Meet Victor Broden | Bassist, Musical Director and Producer

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

Hi Victor, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I was 12 years old I played several sports several days a week and was not particularly good at any of them. I was playing keyboards with some friends in my spare time as a hobby. That very same year Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” tour came through my home country of Sweden and got lots of press. I bought the album and it was like I had been hit with a sole purpose for my entire life, to be a live performer. As a kid growing up with undiagnosed AD/HD I had lots of energy and sports only gave me an outlet for it mentally, but with Rock music all my restlessness had a purpose and a perfect outlet. Within a few weeks of the initial jolt of inspiration, I looked my mother in the eye and said “I am going to move to America and play music in big places”. Luckily for me she never did anything to talk me out of it. Music and being a freelance musician with a love for many styles, and a restless need for diverse musical situations, was a fate that chose me, I did not choose it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Growing up in Sweden on a crazy mix of American Rock’n Roll, Heavy Metal, Pop, Neo Soul and many other genres was a treat. Swedish radio back provided tremendous stylistic variety, often on the same channel. Growing up in an artistically diverse and open minded culture drove me to become a freelance musician instead of a “band guy”, who plays the same thing with the same people for many years. My need for lots of diversity was the seed for the job I have and also what I believe truly sets me apart from many others. I truly love music in general. I also love humans, in spite of everyone’s quirks and faults. Playing with different people often and the exposure to many personality types in combination with my ability to be a social chameleon I believe gives me an edge professionally in some cases. Moving to America at 21 years of age took a lack of fear of big risk, moving from Nashville to L.A in my 40’s took maybe even more, my ability to “go for broke” and take big risks is a very hard thing to do and I feel like it is a big challenge I overcame. How I overcame the challenges simply that there is no plan B and there never has been, failure were simply never and option. I am also tremendously interested in the art of live performance and the fashion/style side of it. My growing passion for that artform has really given me an edge in my job as a “hired gun”, and I don’t take the eye I was born with for granted. My story is one of optimism (inherited from my mother) and hard work, not talent or a whole lot of luck. Optimism will move mountains. If people can look at me and feel that, I would be honored.

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?
I love Los Angeles. The entire world lives here and I heard somewhere that more than a hundred languages are spoken here. I love to go on a hike and hear so many languages and knowing that these are all locals immigrants like me who made this city home and contributed to the culture and making Los Angeles culturally richer and more exciting than any other city in America. Since I live in Woodland Hills, I love to hike anywhere between the west Valley and Malibu. There are hundreds of choices of where to hike, it is less crowded than other areas and always new things to discover. My favorite places I can be found daily are HQ Gastropub off Ventura in Woodland Hills and the Joey restaurant at the Westfield Topanga Village in Woodland HIlls. I can’t recommend those two places enough. On a day off I love to go down to Manhattan Beach and take a stroll along the ocean to Hermosa Beach and back, then have dinner at The Strand House or any of the other great local eateries before sunset. Then right at sunset I drive to the Clutter’s Park overlook at LAX off Imperial Hwy or the In’n Out location off Sepulveda Blvd by the oppsite runway and watch some of the biggest passenger jets from all over the world land right as the sun sets. It is the most truly L.A experience for me and it rejuvenates me quickly.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother and father for being fans of music! My junior high music teacher Mats for recognizing the flame and nurturing it. All the recording artists that have chosen me and given me the honor and the privilege to represent their music on tour, such as Chely Wright for hiring a young bassist without a long resumé, LeAnn Rimes for taking me around the world the first time, Richard Marx and Dokken for letting me live my 80’s dreams and many more. The editors of Premier Guitar Magazine for keeping me part of the inspiration driven work they do by having such a great publication. Anthony Rankin (producer/writer ANTi) for being my brother and letting me stand next to his genius often. The last five years since I have been based in Los Angeles, I’d like to shout out Erik Himel, for friendship, for connecting me with great players and often including me in his vision for new music related business ideas. Throughout my career I have leaned on MusiCares several times and their unwavering support in many forms has been a real asset and I am tremendously grateful for all they do. Currently I am tremendously thankful to world class musicians Fred Kron, R.J Ronquillo, Chris Reeve and Mattias Osbäck for being part of my original music project Transatlantic Radio and believing in what we do together.

Website: www.victorbroden.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/victorbroden

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/vbroden

Twitter: www.twitter.com/victoryswede

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vbroden

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@victorbroden8795

Other: Check out my main project Transatlantic Radio on Spotify!

Image Credits
Main hi res picture with black leather and glasses is shot by Laura Mullen, her IG is @pixl_photo