Meet Jason Sutter | Professional Musician, Art Consultant

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

Hi jason, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
I want to enjoy my career long after its over. I believe as a creative or an artist pursuing a career there are arcs to your progress and you only have a few of them. I feel as though there is the beginning arc where you are exploring, studying and experimenting. From there you begin to move into the world and begin your process of finding out what your strengths and weaknesses are and how to best proceed creatively creating a style or identifiable niche and begin networking with that offering.
Eventually, if you are aware, you will develop and observe and re-define that style or elaborate and grow building on your experiences and hopefully learning from what worked and what didn’t or, more importantly, what satisfied your quest for creativity and what didn’t. I believe I have experienced these arcs as an artist and professional and have made sure to savor the experience and be present while it is unfolding so that you can enjoy the process while you grow.
There is a fine line between being driven by pragmatic and creative poles on each side of the artistic spectrum and I think if you become preoccupied with “success” or “safety” in the quest for your artistic endeavor/career you may interrupt the creative process or the enjoyment that can come with the freedom of choosing the creative path.
I think if you are successful you have a 10-15 year arc of extreme creative satisfaction and artistic contribution to the world but often it is fleeting and is followed by a quieter arc that may be less prolific and that is what I mean by “Enjoying my career long after its over’. As bleak as that may sound its actually the opposite if you have accomplished even half or your creative goals as an artist or for the very few “lived your dreams”.
I once heard an artist say they are satisfied mid-life with their career and no longer feel the pull of “endless ambition’. I think the goal for me is to eventually “arrive” and reach a certain amount of Joy or satisfaction with your career especially as an artist.
It is a journey composed of arcs where the painter can’t stand their work at a certain point or can’t stand to look back at their past work but one day they fully enjoy it and the artist they have become and can look back and enjoy the work that helped them get there. Just as the musician who carefully records their performances from a young age cringing at the playback but eventually learning to admire that same player they hear back years later after the growth from learning from what they have recorded over the years.
Not all artists can achieve this and that is why so many are unsatisfied up to the end and never feel that satisfaction of “ringing the bell” or “grabbing the brass ring” that so many other tangible careers can offer in the twilight of our lives.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a touring Musician. I have toured and recorded with such musicians as Cher, Marilyn Manson, Chris Cornell, The New York Dolls, Foreigner, The Joe Perry Project and SmashMouth to name only a few. I have toured North and South America, Australia, South Africa, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Canada in pursuit of following my dream and my passion of playing drums at the highest level and performing internationally. I have conducted numerous drum clinics and Lectures as an educator for college and High Schools and am proud to have played some of the most esteemed venues in the world from Madison Square Garden in New York City, The Budokan in Japan and the O2 Arena in London to name but a few. I have performed on television including appearances on: David Letterman, Jay Leno, Ellen and Conan O’Brien. I helped develop and was part of the original cast of Rock Of Ages the Broadway Musical and my first and only “acting” credit was performing as an actor In AI (Artificial Intelligence) considered to be Stanley Kubrick’s final film (posthumously) and was Directed by Steven Spielberg. I believe self discipline and a strong educational foundation of my craft has been immensely helpful in achieving my professional aspirations which where once just dreams. Ive definitely tried to learn from the positive as well as the negative experiences and believe a little blind faith has often been the secret ingredient that has kept me going even when the goal seems so impossible or overwhelming. For anyone aspiring to be an artist I think you have to believe in yourself and love what you are doing but preparation is also essential in my experience.

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?
Living in Los Angeles I am fortunate to live in close proximity to many different “worlds”. By that I mean that I can spend an afternoon in Downtown LA at Little Tokyo shopping at a Japanese Grocery, eat Sushi off a conveyor belt at Kura Revolving Sushi and shop in the mini market for clothes or pastries within walking distance to The Broad Art Museum or minutes later be in Venice Beach with your feet in the sand or dining or shopping on Abbot Kinney. Two entirely different worlds but very close. I love the contrast. For food I love Mirabelle Wine Bar and grill in North Hollywood, Some of the best sushi in the world is on Ventura Blvd. a fav is Midori Sushi in Sherman Oaks, LaLa’s Argentine grill on Melrose in hollywood or Ventura in Studio city is incredible. I travel on tour often and thing are constantly changing but legendary venues on the sunset strip like the Whiskey, the Viper room and The Roxy are all great for people watching or live music. The Rainbow bar and grill is a must, famous for their Pizza and great menu. Rock stars like Ozzy, Led Zeppelin and Lemmy from Motorhead where all regulars in their day so you are dining in history. Famous dive Bars I would recommend would be the Frolic room, The Roost, The Tonga Hut (Tiki Bar) and the Laurel Tavern in Studio City. Don’t forget to try Mashti Malones exotic and fresh Ice Cream in Hollywood near Mann’s Chinese Theater on LaBrea. The Hollywood Bowl, The Greek Theater are just a few of the fantastic outdoor venues to take in music under the stars. Driving a few miles outside of LA you can visit so much like Big Bear, Crestline, Lake Arrowhead and Wrightwood are all mountainous getaways that offer skiing and unique dining and shopping which I always recommend to visitors if you have a day to escape. I have a getaway home in Landers, Ca (Joshua Tree) and I can be in the High Desert (Mojave) in 2 hours which always recharges my “batteries” to come back to LA for more inspiration and adventures.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am grateful to all the Musicians I have met and made music with throughout my Career. My Father, a professor of Art, was a catalyst in my formal training at an early age by trading a piece of his work for Drum Lessons for me from an esteemed percussionist and college professor at the local music college (Potsdam State University of New York). I am still in touch with that instructor, James Petercsak, and I believe my earliest tutelage helped form a strong work and practice discipline and an attention to detail and a focus I would not have acquired otherwise. My mother was always a champion of exploring the creative and to think outside of the norm and I think that provided me with a foundation of creative thinking that I carry still. The list of colleagues who have inspired me is too vast to list and the Musicians I have been inspired by and Artists whose work I have admired and been informed by is also endless. If you spend enough time listening and looking you learn what to see and hear and the inspiration is always around the corner. ,

Website: https://Jasonsutter.com

Instagram: Jasonsutter

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Ronn Dunnett, Alex Kluft, Mike Hacala