Scott St. Louis is an artist with a message to tell and with his new single “I Think You’re Beautiful” his story-telling comes to life. I had the opportunity to talk with Scott St. Louis about his music and what inspires him.

Tell me what you’re new single, I Think You’re Beautiful, is about.

I was in a past relationship with someone who had an eating disorder. And it was tragic because you could tell them that they are beautiful but they wouldn’t believe you because they don’t see that. And it was through that process that I realized that a lot of people feel that way. Society tells you that you have to dress a certain way or have certain things for people to accept you. So the message of the song is that you are beautiful the way you are. Its much more beautiful when people like who they are and are confident and comfortable with themselves.

What was the concept for the video?

When I sat down with the director I told him that I didn’t want to video to be about me. I wanted it to have a purpose and the purpose had to represent the message of the song. So he came up with the concepts and I came up with the little messages you see in the video. When you look at the book and the title says two separate things based off who was looking at it. I wanted it to be like when someone tells you that you’re beautiful, you don’t hear it that way, you hear something negative. And it happens to everyone, guys and girls, and I wanted the message to be portrayed in the video.

I hear a lot of different styles in your voice, what are you inspired by?

I don’t know, I listen to a lot of different stuff. I am inspired by whatever moves me at the time. I’ve been compared to a lot of different people but no one can really put their finger on it. But, I don’t know my favorite artists goes in and out. More recently its been Tom Petty, the drummer for the Heartbreakers plays on my album so I’ve been around them a lot. But I like Snow Patrol, The Struts, the Foo Fighters, but really whatever moves me at the time. I need to feel it in order for me to like it.

What kind of messages do you like to send out through your music?

Its really all across the board. I do try to stay away from politics and typically it would come out of anger for me from both sides of the spectrum. But every song that I write its the way that I process how I’m feeling and say what I want to say. So songwriting is like therapy for me. I look at the song as a painting from a moment in time; starting with a sketch and then adding color to it until it touches me. Because if I can feel it, then I feel like others can feel it as well.

After being in the business for quite a few years, what is something that you’ve learned?

The main thing that I learned is that you have to really love what you do. If you are going into it for money or for fame then you are going to be in for a huge disappointment. I have to learn how to be a fan again. At several points I had to learn how to be a fan again and go and support and be part of a music community. As opposed to trying to be a rock star or anything for me. I really didn’t want this record to be about me but that hopefully someone out there will listen to it and it will help them through something that they are going through. But overall, one thing I would say to people going into this is to be a fan, learn to be a fan and love what you do.

What can we expect to see from you in 2018?

We have another record coming out, but sooner than that we are going to be releasing another video for the song “Does Anyone Know the Way.” Its going to be a concept where we follow around a homeless veteran family and we try to get them back on their feet. Its going to be more documentary style because I don’t want it to be about me. I want it to be about focusing on trying to help people. But probably at the end of the year we will release the album, but in the spring of 2018 we will be going on a tour but nothing set in stone yet; or at least nothing that I can confirm yet.

 

You can watch the video for “I Think You’re Beautiful” here.
And be sure to follow Scott St. Louis on all his social medias linked below.

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Photo provided by WendyFordPR

Sages is a Rock band from Sacramento, California who pulls inspiration from legends like Metallica, Deftones, and more. Their current single, “Matter of Time” is out right now, and I had the opportunity to chat with member Dino about the song and what’s in store for Sages’ future.

What is the song, “Matter of Time” all about?

It’s inspired by what is going on today. There has been a lot of truths coming out lately and a lot of people are waking up to these truths. I’ve just noticed that people, myself included, are picking up on all of it as well. And it’s only a matter of time until sh*t goes down, basically.

Do you do most of the writing or is it more of a collaboration with all the members?

I did most of the writing in the first couple of years. But “Matter of Time” and a few songs before that have all been collaborative efforts.

Will we be seeing these songs on an EP or full length soon?

