Singer/Songwriter, Musician

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I got to be a part of a Shakespeare in the garden production of Much Ado About Nothing. I had the privilege of co-writing live music performed in between scenes and at other key moments. It was stripped down, raw and live, which was a special experience.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on a concept album inspired by my mental health journey, particularly through a mode of therapy called Internal Family Systems. I love the benefit that music has on mental health. If you're interested in learning more, please feel free to ask. You're welcome to find the project at https://justinrandolph.bandcamp.com/album/waking-up-concept-album-in-progress-pre-order

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both are valuable and have their place. Digital is more accessible, which is nice, but it can't replace the character of analog.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I promise to respect your work, your process and honor the stories behind the songs.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love collaborating with other people. I find I feed off of others' ideas, and the bouncing back and forth is so energizing. I love that what is created between two people could not exist without that relationship. I also love getting to know other people through their art.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Can you just take this idea and make something with it? Yes, I can, but I want it to represent you well. You have full permission to offer your feedback so that we can make something that feels and sounds good together.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Some people can underestimate the what all goes into the creative process. It's not an exact science, and it can be messy. We have to embrace the mess and follow the threads to see what emerges.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I start with goals, vision, and intended audience. This usually provides a good foundation to start from and provide the anchor throughout the process.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: You want someone who will understand your vision and goals and help you realize them if you're not sure. A great collaborator will also ask good questions and make space for both people's gifts to shine.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: piano, guitar, percussion (can they all count as one?)

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been a musician for over 30 years, though doing it off and on in different contexts. I've been a songwriter for 25 years. I studied applied ethnomusicology and have been teaching and training others in this field as well, helping communities to develop their own music and creative arts for different development purposes. In recent years, I've been reviving my own creative spirit and writing and releasing songs more. I find that when I develop my creative gifts it helps me encourage others to do the same.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My musical style is indie rock, singer/songwriter, mostly heartfelt piano-driven songs.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Sleeping At Last would be a dream come true. I resonate so much with Ryan's lyrics and musical choices. I know I would learn so much, and it would be such a joy.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Get good recording levels from the start. This will ensure a smoother way forward in the mixing stage.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Usually indie music - singer/songwriter, acoustic, rock, pop, folk, sometimes other genres for theatre productions

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Facilitation of the songwriting process as well as lyric writing and musical composition

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring thoughtful, heartfelt lyrics and complementary musical arrangements that captures the desired emotions. I thrive in collaboration, bouncing ideas back and forth. I bring questions to facilitate the discovery process while trying to explore deeply.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It depends on the projects, but for songwriting I like to record ideas and do free-writing or sense writing. Sometimes the lyrics drive the music, and sometimes it's the other way around. For recording, I often have an idea going into it on arrangement, but I like to experiment and be inspired. For client's work, I try to establish their vision and goals from the beginning in order to see them through.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a home studio setup with a few different microphones, digital piano with midi outputs, guitar and hand percussion instruments.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: Ryan O'Neal of Sleeping At Last has been a huge inspiration to me, from his concept albums to the behind the scenes podcasts, he creates with such intentionality. I love his collaborative spirit by inviting friends to contribute to his tracks. I also appreciate the songwriting of Ben Fold's, Andrew Osenga, and Jon Foreman.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Most of my work involves creating with other people, whether adding instruments on a friend's track, taking someone's song and creating the musical arrangement around it including recording and mixing, co-writing lyrics and music, and composing live music for a theatre production. I also have done songwriting coaching for students recently.