Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
Todd: We all come from very humble beginnings. Everything you hear is raw; real emotion coming from each and every one of us. We’ve never been given handouts and have worked for everything we’ve received and we try to bleed that energy and sacrifice into our music and live shows to connect with our fans as much as possible.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
Todd: I personally am from Baton Rouge, LA. Although the rest of the band is spread out across Louisiana. I started playing music when I was 14. I started out playing bass guitar, then ended up playing in jazz orchestra in school playing bass guitar. Always had a love for heavy music especially tech death, like Necrophagist, Spawn Of Possession and others. From there I decided I wanted to create a deathcore band and couldn’t find a guitar player so I assumed the role and wrote bass parts and found a guitar player who could play bass. Fast forward 10 years later here we are. That’s the short and sweet version
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
Todd: Writing music has always been a good outlet for me when life was much tougher. It was a good escape and not very destructive like alcohol or drugs were. I wanted to be productive with my energy I was channeling into other outlets. In terms of artists, it here are too many to name, across way too many genres. I take influence from everything under the sun. I also DJ so I have an appreciation for genres like, pop, r&b, rap, hip-hop, EDM, reggaeton, indie, jazz, blues and so much more
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
Todd: I want to have fun. I want to connect with people, and I want to not go broke. Which to be quite honest with you, we have achieved all of those things and I’m honestly very content with where we are. Of course I can always have more, but I am very happy with the aspirations we had years ago and where we are now.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
Todd: Probably opening Mayhem Festival with Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Amon Amarth, Mastadon, Emmure, Born Of Osiris, etc.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms
in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
Todd: I have a strong background in digital marketing so not as bad as people might think. Most people would consider Shores that “home studio” band. We are entirely self produced, self funded, and self managed. If you were to ask me, I’d say it’s going great.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
Todd: I am a talent buyer and booking agent. I book for Onyx Theatre in Baton Rouge, and I meet a lot of bands busting it on the road all the time so it’s always cool meeting people as serious as we are. Most of tours are promoted via groups, word of mouth, great promoters, great bands, and paid ads. We just finished a run from 2/20/23-2/27/23 and it was absolutely incredible.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
Todd: Love it. Most artists hate it, but now musicians have a way to truly and independently earn true passive income from streaming. Is it tough? Yeah, absolutely. But it can be done, and we’re proof of it. I encourage everyone to get on with them, it’s free money, just incorporate it into your existing marketing strategy.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Todd: That’s an interesting question. I don’t think there is any song I wish I had written other than my own. I feel like if I had written other people’s music then they wouldn’t be nearly as iconic as they are. I don’t think I’m bad at what I do but I definitely know I’m not the best and I’m perfectly fine with that lol. I love the fact that other people write amazing music, gives me something to consider when writing the next thing and inspiration to be better at writing for myself.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
Todd: There is a lot I don’t like about the industry. Without getting to conspiratorial, I will say the industry is a lot of smoke and mirrors and it’s a lot of shaking hands with the winning team as Tyler Shelton from Traitors recently said. I don’t believe in the way a lot of things are done but I will say there is a way to fit in and stay in your lane and get a piece of 
the pie if you go against the grain and do things on your terms. You might get chewed up and spit out a few times, but there is nothing sweeter than doing this music shit on your watch.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
Todd: I am not at liberty to talk to much about what we have in the works but I can say I am in talks with some good friends about putting together a super stacked tour for late 2023. In fact, the largest one to date. We’re also going to be right back in the studio in the meantime pumping out more music. We may also release a music video or playthrough of some stuff off of The Existing One.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
Todd: Our linktree – linktr.ee/shoresofacheron has all of our relevant links all in one spot. We have a merch store online, the quality of the merch is actually really great. We don’t really sell physical music anymore, but the absolute best place to support us is at a show and the merch table. We can’t express how much it helps out when people come out and buy some merch on the road, that’s food in our stomachs and gas for the next date.
Shores Of Acheron links:
Band/Artist location – Baton Rouge, LA
Facebook – You Tube – Merch – Reverbnation –
Twitter – Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – LinkTree –
Check our page for Shores of Acheron
