Breaking Into a Music Career // Episode #8243 - Nomad "The Career Musician"

Original Recording Date: August 12, 2024

Believe it or not, you’ve probably already heard Nomad’s guitar playing! With an impressive resume that spans countless TV shows and movie scores, Nomad has also shared the stage and studio with musical icons like Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Sting, and many more. In this episode, Nomad takes us through his journey from a passionate musician to a true Career Musician. He shares how he turned a passion-project podcast into a thriving platform for musical excellence and what it means to build a sustainable, lifelong career in music. If you’re dreaming of turning your passion into a lifelong career, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

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Interested in being a guest speaker? blieberman@yicunity.org

Transcript

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Hey, this is Nomad with the career musician and I am super stoked to be a guest on Breaking The Biz![Music][AI Narrator] - Stay tuned for today's episode of Breaking the Biz, an informative podcast where we dive into the world of entertainment by interviewing seasoned professionals who have made their mark in the industry. Gain invaluable insights as they share their personal journeys, offering advice on navigating the dynamic landscape of the entertainment industry. Whether you're an aspiring actor, musician, filmmaker, author, animator, or any creative soul, tune in for expert career guidance, insider tips, and first hand accounts on breaking into the entertainment industry. Get ready to unlock the secrets behind successful careers and fuel your own passion for the limelight. Please remember to like this video and to subscribe to our channels for more great conversations.[Host - William Felber] Greetings from Breaking The Biz, brought to you by Yes I Can Unity Through Music and Education. I'm William Felber, your navigator through the intriguing universe of the entertainment industry as revealed by the visionaries and creators who bring it to life. Stay tuned as we delve into diverse insights from the forefront of entertainment. Hearing from pioneers, creators and agents of change, prepare for a journey filled with tales of innovation, resilience, and the undying quest for artistic brilliance.[Moderator - Bret] We have got an exciting guest with us tonight. We have Mr. Nomad who is a music producer, composer, music director and a session touring guitarist who has worked with some pretty big names in music, television and film. He's worked with David Foster, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Jewel, Sting, Josh Groban, Indy Re, Leslie Odom Jr., Carrie Underwood, Justin Bieber, and Babyface. These are some names that you probably have heard in music. He served as a music director for twelve years. His tv and film credits include, but are not limited to, Ferdinand, Men in Black Three, The Lorax, Happy Feet, Kung Fu Panda, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Terminator Three, Rise of the Machines, The Prince of Egypt, X Files. He's been recently featured on the Fraggle Rock, Apple, tv centified, Netflix, Beats, Netflix and Maya and the three. Netflix, which is crazy because we just had George Jorge Gutierrez as our guest last week, who is the man behind Maya and the three, and an absolutely amazing soul. The other thing with Nomad is he runs The Career Musician Podcast, which has 33,000 downloads. So not too shabby, I would say. I'm loving it. Nomad. So I want to thank you for joining us tonight. Absolutely. Thank you Bret, for inviting me. I'm so glad this worked out. And hello to everybody. So nice to virtually meet all of you. I love it. So I want to talk about Nomad. One of the things that I know we've had lots of meals and conversations, but one of the questions I've never asked you was when did you fall in love with music, man? It was, I think it was eleven or I was eleven or twelve somewhere around there. And I saw, I don't know if a lot of you guys might remember, but I saw Eddie Van Halen on MTV. And do I have any Van Halen fans out there? Yes, sir. All right. I do want to rock on with Eddie. There you go. So Edward Van Halen, man, I saw him on MTV. If you guys, most of you don't remember, you too young. Eruption solo. Yes. Woohoo. Back in the day, MTV used to play music videos. That was like their thing. They were kind of like the YouTube back then, right? So you know how YouTube today plays? Well, they play all kinds of stuff, but they also do music videos. Well, back then, MTV was the one to do that. And it was 1984 when they came out with jump. Might as well jump. And when I saw that, I was, that's it. I was like, what in the world is this guy doing on the guitar? And my dad was very, very helpful in that. We had a guitar, we had a couple guitars laying around. And he, he's like, yeah, let's go dig it out, you know. So we got it out from under the bed. We had a little amp, and he took me to the store to get my very first distortion pedal so I can get the sounds that Eddie was getting. So that's exactly when I was like, oh, my gosh, I got to do this. When you were in guitar center, did you make that Corey Feldman guitar solo? You know, like that. And everyone is talking about like, that sounds like everyone who just picks up the guitar in the garage and tries to figure it out. Man, I'm sure I did remember this was 1984, Brett. So, man, I don't know if I can remember that far back, but, but yeah, back then, there was no guitar center either. It was it. But I do remember the name of the store my dad took me to. Focus, right? Focus. Two guitars. It was on Long Island, New York. Whoo. A shout out to Suffolk County. Strong Island, New York. Focus. Two guitars was the store and guys and gals, everybody. By the way, if you're not hip, that's where Steve Vai and Joe Satriani are from. I'm from the same neighborhood as those guys. And, and you are a legend. Just like no, no, no way. No way. I want to. I wanted to talk. So, in high school, were you part of the band? You know, obviously you put some time into your craft. So in high school, talk me through what that looked like for music, man. That's a great question, and I'm sure a lot of you guys can relate to this coming out of. Well, now, most of you are probably, like, in college, right? So. But if just like you guys, when I was in high school, I was studying my pants off, man. I was always practicing, always in. I took all the bands that I could. So I took jazz ensemble, rock ensemble. You know, I was studying music programming, and back then we called it sequencing. Midi. Sequencing. Because Midi was just invented back then. In the late eighties, early nineties, musical instruments, digital interface. So