Corrington Wheeler is a Rock artist from Houston, Texas who pulls musical inspiration from Philosophy and Masonry. I’ve reviewed music for Corrington in the past, so I was pleased to get the opportunity to sit down and ask him about his music and experiences.

 

How did you get started with music?

Grew up around music. I was in pep band, marching band, you name it. But I was terrible at singing. For my Senior year we had a festival thing and I tried to put together this makeshift thing. But everyone bailed expect for me and the drummer, but I still went on and did it and embarrassed myself in front of the whole school. But this was the beginning, that was the motivation for me to get better.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I listen to everything! Growing up my two favorites were JoDee Messina and Ruth Etting, a lot of her 1920s stuff. But as for things that inspire my music and that we try to market off of are bands like Crown the Empire, Issues, Hands Like Houses, and Sleeping with Sirens..that kind of genre.

What is the writing process like for you? Is it more organically formed or scheduled?

Like any artist, ideas can come to you and when they do you’re like “oh god, oh god, OH GOD!” So you yank out SoundCloud and record it quick. But that kind of moment is few and far between.

But what I do is contract someone to do the instrumental. I tell them what I like from different grounds to get the sound I like. We go back and forth until we like what we have and then we both, the producer and I, come up with different melodies and compare to make one really great song. With “Seeking Light” I wrote about Philosophy, which is going to be a book soon that is a supplement to the songs. So I would plug and pull different parts from the page I wrote and switch things around until I like what I got.

You spent some time overseas in Japan. What was that experience like and how did it impact your music?

It actually impacted me more than my music. It was interesting, the people were polite and respectful but it was different to be the minority. There were places that being American was not welcomed and many restaurants wouldn’t serve me because I was American. In Japan people were afraid of me because of my tattoos, but when I went to Cambodia people wanted to steal from me because they thought I was rich.

You’ve collaborated with a lot of artists on this album, what would you say is the biggest take away from that experience?

There are pros and cons. It’s a cool experience because I was looking for inspiration from these artists, so to work with them was cool. But, it took so long to finish. Because they all worked with different labels, it took a long time to get the music to them and for them to respond back and to come to a common conclusion. Also, for most of them this was a side project, it wasn’t a priority for them.

If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

This might surprise you, but I would love to work with Hoodie Allen or Justin Bieber for this new project or brand that I’m working on. That would be huge!

You’re releasing a video for “Point of Enlightenment” soon, what is the song about?

“Point of Enlightenment” is basically just that. The moment in time when I thought “wow” and I kind of understood more about society than what I previously did. It was like opening my eyes for the first time.

This new video is going to be a lyric video. There will be beautiful cars, because I like cars, and that will be the theme of this video. Its showing elegance and beauty where the car seems like more than a car. I think that plays off of the way that we try to build and live our lives everyday.

Your current album is “Seeking Light,” tell me a little about it.

When I was 21 I became a Free Mason and it taught me that there was this knowledge about the world that is hidden. It was very inspiring to better myself and those around me. So when I was starting to make music, there is a saying in Free Masonry that says “we all travel east,” so when I was writing this album I was traveling east or “seeking the light.” Its the entire journey and each song in this album is a moral lesson that I learned while traveling the world.

What are your favorite song(s) on the album?

I would have to say lyrically I like “Point of Enlightenment” and I thought it was going to be my favorite song hands down. But, my musically I would say “Sociological Structural Functionalism” from “Traveling East” EP. I did that song in three takes in the studio. It just kind of came to me and it was one of those moments that were just magic.

What would you say is the highlight of your career so far?

I’ve had the chance to play some big headliners and working with so many artists in the past years. But I would say it’s a tie between volunteering with fans and this show I did for about 300 people. It was the first time that I saw some people in the crowd singing my songs back to me. I almost cried, it was beautiful. I know that sounds cheesy but it meant so much to me.

Finally, what are your future music plans or goals?

For Corrington Wheeler we are going to be releasing 2003 punk song probably in late 2017 or mid 2018. But probably just covers, performances and more videos for Seeking Light. But we do have an album in mind. However, I am starting a new project or brand called “Corrington” which is a R&B project and my plans are to get that started and promote that throughout 2017 and 2018.

_______________________________

You can listen to Corrington Wheeler’s album “Seeking Light” here, and you can follow him on his social media sites linked below.
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
Tumblr

Photo by Corey Menhart
Photo provided by www.wendyfordpr.com