Who are you and what did you do?
Yo, my name is Reid Graham and I’m a musician in Missoula. I make music under two different artist names: high on you. & Lovefall. Lovefall is a duo between me and my friend Richelle Ziola – she lives in Edmonton. high on you. is my solo project where I work with a bunch of different musicians. The music in both projects could be described as downtempo electronic pop music with a little hiphop flair. I’m 25 and played a little drums growing up and then gave it up early high school. At 20, I started making beats on my laptop and things have evolved since.
I’m also a freelance videographer and have been doing that professionally since 2016. I shoot music videos, commercials & weddings. I’ve worked with Every Woman Treaty, UPTOP, Team Up Montana, Chloe Gendrow, Zak James, Sam Lachow, etc. I’ve been asked to film all over the country! The list so far includes: Montana, Seattle, New York, Minneapolis, Toronto, San Fransisco, Denver, Boulder, Lake Tahoe, El Salvador, and more.
What does your typical day look like?
Semi complicated question because my days change a lot. My three types of days are either music/editing days, shooting days, or marketing/admin days. Music and editing days are fairly simple
For music, I either sing (I have playlists I practice singing over), play the piano, or make beats. Most days, I do all 3 in different capacities. On those days, I also try to spend 2-6 hours editing whatever video projects I’m working on. Sometimes I have days where I need to edit for 12 hours – depends on the video and the deadline.
For shooting days, I tend to designate my entire day to the shoot. Wake up, breakfast/shower, get all my gear prepped and packed (if it isn’t already from the night before), get to the location early to setup. Then as you guessed it, I take a quick 9 hour nap. Kidding! I wait for the artist/client to show up and we shoot. Most of the time, all day.
Marketing/admin days: This is where Hustle Reid comes out. That’s what I name the little monster that comes out and wants to make as much money as possible and get as many ears/eyes on my work as possible. Most of the time I live as Soul Reid. Hustle Reid gets up and sends emails. He reaches out to past clients about future work, any potential clients I’ve been talking to. He goes through social media and sends messages and schemes new social media/YouTube ideas to grow my brand. Not the music marketing side of things, Hustle Reid sends DM after DM after email to either companies, blogs, or playlisters. Sometimes, I reach out directly to artists on Instagram to send them music (and you’d be surprised on how many will listen to your song and respond). Hustle Reid is always scheming new ways to market creatively. Just did my second round of merch today and am considering dropping 1000 pieces of paper with links to my music at random doors.
How is your workspace setup?
My room is basically a mini studio. Just my bedroom but with lots of music and camera gear. When I edit I mostly go to coffee shops or other workspaces such as the U of M’s campus because my dad (Keith Graham) is a Journalism Professor. My laptop/instruments/camera are my workspace, essentially.
What hardware do you use to make your content?
MUSIC: Laptop is the home base. I have 3 keyboards, 2 microphones, 1 guitar and a number of different stands/adapters to plug everything in. I have a Focusrite Scarlett interface, speakers, etc. I have a chair if that counts (I do sit a lot). Oh! And I have my piano bench.
VIDEO: Canon c100, HD Glidecam 2000, tripod off of Amazon, Zoom H6, Rode mic, a million SD cards, camera lens wipes, 2 different camera backpacks, Mavic Pro (my drone), and probably 14 other things I’m forgetting.
What software?
MUSIC: To create beats/music, I use Logic Pro X. On top of that I have loads more software that I’ve bought that work inside of Logic to give me different instruments/sounds to use in my music. For live performances I use MainStage.
VIDEO: Adobe for life. Premiere & After Effects are my babies. I hate audition so I use Logic for sound design mostly. I use Photoshop & Illustrator for anything design (the amount of song artwork I’ve made, Spotify banner images I’ve changed, profile photos, social media edits, t shirt designs, etc etc). I’m pretty good at the select few things I can do in Photoshop and Illustrator but it’s not much.
Where can people find you online?
MUSIC: Spotify is where I get most of my plays but my music is also all over Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal, YouTube, iTunes, SoundCloud, etc. Pretty much anywhere you can find music, you can find my music – even TikTok or Shazam.
high on you. music links: https://ampl.ink/790yo
high on you. IG: www.instagram.com/highonyoumusic
Lovefall music links: https://ampl.ink/W4jXl
Lovefall IG: www.instagram.com/lovefallmusic
VIDEO:
www.reidgmedia.com
www.reidgrahamweddings.com
www.instagram.com/cuzziereid