NITTI - Bringing Rock To The Rave

NITTI is a genre-bending force in the electronic music world, also known for being one half of the Grammy-nominated duo SIDEPIECE, and is now making waves with his bold new project Alt Rave. After years of grinding in the studio and locking into his craft, he’s found his stride by merging his love for rock, metal, and electronic music into something entirely his own.

In this episode, Nitti shares how he went from church bands to headlining stages, the mindset that keeps him pushing boundaries, and why building the right team has been key to his success. We also dive into the creative freedom he’s found with Alt Rave and his vision for building a community that’s all about passion, quality, and authenticity. If you’re an artist or a fan of next-level music, you won’t want to miss this one.


Follow NITTI here:
https://www.instagram.com/nittimusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@nittimusicoff...

Follow Nik Cherwink here:
https://www.instagram.com/nikcherwink

And visit my site to join the mailing list or book a free coaching call:
https://www.nikcherwink.com

Transcript

Ricky: 0:00

I think there's a mindset in setting yourself up and being attractive and by attractive, I mean, characteristics and qualities, like genuine, showing respect, showing, hard work, when I meet someone that's like this, it's attractive in a sense. And it makes me want to work with them. So I would say that's the key

Nik: 0:29

What's up, everybody. Welcome to the Headliner Mindset Podcast and Happy New Year. This is the first episode of the year, and I'm excited to be back. I took the month of December off from releasing episodes and took a nice, much needed break. Actually, really unplugged, had some really good downtime, some really good family time. I hope that you guys had a chance to unplug and rest and reset a little bit. I'll But we're back baby 2025 has officially begun so let's fucking get it Now my guest for this week is one half of the Grammy nominated duo Sidepiece. He's been doing incredibly well with that project. Those guys are touring all over the world producing huge hits making incredible house music His solo project is something i'm a huge fan of because if you know me You know that i'm a big metal head and he has been bringing the worlds of metal and emo music together with electronic music It's created this incredible brand called alt rave where they've been starting to throw parties in la And just is up to a lot of really cool exciting stuff So I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please be sure to follow or subscribe if you haven't done so yet. We've got new episodes coming out every Monday. Now without further ado, this is Nitty. what's up, brother? Welcome to the show. Stoked to have you here, man.

Ricky: 1:45

Yeah, dude, thanks for having me, man. Absolutely.

Nik: 1:47

You know, I'd, uh, I'd Briefly met you, ran into you once or twice backstage, at Sidepiece Shows. I did an awesome interview with your manager, Corinne. For anyone that hasn't checked out that episode, if you guys want to get a straight up just masterclass on the music business, go back and listen to that episode. Corinne is a fucking badass. But you are You know, one half of the duo side piece, which we'll talk about. But you guys just seem like you're fucking everywhere. You guys have been to Austin already, like a couple times, multiple times, been able to see you out here. But I just feel like every time I am somewhere, I'm like, Oh, you guys are playing here and you guys are playing here. Been all over the place.

Ricky: 2:25

Yeah, it's been a busy year, man. Grateful. Grateful for that.

Nik: 2:29

were saying you literally just flew back to LA, like just this morning at five in the morning and are. Just back at

Ricky: 2:36

Yeah. Yeah, my, my, uh, my eyes are giving it away. But, no, I just had, like, an early flight. And, you know, I have to show sometimes you stay up so late that it's like I had a little melatonin, right? Fell asleep nice and early. But then I ended up waking up at, like, 2 in the morning. And had a flight at 7, so I just, like Bit went for a run and then just got to the airport. So I feel fine I just I know my body's a little fatigued, but you know, hey It comes with the uh territory.

Nik: 3:01

right? Yeah. Well, you know, before we dive into all of that, I'm really curious about, where this all started for you, right? Like, when did you start making music? Tell me about, like, the beginning of that journey. What got you into it? Let's start from there. I want to hear a bit about your story.

Ricky: 3:16

Yeah, I think uh early on I was always uh picking up Like a keyboard my dad had a little dinky like I don't even remember what brand to be honest like one of those things that I learned like let it be by the beatles and then Then a guitar just kind of picked up every little instrument. I I kind of settled on drums That was my favorite instrument I talked to a lot of producers actually that are drummers for some reason. I feel like that's a big, a big instrument that gets people in.

Nik: 3:41

that's where it started for me too, 10 years old, man, just fuckin got my first set and was off to the races.

Ricky: 3:47

Yeah. Drums is, we might've even talked about that, but yeah, I feel like a lot of people say that when they make music, like for some reason, there's a lot of drummers that end up producing. Cause I don't know what it is, but, um, yeah. So eventually I grew up in the church and played. Like in the church, kind of got some chops from that. And then eventually, like, joined some bands. And then I just got the whole entrepreneurial side of it, I guess I would say. Where you just are like, you know, I'm outworking, you know, other people. And it gets annoying to be relying on four other band members, this and that. And I was like, you know, I'm going to try producing. Electronic music has always been something I like. Seems like something I can try and create. And Yeah, that kind of just took me down an entire, you know, the last 15 years of my life pretty much For better for worse, but uh, yeah, I I think honestly an overall key is just like I I I always joke like i'm i'm pretty sure I probably have some form of adhd or autism where I can just hyper focus like genuinely I I probably you know could be diagnosed but I I use it as a superpower, I guess and uh, I can just hyper focus so I I feel that with producing. I mean, I guess at this point almost anything You know you need to be good at In your career, you probably need that type of focus, but specifically for music production, that focus kind of took me from just playing instruments to like releasing music, finding managers, you know, that, that's kind of what the whole beginning was of actually becoming a producer. DJ was once I stopped just making music and kind of like, you know, focusing and honing in on sounds and stuff, that's when it really started to be less of a hobby and more of a career, I guess I'd say.