I took all those courses. I also took my music theory courses, and I went to a performing arts high school. So I was very fortunate to study all of those advanced music courses while still in high school. And then I transferred to a local community college, much like out here, we have, you know, Coc College of the Canyons or CalArts or Csungest, very similar to that, only this was in South Florida. So, yeah, to answer your question, Brett, I studied my butt off in high school and then college. Unfortunately, I didn't complete college all the way. But don't make that same mistake. Go all the way because you'll never regret it. Because once you get that degree, literally, gang, there's nothing that you can't do. Because nowadays, everybody kind of requires at least a bachelor degree. And if you have that, then you're good to go. Okay. I love it. So one of the things I want to highlight is you did all of the different music things. You know, like, you weren't, like, pigeonholing yourself into one corner with music where you're like, I'm just gonna do the, you know, this or that. Like, you did everything, which I think is important, because when you try things out, that's when you really figure out what sound you like. You create your sound, what you really want to do, and hopefully that opens up the door for, you know, the rest of time. So after high school, you mentioned you did a little bit of college. What is the first gig, and how do you make ends meet with the talent that you have behind the guitar? That's another great question, man. Again, I'm sure as a lot of you can relate, if not all of you, you have these musical skills, and you're thinking to yourself, okay, now what if I want to do this as a career. How do I do it? Well, the first thing for me was I knew how to play gigs, right? So when I was in high school, still, the teachers would have us go play at the public library or we play at the, you know, little street fairs in town and things like that. So I learned how to start gigging, you know, and you're playing cover songs. You were in a cover band, you know, so that's right away what I did. I was like, wait a minute. So I put together my jazz repertoire. Do I have any jazz heads out there? There are some jazz lovers, yes, I'm seeing. All right, good. So you take all those, you know, all the tunes that you learn in the real book, you know, all those jazz standards, as we say, and you take those and you go play them in places. You could go to little cafes, you know, little. Little lounges and restaurants. You could go play on sidewalk patio bars and things like that. And you just. You start gigging like that and then take that jazz repertoire and expand it with some cover tunes of, like, pop bands. You could even do, like, Beatles songs and stuff, but in a jazz context. And that's what I did. So that's why I started doing that. I started just saying, you know what? Let me just play, play, play, play, play, play. And, you know, my mom was like, oh, hey, my friend is throwing a birthday party at the clubhouse. Would you like to come and play? I was like, absolutely, mom. You know, and the lady loved it so much, she paid me $50. So I was like, okay, woohoo. That was my first gig. I think I was like 15. And then after that, you just keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it. If anybody out there, if you guys heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary V. On social media, he talks about, you know, going to garage sales and finding cool things and flipping them and selling them. You know, whether you trading cards, sneakers, whatever you find, it's the same thing. And he, his message is, you just got to keep doing it. You do one, you find your first little gem, you trade it in, you sell up. Same thing here. You get your first gig, you make $50. You make $75. The people there, if you do a good job, they talk and they say, oh, I know this great person who just did an excellent blah, blah, blah. And next thing you know, the word spreads. Because remember this, gang, no matter how far we get into technology, there's still no replacing this. What we're doing right now, human connection and word of mouth is the number one thing, like, people will say, did you hear Carlos, man? He killed it. And Aidan and Josh and Elton and Malik, they were crushing it. And you should hire them at your party because they did such a good job at my party. You know what I mean? It's just kind of. It spreads. I love that. And, you know, it's very true. People do speak about your work ethic. You know, I imagine you were the person there on time, taking it very professionally. And most definitely one of the other things I want to highlight is when people ask you, and you're in that beginning stage, let me clear that out. When you're in the beginning stage and somebody gives you an opportunity, it's great to say yes because you don't know what doors are going to open after that. And that, you know, a great example of what you said to back that up is one other person saw you perform and then said, oh, I've got a gig where I, you know, I could totally use a jazz guitarist. So you're going through and you're gigging. Where do we get to where we're starting to work with the Biebers and the Stevie wonders? I want to know. I want to know that trajectory climb. How do we get there? Okay, well, that, matt, let me tell you. Do you guys, who here is patient? And I know, and I know normally it's not going from playing the $50 gig to then working with those artists. We can talk about the road up, what happens next? Obviously know that you've got the talent. You're playing the jazz. People are liking it. You're gigging. But the $50, you know, we need to start paying the bills. How do you pay the bills? Okay, well, this was a series of events, and. Sorry, gang, I know that sounds like, oh, man, what are you. Blah, blah, blah. But it's really true. It just takes time. So I was born and raised in New York, like I said, and then we moved to South Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Miami area, and that's where I was doing a bunch of those gigs. And then I knew, like, in my heart that if I wanted to get more gigs and better gigs, excuse me, like, if I. If I really wanted to play on some good records in the studio and do some really high end gigs, that I had to move out of Florida because it just. The industry wasn't there. So I moved to Nashville. So I was 22 when I moved to Nashville, and there I really got immersed in the studio scene and doing more gigs, and that led me to another that was like the midway point of my career. And then I was there for eight years and I was doing a bunch of sessions and a bunch of gigs and then I was like, man, I think I want to go to LA because I want to do music for tv and movies. So in 2005, let's see, probably