By Cam Miller
Luke LaPrad is a 21-year-old up-and-coming artist from Monroe, Michigan, where he grew up with two sisters, both musically inclined, as well. He is currently attending Spring Arbor University on scholarship for track and cross country and pursuing a degree in business. He spent a summer in Nashville studying at the Contemporary Music Center where he was able to develop his craft surrounded and supported by like-minded individuals. Aside from the sports he plays and writing/producing music, he also loves visual arts, especially drawing, painting, and tattoos.
Cam Miller: What do you hope to do after graduation?
Luke LaPrad: I want to work for a record label. Maybe be a talent search, but I also want to produce for people, share my gift and help them bring their ideas to light. I feel like that would be fun because I really enjoy doing that. I could sit at a computer for hours just producing music and new sounds, but I would probably have to work my way up to that. Maybe start out working for a marketing team at a record label and meeting new people, making connections, and hopefully moving to Nashville.
CM: How did you initially get into music?
LL: That’s a question loaded with answers. When I was younger, around sixth or seventh grade, my mom decided to get me into piano lessons, and I hated it because they were telling me what to do. I ended up quitting in eighth grade because I hated it so much. Then around junior year of high school, I don’t remember what I did, but I got grounded from music for a whole year, so I started messing around and making my own music. I bought a guitar, started writing as an outlet, and found out that I had this passion for writing. Then I started picking piano back up, starting out just playing by ear and using what I learned before from lessons as well as YouTube videos to build my knowledge from. And then I found I had a really deep passion for sharing my struggles with others and trying to create something people with brains like mine could relate to. That part is especially important since listening to music is such a huge outlet because you’re able to just relate and feel comforted and forget about your problems for a little while, and I enjoy bringing that to the world.
CM: So how long exactly have you been making your own music?
LL: Since I was about sixteen, so about five years.
CM: And what all instruments do you play?
LL: Guitar and piano are my two main ones, but I also play a little bass, drums, banjo, ukulele. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but I can also play the balalaika. It’s a Russian instrument, almost like a triangular ukulele. It’s got a very interesting sound. And I also really like playing the electric guitar, too.
CM: How do you juggle school, music, sports, and extracurriculars?
LL: I’m honestly still trying to figure that out myself.
CM: I mean, that’s most of us, right?
LL: Yeah. I stress myself out a lot, but scheduling does help, at least whenever I’m able to buckle down and actually do that.
CM: What keeps you from getting discouraged with making your music when there’s so much going on in your life?
LL: Probably seeing others make music. Whenever other people share their craft with me, it just amps me up and gets me hyped about doing it myself. Plus, music is what keeps me from getting discouraged mentally, just sitting at a piano and playing out my thoughts is like therapy, so it balances out.
CM: What inspires you and your music?
LL: A lot of the time it’s experiences I’ve gone through, but my friends have also given me inspiration with some of their experiences.
CM: And what do you hope your music will do for people?
LL: I hope that I can create something that helps people, that gives somebody a release. Somebody listening to my music and thinking, “I’m not alone in this. There are other people who understand what I’m going through and how I feel. There are other people who understand my chaotic brain.” And of course, make music that people can just enjoy and vibe to.
CM: What’s the creative process like for you? Do you have any rituals or habits in your creative process?
LL: Yes, actually. If I’m like, “I’m going to sit down and write a song,” then I’ll start by finding a chord progression I like on the piano and build the lyrics off that. If I’m trying to write something more fast-paced, then I’ll start with the drum track. Keeping a notebook, digital or physical, is important too because there will always be times where inspiration strikes and you’re in the middle of class or in the car and you can’t get to a piano right away. And then sometimes you’ll come back to those ideas later and new ones will come from them.
CM: Which of your songs is your favorite, and which is your least favorite?
LL: The one I’m working on right now is probably my favorite. It’s called “Prada.” I put a lot of production effort and consciousness into it, and I really like the meaning behind this one as well. As far as released songs go, I like “Perfect Little World” a lot. It was from the very beginning of me getting into making music, and it means a lot to me. Least favorite, though, there’s one song that really comes to mind. It was when I was just getting into making music, and I had always told myself that every song I wrote would have meaning everywhere within it. But this song, I feel like I wrote it just to relieve something. It was after a breakup. It just doesn’t have as much meaning as I told myself all my music would. That’s “Talk.” Then there’s also “Come On Dude,” which is a lot of my friends’ favorite, but I feel like I could have done so much better on the production of it.
CM: Which of your songs is the most important to you, and what does it mean to you personally?
LL: I released the two-song EP “Hey God,” which I don’t like listening to myself, but the lyrics have a lot of meaning to me. I grew up in a religious household, but I almost quit being religious for a while. But I started my own spiritual journey, and it’s helped me come to terms with a lot of things. Also, a lot of times, I’ll write things down in general just to shout into the void and never think about it again, but I decided to make these two into songs. When I did that, I got a lot of messages saying that those songs helped people. Seeing that something I’d created did that really changed my view on the music I was making, and it gave me a sense of purpose and made me want to keep doing it. I want to give people hope.
CM: Even though you’re still in the early stages of your music career, is there anything you would have loved to know when you first started making your own music to share with the world?
LL: That you shouldn’t be afraid to be vulnerable. A lot of people are going through the same stuff and will be able to relate to you. Also, it’s important to surround yourself with people who share the same passion. Going to CMC in Nashville for fifteen weeks helped me learn way more than I had learned in the previous four years of trying to learn music just on my own.
CM: And lastly, what advice do you have for people who want to pursue music?
LL: Do it! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there because the longer you wait, that’s time being wasted. If you really want to do something with it, if you really have the passion for it, dedicate yourself and devote time to it, and you won’t regret it.
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