Scott Swain Interview

Scott Swain Interview

Scott Swain interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views 

PD. What type of artist are you?~

SS, I think I’m described as a singer/songwriter. It’s a label I’m slowly getting used to (still not completely there).

I’m described as a singer/songwriter. It’s a label I’m slowly getting used to

PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.

SS. I’ve been playing in bands for over a decade, mainly rock/alt. rock. Back in August 2016 I decided to give the whole ‘solo’ artist thing a try and it seems to be going well (I’m loving it!). Having been in previous bands, I’ve had a chance to play around with my songwriting as well as the guitar and it’s allowed me to get a strong understanding of what works for me, and what I (still) need to improve on. If you’d like more of a history about me, apparently I was named after Scott Walker.

PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

SS. A massive influence on the way I write music is cinema. Whichever film I am writing about shapes the song itself and brings it to life. At the same time, I do want to inject a sort of alt country/Americana/acoustic vibe to the overall sound.

In terms of artists and bands: Nick Cave, Mark Lannegan, Sixteen Horsepower, Low, Elliot Smith, PJ Harvey, The National.

A massive influence on the way I write music is cinema. Whichever film I am writing about shapes the song itself and brings it to life.

PD. What are your dreams and goals?

SS. My dreams are far too dark to talk about in an interview (watched too many horror movies, and had a Catholic upbringing!); that said, in terms of goals my main one right now is channeling in to my sound and perfecting it. I’d say I’m pretty much there. Strong chance I’ll have an EP out by the end of the year.

PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?

SS. I write my all my songs which are all about films that have left their mark on me. For instance, my latest song – Like Nothing Else – is written about the film ‘Event Horizon’.

PD. How do you promote your band and shows?

SS. I mainly use Twitter, Facebook, and Reverbnation to promote myself and shows. Just type in ‘ScottSwainMusic’ and you’ll find me.

PD. What do you think about downloading music online?

SS. It’s just a thing people do nowadays. Analysing the morality of it is pointless, to be honest. I’m not sure it’s that different to borrowing a cassette from your mate and then recording it on to a blank TDK you bought from Woolworths for a quid. People will always want to get a hold of music one way or another.

PD. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?

SS’ In my mind it’s a dinosaur that’s still struggling to adapt to the modern world. The industry has had to change dramatically over the last 20 years; some haven’t done this well, others have only just survived, a few are resilient. Because of this, there’s so much pressure on acts to sound generic and music has become quite diluted and dull. You sound like Ed Sheeran, people will listen. You look like Justin Beiber, people will buy your crap. Everything is online – your worth is equated to how many followers you have, how many youtube views you’ve got.

there’s so much pressure on acts to sound generic and music has become quite diluted and dull. You sound like Ed Sheeran, people will listen. You look like Justin Beiber, people will buy your crap

PD. What’s your claim to fame?

SS. An old band I was in supported Biffy Clyro way back in 2001

PD. What are some of your pet peeves?

SS. Hypocrisy and double-standards. People who have zero emotional intelligence. People who don’t like dogs.

PD. What are the biggest obstacles for artists?

SS. In my experience, the biggest obstacle has been getting people out to live shows. At times it can feel like live music is dead. In addition, doing music is bloody expensive. You got a lot of money, then fine, stuff will happen easily for you. Broke as sin? Good luck going anywhere!

In my experience, the biggest obstacle has been getting people out to live shows.

PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

SS. I’ve only a few shows coming up now: The Bricklayers Arms (Hitchin) on the 18/05, and The Opium Bar (Edinburgh) 28.05 – other than coming to get a free hug and hear great live music, I’ll be playing some new songs and so you can brag to your mates you heard it first.

Check out our page for Scott Swain here

Please check out my latest song release: Like Nothing Else (April. 2017)

www.scottswainmusic.com
www.facebook.com/scottswainmusic (guaranteed good karma for every follower)
www.soundcloud.com/scottswainmusic (listen, like, ‘love’)

www.twitter.com/scottswainmusic (@scottswainmusic -ocassional grumbles…)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkZpI4DKatrseCxHFizj9g (soul sold for 100 followers )