some of you weren't even born yet or just about you were born in that area. In 2005, I moved to Laden and then that's where things really started advancing for me. So now you're talking, it's like basically 20 years that I've been in LA. And after you're here for a while, I'm going to be honest, I was knockwood. I was very fortunate. But because I was constantly networking with people via email, especially back then, email was the thing. It wasn't really a lot of texting, but it was mostly email because I stayed in touch with everybody and I was like, hey, I'm going to move to LA. What do you think? Go, blah, blah, blah. Remember we met? I met you on a gig out in Ohio at a jazz festival. And I know you live in LA. I'm thinking of moving to LA. You know, you keep that networking line open and that's what led to all the different gigs. So I got a call when I first moved to LA to audition for Christina Aguilera. Does anybody remember Christina Aguilera? So, yeah, right? So I couldn't make that audition. I was bummed. I had a gig and I couldn't cancel the gig because it's like, I gotta do this gig. First of all, it was paying me. Second of all, I gave him my word, so I couldn't make the audition. But that same music director called me and said, well, if you can't make Christina Aguilera, how about next week I have another audition for another artist and that was babyface. And then I made that audition and then I got that gig. And then eventually I became his music director and then I was hanging out at his studio all the time and playing on some of his recordings, his records. And then I would meet another producer that said, oh, hey, I'm doing a Justin Bieber track and I need some guitars. Or, hey, next week we're working on a Celine Dion project or, you know, and it just kind of, again, it snowballs. But I tell you that, gang, because you gotta have patience. Don't get frustrated. It takes time. But guess what? If I would have sat in my room just doing music all by myself, none of that would have happened, right? So I know it's different. Now, I know we have a connection to the world through our computers. I get that. And it's awesome because you do have all the technology. But I still think, again, there's no substitute for going out there and working and mixing and mingling with other people. And that's how it happened, Brett. It just over, over a series of years. I mean, literally it took decades. I've been doing this for over three decades now. It's amazing. And one of the things I also want to highlight is when you go to Nashville. Nashville is filled with talented individuals just like yourself, right? So you might have been the king of Florida, and then you go to Nashville where, you know, some people have imposter syndrome. Some people go, am I going to make, am I going to make it? You know, I'm competing with these talented people. And Nashville as well also has tons of bars and tons of different venues. So there is lots of competition. What I thought you were going to say to me was after Nashville, you were kind of like, what do I do? Do I give up? But I know you've got the strong growth mindset and you got that resilience and that determination. But sometimes people go, all right, I've now moved from Florida. I'm now in Nashville. I'm giving it a certain amount of time. And if I don't break whatever that is in your own mind, if I'm not successful whatever that is in your own mind, I'm going to find something else. But I love that you chased the dreams. Obviously, if you want to work in tv and film and do music there, you got to come to the hub, you got to come to LA. I want to also highlight the fact you said two things. You had a gig, right, which was paying. Get that. But you also said, I gave him my word. And a word is very important in this business. So if indeed you cancel the gig, there could be a chance that Christina Aguilera's person goes, well, this person just canceled the gig to get here. Would he cancel a gig on us? Right? Is this guy going to be reliable? And I think the fact that you were honest with it and you still got that other opportunity to come in and audition for babyface, and then you, of course, nail that and become, you know, the director of his music. Right? Like that is important to highlight that. You have to be a person of your word, man or woman of your word. And that does hold a lot of weight. So the other thing is when you love what you do and you're talking to people and you're in the studio, networking comes so much easier. And I know there are individuals who are listening that want to go into voiceover or video game design or animation. It's the same thing. The word, you know, giving your word holds a lot of weight, but on top of that, you, you have to put yourself in positions where you can network. Otherwise, like you mentioned, being just stuck in the room by yourself, you weren't going to be as successful as you are now. So what comes after working with babyface and, and onward? Well, here's the deal. You're, especially in this los angeles Hollywood culture, you're only as good, quote unquote, as the last big thing that you did. Quote unquote. Right? So it's like this thing where you're always chasing the next big thing. Basically what you just said, brett, but you have to reframe it. You have to reframe it in your mind. So society and culture, and pop culture especially looks at things like, oh, this person did this amazing video game. Great. But what did they do after that? I don't care. That's it. They just, you know, like, you have to figure out the next steps. So for me, the next steps were, okay, cool. I worked with this guy babyface for over a decade, who has a ridiculous catalog as a songwriter and producer. And basically, I would say he wrote the nineties and he's a legend. But what am I going to do for me? That's him, and I worked for him and I worked with him, but now I have to figure out where I'm going. And that's where I started the career musician towards, actually, towards the middle, to the end of when I was working with him, I started the career musician as a podcast and then an education platform. And then I said, wait a minute. I'm not just a guitar player. I'm not just a music director. I'm a producer. I'm a composer. And that's when the whole time I was working with him, I was still producing bands. I was producing rock bands, indie rock bands. While I'm playing with one of the biggest r and B guys ever, I was composing for indie films, little indie documentaries and stuff, while I'm working with this big pop r and b legend. So you always kind of got to be doing your thing, the thing that you really want to focus on while you're also working with other people to make money, right? We all got to, you know, that's the hustle. We all got a hustle to make money to pay the bills. But