By Chris Pinnella
Collaboration is key when you are creating something whether it be a new song, arrangement, album, or concert. However, at times we as artists can get into a certain headspace that can feel extremely isolating. From my own experiences as a singer, songwriter to being on the road and acting as a producer to a lot of my own concerts in addition to marketing, promoting, contracts, riders, stage plots, payroll, taxes, etc. I started to feel less like a musician and more like a businessman. I was collaborating but not on the creative side of things. My only moments of musical clarity were happening within a 2-hour time frame that began when I stepped out onto the stage for a concert or performance.
I began talking with other musicians and was hearing extremely similar stories wherein there was a disconnect leading up to or between shows and projects as well as a lack of collaboration and doing something creative that didn’t have a paycheck attached to it or a deadline to meet. From there I decided to form The Musicians Collective which allows artists to join us at a specific location and together we choose a song to collaborate on that day. It can be a cover song or that artist’s original work or both. Genres don’t matter because we are creating something new that fits everyone involved. We recently collaborated with a singer/songwriter and we covered a Bruce Springsteen song, turned it into a duet, added a saxophone player and some acoustic guitar. The week before that it was The Beatles ‘Something’ with our guest pianist being from a progressive metal band and our trumpet player being a highly skilled jazz player. We film the entire creative process and I’m toying with adding in an informal interview segment as well. The result so far after only three sessions has been incredible. It’s allowing for open and honest discussion about the industry, creative ideas, and a ton of inspiration. I’ve also found that the more open I’ve been to musical collaborations of any kind the more rewarding it’s been for me on an intellectual level.
Getting to create with musicians from all different musical backgrounds has pushed my musical parameters and forced me to continuously strive to be better.
There’s something to be said about being on stage live with your musicians whether it’s for 5 people or 15,000. You start a song and instantly this connection is made between everyone. That connection then radiates out to the audience, multiplies, and then is sent back to the stage wherein an emotional connection is then made between audience, performer and song. That collaborative process, while it relies on the musician’s technical mastery (of their instrument), is, more importantly, a practice in giving and receiving energy. That’s what we crave about the creative process — It’s the undeniable feeling you are taking part in something that feels spiritual, instinctual, raw, emotional, and perfectly imperfect.
Chris Pinnella is a talented singer, songwriter, and producer who began his career at the age of sixteen. He graduated from Marymount Manhattan College and was featured in “Simeon’s Gift” (co-written by Julie Andrews) in the title role. Chris has also toured with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and performed at such distinguished venues as the Rainbow Room, Lincoln Center and Feinstein’s 54 Below.
To keep updated on Chris please visit: chrispinnella.com