Nik: 5:25

Yeah, when was that moment where you realized that you really wanted to take it seriously and pursue it professionally, more than just as a hobby? Yeah,

Ricky: 5:33

So I dropped out of, uh, Um, it's a, it's a school in Miami. And um, I moved there just kinda not really knowing what I was gonna major in. Never even picked a major. Did like, um, two or three semesters. And then I asked my parents, I was like, hey, like, we can either spend, you know, 20 grand. On this stupid degree, or probably more, I don't even remember. Like, that's how long it's been that I, I know nothing about college anymore. But, I think when I went, it was about somewhere it was gonna equal that with the loans and whatever. And I was like, there's this other program that's like 18 or you know, whatever, however I sold them on it. And I was like, yeah, it's 18, 000, it's the Associates. Or something with music and i'm not just going in there thinking like my degree will get me somewhere I want to learn and actually just pursue it. I don't think it's just about the degree with music I just need to get in there and meet people blah blah and I Kind of called it and it worked and it wasn't necessarily that the school was like taught me everything It's just that I met somebody I work with till this day. Michael Sellers, he's he's pretty much my tour manager, but he's part of my management team as well Uh, but he travels me all the time. We used to like always joke around like yeah One day we're gonna tour and now look at us. We're just like dead tired from over touring So it's like it's funny how like, you know That was that moment where once I went to that school and I took it seriously and risked You know, dropping out of school, that little bit of that moment, you know, I'm sure you've had it with doing, you know, something in the industry where you have to like quit something normal to do something. And that, I think when I took that risk, it taught me how to risk, how to take risks and how to not be, you know, worried, which granted, like every creative is always like, how am I going to, you know, there was many years after that where I was still eating crackers as well. As my manager, Cheryl says, where it's like, we weren't, you know, you know, There's even to this day, like I tour all time when we're blessed enough to be some of the, the people that get paid well to do this. And there's still times where, you know, you're like, Oh shit, like I need to really lock in so I can make some money this year because we spent a lot and, you know, it's just overhead. And Yeah. so it's, it's just always like that. But yeah, that, I think going to school solidified, I was like, I have to do this for real. Like I can't, I can't be, you know, fucking around anymore.

Nik: 7:42

Yeah. Where'd you go? What school was that?

Ricky: 7:44

It's called SAE school of audio engineering. Um, there's one in Miami, I think there's one in LA. Probably New York.

Nik: 7:51

Yeah. I've heard of them. Um, I worked at icon for a long time. I was, uh, I

Ricky: 7:55

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Nik: 7:56

helped build icon for like seven years. So that was like where I, yeah, I was there for a long time and helped a lot with that program. So I was, yeah, come from the education space, I guess you could say in a way.

Ricky: 8:07

Yeah, it's so cool. I know so many, you know, I mean, my, my, like, generation age was, like, the company, Wooly, I remember my, my friend Adair, like, a bunch of these, like, other dubstep kids coming up. They were, like, the second or third class of, like, you know, the Nightmares, The Jaws, right? Yeah, the Couple waves. I remember them.

Nik: 8:25

sure you know You talked about being really like locked in with music production being able to really sit down and focus which um I honestly think a lot of people kind of struggle with and are challenged by you know like when you're like much would you say you were producing, in those days when you were coming up? Like, how many hours were you putting in on a daily or weekly basis?

Ricky: 8:48

it was, it was a lot, man. It's, like, I always tell people. And I think some, you could probably attest to this, you know, cause you're literally in the scene too. It's like, there's a point where you have to overdo it. You have to really be that per, you know, if you want to, you know, I watched like the Chris Bumstead stuff. And he's like, I overdo my body and I know it's not good, but I'm just doing it to win and do it. And then when he comes off, he's like, yeah, I know I'm not, this isn't sustainable. My body needs to rest now. And it's like the same thing I've spent, you know, You know, probably two to three years of just almost every day. Like I didn't have a PlayStation back then. I didn't, my studio didn't have internet in it. Uh, there's just all these things that I secluded myself and kind of isolated myself in a way, just to get to the point where I could then, you know, go out and people notice and then, you know, now obviously I'm, I'm engaged and I, you know, I play video games or, you know, whatever hobby I'm into cars. And. You know, I can play with Lego sometimes, right? But, you know, there was a point where even more than, you know, now that I was just every single waking hour that I could possibly take, You know, I read Goggins. I'm sure like, you know, a lot of people that are in competitive spaces have, you know, read people like that. And I love when he says, he's like, motivation is shit. Cause. You can be motivated and it's just, you know, that's like a little band aid, but a true 10 year process. You would just understand this is going to hurt and I'm going to get through it and that's kind of where I've been a few times and even actually right now recently. I felt like I kind of reignited a bit of that which is good because I but I do think there's such thing as burnout and you know Taking time to hang out friends and family and and relax is is important but people don't We'll use that as excuse like oh, I have to chill now. It's like no, I I'll be honest I did have a two to three year period of maybe even longer maybe even four years to be honest of like Almost no contact type of shit. Like I was just no girlfriend. No this no that like maybe once every two weeks, I would hang out with people

Nik: 10:58

Yeah. I like to ask that question because it's such a common story that I see from artists that are really at that level where they're, you know, touring full time and, and like really at a certain stage in their career is like they had to, Put in the fucking time up front the energy up front when I think back to The guys that I saw from icon that killed it I remember, you know mac jay being in there like 10 hours a day Just like in the corner on his laptop seeing jaws just doing the same thing like any of those guys It was like this relentless obsession With making music and learning how to make music and and to be honest I see a lot of people now that I think are kind of Skip that step. They're like, Oh, I've been producing for like a year or two, kind of, you know, taking it, you know, seriously in quotes. And now I'm like, okay, how do I make content and how do I get myself out there? And it's like, well, are you even making good shit yet? You know, and this is something I've, I've been really reflecting on a lot. It's just like, where's the quality of music in the first place? Like, do you actually have something that really is good, you know, and, and, you know, making music, I think is becoming. Easier in a lot of ways, you know, there's a lot of shit that you can download and now we got AI tools and things like that coming out, but it's like, I think for In terms of mindset, you know that for everyone that I've seen everyone that I know that really is out there That's a full time artist that's actually really killing it in the game They had that same phase where it was like two or three years of like i'm locking myself in the room and i'll fucking Come out when in in a couple years when i'm done and I won't see you until then like so I I just really want to yeah really emphasize that man because I don't think you get to skip that step.

Ricky: 12:40

It's hard because you get a lot of like instant gratification. I mean Even, even my era still was a little bit more instant gratification than say Calvin Harris or, you know, the Skrillex era where it's like, you know, it we essentially just got faster and quicker and move on from artists quicker and faster so people can suck essentially and have one little edit blow up and then they forget the rest of the step where it's like, oh shit to really be Solidified in the scene. You can't just have one little edit or one little remix

Nik: 13:13

Yeah, you actually have to be talented.

