Breaking Into Experience: Designing Sound, Space, and Story

In this episode of Breaking the Biz, we dive into the innovative world of immersive design and creative storytelling with Freddy Janney — a Billboard-charting music producer, DJ, and interactive UX/UI designer. Known in the music world as partywithray, Freddy brings a rare blend of audio mastery and experiential design to his role as Brand Design Lead at PhenomenArts, Inc., a boutique firm specializing in multisensory experiences.

Freddy shares how his passion for storytelling fuels his work across music, visual, spatial, and digital platforms. He also reflects on his transformative time at the USC Iovine & Young Academy, where he earned a Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology. From his hit single “Came For The Low” with ZHU to playing iconic venues like Red Rocks, The Gorge, and the Brooklyn Mirage, Freddy’s journey redefines what it means to be a multidimensional creator in today’s entertainment industry.

Tune in for a conversation about merging creativity with technology, human-centered design, and the future of immersive storytelling — all while advocating for inclusive innovation and empowering others to break into the business.

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

Transcript

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Hi, I'm Freddy Janney. I am an UI/UX designer and design strategist and I'm here on Breaking the Biz. 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 firsthand 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] - 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] - I want to thank everyone for joining us tonight on Breaking the Biz podcast with the Yes I Can crew. We have got a great guest with us. We have Freddy Janney who is interactive, immersive, UX/UI design, a US EMS student as well. Highly creative, interactive and immersive, he approaches design with storytelling perspective. As well as being a Billboard charting music producer and songwriter. The creative process combined with the human centered design is what he enjoys and where he thrives. The visual, spatial, sound design or a combination of all three, I'm gonna allow him to really get into it. But he, he's done a little bit of everything. Performing on music festivals, having appearing on Billboard Hot dance charts, peaking at number 22, getting spots on Marvel's the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, performing at Red Rocks and Lost Lands, which has dinosaurs if I'm correct. Is that the right one where there are actual dinosaurs? Imagine rocking out with an amazing, you know, DJ and sound design and you've got dinosaurs. So let's get into it. Obviously you're a music lover. I want to hear your story. When you were young, was it? I'm going to be a musician. Talk me, talk me through early, early years. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So this, this whole creative journey of mine definitely started with music. I don't know if I thought really, you know, really early on in my life, I was going to be like, Wanted to be a musician or a rock star. I just loved music a lot, you know, and my, my family did also. So it was just, it was a big part of our lives. And then when I was 12, so this is funny. I mean, is that how life kind of works out? I was a very serious, like, ice hockey and, and lacrosse player. I grew up in New England and those are very popular sports. So I was, I was pretty serious about pursuing those. And then I broke my leg in seventh grade, and I was like, well, I'm going to have a bunch of time on my hands here, here. And so I was like, I'll. I'll. I'll learn guitar. I mean, it was something I had wanted to do for a long time. So I was like, oh, this is a great moment to pick up a new skill and, and, you know, learn guitar. And I, As I learned guitar, some people I knew in middle school were starting a pop punk band and they asked me to be the rhythm guitar player. And so I was starting to join the band, like, you know, starting to just get my feet wet with actually playing guitar and, and playing in a band. And I, I wasn't at the point of writing music yet, but I was starting to play in the band. And one day our drummer didn't show up. And I had a little bit of experience playing drums. My dad was a drummer, so he had showed me like a basic 4, 4 beat. So I sat in on drums on that drum rehearsal. And then I was immediately way better at drums than I was at guitar. So I, I became the drummer. And then drums ultimately became the foundation of my songwriting process and my music production process. I mean, so much of song arrangement comes from the energy and dynamics of the drums. So that ended up being, you know, that instrument is so foundational to my whole music career. And so fast forward a little bit. I was playing drums, and then that was just a middle school band, so it wasn't all that serious. And then towards the end of high school, I started writing music a lot more. So then I got back into guitar. Like, I would just, I, you know, I'm a creator for sure, so. And I'm sure there's people, people in the room like this too, where it's like, I just, I need to create. I mean, I, I think that that's an accurate way. Like, I will wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and I need to work on something, like an idea. Pops into my head, whether it's music or design or. Or kind of art stuff, like, I. I definitely have the need to create and express myself. And so I started to write more songs as I was getting towards the end of high school. And then I actually wrote a full album and just recorded it on Pro Tools into college. I was the singer in a. In a band that I was, you know, starting. And I. I went to Thornton School of Music at usc. So I was right in, you know, moving from Boston to la, being right in the middle of the music industry, being at a school like Thorton, being around so many other talented musicians and just general people. We had a great music industry program also. So we just. I was around a lot of people that, whether they were musicians or they wanted to go work in music publishing or management. I was like, right in the middle of the music industry, going to Thornton School of Music. And, you know, part of my education in school was what I was learning in class. But the other part of it was I was going out and booking gigs for my band. I was going to Sunset Boulevard. I was trying to get us booked at Whiskey a Go Go. I was trying to get it. Get us booked at a place called the cat Club, which I'm sure no one's heard of, but it was down the street from the