Meet Russell McLaughlin | Owner of Galaxy Music & Arts Academy || Songwriter • Composer • Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Russell McLaughlin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Russell, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
There were so, so, so many considerations that went into starting my own business. For years, I supported myself and my life as a creative artist, composer, & touring musician by teaching private music lessons, group classes, workshops, camps, and a variety of multidisciplinary programs. During that time, I worked with different teaching outlets while also operating independently and got a feel for the things that seemed to work well – and more importantly, the things that seemed to work not-so-well. I often found myself thinking, “..if this was my place, I’d do X, Y, & Z”, and began to catalog each of those ideas – assuming one day, down the road (when my heart cooled on trying to be a rockstar), I’d ultimately open my own place.

Those thoughts and feelings compounded during the first lockdown wave of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Like most creative professionals and independent contractors – especially working musicians – my career faced complete devastation with the inability to exist in public amongst other people. After casting a wide net, looking to implement multiple income streams to keep paying my bills and remain afloat, I began having serious conversations with my sister – who is now my business partner – about the prospects of moving forward with what had previously been merely a pipe dream.

Leveraging her decades of experience in the business world and my extensive professional experience in the music business and Berklee education, we decided to make it official. Thus, Galaxy Music & Arts Academy was born in the summer of 2020!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So many things! I think the one of the things I’m most proud of is the thing that’s often been the most difficult: taking on multiple challenges at the same time and attempting to find balance between each one. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a tendency to proverbially (and sometimes literally) bite off a tad more than I can chew. That trend started at a super young age.

As a kid, I was always involved with something. My siblings and I played sports year-round, and were involved with community and school theatre. I started becoming obsessed with music in elementary school – and grew up during a time where just about everything was exciting and awesome: MTV & Nickelodeon, Nintendo, AOL, movies, books, bikes, ATVs, playing outside & in the woods with my friends, and so on. I was incredibly passionate about so many different things for so many different reasons, and often felt as though I was being pulled in several directions at once.

Rather than focusing on one activity or pastime, I did my best to dabble in as many as possible. This often led to overlapping rehearsals, practices, games, competitions, and shows. I honestly don’t know how I was able to make it all work – especially needing to have been carted around all over town by my parents (who had 3 other kids to take care of); for which, I am eternally grateful.

All of the above trickled into my creativity. Thanks to a third grade world geography assignment (and a VHS copy of “Cool Runnings”), I became fascinated with reggae and other world music. Around the same time, I developed a penchant for lyric and songwriting. Bands like Dave Matthews and 311 spoke to me in ways other music hadn’t previously. I also began to be influenced heavily by the music my parents loved – like the Beatles, Kris Kristofferson, and countless others. I began obsessing over their records (and a litany of others), listening ad nauseam until I had completely internalized and memorized every nuance, every second of each song.

My songwriting is indicative of a student, historian, and obsessee of music who curiously and insatiably draws inspiration from poetry, rhythm, and melodies spanning styles, time periods, and worldwide cultures. Because of this, I’ve had a difficult time genre-classifying the music that I’ve released the majority of my career.

My band, The Instructors, is equal parts reggae, funk, & jazz. But, we also have songs that draw on classic country music; others that pay tribute to hip hop, Irish folk music, fully composed classical music, afrobeat, electronic, bossa nova, and several other elements of pop/rock music that help us weave a sonic tapestry.

While remaining genre-fluid and exploratory has always been my creative goal with my original music projects, it’s presented some additional challenges – certainly trying to match up with similar bands while touring. At times, because of our diverse catalog, for reggae gigs we weren’t “reggae enough”, likewise for other genre-specific shows, tours, or festivals. During the early days of the band, that was definitely deflating at times feeling as if we were missing some kind of mark. As we pressed on, we began building a bit of a following – selling more tickets and albums – and felt like people were starting to “get” what we were trying to do, which is the ultimate validation for any creative artist.

While writing, recording, and playing gigs with The Instructors and as a solo artist, I received multiple inquiries and opportunities to work as a composer. This led to me founding my production company, Canary Red. With Canary Red I specialize in creating original music for animation, video, TV, radio, podcasts, and other audio/visual media. I was very fortunate to leverage existing creative partnerships into consistent composing work. It allows me to experiment with different genres, sounds, textures, forms, techniques, and to utilize instruments and software applications I don’t really play with while performing on stage – and otherwise maximize my creativity, while finding different ways to satisfy auditory needs laid out by each new client. Founding Canary Red, and the amazing projects I’ve been fortunate to participate in, has definitely been one of the highlights of my career thus far.

