need to be able to adapt. I think it’s definitely the time for independent artists. VM: Your current album has been fully funded by fans through Pledge Music. Why did you choose to ask fans to fund this album? What does the amount you were able to raise tell you about your fan base? SS: Asking fans to fund my album was a way to bring them closer. Being attached to a label, you as an artist get detached from the fans because you have a lot of other people doing things for you. I wanted to bring my career back to being about me and my fans, simply on that level. I wanted them to be a good part of the process. I really wanted to make them feel like they are part of the reason I am able to do what I love. The amount of money I was able to raise to fund the new album truly shows that I have people supporting me that genuinely care. VM: Some artists have a very spontaneous songwriting process while others are more organized. What are your songwriting and recording processes like? SS: Songwriting is different every time. Sometimes you write a song in six months. It’s something that can’t be forced, you really have to be in a comfortable environment and want to write. It’s something that comes to you at the most random times and when it does you have to write your ideas down whereas recording is a more organized process. VM: What is the most difficult obstacle you’ve had to overcome? SS: There were times I was sitting in the basement of my house in Northern California down in the studio doing things myself. One of the hardest things is working alone. Sitting there alone doing all of the production of a song yourself is difficult because there is nobody to bounce ideas off of. Sometimes you never finish a song because you get stuck. Money definitely makes things tough, it takes a lot of money to create a record. I earned a good amount of money through my pledge campaign. I had to take a break with music for a little while because I learned that it was extremely mechanical for me. VM: What would you consider to be your biggest achievement this far in your career? SS: My fans definitely represent something important. Being able to gain more and more of them [fans] is a big achievement. When it comes down to it, one of the 24 \\ secondhand serenade
most important things is being able to affect people. I’m proud that I’ve been able to positively affect people through my music. VM: What do you dislike about the music industry and what do you like about it? SS: I dislike the fact that everything is based off of a clique. It’s kind of like high school to be completely honest. Everyone judges you based on things that happened in the past. They judge you on whether you sold ‘x’ amount of records. The whole thing [the industry] is not about who you are, it’s about what you’ve done or what you’ve sold. I want them to think about me, what I have to offer and who I am now. I go through a lot of changes as a person and musically it should be fair. Everything should be based off of what you have to offer now, not what you did or didn’t do in the past. I like the fact that you can play by your own rules. I don’t really have anyone telling me what to do now. I was able to make my own record. I like that I can play by my own rules, make music on my terms and make it how I want it. VM: If you didn’t pursue music what would your ideal job be? SS: A chef, I would love to be a chef. I’d love to have my own restaurant. I’m really good at it [cooking] and I appreciate food and good cooking. VM: What do you see when you’re on stage performing? Do you see faces in the crowd or do you get lost in the music? SS: I get very involved with the crowd when I play live, especially when I play solo. It’s important to get that kind of connection. I also get lost in what I’m doing. Being too conscious of anything other than what you’re doing can mess you up. VM: Do you prefer to play in larger or smaller venues? SS: Larger shows are fun because of the shear magnitude of what’s going on. It’s definitely exciting and you get an adrenaline rush. Smaller shows are amazing because of better communication between me and the VM fans, it creates a more personal experience. It was fun catching up with John Vesley of Secondhand Serenade and we are certainly anticipating the release of the new album.