whiskey. Ago. Ago is sort of like a stepping stone to get there. And so I look back on that time, and I was enjoying writing music so much. I was enjoying performing so much. But I was also learning so much about being an entrepreneur by trying to go out and make something of my band, being in a city like L. A. And so by the time I was a senior at usc, my. My band was really starting to get some legitimate attention. We had a song that was. This was when blogs were a big thing. I don't know if anyone will remember this, but blogs were huge. And there was a blog aggregator chart called Hype Machine that really was an accurate pulse of what a lot of college kids were listening to. It was like a. Just a very accurate chart of what was being listened to. And my band went number one on that twice. And we went top 10 with another song. So we. We got to the point where, like, all these local tastemakers were starting to pay attention to us. And then, like, eventually every A and R from every major label, like, we were on their radar. And so that was so exciting. I mean, wow. Just to. To. To be a music industry or, you know, a music school student loving writing songs and then starting to get this Attention. And then we had. This was the beginning of remixes. Like remixes are so normal now, but this was the beginning especially of like EDM remixes. This was like 2010ish, 2008 and we had one that truly went viral. Like it started to get played on Kiss fm, the major pop station here. And so my band, when I graduated, it was like very, we were on a very legitimate path towards being signed to a label and doing the whole thing. So I graduated from college and being a, you know, from the music school and having some music business background. I, my first job was actually in music publishing and at a, you know, small music management firm in music publishing. And, and for anyone that's interested in, in music, like publishing is such a valuable part of the business and continues to be a valuable part of the business. And I still like to this day I, I own all the publishing to all my own music. So I make a hundred percent. I mean there are times that I've worked with labels but, but I know how to administrate my whole publishing catalog and handle signing contracts. So that's ended up making me way more money in my present life because I know, I knew how publishing worked and I, you know, I still understand how it works and so sort of grinding it out working in music publishing. And then our band, we got to play at, at Bonnaroo, we got to play at Voodoo Music Festival which was a big festival in New Orleans, which I don't. They've changed the name of that one. We got to tour a little bit. We played some really cool shows at the Troubadour here in Hollywood, which like, I'll never forget. Like so many amazing memories came out of that time and I, I really did learn so much. Ultimately it's super tough to make money as a five person band and that reality as you start to get to be like 25, 26, like really starts to hit a little bit differently. Struggling for your art is, is noble and, and I absolutely have done a lot of it in my life, but I wouldn't sit here and glorify the life of like a struggling artist. Like it's not super fun not knowing how you're gonna pay your bills next month and especially the way that creeps into your creative process. Like it, it's hard to then separate the business part from the creative part because you're like, oh my God, like our next song like really needs to hit or we're not gonna make it to this next step with major labels or with major management companies and Then that start starts to affect your creative process. I think, like, ultimately our songwriting started to get worse because we were more focused on the business side than, like, truly being creatives and artists. But way, way easier said than done to. To just forget about the financial side of your life and how that plays into your creative work. So after a few years after college, like, we. We decided to call it quits with the band. I was about, like, 25, maybe 26 at that point, and I was kind of just looking, you know, I wasn't done with music. I knew early on in my life I would always be making music. Like I said, I'm a. I'm a creator, so I know the band is done, but my journey with music is not done. I don't know exactly what that meant at that point. But then a few months later, I found myself at an electronic. A young electronic music production school called Beat Lab Academy as a student. And I got really into electronic music production there, and I started a new band, which was like, a real cool hybrid of electronic instrumentation and live instruments. And then I was actually dating a young woman who was a dancer at the time. So we actually brought in, like, choreography and dancers. It was like. It was more of an experience. I was starting to, like, okay, like, being, you know, all the experiences I had playing shows at music festivals, I was like, okay, one aspect of this is the music, but another huge aspect of this is the experience of being in the audience, whatever the show, the lights, the dancing that goes along with how the person is performing. Like, there is a lot more going into this experience of. Of live music than just music. So that was a really cool exploratory period as an artist and like, you know. You know, being in a band with. With your girlfriend is super fun until it's. Until it's not. Yeah, but it was. That was really cool. And it pushed me just to grow so much as an artist and that. That project ultimately led me to. Well, first of all, I found that school, Beat Lab, and then I ended up getting hired to work at the school. As you know, it was a small business, so I was the third person on the team. So technically, I was like an administrator. I was in sales, I was in marketing. I was in community development. You know, we. That's how small businesses operate. Right. And I. And I was so used to that kind of entrepreneurial nature of things already because of how I operated, like, leading my band and, you know, managing my band with our, you know, managers and stuff. And. And so that. That felt very Natural to step into that, that business and wear a lot of hats essentially. Eventually I became the manager of that school, which was so cool. I, I loved that community. We had such a positive community around music and music production and I, I genuinely loved that community. So becoming the manager at a, honestly a very stressful time in the business. We had just tripled in, in size. We had just moved into a building that was three times