Ricky: 13:15

for sure you have to have talent, but I also, I think I agree with more with what you said, where it's like, people don't put that work and front load enough to be able to ride out there. You know, if you want to be able to coast eventually, and by coast, I mean, you know, sometimes, like, I don't think you can ever, well, we're past the days where it's like, Legacy acts. I don't I mean you have to absolutely fucking blow To ever coast again, like we're there's just too many people doing it now Like I don't think that exists or world. It probably won't exist anymore after you know, whatever the last 10 years before us There was not many legacy acts left. So it takes even more I think of you know, even as a side piece or as nitty I feel like we're always reinventing. We always have to stay hot We also have to stay on our toes. Um, and it doesn't matter if you have a You Big hit or you know, you got to have fucking 10 hits and then after those run out, you got to do 10 more It's just really a a crazy thing about the amount of people we have that are all talented now. So

Nik: 14:14

yeah. So earlier you mentioned having kind of an entrepreneurial mindset when it came to splitting off from being in bands, which is also such a common story of like, I gotta rely on four other people to make music with me, and then I discover that I can just do it all on my own, on a laptop, right? Did you also have a natural sort of entrepreneurial mindset when it came to the business side of being an artist, also? Like, did you really have your sights set on that?

Ricky: 14:42

i'm, not so much of a straight up like Entrepreneur, I would say the work ethic is where I feel like an entrepreneur. I very much rely on my managers and uh, you know Team members around me or people that I trust You to handle and deal with those things. And I'm, I will say that is one thing I'm probably the most lucky in is that I've had a team from the beginning and I've never changed that team. I have literally only added people to the team. Um, so I've just never had a moment where I'm like, this person screwed me over and I had to fire him. I've just never had that. And that saved a lot of headache. Uh, so I'd say most of my luck to be completely honest has come from having good people around me. Um, I mean, in my. Eyes I viewed kind of I'm I'm more of a believer So I always feel like the more that I kind of like surrender like God it presents me with those The right people or at least presents me with my own you know mental fortitude to be you know able to selectively be like yes, this is the right person and Um, I think that's a big big piece of it that point is just so important to me about like You know that is a piece or I do feel bad a lot of people where it's like building teams because someone wants to get a Get rich quick scheme and a label offer and this and that um that I you know, I mean that's almost you know Just as important 50 besides my musical talent. That really is the other 50 right? There's the squad the team

Nik: 16:12

And that is part of being an entrepreneur, though, as well. Like, NITI is your business at the end of the day, right? You do choose who are the people that are working for, you know, your company, in a sense. And that's something I'm still trying to learn, is like, yeah, how to, you know, Collaborate and delegate and, you know, pass stuff off to other people. Surround yourself with the, with the right people, you know, understand that like, I might be paying this person and, and investing, you know, money here, but we're going to make more money if I do that. I think that's, that's, that's the stage of entrepreneurship for a lot of people. That's hard of like, all right, I'm going to start. You know, as they say, you gotta spend money to make money. Like, I'm still kind of resistant to that. I'm like, ooh, I know I need to be hiring people to do this shit, but I'm just gonna grind through and do it myself when really, at the end of the day, it's probably way more worth it to, yeah, start hiring other people. So,

Ricky: 17:00

Yeah. No, that, that, type of leadership. That's one thing I think I've gotten learned from is even though I might not be the one that's the best with, say, the physical business and actually choosing exactly, you know, certain business moves is that I think like when you're The head of something or the, you know, the, the artist yourself, like there's a type of leadership that It takes and I think a lot of times I find it being a lot easier to have a nice balance of I want to use the word like Surrender necessarily, but like when you're able to Show your own team that you're like, hey, like i'm not here to boss you around I'm here to lead and a lot of The best leaders, you know, I think lead with the form of, you know, I'm here doing it with you and, and it doesn't take away from delegating and offering up, but it's like, there's a piece of it where I find getting more respect and more, appreciation from people be like, wow, he went like, you know, so I feel like my whole team does is where we'll like do other people's jobs just because we know the person's busy and, you know, say I have to, you know, obviously I have a set to prepare and this and that and whatever, but. If I can book the peer space to take it off my tms hands or vice versa if he can actually Load my usb for me, which is technically my job We're just kind of washing each other's hands when one person's, you know, pants are down in a sense So it's like to me that has always Come back to help me the most is when i'm like us I have a team that will go above and beyond because I think they see that I also go above and beyond and it's like Very much in you know an equal effort.

Nik: 18:40

yeah. I just love that idea of, you know, something I've been, you know, Reflecting on a lot lately, just in my own life is just the idea of playing team, right? When you have somebody and other people that you're working with, it's like the goal is for the team to win. And so we're all going to do whatever we possibly can, you know, by any means necessary to make sure that That we all win together. Um, and, and sometimes we can lose sight of that, you know? So it's like, especially in, you know, in like relationships. Like I always come back to that. It's just like, Hey, like we're, we're on the same team. We're having a challenge right now. All right. It's, it's, it's me and you versus the challenge, you know, like we're, we're, we're playing team here.

Ricky: 19:18

it's a relationship, man. It's legit. Like, it's, it's interesting. And then when you get closer, you become like family and then that has its own issues. But to me, there's a lot of a lot of value in building it a way where you can have both. And, you know, I've learned the other way to where you don't want to get, you never want that to mess up with the business or get too deep in there. So, you know, there's, there's balances, but yeah, it's

Nik: 19:42

So let me ask you this because I think there's a lot of artists out there that are trying to find their manager, maybe calling in a manager. Wanting to build a team. Were you already having success? And I know that that's a very loose term. Um, before you found your manager, like, what was going on in your career at that time? And when did you start to kind of see success?

