Meet Rick Mahoney of Pocket Shuffle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Mahoney.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music has always played an instrumental part in my life. From a young age, it helped me deal with many of the problems I faced and has helped me in expressing myself as much as possible. As I grew up, I had trouble figuring out who I was or what I wanted to do in life. While I was in college, I started experimenting with music production, but balancing that with my last few semesters proved to be difficult. Once I graduated in May 2018, I moved to Colorado with the intention of working in the events business. However, the moment I got here, I felt a resounding sentiment that I needed to push forward with my music. I took online courses every moment I was not at work and learned as much as I could in a short period of time. Simultaneously I started learning to DJ so that I could play my music live. Six months later, I released my first EP, Dinner Music for Those Eating in Hell, and three months after that, I played my first show. Since then, I have played almost a dozen shows at multiple venues across Colorado including Your Mom’s House, Cervantes, Hodi’s Half Note, and will be playing the Black Box in September. I feel that I have absolutely found my calling in all of this. All I think about is music and how I can manipulate it in a way to make it my own and express myself as much as possible. I absolutely love what I do and I truly hope that with enough hard work, I can get to where I want to be. I am so thankful for all my friends and family who have supported me along the way as I would not have made it here without them.

Has it been a smooth road?
It was not very easy getting to where I am. The move to Colorado itself was the hardest thing I had to do, as expensive as it was. While finishing my last year in college, I worked three jobs and worked an average of 90-100 hours per week my last semester. During this time, I had taken a break from music to get myself out to Colorado. Once I got to Colorado, I struggled to find a job sufficient enough to support myself on a biweekly basis. This gave me ample amount of time to work on my music, though and pushed me to work as hard as I could in the time I had available. I also have trouble meeting/connecting with new people due to a debilitating lack of social skills, but I have managed to do my best in making new friends and acquaintances in the business. I have since found a job that supports me but now struggle with working a full-time job and being absolutely exhausted when I sit down to make music. I am thankful I like music so much because if not I would definitely sleep for the rest of the day.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Pocket Shuffle story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a small-time music producer and DJ based in Denver. I specialize in weird bass music and aiming to produce a sound that is unique and different. I pride myself on incorporating different genres and styles into my music and do my best to ensure each project I start is different from the last. I certainly have an erratic style that does not conform to one archetype, but I do my best to seamlessly merge those styles into an auditory journey that stands out from the rest.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The Denver bass music scene is growing exponentially and will see so much development over the next decade. With new sub-genres emerging every day, I am sure that this industry will continue to flourish and with it bring about new waves of expression and unity. The scene gains new members every day as people realize the importance and impact electronic music has on society and I am extremely glad I get to be a part of bringing people closer to how expressive sound can be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soundcloud.com/pocket-shuffle
• Email: pocketshufflemusic@gmail.com
• Instagram: @pocket_shuffle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PocketShuffle/

Image Credit:
Tim Johnstone

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