bigger. So we, My first assignment as manager was you need to fill up all of our classes for the start of the new year or the business is going to close down. And I was totally, I had six months to pull it all together and I, I cared so much about that place. I would, I would knew I was willing to put in the work and you know, figure out what I needed to figure out about. I mean, without getting too like figuring out how we fit into the market space of music production schools in la. Essentially there's, there's things that I use a lot more now in my work called like SWOT analysis or positioning matrix matrices. But that's how you understand where your business, whether it's creative or just a regular service, that's how you figure out where you fit in against your competition in your, in your space. And like figuring out where you fit in in the market space helps you define what your brand is, helps you market what your business is, what the value is. It's, it's so helpful to just literally grow your business and sell your business. And so we did that. We, we filled up the classes and I ended up managing the school for three years. And the reason I, I left the school is because during that time I, I mentioned, I'm, I'm a creator, I'll always be creating. I ended up writing a few songs that became my Billboard charting songs while I was managing the school. And like the way that those songs happened is I, I was just, I was at the school, I was around all these other people around my age, younger, who were hungry to become better electronic music producers. I, I just write songs. It's something that I do. And I was just so inspired by that community. I was not trying to write hit songs. I was just genuinely inspired, which is the, the best thing you can have as a creative for sure. And so my career as a music, as an electronic music producer and DJ started to take off and it just became too much to, to be the manager of the school and, and actually go for it with music producer, DJ career. And I knew, I knew. So I was about 30 when the, this was happening. And I kind of already gone through quite a bit, a bit of emotional turmoil with my band, like, getting noticed by every major label, playing festivals, and then that not working out, like, emotionally, that was a lot to go through, especially as a young person. And so when my electronic music was starting to take off, I was like, you know, like, I don't know. I'm not. I'm not as. Like, I don't desire this lifestyle as much as I did when I was like, 22. But also I know the opportunities that are coming my way because I know I have these songs that are going to open up a lot of doors and a lot of opportunities. And I, man, after devoting most of my life to songwriting and performing, if I don't take advantage of this, these opportunities that I know are coming because I understand, understood enough about the business, I don't think I could ever live with myself. So I was like, I gotta do it. Like, I gotta go for it. And so I ended up for. For six years, you know, really diving into being an electronic music producer, being a dj, being a songwriter. And that, though that was the period of time where I got. I got to play Red Rocks. I got to play Lost Lands. My music was used by Marvel and a scene that ended up going viral with this very popular villain character named Zemo. That song then also got used by the Penguin more recently. And so, I mean, I think the thing about the MCU is, like, I'm. I am a big MCU fan and. And since my song was used in their world, like, the characters were technically listening to it. Like, me as an artist. My artist name is Party With Ray. I. I'm in the mcu. Like, I'm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wikipedia, which is, like, just so cool. I mean, it didn't. I mean, we got paid well. We got paid well for that. But, like, that's just one of those things that, like, money can't buy for. For me. And I have a lot of those experiences with music where, like, yes, I was lucky enough to make money at certain points and it was definitely profitable at times. But I, like, mostly I have these memories and experiences that are kind of priceless, which is. Which is so cool. And so doing that, you know, doing that for six years was incredible. I'm so glad that I did it. What I definitely also learned is, is a life on the road is a very touring, I mean, is a very specific lifestyle choice. And I was like, I don't think I want to be 40 years old. I don't think I want to be 50 years old and, and having to live this life on the road just to pay my bills or just to support, you know, my, my family, whatever it is. That started to seem like just a very difficult path, like, emotionally for me. Also, I wasn't necessarily super inspired to, to keep pursuing that path for, like, a couple different reasons. I mean, the music business is, is tough and it gets, a lot of, it becomes not about the, the music. It becomes a lot more about branding. And these days it becomes a lot more about social media presence. And I found myself at a certain point, you know, my management team and labels would, would place so much focus on what was happening with my social media account. And I was just like, this is not what I, this is not why I'm here. Like, I, I love making art, I love making music, I love connecting with people. And so I also realized, like, yes, like, this is now just a job, but to be like a really, really good, creative person, you really do have to be able to find inspiration and just the emotional toll it was taking on me, me not really being excited about needing to tour 10 years in the future of my life. Like, I just, I, again, I felt like my creative output was suffering a bit and I was just like, this isn't, this isn't fun. And I, I, I, like, I'll be honest, like, I started to battle with like, depression a little, a bit like as it, as it wore on after a few years. So I knew I needed to make a change or like a pivot. I, I knew I was so grateful for everything I had done and that I had made it to that point of, of having songs that like, got millions and millions of plays and were used by major film and TV and getting to play Red Rocks and the Hollywood Palladium and just things like that. Like, I'm, I'm so happy I did it. But I knew, yeah, touring was just probably not the life I wanted for the rest of my life. And so I was thinking about an mba because I was like, I do have a lot of entrepreneurial background. Like, part of my degree from Thornton Music was in music business. And I had done a lot of, as a, as an artist, if anyone here is an art or honestly, probably