Meet Bret Crow | Composer/Bassist/Entertainer/Comedian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bret Crow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bret, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
Just committing to doing a little bit in each area that you are working on everyday. As you are creating, every little bit adds up over time and that’s how you naturally learn and grow. And breaking things up into time blocks, I’ll work on one specific thing for an hour, take a break, and then move on to another thing I’m working on for an hour, and so on. That way I maintain focus and stay successful each day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a Composer and Bassist. Bass is my main instrument and when I am performing solo I use a looper and create songs on the fly along with through composed songs. All of my music was born in the moment through improvisation. Being able to perform live and doing what I do really helped cultivate that music. I’ve released two albums of solo looper music so far.

I also am the composer for my band Time Knife, an eclectic and eccentric rock band that combines all kinds of music and time periods together in one amalgamation of music that lends to anything and everything happening together all at once. We have one full album of Punk Rock songs, fully written out with zany horns, wacky vocals, heavy guitars and bass, and subject matter ranging from the act of being happy, to the story of the walrus and the carpenter, to a surf song about Earthworm Jim.

I am also a Content Creator on Tiktok, YouTube, and Instagram. I make fun videos showcasing Bass and duetting silly videos and making them musical. With the newest Time Knife album, it will be a collaboration with people whom I’ve met through Tiktok and constantly collaborating with. We are working together to create new and interesting music, all through the power of communicating and creating on tiktok.

Really I’ve learned the most through just the act of doing the things that I am doing currently. Each time you go to do something you learn something new, and see in a different way that ultimately helps you to learn and grow. Each new challenge helps to develop and see the ways that help be the best that you can be. With tiktok, I learned and taught myself how to use the app, and paid attention to what others had been doing to find the right equipment and ways of creating the best they can be. I strive for that each day. Being unique and performing to the best of my ability.

Time Knife will be returning to live performances starting in the fall with a lineup of fantastic musicians who are ready to bring weird, unique, and eccentric music to Denton, DFW, and Beyond.

Recently I have started a Primus tribute band called “Primish: A Tribute to Primus” and you can catch us performing all over the DFW area.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would definitely go and check out many of the local Thrift stores and shops on the square in Denton. Recycled Books is always a go to for me, I love their selection of records and music books and sheet music. Getting some weird candy at Atomic candy. Would go to Golden Boy Coffee and show them our DAPC art gallery and get an Oat Milk Hot Chocolate Or Latte. And of course, the local parks and outdoor locations, Eureka Park is still one of my favorite places to take a relaxing walk around the duck pond. And there’s always the Golden Triangle Mall. And ice cream at Beth Marie’s!! There are so many interesting places in Denton haha oh, and Books and More!! Lots of great records and books there!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A Big shoutout to my girlfriend and partner Ali. She inspires me every day to be my best and most successful version of myself. We both are really great together and are building a fantastic community of artists and creators through working with our community with Denton Arts and Performance Collab, our event planning group.

Website: Https://linktr.ee/thebretcrowshow

Instagram: Instagram.com/thebretcrowshow

Facebook: Facebook.com/thebretcrowshow

Youtube: YouTube.com/thebretcrowshow

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebretcrowshow

Image Credits
Personal photo, credit: Carey Bilyeu