Music Makers

by Evan Speiser

Walk into any record store and take a quick look around. Chances are, you are going to see the latest N’Sync album or Britney Spears album prom-inently displayed. Take a look on the magazine stands - popular bands are publicized with glossy photos on many magazine covers.

While the public gets to see the finished product of a major musical project, they rarely, if ever, get to see, who produces, writes and helps to create the sound of the bands. TeenSpeak recently got a chance to speak with two major forces behind popular music today.

Bradley Daymond and Alex Greggs are producers and songwriters who have worked with N’Sync Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilara, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child and Michael Jackson. What’s truly amazing about these two creative talents is that they have climbed to the top of their industry at such a young age. Brad has come a long way in a short time after leaving his first band after it went platinum in his homeland of Canada. This setback was but a speed bump on Brad’s road to success. He persevered by contacting people in the industry until he was able to get a job as a songwriter or producer. Alex, tired of playing other people’s music over the radio was eager to make his own music, and through contacts that he had established in the industry as a songwriter and remixer, eventually connected with Brad. This duo has proven to be the best thing that has happened in their lives.

There are many reasons why their business partnership has become a profit center. Their creative mastery has earned them a lot of respect which has, in turn, opened up the opportunities to work with who’s who in the music industry. Writing songs with N’Sync’s JC, and Justin has been just part of the fun. But, Brad and Alex are discovering that they are filling an increasingly important need. There have been sweeping changes in the music industry which have, according to a New York TimesArts & Leisure article, Sunday February 11, 2001, "...finally figured out how to do without musicians, those pesky varmints." Brad agrees, stating, "Artists that came out then had to be better at what they did because there wasn’t the technology like there is today." Conventional pop music has, to a certain extent, been replaced with the use of a myriad of computerized tools that piece together a song. Alex commented that, "We are con-stantly buying new equipment to make new sounds."

Alex and Brad spend a lot of time working with the guys from N’Sync. JC, Justin and Lance are frequently found in the studio with their producers trying to create new song ideas. Hard work is a twelve hour day in the studio. Although this sounds very difficult, it is what musicians are generally expected to do. For people like Alex and Brad, they enjoy every minute of it. Brad explains, "Doing something that you love to do - I think that is the number one goal in life. To be able to achieve what is inside you as opposed to what other people expect you to do."