Episode Transcript
Don Mock 0:21
Welcome back, loyal followers. Episode 19 of MOCK, the podcast. Thanks for joining us today. So, there is a famous music producer that everybody knows called Rick Rubin, that goes by the name of Rick Rubin. He is probably most known for the Beastie Boys in early Hip Hop and DMC. He kind of, in his dorm room, started Def Jam and and has gone on to produce for pretty much everyone.
Yeah, he did some Red Hot Chili Peppers. Black Rose, I think right.
Rob Broadfoot 0:55
He’s produced Slayer.
Don Mock 0:56
Oh, yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 0:57
He did
Reign in Blood.
Don Mock 0:57
He did? Okay. Wow, there you go.
Rob Broadfoot 0:58
So he’s done a little bit of everything.
Don Mock 0:59
Metal. Hip Hop.
Rob Broadfoot 0:59
All across genres, and he’s kind of this, um…
Don Mock 0:59
Would you call him wacky?
Rob Broadfoot 0:59
He’s a guru. I’m gonna call him a guru.
Yeah, he’s got the big long beard, right?
Doesn’t wear shoes. He’s very meditative. Lives in Hawaii and is, you know, kind of this self proclaimed “doesn’t know anything technical type person.” Like he can’t work a board.
Don Mock 1:20
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 1:20
He doesn’t know anything about music from a technical standpoint, but just knows how to listen. And I think he’s kind of known for being able to bring authenticity to the albums that he produces.
Don Mock 1:34
Yeah, I think that artists work with him, because he has the panache of being able to extract creativity from them. Or get the true authentic performance from them, you know?
Rob Broadfoot 1:45
To deliver the essence of a band.
Don Mock 1:47
Yeah, exactly.
Rob Broadfoot 1:48
So anyway, he just put out a book, and it’s called
The Creative Act: A Way of Being, and we each have copies of this.
Don Mock 1:59
Yeah, you were kind enough to buy a couple copies for us.
Rob Broadfoot 2:02
Yeah, I thought it’d be I thought it’d be an interesting read. So we’re starting to kind of dive into it and we thought it might be an interesting idea to read a little bit of an excerpt from the beginning of the book, and chat about it.
Don Mock 2:12
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 2:13
So with that…
Don Mock 2:15
Your gonna give it to me to read the quote?
I’m gonna give it to you and you can read the chapter and we can launch into it.
Alright. Right at the beginning of the book, and the book isn’t I mean, I haven’t read the whole book yet. But it’s interesting in that it’s a bunch of just little not essays, but little snippets, dare I say, right? Multi page snippets about the concept of creativity, right? And right out of the get go. I mean, boom!
Rob Broadfoot 2:32
Boom.
Don Mock 2:32
Like right at the beginning, he’s got an interesting line that says, creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright. And it’s for all of us. Right? So I kind of highlighted that phrase there that it’s not rare, and it’s not difficult to access, right? And we had talked in a previous podcast about creative inspiration, and how do you get the sauce going or feeling the Mojo? You got an assignment, boom, you got to be creative. “It’s not a light switch Rob, how do I turn this on? You know? And here’s Rick Rubin, right? With a book that says, you know, a way of being basically creative. And he’s saying, hey, it’s our damn birthright. And not only is it our birthright, it’s not rare at all, and everybody’s got it, right? So, thoughts on that? I mean, I’ve got some of the media thoughts. But do you have anything that jumps to mind?
Rob Broadfoot 3:26
Well, first off, let me say, I don’t disagree with that at all. In fact, I wholeheartedly subscribe to that theory. And the first thoughts that come to mind are, you know, we talk about creativity, as it relates to the land of commerce, right, because we’re in the business of creativity.
Don Mock 3:43
I like that definition.
Rob Broadfoot 3:44
So when we talk about creativity. You know, on this podcast a lot. We’re talking about the business of being creative.
Don Mock 3:52
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 3:52
Which to me is just one little drop. You know, it’s one little droplet in the ocean of the broader notion of creativity. So I think about like, Okay, well, let’s go back to the to the early times. Okay. Someone had to invent fire. Someone had to figure out shot to make fire.
Don Mock 4:13
Okay.
Rob Broadfoot 4:14
To survive.
