Jake Etheridge

Catch up with Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Jake Etheridge, and listen to new single, "You Found Me First", off his forthcoming EP due out in May.

What first got you interested in music?

My family was a huge part of it, they all play music; my grandfather, mom, dad, everyone. Our family reunions are somewhat jam sessions, so I think it was only eventual that I’d play myself.

Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were happy with?

I remember one of the first bands that I started writing music for and I’d write a song every few weeks that we’d all learn and rehearse. We were a bit punk rock and there was a lot of yelling [laughs]. The first one that I was the happiest with though would have to be the first acoustic song I wrote called “Remember”. Naturally, it’s a sad song about a girl.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

In the beginning it was Dashboard Confessional all the way. I think now I pull heavily from Jason Isbell, John Denver, Ryan Adams, Gregory Alan Isakov.. I love good songs.

What words would you use to describe your sound?

Folk. Earnest. Honest. I try my best to be honest.

The song speaks for itself, but could you tell us more about your inspiration for your new single "You Found Me First”?

I actually wrote this one about my girlfriend. One of the first times she and I hung out together in Nashville was a direct inspiration for the 1st verse “with you right there in that grey and blue dress, smiling at me through your wineglass, it finally feels as if I found myself”. The ‘yellow flower’ was my nod to her blonde hair. I took that verse to my friend Olivia Rudeen and it was over. Rudeen’s a badass and I always have faith that she’s gonna mop the floor with whatever I bring her. I like to think she did in this case.

Is that single indicative of what we can expect to hear on your forthcoming EP and could you tell us more about the EP?

The EP forms a 5 song story of a relationship. The coming and the going. The first song happens to be “You Found Me First” and the EP wraps up with “Getting Over You”. I didn’t really plan on a story based EP, but the songs that I ended up wanting to release the most sort of fell into it.

What do you want your listeners to be able to take away from your music?

More than anything I want them to be able to hear the words and enjoy the story and what that makes them feel. I think I always drove home from a gig or a night out with friends and jammed to my favorite songs with the windows down and listened to the lyrics. Bottom line, I want that for these songs; for folks to listen while they drive home.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

I’ll add a big thank you to you guys for helping to spread the word and love on this song! This bad boy was written quite a bit ago and I’m so eager for it to finally be seeing the light of day.

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Rocstrong

Catch up with Dublin-based funk/rock artist, Rocstrong, and listen to first single, "Go'Head", from his forthcoming EP, S.O.W.Y.G., to be released this May.

What first got you interested in music?

Rocstrong: Honestly, the best memory I have of what got me into music was seeing the attention my sister got when she was being coached/managed by my dad; she was a great singer and dancer. I just wanted the opportunity to steal her shine and when the day came that I got it, I grabbed it with both hands and sang my ass off.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

When you listen to my sound closely you can kind of hear lots of influences, but the one who sticks out the most would be James Brown. He made the biggest contribution to music, I think, and inspired a lot of the greats that have passed and that we still know and admire today. Speaking about most recent influences, I really enjoy what Pharrell Williams does; he’s in a league of his own.

If you were to make a playlist to share with your fans, which three songs - from other artists - would you have to include?

Pharrell Williams - "Come Get It Bae"

Justin Timberlake - "Suit & Tie"

Macklemore - "Thrift Shop"

How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before?

I would describe my sound as today’s sound of motivation, funky, fun, catchy and addictive; a sound that leaves you with a feel-good feeling after every listen.

What were your inspirations for your single "Go'Head"?

"Go’Head" is a song with a message, that message is to just do what you want to do but do it good, it’s a song to motivate those that make excuses for not doing what they want. I was one of those people. It’s, in my view, a very unique sound and the lyrics inspired me to make sure it turned out as it did.

Could you tell us more about your upcoming EP and what we can expect to hear on Show Off What You Got?

My upcoming EP titled S.O.W.Y.G. (Show Off What You Got) is one big project that has one goal and that’s to inspire and motivate. The title itself isn’t so hard to crack and it simply says: if you’ve got something good? Show it. Just, like, if there’s something out there that you want to do? Then go’head and get it done! That being said, it’s going to be full of very strong catchy songs and those that have been waiting won’t be disappointed.

In one sentence, how would you sum up the EP?

The EP is an inspirational and motivational EP full of real head boppers, catchy lyrics and clever word-play.

What do you hope your listeners can take away from your music?

I hope it’s exactly what they’ve been waiting for and that they really see the best of me in every song. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve definitely got a lot to prove. However, I would like it to be known that I’m not at all scared of the journey ahead.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

The best is still to come and I haven’t even started to warm up yet. Thank you for the interview and if you want to keep up to date with what’s going on with me, check out www.officialrocstrong.com. It has the link to all my social medias, tour dates and anything that’s going on in Rocstrong’s world.

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The Black Atlas

Catch up with The Black Atlas' Peter Koronios and look for Equinox, the third and final installment of his The Equinox EP series, to be released April 22.

What got you interested in music?

Peter Koronios: There was definitely a familial element. Neither of my parents played any instruments, but there was a tremendous amount of music and music appreciation in my home when I was a young child, so I guess that really pushed me into an investigation of that whole world and, eventually, I just felt like I had to participate, so I started playing the drums at about 11 years old. 

