(Photo Credit: Allie Hine)
For today's Artist Spotlight we have Old Sea Brigade, an artist who's sound is rooted firmly in alt folk stylings. A comp that pops right out to me is Sea Wolf if you're trying to place the type of music we're talking about. He has a fantastic new single "Sinkhole" (which you can find at the end of this article) out ahead of his debut full-length album, Ode To A Friend, on January 4, 2019 via Nettwerk Records. He's picking up major steam on the alt scene as his single "Love Brought Weight" has reached over 24,000,000 streams on Spotify! Old Sea Brigade is definitely someone you need to be checking out as he is poised for a huge 2019 given the positive momentum he's built this year. Check out our interview with him below!
How did you come to pursue music, how long have you been at it, and when did you decide to go “all in” with music? How has your life changed since you made that decision? I started playing bass guitar when I was 11. My friends and I formed a Green Day cover band so we could play our school’s talent show. That was basically the start and I’ve been at it ever since. Played in a number of bands throughout high school and (my brief time) in college. I learned that I wanted to go “all in” with music early on. I consider myself pretty lucky. Music has made my life a lot more exciting. No day is ever the same. I love that. Could you walk us through your process of writing music? It varies drastically, but I usually will come up with a vocal melody and chord structure at the same time. I then mumble gibberish into my iPhone voice memos just to get the initial idea down. Lyrics, nine times out of ten, come second. A lot of times I’ll write a verse or chorus and then put the song away for a week to digest the idea. What artists have inspired you in your career? I grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen with my dad every morning on the way to school. Songs like “Thunder Road” and “Jungleland” constantly challenge me to try and be a better lyricist and storyteller. When I was about 16 one of my friends introduced me to Tom Waits and that opened up a whole other door. I love how artists like him, Bowie, and Dylan can have so many different musical era’s within one career. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them? Not really. I love gear but I try not to get too attached to it. I’ve always tried to go by the motto “Gear is gear..” I’ve got my go to guitars but I’m not overly sentimental with them. Do you have any upcoming projects you would like fans to know about?
My debut record, Ode to a Friend comes out January 4th. I’ll be on tour a lot next year supporting the album, then will record more music and hopefully do it all over again!
FMI on Old Sea Brigade www.oldseabrigade.com | www.facebook.com/oldseabrigade | twitter.com/oldseabrigade