Students showcase their musical projects
By Jessica Skaggs
Student Darrik Getz is a local recording artist who claims to be “different” than other artists in the Kansas City area.
“My music is very heavily influenced by 80s and 90s R&B and pop,” he said. “It’s very different than most local artists. There’s not really anybody out there right now in Kansas City that’s doing their own production, writing and recording and everything the way that I am right now. I feel like a lot of people are singer-songwriter, guitar that kind of thing, so that kind of makes it hard to find a venue to play in and things like that.”
Music has been a part of Getz’s life ever since the earliest years of his childhood.
“I’ve always loved music, even when I was little I used to dance around and sing in my bedroom and goofy little kids stuff,” Getz said. “But I didn’t start actually working on music and writing music until my sophomore year of high school. My friend and I would write music in his basement, and he had his own personal home studio and we would sit down there for hours and hours and just write cheesy, stupid horrible songs.”
Getz however believes that’s the best place to begin.
“That’s where you have to start,” he said. “You just have to get in there and do it.”
After graduating from high school, Getz came to the college to take classes in the recording arts program. It was here where he learned to do his own production and recording, a freedom he enjoys.
“It’s nice, because you don’t have anyone else to rely on,” Getz said. “You don’t even have to worry about people stealing your music, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Getz mainly plays the piano, and claims to draw his inspiration from artists such as Jamie Jackson.
“I love, I really like music that makes me want to dance,” Getz said. “And so I mean she [Jackson] definitely has that going […] I think that just her as an artist and as a person is very inspirational. She’s got a very, very good work ethic and she’s not afraid to push the boundaries and to try something new, and she’s not afraid to offend people.”
For Getz, music is his way to balance the stress in his life and clear his conscience.
“When I sit down to write a song I’m not thinking, ’oh man this song is going to make me millions,’” he said. “I’m creating the type of music that I want to listen to, and I don’t really ever stop to think about what other people want to do. It’s all just kind of personal and whatever I am going through. So if someone ends up liking it and it ends up going somewhere then that’s great but to me it’s kind of a selfish thing.”
Although he does not currently perform anywhere, he hopes to start performing with the completion of his first album, expected to be released by the end of July. Getz is looking forward to creating his fan-base and getting his name out to those who will appreciate his music and style.
“The struggle right now is really finding venues that are going to take to my music and people who are going to want to listen to it,” he said. “ It’s very upbeat and very dancy, but there isn’t in Kansas City a huge market for it, so I’m going to have to build a fan base and build it myself, because there’s just not anything out there pre-existing out there with it.”
However, once Getz starts performing, fame and fortune is not the end goal.
“I’m not very preoccupied with fame,” he said. “My main concern is just being able to do what I love and do it as a living. If I find fame or fortune or whatever from that, then that’s great. But just as long as I can support myself and be happy doing what I love, that’s all I really care about.”
Article by Jessica Skaggs, managing editor, jskaggs4@jccc.edu.