Ricky: 20:09

The last answer kind of also answers this in a sense of where I feel that I, I definitely wasn't popping off in any way. I don't even think the music I was making was too, uh, incredible at all. I wasn't, I haven't, you know, I've done placements for other artists and it was, it was even before this where I found my first manager, Cheryl. And I think it was more of an attitude thing where I think she just felt or saw in me. And we kind of saw in each other, we're like, Oh, this is someone that will literally make this work. There's no option, but we will work hard enough to make this work. And that attitude is what I think was valuable. And even then when we kept building and, and my other manager, Paul, and then Corinne and Mike and all these other people on my team, and even my lawyers, my attorneys, like pretty much every single one has been, I think from attracting it, not like Like we have time sometimes where we go and we find, but honestly, like even how I found my, my, uh, my photographer videographer, that I've been working with the last like year or two, it's the same thing. It's always been like, I played a random show, saw him. He was like, yo, that clip was sick. I sent to you. And I saw his work and I was like, this is dope. I'm attracted to what you have. And it was just this like equal thing. And I've never, I mean, I don't just call it lucky though. I think there's a mindset in setting yourself up and being attractive and by attractive, you know what I mean? I mean, characteristics and qualities, like genuine, you know, showing respect, showing, uh, hard work, showing that, you know, you're not a psycho or a diva or whatever these, you know, artist things, or, you know, even something as simple as like drinking too much addicted to drugs. Like I mean that with no judgment. I, I drank a lot in my career and I just stopped and it's like, I, I've noticed the difference personally where I'm like, wow, this is even another thing I can say when I meet someone that's like this, it's attractive in a sense. And it makes me want to work with them. So I would say that's the key is make yourself. You know, it's kind of a life lesson at this point, but it really works for for music industry people because when you attract The people that are getting lit and you were lit when you met them What happens when you guys are sober you get i'm saying like i'm scared of waking up the next day and this guy was like Okay, I don't really know what i'm doing But I was on super high on whatever and now I was excited but it's like, you know, not that you granted you can 100 Do whatever you want and I know people that have fun and they can work hard. So it's really not even a I just, I think a lot of people present themselves a certain way and they attract what they present, but they're not realizing how they're presenting themselves. And I've made myself, I feel like, attractive to the type of people I wanted around me, and I've never had to change because from the beginning, I was a certain way, hardworking, this, that, and that, and then they were all the same. And I never had to, to second guess myself. I've never had to been like, Oh, I stole someone's manager. Now, you know, it's kind of like a cheating thing where it's like if you were the person that was Taking the person from their partner one of you is probably going to repeat that cycle So, you know, it's like a lot of managers I see where they're like they steal an artist and the artist ditches them or vice versa the they're like Hey, i'm i'm even better than your artist and then they go put all their eggs in the other person and they just do this Switch off because of success and they see all these stuff and like It can work, it's just a lot of times I see that stuff fall apart because of how you started and how you attracted them in the first place, you know what I mean,

Nik: 23:29

Totally. Yeah, no, I love that idea of of attracting rather than chasing. You know, a lot of us are chasing. I'm chasing the relationship. I'm chasing the label. I'm chasing, you know, the artist support or whatever. And when you get So aligned with who you are, you know Like we are just to get woo woo everybody that has been listening to this show knows I get fucking woo woo all the time on here but like not even from a woo woo perspective from a from a Scientific perspective we know that everything is energy, right? Like I literally am just made up of energy of a billions of atoms and that energy is vibrating at a certain Frequency and like we live energetically, you know In a certain type of frequency and that frequency attracts other frequencies that are on the same frequency, right? So if you're in a certain headspace, if you're in a certain energy, you're partying a lot or whatever it may be like, Hey, you're going to attract other people that are on that same kind of tip, you know, but when you are also, uh, Really grounded, really hardworking, you have those qualities and those characteristics, you got a good fucking mindset, you're actually working on yourself, taking care of yourself, you're gonna see those kind of people show up in your life. Almost just magically. It's like, oh, where did this person come from? Well, we're just magnets, and we're going to pull things towards us that are similar to us,

Ricky: 24:48

Yeah. it's definitely natural selection, I'd say, of that, like that, that's, and what's interesting is you do want, you know, both sides of it, like when we play, for instance, like Side Piece, like we like house music to be a party on stage, and, and when we post clips of like, all of us partying on stage, we do want to attract that type of person, right? But I might as an artist not want to necessarily attract a manager that's doing that that's fine though It's just there's sections for each type of place you're attracting because it's like, you know I don't want to throw people off like it's like I only hang out with people It's like no we do we have a great time on stage, but Those people aren't necessarily managing us, you know what I mean? Those people are having fun. They're good at having fun and they probably go home and they have their own job but that's their release versus my people their release is elsewhere because you know when they come to a show it's usually Few and far in between and we have a great time But essentially they're still working for us the rest of the time and that's where I think People get mixed up with like, oh I go to shows and I'm gonna connect and I'm like just pick it Either party that night or connect that night, you know what I mean? Mixing them sometimes is difficult and it's a You know, I think, uh, someone I think has like kind of mentored me away in a way because I've, I've always had a publishing deal with him is Diplo. And he's like, you know, a master at, you know, slipping in and out of, cultures and crowds in, in a, in a genuine way. And then also not getting caught up by just getting, you know, lit with people. And it's like, there's, there's a lot of different ways I've seen, you know, maybe even like a David Guetta or a Tiesto where like they're older and they know over time, they're like. To me, they know that it's like, yeah, it's important to really be a part of the fun and have fun, but not get sucked into the fun. You know what I mean? It's like there is two sides as an artist or a manager where it's like, yeah, I'm not saying not to have fun, but you know, a lot of these guys that have done well for a long time found their balance.

Nik: 26:38

Yeah, you gotta, you gotta know yourself, you know? You gotta know yourself and where you're at. I'm the kind of person where it's like, if I'm partying, I'm partying, and I'm just gonna be a fucking mess. And it's like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be lost in that. So I'm just like, okay, I know,

Ricky: 26:49

but then you don't go try and do official business while you're like that, which is, that's what I'm trying to

Nik: 26:53

yeah, totally, totally. I think it's important to have your nights out, you know what I mean? Like, you still gotta have fun, whatever that may be, whatever that looks like for you, you know? But it's, it's, there is a difference. And I remember I got tore up on fucking threads for literally saying this a while back. Where I was just like, you gotta make that decision, especially as an artist. Again, I've talked to so many of them where I'm like, You're saying you want this dream, but like you're still going to every festival and getting fucked up and spending all your money like still being like a raver, you know, and it's like, I don't ever want anyone to lose touch with that culture. You should still go have fun, but you also got to get serious. You know, it took you those two or three years of making music every single fucking day to actually like get in and get to that place, where you are on stage rather than in the crowd. There's a level of. Relentless dedication that it takes and I think a lot of people are actually kind of kidding themselves of how seriously they're taking it Especially if you're you know, just going out and partying every weekend I think it's great to go go out every weekend But like when you go out shake some fucking hands meet the promoter meet the talent book You're like network with the right people, you know and find you know, find that balance. It's not it's not black and white It's not all or nothing, but I've met, more than enough people that are Caught up kind of in the partying scene and Like, not being honest with themselves about it,

Ricky: 28:15

Yeah, that's really the key I mean you can slot into the two sides of you know The guy that really enjoys partying and they have to try put some effort in to be a little bit less and then there's people I I leaned more towards the other side. We're actually really enjoying my time at home. I love my studio I love making music. I like video games. I like going on walks Um, you know when I'm at home but I have to also make an effort to be social and like Obviously on stage, it's really easy for me to have fun. That's never a problem. But, you know, say again, bringing up Diplo. He's really good. This is like that dude will just go to any and everyone's party. And, you know, he invited me to like Madonna show one time just cause he enjoys the music. And I'm like, I really learned. I was like, you know, it is important just to get out there and experience other people's things and not live in your own little touring world. and that's where I've actually had to come from that side and, and pull over into that.