still, while you're doing that never, never squelch your dreams. Whatever is true to your heart, you got to always pursue that. So like you said, brett, I don't care if it's animation, if it's video games, if it's composing. Whatever it is, you know, it might be something else. Whatever it is, always do that while you're working in the industry to make money. So that I call it subsidizing your talent, right? So your talent lines up with your dream. Oh, I want to do this because I feel like I'm really talented at it. This is what I really love. I'm good, and I'm going to go down this path. But while you're going down that path, you have to subsidize your talent and your dream while you're doing that by earning money over here. I don't. Hey, gang, guess what? I don't care if you work at a coffee shop or if you work retail or you do any other kind. I don't care what kind of job. Go do the job to make money, to pay your bills and to keep yourself sustained. That's subsidizing your dream and your talent. Okay, does that make sense? It makes absolute sense, because the other thing I was going to talk about is, you know, you're a talented guitarist. You can teach on this side, you know, and I loved how you mentioned you're working with an r and b legend, but at the same time, you're producing indie bands, you're scoring indie films, right, which also gives you that background on what you're going to eventually. You know, I know your story. You then go on to do movies, and you go on to, you know, score some of those things. And. And so you do, you're pursuing your dream, and there's nothing that is wrong with subsidized, subsidizing your talent, just like you mentioned. So what comes next? You. You know, I know there's doors that open. Talk me through that, right? Are you saying for me or for in general, the person who wants to pursue this stuff? Well, I think anyone who wants to pursue, like, if you've. If you're, uh, you know, want to pursue animation, you could use your skills to do art and graphic design elsewhere or help out. You know, maybe there is somebody wants to do an indie animation, right? But in your case, you. You shared how you were able to use your talents and do multiple things. What comes next, though? Because ultimately, you got that. That razor. Focus on writing and composing for movies and film. What door opens and how do you do it? Wow. And, you know, and I'm a firm believer in doors open when you can visualize yourself walking through them. Right? So, like, again, I like the fact that you bring up animation. How many. How many people here watching or listening are into animation? Do we have some animators here? You got animators, sir. Nice, nice. Okay. Quite a few. Excellent. So you know that you're really good at animation, right? So, like Brett was saying, like I'm saying it, you might not be able to be. Oh, man, I'm gonna get to work on Pokemon. The next movie, the release, the whatever, this next, you know, a private thing that's elite and only. It's going to be a special edition. Now, that might not happen right away. So what do you do in the meantime? Well, in the meantime, you have to, like, I'm looking right now at some of your background screens, and I see some artwork here, I see some anime, and I see some other things, some other cool video looking, spaceship kind of things. Like, that's what you have to do. Constantly fill your days with creating. Okay, by the way, to answer your question more directly, Brett, perhaps, what do you do next? Create. Never stop creating, because creating is just like any other muscle. Hey, you know what? We're all, like, creative individuals. We all have some kind of creative talent, right, in this group. And, you know, within breaking the biz and everything that Brett's doing, we're all in the creative space. Well, guess what happens if you don't use that creative muscle? It's. It's gonna atrophy, which basically means it's just gonna kind of go limp. That muscle isn't gonna be strong anymore, right? So you have to create again. Even if you're looking at like, oh, shoot. My parents said that I gotta get a job, or I gotta go. I gotta pay for my car insurance, or I gotta do this, or I gotta chip in here, or I, you know, my roommate is like, man, the rent is due. Even though all that stuff happening, and you got to figure out a way to live again. Subsidize your dreams. Subsidize your talent. Just do yourself a favor. Create every day. I want you to do two things every day. Create something that makes you happy. Like, create. If it's drawing out or, you know, some kind of graphic animation or some kind of music or some kind of schematic that you're programming for a video game, I don't care what it is. Do something creative that gives you joy. And it could be for 2030 minutes. That's fine. Like, if you're super busy, but squeeze it in. And then the other thing is, talk to somebody. Don't live in a vacuum. Don't just sit in your room or your studio or your space and be like, I don't need anybody. I'm just here fine by myself. I can code all day until my fingers bleed. Yeah, yeah, you probably can. But you also need to have interaction with people. So those two things be creative and interact. And when you interact with people, you should try to interact with people who are interested in the same things that you're interested in, because that's how things happen. If you're talking to Brett, I was talking to the guy who owned the restaurant, and Brett, the guy who owns the restaurant, Luca Tumati knows Brett, and Luca just met, and he found out I was a musician and a composer, and he goes, oh, I have a guy you should meet. Well, imagine if I never spoke to the guy who owned the restaurant. If I just sat there and ate my spaghetti, and I was like, no, I don't want to talk to anybody. Leave me alone. I would have never found out that Luca knows Brett. And then when I talked to Brett, Brett was like, oh, my gosh, you got to meet my friend Kirsten, and then you got to meet Bubba. But. And then we got. And then I was like, oh, Brett, do you know Alex and do you know? And then all of a sudden, Brett and I, we just. I just met another guy, Earl, who knows Brett, and Brett, like, all of a sudden, you're interacting with people. That's what's next. Always create and always interact. And something, I promise you, something good is going to happen, gang. Something good. It's. It. That's just the way it works. It's proof. It's proof. I mean, this is real life networking. I love that example for you. How do you get your foot in the door? Because I also liked how you talked about collaboration, because you can't just do it on your own. There are lots of variables that equal success. So you have to be able to work with other people. You have to be able to collaborate, especially in your situation where you're, you