Meet Katherine: In the Studio, In the Mix

Editor's Note: 

You already know D and Jules, but now its time to meet our promotions and publicity intern, Katherine! Innermix interns Tiffany and Kat (that's me!) will be be updating the blog weekly with the own fresh perspectives, so get to know them and let them know what you think in the comments. 

So D and Jules don’t know this yet, but the first time I met them I was intimidated, to say the least. This had nothing to do with their personalities, which are as warm and friendly in real life as they are on air—their jaw-dropping talent made me nervous about what I had gotten myself into.

I first had the chance to meet D and Jules in person in mid-January, after a long process of digital interviews and conferences about Innermix and what I could potentially bring to the team. Excited by the promise of working with a multi-faceted entertainment and media duo, I was hooked from our first phone call and thrilled when they asked me to come onto the team as a promotions and publicity intern. I was ready to start the New Year with a new work family, and itching to put faces to the voices I had become so familiar with.

Our first meeting was in the recording studio. In keeping with my annoying paranoia regarding tardiness (I regularly set four alarms and show up 15 minutes early to everything, out of the irrational fear that my clock has slowed down or tricked me into thinking I have more time), I got to the studio super early and waited awkwardly in my car for the illustrious Innermix.

As I drifted off into my headspace, the details of which are to bizarre for me to expose you, our dear readers, to so early in this blogosphere, I got the call from D that he and Jules had arrived. I met them in the middle of the street, exchanged pleasantries, and walked into the home studio with them. Here we met Quantum 4 (see Tiffany’s post for more on Q4), who ran some beats for D and Jules to vibe on before picking a couple to work on that night.

I spent four hours in the studio with Innermix that night, and probably spoke a total of 20 words the entire time; I’m surprised that D and Jules didn’t think I was a mute who had hired some kind of Cyrano to do all my phone interviews. They were so happy, friendly, and welcoming, and I was just in shock and awe. My tongue was rendered immobile by the crazy creative, terrifically talented energy flowing between the two of them. I was captivated to the point of silence.

Now, I’m not exactly green when it comes to working with creative people. A dancer first and a writer second, my life is blessedly filled with artistic individuals who invent as easily as they breathe. But dance is an entirely different creative process, what was going on in that recording studio was magic. D and Jules groove off of each other in a way that is unheard of; they come into the studio cold, coming up with concepts and lyrics on the spot based on whatever beats they’re given. D is straight up improv, blurting out his lyrics without ever touching pen to paper and seamlessly mixing different rhymes over the same beat until something sticks. Jules is a little more traditional, carrying a spiral bound notebook into the studio with her and jotting down lyrics in purple pen—I will always remember that purple pen. But when she walks into the recording booth, boy does that girl have an ear for music! She takes the same lyrics and makes them feel different in every take, just by manipulating her voice via what has to be perfect pitch.

In those same four hours when I was doing my best impression of a mime, they laid out two songs. A process that can take days done in hours. Twice. If that doesn’t intimidate a person, I don’t know what would. How was I going to keep up with them? How could I become a part of this pair, so in tune that they finish each other’s sentences and lyrics without even trying? Could I possibly live up to what they needed?

Well, the wonder I first felt in the face of their creative chemistry and talent has never faded, but I am glad to report that the intimidation has disappeared. The second time I met them, at Starbucks as the Santa Ana winds beat against the trees, I got to know them even better and became more comfortable with the speed and diversity of their work. I got friendly with what D and Jules, two people who are a genuine pleasure to work and talk with, and began to have some of that faith in myself that they seem to have in me.

Turns out, there was no need to be intimidated. Even if you aren’t sure you believe in yourself, D and Jules do. Their confidence in you is infectious, and I hope that people feel that from their radio show. I feel so fortunate to be a part of the Innermix family, to have a hand in all that they do and but mostly to benefit from the belief and support that D and Jules provide for the whole team. Just a few short months with Innermix has brought me to a new level of self-confidence, and I look forward to helping this wonderful family grow in the same way it has helped me.

Catch y’all on the flip,

Kat

PS: Aww, I’m cute, huh? Don’t worry, there is sarcasm and levity abounds in the next post. Just needed to keep it real for a second and document the transformative, nurturing experience of working with Innermix.