What was life like for you before you got into music?
I was born into a musical home. My dad was a Latin percussionist, and I grew up around musicians. There were amazing jam sessions in my home, so there’s never been a “before I got into music.” It’s been my entire life and career. It’s been a great ride so far!
What’s the live music scene like in (ADD YOUR TOWN/CITY) right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
St. Louis has a great musical history. We have so many great talents in the city. There are a lot of great acts out there making their way.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician. How do you feel about this?
I was just having a conversation the other day about this, but really, promotion has always been part of the process in the music business if you wanted to break out of your hometown . Back in the day, we had to travel and go to radio stations all over the country and play our songs and do photo sessions every couple of days for magazines.
Today, you just have to create little 15-second commercials for people to check you out to hopefully discover your music .
Creating content is like making this little puzzle and giving people little pieces of it every day. Then, if they’re interested, they start to put the puzzle together and find out who you are .
It’s always been about getting ears and eyes on what you do. So, yes, the tools and methods have changed, but the game is the same.
How do you manage engagement on your socials?
I have a great team of people that help me with all the different platforms and getting my stuff out there. I respond when I can, ha. But one of the coolest things about today’s social media is how you can reach people all over the world with a single click, and sometimes you get to hear fans’ experiences or memories from someone in a country that I’ve played in, you know, decades ago. It’s been really cool to connect with people that way .
What’s your view on the music industry today?
In a way, it’s in a free fall. Music is still the most powerful force out there that makes you feel something and connects people, but the business has changed so much, and the parameters we used to measure success are constantly shifting.
We all used to know what the hits were . Whether it was a movie, a TV show, or an album, we all shared that same discovery together . But now there are so many choices, and it’s so amazing really how people can have such a huge fan base that you’ve never heard of !
I think it’s so much easier now to get your music out there and so much easier to find your audience because we are doing it directly, one person at a time, without the machine, serving it up, telling us what we’re going to like. But it’s also so much harder to be in the zeitgeist but also not needed as fan bases are more narrow, but way deeper than they used to be. It’s an exciting time to be a creator!
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Oh, I’m one of millions of artists that are looking for my audience. I’ve had a lot of success on my journey the last 35 years I’ve been on a major label. I’ve been on tours, I’ve played clubs. Ive played theaters. Ive played casinos, I’ve played bat mitzvahs lol . I’ve played arenas. I’ve seen it from the top down and the bottom up!
At this point, I’m a journeyman, a lifer. I’m an artist, and I still have something to say, so I’m putting myself out there once again.
What’s the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
By far, to be true to myself. I think on this newest album and project, I’ve figured out what I want to say, who I am, and I’m expressing myself truly, not just being who I thought people would want me to be and what I thought would work, which served me well for many years, but I’m enjoying sharing who I am at this point.
What was your best experience on stage?
Probably the first time that I heard an arena singing back every lyric to one of my songs in another country with the language differences and everything. It truly was a crystallized moment of a dream come true, and also realizing the power of music.
What was your worst experience on stage?
Oh, by far this acoustic radio show we did in the 90s in front of, you know, thousands of people opening up for some headliner with no monitors, not being able to hear the other guy, and it was just two of us doing it acoustically, and we were so far across the stage from each other, it was a disaster that left us mortified out there.
Just reminiscing, I can still feel the mortification all these years later of that set lol.
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
I’m a serious Christmas cookie baker ha.
Like, next level, there’s an exclusive list of people that get them.
I took over the family tradition after my mom passed away. I grew up helping her in the kitchen since I was a kid, so I’ve taken it over.
IYKYK.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
IM STILL STANDING is my new album. It’s a collection of songs about my life, my experiences getting older, and looking back, but also exciting about what’s to come. I realize that I’ve been doing this a long time. I still have something to say, so it’s a collection of songs by somebody who’s lived a bit.
What was the recording process like?
The recording process has been amazing. The idea for this kind of started in the pandemic when I started thinking about my life and my career and the things that I’ve done and what kind of music I would want to play now at this stage of my life . I’ve revisited some songs from my career, and I’ve been inspired to write some new stuff.
This collection of songs came together, telling this kind of story of my life, where I’ve been and where I am now .
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Again, I think being more myself, talking about things more personally in my songs. And really, after decades of doing this, I found myself stripping back a lot of the smoke I put up or the character that I decided to be because I thought it would work. So really, I had to learn to be OK with being myself.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Not a thing! I’m very proud of this collection of songs and my abilities as a producer, engineer, and songwriter. It’s been very rewarding to feel that after all of the time in the saddle, I’m at the peak of my abilities and not diminishing.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Listen to new music ! There are so many people out there doing great stuff that we have never heard of !
We have so many choices these days; the algorithm just keeps throwing stuff at us, but when you find something that you connect with, it is always such a cool thing to share .
Music is still the thing that truly connects the world !
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