After losing a parent, ending a relationship and leaving unhealthy friend circles all within a few months, theRave was forced to start a new chapter in life by exercising unfamiliar feelings of love and loss: so he turned to music and formed Spells and Curses.

But it was the loss a family member to suicide that gave his work a focused purpose; to prove that despite our past trauma, surviving and making a better life is the ultimate revenge. Spells and Curses attempt this by creating music to explore one's "inner space", with songs that act as a “spell” to enhance the moment, or a “curse” to damn it.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Sure. I think the most noteworthy thing about my background is my being raised in Queens, NY. Queens is a borough with immigrants from all over the world and making friends allowed me to immerse myself in so many different cultures. By learning to keep myself open to these different cultures, it taught me to adopt an open-minded mentality with virtually every other aspect of my life; especially with music. The rest is, as they say, history.  

What inspired you to start your business?

Oh man, well it was around 2011-2012 that I was going through a rough time in my life. I was mostly dealing with various forms of loss that ultimately led to a loss of my own self and identity. At the time, the depth of what I was feeling was so new to me that it made me nervous just thinking about talking to someone about it. But thankfully I was a songwriter which allowed for me to express it succinctly via music. However I was still too nervous to record in a studio with other people listening, so I taught myself how to record my first album in the privacy of an old basement. *laughs*

Where is your business based?

That’s a funny question because while it’s mostly based in New York, I’ve been very adamant about being international. Internationality is a huge deal for me.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first steps I took was to secure all of my social media! Luckily nobody else took the “spells and curses” name anywhere. Except “www.spellsandcurses.com”. The person who owns that wants ten grand for the domain. So “www.spellsandcurs.es” will have to do *laughs*. But yea, it was very important for me to secure my internet real estate so that people can easily find me.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Honestly, just releasing content that resonates with people. In my case, it’s releasing music and videos on Spotify and YouTube. The thing about those apps is they all want their users to stay on their platforms for as long as possible. So if you create something that people enjoy, the app itself will push it out to more people. So just feed the machine, I guess? This mentality kinda changed how I look at all “content”, to be honest.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I think I’ve just stumbling onto my biggest challenge now. The entire Spells and Curses operation is getting bigger than one man can handle, but it hasn’t tipped the scale quite yet. The balancing act so far has been tough but manageable. Once that changes, I anticipate team building is going to be crucial for me, so I’m trying to get ahead of that. But again, being one man means I can only take things one at a time.

How do you stay focused?

HA! I’m the worst person to ask about that. I suppose I just don’t resist my distractions anymore. I’m very all over the place when it comes to my focus. But if something takes my attention away from creating/releasing music, I try not to guilt myself about it and just totally soak up whatever it is until I’m bored with it. Sometimes that’s the only way for me to get anything done!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

The beautiful thing about music is that there really is no competition. I write from my thoughts and my imagination. No one has my voice when I sing, my touch when I play guitar, and my perspective when I write a song. Being weird ole’ me is finally paying off!

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Honestly? Just release undeniable content. By undeniable, I mean something that is so truly you that nobody can say “it sucks” or “that’s bad”. The worst someone can say to someone’s truth is “it’s not for me”. I think when you have that mindset, you allow yourself to be braver than your fear of judgement.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

You can read as many books and watch as many inspirational videos as you want, but at the end of the day, the best way to learn is to just start and mess up along the way. Accept that you will mess up and learn to be cool with it so long as you learn from it! 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

Favorite app is definitely TikTok at the moment. It’s got the feel of a 2012 Instagram, where the feed is so catered to your specific interests and doesn’t feel economically driven as much. It’s good to stay in touch with what where the current cultural zeitgeist is. Favorite book is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. That book changed how I think and how I work. I can’t recommend it enough. I don’t read any blogs *laughs*

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

The internet! I know how ridiculous that sounds, but there would be no other way I’d spread my music if not for the web. It’s the best time to be a musician because all the tools are quite literally in your own hands! 

Who is your business role model? Why?

Jack Conte. He’s the CEO of Patreon but he’s also in 2 incredible bands. He’s someone who has not only successfully crossed art with commerce, but has created a tool to help other artists do the same. Furthermore, he is someone that is just beaming with positivity and is such an open book for helpful, insightful advice on how to navigate a creative life in the 21st Century. He gets it and he is more than willing to share.

How do you balance work and life?

I’m not sure that I do, to be honest with you. I don’t really have much of a life outside of my music. I’m not being facetious either. I’m usually doing SOMETHING music-related.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Learning how to decompress is a big goal for me. I can’t say I know how to do it just yet, honestly. But I imagine I’ll get there eventually. Maybe I’ll take up crochet or something. 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Well, I had an exact plan for the entire year but then COVID happened. So a lot of things are up in the air with regards to live performance. However, the focus right now is to create as much music as I can get away with right now. Amassing a stock pile seems like the best bet right now.

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find me @spellsandcurses on Instagram. Please don’t be afraid to say hello; I respond to all of my DMs (eventually)! You can also find my music on Spotify if you look up “Spells and Curses”.