Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Hi Bored City! Matt Smith here, founding member of INTERCONTINEN7AL. Thank you for taking the time to interview me 🙂 Yes, so growing up in New Jersey, I was exposed to a lot of different music at a young age between various members of my family – pop, rock, Motown, rap, etc. I think as I got older and started writing music, having a steady diet of diverse musican genres helped me to be able to “pull” from these influences depending on what the song required.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “INTERCONTINEN7AL”?
A: Yes, so we are continuing to actively promote the band through various media outlets and music blogs, such as yours (thanks again btw for this opportunity!). We are active on socials like Instagram and X, and have our music on all the major streaming platforms. As for anyone who is about to discover our band, all I would say is get ready to explore all types of music. While we are a rock band, we really cover a lot of bases in our music since we are recording on all 7 continents!
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: For me personally, i would say the artist that inspires me the most is Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. He lives and breathes music, and never stops creating and trying new things, whether it’s making a horror movie, documentary on music (which is how our band was actually inspired), writing a book, making a video of a 20+ minute song, etc…Inspriation for making music can come from a variety of places – not just hearing other musicians. Sometimes I’m inspired by a quote or a scene from a movie, or even just when I go for a nice hike. Just have to remember to have my phone nearby in case I need to record my idea!
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Love is Everywhere.”?
A: Of course! So the song was written and recorded by our dear friend and bandmate Nereo Paulus, who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He recorded all instruments on the track – to include mandolin, classical guitar, bass, bongo, and additional percussion. In his song, Nereo wanted to convey that love is all around us, if we stop and take the time to acknowledge it. You can feel deep connection in nature, and reset your mind just by experiencing the calming ocean waves or even a rainshower. To me personally, when I listen to his song it takes me to a meditative place, to appreciate what is around you and who you have around you. The video for the song was actually shot in Bariloche in Argentina (link here: https://youtu.be/EZbU2iJ1fdU?si=GNWi6y8sfcW3Bop9).
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: I may be cheating here, but “all-encompassing”
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Love is Everywhere”?
A: So as I mentioned above, Nereo recorded all the parts himself. I suppose the one challenge we had was we intended to have several other bandmembers join in on the chorus vocals, to create almost a “choir” effect. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we were unable to complete this.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: The message of our band is that music is truly one of the greatest common links we have as a species, and can unite us across physical and cultural boundaries. With our band having members from all 7 continents, we demonstrate that a good song can really bring us all together as one for one common goal.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: As mentioned above, my dream artist would be Dave Grohl.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Don’t ever give up. There’s a lot of rejection that you have to stomach, but when you do get a “thumbs up” from someone (whether it’s a fan or someone in the press), it shows that you are on the right track! If it’s important to you, it is going to be important to someone else.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Practice your guitar scales!