everything we do now as creative people, like, we do have to know how to sell ourselves. Like, we are all entrepreneurs in a lot of ways. And we have to brand ourselves. We have to communicate on social media about what we're good at. We have to network. And so I knew I Had done a lot of that as an artist. And then I also, I had managed a small business, the music school. So it's like, I think I can still be a creative person, but I also have a lot of quality business skills that can be used in creative ways that I want to have make more sense on my resume. Because as I was realizing I was thinking about transitioning, I was like, oh man, I've been a DJ for the past six years. A lot of people are not going to understand all of the business needs that go into being a professional dj. They're going to think I was drinking and partying and, and there is like, that does happen, but wow, you have to be professional to stay relevant in any arts landscape, but especially in that DJ landscape. People, there are so many people that want attention in that, in that space. And so I was thinking about an mba, but then also I was like, I was like, one day I was just like, I, I, I also just want to search what are emerging industries or like what are emerging skills like, just to make sure. Because I could also feel the way Covid changed our world so much, the way social media has changed, the way we market ourselves, the way we brander. So like, there's just, there was just a lot of change going on during that time. So I was like, I also, I bet there's some fields here that are changing or evolving and I could maybe work my way into one of these fields that's evolving and changing and, and rise to the top more quickly because there won't be a lot of people with years of experience with newer technologies like, you know, so that, so I did that search and that led me to Iovine and Young Academy at usc, which is where I'm, I'm in my last semester of my master's program there now. And that is an amazing program. It's called, you know, the master's program is Master of Science and integrated Design, Business and technology. So you can kind of choose, you can focus more on the business side. You can do way more of an MBA type of education there. You could go full on design, full like graphic design, visual design, go into fashion. And like also just a lot of students from that school between the undergrad and graduate program are entrepreneurs. Like there's 10 startups that have been successfully founded out of that school already. So it was an amazing, I feel so lucky that I found that place. I feel so lucky that I got in. It was an amazing combination of highly creative people, highly creative work mixed with really quality business sense. And like, okay, it's awesome to be a highly creative person but how are you going to like really make the most money you can from that or make money from that? And I say that not to say like I want to be a millionaire or a billionaire. It's, it's like no, no. How can I use my creative skills to make, you know, make enough money that I can have a quality work life balance? Like that, that was more my mind frame. It was like I, I know these creative skills I have like if I find the right area to work in, which is now where I'm a ui, UI UX designer, I can get paid well for like my creative built my creative skills, my business skills and I can also have a quality work life balance. And that I knew was going to be what I needed for what I wanted out of my life and just also like my mental health. Like there was such an incredible lack of work life balance. Being a music, music artist, which on one level is really cool and then on one level just gets really, really tiring. So yeah, I got into the program and I, what can I say? Like I, I sort of, I started working in the Extended Reality Lab at the school within my second semester. I was, I'm, I'm pretty good at networking. Like having been an artist, having been on stage as a performer, having to do a little bit of sales when I was at the music school I knew that going into this program a huge part of the value I was going to get was just expanding my network meeting I wanted everyone in. It's a small program. I was like, I just, I think I want everyone to, just to know who I am. Not, not you know, not like for attention but just like from, for a networking purpose. Like that's where so much more value is going to come from. And so I, you know that that was a goal of mine. Um, and I've def, I've two years in like I've achieved that. So I, I was, I started working at the Extended Reality Lab. I went in as the interactive audio and spatial audio expert. So I used my high level audio skills as my way in. But then that led to me doing now I'm just a UI UX expert and the project that I'm leading as a consultant through the Extended Reality Lab at USC is we are doing research all semester and we started in the summer on the Apple Vision Pro and educational uses for the Apple Vision Pro. So I definitely used my, my high level like audio skills in my resume as a way in. But I Knew. Oh, no, no, I really want my, my expertise. Really. What you said at the beginning, Brett, lies at the intersection of spatial, visual and sound design. And I mentioned storytelling in that, you know, introduction to who I am as well, because sound is an incredibly powerful storytelling device. And this is like, I, I've ended up lecturing at the school, I've ended up lecturing in Thornton School of Music again on things like sonic branding and UI sound design. I had a lecture just called Sound and Emotion. And what I, I understood it, you know, inherently because I grew up loving music and writing music. But what I found as I was transitioning into this more design world is that sound in the, before marketing for branding, especially as we're talking about virtual reality experiences, any kind of immersive experience, sound is so, so necessary and so, so powerful in telling the story that you want, whether it's a marketing campaign, whether it's identifying what your brand is and trying to get it to stand out amongst the competition, whether you're giving presentations. I give so many presentations now and me having been a professional performer and also being able to bring in bits of sound design and music into my presentations, like, just makes me look so much more professional. And I, I approach it like I'm still entertaining, even though it's not the same as stepping on stage at a club or something like that. Like, if you want people to listen to you, like, engage them, entertain them and like, that's valuable