The Career Musician

Michelle Elkin has served as choreographer for Sutton Foster and Jonathon Groff Live At Lincoln Center for PBS, the TV series Younger, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Young Sheldon, Boston Legal, Weeds, and Lifetime’s reality show, Your Mama Don’t Dance. She made her professional debut at the age of 8 in the movie musical “Annie,” and has worked in numerous films, television, commercial, and theater pr...

John Stoddart made his way to the big leagues as a piano player, composer and singer/songwriter. He and NOMAD met when they were both working with the legendary Kirk Whalum. Stoddart has worked with the likes of Celine Dion, Michael McDonald, Sandi Patty, Boney James, Al Jarreau, Will Downing, Take 6, Patti Austin and Kirk Whalum, and he's an artist in his own right. https://www.johnstoddart.com/...

Richard T. Bear has emerged. This legendary Career Musician has worked with the Blues Brothers, Billy Squier, Cher, Kiss, Steven Stills, Miami Vice, Pat Benatar and many more, and now he's gathered quite the cast of fellow legends to collaborate on his new single and video, "One Day at a Time," including Stephen Stills, Edgar Winter, Benmont Tench, Robby Krieger, Laurence Juber, Denny Seiwell of W...

Uli Bella’s freethinking mindset and respect for cultural influence has led him to where he stands today: A well-respected multi-instrumentalist, a Jiu Jitsu black belt, and founding member of the Grammy award winning band, Ozomatli. Uli has worked and collaborated with artists such as Santana, Fishbone, Maná, Gabriel Iglesias (comedian), Common, De La Sol and many more. Nomad had even worked alon...

It's true, per Nomad's decree, Marta Sofia Honer has been dubbed Beyoncé's Secret Weapon. But the truth is, she brings the secret sauce for a long list of serious names: Mariah Carey, BTS, Kamasi Washington, Portugal The Man, Lauren Hill and Ariana Grande. Marta is also active in the L.A. session world for film and T.V. and can be heard in the last season of The Good Place. No doubt, Marta had muc...

Sean Hurwitz has been crushing two massive gigs for quite some time now as guitarist for Smash Mouth and Enrique Iglesias. Learn how this Career Musician has held on to the gigs that have allowed him to find stability in an ever changing industry. Nomad also speaks with his friend Sean about Sean's YouTube Channel called Live Your Music Dreams. https://seanhurwitz.com/ @thecareermusician @nomadspl...

Nomad's good pal Curt Chambers is a guitar-slinger in his own fashion. While he's worked as a producer and songwriter with huge names like Dr. Dre and Eminem, he's blurring genre lines as he pursues his own kind of country music career. http://www.curtchambers.com/ @thecareermusician @nomadsplace 🖥 THE CAREER MUSICIAN WEBSITE: https://proseries.thecareermusician.com/ 🎧 LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST: htt...

Ericka Guitron is an artist who hasn't let anyone define her limits. She's taking her career to new heights after having toured the world with superstar Jason Derulo as the featured female singer of his show. She's now pursuing a solo career on her own merit after being dropped from a record deal, which she's proving she never needed in the first place. Ericka should be an inspiration to us all, a...

Steve Sinatra (no relation to Frank) has more on his mind than just drumming, though his resume includes artists such as Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Joe Nichols, Pat Green, and so on...Steve is focused on healing himself and others using techniques he's developed over the years, always linking to Source, Science, and Sound. If you've ever pondered y...

Maysa is the kind of singer who takes hold of a song and enraptures her audience in the palm of her hands, as she delivers lyrics, phrases, melodies and harmonies in a way that only she can. Blessed with an instantly identifiable honey-toned mezzo-soprano and an undeniably brilliant and magnetic stage presence, Maysa’s alluring vocals, candor,honesty, humor and purity as an artist make her a rarit...

J. Que Smith is a songwriter who has written a lot of hits with a lot of huge names: Jennifer Lopez ,Beyoncé, Fantasia, Ciara, Avant, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Usher, Omarion...the list goes on. But J. Que has taken on another passion in the realm of psychical fitness, and in this episode, Nomad is put through training, CrossFit style, while discussing details of J. Que's impressive career. h...

A&R man for McPherson Guitars and all around stand-up guy, Larry Klenc, shares his wisdom and knowledge when it comes to the world of endorsements. What's it take to get an endorsement? How do I keep an endorsement? Larry will help you understand what is really needed to have a symbiotic relationship with your sponsor, and to keep it that way! https://mcphersonguitars.com/ @thecareermusician @noma...