Nik: 29:05

and that it brings up another issue too, which is, you know, a lot of people love making music and are like studio people and like that is the thing that they want to do the most and there's this almost natural idea that like, okay, well, To make money then I also got to be a dj and tour the world and like that's a whole different fucking ball game As you know, you're coming home at 5 a. m today on flights, you know It's just like that lifestyle actually isn't for everybody and not everybody really wants to be in clubs all the time too and it's important for people to kind of get serious about like What do you want your career as a music producer to look like, you know, like djing and producing music art? Two separate things and, yeah, it might be that like, you don't necessarily want to be the one I have two, two buddies, good friends of mine are, uh, in an Afro house project called and friends. And one of the guys just tours, he's the face of it. And, and. The other guy is like, he's not a ghost producer. Like he literally is,

Ricky: 30:02

he's just a part

Nik: 30:03

he's a part of it. He makes, he's, you know, he's just at home. He's got a wife and a kid and he's making all the music. He's like, you go out, you tour, you know, we make money doing that. I'm, I'm home making music and, and it works out, you know, um, it's a good, they just figured out like what actually suits their lifestyle and what they both want, you know,

Ricky: 30:19

That's advice I would, I would, I would fully stand behind. It's like if you can kind of find, honestly, what part of it because now it's not as easy as used to be to just kind of We talk about this in Psybeast all the time because that's the biggest team I'm a part of because it's two, technically two artists, two management teams, two, you know, two of everything because we joined forces. And we realize it's, uh, it's been great though to finally give everybody one job and do that job really well because so many people are just so good at everything that they're niching. That being the little renaissance man is just harder than ever. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it's like, It takes a Goggins like, unbeatable person to succeed at that in this day and age. Because, most people are just like, I'm going to be the best at AfterHouse, I'm going to be the best at this. And like, you know, we realize that, on my team, even just me as like Niddy. Like I, I started getting like even more and more niche, I would say, just because I enjoy alternative rock and metal and, and, and those types of sounds. And I've always gravitated towards them the most. We, we kind of all sat down. I was like, Hey, if I'm being honest, like, this is what I really feel I'm best at if I'm in the group and we have to admit what our strength and I was like, this is the one I love the most and best at, and it made it everything easier. And now I'm just having, you know, kind of a blast almost doing. Alt rave and and all these types of Things that are just like directly up my lane now than ever before because i've been so kind of all over the place in the past. Um, which is also really fun to be honest, but you know

Nik: 31:55

So let's talk about that because that, that's actually really why. I got really fucking pumped to have you on because I am a huge metal head and yeah, and then I just saw, you know, what you'd been doing recently. I'd seen you just kind of popping up and I was like, Oh, this guy's doing some fucking really sick, metal electronic hybrid stuff. Um, so tell me a little bit more about that decision. Cause that's kind of been more really in like this last year or so for you, right. That you like, kind of really started bringing in some of those, metal influences and tell me about what that is. Creative decision was all about for you Yeah,

Ricky: 32:31

i'm just pulling it up like it's gonna be like crappy quality, but I had this uh I just love how it was natural, but I have this post where like it's just You A Linkin Park remix, right? And like, you know, you can eventually show up, but let me see. It's at almost 10 million views, like 500, 000 likes, and not that I care about likes at all, but it just kind of was this sense of like, oh wow, there's an entire crowd of people, duh, that love alternative rock and metal. And, granted, I don't even think I'm the first person to do it. Keizo, Sullivan King, Murata, like there's so many dope people doing it, right? But just my personal version and style was always leaning a little more towards the New metal or emo ish or alternative whatever. So that was what I felt for a very long time. I was like, man I would love to just Settle into that and after I put that remix out then I followed it up with like a slipknot one And I think I remember I I think we might have talked about that one, too I can't remember if the last time we hung out that that was out or not Probably not but there's a couple like just follow ups. I did and I was like, I was like, you know what this feels right? Like let me really just kind of like keep trying this and then the more I um created my own personal Nitty music modeled after those remixes the better the response was and it just like it just kind of set me free Like I almost i'm so glad my journey led me to be able to produce You know a lot of different types of music and I still You know, like I said, my publishing deal with Diplo is working on whatever he's working on and uh, if he's working on You know, you brought up afro house. I worked with him on uh, Major Lazer and Major League DJs and Major League DJs are like South African it's even deeper than Afro House. It's like, uh, I'm a piano, which is like dopest, chillest Afro House ever. Like that's, to me, some of the roots, like the black coffee and, and deeper. And I, I, I mean deeper by saying like, just, you know, a little bit more, I think, into that genre in a good way. But it's like, Nitty would never release that, right? So it's always giving these avenues, and I've been distracted by them. And that's just me being blatantly honest that I, I, I realize now getting older, I was like, Oh. It was an ego thing, you know, where because I could do it It made me feel, uh, you know, it made me feel, uh, wanted or cool. Whatever the, whatever it is. It was feeding my ego where I was like, I know how to do this. I'm competitive. I can produce anything. Right. And once I stopped feeding it, I was kind of presented with like opportunities, like the Lincoln park remix or things that kind of told me like, this was the right direction because as a kid, like growing up, listening to brand new, taking back Sunday, census fail, uh, A Day to Remember, Suicide Silence, you know, All That Remains, just anything from Bring Me the Horizon all the way up to, you know, Coldplay, just still rock and, and heavy, and, I don't know, there's just so many bands where I just was like, man, how can I turn these genres into, you know, a DJ able thing, and I just did a party called Grave Rave with the Emo Night guys, and, uh, you know, they were also another big inspiration, where I saw them just like, Really having fun up there and you know, they've also moved into also playing a good amount of electronic music But they kind of just started playing emo music He you know, he said he misses the days where he would they would literally just drop dj sets of emo songs They didn't really care about edits and this like that, which I think is so cool for them And you know now he's able to do both because you know, there's a future of there's a genuine future for djing alternative metal or rock With electronic music now, and that's kind of what I'm, I'm just most excited about. And also, you know, being able to put my own voice on it and sing and write the lyrics and play the guitar and write the drums. It's just something where I get to do the entire thing again, and collaborate with other rock singers, people that can scream like monster, you know, just that has just always been something I've wanted to work with. So Finally, I feel like where I'm supposed to be with, uh, With that kind of like, you know, brutal honesty where i'm like, yeah, I was definitely just doing stuff because I could And I think a lot of people do that and it's hard for them to admit it I'm, just finally at the point where I can admit it and it makes it easier now now i'm like, yep I did it. No problem you can't it doesn't hurt me anymore because You know, i'm sure I would be worried if people thought that about me before and i'm like, no, it's not true I I just you know, but Yeah. it's true. No problem. I moved on