for you as a salesperson, as a marketing person. For me as a designer, I, I get to come up with cool ideas, but then I then have to sell those ideas to my bosses or to brands and, and get them on board with like what I'm, what I've designed or what I'm thinking. And a big part of that comes down to meetings like this, where I'm giving a presentation, I'm, I'm storytelling. I, I need to, if I can engage them and entertain them, like, they're probably, they're more likely to, to listen to me and like my ideas. So soundman was my way into to storytelling, but how much I understood about the power of storytelling through being a songwriter has continued to evolve and, and just like help my career so much. And so I, you know, was working at the school a bit. I was working at a, a design firm part time in la, like interactive art and architecture design firm. So that's like things that go to music festivals, like interactive sound and light installations that go to music festivals or exist in public plazas or like brand activations and then that led to me, I. Through the program at usc, I was hired in the spring as a design strategist for Honda, which was so cool, man. Like, the way, the way that so many different kinds of technology get integrated into our cars and the way that's honestly evolving even more so is so exciting like you are. And as we're, you know, talking a lot about autonomous driving, that was a lot of what we focused on because we were looking towards the future of Honda. They were like, look, with autonomous driving, this is no longer just like a. It's. It's much more like a living room now. And how do we get people to enjoy their time in this mobile living room, which is kind of what it will more so turn into. And so now it's like all these entertainment options. Like, yeah, we're talking about sound, we're talking about sound design and you know, lighting cues. We're talking about interacting with like AI assistants through voice command or, or through gesture control. And so that was so cool to get to work with a company like Honda as a strategist looking into the future. And then I was hired by Brunswick Boat Group, which is a. The biggest corporation in the world for like marine recreation and boats. So, you know, they own 40 major brands, everything from like Boston Whaler to, to Sea Ray to Mercury Motors. Like they. So that is very, you know, we're on the water, but it's still mobility and it's still a lot of like this experience that people have while they're, they're on the boat. How do we integrate like digital screens and sound design and, and things to make people enjoy that experience more, remind them of the brand. You know, all, all of that plays into the work that I do now for, for Brunswick Boat Group as a UI UX designer. And still I'm giving presentations all, all the time. And, and it has served me so well having been a, a performer and a storyteller to begin with. The, the way I've been able to like influence some of the work we do at this company so quickly is because I, I've given presentations to the whole corporation, like within the first few months I was there. And I'm totally comfortable doing that. So it's been really exciting the past year, like how much career growth has, has happened even just in the past year. But it's, it's amazing to me how much of the foundation I was building, like just being a songwriter, being a performer, being an entrepreneur, as a musician, like all of that comes into play with what I do now. And it's this weird, it's this weird thing where I look at the skills I use on like on a week to week basis and just the way all these random stops along my career path, like somehow have now converged and they create this skill set that I have that is pretty unique. And that's part of why I've been able to move up like relatively quickly in this design field too. But I would have never known these different skills that I've been developing over the past 15 years would somehow all work together in the type of design work that I do now and the type of design strategy work that I do now. Freddie, I gotta tell you, like, you are an amazing, an amazing speaker. First of all, I love how you're just reflecting on where you've been, where you are now, how it all intertwines. I have to applaud your 21st century skills across the board. From the self awareness, the digital fluency, knowing when to be adaptable, when to pivot, that entrepreneurial mindset, the problem solving, all of that which is so needed. The fact that you, you knew exactly what you wanted out of the college experience and how important that networking aspect is. There's some people go to college and it's all about the grades. There's some people who go there and know that that's natural networking. The fact that you love being around creative people, people only makes you a better individual, more talented and more creative, right? It, it raises the, the playing field. When you were talking about sound design in the car, it just, it, it sold me for a second because I, I can think of so many examples now from the speakers that are right in the headset, in the Polestar or in the Volvo. The quality Atmos that's being put. The Atmos sound that's now being put into cars. I'm obviously a music lover myself, so even if it's a five minute drive, I want to be bumping and I want to hear all my levels right? You know, like, so when, when I go and I look at a car, I'm the, I'm the one who's blasting it and changing it. And they're like, let's take it for a drive. And I'm like, no, no, no, let's check out like everything else. But even going further, you know, you were talking about like BMW has that thing where you could just go with your finger and raise the volume, lower the volume, right? Like obviously Tesla has a lot of technology but lacks a lot of other things. And I'm thinking like even Porsche has a. Most people go, oh, the electric cars are too quiet. I like my muscle car and it rooms when I put on the gas and I could feel. Right. So Porsche did a sound design to where it. They created the sound of what the motor should sound like in the electric car. Right. So even that is another example of where sound design and what you're talking about, like we take for granted where we see all these screens and where things are, you know, where the lighting is and so forth. So I commend the work you're doing. Obviously going to a Coachella, you're paying in all those huge festivals, those art installations are a big experience and people are paying for that. So I love that you're in the forefront of. You just know where your skills