Today we’d like to introduce you to Troy Thrash.
Troy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a Music Producer from Macon, GA. My interest in music was always been there. It came from growing up listening to Outkast, Goodie M.O.B. I also had an older cousin who marched on the drumline at Morris Brown College in the late 90’s who I inspired me to be a musician. I joined the band the first chance I got in the 6th grade all the way through my years at ASU. I taught myself how to play piano by ear in middle school and started making beats around 2012. Making music was always therapeutic to me. It was my way to release and express my day to day emotions, my form of keep a diary. I didn’t take it seriously until I got to college after a few artists on the campus noticed my talent. I graduated from Albany State University with a bachelors in Mass Communication (Electronic Media). Since then I’ve been advancing my craft everyday, gaining placements and studio internships along the way. Right now you can catch me cookin’ up at Walker Street Studios 2.0 in the Castleberry Hill District of Atlanta, GA. Grammy’s, #1 Hits, and platinum & gold plaques is on every producer’s wish list. But most importantly I want to make music that lasts forever and impacts the way people feel.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Anything worth wild is always going to come with hard times. I’m appreciative of the struggles I’ve had over the years because it helped mold me into the producer I am today. Had I not made so many mistakes I wouldn’t have the clairvoyance or understanding that is my calling. You have to have a lot of patience externally and internally and never give up on yourself. I struggled with consistency, some days are great and other days I go into complete slumps. I learned to trust my ear and not to think too much. Music sounds more organic when you let everything flow naturally. I would say the hardest part is juggling my personal life. It’s hard to not seem anti-social when you’re at a high level of focus. One thing I learned in life is that you can’t gain unless you’re willing to sacrifice.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m a music producer. I work at Turner Broadcast Systems in the day and pretty much make beats for the rest of the day, every day. I also founded a music production group, The WestWindz. I created the music collective with my childhood friends, Aaron Devereux, and Chris Tard. I’d say I’m most proud of creating that with them because we’ve done some amazing things together thus far. The reception we get from our music every day is inspiring. We’re close to half a million organic streams on Soundcloud, consistent love from people in countries all over the world, we’ve scored music for a couple of SVS Production feature films and we even had a record feature on Apple Beats1 Soulection Radio Episode #366 which is a big deal to us. I think what sets me apart is my courage to be myself, personally and musically.
What were you like growing up?
I was the type of kid that sat back, watched and soaked up everything in my environment and moved accordingly. I was raised by my entire family so I had a lot of examples of what to do and not to do. I think that I have a unique personality. I’ve always been the type to want to know what things are, how and why they are. I’ve always built solid relationships with my peers through principle and respect. That’s just how I was raised. I’m interested in a lot of things like music, art, literature, history, spirituality, engineering, architecture, food, traveling, etc. I like to be well versed and have a general understanding of any discussion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beatstars.com/troythrash
- Email: thrashbeatz@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thrash.wav
- Twitter: @thrashwav_
Image Credit:
Photographer: Travis Justice, Editor: Troy Thrash
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