Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Sure. I grew up in London, in what was I guess in many ways a pretty typically suburban existence. My mum was the middle child of three to Irish immigrant parents. My dad was the eldest of three, and had grown up on a council estate in North London. They met at university, got themselves Sensible Jobs and a semi detached house. But they were both massive music lovers, as was my older sister, and our house was filled with music and instruments. My dad worked for a bank by day but his dad was a jazz musician, and my dad had been in bands when he was younger, he wrote songs and recorded them in his limited spare time, so music very much ran in the family. I remember him sitting me down at a piano when I was about 7 or 8 and showing me some standard chord progressions and saying ‘there you go, now you know how to write a song’. So the idea of writing music never felt out of reach, it felt very natural from as long as I can remember, which I realised years later wasn’t that normal. My dad was a huge influence on me in that regard.
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 “Every Other Weekend”?
A: I don’t have much of a grand plan to grow a ‘fan base’, but I do want to share my music with those who are interested in hearing it and who might hear something in it that resonates with them. When I was younger the only thing I wanted to do was be in a band and make a living from making music. My band City Reign had some level of recognition in the mid-2010s. We were totally independent making rock music in the years when the music industry was dealing with the twin perils of illegal file sharing and then the global recession, and guitar bands were being dropped left right and centre by major labels. We had no industry backing, but we managed to get regular support from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music, as well as from others like Terry Christian, John Robb, and we were able to tour the UK and do a few European shows. But it was such a grind, and because we had this ‘goal’ of turning it into a profession that was probably never achievable, maybe we didn’t enjoy the memories as much as we might have done, and maybe we didn’t appreciate how lucky we were to just be able to hang out with each other, making great music, playing shows that our friends and family would come and support and made it feel important. I’ve always been interested in existentialism and Buddhist philosophy. They remind me that there is so much beauty in what we are doing right now if we look for it. For that reason, I try not to worry about grand plans. So I guess my message for anyone about to discover my music, I would just say I would love for you lend me your focussed attention for three minutes. A song doesn’t exist without a listener, so I would love for you to bring this music to life by giving it a listen.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: There are so many, it’s hard to narrow it down to one. Those who know me well will roll their eyes when I say Idlewild, but that’s who I keep coming back to. They have been one of my ride-or-die favourite bands since I was a teenager, and they have just released their 11th album. It’s a self-titled, self-released 10 track album that is just crammed with hooks and melodies and Roddy’s signature lyrical style. I love that they are still going nearly 30 years later, having spent most of their existence out of the spotlight. They are doing it because they love it and they love each other. I saw them twice on their recent tour of England and they were just as energetic and loud and brilliant as ever.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Come Back (When You Feel Like).”?
A: I mentioned earlier that I was in a band in the 2010s, and eventually it came to an end as we couldn’t keep it up, life was catching up with us. But in the midst of that period, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I watched him endure 20 months of excruciating treatment, eventually succumbing in 2015. Less than a year after he passed, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully her treatment was more successful, but it wasn’t long before my marriage had started to break down, and I separated from my wife in 2017. That whole period had been just a blur, and I had not really been able or known how to grieve. I realised I had stopped playing or writing music, probably because it was too painful. I had been giving myself a hard time about that for a while. Slowly I began to process what was happening, and music was a way to come to terms with everything that had happened. This song was really about giving myself that time. to grieve, and feeling relief when I started to feel creative again.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Authentic
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording the track?
A: I guess I have covered the challenges of writing it already. The recording process for the whole album was a bit of a challenge that I set myself. I was lucky enough to have recorded two albums and two EPs with City Reign so had been in studios and worked with talented engineers and producers, but I had no idea how to do any of it myself. My dad had always recorded his own music, and he had plenty of microphones and a computer with some recording software. I got it out of the loft and decided I wanted to learn more about production. It was really just to see if I could do it. It has taken me almost 8 years to finish it, but I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. Everything was recorded with as little processing as possible. The drums are ‘live’ in my mum’s garage, my friend who is a sound engineer helped me set up the microphones. The rest of it I did myself, using amps and microphones. It was a lot of fun, but quite slow and frustrating at times!
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I don’t know if I have a message, other than that music is magical and a beautiful way of connecting people. I am trying to spend less time online and on social media because it feels like, where it used to bring people together, now it is pitting people against one another. I am trying to focus on creativity and friendship instead, so I guess that’s the message and the goal.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: That’s an interesting question, I haven’t really thought about it before. I guess it would be fun to collaborate with someone with a totally different sound and approach to music. In years gone by I might have said Kanye, but he’s gone a little, er, strange… If we are saying dead or alive, it’s a bit obvious but I have watched the Get Back documentary about four times, and am fascinated by the creative energy of The Beatles. But there are so many, writer/producers like St Vincent, Jack White, Johnny Marr, they are all deep thinking creative people who I am sure would be incredible to work with.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Two things.The first is the most important. Remember why you are doing it. If you ask yourself why, and you don’t know, or it’s not ‘because I love it and it brings me energy, joy and satisfaction’, then take a break. You can always come back to it. Your music and your performance won’t resonate if it’s not coming from something unique within you. The second thing would be to learn as much as you can about the industry. Understand copyright, royalty flows, metadata, and register your music with the right people.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Take more time to appreciate all the people you do this with, and who you couldn’t do it without.
