Today we’d like to introduce you to Judah Bell
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey in music started when I was just a kid exploring instruments. I began teaching myself how to play instruments by ear at a young age as I was influence by a couple of my older brother who had done the same. I picked up drums, bass and piano early on. Growing up I played in church with my brothers and in a few bands ranging from country to blues to rock n roll. I picked up the organ and a few other instruments along the way and would soon began finding inspiration as I explored other genres and styles of music on my own. Some of the earliest influences I recall finding in my exploration of music include Coldplay, Jay-Z, David Guetta, Has, Lil Wayne, The Fray, Future and more. I have a great appreciation for music so exploring and enjoying different genres was a natural thing for me.
I would eventually be turned on to the electric guitar after finding more rock music on the Guitar Hero game series and on YouTube. I vividly recall the electric guitar resonating with me in such a way that most other instruments had not. Even today, there are very few instruments that I enjoy as much as playing the electric guitar. Some of the artist/bands that influence and inspired my early on include 30 Seconds to Mars, Paramore, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, Buckethead, Blink 182, Underoath, Metallica, John Mayer, and Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few.
I remember asking my mom for an electric guitar for my 12th birthday and I only successfully convinced her to do so when I promised I could teach myself so that she would not have to worry about paying for lessons or whether or not I would quit. The promise I made her came from an intuitive knowing that I could truly learn and play the instrument well. It was one of those things that I just knew I’d be good at despite not having any history of playing it or closely knowing anyone who did. I used my gift of pitch perception to memorize notes, chords and rhythmic patterns from my favorite songs that I heard on the radio or elsewhere. I would go to YouTube or burn a CD so that I could practice some of my favorite songs repetitively.
Overtime, I began memorizing my way around the fret board and teaching myself different techniques, play styles and variations. What’s funny about recalling this story is that I was teaching myself basic music theory fundamentals in my youth and I didn’t even realize it.
Soon after picking up the guitar, I became interested in producing and composing tracks of my own. I learned how to loop sounds using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software called Mixcraft. As the years went on and my learning progressed, I would began writing my own instrumental tracks and doing covers/remixes of some of my favorite songs. I would post some of my work on Soundcloud and Facebook.
It’s important to know that I was homeschooled until I was in the 9th grade. That was such a beautiful time in hindsight because it allowed me to discover and explore my own creativity and hone in on some of the natural gifts and abilities that are creative, artistic and musical in nature. When I began high school I took a serious interest in sports with the mindset of becoming a professional athlete. I devoted much of my time and focus to football and basketball, eventually prioritizing football and becoming a considerable Division-I recruit in the process.
During this time I did not have much focus or participation as a musician outside of participating at my school. However, I did spend the bulk of my free time in high school exploring music production, engineering, beat-making, etc. I began making beats and remixing songs in FL Studio and sometimes posting my creations on SoundCloud. In short, I always found myself going back to music, something I did not realize about myself until a bit later in my life.
In high school I began being heavily influenced by hiphop, specifically the beatmaking and production side. I was heavily influenced and inspire by producers MikeWillMadeIt, Kanye West, Metro Boomin, Max Martin, Dr. Dre, Zedd, Lex Luger, Pharrell, and Honorable C-note, to name a few. I remember getting excited -and still do- whenever could recognize their producer tag on a song. I just new the music was going to be good whenever I heard “Ear Drummers, Mike-WILL-Made-It” or Lex Lugers iconic windup rise sound effect. I really enjoyed being able to identify a producers sound whenever there was not a beat tag present. It was one of the many way I would go about training my ears to recognize a producer or production camp.
Sports remained the primary focus and the hard work payed off as I earned several scholarships to play football at a D-1 tier school. I choose to play at SMU in Dallas and had a great experience on and off the field. Looking back I noticed that throughout my college career I spent the bulk of my time exploring and progressing my creativity and overall music skills whenever I was away from school, sports or friends. My focus slowly began to shift towards music after experiencing a season-ending injury in 2019. That year was the first time I had to be without football and due to a serious injury. It was a difficult time for me physically and mentally. I had a great support system around me to help me recover and I reconnected with the electric guitar.
The following year was my “come-back” season, and it was also a very important season statistically. Prior to the injury I had in 2019, I had health issues that delayed my athletic development during the entirety of the 2018 season. If you’re familiar with the sport of football and how players are scouted to play professionally you’ll understand that going into my redshirt senior year with very little stats meant that I had to be healthy and play at a high level to build some type of valuable resume as an on-field asset.
