Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian McDaniel.
Ian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started playing guitar when I was around 9 or 10 years old because I kept getting benched in baseball and wanted to be “good” at something. Music has always been in my life, though especially through my grandad (who helped raise me in my earliest years). He played drums all his life and was the one who put an instrument in my hand.
As I grew older, I joined the orchestra in 5th grade and started playing bass. I stuck with that up until my senior year of high school when I traded classical for psychedelic, joining my first band, Soma. You can hear that stuff in a deep corner of SoundCloud somewhere. It was around that time (in high school) when I started making beats. I always loved music, especially hip hop and rock, and wanted to be like the cats I was listening to (Alex B, Kanye, TOBACCO, Samiyam, J Dilla, Animal Collective, etc). Something about music that doesn’t quite fit the status quo has always got me.
It wasn’t until college that I got into the audio engineering aspect of things. After getting fed up with Calculus 3 and aerospace engineering, I switched to advertising with a minor in audio engineering at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide! lol). I just really wanted to learn how to make my music sound “professional”. Since then, I’ve been doing just that and helping others do the same through recording, mixing, producing and performing. Still not exactly where I want to be, but I’ve been able to make some stuff I’m really proud of and help others do the same. Even gotten to work with people I’ve looked up to for years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say it hasn’t been the “smoothest” road, but I’m grateful for how its turning out. As far as struggles, there have been many but for every struggle, there’s been a lesson. One of the biggest struggles I’ve overcome was drug addiction. Anyone who knew me during my active addiction knows I’ve come a long way and I’m grateful to God for that every day. That junk really wasn’t helpful to making my goals a reality. Over four years sober and that’s nothing short of a miracle from Christ himself.
Another struggle I’ve had has been simply believing in myself as I’ve learned and grown in my craft. Sometimes I still don’t know exactly what’s going and I’m not sure what to do, but as an entrepreneur and an artist, there’s not often anyone around who understands or can reassure me. I’ve learned (am learning) to roll with the challenges, lean into faith and understand that it’s all a process. I’m the only one who can execute the vision God has given me. I’m the only one living my life.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
My company is McDaniel Multimedia. If a project involves music production, recording, mixing, studio set up, promotion, etc. we do it! My primary focus is helping others get their sound right in every way; that’s what I’m passionate about. As far as what I’m most proud of, I’m most proud of our ability to do ANY genre of music and fully immerse ourselves in an artist’s vision and bring it to life sonically. We’ve done podcasts, studio installations, hip-hop, RnB, poetry, rock, EDM, regional Mexican music and more! I feel like that is what really sets me and my team apart from others. We truly do all we can to get the best performance, recording, mix and presentation of the projects we touch. No matter what it takes, we are there to serve the record and the artist. Hit us up if you ever need some sound work done.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
As cliche as it might sound, I don’t think I would do anything differently. If I had to choose two things, it would be: 1. Choose to seek out my goals earlier in life 2. Travel/live bicoastal earlier.
Through my career, I’ve gotten to collaborate with artists from all over the country (I even have a track w/ a guy in South Africa) and I’ve also had the opportunity to perform for and do sound for some of my heroes. Yet, I’ve kinda always had the feeling like if I would’ve done those two things earlier in life, I’d be “further,” but then I remember there’s no time like the present.
Contact Info:
- Website: ianmcdanielmusic.com
- Email: ianmcdanielmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianmcdanielmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianmcdanielmusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ianmcdmusic
- Other: https://ianmcdaniel.bandcamp.com/
Image Credit:
Jonathan Daniels
Anayeli McDaniel
Maddie Casadonte
Marcus Flewellen
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