The path from my beginnings to where I am currently has felt like several blurry lifetimes on the longest and most ever-winding road. From culdesac daydreams, to high school drumline, to hitting the road playing gigs while skipping classes at Georgia College; then matriculating to Boston and graduating from Berklee College of Music, eventually returning to Atlanta – it’s been unbelievably difficult and equally rewarding. While there are plenty of things I’d try differently if given the chance at a do-over, I’m thankful for each triumph and failure I’ve endured along my journey.

The latest chapter, of course, is the founding of Galaxy Music & Arts Academy. We’ve been fully operational since Summer 2020, offering private lessons and group classes – both virtually and in-person. The biggest change has been trading in our temporary spaces for our brand-spankin’-new permanent home! We’ve recently completed our build-out and are super excited to celebrate our grand opening with an outdoor Block Party at our new location! Having our space will also allow us to expand our multidisciplinary course offerings beyond private music lessons, rock bands, camps, and workshops – check out www.galaxymusicarts.com for more info!

Each of my aforementioned roles – being a songwriter, being a bandleader, being a composer, being a music teacher, and being a business owner – are all full-time jobs. All of which are 24/7 pursuits. The hustle & grind never stops! It is intensely difficult at times trying to pour all of myself into each job individually, let alone trying to find balance between each. Then, of course, there’s life-work balance (or the illusion thereof): which seems silly to even try and distinguish between the two when so much of my time, energy, effort, and mental focus is spent revolving around furthering my works-in-progress.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a week long-trip, I’d def have a handful of must-do’s for eats and drinks ITP + OTP!

I’d have to suggest to grab a slice at Fellini’s, a burger at the Vortex and/or fish & chips from The Porter, catch a show at The Earl, and grab a nightcap at The Glenwood. You can’t skip walking The Beltline and grabbing a customary sunset selfie on the Jackson Street Bridge, sushi at Thaicoon off Briarcliff and late-night at Tin Roof. LATE late-night at R Thomas. Decatur: Brick Store Pub + Eddie’s Attic.

OTP: Summertime: gotta Shoot the Hooch! Gotta check out the hiking trails in the North Georgia mountains. Also, gotta check out BB’s Bagels, exit 12 off 400. It’s one of the best places to eat in the entire state! The Freakin Incan. Mac McGee’s.

Honorable mention: Braves/Hawks/ATL UTD, Rooftop @ Clermont, Clermont Lounge [duh.], Jinya Ramen, Tuk Tuk Thai, St Cecilia (and/or any of the Ford Fry joints), Flip Burger, Bartaco, The Varsity, any of the micro-breweries blowing up all over ITP+OTP!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are too many people to list who have meant so much to me and been critical in shaping me into the human I’ve become, and helped prop me up while I endured heavy weather on my journey through life. I’m unbelievably fortunate to have a circle of family – bound by blood and otherwise – who have been ineffably supportive, loving, and understanding, every single step from birth to adulthood: those who I’ve bonded with since I was a kid, those who I’ve had the privilege to make music with, those I’ve leaned on for guidance and advice, and those who have mentored me as I navigate a variety of business endeavors (many of whom check multiple aforementioned boxes). Words don’t adequately express the level of gratitude I feel.

I’ll take this opportunity to specifically shout out my older sister and business partner, Alison.

From being my first friend in life (even when we were “enemies”) to being the co-founder of Galaxy, she’s always been a guiding light and support beam. She’s always encouraged me to chase after my passions and dreams. She’s always believed in and been supportive of my artistic and creative pursuits – even if the path seemed arduous and impassable. In addition to being a never-ending source of life-hacks, she’s also been the glue holding our family together through dark and trying times.

Website: www.itsruss.com • www.galaxymusicarts.com • www.canaryred.com • www.theinstructorsATL.com

Instagram: @itsruss1 • @galaxymusicarts • @theinstructorsatl

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/itsruss

Twitter: @itsruss • @galaxymusicarts • @theinstructors

Image Credits
Lance Bryant. Russell Dreyer. Stephanie Heath.