We are actually going out to Vegas on the first of next month to work on a few songs. And hopefully putting out an EP in the first quarter of next year.

The song “Matter of Time” is being played in fitness gyms throughout November and December, how did that transpire?

I’m not sure. Our publicist, he just hit us up one day and said “Good News!” and it’s being featured in like 4,000 gyms across the country. I have no clue how he landed that but we are all pretty stoked about it.

Tell me about the music video, who directed it and where was it shot?

We shot the music video in our rehearsal studio. My buddy, Kelly Smith, who is a jack of all trades and does everything, just came out and did it himself. His production company, Eye45 Productions, produced it and we had some lights and fog machines and it was super gnarly. It was in the middle of summer and there was no AC in there, it was a crazy experience. We did it in a day and it was pretty cool.

I see you’re doing a lot of one off shows here and there, are there any plans for a tour?

Oh yea! I can’t say right now exactly what is in store. But it is pretty massive and the tentative plans we have right now looks like end of April/May we will be out on tour. We are kind of prepping right now to get all this wrapped up and done by spring time and hopefully be out on tour.

If you could craft the perfect tour line up, who would be on the list?

Oh gosh! For me personally, and I say it all the time, definitely Metallica and definitely the Deftones. Right now, a band that I’ve been listening to forever would be Story of the Year. They are about to drop a new record and I’ve been listening to some of their stuff and all their singles they’ve been dropping are awesome! But 30 Seconds to Mars would be cool too, and Periphery.

Do you believe that it’s important to listen to different genres of music to absorb different technics or should someone just stick to one lane?

I think its absolutely, for me, a better situation to take inspiration from all angles. There are certain progressions in our music that are pulled from inspirations from all over. I can take stuff from meditation music and jazz fusion music and make it something that is Sages. But definitely, being diverse in that helps you grow as a musician.

You signed to We Keep Rocking Productions, how did you land that deal?

The owner of the company is out of Sacramento area and he was at a Sages show. He really like the band and we were talking for a year and a half. We kind of lost touch a little bit from being busy on both ends. But some time later we got back in touch and we signed with him and we are all really excited to see what will happen. There are a lot of really cool things in store and I wish I could just spill the beans but I can’t! A typical story, but really cool and we are excited to be working with Rob Snyder.

What is the plan right now other than going to Vegas to record?

Basically we are just working on new songs. We do have one show before the end of the year. But we are just preparing to hit the ground running after the start of the year.

What is something you’ve learned since starting your journey in music?

After being about knee deep in the industry for about 12 years, I’ve learned a lot of things. But one thing is that I’ve learned is that yes there is a lot of bullsh*t, but there is the flip side that is true. There are genuinely good people who care about you and your band and who are here to help you. Not only to help make money, but they are there to help inspire people too. There is a lot of music that is manufactured to sell and not inspire, and its just soul crushing. But a lot of artists don’t care, they’re like just put us on tour. There’s a lot of bad people and there’s a lot of good people out there too.

You can listen to Sages’ song “Matter of Time” here.

Be sure to follow Sages on their social media platforms below.
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Chris Hornbrook is a professional drummer whose works include Poison the Well, Senses Fail and recently Dhani Harrison. I had the opportunity to chat with Chris about his career.

How did you get started with drumming?

I grew up around it. My dad was a bass player so there was tons of music around the house. At about 7 I started playing guitar, it was cool but I just didn’t like it that much. I then messed around with other instruments like alto saxphone. Then when I was in 12 I had a friend that was selling a drumset and I just kind of messed around with it a bit and just fell in love. So I convinced my parents to cough up $200 to buy it for me. Then from there I just started learning as much as I could.

Since you were a fan of the 90s music scene in Seattle, and Dave Grohl being one of your inspirations, would you say you are a Nirvana fan?

