Please introduce yourself and briefly tell us what you are working on now (name, graduation year, and current role in the industry).

My name is Lucas Kozinski and I graduated Drexel’s Music Industry program in 2013. Since then I have opened Sleepless Sound Studio with two fellow graduates, Adam Laub and Bob Iacono, and we are now in our third year of business. This past weekend we shot 6 bands in 2 days for the next installment of the Red Room Series (www.redroomseries.com), a monthly live in studio showcase of local Philly band performing 3 songs of their choice. I’m currently helping a friend with his Kickstarter video and doing some edits/color correction for him.

How does your experience within the Music Industry Program at Drexel compare to your actual experience now that you are out in the field?

There’s no syllabus you can look at and see what work you’ll be doing in the future. Calendars are your best friend. Freelance is an interesting way to live and takes some getting used to. Don’t let your current projects stop you from booking work a month from now. Always think ahead and make sure you’re setting yourself up for future jobs.

Have you had any “AHA “ moments that you would like to share, either during your Drexel days or post-graduation?

Don’t wait for things to happen. There is always a lot you can do yourself to progress a project along. Something my dad taught me early on was to make a list of all the steps you need to do to accomplish your goal. If steps 4 and 5 require someone who is unresponsive, tackle steps 1 – 3 and do as much as you can on your own. You’d be surprised how much quicker people move when they see progress happening.

Can you talk about ways in which Drexel’s co-op program helped you to determine your career and professional goals? Where did you co-op and what was your experience like?

Finding the co-ops on my own helped me sell myself as a freelance worker, which was a valuable skill in itself. As much as I hate it, self-promotion plays a huge role in obtaining work and building a network of professionals you can utilize. I always knew I wanted to be on the creative side because it was what I loved doing. I worked at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, CA and saw how a professional studio operated while still maintaining a friendly, down to earth environment. It really reinforced my vision of what I wanted to do post-grad life. The engineers there were incredibly experienced and taught me a lot while I was there. They even helped me get some painting jobs to make extra spending money since the internship was unpaid. They always showed me gratitude for my work and rewarded me with responsibilities of setting up microphones, editing drum takes etc. It reinforced the mindset that you should always treat your employee, coworker, boss, with the respect you’d want yourself. It really made it an incredible place to work and learn and I aim to provide that for the clients/interns that step into Sleepless.

How would you describe your growth as both a student, and as an active member of the music industry, from your start as a freshman to the current day?

I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do as a freshman, but the more projects I worked on, the more I loved it. I’ve met a lot of people just since opening Sleepless and it’s been a great experience so far. I’ve made a lot of friends that have helped me out a lot and I wouldn’t have made it this far without their help. In the beginning, I really dreaded the whole networking thing and always avoided it when I could, but it’s fun to embrace meeting new members of a community and hearing what they’re doing with their careers. Then you find that one person who you click with and you try and find a way to include their talents with yours. Philly’s music scene is the best one I’ve ever been a part of and I’m really glad I ended up in this city.

What are your plans for the future?  What do you hope to accomplish in the next five years?

I’m hoping the studio will continue picking up more and more projects and we’ll keep building our clientele. I would love to dive more into video work with scoring and post audio mixing. It has always been an interest of mine and the projects I’ve been apart of continue to push me out of my comfort zone, keeping things really challenging and fun. It’s an entirely different process. Working on the sound of a visual is really exciting. We’ve been lucky enough to work with Expressway and I’m hoping more projects come along where they could use our services.

Were there any particular classes or professors that helped you to decide on your career path, or which you would recommend to future MIP students?

All the professors have so much experience with so many facets of the industry that they don’t necessarily tell you in the classroom. My advice to students now would be to talk to them after class and ask them questions about anything that intrigues you past the lesson plans. Also, don’t wait for projects to force you into the studios. Get in there as often as possible and work on that one song you never finished. Go ask around if any bands need demos and produce their music for them. I always look back and regret the couple nights I went out drinking instead of going into Studio A to finish a project that I started. Those four years will fly by faster than you think.

Any last words or take-aways you’d like to shout out to our prospective students and their parents about our program and your experience?

Create your own opportunities and treat each project, free or paid, like the whole world will see it.