“I would love for my music to become part of today’s culture, a soundtrack for people’s lives” – @conwayseavey

Listen to the Interview:
Episode #294 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/02/03/episode-294-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

GETTING TO KNOW CONWAY SEAVEY BAND
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

My over all goal for my life & career is…
I would love for my music to become part of today’s culture – a soundtrack for people’s lives, just like Train, Maroon 5, Ed Sheehan, and others have been the soundtrack of mine.

3 Ways that I challenge myself and how each one moves me forward towards my goal.

1. I set big goals before I have the means to finish them. There’s nothing like a hard deadline to motivate you to get things done!

2. I stay inspired – I’m constantly listening to new music, watching live performances, and learning from my heroes. It keeps me focused on my dream, rather than getting bogged down in the obstacles.

3. I surround myself with people who are smarter than me, which, strangely enough, isn’t extremely difficult! My friends and I challenge each other to find our limits, whether it’s songwriting, shredding or snowboarding.

My personal definition of success is…
I want to be touring the US & Europe, playing sold out concerts, and releasing full albums with hit songs by my mid 20s. I feel successful every time I take a step in that direction- when I film another video, record another song, play another show, etc…. Success, of course, is different than fulfillment – I will be happy as long as I have a guitar to play and friends to spend time with.

Last summer I put on a concert in Soldotna – the “big city” on the peninsula where I live. It was self-promoted, and the debut performance of my new band. We worked our tails off to put the entire show on, and we weren’t sure if anyone was going to show up! Long story short it was a huge success – we had a great turnout and an awesome performance. It was a definite highlight for me, and seeing everyone show up and enjoy our music really made my dreams seem feasible.

Music business…
I think there’s a lot of superstition around the music business, and how hard it is to “make it.” Maybe I’m optimistic, but I feel like if you work hard, make good music, and surround yourself with the right people you can be successful in the industry.

What pros and cons have you experienced…
The same ones most budding artists go thorough, I think. Starting a band is like starting a business you need people, work, money, time and a constant new ideas. There is always a lot to do, and even more that you could be doing. The downside is that in order to have a career in music, you have to spend a lot of time doing non-musical things. The only way to succeed is to have a team of dedicated and talented people on your side. I lean on people who I can trust, and people who have skills in different areas that myself.

Social media…
I think we can all agree that social media is the best way to reach fans on a large scale. I have fans all the way from Seattle to India on my Facebook page – people who probably never would have found me otherwise. Social media has been prevalent for as long as I can remember, though, so there’s really nothing I can compare it to.

Singles vs an album…
I would love to release full albums with promotional singles – it’s better for the listener, because they get 10 songs instead of one, and it’s better for the artist because we get more downloads for the same amount of promotion. So far I haven’t released anything longer than a 4-song EP, though, because by the time I wrote, produced, recorded, mixed, filmed music videos, and then promoted an entire album, I would only have new music coming out every two years. I like to release singles because I can keep new material coming out on a regular basis.

Growing up I spent hours and hours on the road with my Dad…
and he introduced me to “Real Music,” aka the Oldies station. I’m pretty sure I made it well into my teens before I realized that The Beatles and Elton John weren’t from the current generation. I’ve played guitar since I was 6, but didn’t really get hooked on music until 11, when I started taking voice lessons. Train was my first and biggest influence into the pop/rock scene, and I steered myself in that direction. By the time I was 12 I knew that I wanted to be a singer/songwriter and play music for the rest of my life.

Wrong…
while jamming out on my loop pedal. The words came to me really fast – I had the whole thing down within an hour of starting it. I was super excited about it, so I sent it to my good friend and voice teacher Billy Purnell that night. I knew it was a good song because I wanted to keep listening to my recording of it over and over!

I wrote Wrong about the way people have a habit of creating problems in the world, even when they don’t exist. It’s a natural human thing, and the song is meant to inspire people to be more understanding of other people and their opinions.

The music video for “Wrong” starts with us landing on the roof of The Lofts Hotel in downtown Anchorage. Several weeks after the filming, I learned that the owner of the hotel wasn’t aware that we landed on his building until he saw the video playing on TV… it’s definitely better to beg forgiveness!

I write and sing about my life, experiences and relationships…
I don’t have a common movement or “cause” that I write about, but my songs are generally uplifting and positive. I want for my music to become a part of peoples lives – when they hang out with their friends, listen to the radio in the car or jam out during gym days, I want to be one of the artists on the playlist. My fulfillment comes from creating music, playing shows, and spending time with great people on thew way. My “marketing” approach has always been “give before you get.” I just try to focus on making awesome music, videos, and putting on killer shows!

I live in Sterling, Alaska…
a small town on the Kenai Peninsula, with a population of about 5,000. The pop music scene here is too small to notice, which has made it difficult to start and support a band even if every person in the state liked my Facebook page, I would still have less than a million fans! Growing up here has given me so many unique experiences and opportunities, though, that it outweighs all of the negatives by far. Tell me about one fun thing you like to do that can be music or non-music related. My friends and family absorb all the time not spent on music – whenever I can shirk my responsibilities I grab some friends and head to the mountains to snowboard!

I would love to have 5 minutes alone with….
Ed Sheeran! I admire the raw talent and simplicity in his music. I would love to be able to sell a gazillion albums and play sold out shows with nothing but an old guitar and some new songs.

I think it’s totally cool to be current and trendy…
as long as you’re making quality music and staying true to your roots. I generally avoid gimmicks, and I try to write the kind of music that I would like to hear on the radio.

I am most afraid of… Losing my locks!! A musician needs his hair….. it’s like a rule.

BIO:
Conway Seavey is a singer/songwriter and producer from Sterling, Alaska. Although he grew up in a highly successful dog mushing family, he chose to follow his passion as a musician. After touring the state solo for several years, he formed a trio with friend Ben Sayers (Bass) and a local drummer. The band debuted their first single “Wrong” statewide on KTUU Channel 2 in July, and have been performing together since. Most inspired by Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran and Train, Conway is one of the foremost Pop/Top 40 artists in Alaska.

Social Media:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/conwayseavey/
Instagram: @conway_seavey
ReverbNation: https://www.reverbnation.com/conwayseavey
Twitter: @conwayseavey
Website: http://conwayseavey.com
YouTube: http://youtube.com/conwayseavey/