Shawn M Haney Interview

 

Alternative music artist, Shawn M Haney!

What inspired you to pursue a career in music? I was about six when my father played me The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper on vinyl, while I sat on the living room floor near our family record player. That inspired me to turn on our radio for the first time, I had one on my window sill next to my bed, where
I was in a trance, enchanted listening to Casey Casem's Top 40 every Sunday morning with
my mom. Then the world changed when MTV and VH1 came on, as we got a cable box for our TV.
I was obsessed with watching videos through the early mid 80s. Then coming home from school one day, I was 12, I saw Guns n Roses, Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child of Mine. It was then I wanted an electric guitar. Dad singed me up for lessons at Jennings, it was less than a mile from our home.
I took lessons with my first guitar, a red Hurricane, with my teacher, friend and mentor,
Danny Manning. Our family nurse gave me a Joe Satriani cassette of Surfing with the Alien 1987, I was 12. Without that cassette, a special gift, I may have never kept up with learning scales and lead guitar, I was so inspired and I practiced eagerly through the night working on Satch songs and learning, leads, scales and finger tapping, until my fingers bled! I knew I was happy and I was off into a new stratosphere of musical joy to last my whole life to this point.

Tell us about your creative process when it comes to writing and composing songs. I enjoyed learning how to sing and play Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel on my electric, but finally I got my first cheap acoustic at nineteen, and started writing songs. My first original song was in August, 1994, "Where Did She Go? Why Have You Gone?" then "Spring" for my pop, "Peace Love and Happiness." I stuck with writing the lyrics first on a page in very neat cursive in my composition book, I filled up seven or eight of those, doodling in and drawing little illustrations, then adding simple four chord progressions for verse, bridge and chorus, and working on strengthening different structures and arrangements.

How would you describe your unique sound and style as an alternative music artist? Over the years I have written over 350 songs since 1994, when I was a freshman at Georgia State University in
Atlanta. My sound has changed, I would say in five years over time. Back then I was writing simple songs, but following the model around my influences that inspired me at the time, as my brother Paul introduced me to grunge in 1994-5, I was already enjoying oldies 50s and 60s. My brother and I and our neighborhood buddy Matt Capazoli, formed a garage band, the Lanoleum Floors. We worked on all the classics of the 90's in our jam sessions, Weezer, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins and then wrote about ten songs, again all in the genre and sound of alternative grunge We loved using pedals, chorus and reverb and overdrive. It was a happy time of many golden memories cherished. I was in a band in 2005, as I taught lessons at our local store, our band was named The Majestiks, after the diner in Atlanta. Then we were working on a distinct sound of jazz and grunge, as my colleague Wade Queen,
played saxophone and piano and Jason Parker played lead guitar and base, with eclectic drum extraordinaire, Greg Malejko on percussion. Our sound took you from Radiohead to Coldplay, Pearl Jam to U2 to Beatles and James Taylor. More fun times.

Do you have any specific musical influences that have shaped your artistic journey? Joe Satriani when I was a teen, also my teacher Danny Manning taught me Van Halen, Poison, GnR, Doobies, Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. As of today, I persevered and prospered into a singer/songwriter, writing and singing songs on my Ibanez 1997 acoustic, with a Zoom Mrs 1266 24 track analog studio and a Rode NT2-A, and a Blue Bird mic, and currently a home recording mic, the Zoom Q2n-4K. I love writing finger picking folk songs, aka JT and Simon and Garfunkel, and switching it up, eagerly working on new progressions that are more complex like Radiohead (OK computer), and Coldplay (x&y, mylo xyloto), Travis (the man who, invisible band) and Flaming Lips (circa "the lost bulletin). I look at each song as a wonderfully challenging puzzle to figure it out, and with focus and meditation, it brings me great joy and happiness and fulfillment when I figure out a fantastic chord progression, melody and structure to complete into a fantastic original song.

How do you engage with your audience and build a loyal fan base? I always share my music, and chat with listeners, fans and other artists on ReverbNation, SoundCloud and Bandcamp (my Wednesday evening listening parties). I'm also working in Spotify. It doesn't hurt to go the best route, share your music and art in person, making a fan and a friend face to face, whether at work with family reunions, or at home passing out Cd's and poems, and going to as many open mics and booking and many local shows as possible and always showing up. Showing up is always 90 percent of the battle. the rest is a piece of cake, Singing your songs is a walk in the park, and you'll be able to find more and more confidence in yourself and your stage presence, and performance as you age. Wisdom and humility comes a long way,
and you'll see yourself being a role model to the younger folk, and the magic is passed down. the dream and goals in music are accomplished, and the legacy of a hardworking artist is set in stone for the ages. You settle into your gig space, by the third song in your gig you're relaxed and zoned in, connecting to your audience and the listeners in the crowd, engaging with a smile
and the eyes of a fan made for the evening.

What sets you apart from other music artists in the industry? I am a versatile composer and songwriter, with experience in all genres, I am proud and flattered to be hailed as a local legend and hardworking humble songwriting troubadour.

How do you handle criticism or negative feedback on your music? Always listen and digest with humility and patience, meditate and seek perspective on how far you've come and appreciate the feedback and honesty, all with the goal in mind to continue to improve and not be afraid of change, making your sound and style, your songs fresh, so you're able to succeed and thrive, and continue to grow and
evolve. I always model my songwriting life after the message in the song "Do The Evolution" by Ed Vedder and Pearl Jam "Binaural" 2000.

Tell us about any collaborations or performances that have been particularly impactful in your career. Working with co-writers, Kenneth Mood of the UK, Juliet Thomas, Susie Reed, Jason Parker
and mates in my bands Lanoleum Loors and the Majesticks, over the years have been really
helpful to my craft and very inspiring to see what happens, and the type of captivating quality of work
that churns out when working with others. Also, it's been an honor to participate at events with friend and colleague, Josh Rifkind and Sanjay Kothari, for the Songs for Kids Foundation in Atlanta, and many events over the past two decades in Atlanta. Notable venues that have molded me as a songwriter are first of all, the Insomnia Cafe, Cool Beans, The Blue Racoon, Crystals, McCrackens, The Firehouse, Poppers, Mellow Mushroom KSU, Land of a 1000 HIlls, all near Marietta,
Kennesaw and Roswell, Ga. and Eddie's Attic and Smith's Olde Bar, and Venkman's in Atlanta. (If you are an aspiring songwriter, I recommend you try these venues out, and you'll probably bump into me often!)

How do you stay motivated and inspired as a music artist? It's important to work on music a little each day to maintain that sense of joy. You should always value your gift and creativity, and not let it slip away, don't ignore it or bury it, be thankful, show
a sense of gratitude. It's God's gift given to you to share with all the world during your time here.
I'm always so happy putting it into perspective, look how far I'm come, now I'm happy
that I have the wonderful opportunity to teach the youth and inspire and know I'm sewing
good seeds to all I come across. I am happy just for that, and that is enough for me. These days as a teacher of guitar, I find great reward and inspiration helping young players learn how to write songs themselves. I take great pride in helping them discover the light, the gift inside them, so they find that same sense of creative happiness and peace, becoming a composer themselves.

What are your long-term goals and aspirations within the music industry? I would love to have my songs synchronized to TV and film, and have my songs used by young aspiring artists for their album projects. Also, I'm eager to continue making a stable income on my songs and publish my poems too.

https://watersofmarchshawnmhaney.bandcamp.com/music