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

There have been a tremendous amount of musicians that have influenced me. I guess, particularly for this project, I've been super influenced by a lot of the people that I've worked with, like Jesse Clasen, Drew Roulette from Dredge, Ryan Hunter from Envy on the Coast and, really, they just put me onto some good music that has totally changed my game.

Is there a current artist you've got on repeat?

We're playing some Phantogram in the van, definitely some Beach House, and I've actually been listening to a lot of Beach Boys; that's not very current, but not too proud to say the amount of new artists that I'm into these days is pretty slim.

Which words would you use to describe your own sound?

It's hard to describe your own music, especially with this last release. The one that's coming out on April 22nd, Equinox, it veers a little left of center and deviates quite a bit from the sound that was established in the previous two EPs. I've heard words like ambient rock, dark rock, psychedelic, experimental - little bit of that - really, alternative being the classic go-to bracket for when music is not easily categorized. So, I'd say alternative, I'd go with.

What was your inspiration behind your single, "The Master"?

That particular tune was sort of a really intense look at a lot of my own internal struggle, trying to keep ego out of the creative process and it was just hard to do, but there's definitely a certain amount of mental checks and balances that I try to keep in place and one of them is being able to write a song about yourself and acknowledge the fact that there's that aspect of yourself that you always have to keep in check. That kicks off the EP, that's the first track, and I think it really sets the tone for what is, essentially, a dissection of myself, which is the final EP; that's the lyrical content and, really, the inspiration for the whole thing.

Could you tell us more about The Equinox EP series and this upcoming final EP?

Obviously, this has been done over the course of a year and a half and it's been done in installments, but the EP series really is a concept and, briefly, it's just about a sort of metanoia, a mental transmutation, changing your mind and really having a breakthrough; being able to see yourself as the hero and the enemy of your own story. This EP, Equinox, the last one, is kind of the catharsis and capstone to the whole story, really delving into subjects of the importance of being present and the necessity of mental clarity and stuff like that; taking a good look at yourself but also allowing there to be a certain acknowledgment of forgiveness. 

Sonically, it's a little bit more, I wouldn't say upbeat, but it's definitely a little calmer. There are definitely some dark elements and some heavy stuff that is going on that harkens back to the previous sound, but it's a little bit more accessible and the songs are not as abrasive or heavy.

Is there a song from the EP you're most excited to share with listeners?

Prog Sphere just premiered "Equinox", which is the title track of not only this upcoming EP, but the whole series, and, lyrically, it's a very exemplary song for the mindset I was in when I started this entire project. Lyrically especially, it is an extremely important song to me, personally, so I guess that would be it, "Equinox".

What do you hope your listeners can take away from your music?

It's interesting, I was having a talk about this yesterday or the day before, it's super important to me to at least feel, in some way, that I'm doing a very personal work and I think that that will, in many ways, come across to a lot of the people that are going to be interested in this type of music and, ideally, music has helped me; it's started me off on the path of a little bit more self discovery and lots of area of study that have literally just expanded my mind and helped my life and, really, when you break down what I tried to do with this EP series, is create a creative self-help manual [laughs]. It's a guide to interpreting your own psychology and, at the very least, in this three act story, what I attempted to do is lay out my own mental story. I think that a lot of it is applicable to pretty much anybody who is going through that kind of self discovery.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

We're on tour now and we're heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and we'll be in Aberdeen, SD tomorrow night and we're coming up on the last ten shows of the first leg of The Equinox Tour. After that, we have a little reprieve for the month of May and we're back out again in June, so we're always posting and updating our dates and things like that on social media and we'd really like to see some people out at the shows and make some new friends.

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Cooper Anstett

Catch up with Detroit-based singer-songwriter Cooper Anstett and check out his latest single, "Wrong", off his upcoming sophomore release, Cooper.

What got you interested in music and songwriting?

Cooper Anstett: My dad was always really into music and he never wrote any music, but he was always singing and playing songs for me when I was a little boy. Once I got into high school I had been playing guitar for a while and high school, for me, was the first time I was starting to grow up a little bit and coming into some of my own life changes and everything and needing an outlet to reflect on that. It started off as something that was more of a journal/diary entry type of thing with songwriting, and then it grew into people liking these songs and maybe I needed to focus more on writing songs for both personal reasons and for entertainment for others, for other people to connect to some of my stories. 

Do you remember the first song you wrote?

I was down in Florida and I think I was a freshman in high school and I had a trip down there with some friends. There was this guy who was maybe 30 years old, performing on the street, and I talked to him and he was really inspiring to me because he was playing a lot of his own music and I thought those are pretty cool songs so I thought, 'yeah, I'm going to give it a shot and write my own tune'. I had gotten back to Michigan from visiting Florida and still wanted to be in the sunshine and enjoying the weather, so I wrote a song about just my experience in Florida; not so much about the weather, but it was just a really enjoyable time with my friends and my first solo trip when I was younger. It wasn't anything I was super proud of at the time, but it was fun to get the process started and learn how to formulate a song and just the whole process of creating an entire length of work: progression and finding the melody and whatnot and deciding what I want to talk about. I think now, where I'm at, I've developed more meaning behind my songs and they're more meaningful than that song was, but it was a good place to start, for sure.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

When I was younger, my biggest influences were a few different people. I'd say Jack Johnson was a huge one, Mason Jennings, Ben Harper, and a couple other older singer-songwriters, James Taylor and Cat Stevens. I'd say those were the essential people I listened to and that was a result of both my own interests and my parents' listening to them. I got exposed to some more classic singer-songwriters at a very young age and that let to me wanting to do something similar, at that point.