Don Mock 4:14
Yeah, I’m okay with that.
Rob Broadfoot 4:16
Lightning. I don’t know this for a fact, I’m making some assumptions here.
Don Mock 4:21
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 4:21
There was a lightning strike and a tree caught on fire. Somebody hobble over to it went wow, this is warm. This is toasty. It feels good. I could use this. Yeah, perhaps I can make some soup or something delicious with it. To cook.
Don Mock 4:33
It can also it can also protect you.
Rob Broadfoot 4:35
It can protect you.
Don Mock 4:36
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 4:36
So I think about like creativity for me, and that idea starts back with like, Okay, well then somebody had to figure out how do I make this or how can I harness this? How can I make fire? Then furthermore, this dinosaur I mean, I guess it depends on what you believe.
Don Mock 4:51
Oh, no… Here we go…
Rob Broadfoot 4:51
I tend to believe, that this dinosaur is coming at me. I should probably club it with something. I shall do something to defend myself or something.
Don Mock 4:59
Ok. Sure.
Rob Broadfoot 4:59
Um, or I need to make something. So you had tools that were being created. To me, that’s the essence of creativity, right? You’re figuring out a solution to a problem.
Don Mock 5:10
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 5:11
Whatever that may be. So I think about it in in kind of those terms.
Don Mock 5:16
Interesting. Yeah. I mean, I think about it. And you’re absolutely correct in that creativity is such a broad umbrella. You know, engineering is creative. I mean, there’s all sorts of, you know, we do think about it, and me specifically, more from a design perspective, more from an art perspective, right? Because I grew up and it was like, Oh, I’m drawn in the corner, or drawn over here. I’ve mentioned I love comics, you know, drawing this character, I’m doing this, you know, and then you reach that point your life where you hear, “oh… I can’t draw.” “I can’t draw,” you know, right? “Oh, I wasn’t born with that talent.” You know what I mean? Like, I had, “Oh, you’re so good at drawing, but I can’t do that,” or “this” or “that,” right? Where I’ve always been like, no, no, no, it’s just a 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell type thing. Like anybody can learn to draw, anybody can learn to paint, and anybody can learn to play an instrument. Are some people may be more naturally adept. I don’t know the answer to that. Maybe, I guess, you know, we’ve got the Mozart’s of the world and different people that bring things to a new level artistically.
Rob Broadfoot 6:15
Right. Right.
Don Mock 6:16
But I do agree with Rick Rubin that, you know, it’s it’s a fundamental part of being human. And that is kind of what, you know, makes us human, right. I mean, it is more of the art side. So I always lean more towards the artistic side of things. You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, it’s a little tricky when he says, hey, it’s, it’s not difficult to access. You know, I think there is kind of that weird thing where, hey, everybody grows, at least in the United States, we all grew up in kindergarten, and we’re painting and we’re doing all these little arts and crafts, and this and that. And then there’s that Splinter, right, where all of a sudden, you kind of maybe don’t have as many art classes anymore, or, you know, the creativity isn’t necessarily as nurtured or as fostered, you know, for everyone, right? It’s kind of become you sort of self select, right, if that makes sense, right?
Rob Broadfoot 7:02
Well, I think, if you think about it this way, I remember when my kids were super, super little. And I remember just some of the things that they would say, and some of the questions they would ask and some of the ideas they would have. Were so incredible and far out there. And like, wow, I could never come up with that. But that is pure, unadulterated, like, just straight creativity.
Don Mock 7:27
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 7:27
And that’s before society, sort of
Don Mock 7:30
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 7:30
Not on a soapbox. Not in a bad way. But before you sort of learn what the lanes are that you operate in and function in as a person and whatever else.
Don Mock 7:39
Yeah, for sure. Well, there’s no self censorship, either. No, fear of being judged. You know, just whatever pops into the mind of a four year old is what happens in the mind of a four year old and you’re just going with it.
Rob Broadfoot 7:50
And that to me it goes to like when he says, it’s your birthright, right? I mean, you’re born with it. Like you’re just born creative.
Don Mock 7:57
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 7:58
And I think over time, I don’t know the right words for it. But some of that is not taken away from you. But it’s not as wide…
It’s left behind. It’s left behind.
It really is.