know, you're working with other artists and you're creating. You got to be able to communicate. I want to know, how do you get into the tv film composing aspect? Yeah, that's another great question. And guess what, Brett? I'm still working on it. I was just talking to my wife today, guys. Her and I were on a way to run some errands, and she's like, so what are you working on these days? And I said, oh, well, you know, I'm doing my podcast, and blah, blah, blah, and I have to compose a little piece of music for this thing. And she goes, oh, that's cool. She goes, what do you. She said, you know, where's your heart at these days? What do you really, really want to do the most? Like, what are you just feeling like, oh, man, I got to do this? And I said, composing? I said, I want, you know what I want to do, guys, who here watches? Does anybody watch, like, Netflix or Hulu or prime or. Right. It's the only way you can watch tv right now because people's kind of in that. Right, right. So I bet we all have our favorite tv shows, right? I mean, we still call it tv, but even though it's streaming, but we all have our favorite shows. Has anybody looked at the credits on those shows to see who composes the music? We should be. We should be. We should be. Yes. Well, I want. I want you to be watching a show one day. You'd be like, whoa, I know that guy. That's nomad. He did the music. Get out of here. That's cool. That's my. That's, like, my goal right now. So in order, how do I make that happen? Brett, man, your guess is as good as mine. Like, I have to get out and network, and I have to meet more directors, more producers, right? Producers who produce tv shows and directors that direct episodes or seasons. Right. I have to meet more showrunners, people who run all of the back end business for that tv show. I have to go out there and find those people, and that's my goal right now. That's like my you know what, gang? It's so funny because I say we have to do a lot of things, and we do, as creatives, we kind of have to juggle a lot. But I also feel like we also have to have one goal that we're really working on one at a time. So I used to tour the world with a bunch of these different artists. I don't tour anymore. I don't go on world tours anymore, because if I was touring the world, it would be really hard to be here in LA, focusing on getting that composing gig, right. So that, I did that a while ago, touring, but now I'm staying home and focusing on finding that tv show that I can compose for. And I don't care if it's on YouTube, Peacock, twitch. I don't care. By the way, that's the other thing? Say yes to everything. So if somebody says, yeah, I have this idea for a show. I have, like, ten episodes written. I have a treatment, and, you know, I want to shoot a pilot. Are you interested? Yes. You know, before they can finish their set. Yes. Yes. What do you need? No problem. Yeah, but I don't have any money. That's okay? Yes. Why? Because when you show yourself available, when you make yourself available and show that you're. You're excited to work with other people again, things will happen. Yeah. Remember this, gang? Energy. What. What does energy stand for? Imagine if I got on this zoom and. And my whole room was dark and you couldn't see anything. That would be a weird energy, right? It'd be like, nomad, are you there? Whoa, where is he? But, no, I'm in here. I got some cool lights on, I got my guitars, I got some gear, and I'm happy to be here. So I'm bringing a good energy. And when you bring a good energy to a project, regardless of whether it's paying or not, people notice that, and then they're going to talk. And remember what happens when people get together and you do a good job? They talk, and they talk about what a good job you did, and they tell other people. So that's what I'm hoping right now, that all the good energy that I bring, all the focus and hard work that I apply, I'm hoping that I can get a tv show to be the composer for. So, again, that's what I'm doing. What are you doing? Do you want to be a video game creator? Do you want to be a composer for video games? Do you want to be an effects designer? You know, like, what do you call after. After touch? What do they call it when you do all the VFX? Yeah, yeah, exactly. What is it you want to do? Focus in on that, man. Hone in on that. I love it. And, you know, you talk about positive energy. We've had lots of guests who have talked about opening doors for individuals that bring that positive energy. Those gatekeepers who could, you know, grab the person who's got the degree coming out of the four year school, who thinks that something is owed to them, but they've all mentioned they much rather take the person who's coming in with that positive energy, that person who's coming in with a smile, that person who is willing to work hard and leaves the ego at the door. Right. And that is something that I think when you talk to people who are successful, they say, yes, to opportunities. They are kind, they're respectful, they do a good thing. And just like you mentioned, people do talk. So I know people talked after you were working with these artists. You know, you go from baby face to a Justin Bieber to some of these other artists. But you also are doing mister and misses Smith. Uh, you know, you. You did get your foot in the door to compose, and you, you know, you're still searching for the next opportunity. And I cannot agree with you more. People always go, well, what are they doing now? But that resume of those artists as you're building, uh, does carry a lot of weight. You start mentioning David Foster, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand. Those are some pretty big heavy hitters that, you know, if you are an up and coming artist, that you go, I'm going to take a chance on this person. Look what they've done recently. You. You did worked with Beyonce. Talk me through what that was like. That was really fun. It's so interesting. There is a drummer named Lamar. Carl Carter and I met him back in Nashville in the early two thousands. And Lamar and I were introduced by a mutual friend, and he's a drummer, like I said, and I needed a drummer. And I think the guy that I hired for this gig had had to cancel. He had to sub because he got another great. That's the other thing. He had a really good opportunity. And if something comes up and you care about that person and they have a good opportunity to go do something that could potentially turn into something big, quote unquote, then you let them do that and be like, sure, man, yeah. Just get a substitute for you, for yourself. That way you don't leave me hanging. So anyway, I met Lamar as a sub on a gig, and we were playing. Picture this. It was like the fall in Nashville, and it was cold. It was probably like 40 something degrees.

