Brad Frost, a music enthusiast, shares his journey from classic rock to punk and ska, ultimately embracing a wide musical spectrum purely for fun. He organizes 'Frostapalooza,' a one-night-only concert involving 40 musicians, showcasing the importance of enjoying music without commercial pressure.
Brad Frost emphasizes the joy of playing music without pressure, rediscovering the fun of musical activity.
Frostapalooza showcases Frost's extensive planning effort to curate and coordinate a one-night-only concert with 40 musicians.
Deep dives
Brad Frost's Musical Journey and Origins
Brad Frost shares how his interest in music began, starting with piano lessons as a child which eventually led to playing bass in a family band. His musical foundation encompassed classic rock and local music scenes, influencing his early experiences learning bass techniques like speed and finger-stretching. Despite familial musical influences, Frost emphasized the joy of playing music without pressure, rediscovering the sheer fun of the activity.
Navigating Musical Pressure and Enjoying the Process
Frost touches on navigating the internal and external pressures musicians face, including the push to make music creation a formal, structured endeavor. By shedding notions of needing to 'make it a thing,' he found liberation in playing music purely for pleasure. This mindset shift allowed him to approach music with a renewed sense of joy and playfulness, devoid of obligatory commitments or predefined musical goals.
Frosta Palooza: A Collaborative Music Project
Frost details the creation and organization of 'Frosta Palooza,' a collaborative music project involving over 40 musicians for a one-night-only live show in Pittsburgh. From curating a diverse setlist to coordinating roles among band members, he describes the extensive planning process, including creating spreadsheets, assigning parts, and practicing intensively to ensure a memorable and cohesive performance.
Musical Appreciation and Self-Expression
Reflecting on music as a form of self-expression, Frost highlights the diverse influences and genres that have shaped his musical taste. He emphasizes the importance of embracing a wide range of music styles and breaking free from limiting preconceptions about musical preferences. Frost celebrates music's transformative power in connecting people, evoking emotions, and transcending barriers of language and profession.
Season one of Design Downtime is ending on a high (musical) note, as Brad Frost joins us to talk about how much he loves making music. Brad recounts the early days of his musical journey, playing bass guitar in a family band, and his taste evolving from classic rock to punk and ska, and eventually embracing a wide musical spectrum. He talks about shedding the pressure to commercialize his music and how it allowed him to enjoy it purely for fun. This culminated in organizing "Frostapalooza," a one-night-only concert involving 40 musicians from his network, and Brad shares the massive planning effort to curate and coordinate such an event.
Guest Bio
Brad Frost (he/him) is a design system consultant, front-end developer, speaker, writer, musician, and artist located in beautiful Pittsburgh, PA. As a principal and design system consultant at Big Medium, he helps teams establish and evolve design systems, establish more collaborative workflows, and create better software together. He is the author of the book Atomic Design, which introduces a methodology to create and maintain effective design systems. He co-hosted the Style Guides Podcast and has helped create several tools and resources for web designers, including Pattern Lab, Styleguides.io, Style Guide Guide, This Is Responsive, Death to Bullshit, and more.