Who do you have in your playlist now?

It's always changing but, right now, a band that I've been listening to a lot is The 1975; and Kendrick Lamar, I've been listening to a lot, as well. I still always have the essentials that I go back to, but I like to throw in some new stuff just to keep my mindset fresh and follow the progression of music. I think it's really important to evolve as a musician and not get too set in your ways and pigeonhole yourself, because music's always changing and that's not a bad thing, it's fun to change with music, as well, and keep things exciting, keep people interested, and evolve as an artist with an ever evolving industry. 

How would you describe your own sound?

The way I write songs is just me and my guitar, whether it's me writing the song alone or with a friend or another songwriter who we've set up a co-write with. My sound has grown from, originally, just me and a guitar recorded and that's it - I had a couple demo CDs when I was younger, just very raw, very basic singer-songwriter - to, now, I'm going more in a direction where it still is that, in its essence and its most raw form, it is me and my guitar and that singer-songwriter sound, but I think it's evolved into a little bit more of a modern sound. I want to be labeled as singer-songwriter, but I don't necessarily want to have that classic singer-songwriter sound, you know, a guy just plucking away at the guitar and singing a tune; I want to keep it interesting, show people what a singer-songwriter is and that it can be a modern sound, even though it's labeled as a singer-songwriter. For me, I think my music is very, very happy, very upbeat but, at the same time, I think the production behind it plays a big role in keeping it modern and what I've done for the latest two singles is teamed up with a producer named Ryan McDermott who has a really hip-hop and R&B influenced background and I think, with that background in addition to my background of more chill singer-songwriter stuff, we've created a sound that's very interesting. Definitely, in my eyes, it truly is just a modern singer-songwriter.

What were your inspirations behind your new single, "Wrong"?

Myself, and I'm sure a lot of other people can relate to this too, I tend to get myself into the same situations - whether it's in relationships or just with another person - and you know that type of person's not good for you but, for some reason, you're attracted back to that type of person. Let's say you're with someone and you realize they're not good for you and you want to end it with them, but the next person you start to fall in love with or get intrigued by, you're blinded by your heart and you don't even realize that you're falling in love with the same type of person and restarting this cycle of getting yourself back into something that's unhealthy. The song is about learning to break that cycle and realize where your heart goes wrong and understand what is actually best for you and not something that is just pleasurable in the short term.

Could you tell us more about your upcoming self-titled mixtape?

I'm very excited about it and I'm calling it a mixtape because, pretty much, it is an EP at the end of the day, but when you see a mixtape, you generally see rappers releasing mixtapes or whatever and that ties back into what I'm trying to do with a modern singer-songwriter. Singer-songwriters can release mixtapes too and a mixtape is a pretty loose word and can be used in a lot of situations and that's why I'm calling it a mixtape.

The mixtape's going to have a lot of different influences on it; the two songs, "Wrong" and "Move", are produced by Ryan McDermott, like I said, but then I have two other songs that are going to be on it that I'm feeling excited about that are produced in Nashville which are going to have a little bit different of a sound on it: it's going to be slightly more live instruments and a little bit more full band feel, instead of a more electronic, sample type of feel. But, the two sounds are very representative of what I am and what I'm trying to do, moving forward. I'm also going to have an acoustic track on there too that is strictly just me and my guitar. The mixtape is just showing a few different sides of me and, moving forward in the future, I intend to focus on all the sides of me, whether I focus on one side for a whole project and then the next project I focus on another side of my artistry, I just want to show people, in one project of five songs, a few essential sides of where I'm coming from and what my roots are as a musician and what they will be growing and evolving into in the future.

How would you sum up Cooper in one sentence?

Diverse.

I'd probably just sum it up in that one word, to be honest with you. Diverse, progressive, and my music, in general, is just very positive; I've always lived my life in a very positive way and that's what I try to express in all facets of my life, besides music. But, yeah, I'd say diverse and progressive for a singer-songwriter.

What do you hope your listeners are able to take away from your music?

At the end of the day, I just want to affect them in some way, whether it's just making them feel a sense of positivity or happiness throughout their day - like I said, that is a central thing I'm trying to put into people's lives is happiness and positivity - or making them reflect on their own life and making them realize like, 'hey, it's okay to feel and recognize the emotions you're feeling,' and I think music is one thing that can help you realize you're feeling a certain way and not ignore the way you're feeling, but realize it and face it and then make a change to move forward; or, not make a change and continue what you're doing and live a happy, positive life. I hope my music can promote that for my listeners and I think it will. I'm excited to release it.

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