Meet Gregory Oakland | Banker, DJ, trance/techno/house producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gregory Oakland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gregory, why did you pursue a creative career?
Music has always played a very large part in my entire life. My dad is a guitarist/singer and has always shown me all of his favorite songs while letting me develop my own taste.

I studied finance in school, have been in commercial banking for almost 8 years. Working in a big metropolitan city has always been a dream of mine. After working in both Downtown Los Angeles and Midtown New York, I’ve come to realize that this is not where my true passion lies.

In college I was a DJ and wanted to try my hand in production and it ended up being much more fun than DJing itself. After getting my first track signed with my mentor Shugz and a few solo tracks in one year I knew I had found my calling. The feeling of knowing someone is listening to something I created and enjoying it is one of the most intoxicating feelings ever!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve been in the commercial loan operations space for about 8 years. I have my Bachelor’s of Science emphasis in Finance, Real estate and Law at Cal Poly Pomona.

I would say more so that it COULD have been easy if I had applied myself a little more in school. I was an extremely mediocre student and was in a fraternity so I was admittedly a little distracted.

A few things I’ve learned: never quit even if you feel behind. Just finish and you can be glad you followed through with it (took 5 years to graduate). Develop a work ethic that translates into anything you decide to do. This is the main factor that will determine if you’re successful in literally anything. Work experience is just as valuable if not more than education. Lastly find balance, unless you’re Kobe it’s tough to only commit your life to one thing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Depends what they like, but one of the most prevalent activities in LA and NY is all the great food. LA has great hiking spots, lots of great clubs (I am a big EDM guy so those are always on my list), festivals. I like cultural events and scenic activities. If anyone is only trying to party then I’m probably not the right guy to show them around anymore.

In New York you could honestly just look at all the buildings and admire the architecture. The city has so much freaken history you’ll feel like you’re in a movie where ever you go. I’m a big stand up comedy guy and some of the best comics come from New York in my opinion. There are a ton of those small clubs and watching them work out sets and sometimes even bomb is always interesting.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shout out my mentor and good friend Shugz the Irish tech trance sensation. He has really helped me discover and take my sound to a professional level over the last two years.

Without everything I’ve learned from him and the perspective he’s given me in terms of production, the music industry and the philosophy of making music I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I’m at right now. Plus we have the same sensibilities so we laugh at a lot of dumb stuff together.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregoryoakland/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GregoryOaklandMusic

Other: https://soundcloud.com/gregoakland

Image Credits
Joanna Guererro