And it was in the late afternoon, around 04: 36:43

00 we were playing outside on an airstrip. It was an old military airstrip where they had all these cool military planes, right? And they hired me and my band. It was like a four piece band, and we were just playing cover songs. And I was like, man, I need a drummer. So Lamar came. So Lamar was probably 1015 years younger than me at this time. I think I was in my early thirties. So I was kind of like, teaching Lamar as we're doing the gig, I was just giving him. Giving him kind of pointers and, you know, talking about playing. Anyway, we ended up becoming friends over the long term, but he never forgot that, like, he always looked up to me and he appreciated the fact that I was giving him tips. Well, fast forward. I hadn't seen Lamar for a long time, and we both moved to LA, but at different times. Well, I was out here, and I saw Kerry Underwood on tv one day playing a Gigdez playing a concert, and there was Lamar on drums behind Carrie Underwood. Now, five years before that, I was playing behind Carrie Underwood on American Idols. That was the year that she won 2005 or six, I can't remember. She won that year. And so I was playing with her, but then this was, like, another handful of years after that, and he was playing with her, doing her concerts. I was like, oh, man, Lamar. So it just reminded me I got to reach out to Lamar anyway. I found his number. I reached out to him, like, I can't believe you live in LA. So we're kind of talking and rekindling, and then we would see each other occasionally here and there, and we never really played together a lot. Then one time I got the opportunity. I was working on a record with Babyface, and he was like, man, I need a really good drummer who's got, like, some really good pocket, who can play in the pocket, but not too much chops, but he has chops of. But I don't want them to use chops all the time. Like, somebody who just knows how to tastefully apply their chops. And I was like, I got the guy. His name is Lamar Carter. So I called Lamar in, and we ended up working on this whole album for babyface together. We had a blast. All right, that was probably 2013 or 14 around there. Fast forward to 2022. So you talking five, six, seven years later, I get a call, yo, Nomad, what's up? You home? And I'm like, yeah, I'm home. At the time, I was living in Burbank. I was like, I'm just getting ready to sit down to dinner with my wife and daughter. He's like, cool, can you come to the studio and play on a record tonight? I was like, sure.

What time you want me there? He's like, 07: 39:25

00. I'm like, okay, cool. He gave him the studio address. Whatever I get there, it's in North Hollywood, right down the street from my house in Burbank. And it turns out it was Rafael Siddiq's studio. Now, most of you probably don't know who that is, but Rafael Siddiq is one of the founding members of the band. Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony. Yay. There you go. That's my jam. There you go. Class. Anniversary is a bump. It's my anniversary. And no loot. How about no loot, man? And it only. It only it never rains in southern California. All these classic tunes, right? So, Rafael Siddiq is an amazing producer and songwriter. Yes, he is. Yep. And I knew him by, like, just in passing, because he. I actually used to live right above his studio in North Hollywood. Anyway, so I go to the studio, and Lamar's there, and Rafael is there, and we're hanging out, we're talking, and we're just. I'm just kind of, like, setting up my guitars, and I was. I was expecting Lamar to be playing with me because he's the one that called me for the session, and lamar was like, no, man, I'm done. I'm leaving. I got to fly out tonight. I got to go do a gig. He was going to a gig with somebody. I don't even remember who he's like, but I just wanted to connect you guys, make sure everything's cool. You're all set up. You're here. I'll see you later. I was like, all right, cool. Thanks, Lamare. Now, remember, me and Lamar, we weren't playing together all the time. It was very once in a while, it was only a handful of times that we worked together, and a handful of years before that, I called him for the babyface record. He referred me to Rafael Siddiq. Anyway, Lamar leaves me and Rafael get in the studio. He goes, yeah, man. He goes, do you remember that song called Jolene from Dolly Parton? I was like, yeah, I totally remember that. He goes, well, we're gonna do a flip on Jolie. Now, what he means by a flip is they're gonna do a remake of it and cover a cover. Yep. They're gonna cover that song, and they're gonna flip it around to change it up a little bit to make it a little different, right? I'm like, cool. Love that. So I go in, I play the through the whole tune a bunch of times. He's producing me. He's talking to me from the other side of the glass in the control room. I'm in the live room, blah, blah, blah. I was there for probably 3 hours, and he got. And I had no idea what this was for. I was like, cool. It's. It's a dope tune, man. I like it. I like you. I like your version of it. He goes, yeah, it's for Beyonce. This was at the end of the session. I was like, oh, cool. Excellent, guys. This was January 2022. Jolene, the song and the album Beyonce just came out a few months ago. You're talking two years later. Two years later, guys. Two years later. Remember, remember earlier when I said, who here has patience? Sometimes you have to be patient. And when the album came out, I kept telling my wife, I'm like, yeah, babe, I played on a Beyonce record. She's like, what? When did you do? I don't remember that. And then it finally came out, and she, she was the first one to show me on her phone. She's like, you did it. I was like, I told you I did it. You know what I love about this story the most is when he called you to say,

hey, can you come and play guitar at 07: 42:58

