 13, my parents got me a purple Fender Stratocaster because I was really into Jimi Hendrix at the time. Once I had that it was off to the races, I couldn’t get enough.

I played guitar throughout high school and college where I attended USC as a pole vaulter. Throughout college I continued playing guitar and started writing my own songs. After college was over and my pole vaulting career was finished, it left a huge hole in my identity that wasn’t sure how to fill. I moved home and that’s when I really started playing more guitar and writing my own songs. I started playing open mics and jamming with a couple of friends. I was working for my parents company but all I would do was daydream about starting a band and playing music.

At that point in my life my younger sister Jenna had gotten sick with cancer. During a period of her remission, I decided to pack up my things and move to San Diego to start a band. It felt like it was my role in my family to be a distraction from the heaviness of my sister’s illness and do something positive.

Our band Great White Buffalo moved to LA after about a year and started to have some local success. We played venues like The Troubadour, The Roxy, The Echo, and others. During that period my sister passed away and I was absolutely devastated. At the same time, it gave me the drive to keep going.

Eventually, the band dissolved and I decided to move forward on my own. I put together a new project called Drawing Room, named after the dive bar in Los Feliz. During this time I dug into teaching myself music production and recording. I have produced and recorded all of my music ever since, including a full length album and a number of singles.

In the last few years I’ve been writing with my writing partner and bandmate Ben Hilzinger, who has played drums in bands like Cannons, Eve6, The Palms, and is currently on tour with LP. We just released a new single called “Object Permanence” which came out August 28th, and will be releasing new songs in the near future.

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?
I can say with confidence that there have been more struggles than successes. I think I’ve “quit” music more times than I can count, but for some reason I keep coming back. Especially nowadays, the obstacles in the music industry are endless. I’ve been in bands that have fallen apart, I’ve had long bouts of writers block, and went through a long period of not being able to finish a song. What I’ve learned now is that sometimes those obstacles can turn into blessings.

For one, it’s very difficult to make a living playing music. In my early days, I was working as a real estate assistant, and now I am a licensed agent working at Compass Hollywood. I was just about to finish a batch of songs right when the pandemic hit, so I had to wait until things calmed down before I could finish them. During that period I met my now wife, actress Brooke Butler. We produced a feature film together last year called Cultus, which will be coming out soon. I’m also producing a few songs for her right now, she’s a fantastic singer and songwriter in her own right. So you never know what will come out of those struggles and hardships.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think what I do best right now is songwriting and recording songs. I’m not the most technically proficient audio engineer in the world, that’s for certain. But what I lack in technical ability, I make up for in creativity. Along the way I’ve worked with a number of Grammy winning engineers and soaked up a lot of knowledge.

I’d say what I’m most proud of is my resilience. Despite all the letdowns and setbacks, I’m still doing it. And I happen to know a lot about the Los Angeles real estate market, haha.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Check out my music, come record a song, or if you have any questions about about housing in Los Angeles, I’m here to help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drawingroom.carrd.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grahamb0w/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DrawingR00M
• Other: https://www.compass.com/agents/graham-bockmiller/

Image Credits
Betsy Newman