When Nomad needed a keyboard player for the Babyface Japan tour, Erksine Hawkins stuck out of the crowd. His professionalism and stacked resume got him a gig with Nomad and Babyface, but Erskine's list of credentials rolls on. He's a graduate of the prestigious music program at the University of North Texas. He's the founder and CEO of Key Element Entertainment. He's worked with artists such as Ri...

He's funky. He's experienced. He's made a living as a Career Musician in the belly of it all: Los Angeles. Kevin was discovered by none other than George Duke in a recording studio when Kevin was only 22. The opportunity to work on Duke's sessions was only a piece of what led Kevin to become as in-demand as he is now. Nomad and his friend Kevin Chokan discuss the particulars of being a career musi...

In this episode of The Career Musician, we will learn from our guest, Michael Elsner the business of music licensing. Michael’s career as a musician spans over 30 years being a guitarist, songwriter/composer, and music licensing guru. He has toured with artists of various genres, in a multitude of countries throughout the world. He has over 2,200 sync placements and has songs & compositions that h...

You remember Cardi B's Grammy performance of "Money," and the woman sitting at the blinged-out piano who played the most killer intro. That's Chloe Flower. But Chloe is much more than just a featured musician. Chloe is a classically trained pianist who studied at Manhattan School of Music. She's a philanthropist working to put an end to human trafficking. She's worked with top-name artists such as...

From the 516, NYC to sun-soaked LA! Joe has worked as a studio and touring guitarist for Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, The Backstreet Boys, and Israel Houghton to name a few! Augello and Nomad seem to be cut from the same cloth. They met in LA, both of Italian decent, both guitar slingers from Strong Island, they're around the same age and they even share the same guitar heroes. They join Joe Sat...

Sunna Wehrmeijer has found her niche as a career musician through the magic of Hollywood. A popular composer in the world of TV and film, Sunna has scored popular animated series such as DreamWorks "She-ra And The Princess of Power" and Warner Brothers' "Dorothy And The Wizard Of Oz." Sunna has also written music for blockbusters including "The Lego Ninjago Movie," "Holmes and Watson," "Nightcrawl...

John Norwood Fisher rocks the bass, but his experience in the industry has brought him to become an accomplished actor, writer and business person as well. He is a founding member of the band Fishbone, which formed in 1979 in Los Angeles and got their signature sound by fusing pop, funk, metal, reggae and soul music. NOMAD and Norwood get to talking about the many plates Norwood has spinning, and...

Jason Hartless began his professional career in 2007 at the age of 12, touring with former Uncle Kracker guitarist, Brian Schram, and in 2009 they toured together on Motley Crue’s Crue Fest II Tour. Now 25, Hartless has established himself as a touring/session drummer, and has landed gigs with legends such as Ted Nugent, Joe Lynn Turner & Mitch Ryder. Jason has been mentored by drummers such as Co...

Dwayne Smitty Smith is an extraordinary bass player who has earned recognition among industry pros. He's worked with artists such as George Howard, Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber, Anita Baker, Teena Marie, Natalie Cole, Kirk Whalum, Rachelle Ferrell, Tom Jones and 7 years with the legendary Isley Brothers. His talents have contributed to recordings with such artist as Will Downing, Ledisi, Paul Tayl...

This is the stuff that Career Musician dreams are made of. Carl Rydlund is no doubt an over-achiever. He started out with earning a degree in woodwinds and orchestration and went on to become a composer and conductor, but Carl knew he had more to offer, so he became a studio session guitarist! His list of credits for movies he's worked on as orchestrator, and/or guitarist, and/or conductor, and/or...

Considered by his peers as a "six-string virtuoso," Tariqh has no doubt earned such a distinction. He holds the position of Musical Director for multi-platinum recording artist, Josh Groban and was formally the Chair of the Guitar Department at L.A. Music Academy. Tariqh's resume is stacked with legendary names: He's worked with artists like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, George Duke,...

As the third guitar slinger of The Immediate Family band, Steve Postell unveils the secrets of his success in the music biz as a heavy hitter session cat, composer, producer and much more! Steve Postell is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/composer and producer. His latest solo CD for Immergent Records features a host of brilliant guests who have worked with him over the years. These include David Cro...

Waddy Watchel is one of the most well-known and respected performers in the music industry. His career as a guitarist, producer and composer has spanned many decades. From his early beginnings in the L.A. music scene in the 1970's playing with such artists as the Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Don Henley and Jackson Browne - to playing and...