are. I love the fact of doing. I'm going to come back to your growth mindset here. Dealing with the band being that successful, being that close and not, not getting over the hump. It comes back to like when you fall off the horse, do you get back right up and like people with strong growth mindset do that and then doing it as a dj, right. Total different experience, but the same grind. Right. Like a lot of traveling for that ultimate high of connecting with the audience. But you figured out how to connect with audiences and from sound, from visuals, I, I totally believe that's the future of, of music. I went to the sphere to see anima like that, like the visuals, like that was one of those things where like what am I seeing? How am I experiencing it? Right. So the fact that you could, you can do that and you can write your own music to it and, and create that experience. The future is so bright with the skills that, that you're bringing to the table. Not only an entrepreneurial mindset, but that intrapreneurial mindset where you're going to make a company millions and billions if you don't do it on your own and make yourself the millions and billions. Yeah, no, I love that the entrepreneur entrepreneurial is a very cool, more like modern trend and some more forward thinking like corporate environments. And yeah, it's amazing how, how creative you can be with like obviously growing up wanting to be a musician. It's like corporate like but it's like oh no, you can really be creative within. It really comes down to the people you're working with. So much more so than like what the work is. I mean obviously what the work is matters, but it has so much to do with, with the team that you're working with. And so that's also like part of what I, what I focus on as I look for work opportunities is, you know, what is, what is the working environment and how, how truly innovative and creative are these people while still, while still really being focused on what the business needs, which is making money. But, but you don't have to like you can complete be completely focused on what people enjoy and, and still make money. I mean I, that if you make something people really, really enjoy, your company will make money. Like that's why I, it, it's crazy to me. While some more like kind of MBA leaning people are like just, let's just crunch the numbers. And I'm like, yeah, but we're trying to connect with people and like you want people to like the most successful marketing campaigns are word of mouth marketing campaigns. And like so you really want to get to a place where you're creating products or services or experiences that people actually enjoy it. I truly believe it will make your business the most successful it could be. And you're so right on too. We are our own brands. Like I'm just thinking if we lost this time to speak right now, how much knowledge you're, you're dropping like that. I, I agree and I preach daily so it's so aligned. Talk me through a time where you said yes to an opportunity that maybe you weren't so, you know, like one of those days where you're like, I'm not going out, but you go out and some door opens. Give me one of those experiences where a door open just on you putting yourself out there. Because I believe like the other side side of success is on the other side of our comfort zone. Right. Like a lot of us are our own worst enemies. We don't get out there. You're the natural networker. The fact from just even performing and owning that audience and being able to communicate, give us a time where a door opened. Yeah, well, I mean I, I mean I would say even though I'd been performing my, you know, my whole or most of my life leading up to my DJ career, really taking off, stepping onto a stage like Red Rocks was crazy. And that, that actually was. So what had happened is my career started taking off, my first really big song started taking off and then covet happened. So I like everyone else was locked down for. So I didn't play for a year and a half. And then coming out of COVID was when the Marvel, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier happened. My song got placed in that and that became like A big viral moment. And then, and then they were like, okay, well now you're gonna play Red Rocks. So I, I had not played a show in a year and a half and they're like, now you get to go do the thing that you've dreamed of for your whole life. And I was so, you know, obviously so excited. But wow, that was like very nerve wracking and stepping out of my comfort zone to get ready to, to need to command a stage. Like that is just different. It's just different than a smaller club or something like that. So that, that was a moment where I was like, I'm either gonna meet this moment or I'm not, but it's gonna happen either way. So like, I might as well do everything I can to prep to like, just, just meet that moment and be ready for it. So I had that after. But honestly, after doing Red Rocks and being out and seeing like 6,000 people out there, I was like, okay, like the next time I did a really big venue like Hollywood Palladium, I was a little bit more ready for that. But. But yeah, like meeting, meeting a moment like that, like Red Rocks, that was so huge in my life and had so much weight from just like the past 15 years of my life, like really gave me quite a bit of confidence to, to just prepare day by day. Like, don't try and take it all in at once. Prepare for that big moment day by day. And then when the day comes, just, just do what you practiced. Like, just, just meet that moment and like you're ready for it. Like you're, you're worth it kind of thing, you know, and then another one would, would honestly be going into the master's program at usc, the Integrated Design Master's program. Like that, that was definitely. There were a lot of people in my life who did not understand how I was making that connection between what my past skill set was and what I could see for the, the version of this future of interaction design and experiential design. I knew, I knew it could work. Like, I. Being at music festivals, I mean, I didn't know exactly how. I shouldn't say, like, oh, I knew like it was a risk. It was like, okay, this is different enough. I don't want to cut you off. It was a risk. But something you did that I think is very intelligent and very foretelling is looking what are the trends that are coming around the corner and how can I be ahead of those people? Like, you know, that is the intelligence, that's that entrepreneurial Problem solving. You know, I just want to give you your flowers there. No, that really. And