Yea, Nirvana was kind of the band that did it for me. I think that’s common for people my age and hearing Nevermind was pretty cool for me. But I really fell in love with In Utero that was the record that I heard and was like “whoa what is this?” It was so dark and everything was live. Like Kurt Cobain’s guitar was a scratch track. I just really liked how it was all put together.

When did playing in bands start for you? Was there anything before Poison the Well?

There was. There was a punk band that I was in, and that was my first real band. Before that it was just jamming with kids from high school and friends. Then I joined Poison the Well in the end of 1997/1998 and I was in it until hiatus in 2009. But, yea I was with Poison the Well during most of their entire incarnation.

So then what was the timeline of bands since Poison the Well?

As Poison the Well, our old guitarist started a band so I did some session with him and recorded some stuff. Then after that I moved to California and started jamming with friends here but never got anything going. Then I met a guy that was doing the final pressing for a band called Big Black Delta. Just really great, well done electronic pop music and I did some touring with them. But when that cycle ended that’s when I started doing Senses Fail. But between then I did some odds and ends stuff here and there, but now from Senses Fail I went into playing for Dhani Harrison. But I’m still jumping back and forth from Sense Fail and Dhani Harrison, its just that Senses Fail isn’t doing stuff right now.

While working with Dhani Harrison, who has a different style than your previous work, how did you work with that change?

It was taking a lot of queues off of what he wanted. So he had programmed some stuff and then other people programmed some stuff and so it was a lot of layering. When he played me the tracks it was just learning what he wanted from me. There were 4 or 5 tracks going at the same time and as a human, I couldn’t do that…I only have 2 arms and 2 legs. So it was taking what he gave me and turning it into something I could play and still being what he wanted. It was more so, “What are you looking for?” Every band is different, some want it exactly how its written and some don’t mind if you add a bit of yourself into it.

Luckily for me he just lets me do what I want. Because he knows I’ll stay within the perimeters of the song. We would just kind of sit down and work on some stuff because it was just a matter of taking an electronic record and putting into a live setting, which I had a lot of experience doing.

How long did you have to prepare for this tour with Dhani Harrison?

We did a bunch of stuff leading up to this tour. So we had a few weeks of rehearsal to play around and get the songs to where we wanted them for those shows and then when we came back I had like a week off. Then we went back into rehearsals do so a radio show and we went back in and started preparing again. Then it was just some shows here and some time off. Until we came back and started preparing for this tour. So we have been in and out for the past 2 to 3 months. And each time we came back and tweaked some things and everyone in the rehearsal room would add something. And Dhani would be there and add some things and just kind of guide it a bit, but he trusts all of us.

What is in the future after this tour ends?

When this ends, there’s talk about some more stuff with Dhani and then there’s also talk about some stuff with Senses Fail. But, nothing is certain yet, its just all up in the air. So I will have some time off to just kind of recollect and handle some personal affairs. But its also one of those things where I’m always on my toes because I could get a call either Dhani or Senses Fail and so its like I’m starting to relax but not too much.

Do you think in the future you would continue jumping between projects or do you think you’ll stick with one group?

Ideally I would like to balance back and forth. But realistically it makes it difficult because sometimes conflicts come up where I have to choose one on priority. So in an ideal world I would stick with one band that could support be financially and keep me in a position where I’m happy and musically challenging. I don’t know how realistic that is because of the way the world works. So the realistic response is that I will be bouncing back and forth between a few things.

You’ve been staying in the same lane musically with your drumming. Is there a genre of music or artist that you would like to drum for?

Well that’s a tricky question. I don’t want to say that I’m closed off to the ideal of doing something else, but I’ve come to the realization that I’m a fan of songs. I like being a song crafter, I like being with people who have a story to tell. That is the most appealing thing to me. I don’t like jazz, it doesn’t appeal to me. Same with Latin, there are elements of those genres that I like and maybe one day will implement those but I like really great songs. Whether it be in a pop format or another, I just really like songs. Maybe that’s why I stayed in the lane I did because I like crafting songs. Like with Dhani its more of his scoring. Then you have elements of The Beatles, because of the obvious, but then it has the electronic element because he really likes a lot of electronics. So at the end of the day he writes really cool songs, and that’s what I like.

