6 Questions With Line 6's Steve DeFuria

Musician, author (that's one of his books on the left), programmer and musical industry executive Steve DeFuria now focuses all of those experiences in his current position as vice-president of corporate strategy and planning at Line 6. Previously the director of product development at Line 6, Steve oversaw the creation and development of a number of the company's most successful products. We've been great friends for many, many years, and I'm pleased that he's willing to answer this week's "6 Questions."

1) How did you break into the business?
Which business? Looking back from today, I’ve broken into more than a few over the years—with more to come. It’s not so much “breaking in” as “breaking through.” With hindsight, I think there is a pattern to what I do:
   · I develop a passionate curiosity about achieving a desired future state or solving a significant problem.
   · I commit publicly to achieving or solving it in advance of knowing how I will do it (By publically, I don’t mean taking out an ad in the Times, but going on the record with the other stakeholders in the project or venture—telling I’m on the hook for the results)
   · I go to work on it by first standing in a future where it has already been accomplished and then I “reverse engineer” the steps it took to get there. That done, I stand in the present and go to work on the steps.
   · Being unencumbered by a formal education seems to have been a success factor for me as well…

2) What makes you unique?
The choices I make given the circumstances and conditions—and the degree to which I am in “the here and now” when I make them. The circumstances and conditions can be anything, such as improvising a solo on stage, designing a DSP algorithm for an audio processor, creating a digital image for gallery exhibition, reading the surf to find a good spot to fish, or creating a multi-year strategy for organizational growth. Being in “the here and now” simply means being fully present when the choices are made—which in turn often means not being aware that you are making the choices at the time—you are just “doing”. For me, the best stuff comes from the Zen of being “in the moment” That is best enabled by having a deep well from which to draw inspiration and spark action. I try to keep the well fresh and full by continuous exposure to new ideas from (what might seem to be) unrelated sources.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
Frank Zappa. Working with Frank changed my worldview profoundly and irrevocably. He blew the doors off of my pre-conceived notions of how to think about what is possible.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
My job (corporate strategy and planning for Line 6) is forward looking, challenging, results-oriented and I get to invent it as I go. The team I work with is driven, creative, highly skilled and often funny as hell.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
I’m fortunate enough to have found answering this to be a real struggle--so much to chose from, so much yet to come!

Here’s a very happy moment that I associate with a particular place, time and people.

Florence, August 2004, in the Piazza della Signoria with my wife Barbara, her mother and my dad—during what turned out to be our last trip with either of our remaining parents…
We were standing on the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio marveling at “graffiti” carved into the wall of the building centuries ago. The graffiti is a face in profile carved by Michelangelo. The story –as we heard it—was that Michelangelo carved it on a drunken bet (some attribute the carving to Giotto). He boasted that even blind folded—he could do a better face than Neptune’s in Bartolomeo Ammannati’s fountain. The fountain is a center-piece of the piazza. The result remains there to this day. It’s not in the guide books. There is no sign. If you can locate it, you can walk right up to it and run your fingers over features carved by the master.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
“It’s not about you,” Bob Elliott, executive business coach & personal transformation guru.

Second best piece of advice--see Dave McCarthy’s response to this question.

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Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

6 Questions For Pro Audio PR Guy Daniel Keller

Writer, musician and technology uber-geek Daniel Keller founded Get It In Writing in 2002 and has provided his various communication talents to a number of hi-profile companies in the professional audio industry. Daniel's audio and music clients include Ampeg, Avid, Community, Mackie, Tascam, Shure and Meyer, as well as green companies such as Arizona Solar and Greenfuel Solar. Daniel also contributes articles to several magazines and websites and his latest can be found in the Universal Audio Webzine entitled, "Using Multiband EQ To Fix Common Mix Problems." He was kind enough to answer this weeks "6 Questions."


1) How did you break into the business?
I’m not sure I ever officially “broke in,” so much as evolved. I started as a musician in my teens, and pretty much every job I’ve had has been in the music industry. My current job is basically the culmination of all those different experiences, filtered through my own voice and my own perspective.

2) What makes you unique?
I’ve been fortunate to have had a good balance of right brain creative and left brain technical jobs, which I think has given me a good understanding of people’s different points of view. I can relate equally well to artists, engineers and corporate types. And since I don’t come from a traditional PR background, I think I take a more creative approach to it.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
It’s really difficult to point to a single influence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from so many great people, and I think that eclectic education is what makes me who I am.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is that I get paid to be creative. I get up every day and do something I love to do.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
Right here, right now. I can honestly say my life gets better all the time.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Never get too complacent.

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Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

6 Questions For Publisher Richard Feldman

Richard Feldman has lived a life of many successes in the music business, from hit songwriter for artists like Eric Clapton, to Grammy-winning producer for reggae legends Toots and The Maytals ("True Love"), to founder and publisher of his own Artists First Music, to the current president of the American Independent Music Publishers association (which is well worth the $60 fee for online membership for anyone intending to make any money from songwriting or publishing).

Here's Richard's answers to our 6 questions:

1) How did you break into the business?
Steady grind, friends who made it before I did, and finally a #1 record
which I wrote for Eric Clapton ("Promises").

2) What makes you unique?
Perspective as a fan, player, writer, producer and business man.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
Several:

1. JJ Cale and Leon Russell – humility in music and persona
2. Authors - Graham /Dodd – whose philosophy on value investing applies to music as well as – stock picking
3. Bill Willet - the guy I saw playing guitar for a bunch of girls when I was 12 years old.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
Not having to go through HR (Human Resources for you muso's who've never had a corporate job) reviews.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
On vacation - or when things click.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Advice I heard from someone who was advised by producer Billy Sherrill that the most
important word in the music business is the word "NEXT".

Don't forget to check out my music business blog "Music 3.0". Follow me on Twitter.

6 Questions For Studio Bassist Paul Ill

Today is the first installment of a new weekly feature called "6 Questions."  We'll ask 6 Questions of someone in the music industry and get some insight to various sides of the business.

The first one is with studio bassist extraordinaire Paul Ill. Paul has a list of record and touring credits and mile long, including Tina Turner, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Courtney Love, James Blunt, Daniel Powter and many more.

1) What was your big break?
My "big break" was being born into a very supportive family with an extremely musically talented older sister. That prepared me to meet drummer/songwriter Brain MacLeod. He introduced me to Linda Perry, to whom I owe most of my success.

2) What makes you unique?
Honestly, I'm not that special. But what I bring to the table is this: I really am genuinely enthusiastic about creating music and I really love playing bass. I do my best to play bass in the spirit of Jerry Jemmott with Atlantic, Duck Dunn with Stax, James Jamerson with Motown, David Hood with the Fame "Swamp Rats", John Paul Jones with Led Zeppelin, Doug Wimbush with Tackhead and the Sugarhill Gang, and Sir Paul McCartney with The Beatles. I grew up on Army basses playing in Soul and Psychedelic Hard Rock bands and I have been playing music virtually non-stop since I was 12. I am also a songwriter, composer and producer, and thanks to my supportive family, I have a Bachelor of Music Composition degree from Berklee College of Music. I do my best to combine all these musical and life experiences, and remain willing to access these experiences on behalf of whoever I am working with in the moment.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
My sister Paula.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
It's fun, it makes people feel good and it makes the world a better place.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
Right here, right now.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Trust God, clean house, help others.