Studio Crash, Episode One: That Time I Actually Finished Something (Sorta) – Featuring “Way it Goes” by Lauren Lanzaretta

Okay so this is one of those posts that’s not really a post, but more like a quiet confession.

A while ago, I had this idea for a YouTube series called Studio Crash—basically me popping up on my musician friends' studio sessions and filming the whole vibe. Not some glossy documentary thing. Just raw, black-and-white, high contrast, unfiltered kind of stuff. Real Cleveland. Real talented people. Real good music that may or may not ever come out.

The idea came naturally. Most of my long-time friends are musicians because I was a musician. A serious one. Full-on chasing-the-industry dream. Producer, artist, all of it. So when that dream kinda got shelved, what stuck around was the community—people who still hit me up for my “producer ear” or just to be in the room. I had a rep for being good studio energy.

Anyway, the first episode happened totally by accident. I was invited to a session by Lauren Lanzaretta—one of my favorite artists and a friend. She was working on something new and let me bring my camera. The session was recorded at Jim Stewart’s studio in Cleveland, Ohio. I can’t remember the exact date—maybe I can dig it out of the footage metadata—but right now, I have no clue. I caught some great moments. I edited it. I found the vibe. Sent it to her. She loved it. The whole thing has this black-and-white, raw, high-contrast, uncut feel to it—which was intentional. What wasn't intentional is how loud I’m breathing in some of these shots. Like, I’m behind the camera sounding like a fat pug on a treadmill. It’s not Lauren—she’s flawless. It’s 100% me. You’ve been warned.

And then… nothing.

Not in a bad way. Not in a drama way. Just life. The timing didn’t line up with her release schedule, and I chased some other dopamine. And the footage just kinda sat there.

That’s been my M.O. in a lot of ways—making cool shit, then ghosting on the follow-through. But this time, I’m dropping it. Not because it’s perfect, or part of some rollout, or even relevant to anything anymore. Just because it deserves to be seen. Even if five people watch it, that’s five people who didn’t know Lauren was a beast.

So here it is: Episode One of Studio Crash.
Maybe Episode Two will come out.
Maybe I’ll post a reaction video to this.
Maybe I won’t.
But either way, I finished this one. Sorta. And that counts.

Oh yeah—almost forgot. The song Lauren was working on that day? It’s called “Way it Goes”, and it’s out now. You can hear it on Spotify (linked below). I feel genuinely blessed and proud to have been in the room for that moment. Thank you, Lauren.