00 right? You're just having dinner. You easily could have been like, I'm meeting with my wife and my daughter. Right? But your answer was yes. The other thing was, you didn't say, what am I playing on? What kind of music is it? Who's it for? You just said yes. Again, it comes back to the yes. Right? So that opportunity of opening that door. Right? Like, it's amazing when you say yes, yes. And you're right with the patience, you know, two years later, when you're working on a major album like that, that's how long it takes. And they're working with different producers. Sometimes there's different producers doing different songs and they put it all together. But what a huge song to, you know, to be part of. And that also leads me to, it's always good to open a door for somebody that you've worked with, for a friend. It doesn't have to always be a competition. And sometimes you threw him a gig. He threw you a gig. Right? Like, that's what it, that's what it's all about. The other part I also want to highlight is when you saw him playing with Kerry Underwood, you took it upon yourself to reach out and be like, whoa, bro, we both, you know what I mean? Like, so many times we go, well, what if they don't take my call? Or what if they're not as cool as they were? Or, right. And you miss out on those opportunities. The worst thing people can say is no. But most of the time, people say yes. Right? So I do want to highlight the fact that, you know, you have to work with people sometimes. And mentoring somebody, it came back with some good karma your way. You know, you taught him some things, and he was quite appreciative of that and threw an opportunity your way. So obviously you're here, you know, through the career musician, you mentor individuals, you give career advice, you help open the door for people. In your case, who is the mentor for you? Man, I used to say that I never had a mentor when in fact, I had several mentors back then. We just didn't use that term. The term mentor is an old term. It's been around forever. But for some reason, eighties, nineties, early two thousands term mentor was never really, it just wasn't a popular term. I had a lot of teachers and those were my mentors. And I didn't realize that. I didn't realize that at the time. I realize it now looking back. So a handful and I'll name them because they need the credit and I love them. But my number one mentor who I didn't, I had no clue he was my mentor until it dawned on me many years later as an adult, was my father. He, he guided me without saying, son, I'm gonna be your mentor. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't like overt like that. It just hit through his guidance, I learned a lot about life, about business and about people, how to deal with people. So he was mentoring me and I didn't even realize it. That's number one. Number two, another mentor from afar because he didn't know me. I did finally meet him before he passed away. Eddie Van Halen. He mentored me through being a maverick, going for something that is like, so unique and so, like, that's Eddie Van. Like, when you hear Eddie, you're like, holy crap, that's Eddie. You just know it right away. So I learned that from him. Like, I want to develop a style on guitar that when you hear it, you go, holy crap, that's nomad. That's a style. You know what I mean? So that was there. But then the more hands on mentors were by teachers, and there was three. The first one was Daryl Kunisch, who, God rest his soul, just like my dad, he has passed like Eddie. So my dad, Eddie and Darrell all passed, but Daryl was one of my high school teachers who was an amazing mentor. He taught me to, how to do everything. He's like playing rock band, playing jazz band, learn Midi, learn how to program and sequence, learn pro tools, learn this, learn that. That was that guy. He taught me all that stuff. Another guy was Gary Gold, who's still alive, thank goodness. And he taught me the basics of jazz guitar and then how to go from jazz guitar to pop guitar. He bridged the gap for me, you know, and that was a really important gap bridging, so to speak. And then there was another guy who, again, was a little bit more of not so much of a, like, hey, I'm going to be your mentor. But it was, it was from afar and his name was Jack Covell. And he taught me a lot of things about, he was the music theory teacher, but he also taught me, like, life stuff and how to do gigs and how to get through gigs and how to deal with that stuff, you know, and then, so those were all mentor figures. I just didn't realize it. But now I acknowledge it and realize it, and I'm very grateful for it. I love mentoring. I love that program that you have with Kirsten over at Yes I Can. Unity Through Music. I think it's amazing what you guys are doing, and I'm so glad to be a part of that. You know, you guys brought me in as a consulting mentor, and I'm just thrilled. I love it. It's a blast. And, and let me tell you, I have a passion for teaching. I just love teaching. Anything that I've learned, I want to share with you, because if there. If I can save you some time or if I can help you, like, get on the fast track to something, but if you say, oh, well, wait, nomad said I shouldn't do that, but I should do this, bam. Then we're winning. You're winning, and I'm winning. You're winning because it's going to help you in your career. And I'm winning because I get the experience of sharing that with you and that brings me joy, you know, so. And, Brett, I know you're doing the same and you have the same passion. So I know you. No, I totally agree. I think being a catalyst in someone's life and changing the direction on, you know, all of us have made mistakes and we learn from those mistakes. That's a growth mindset, and you got to pass it forward to the next generation. One of the things that I also want to highlight, obviously, our parents are usually that believer