Nik: 37:00

Do you think that having so much success with the side piece project has kind of granted you that freedom to be a little bit more experimental in your personal project and take some risks and stuff?

Ricky: 37:12

I think to be honest like what happened was that Out of seemingly nowhere, you know, we still kind of worked on it for two, two years before on my mind, to be honest, or maybe, maybe a year and a half. Um, so it's still seemingly fast, but, the plan never really was that it was going to overtake, The touring but naturally it happened and it just got bigger and bigger and more and more fun for us that it actually saved I think in a way save my nitty I won't say career because like I could have made a you know Once you do it, you can know how to make money out of it. I wasn't really chasing that anymore. I was like, how do I save it from being another thing? I'm not proud of, I guess. And to me, Sidepiece kind of is a great indicator where it really was so big. It made me have to choose, if I'm going to do this, I have to love it. And because I tour so much with Sidepiece, when I do spend time, uh, making Nitty and doing alt rave stuff, I'm fully invested in and in love with it. And then I can easily drop it and go tour and side piece because I'm not leaving behind something I'm so worried about and like oh what genre oh, I can't you know before it was like overwhelming because of the amount of stress of You know what genre what's popping now? What's this? What's that? and you know Both of the projects now are just a little bit more timeless I would say in a sense where like i'm just not worried about it moving changing or you know People keep being like yeah rock is super hot right now. I'm like, I don't Really care if rock's coming back right now and if it's hot for two years and then it dips I'm not going anywhere. I'm i'm in it for a long haul like i've wanted to do this forever So i'm fully committed to it. So it's like whether it's hot or not Same thing with side piece like if people are like, oh Fisher tech house was in 2018 and whatever. It's like we don't care We love house music for house music and that evolves so it doesn't sound like 2018 and we update our sound and our things obviously to keep up but House music will never go anywhere. We love how like that's something timeless to me And that's what I feel like it finally unlocked that for nitty where I was like What's that timeless feeling for me? It's always been rock and metal. Um, so it almost saved it I I would say even though it overtook time and you know touring but it it helped actually because it really put in perspective if i'm doing this It's because I love it because if not, I wouldn't make time for

Nik: 39:37

Yeah, so it sounds like you were getting a little lost with the nitty projects for a while of just kind of trying to figure out like, how do I make this thing successful and put food on the table with it?

Ricky: 39:49

Yeah, it's also, I would say I get really, that focus is, you know, a double edged sword. And if I really want to, and I, again, I really, I try my hardest every day to get away from my ego these days, but, so when I say this, I don't mean in an arrogant way, but like, it's a blessing and a curse that if I really put my mind to something, I can usually make it work. And that's hard, because, If I, like, you know, when I was, when Tiktok first started, I was, I remember I was one of the first people to post like little producer Tiktoks where it's like, hit the can and do this. Like, I remember like Tiktok, like reposted me and then everybody was like, hitting me up like, yo, what's Tiktok, like, how did you do that? You know, they were asking me all these questions. Cause I like went viral and I was like, I just had these homies help me. And then I figured it out. And it was just from then I just knew what to do, but that in turn led down a whole nother path of just because I figured it out, it wasn't the right stuff. Few words now, five. How I'm solidified and nitty. I don't really chase that Virality and those things and it's just put into perspective. I would say a lot of those things. So yeah, it gets hard When you, you, know, as an entrepreneur, I'm sure like Gary V could say this where like, or people that have multiple, styles that they could do inside of a business. They're like, yeah, he's like, I could probably make a business for selling a lights, you know, Christmas lights or something, but he doesn't love it. You know what I mean? You see what I'm saying? It's like, that kind of was me with Tik TOK and music. I was like, if I really want to, I could probably make some crappy viral thing. But I would be so unhappy with it. To keep that up every day to make crappy, you know what I mean? That's like, to me, that's not enjoyable for sure. Someone else can do it and love it, but it was like, I would always come down and write rock music on my guitar. And I was like, okay, this is, this settles it. You know?

Nik: 41:33

Well, that's what I always say is the difference between being a producer and being an artist is as a producer You understand the math and science Of how to produce music, right? It is just math and science. And again, it's like now it's like hey I can make music there's a formula that you can plug in and there's certain genres with certain tempos with certain scales with certain you know modalities or whatever and it really is an intellectual process that if you're and that's great like you need to be a good producer That's why you got to sit down for two or three years and put in fucking 10 hours a day and just like all right I got to figure out the intellectual side of this but being an artist is when you also bring in your heart and your soul and like I bring in my my fucking energy and My passion and my self expression and and that part that just lives Deeper inside of me, right? There's a real energy there that I think it's kind of like it's duality It's like the yin and yang when you can bring both of those together is when you can create your best stuff you know, I I recently had a kind of a big breakthrough around that because I I have a online coaching program that I do for artists and I've ran it for the last year and it's been rad built such an incredible community for it. And now I'm really motivated to just make it better. And I'm like, I want to take this thing to the next level. I want to like bring in, more content, more lessons and stuff. And so I started working with chat GPT. And I'm like, okay, here's my program. Here's all the lessons. Here's everything. And, and chat GPT is amazing. And we're sitting down and breaking it down. We could do these lessons and these exercises and all this stuff. And after I was like, man, something's still missing. It's just still missing. And then I realized I'm like, oh, it was, it was taking the heart and soul out of it for me, which for me, like my energy, my vibe, my swag, the thing that Nick Cherwin can bring to the world that nobody else can is like my sort of, you woo woo side, uh, that likes to go deep and talk about, energy and manifestation and all this shit that like chat GPT was just like, not fucking with it. It was just like, okay, well here's like, here's your marketing and here's your branding lessons. And here's all this stuff. And I was like, okay, cool. I'm going to take a little bit of that. But it needs to have that fucking oomph. It needs to have that, that feeling. Right. And so I think if we're trying to really be artists, like we gotta find that first and like, okay, cool. Now, let me, now let me add the math and the science and like, okay, you, like you said, you know how to make money as an artist. Okay, cool. I know how to, put out tracks and fucking play shows and do all of that, but that can't be the thing that we're leading with. The thing we gotta lead with is like, alright, what lights you the fuck up? Find that, follow that, alright? And then we can build some strategy around it.

