Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: Where I come from generally seems to be a matter of some debate from what I understand. Some would lead me to believe it was via the process of evolution as a descendant from apes, others due to a consequence of deity intervention, others will suggest incubation by sentient machines to be used as battery power for their life force while the mind lives out its existence in a virtual reality construct – the jury is still out on that one as far as I am concerned – but as for where I was born and raised, that would be a small Cornish town called Helston.
It was a great place to grow up, lots of extended family, days at the beach and a friendly and relaxed style of life, reminisced upon and regaled about in the song “You Will Always Be My Home” which will appear on my debut album “Something To Say”.
What made me want to start a career in music was that I always wanted to start a career in music, but I took my blessed sweet time about it for a plethora of reasons, until it began seriously encroaching on the “now or never” event horizon.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: That depends on Excel. I have a reasonable vinyl collection (circa 1300 or so albums) on “shuffle”. They are all duly catalogued (well nearly all, I have been a bit slack regards newer purchases over the last few years) in “Discogs” and exported to an Excel spreadsheet which includes a formula which selects a row at random for the album to be next played, which is then deleted post spin. So right at this moment it’s The Police, which was preceded by Cat Stevens, with what’s next being purely in the lap of the Microsoft gods. Yep. Welcome to my world…
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: I know many people find that kind of question easy to answer and will go straight for a few names, but I always find the phrase “musical influences” a difficult one. I look at most of the songs that I have written and recorded, and I find it hard to relate them to, or consider that they have been influenced by, any particular band or artist that I have most enjoyed listening to over the years.
I was a child of the 80’s, so I can tell you my musical virginity was taken by Adam & The Ants with subsequent deviant dalliances with the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Queen before moving on to the types you were more likely to bring home and introduce to your parents like Dire Straits, Elton John and Billy Joel, but then came the 90’s and it was a head first dive into relative hedonism and debauchery. Does that help? I defy anyone to listen to any of my songs though and deduce it was influenced by Adam & The Ants or Nirvana.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Marie’. Is there a story behind it?
A: It’s clearly influenced by Adam & The Ants and Nirvana. Furthermore, it’s the first song proper to be released from my forthcoming album and it’s also the oldest song that will appear on it, being written 28 years ago, so there is something really quite pleasing in that. It’s an unashamedly upbeat and uplifting song about chasing your dreams, being true to yourself and being whomever or whatever you want to be, which is a message as relevant today as it was the few decades prior when it was written.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: Yes! My debut album “Something To Say” will be released next year, we are doing some final tweaks to it and are finishing the artwork so will hopefully have it available for pre-order soon. The new single ‘Somebody’ will be out late Summer.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I’m a storyteller and I want my songs to connect with people, it’s my lyrics and the narratives and sentiments behind them or that inform them which clearly resonate, some of them on a very deep level based on some of the lovely comments I get back from fans via social media. Describing my sound is also always a difficult one as I am not a neat genre fit, though I tend to go with “Classic Singer-songwriter” and within that there are styles that touch various genres. I often get told I remind people of particular 70’s artists, most of which I am not familiar with. I’m not sure if that is mainly due to my voice or song style. However, one such artist is Andrew Gold and coincidentally I have recently released a cover version of his song “Thank You For Being A Friend” in support of the Music For Dementia campaign and Thank You Day.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: The music itself is always fulfilling, why do it otherwise. In terms of navigating the industry as a musician, that’s a different matter and I think from the outside it’s hard to imagine and understand the amount of work you have to put in, all you have to do is write and record a few songs and play live every now and then, right? Far from it, it’s more than a full-time job, but I am very lucky in having such a great team to help with the workload. In terms of expectations, my philosophy is to I always face everything with high hopes but low expectations, it’s the best way to be.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: There are always exceptions, and there have been some noticeable ones, but generally my songs start with a musical idea which will come about from “noodling” on the guitar or piano. I never force myself to write a song and never pick up or sit down at an instrument with that purpose, it has to happen organically. Once I have that musical motif or chord progression, I will spit ball some vocal melody ideas until something sticks. Lyrically I will then try to land on a hook that is aesthetically pleasing that has some meaning and then will create a narrative for the song working backwords from there.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: Childbirth.
My wife was insufferable during it.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: At the time of writing, still being married, despite the capability of making quips like the above.
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