2020 rolled around and along came the pandemic with it. The timing of the social distancing era meant that I was temporarily out of luck to rehab a recently broken kneecap at my school (not to mention being unsure if the NCAA season would happen at all that year). I did what one could at home, spending the rest of my time focusing on what I could control. Most of my time was spent doing limited rehab and creating music. It was during this time that I really dove into music production and engineering. I learned how to be a recording engineer, teaching myself how to record and how to communicate with artist when working closely with them. I learned the basics of mixing and mastering by studying and trying out some different techniques. I ventured away from FL Studio and learned the basics of Logic and Pro Tools.
Eventually, myself and the team were able to return to practice and play as much of our season as we safely could. That year I double my work on the field as I transitioned to playing as a hybrid TE/WR. I played a bit underweight for the position but was healthy enough to not only have fun but be helpful to the team throughout the season and felt very fulfilled and secure about my journey in athletics. Sure going to the league was once a goal, something I felt I had to do. But coming back from breaking a kneecap, changing and learning a new position, along with playing underweight on a halfway healthy knee was all the validation I needed. My stats that year were nothing glamorous or eye-popping for any pro-level scout in any competitive league. However, that year was by far my best year of football if you cut on the film tape. I was content and knew in my heart that I wanted to pursue music, so the following year I completed undergrad and decided to walk away from football with 2 additional years remaining. I was proud of myself for earning 2 undergrad degrees in the span of 4-years while working my way into the rotation and seeing a great deal of playing time.
After undergrad I invested much of my time learning about the business and working primary as a producer. I also did stints as a musician with a few bands/artists. I found it most productive as a music producer, to work with people who share a similar drive, passion and respect for people and the art of music as I do. I can recall situations with a few artist that I have had the pleasure of working with (and still do currently) that required us to be very creative and humble in order for us to just record a song. I’m talking way back to my undergrad days even. We’d record in my dorm closet, in a car, a hallway, wherever we could work really.
As a musician, I played some gigs locally and a few times in different cities across the state. It wasn’t until the summer of 2023 that I decided to start writing, producing and publishing my own music. Earlier this year I decided to take another step and perform my own live set for the first time. I think that being an artist is something that I always wanted to do subconsciously, but was uncomfortable doing because I was uncomfortable with being myself. Being an artist requires authenticity and vulnerability from the artist, especially in music. It takes a great deal of courage not only to pursue a music career full-time, but to express art/music truthfully and openly. There is always a chance of someone disliking you or your music, a chance of things taking time to develop and progress, a chance that people will misunderstand what you do or why you do what you do, people who will have opinions about you and what you do. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, but it can be noisy and contribute to a mental block in ones early stages.
The interesting thing I found was that stepping out and choosing to be the best version of my authentic and artistic self has been great. Sure I still have to block out noise from time to time, but labeling it as just that, noise, and not a definition of who I am or what I am to be helps me remain focused on controlling what I can control and being myself. I think it is vital for an artist to be able to respectfully connect with themselves and express themselves authentically, despite who may or may not understand or like it.
As I mentioned previous, I have been releasing my originally written and recorded music as myself behind the microphone and the computer screen. I had a moment of realization that I could not only be the artist I hear in my head so often, but that I could also produce and engineer my own work. It is great to be able to apply my production skills for others but its pretty cool for me to be able to create what I’m hearing in my head without having to find someone to articulate it for me. It does require more time, patience, progressive learning and much more. But it helps me be better not only for myself but for my collaborators in music.
Now I’ve been keeping my focus on growing as a live performing artist as I continue to finish a few studio projects I want to release in the very near future. Performing and playing live as the main artist/lead is certainly different from performing strictly as a musician but its a lot of fun and just like anything else, I see myself getting better with time and consistency. I am looking forward to the progression and growth of my journey and I am grateful for all of the love and support I received from my fans, friends, family, and the City of Dallas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an independent artist comes with many obstacles and challenges that may be unique to the industry and to the artist. I’ve found this to be true in my case, specifically when it comes to answering the question of what genre or style my music fits into. I am a very eclectic artist which is a great thing, however it can be challenging in a world where undiscovered artist and creatives are encourage to niche down or focus on one thing until they gain a strong enough following/support to branch out. I completely understand that perspective but my niche is that I am eclectic in my perception, creation and expression of the art.
-Building/developing a team
Finding and connecting with experienced people who genuinely want to support my music and creative visions can be very challenging, especially when building a team from scratch. Logically, I’ve found that this take time. Finding the right people who understand the importance of knowing the business, doing things the right way, and remember the importance of prioritizing art and creativity with excellence. Getting in sync with people who are willing to support and help me realize my creative visions may take time but I have great confidence that it will be worth it.
Building my own team is important to me because it allows me to choose who I work with and it allows me and my team to build independently and create more leverage for future opportunities. I also think it is healthier for the type of creator I am. I can be very eclectic and it is important for the people I work with to understand and support that in a healthy way rather than attempt to control or change it.