Don Mock 8:09
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 8:10
You know, I saw on your desk a picture that your son Drew.
Don Mock 8:14
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 8:15
It was amazing.
Don Mock 8:16
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 8:16
It was like the craziest comic. And I was like, what? It was these hands and these little people on it. And gravity was pulling these two forces in opposite directions, like, well, that’s fantastic!
Don Mock 8:26
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 8:26
Where did that come from?
Don Mock 8:27
Yeah, I just said, Hey, go draw me something, draw me a picture, draw me whatever. And that’s what it came back with. I was just super wacky, which I love. So I’m gonna hang it in the office.
Rob Broadfoot 8:35
So I tend to agree with it. And I think that, you know, what happens from an industry perspective, when we talk about creativity as it relates to commerce, and what we do for a living, that’s a whole different thing. Because then, and we’ve talked about it before, but then, you have to learn, “Oh, I have to be creative in a way that makes sense for the task at hand.” It has to be based on a strategy. It has to be done by this day, you’re all of a sudden putting all of these sort of confines around creativity, because it’s being used to go market or sell something.
Don Mock 9:14
Sure, sure. Well, it isn’t creativity for creativitive’s sake.
Rob Broadfoot 9:19
Right.
Don Mock 9:19
It is tapping back into the power of persuasion.
Rob Broadfoot 9:23
Right, right.
Don Mock 9:23
And potentially trying to convince somebody to buy something or to do something or whatever.
Rob Broadfoot 9:28
Ya.
Don Mock 9:28
So it kind of the definition of creativity changes. A little bit, right? But yeah, versus, like, the engineer that developed a creative product, you know, what I mean? Or something along those lines. You know, like a media planner, right? That is unbelievably creative with media strategy.
Rob Broadfoot 9:46
Right, right.
Don Mock 9:46
It’s not necessarily a funny headline, but it’s a new way to approach how to find, you know, target audiences where they live, or whatever the case may be.
Rob Broadfoot 9:54
I mean, we both love being creative with our taxes.
Don Mock 9:58
Oh boy…
Rob Broadfoot 9:59
No, but if you think about like, back to the book and Rick Rubin, his job as a producer is to come up with the most creative solution that he can to then put on an album.
Don Mock 10:12
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 10:12
To then be marketed out to the world that people will go buy.
Don Mock 10:16
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 10:16
So he’s operating under the confines of what he has to do. But trying to get the most creative product within that package.
Don Mock 10:25
Yeah, exactly. Well, extract creativity from the talent at hand, right? Which is interesting. Yeah, I’m excited to read more of this book and sort of see the different snippets of creativity and what that might mean. So once again, the title of the book is may get the cover here. The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. It’s a big book too.
Rob Broadfoot 10:38
It’s a big book.
Don Mock 10:46
Yeah, there’s a lot of creativity, a lot of creative solutions in here. A lot of
Rob Broadfoot 10:49
A lot of good things are gonna happen. All right.
Don Mock 10:51
All right, everybody.
Rob Broadfoot 10:52
Let’s do a little discussion on creativity go up by the book.
Don Mock 10:54
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 10:55
So far, so good. Through page five.
Don Mock 10:58
Well, it starts off with a banger.
Rob Broadfoot 10:59
It’s good stuff.
Don Mock 11:00
I just talked about it for 15 minutes or whatnot. So yeah. All right. Tell us where the folks can find us.
Rob Broadfoot 11:05
You can find us in close to the west Midtown. Atlanta, if you’d like to drop by the office dogs will bark at you.
Don Mock 11:12
Dog’s will bark at you.
Rob Broadfoot 11:13
Dog’s will bark at you for sure. But they’re friendly.
Don Mock 11:15
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 11:16
You can find us on the interwebs Of course, at mocktheagency.com or on all the socials @mocktheagency. And as always, let us know how we’re doing.
Don Mock 11:23
Yeah.
Rob Broadfoot 11:24
And how awesome we are.
Don Mock 11:25
We’re awesome
Rob Broadfoot 11:26
Or how terrible we are. Either way.
Don Mock 11:28
Maybe a little bit of both?
Rob Broadfoot 11:29
Maybe a little bit of both.
Don Mock 11:29
Sugar and spice. So all right, play us out Mr.C.
Till next time.
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