Conversations with Anthony Stehr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Stehr.

Hi Anthony, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My musical journey started back in high school where I was playing lead guitar in various metal bands. This was a really fun and formative period for me. I learned how deeply I could connect to the music I wrote and with the people I was performing in front of. One moment that really stuck out was when I was approached by a fan while we were in the mosh pit together after my band’s set. He pulled me aside and told me that he had gone to every one of my shows for the various bands I was in and said I was his inspiration to learn to play the guitar. Until then, I didn’t really know I was making an impact with my music and was completely awestruck. I told him how writing a song can be the most cathartic thing a person can do because music can communicate something words could never capture on their own. When a listener hears something you wrote, they can see a part of you that no one else does. Any time I feel alone or that what I’m doing is not worth it, I think back to that moment and am truly grateful to have moments like that.

Being in metal bands in the early 2010’s had their own struggles though. Whether it was bands dissolving because of drama or having to buy tickets from promoters out of our own pockets as teenagers and having to skip class to make sales, there was always something distracting from the music. Then one year for Christmas, my parents got me FL Studio and I completely fell in love with the ability to just stay up all night and create an entire song all on my own. This was the start of my journey writing EDM.

Even though metal was the only genre I wrote before, I had always loved electronic music. The first CD I ever had was my Aunt’s copy of Who Need’s Guitars Anyway? by Alice Deejay, which seems pretty fitting looking back when I put down the guitar and picked up the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Back then I tried my best to make dubstep, but really had no idea what I was doing and eventually took a short break from music all together.

A couple years later in 2017, I re-enrolled in college to finish my Electrical Engineering degree and figured while I was at it, I could start up music again too. I used my student loans to buy Ableton Live, a decision that forced me to eat a lot of Ramen Noodles and skip going out, but I have no regrets at all. This time around I knew how to really focus and began writing dubstep just as feverishly as I did when I first picked up my guitar. I didn’t go a single day for almost 2 years without watching a YouTube tutorial and found that what I was learning in my degree program was giving me a deeper insight into sound design. I had no clue Electrical Engineering would have such an overlap with music, but my decision to start learning again really paid off.

Eventually I graduated from college and started getting booked for my first shows as a DJ. All the work I had put in started to pay off. Unfortunately, I was laid off from my job a little over a year ago, but with that I had significantly more time to work on my music. I hunkered down and honed my craft where I wrote music that finally started to sound more professional and became comfortable on stage again, this time as a DJ. Along the way, I met really awesome artists and DJs, some becoming close friends. I truly feel like I’ve finally found my place in life and despite all of the trial and error it took to get here, I couldn’t be happier with where I’m going.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been the smoothest road. The last metal band I was in was starting to get some good traction and actually headlined the Roxy Theatre in Denver, but then we broke up because the drummer quit. That was the last time I played in a band and was a deciding factor to pursue music as a solo venture.

Learning to produce electronic music on my own was a struggle all by itself. There have been countless nights of not getting any sleep and making changes that I didn’t end up liking the next day, which is a struggle I know all producers have dealt with. Learning to feel confident in your own music takes a long time, even longer when you’re the only one writing it. It was different when I could hangout with my band and we could bounce ideas off each other. It’s a little bit of a lonely road at times, but I’ve found some really good friends along the way who also make music. That has helped so much and I value those friendships above all.

I’ve also had a good amount of stage fright my whole life and you’d think that would’ve gone away by now. But even to this day, I still get some butterflies in my stomach before I go on to perform. It’s a little nerve wracking, but once I start playing, I’m always reminded why I love what I do.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In my professional life, I’m a robotics engineer. I got my degree in Electrical Engineering from CU Denver with a minor in math and computer engineering. For a while, I worked at a large company with offices worldwide where I created systems for autonomous vehicles. I got to travel to locations where I got to see how my work was directly helping people and had opportunities to collaborate with other engineers across the globe.

The thing I am most proud of was how I could help incoming interns get established. I started as an intern and the imposter syndrome was so real. When I was offered the opportunity to give a speech to all the incoming interns and train some of them, I took it immediately. Having a helping hand to get yourself started can be invaluable and I was so happy to be able to help others get on their feet.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was the day that my friends and I joined my uncles at their jam spot before we went to a metal show together. I was 15 or 16 at the time. Two of my uncles had a room rented downtown in this super run down, dingy apartment where they had all of their music equipment. The walls were falling apart and there were maybe 6 lightbulbs in the whole building, but we didn’t care because we could jam as long as we wanted and be loud to our heart’s desire. From there, we walked down to the Marquis Theater where we spent the night eating so much pizza and moshing to our favorite bands. It was a place were I could really be myself around all of my favorite people. I live for those kind of nights.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://trialand3rror.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trialand3rrorofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trialand3rror
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@trialand3rror
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/trialand3rror
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@trialand3rrorofficial

Image Credits
Mid-Knight Media