Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Greenblatt.
Hi Scott, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started playing piano around six years old and from that point on I pretty much knew I wanted to pursue a career in music. Well, I probably didn’t know what “career” meant at that age, but I knew that music lit up something inside of me and I never wanted to stop doing it. However I wasn’t sure exactly what my path would look like, and growing up in New Jersey, I certainly never expected it to lead me down to Music City. Now, having lived here for just over two years, I am so grateful for the community and opportunities that Nashville has afforded me; while I’m still figuring out how to navigate a career in the music industry, I am proud of my accomplishments thus far and am fortunate that I have been able to make music my full time job.
Throughout my time in school, I knew that I loved playing keys—from playing the neighborhood block party with my fourth grade band to packed basements and small clubs with my band at Syracuse University—and I never thought about a “backup plan” outside of music. However, it dawned on me during a really inefficient recording session in college that if I learned more about production and engineering, I could record my band without needing to hire outside personnel (which was very enticing on a college budget). I also realized that sharpening my skills as producer and engineer would increase my chances of success in an ever-changing industry. Rather than relying solely on performing, I could offer value in other ways by helping artists bring their music to life. So after graduating with a degree in Television, Radio and Film—and recording a solo project along the way which taught me the nuances of developing a record—I stayed at Syracuse for one more year to hone my skills in the recording studio and earn my Master’s degree in Audio Arts.
A week out of grad school, I moved to New York City where I worked as an intern at Electric Lady Studios. This was where I truly learned the ins and outs of working in a commercial recording studio, and I felt a deep sense of gratitude getting to do it on such hallowed grounds. From there, I spent some time in Manhattan as an assistant at GSI Studios (now Second Take Sound) and doing a variety of other freelance mixing and performing gigs. But after moving back in with my parents, recording out of their guest bedroom for the better part of a year, and half-heartedly sending out job applications into the ether, I was trying to figure out next steps to advance my career.
I had never been to Nashville prior to January 2023, and curious to explore a music scene outside of NYC, I decided to take a trip to see if I could make any connections. Crashing on friends’ couches for a week, I cold-messaged a bunch of Nashville-based producers, engineers, and artists on social media, and to my surprise, many responded—among them were Marc Scibilia and Andrew Masters.
Fast forward to May 2023, I loaded up my 2007 Toyota RAV4 and a U-Haul and hit the road from NJ to East Nashville, where I set up a home studio in the bedroom of my apartment (sleeping on a pull-out in the living room) and began recording with emerging artists. I started working as an intern for Marc Scibilia, which soon developed into a full-time assistant role—helping out in his studio with everything from recording music to filming and editing content to grow his following. I then spent several months working as Andrew Masters’ studio assistant, which gave me the chance to further develop my video editing skills while working on his YouTube channel.
Now, two years in, I just got back from my third tour with Marc (opening for Mat Kearney in summer 2023, fall tour 2024, world tour spring 2025), where I have worked various roles including playback engineer, stage manager, and videographer/editor. Between touring, producing and mixing projects for a handful of artists, and playing gigs/jamming with friends around town, I am eager to see where Nashville takes me next!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have been lucky that road has been relatively smooth so far, but I believe that you have to put yourself in situations to get lucky. The luck came from the fact that I studied Television, Radio and Film and Audio Arts in school, and that I’m actually drawing on both of my degrees on a daily basis; I feel like it is rare in the music industry for creatives to actually use what they studied in school, but I could not have planned for the industry to shift to such a content-heavy focus in the years that followed getting my education. Equipping myself with video editing skills and having a background in music theory and recording, I inadvertently prepared myself to work in many different capacities in today’s musical landscape.
Of course, there were struggles early on with figuring out how to turn my passion into a sustainable career, but once I moved down to a city where the action was, opportunities started coming my way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While I identify as a keyboard player above all else, I also work as a producer, songwriter, tracking/mixing engineer, content creator…and anything in between that is needed to get a job done. My most recent credential is “stage manager”, where I set up each stage on tour, plugging in all the instruments and hooking up the lights to the playback rig…it’s not something I’m particularly passionate about, but I can do it now!
If I had to distill it down, I am a freelance musician who loves to create with other motivated artists. One accomplishment I am proud of is helping Marc Scibilia grow his online following from 60,000 to 1 million in the two years we’ve worked together. It’s less about the metrics and more about the tangible evidence that we are creating something people care about. My goal as a musician and producer is to create music for an engaged audience, and working with Marc has reaffirmed that I am capable of doing just that.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Most of the podcasts/media I engage with are to take my mind off music haha. I usually listen while driving or cleaning my place. Right now I’m listening to The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast, Smartless, On Fire with Jeff Probst…sometimes I’ll listen to Rick Rubin’s podcast Tetragrammaton.
I started reading this book called Zen and the Art of Mixing about three years ago, but it’s still sitting on my shelf. I realized I have less patience for reading about mixing than actually doing it. It seems like a solid book though.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.scottgreenblatt.music
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sttgtt
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sttgtt
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sttgtt
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sttgtt
