If anyone can teach a masterclass, it’s Shaun LaBelle! With his jazz singer mother and his father, advertising icon Lawrence LaBelle, S. L. Awesome was destined for and nurtured to greatness. Both an incredible, sought after television and music producer while also being a musician and recording artist, he’s done it all at the highest level for more than 30 years.
With credits that include Ray Charles, Jody Watley, Prince, and Jeff Lorber, among numerous others, Shaun’s built fruitful working relationships with major recording artists and labels. His funky, multiplatinum-selling production remains a valued commodity, leading him to stages alongside Lindsey Webster, in the studio with Stokley Williams, or climbing the Billboard charts with his own tunes like his 2017 hit “Wave”.
Expect to see him rocket up the ranks again soon with “Supermoon”, his highly anticipated new single that is set for release on October 5, 2020.
Shaun LaBelle took time out his busy schedule to answer our “2020 Twenty Questions” questionnaire! We hope THIS INTERVIEW entertains and inspires you.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you to be alive?
That’s a really good question! I would say … a strong 8.
I find right now living with this pandemic almost intolerable. And I actually think about my parents who are gone. My dad checked out 10 years ago and my mom checked out 3 years ago, and just think about how lucky they are to not be around right now because it’s not a real great time to be alive. It’s scary. It’s not comfortable. People are not acting right. You don’t feel safe anywhere you go. You get chastised if you’re not wearing your mask in a particular place. It’s not a real fun time.
But I think we’ll come out of it. I’d like to think I’ll be back to a strong 10!
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Absolutely a musician.
What was your favorite cartoon?
The Flintstones.
Tell us your favorite song as a kid, as a teenager, and now as an adult.
As a kid I played drums religiously to George Benson’s “Breezin”. I couldn’t play it enough.
As a teen I would have to say “Glide” by Pleasure.
My favorite to listen to now as an adult … “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”.
What’s an album that means more to you now than it did when you first heard it?
Herbie Hancock’s Sunlight. It’s incredibly cool but it’s underrated. It’s hipper than what people give it credit for. When people think of Herbie Hancock they think of Man-Child and all his earlier records.
What are your 3 favorite movies?
Goodfellas, The Hunt for Red October, and A Few Good Men.
What’s the last film that made you cry or almost cry, and what scene did it?
You know what’s funny? I always tear up at the end of Pretty Woman when Richard Gere’s character comes back for her at the end.
What’s your all-time favorite TV show?
Hogan’s Heroes. I love it. I still watch it.
Which character on that show do you identify with most?
Col. Hogan! He’s got a swag I dig.
What makes you laugh out loud or smile uncontrollably every time you see it or hear it?
I like the Geico commercial with Pinocchio when he shows up for the internet date and she’s expecting somebody else! I roar over that one!
Who in your family served you the most delicious, unforgettable dish you’ve ever eaten?
That would have to be my mom. Her spaghetti was the bomb! No, wait … Her beef brisket!
Tell us the most nutritious thing you’ve fed your mind.
A show that I think is really good for me that I like to watch religiously, and I always learn something from, and it’s helped me be better running my ad agency in a lot of ways because I think he’s brilliant, I love Marcus Lemonis and his show The Profit on CNBC. He goes and invests in business owners. I’ve learned a lot from that show.
When did you start to understand your value?
Wow!
I think I started to understand my value in my early 20s. I was being sought after by many artists, musically, to play bass for them. The more people that were calling me up, the more I realized that I had arrived and I really had something to offer.
Who is the G.O.A.T. of your profession?
The greatest person in my profession I would have to say is my father.
He produced so many things for television. He produced some of the greatest advertising campaigns of all-time! Everything he did was magical and genius.
Do you aspire to be like them or more like someone you have a stronger personal connection to?
I aspire to be like him every single day. And I try to do things every day that I think would make him proud, whether it’s development of my music or development of my TV commercials, or the product I’m putting out. I truly wish he was here today to see what I’ve been able to create since he left us back in 2010.
I would like to think I would make him pretty proud.
Recall for us the first time you failed. What lesson did you learn from that?
I’m half-kidding but this is true! I’ve always driven BMWs my whole life and I’ve always happily driven BMWs. I remember when I could afford my first BMW after reaching a certain amount of success in the music business.
For whatever reason I decided to take a detour and buy a Mercedes. And it was the biggest mistake of my life! I brought it back the next day, and they were nice enough and kind enough to let me bring it back and return it!
So, I guess, the lesson learned is don’t drive Mercedes if you’re a BMW driver!
In what way have you evolved over the last 12 months?
I think I’ve found that you have to find a balance in life. And I’ve always been on Level 10. Just nonstop, go, go, go, go, go. I actually think the pandemic gave me some time to reflect and realize that sometimes you’ve just got to shut it down for a little bit. And it’s okay to do that.
It’s okay to rest. It’s okay to chill. That’s the only way you’re going to recharge the batteries, right?
When was a time that someone you didn’t know did something nice for you? What did they do?
I recently had a client that I produce television commercials for, and have for several years, wrote a letter.
With thousands of commercials I’ve produced and records I’ve produced, to get a letter like I did thanking me for what I’ve done for their business and how it’s changed their business, and how they’ve doubled financially and that my advertising campaign had everything to do with it, and how much they appreciated it, they’ll never forget it and they’re always going to recommend me to everybody they possibly can …
That meant more to me than you’ll ever know.
How would you explain to someone the importance of valuing their time?
I’m always very cognizant of making sure I always take people’s time into consideration. Whether it’s someone I’m partnering with on a project that we’re collaborating on, whether it’s my mixer who is mixing my records, I always want to make sure, whoever it is, that their time is appreciated and that I’m not going to monopolize it. That’s something I’m always aware of and something I preach to everyone I work with.
In fact, I say that! I say, “I don’t want to monopolize your time so let’s do what we need to do, get it in and get it done so you can move on to other things.”
What’s been the biggest blessing of your life?
Having parents that believed in me from Day 1. They sacrificed their ears because there was a lot of banging drums in the basement. And a father that was always willing to go the extra mile to teach me and to allow me the opportunity to go and record in the studio, to perfect my craft to be the best at what I am today. Helping me become what I am today. I could not have done that without my parents. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker and Alex aka Grand Kai]
