River Massey

As in every high school, we have really diverse people with amazing talents.  River, originally from Bozeman, MT, who has chosen to be a musical producer for his path in life, recently was accepted at the Art Institute of California!  River shared with our blog a story, about how his music has been influenced by his high school friendships:

                           (River with his friend Gabriel Estrella working in the studio)

"When I first started producing I was really into the hype and glamor more so than the actual music. I think that's why I made EDM: it was all skin deep, no meaning, just sounds on top of each other. I actually was more infatuated with DJing and being famous or popular or something. I eventually found that I didn't care much for popularity and I think that came with maturity. Josh Figuereo really got me onto hip-hop production. I've always loved rap and the whole scene but I felt out of place, something about appropriating a previously "black" genre. Maybe that's what the first white blues and jazz guys felt like. Maybe a piece of it is living in a small-town, but who knows. More and more I'm discovering that I can make music fairly well via my keyboard, drum pad, and software. But unfortunately alongside that discovery I feel like I'm cheating. I can barely play an instrument and I struggle with the commitment that it takes, yet here I am producing rap beats for some pretty talented folks. But hey, I'm working on it."

- River Massey, Class of 2015