Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Tarpley.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been playing music all of my life. I always had a fascination with the arts as a child and began playing the piano when I was three years old. I grew up in Texas, where my parents enrolled me in piano lessons, which eventually turned my curiosity into academia. Over the years, I began learning other instruments and discovered my passion for songwriting and production after pirating some music production software in high school. After school, I would sit and record guitar freestyles over my favorites songs. It was so fun listening back and hearing myself playing alongside my heroes. It was like being a part of the band. At the time, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be a high performing straight-A student and this was my escape, along with video games. I took this passion from the nest and acquired a basic bit of knowledge about the recording process from a local community college, but eventually dropped out of school to focus solely on my dream: to create full-time. At the time, I was living in a rent house with a couple of roommates, producing out metal bands, rappers and country artists all while learning how to make EDM and hiphop beats. I was exposed to so many different genres of music, which has greatly influenced my taste and who I am as a creative today. A couple of years into working with other artists, my talented producer friend John introduced me to his older brother, SoMo, who I started making YouTube covers with. We had a natural chemistry in the studio and decided to take two months off from our jobs to focus on writing our own original music.
SoMo was crashing on my couch and we were both living off of Lunchables for those two months. During that time, we wrote a song called “Ride” which has since gone three times platinum and has also been recorded as a country version that has gone platinum. We did a brief stint of touring together as “Ride” was gaining popularity which led to me signing a major publishing deal with Warner/Chappell. Signing my pub deal was game-changing and opened the door for me to move to LA in 2014. After moving to the West Coast, I began working with new talent and eventually curated my team of artists, writers, and producers. Recently, I’ve stepped into more executive production, where I’m able to create more holistically with artists, focusing on projects from initial concept all the way to final release. I’m taking on more roles as executive producer this year, and I’m excited to see where the road takes me and everyone involved!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road hasn’t been smooth. The most dominant obstacle in my life has been my own self-perception. I used to be very risk-averse and looked to other people for approval. I’ve also had a tendency for most of my life to over-analyze my abilities, my body image and my interactions with people, which has led me down a dark path of self-doubt and insecurity. This has happened on and off throughout my career, leaving me questioning whether I’m fit for the entertainment industry or not. This has all taken a great deal of time and patience to work through, but I’m more alive and confident than I ever have in my life. Another struggle along the way were my finances. The music industry is not easy to get started in without money and can be even more challenging to sustain – payouts are extremely slow and none of your hard work is guaranteed any success. A fear of failure (especially financial failure) is what discourages most people from chasing their dreams – I decided to persist and patiently push through these uncomfortable moments anyway and it’s opened so many doors for me.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a music producer that specializes in creating songs with beauty, darkness, and edge. I’m known for my imagination, attention to detail and ability to completely immerse myself into the creative direction of a project. I’m most proud of the transparent and honest connection I have with myself and my collaborators. What sets me apart from others is my focus on simplicity, emotional vulnerability, and attention to detail. I also ask interesting questions that get people thinking.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan to continue expanding as an executive producer, focusing more on the big picture with artists. I’m also writing and producing my own original music, which I couldn’t be more excited to share with the world. In addition, I recently co-founded a mixed reality venture called SecretMap that is exploring beyond the boundaries of immersive audio/ visual art in combination with taste, touch, and smell. The ultimate goal for me is to create art that gives me chills and see my team winning at life.
Contact Info:
- Website: codytarpleyy.com
Image Credit:
Nick Jacob (instagram: @nickjacob_)
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