In 2011, I rented my neighbor’s garage off Mississippi Ave in Portland and turned it into a recording studio. It was there that I composed and recorded my first full-length electronic music album, Elias Moniker: The A.K.A.

I poured all my heart, soul, and money into producing this album; so much so that come tax time my accountant had some terrible news: I owed over $20,000 in taxes that year and had hardly saved at all.