that, and that worked out. But even with that, it's like we don't know exactly what the, what trends are going to play out. But, you know, my intuition was leading in that direction. Like, I, I knew I would enjoy the work I was doing too. Like, I knew I would give it my all. I knew I would be passionate and I knew I would work really hard at it. And so I, I was confident in that aspect of it. And then, but, but to be honest, the way it's all come together, like kind of according to the plan that I was envisioning, it's like, it still is kind of surprising to me in a way. Like, oh my God, this is really all happening. But it's, it's so cool. But it, but it really was exactly what you said. Like, I knew I was. There's enough emerging technology out there that we're all get. That's getting integrated to so many different aspects of our life and so many different major brands and things are using new kinds of technology. I, I definitely knew, okay, with any new technology, there will be no one who has five years of professional experience working with this. So I won't need to compete with people on years of. I know I could, I could do the same level of work that someone's been doing longer than I have, but on a resume, it's tough. You know, when you're looking at job interviews and stuff, it's like, oh, yeah, I only have two years of experience. Like, oh, well, we need someone with five years of experience. So I definitely knew that. Starting to focus on more of this like XR technology and new technology for interaction design. Everyone's new to it. Yes, it's, it's very, very intelligent and a very good way to navigate to find where you belong. I have one last question, then I want to open it up because people can ask you questions on sound design and. Yeah, and creating your dream project. What, what is. You know, if there's something that, you know, you, Is there something you want to work on? Is it a video game soundtrack or a certain movie or something in the festival design experience? Something. Yeah, I mean, so I, there's a lot, I have a lot of dreams. That's, that's the, the, the honest answer. I think also, like my, it was so interesting. Like I achieved what I, I dreamed of as a, as a kid, you know, Like, I, I really did dream of being on stage in front of thousands of people and Seeing all the hands going and people like chanting my name, like, and, and I was so lucky to have gotten to experience that. So like that, that really was the kind of more like life, you know, like that a really life long dream of just getting to that, that moment or moments like that. But now, you know, I really want to. Wow, there's two. I mean, so, like, we're working on a really cool project for, for the boat group. We have a big installation booth at CES in Las Vegas in January, and we have five different installations. Two of those are like immersive simulators, and three of them are like physical boats with interactive elements. And so like, you know, this isn't like my lifelong dream, but like getting this whole immersive experience to come together and like, really tell a really cool and exciting story around what we see, the future of the boating experience. To be on a platform like ces, I'm, I'm definitely really focused in on that right now and so excited that I get to be a part of a, a project like that. I mean, it's like CES is like red, you know, like one of the biggest things you could do as, like, as a tech, as a tech designer. So, you know, that, that's definitely a dream. I mean, I, I have new music that I'm working on and I'm collaborating with a friend on creating for Apple Vision Pro or curved immersive screens. This like 30 minute. I have like, you know, six songs, so it's about 35, 40 minutes. A narrative, an immersive narrative. Like we're going to use game building engines, you know, like probably Unity or Unreal or. He's handling more of the visual side of that. But yeah, like it's, it's immersive storytelling is opening up new ways to tell stories. Like, we no longer have to tell stories in a linear fashion, which is wild. Like, it really is, because once you put someone into an immersive space, you don't get to dictate where they go first, where they go second. So you have to create a story that can unfold in any number of pathways and still be exciting and make sense. And so, you know, CES is a, is a, that installation, you know, those installations focused around what Brunswick wants to envision for the future is really cool. But I think, you know, probably as I look beyond, like, me personally as more of an artist, I would, I would love to create at least one very cool, non linear, immersive narrative experience, you know, whether that's in an art museum. Or in a VR headset, I'm not exactly sure. But I have some ideas for stories that don't have to be told linearly. And honestly, non linear storytelling isn't like new all like other. We've, we've messed around with this concept before and like video games honestly can, can be non linear storytelling like depending on how like that you know the gameplay is laid out. But like you don't necessarily, not everyone necessarily takes the same path through, through a video game and, but honestly even like real, real life isn't necessarily like linear storytelling. Like I'm meeting you all for the first time. You're hearing, you're meeting me at this point in my life, you're hearing about all my past and then if we talk in the future like we'll continue to get to know each other then. But it's not like you all met me when I was 10 years old and I've watched my story evolve. Like I'm, I'm catching you all up on what happened in the past. So yeah, just diving more into non linear storytelling and the experiences that could create is, is something I'm focused on. Amen. I love it. All right, let's real quickly we're going to be respectful of Freddie's time questions. Quargs, you got the first question. I see the first hand. Go for it. Go ahead and unmute. I guess I have a couple of parts to this. So at first, my first part of my question is would you say networking is something that like came naturally to you? And then the second part of my question is like how do you juggle like the mindsets and, and like flow states? Like the different mindset and flow states involved in like artistic creation as opposed to like software development? Yeah, absolutely. Well, so first of all, honestly, networking didn't come completely naturally to me. I think performing much more so came naturally to me because like performing is very defined. Like you're on stage, like you need to be performing. Now networking