-Time management
Being your own “team” as an independent artist means wearing all the necessary hats you need to find opportunities to progressively grow and improve in some way. This becomes challenging, especially for me as it means I have to cut time that I would otherwise use to continue progressing on projects (finishing songs, planning out ideas into structured goals, etc). While it does teach or reinforce the great habit of punctuality, it can be very frustrating for me when I go to days without being able to be and work creatively. I’d like to be able to invest more time focusing on being creative/artistic, it is my primary job after all.
-Social Media
While I do find it to be a great tool, balancing social media can be mentally taxing and draining. I love how much social media offers creatives when it come to connecting with the world via the internet, growing a brand or making a name for yourself, or simply being able to share. However, I do find the amount of influence it has on the music industry to be incredibly frustrating and unnecessary at times. Don’t get me wrong, an online presence is vital and a lot of great things happen and are discovered on the internet. I found much inspiration and some of my musical heroes online. I just do not like how much it Is factored into an artist being considered or valued. I enjoy engaging on my own terms, not feeling like I have to engage to be successful or to “have a shot.”
-Choosing to be myself
That was one of my challenges en route to owning the label or title of an artist. I struggled a lot with the fear of being misunderstood or having to play a part, but early on I was afraid of people who would not see me, or of people seeing me and not being in support of what they saw/heard. I learned to override such fear(s) by reminding myself to control what I can control and block out anything that is not helpful or positive in for me. I think it can be easy for an artist or any person to fit in, conform or copy someone else’s way of doing things. I don’t think that is a bad thing, however it does not work for me nor does it resonate with me.
Further more, I’ve found that it is much healthier and productive for me. I feel and operate much better as a person when I am focused on just being the best me that I can be wherever I am and in whatever I am doing. Trying to fit into a box or a mold that someone else is or has created can lead to creative and overall mental frustration.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an artist, producer, musician, audio engineer, singer-songwritter, or to put it more concisely… I am a creator. I began releasing music as a solo artist under my own name a year ago. I’ve been making beats and producing music since my preteen days while also learning and playing multiple instruments years before that. Although I am naturally eclectic and have a lot of appreciation for many genres, I am heavily influenced by hiphop, rock n roll, alternative rock, pop, indie, and classical music.
Aside from writing, recording, publishing and performing my own music, I am additionally active as a music producer and engineer.
Recently I helped hiphop artists Saucegod, doing production work on a few tracks that were on his latest project titled “Numb.” I co-produced and feature on a recently released single by New Jersey based artist KPenny titled “Poseidon.”
In addition, I am working on finish a few solo projects including an EP and my very first solo album. The EP is pretty much finished aside from a few minor adjustments. I’m really excited to release my first project bigger than 2 songs. I’m even more excited to finish the album and sharing it with the world. I really love how it is sounding and I am very pleased with how much the hard work and late nights are paying off and reflecting in the writing, production and overall life of it all.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
One of the best definitions and one that resonates with me the strongest is this:
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.”
I first heard that definition while listening to a monologue by Earl nightingale. It resonated for several reasons. I have included a few below.
1. Progressive realization is life if you truly think about it. We are all here progressively realizing something, even if it is just ourselves, our responsibilities, our friends, our spouses, family, etc. Furthermore, “progressive” doesn’t have a minimum speed limit. Sure, a persons life situation, circumstances or environment may imposed or require progress at a certain pace. But objectively, we all can progressively realize a thing at our own pace.
2. What is “worthy” or “ideal” is ultimately up to the decision maker. Having your own benchmark of what is consider worthy or ideal is important to defining your own success. Especially as an artist! Comparing what success is or what someone else’s success appears to look like can lead to frustration, ungratefulness, and an unnecessary insatiable mindset. You’ll never be content or happy with your progress unless you’re making the progress you need and desire to make. Success to a new artist could be releasing a new song and having 1 person listen to it. That may not be the same metric for an artist who is focusing on a different form or level of progression.
3. Progressive implies forward-moving. Whether that is apparent in consistent work ethic, practicing, progressive learning, trying new methods or reconfiguring old ones. So long as you are moving forward, you are taking steps to realizing your goals/dreams. You can imagine that progressing anything requires some level of consistency, practice, learning, sharing, studying, etc. So taking in this perspective can help minimize the daily stress that comes with progressively realizing a thing.
I’m sure there are more definitions of success that are not only applicable and rooted in some grounding philosophy or mindset that I will come across and possibly put into practice. But the definition I mention in this interview is by far one of the greatest that I’ve discovered and found to be true in practice thus far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/judahbell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judah.bell?igsh=NjBkaXNkY2dwcDZ5&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@1judahbell?si=nxp0RNiEXs8DQHwm
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/nRSZQzFVEXuAYCA98
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@1judahbell?_t=8nxTJpGCZbT&_r=1