Ricky: 44:06

Yeah. A hundred percent. I think it's like, Someone like a Porter Robinson, right? When you listen to like world, I mean, even all his stuff, it's not even like, Oh, old Porter Robinson. No, pretty much all his music. Flume is another good example where it's electronic, but those electronic sounds have heart and soul. Like it's a fucking instrument. And that to me is like a clear difference of. You know, maybe some of my crappier future bass remix compared to Flume. I'll admit it, you know, I don't even have to bring anyone else under the bus. My crappy future bass remix of something compared to a Flume or a Porter Robinson track That's where I would say the difference is there's a heart and soul of what they put in to get The sweat and tears of that synth or whatever that weird something they did that was even more creative was the difference We did all the same techniques. I used a super saw some trap drums, whatever The real difference was that heart and soul like you're talking about and it's like a lot of people get frustrated When they learn the little techniques And then they're like, why isn't it is so dope and super cool. And it's like, that's the one part you can't teach. It's the literally the one part you cannot

Nik: 45:11

Well, I think that's cool with you getting into the metal side of things where it's like, okay, like playing an actual guitar, getting your hands on the instrument, right, actually singing. Nobody can emulate your voice or your lyrics, you know, like that, that, that live musicianship, I think always has an advantage because there's just a different way of putting your energy and your heart and soul into it, which is different. Different than just sound designing a fucking serum sound or something, you know

Ricky: 45:39

Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot, there's a lot of fun to be, uh, to be had. I mean, I'm, I'm working with an actual, uh, metal producer right now who he's done so much, like just bands that I like. And he was like, Oh yeah, we can get this sounding like, Like the bands that I produced, like, I don't, I was like, yeah, I don't want the drums to sound like an EDM guy. I was like, I want to legit sound like both worlds are perfect. Like I'm really good at electronic music, but I want like, and my, it's not that my metal or my rock is so bad, but there's just a little level of polish that I have more on the electronic. And I was like, that's, I was like, total was like, my goal is not to like, I mean, you know what I'm talking about? As a real metal head, you could hear when you hear like, you know, Vi Arda's murder. And then you hear a dubstep person do that. There's a difference and it just sounds a little crappier, a little, you know, computerized a little bit. And my goal is like, I tired of that. I was like, we have the technology and the talent today for people to be like this with both. Like, that's kind of my goal is to like legitimately, when I press play on the song, The rock part slaps live and then the drop slaps And it's not just like a shitty edit. Cause I'm like, I'm tired of that. You know what I mean? That's kind of where I've been at, or like, I try to produce my rock and band and vocal parts as high quality as my EDM dance parts. And I think that's, what's going to win over a lot of you, you hear, you know, cause you're, you're one of the people that does dance and metal and it pays attention, but you see those old heads that are like, you can't touch the original record and granted. I get where they're coming from. I'm just trying to then do it so good that they can't even say anything You know what I mean where it's like I think eventually it will get there I mean, there's some people you'll never be able to change their mind and I don't care but

Nik: 47:21

I love, I love, love, love, love hearing you say that, because I've said this, a very similar thing many times, just as a fan, I haven't yet seen anybody bring those sounds sonically. They've brought the styles together, but actually getting the mix to really sit right, you know, where it's like, it's got that nice, like, Chunky metal side, you know, but it's it's like it's either I'll hear stuff that it's like Maybe a metal verse into a dubstep drop It's like this section is metal and then this section is, you know Bass music or whatever or the sounds are sitting on top of each other, but it just it just no one's cracked the code yet Man, no one's cracked the code. Yeah

Ricky: 48:03

i'm like Like balls deep and in this in the process right now I'm, like that's why I was saying i'm a little like fired up again like back in the Studio like trying to cook it up with this uh with this guy who's helping me mix it because like that's personally what i've noticed Where when I like the edit the most it's when it's the most natural sounding so um, I don't think i've necessarily fully cracked it, but I that's kind of my goal with the project is to Fully merge them in a way that it's just the highest quality ever. Um, that's kind of my kind of goal.

Nik: 48:36

Good man. Well, best of luck to you. I hope that you crack the code. We need it. It's a, it's an exciting new space, man. Where do you, what are you seeing in it? Like I've seen, you know, this genre being labeled rock tronic, and electronic music. Like it's still relatively underground. I mean, you're in LA, you're in a cool place where there actually is a little bit more culture perhaps there, but like, where do you see. The state of this genre right now. Cause to me it still seems like it's very, very new and still very emerging.

Ricky: 49:12

yeah, I think it just lacks a I mean, I kind of where I'm trying to position myself is to be one of the like Pioneers of it in a sense and granted I just 100 percent I'm not the first to do it I won't be the last so I don't want to be like, yeah, i'm so pioneering No, I just mean a clear, you know version and and that's why i'm trying to do alt rave is because similar to like the emo Night guys and whatever it creates a community and I don't want it to just be about me. I want to influence other people to do You Which is like, yo, let's stop making crappy rock parts or crappy electronic parts and let's like do this shit for real. There's absolutely no reason to, you know, I think that's what, you know, house in certain, there's a part of house that when it originated. It was really shittily, you know sped up or slowed down samples, which is a fantastic, you know I'm, not saying that those are bad. There's so many classics that have that sound Um, so I don't want to really take away from it necessarily I just mean what it's evolved into and cleaned up into this nice really high production quality That's where you end up with, really classic dance hits and I think that's a great thing to aim for I I I I think some people get afraid of it, you know, gentrifying it in a sense or making it mainstream or, you know,

Nik: 50:31

Yeah.