is a little bit more of like social situations or, or you know, mixers or things like that. And so when networking really started to make a lot more sense to me is when I was, was not approaching it like oh my God, I need to go, I need to go meet this person because they, I can get something from them. I got a lot better at networking where I was like, I just want to meet interesting people. I want to have interesting conversations with people and I don't, I don't want them to feel and I want it to be genuine, like genuine Networking and just talking with people like that are interested in what you're interested in is so much better than like going up and trying to, to meet someone and it being very obvious that you're just trying to get something out of them. And that was something I learned in the music industry too. The entertain entertainment industry has a lot of people who are clearly kind of like fake or developing like relationships for, for fake, not genuine reasons. So as soon as I gained more confidence in what my or knew what my skills were like what I could offer and I focused more on just trying to have interesting conversations with people that, that I was interested in meeting. My networking just got so much more effective. So that's. But, but I had to learn that like it wasn't, it wasn't totally natural. And then juggling the different frames of mind. I will like what was so interesting about becoming a full time artist and music producer was. It was too much time. It was too much time on that one creative process for me. It. That actually messed me up a little bit more. Like I was actually so much like when I was managing the school and writing those songs that really have my career, I, I had just very defined time like oh, I have an hour now to work on this song. And so I wasn't overthinking, you know, I was just doing and I was, it was like a nice break from the other work that I was doing like being creative and having that creative outlet. So like that I realized actually was way better for my creative process is to kind of have multiple things going on because if I have all day to work on one song I'm going to overthink it and like there's just no, it's hard to get around that. So I funny enough recognize, you know, I definitely have a bit of adhd. Like I recognize that oh if I have multiple projects on my to do list I'll. I'll probably be better at all of them because I won't have time to overthink or over scrutinize on any single thing. Great, great questions, solid answers. Well so for interactive experiences like the company where I work now as a UI UX designer, every. Everything I work on is how people interact with our boats. Whether that's the technology on board or whether that's like the physical product design, like the seats, the spatial layout. Like everything I do has to do with how people interact with those boats and then that's also tying into like mobile devices and tablets and surfaces and how those connect with the technology on board. So, so all of that is interaction design in an immersive setting. I mean real life is immersive. I, I think it's so funny that immersive has become such a like you know, sort of a buzzword. The go to it. It's kind of like reality television. It's like honestly reality. Real life is long form immersive content. Like so. But so yeah. So. So anyways the, the work that I do now is totally based around interaction design and, and working with sound and light interaction and screen interaction and creating bits of sound design using graphic design. Like we're, we're finalizing the, the UI design which is all graphic design of our AI personality. And so that's, that is how I really plan on using those skills as a UI UX designer is whether it's for like the graphic design or like app design on mobile phones or computers or if as we're, you know, we're really starting to talk more about mixed reality. Like so when you're in a, in a VR headset and you have like a heads up display, I don't like you see like the icons overlaid in your real world environment. And so now instead of that just being like a 2D icon of something, it's, it's now 3D. And so, so like my graphic design skills like straddle between 2D and 3D work with the UI UX work that I do. And yeah, I mean as an artist, as just more, way more just on the art side, I did a really cool project with the Music center here in LA about a year ago which is like Walt Disney Concert hall and I got to as a storytelling exercise. For the end of this project I was the one. I designed two immersive augmented reality app like experiences. So using your mobile phone I created little worlds that you could walk through and, and I employed sound design really effectively to actually make them feel immersive. So once I have a little bit of time I want to finish those, you know, like the professional version of those and they said they would, you know, deploy them on the, the main plaza at the Music center in la. So you know that, that I'll always, I'll always be creative. So that's kind of like more of an arts project like closer on the horizon. But all of, but all of the work that I do is interactive and immersive now and whether it's for boats or, or something else. Freddie, you are an amazing speaker. Like I said, I want to thank you for making time for us tonight on Breaking the Biz. Excellent conversation. So important for the next generation of creatives to. To hear someone on the forefront and doing big things. And where. Where can we follow you? Yeah. So my artist name is Party with Ray. All one word. I can. And I can send this to you too. So my. I have an Instagram for that account where I, you know, I still post stuff. I still, I still dj. I mean, there's so many gigs around la. Like, I still, I played a really cool festival here in LA a few weeks ago and I do post some design work on there. I mean, LinkedIn. Please feel free to connect with me on. On LinkedIn. That's where, like, all of my design work goes up and that's where my portfolio is. And Spotify, you know, my Spotify page for my music. So perfect. LinkedIn, Instagram, Spotify. Yeah. We look forward to supporting and following you. Good luck with dad. Good luck with the future of music and everything you're doing. God bless you. Good karma to you and have a wonderful night. Thank you, everyone, for joining us. Thank you. Yeah. Bye, everyone. Bye bye. Nice to be here. Bye bye. Thank you for being with us.[Host] - As we conclude another enriching episode, we hope you've 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 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.