behind us and push us in the right direction. That's, that's really important. But you can be inspired and you can try to emulate those that have been successful and follow their footsteps. I think that's really a good piece. I want everyone to on this call also to know not only you, a composer, a guitarist, producer, you're a book writer. That's very important to also share. You've got lots of experience under your belt. I want to ask you one last question, and I want to give time for our listeners to ask you some questions. But what's the biggest piece of advice? If you could go back, you talked about three decades of composing music and following your passion and being a performer and being a creative. What's that one piece of advice you would give to your younger self? You know, it could be at the beginning, it could be in the middle of your career. What would that piece of advice be? It all starts with a decision. Make a decision as to what you want to do and stick to it. I am a jack of all trades, master of some. I'm not going to say master of none, jack of all trades, master of some. And not that I'm like the best. I don't believe in the best of anything. There's no best chef, there's no best artist, there's no best musician. There's great, everybody's great, but just different. So I have a really good handle on guitar the way I like to play it. But some of you guys might be just as dope on guitar. You just play it a different way. You know what I mean? Doesn't mean you're better, I'm better. It just means we're different. But find what it is that you love and make that decision to stick to it. If you say, dang it, I'm going to be a video game animator and do VFX, that's what I'm freaking doing. That's it. Make that decision and stick to it. And every day work towards that goal. So I did that in a sense, but I also did a lot of things. I knew I wanted to be a touring. I wanted to experience touring, so I went and did that. I wanted to play on a bunch of records in the studio. Be a session cat, right? Be a session guitar player. What I call a session cat. And then I wanted to be a road dog, which is touring. And then I wanted to be a studio rat, which is producing and composing. So I did all those things. But, you know, I also know people who only did one thing their whole career. I know people who are just composers. I started as a composer, and that's what. That's all I'm going to do. So whatever it is, find that one thing, stick to it, write it down every day. Meditate on it, look at it. And I would say, yeah, put it in your phone. That's cool. Or your computer or whatever, but also write it. There's something about the old school action of writing that just helps ingrain it into our mind. And then when you write it. I want you to look at it every day and it's going to change so you can enhance it. But you could write down your goals all the time and rewrite them and rework them and change them. Put new timelines on it, add things, take things away, but get a notebook and make it like your journal and just write that stuff. That's, you know, so make a decision and write it and stick with it. That's my one piece of advice. I love it, too. You know, you mentioned being a jack of, you know, of all trades and really good at some, and, you know, but the thing that's also very important is you did all of those things that you wanted to do to then figure out, okay, this is what I want. I've now I've done the touring, now I've done the producing, now I've done the. The studio, you know, hot for hire in the music. You've done it all. And you know exactly where you want to be. Obviously, having a lovely wife, you and daughter. You don't want to be traveling the world without your family. Right? So. And for young people who don't have that, you know, like we have, now's a great time to go experience touring and seeing exactly what it is that you love and that you want to pursue. So I just wanted to highlight that. Nomad, I want to thank you for making time for us tonight. I love watching your career. I love watching your success. Want to wish you continued health. I want to give you kudos and good karma for paying it forward and helping the next, you know, creatives in their journey. Just keep up the good work. And I want to thank everyone for joining us on breaking the biz podcast. Breaking the biz. Hey, thank you so much, guys. I appreciate you having me. And Brett, I want to talk to you because if any of your team is looking for some internship stuff to do, I have some work that needs to be done, and I'd love to talk to you guys about that. Perfect. Let's make it happen. I love it. I will reach out to you later tonight. Nomad, love you. Thank you. Love you.[Host - William] - As we conclude another enriching episode, we hope you found inspiration in the stories shared today. Let's take a moment to honor Yes I Can's role in bringing Breaking The Biz to life. Yes I Can's commitment to empowering young people with disabilities through education, advocacy, and mentorship shines brightly, paving paths of opportunity and dialogue. This podcast celebrates the organization's dedication to nurturing talent and facilitating impactful discussions. Breaking The Biz is more than a podcast. It's a part of Yes I Can's broader mission to amplify voices, dismantle barriers, and craft a world that's more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Each episode is a chapter in our shared narrative of progress, education, and empowerment, driven by the spirit of Yes I Can. Thank you for spending your time with us on Breaking The Biz, continue to challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate until our paths cross again. Let's keep transforming aspirations into achievements and infuse every endeavor with optimism. Here's to advancing the landscape of the entertainment industry, one episode at a time. I'm your host, William Felber. See you next time.