If you could pick any moment(s) throughout your career, what would be the ones that stick out to you?

Favorite moments would be first with Poison the Well, doing our first major label release. It was extremely exciting, we drove from Florida to California and tracked the record with people we respected and then went to Sweden to finish the record. And after that we jumped right into our first European tour. I just remember that entire time just being really exciting and just being on the edge of everything you imaged just manifesting.

Playing with Dhani is super cool. I was a big Beatles fan and a fan of his father’s. And just getting to know him as a dude and getting to know his music has been a really rad experience. You just see past what other people see, like I know him better and I know what makes him tick musically from spending hours with him in rehearsals.

Another one is playing with Big Black Delta. Even though they might not have much name recognition, but John is one of the most talented songwriters and musicians that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. So with being around him I feel like I absorbed new ways of approaching music and crafting music.

A lot of my highlights are with Poison the Well because it was a lot of firsts with me. Not saying that everything else diminishes, but the overall experience with Poison the Well is a highlight. They were most of my firsts that represented the accomplishments of what I wanted to do and dreamed of doing. That band led to everything else that I’ve done, it was the root of it all.

Looking back, what is something that you learned?

The biggest thing, and the general misconception, is that just because you get signed to a label, you automatically become rich. Some of them stick and some of them don’t, and you hear about the ones that stick and go on to have successful careers but you don’t hear about the ones that don’t. And with tours, yea you’re making money by playing to a bunch of people, but just like any other business there are operational costs. People just don’t realize the cost involved with doing it, and I was the same way. Some of it I learned from my dad and some of it I had to learn the hard way. But that was the biggest thing that I learned.

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Chris Hornbrook is currently on tour with Dhani Harrison until the end of November.

You can find Chris on his social media sites linked below.

Website

Facebook

Photo by Josh Giroux

Silk Cinema is a London based electronic pop duo who describes themselves as “Sade in Space” and they are currently promoting their new single, “Disappear.”

First listen, the song is definitely an electronic pop song. Its got a mellow ambiance to it with a beautiful vocal that floats over the top of the synths. The ‘clap’ effect really sets the beat and pulls everything together to keep it all in line.

I wouldn’t go into this single thinking its going to be some EDM, house music song. Go into thinking a relaxing electronic song that can tell a story and express a certain emotion.

The airy breakdowns were perfectly placed to break up the repetitive beat that lays underneath the melody. I can see this being a soundtrack to a montage travel video that you see on YouTube.

Not my typical cup of tea, but Silk Cinema has composed a beautiful song that could easily be liked by any music lover. However, I do highly suggest Silk Cinema for anyone who is into electronic pop because they would be right up your alley without being a carbon copy of everyone else in that genre.

You can listen to “Disappear” on Silk Cinema’s SoundCloud.
And you can follow them on their social media sites linked below.
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You can find me on Twitter and Instagram as ohstefne.

I always get excited when an unsigned band releases new music, especially a band as good as Boy Hero. They are a group to definitely keep on eye on.

In the past I’ve reviewed their EP “Boy Hero” which you can check out as well. Recently Boy Hero has been releasing songs over the past month and its getting me excited for the release of their upcoming EP.

Their single “Last One” was released for Halloween and now they are back with an acoustic song “Stay Away” and a beautiful video to match. Dan’s voice has always been a unique one that I’ve enjoyed listening to and this acoustic song really emphasizes the vulnerability in his voice.

If you are a fan of alternative or even pop punk bands, please check out Boy Hero. But for now, check out their new song because it is definitely one that will be on repeat for me.

Stay Away Video

 

*Disclaimer. All Reviews are my opinion and interpretation of the songs/album. You might think differently. Please be respectful.