The local music scene is never ending and diverse here and it appears to get even bigger down here. We just had the New Music Confab, which connects industry professionals and local artists together in a SXSW-style format @dylanswinson
Live Interview
Episode #391 : http://tobtr.com/9605879
GETTING TO KNOW DYLAN SWINSON
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
I live in Charleston, South Carolina.
The local music scene is never ending and diverse here and it appears to get even bigger down here. We just had the New Music Confab, which connects industry professionals and local artists together in a SXSW-style format. We have Spring Jam Music Festival, we even have a non-profit organization called This Is Noteworthy, dedicated to bringing exposure to local artists. Around this time, I’m getting ready for the Independent Tone Awards, which awards local artists and brings them together with industry professionals as well. I myself am nominate, for an award, so I’m very blessed to be included in the ballot among some very good friends of mine.
Confessions of a Wannabe Dream Brother
This song is called “Confessions of a Wannabe Dream Brother”
and it is a tribute to Jeff Buckley, who is responsible for me being where I am today. I was little and he was the first person I have ever seen to play an instrument and sing at the same time, and his music has been a part of my life ever since. Earlier this year, I was on the biggest Jeff kick of my life, and I was just lying awake very late at night just thinking “What would I say to the man who inspired me to play music if he were still alive today? What would he think of me?” I just wrote down all my thoughts and questions on paper and just tuned the guitar to a drop D and all of a sudden I had a song and went to bed. But I didn’t want to use it right away. I originally wanted to save it for a year or two down the road. Then later, I found out that this year was closing in on Jeff’s 50th birthday, so I decided to show my producers the song and immediately said they wanted to work on it. Me, and the studio are very excited about this song being released and the amount of power it has behind it.
There are no plans to make a music video
At the moment, I’m working on songs with a Power Pop feel,
catchy guitar licks and melodies. I’ve done a lot of those already; I have one more that I’m working on at the moment. After that, I’m thinking of trying out a Dream Pop/Synth Rock type feel, like Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve), U2, Angels & Airwaves, and get piano more involved in my music.
I’m still in the starting out stage where I can play gigs but still need a part time job.
The best part is that this job is willing to work with my schedule and be flexible for when I have gigs; it’s very important to find a job that can do that for you. I use my job to pay my bills, use the money I make from gigs to put into savings for recording and traveling, and whatever tips I make from gigs I just spend at my leisure. The majority of my friends are musicians and I consider my producers one of my best friends. So when I don’t have anything going on, I tend to go see a show where my friends are playing or go to the studio and hang out, even if I don’t have any ideas or a reason to go there, it’s a great environment to see what else is in the works and who else is making great art.
Network: Yes, you need to have great music and be able to put on a great show
and play as much as possible. But in the end, it really is all about who you know and what they can do to help you. If you are starting out, go to open mics and meet other musicians like you who are in the same boat you are. If the venue likes you, they may want to book you for a legit gig, which is a great way to start out. Go to other established local musician’s and band’s shows, you will never know who you will meet there, bookers, managers, other musicians, also look for music corporation events in your town, and make sure you have some business cards in hand just in case. But do not interrupt somebody important when they are already in a conversation with someone, they don’t like that.
Believe in yourself: That is the key to it all, you have to know that you are great,
be confident in yourself and your abilities, and have what it takes to reach your dreams. People are going to reject you, bookers, agents, people, I will guarantee you that, but you just have to keep trying. There will also people that will tell you that you are not good enough, that you should give up, or your dreams are non-realistic. Ignore them, the only person you need to listen to is yourself. What do you feel you need to do? What are your next steps to accomplish that? You are going to need to work hard and you need to push yourself and believe in yourself if you want to achieve your goals. Don’t let other people control your drive, take control of where you want to go.
Stay Humble: It is important to be confident in this industry,
but it’s dangerous to be over -confident. Nobody likes to work with somebody who thinks they know it all in front of people who have actually been through it, even worse, nobody wants to hear anyone brag about their accomplishments more than they should. It just tells people that you have a bit of an ego problem. Especially in the local scene, nobody is better than another, nobody here is trying to outdo one another. We are all just one big family working together to make the music scene strive by making music we love. If people get that ego vibe from you, people will start talking about you, but not in a good way. Stay Humble, my friends.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.dylanswinsonmusic.com
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/dylanswinson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dylan.swinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dylanswinson
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dylan-swinson
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/dylanswinson
Bandcamp: https://dylanswinsonmusic.bandcamp.com/