Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Duin.
Hi Seth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, my family moved around quite a bit. From smaller towns in Minnesota and Iowa to Australia, it felt like a bit of a whirlwind at the time. Looking back, I consider myself lucky as this taught me the joy of meeting new people and seeing new perspectives around the world. But through all these moves, one constant in my life was a creative and musical household.
By the time I was 10 years old, my mom was giving me guitar lessons before and after school. I was immediately obsessed, and soon after this began taking weekly private lessons in a more serious manner. In those early teenage years when it’s notoriously hard to make friends, the guitar became my comfort zone. Every day after school I’d play along to old recordings, the radio, and any music videos I could catch on TV just wishing I could be in a band! I worshiped this instrument, and the joy it brought.
When high school came around, I started to find more people who were just as enthused about music as I was! I was asked to join a Dueling Pianos cover band that was playing at weddings, bars, and casinos, and immediately thought — “this is what I want to do!” Playing music and sharing joy with crowds was way more fulfilling and lucrative than my job slinging sandwiches at Panera. Upon graduating high school, I made the decision to attend Luther College to get a degree in both music and communications.
During my time at Luther College, I met some of the most important people in my life. Close friends, musicians, bandmates, and collaborators that I still work with to this day. Here I found my way into my first group that wrote their own music — “General B and The Wiz.” Like most bands of 19-year-olds, it started as a joke (as the name suggests). I couldn’t help but become obsessed with the writing, recording, and production process. We would drive to Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis, and other cities on school nights to play music to even the smallest crowds, making it back in time the next day for class. We were fully on board to bring our music wherever we could.
We then moved to the Twin Cities, where I started to see what a career as a musician could look like. The band moved into a house in St. Paul together, paying our bills through the communal band fund. It was so liberating to have a home we could write and rehearse in, and figure out who we were as adults while growing a band. I worked a communications job at a local nonprofit during the day and would play gigs at night, meeting anyone and everyone I could on the scene. Summers became a time for touring, and winters became a time for recording and writing. I began to play with more and more singers, songwriters, bands, and pit orchestras grabbing new influences wherever I could find them.
By 2017, my partner was accepted to graduate school in Montreal, where we made our new home. This was a huge step for me in moving somewhere I had zero built-in networks and didn’t even know the language. But “starting over,” in a sense, was incredible for my career. Much like when I first moved to the Twin Cities, I started going to shows, open jams and responding to Craigslist ads searching for guitarists. These few years brought me new influences, new musical challenges, and an incredible array of new friends made through music. I was performing every week, making a humble living recording, and was able to tour across Canada and the US while maintaining a network in the Twin Cities. It also happened that a number of musicians I worked with were skilled videographers, and let me “shadow” them to learn more about the art of filmmaking and film editing.
Upon moving back to the Twin Cities in 2020, I brought with me that same desire to collaborate with as many musicians that inspire me as I could! Taking a cue from musicians I had met in Montreal, I also started my video production business where I work with a variety of clients to help tell their stories through short-form documentary work. Self-employment truly has been a gift, as I’m able to maintain a flexible schedule and stay creatively fulfilled.
And that’s how I got to where I am now! I spend my days and nights collaborating with musicians all across the scene striving to help make their songs come to life, while also telling stories through filmmaking. Every day is different, and I love that. I still have so much to learn, and I love that too. I continue to meet people who encourage and inspire, and who share in that same mission to spread joy through music. I’ll keep doing it until my body won’t let me!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m white, and I identify as a male. I have it pretty easy with how I was born into this world.
But it certainly hasn’t been a “smooth road.” I didn’t grow up with any examples in my life of someone who wanted to make a career in music. I didn’t know anyone who had “made it,” and had all sorts of secrets to share. Butting up against folks who ask, “sure, but what is your REAL job?” I had to work to find mentors along the way who showed that it was indeed possible to make a living sharing the gift of music.
Any career in show business is full of high highs, and low lows. One day you may be playing at a festival in front of a thousand people, and the next day you may be playing at a cafe with 10 people. Musicians constantly fight the feelings of, “am I good enough?” “Does anyone care about this music?” Musicians spend their lives trying to please crowds, labels, tastemakers, etc. All of this can take a toll on one’s mental health. Finding ways to talk this through with other musicians or a therapist is a necessity.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I won’t pretend that I have all the secrets! But I have found that openness, flexibility, empathy, positivity, and clear communication have helped me out a lot in my career.
Openness, to take the random gig you didn’t expect. The openness that other persons’ ideas in the room may be better than your own. Openness to put your ego aside and listen to others.
Flexibility, in knowing that something will always go wrong. The soundperson may not show up on time. Your amp might not work. You break a string in the first song. Be flexible to find solutions even when the situation is not ideal.
Empathy is understanding that you can never truly know what someone else is going through. Even when someone is driving you insane, knowing that you can’t always understand the full picture.
Positivity, to help spread encouragement to your teammates, your bandmates, and your crowds. Lift others up instead of bringing them down. Building on strengths rather than dwelling on weaknesses.
Clear communication in listening intently to others, and having genuine conversations when they are needed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SethDuin.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sethduin
- Twitter: twitter.com/sethduin
- Other: instagram.com/freshtonemedia
Image Credits
Laura Buhman, Adam Nantz, and Kalinn Bangasser
