Chase Björnson is a visual arts and creative branding expert who worked in the music industry with artists like Bon Iver, Zeds Dead, and Mumford and Sons. In this interview, Nate and Chase talk about how Chase got into the music industry, what his plans are now that COVID has halted live concerts, and how to dig deep to create meaningful connections. Here’s a quick summary!
On his adventure mobile:
- In 2019 bought a cargo van and has been remodeling it into a tiny home/adventure mobile
- Van life has been appealing to him for a long time – home is where you park it
- Van was a delivery van in its past life
- Chase had no experience going into the remodel
- Is about 95% complete and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience for him
- The van has everything he needs to get by
- The goal is to take the van all the way down the Pan-American Highway
On his gig with Discovery:
- Working on a production crew with Discovery – but can’t say much about it
On his career in the music industry:
- All started at age 12 when he went to the Van’s Warped Tour in Bozeman, Montana
- Found his people – started skateboarding and playing guitar
- Fast-forward a few years and he started playing in bands
- Began creating brands around his bands and started booking gigs
- Went to college at the University of Montana, but was pretty focused on the social scene
- Found his way into a class called Entertainment Management and realized what he wanted to do
- Started booking bands and his company, Royale Entertainment Company started to take off
- Eventually got into electronic music and it really opened his eyes to what was possible in terms of set design, lighting, and presentation
- While he was building Royale, he was also working with University of Montana Productions where he worked his way up to Concert Coordinator & Director and had the opportunity to work with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Foo Fighters, Dierks Bentley, and more
- After graduating from the University of Montana, he took a job with Logjam Presents the biggest music promoter in Montana
- Was the Entertainment Manager & Sustainability Coordinator – which meant he coordinated the logistics of the shows with the bands and the venue
- Also completely revolutionized Logjam’s sustainability efforts – eliminated the use of 45,000 plastic water bottles and diverted 300,000+ lbs of recyclable and compostable waste from the landfill
On his mindset:
- Has always had a “get up and go” mindset – values action over talk
- Life is what you make it, and if you don’t try and fail (often), you’re never going to succeed
- Lots of trial & error and learning on the go
- Don’t let yourself get lazy
On advice for making your dreams come true:
- A big believer in to-do lists and writing down what he needs to focus on
- Writes down his goals (long & short term)
- Think about what you want your life to be like and how you’re going to get there
On building quality relationships:
- Harder to dig deep in certain environments, so try to get into the right setting where you can really dig deep
- Talk about non-work things – be friends
Following and supporting Brock:
- Check out his website: chasebjornsoncreative.com
- Follow him on Instagram: @ChaseBjornson
