Local Rising Star’s “Potential is Reality” ~ Ronnie King
By Lisa Morgan
Your father is Michael Lansing, a well-known name in the music industry having been the tour manager for The Carpenters. Your brother is a highly paid and coveted photographer and videographer filming for MTV and national television commercials. Your sister was an established writer for People Magazine. Then some of your music heroes who just happen to be monsters in the industry go and say things like:
“Blake, I love your music video! Keep up the hard work, it will pay off. I’ll send it out to some people in the trade.” Fergie
“Blake’s music is really good. He’s extremely talented. He sounds like a cross between Justin Timberlake and Calvin Harris.” Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20)
“All Blake needs is great management and he’ll be on his way.” Stevie Nicks
On the surface and beyond, the connections, relationships and encouragement are incredibly valuable. Any artist would cherish such things. Blake Lansing most definitely does. But, like all great gifts, it comes with great responsibility; it comes with little room to be anything less than…well, GREAT! I had the chance to talk to Blake this week, and based on the conversation we had, I have no doubt that this young artist has the vocal skill, ever developing, strong song writing skills, a good head on his shoulders, an excellent work ethic and giant heart. But perhaps his most winning attribute is the fact that he is teachable. There is no arrogance or pride getting in the way of him being able to learn and grow from those around him. And Blake Lansing is surrounded by some of the best in the industry, including our own iconic musician and producer, Ronnie King. King, who is best known for his multi-platinum collaboration with the late Tupac Shakur and his signature Moog synth/Hammond sound, says of Lansing, “With Blake, potential is reality. He has grown into what I have coined, ‘A badass in the studio’. It’s a pleasure to work with such incredible talent.”
A fun fact that Blake shared with me, was what sparked his interest in music in the first place. Like any other red blooded American boy, the inspiration to pick up the guitar was a girl. “The universe came together in a strange and perfect way,” he shared. “I was 15 years old, and my Jewish mother decided that she wanted to send me to a Scientology school. I met an older girl there who brought her guitar with her to school. She was amazing,” he gushed.
Following high school, Blake attended San Francisco State. “I got caught up in the college scene and had put music aside.” Apart from the typical college revelry, he found himself pretty miserable. “I took a class that was kind of a spiritual study. It was all about facing fears. It led me to decide to go to the desert, hang out with my dad, and really re-think what I was going to do. I had previously auditioned for X Factor and got all the way to the judges round, so I knew I was good enough to consider pursuing music. When I came to the desert, my dad encouraged me to connect with Jimmy Fitz and Ronnie King. Ronnie saw potential with the first song I showed him. It was the first pop song I’d ever written. I’ve been working with him for two years now, growing relationships with artists like Stevie Nicks and Rob Thomas. You can get really down on yourself in this industry, and it has been a huge encouragement and inspiration to have such support. After recording 25 songs, I released my first single, ‘Hit That’, and this year released my second song, ‘Dangerous’. We released it with a video shot by my brother all done here in the desert.”
“There’s a lot of expectation to do well,” he shared honestly. “My whole family is ridiculously successful. But I really believe that if you are passionate about something, you can’t have a backup plan. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m not in this to make a lot of money. Only the top 1% in this industry do. I want people to hear my music, make that connection, and I want to inspire emotion. That’s why I make music. Not just for myself, but for other people.”
Need I say more? Blake Lansing’s music will tell you the rest. Follow Blake at the following links and be part of what is staged to be an incredible, heartfelt adventure:
itunes.apple.com/us/album/dangerous-single/id887591813
www.blakelansing.com
facebook.com/pages/Blake-Lansing/345187825564887
twitter.com/Blake_Lansing
instagram.com/blakelansing
youtube.com/watch?v=np2mRknGn5s
