David Friebe breaks into music industry as LAMI


David Friebe, a sophomore majoring in popular music performance, released his debut EP “Year In Review” under the stage name LAMI. Photo courtesy of David Friebe.

USC student David Friebe, better known by his stage name LAMI, has been forging a path into the music world at a fast pace. A sophomore majoring in popular music performance, Friebe recently released his debut EP “Year In Review,” featuring five tracks written and recorded by Friebe himself.

Coming from a musical family with a father who is a professional jazz musician, Friebe was raised in a musical environment and had little choice as to whether music would be a big part of his life. Friebe dove into the music world at an early age and learned to play the drums at 3 years old. Though he did not take professional lessons, Friebe often found himself drawn to a variety of instruments laying around in his home.

“We had instruments all over the house and music all around so everybody in my family was always picking up different instruments,” Friebe said.

Since then, he has learned nine instruments, but mainly focuses on the drums, piano, bass and guitar.

Friebe also grew up performing with his father, who has  helped Friebe’s career  by getting him to be more serious about pursuing music. By middle school, Friebe began to understand what a career in music actually meant and immediately knew that was what he wanted to do, but he did not know how. Even when Friebe released his first album Out Of The Bubble during his senior year of high school, the idea of a career in music was simply a dream rather than a reality.

Friebe taught himself how to record music using the popular software Logic to apply for New York University in his senior year. After picking up the basics of producing, Friebe soon recorded “Out of the Bubble,” a song that featured several friends for guest vocals and instruments. This was the first time he learned how to mix and master as well as professionally rap and write lyrics. The skills Friebe learned from this process helped him prepare for the production of “Year In Review.”

Once at USC, Friebe quickly began to make connections with those who later on helped him in many aspects of his career, from graphic designers for his artwork, to his current manager, Hector Garcia.  The Thornton program has also enabled Friebe to develop more as an artist.

“Being in [the popular music program] has allowed me to showcase the different talents I have and instruments I know, as well as find out exactly what I want to do and focus on,” Friebe said.

It was not until Friebe matriculated at USC that he realized his dream could become a reality. Friebe has been able to play and work with countless other USC students, while building up a team that covers every aspect of his musical career, like legalities and promotion.

Friebe began writing and recording for “Year In Review” last summer and remained in control throughout the entire process. Friebe wrote, produced and recorded all of the vocals on “Year In Review,” but also brought in fellow USC students and friends for background vocals and instruments. The team handles social media, promotion strategy and photo and video.

Friebe also recently released a music video for his song “Silhouette” with the help of fellow USC students. While Friebe had always wanted to make music videos for previous songs, as soon as he began writing the beat for “Silhouette,” he knew he had to make a music video.

”As soon as I made the beat, I knew I wanted there to be dancers and for the song to be dance-oriented,” Friebe said. “I made the beat and got the hook in my head and I knew this was the song.”

After finishing up a demo for “Silhouette,” Friebe proposed his idea for the music video to Garcia as well as his friend Matthew Carieri, a junior majoring in cinema and media studies, who directed the video. Friebe said he was able to execute every detail he had envisioned for the music video with the help of his team.

Plans and rehearsals for the video began in mid-summer and the actual filming took place during the first two weeks of school. For the party scene, Friebe and his team actually threw a party and filmed clips throughout the night, which was followed up the next day with filming at a warehouse with a formal production team. The low-budget video was possible through a lot of fundraising as well as friends looking to get experience rather than pay.

As 2017 comes to a close, Friebe hopes to put out one or two more EPs in 2018 while also continuing to perform and expand his fan base. Friebe also hopes to continue to foster his current relationships and make even more connections to further his career while enjoying his time at USC.