Ricky: 50:31

I've just been in and out of the industry so many times on, I've been in underground and I've made pop and I've done everything few and far between that. I just am like, no, I just don't even care. I just, if I like it, I like it. So I guess I do want it to kind of be, you know, try and pioneer it a little bit to be a little more mainstream, easier for people to just like come to a show and get it.

Nik: 50:51

You know what, though? This is what's been missing, and I think you're doing it the right way. Is it, I think it's been producers collaborating with artists, you know? It's like, maybe there's like, the metal collab. But it's like, the electronic producer has been the one doing all the production. And then maybe they bring in The singer from the band or some get some guitar parts, but I think it's gotta be that it's the producers working with the producers like who are the actual engineers and the metal producers not in the band, but the guys behind the board that are making that sound so dialed in. Those are the guys you really gotta be working with. So I think you're heading in the right direction.

Ricky: 51:26

that's i'm literally pretty much today like sending stems of this, uh of this song I have to him for him to re Produce some of it to like dial it in. So i'm like this is actually my first Attempt at doing that exact thing. I'm sending it to a mixing producer not a An artist necessarily so. you're you're spot on. I mean, we'll see

Nik: 51:47

Tell me more about Alt Rave. This is a, I saw you just threw a party and this is, this is like a new brand that you're starting. Is there a label that's coming with it? What's the vision for Alt Rave?

Ricky: 51:58

It's so young that I don't really feel I guess the word would be rushed anymore and maybe the past me would have been like honed in on like whoa Rock's coming back. I gotta splurge right now and go crazy and catch the wave. But the more i've like kind of I keep using the word surrender, but I feel like the more i've kind of just like Let be the better the outcome has has been so Yeah. of course eventually I want to be A label collective and an event. A hundred percent. As it stands, I had like kind of a private event just for the homies and a few, you know, a few friends of friends, and it was just a test of concept and I was like, damn, we could have done it bigger. And, we pulled it off so good. I was like, shit, we literally could have sold 250 tickets, maybe 300 and, and packed that place out, but we kind of just. Kept it safe, you know, we didn't want to piss off the uh, the owner of the pure space, you know It was just like it all around was nice tidy tidy thing. So next time we do it. I'm like, oh I want to scale this Um, I kind of curated the lineup with homies that i've worked with this year.

Nik: 53:05

saw, I saw you had my boy High Society out

Ricky: 53:08

yeah, man,

Nik: 53:09

I think Micah Martin as well, right? Yeah, dude. Those guys, those guys are rad. I saw High Society post uh on his stories and he was like, he was showing the party and then he was in a jail cell. It was like, there was, it was like, what was this? Like an abandoned jailhouse? You guys threw this party in

Ricky: 53:27

I've actually done a couple of music videos there. Like COVID, uh, I went there and did a music video when it was just like, that was when it was easy because nobody was booking stuff and it was like, if you went in with a mask, you could shoot a video for super cheap because we were trying to support and we were all trying to like keep certain stuff moving for people. And I remember I was one of their like first customers. So that was four years ago. And then I kept, Seeing I was like, wow, they're crushing it. People keep booking it. And then they remodeled and they added jail cell. They added all these rooms. So then I was like, Hey, like. Can we test out like a 50 person event? Cause I didn't know how they were going to take it. And they're like, yeah, we'll, we'll figure it out. No problem. And I was like, I'm, I'm a professional. Like I literally tour. We'll have security. We'll have people clean up everything easy. Um, we didn't sell alcohol. It was like, you know, we didn't, no liquor license. We didn't do anything like too official. We just were like trying to prove to them. And it went really well because their spot is sick. And everybody that was there, I feel like we all felt we were like, Ooh, we could have like even gone crazier, but it was like a safe bet to just kind of like, Hey, let's just make this family and friends. But yeah, man, that's kind of the goal is like the event community part of it is more important. And even if, yeah, I'm Niddy, the head of Altrave, I think it's more of like Skrillex and Alcela, like all the other people on Alcela are just as cool. Granted Skrillex is the pioneer and the head honcho, whatever. But like, How he acted and how, you know, Diplo to Matt Deeson, they, they've always been wanting to collaborate and enjoying that collaboration and also helping the other artists develop and not just, you know, I think that's kind of a key I've learned from like, from Wes and probably from seeing like how Sonny did also where it's like, they cared about what the other artists were releasing. And I mean that in a positive way. It wasn't just like, yeah, do whatever you want. I'll make money off of you. It was like, Yo, let's all fucking do this the right way, you know, and so that's kind of what I view alt rave is like My way to help influence a generation to do this shit to the best of our ability and not just make half assed Rock metal edits, you know what I mean? That's what's making the crowd not care because we're all half assing it You know what I mean? There's a reason why certain genres of EDM blew up more in certain time periods. It's because those producers took it more seriously and they literally made the quality better. So if everybody keeps making crappy rock edits, it's never going to move forward. We literally need to treat this like a fucking Grammy nominated music. Like we have to put that type of care into it. You know what I mean? So that's kind of my goal is like the craft part of it, where it's like, yo, the, uh, The rock, metal, emo part of it, plus the electronic part of it, are just all 10 out of 10, you know what I mean? I don't want any more garbage edits and half done bullshit, you know what I mean? That's kind of where, granted, I've done them too, so I'm saying that like against myself, like I'm holding myself accountable for sure.

Nik: 56:16

So rad, man. It's such an exciting vision, and I'm really pumped that you are putting the energy into it. I definitely see you, yeah, leading, leading the charge and creating the space, you know, for, I think, what, what, The industry needs, there is a whole generation of guys like myself that are fucking metalheads, as equally as we are ravers, and we love both those worlds, and there's still a lot of room for growth there, so, um, yeah, really excited to see you, leading the charge, and I look forward to hearing what you do with Alt Rave, man, that's gonna be pretty rad.

Ricky: 56:52

thank you, man. I appreciate you having

Nik: 56:53

hell Yeah, man. Yeah, dude, thank you so much for hopping on. I'm glad we got to connect and I'm stoked to see what you create from here, dude.

Ricky: 57:00

All right, dude, appreciate you.