Pick Axe & Shovel Club: Mine for Something, Vol. 3 (w/ Renzell.wav)

“Local Foundations, Global Expansion”

MINER: Renzell.Wav (Chicago, IL)

PASC Journalist: DMD

*(At this point in the evening, we’d already been conversing for the better part of an hour. In the middle of a studio session for Atlanta Independent Label Crash Tha Boards recordings, Rhome from Legacy Media pulled the camera out to document some of the conversation)

PASC: We’re going to start recording, so I’m just letting you know.

Renzell: Yeah, all good…. To build it by word of mouth, you really have let people be in your space, they have to see it. They have to know what’s happening, they have to hear a friend talking about it. That’s how I built my whole shit. It was just like having an artist that was good and talking about my shit somewhere else.

You know what I mean? They’re telling other artist, this is where I’m recording. You’re not recording there? You wildin! And that’s how you have to make people feel. The way you make people feel like that, is showing them a good time somewhere. Something they’ve never seen before. It’s like damn, I ain’t never been to a wine and vinyl night, or been to an open aux night with artist sharing their music, and then we have the cocktail club, DJ showcases and workshops. All different types of things that are either gearing towards either music enthusiast, artist, or creatives.

PASC: I see you were able to find a middle ground, where you’re able to appeal to all these different facets or sectors of the same group without diversifying too much, in areas in wouldn’t make sense.

I do observe that issue with companies sometimes, where they try to expand and offer so much but you’ll look at what they offer and say, “this has no appeal to your core”. What are yall even offering this for? It might bring a few new consumers but those aren’t even the people you want walking through the door, because that ain’t the core.

Renzell: Right, right…

PASC: But let me ask you this… Right now your rocking a pair of sunglasses, the particular style name is the Elston’s from Gold Regency. I want to get some insight into your mining process. The pick axe and shovel club is built from our miner community and people like yourself, the true artisans, creatives, and individuals growing their communities in what we would consider high end but also sustainable ways. Never folding in the process, until they reach or help other reach their ultimate goal (gold). So what’s your mining process?

Renzell: Shit… My mining process was literally what I did when nobody was looking. You know, that was the most important thing to me coming up because you can be up all day trying to be cool for your friends, showing up trying to put on as the smartest person in the room, just to be cool… but its about what I did when I was sitting up here by myself and creating, and making mistakes, and trying new shit, reading this book or watching this movie, just gaining knowledge and falling in love with the process, because when you are mining something, it is about patience and discipline.

I think that’s what you have to learn when you are trying to be an entrepreneur or you trying to be a creative, and trying to do that for a living. It’s going to be up and downs, it’s going to be bad and good times but you have to know what that looks like for you. And the only way you know that, is if you really understand yourself, work on yourself, be a student of the game, gain the knowledge, gain perspective.

It’s people that have done it before, why wouldn’t you study them? You know what I mean….

PASC: Talk to em….

Renzell: It’s people that have been here before. It might not be the same exact route your going to take but they still have a blueprint that you can use as far as habits, information, and whatever techniques they might use..

PASC: Yeah, I don’t want to get too far off the rails but I like what you’re touching on right now. Don’t you feel like there are so many other factors and intangibles necessary to master, in order to be fully sound for your main aspiration? It’s like for an artist, if you want to succeed, of course you have to focus on the music heavy but so many other foundational tools that you need for yourself personally, that will make it possible for you to do that. You have to sharpen your mental, you have to focus on your health, all these other things that will provide assistance in helping you reach your main goal.

Renzell: Exactly, it’s necessary.

PASC: To get back on track, we started documenting halfway into our conversation. Could you give me a quick run down of who we’re speaking with and where we’re at?

Renzell: I’m Renzell. Owner, producer, and engineer at StudioShapes Chicago. We about to be worldwide real soon but we’re currently located here in Lincoln Park. I would say we are more of a creative house, than a studio. You know, we’re a headquarters for the artist community here in Chicago that’s being built in this renaissance of talent.

We’re just building that true headquarters for people that have the talent, and really want to… I actually mean having the passion for the talent. That’s the important part…

PASC: Key distinction, you just made right there.

Renzell: Haha right right… Because you can have the talent but you need that passion for the talent. Through that passion, you know, it just shows what you really want.

I don’t hire anybody or have anybody come on the team, that doesn’t have that type of passion for the process. Because that’s what we’re doing here, that’s what your falling in love with, that’s what your coming to work with. It’s the PROCESS of our studio. So you have to know what that looks like for yourself and you have to know what you’re getting into.

PASC: Man, I feel that 100%.... I told you earlier, I like to keep it conversational. So when I transcribe this back, it’s a must I talk about Astro pressing me at the door, haha. Don’t come up here unannounced, because you will get pressed.

*(Astro is the studio dog. He’s currently chilling on the couch, in his designer jacket next to Renzell. If he isn’t familiar, he will make sure to let you know at the door!)

Renzell: Ha, you heard the door? That’s why he just moved up now. He heard that door slam and was like, hold up, who is that moving? Ha

It’s funny, he can always tell. He’ll react off that door opening but he knows if it’s somebody coming or leaving. He’s just instinctual in that way.

PASC: But alright, Gold Regency family. This was another rendition of the Pick Axe & Shovel Club, partnering with these modern day miners but now it’s time for us to get back to the music….

*Make sure to check out his production on IG @renzell.wav, his latest “Free To Browse” collaboration with FIREFOX, and visit the headquarters for artist and creatives at StudioShapes Chicago.

Studio Shapes Chicago

2918 N Clark St

Chicago, Illinois