Advice from a Young Record Producer

The ideal musician, according to Isaiah Peoples, blends passion with knowledge.

The musician/producer and I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA senior’s life has oscillated between passion-driven pursuits and studious efforts to master instruments and music theory. The fruit of these effort is a record new label, Villainous Verse Records. 

Peoples’ formal musical training began at age six with private piano lessons. At ten, he began teaching himself pop tunes on piano before picking up guitar in his early teens. His passion for music increased when he realized he could rearrange songs or develop his own tunes.  

“I was jotting down lyrics, riffs, and trying to get bands together,” he recalled. “We had a trio. We performed at this theater show during an intermission. That was my first self-made performance.” 

While many young musicians are content to enjoy the pleasures of covering popular tunes, Peoples deconstructed tunes to learn the underlying structures that tied various genres of songs together. 

photo credit: Miriam Wamsley

“I saw how song structure worked and how chords can complement melodies. I told myself, ‘I think I can do that.’ Eventually, I ran into alternative rock music. I saw how they were pouring their emotions out in their songs… I thought I could do that.” 

As Peoples started his freshman year at I.M. Terrell, he became fully engulfed in music-making and improvisation.  

“It started by recognizing simple patterns,” he said. “There were certain chord progressions that I noticed lots of songs were using. I started taking notes. They will change the verse, chorus, and pre-chorus… [but] a lot of the structures were the same. Pop music is like a puzzle. You can take out and put in different pieces. I’d do these improvisations, taking some chords from a song and playing them in my left hand while improvising melodies in my right hand.” 

In January, Peoples launched Villainous Verse Records, the North Texas-based label that produces rock, hip-hop, and alternative forms of music. As the venture’s producer, Peoples auditions prospective songwriters, mixes and edits songs, and promotes sales of the final recordings. He didn’t realize how extensive his theoretical knowledge of music was until he started working with other musicians in a professional capacity. When musicians experience writer’s block, Peoples uses his knowledge of chord structures and melodies to nudge the creative process forward. 

The label now represents several artists across the country. Two albums have been released under Villainous Verse Records as well as “a lot of singles,” Peoples said. 

Peoples completed GRAMMY Camp, a five-day summer music industry program for high school students who plan to pursue a career in music, over the summer. Faculty and industry professionals lead workshops and masterclasses with the small percentage of applicants who are accepted into the prestigious program. During our interview, which took place right before the camp started, Peoples said he was excited about the opportunity to network with like-minded teens. The young producer said he plans to enroll in a music business program in college. 

When asked which educator Peoples singled out as guiding him toward his current music career path, People said that credit “200%” belongs to Timothy Brendler, director of music theory and piano at I.M. Terrell. 

“That man is amazing,” Peoples said. “Freshman year was a bit of a struggle getting back into classical repertoire before I appreciated it. I remember he would hassle me to practice. I appreciate that because the final outcome of that year was pieces that I never thought I could play. Props to Brendler for not only pushing me that hard but letting me mess with the school’s equipment. I would stay hours after school just working on random songs with him. Honestly, no one expected that of him. I don’t think I would be where I am now” without him. 

As a young but accomplished musician, songwriter, and producer, Peoples has this advice for aspiring musicians. 

“If you’re an aspiring artist looking to get into music, but it isn’t quite clicking, evaluate your balance on the technical side of music versus the creative,” he said. “You can’t have one without the other.”