Meet Randy Gist | Saxophonist, Composer, DJ, Producer, Photographer

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

Hi Randy, what do you attribute your success to?
I can’t really pin it down to just one thing. What I can say is the importance consistency, optimism and enthusiasm cannot be understated. I’ve found that they all feed into one another and really help propel you forward in anything that you want to do. If you do anything everyday, eventually you will without question make improvements. Life is hard enough without you adding extra negativity to it, so just focus on staying optimistic and it helps lift a lot of the weight. Being excited about something is one of the easiest ways to know where to focus your time, strike while the iron is hot!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I do a lot of different things and wear a lot of different hats. I think what’s cool is, you don’t have to only do one thing! The more I learn about DJing, the better a producer I become. Lighting in photography is nearly the same as Acoustics with music. So everything informs the other thing if that makes sense. So I think whenever I make any sort of art, those influences are all present and give me a unique perspective on whatever I’m doing. I think fundamentally what sets me apart is whatever I’m doing, I’m always trying to communicate something and connect emotionally, if it doesn’t have that “thing” I’m generally not interested, so I always try and put that emotional stamp on anything I touch.

I’m really grateful that everyday I get to wake up and do creative things with my friends and pay bills. I think getting to this place CAN be easy, but it’s all about perspective. I really don’t feel like I ever worked hard, though I used to practice saxophone 8 hours a day when I was in college, it never felt like work, it was what I wanted to be doing. I feel like the biggest challenges were always financial in nature, I have any idea I want to execute, but there’s a paywall, but for most people that’s just life. That being said, I honestly feel like challenges create parameters and those parameters create CREATIVITY. Everything is simply problem solving and the more “creative” you are, it’s really just a way of saying, you’re good at problem solving. If anything at all I want people to know that you can really do whatever you want, if Nike hadn’t taken “Just do it” I think that would have been the way I approached branding.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not necessarily mr. night life party dude. I really enjoy quiet time and quiet spaces. That being said, if someone’s never been here, hiking is the jam. I really dig Griffith Park Observatory, super cliche, but it’s amazing to me every time I go. The food in LA is pretty endless… Salsa & Beer, Yamashiro, Stout Burger, Silver Lake Ramen. LA is a big enough place where there’s something for everyone, so I base my tours on the guest who’s in town.

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’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my High School band director James Ross, who is retiring this year! He really was one of the first people who saw something in me and pushed me to constantly be better. He taught me a lot about self responsibility and what it means to achieve greatness while remaining humble. I’m truly grateful for everything he’s taught me and the relationships and family I’ve built while under his tutelage.

Website: www.randroidmusic.com

Instagram: @randroidmusic

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/randygist