Local Musician Profile // Jody Whitesides

After 16 years of living in Los Angeles immersed in a music career, Jody Whitesides returned to the Old Town Park City home where he grew up.

As you might imagine, there are some negatives with not living in the middle of the music universe. “I can’t go do a recording session in person as easily. If I get asked to do something that requires being in LA, I can’t just go - it has to be thought out. I’m not able to do as much networking from here either, which often means, out of sight out of mind.”

However, on the plus side. “I can ski in the winter and don't have to deal with LA traffic.”

Even working remotely from Park City, Jody has found effective ways to network and continue his career. Previously, he's done songs for film and TV and has more in the works for future releases. He's finishing recording an album of acoustic guitar tracks for a 'library' owned by a friend. A 'library' is a repository for music that can license music for use by TV, film, commercials, etc. A lot of music you hear on TV is done this way. “I recently finished up 40 songs I recorded with a friend in LA, another 10 songs with a friend in Vegas and am finishing up 30 tracks to complete about 20 more CDs for that same library.”

Jody no longer makes CDs as he feels it to be a waste of plastic. “I’m a strong proponent of streaming services and my music is on all the major streaming services: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, etc.”

In addition to the music, Jody sometimes does his own artwork for his singles. “I’m currently making multiple videos for each song, including lyric videos. I'm doing this for my last 5 previously released singles and five yet to be released,” says Jody.

Check out Jody's music on his website: https://jodywhitesides.com/