Sean Roberts

How the did started with all this??

 I started playing music at the age of 9. There was this boy who lived about 4 houses down from my grandparents house. He played the drums in Junior High and High School.

So one day I asked him “how do you know when to hit the drum with your foot and hit the hi hat and the snare or when to hit the cymbals or how do you do a drum fill and when do you one.  So when I started asking questions about this – he took me under wing and started to teach me and I took a heavy interest in playing music from then on.

But what really sealed the deal for me was when John Lennon died. I didn’t understand what was going on and why so many people were upset that this man was murdered. Naturally I felt bad  but I didn’t understand the impact that he had on people and his importance of his music – I was too young.

So that Christmas my mom got me this book, which I still have to this day, on The Beatles. It told where each member came from. How the band was born. The changes in there music and then of course their breakup and what each member did after the band broke up. 

It was after reading that book and understanding who The Beatles were and who they were as individuals - that's  where I said “I want to do that – I want to impact people the way they did me and so many others."

So from the age of 10 thru high school I learned to play 5 instruments.  I started writing my own songs in high school and it continued thru college. Since then I was in a number of different rock bands through the years. Some had been reincarnations of previous bands. Some did well others didn’t do so well. Thankfully I was able to do a few albums with each of those bands. Since then it’s just been a progression of keeping music going for myself.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
For me the basic thing is good story telling. That’s the bottom line. If you don’t have a good story to tell people are not going to listen to you and the song will not have longevity. As far as delivering a message – I try to have the songs be optimistic. Songs of hope. Songs of making it through a hardship.  Songs that say “hey I’ve been there too and that’s ok – you can get through this – I did”  Even if the song is a sad song, I always want to have the feeling that something good will come out of this no matter what. You just have to believe.

I want the music be uplifting as much as possible no matter how light or heavy the subject matter could be.  For example the song Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, on my new album - the song is about a person who knows there partner and them are drifting emotionally away from one another. The person is asking their partner “Hey we need to work on this relationship more other wise we are through” So there is that hope of getting over issues that one may have in a relationship so that the relationship can flourish and move forward.

Then there’s another song on the album called My Home Town – where it’s about this person just hanging out with his friends and enjoying the moments and time he spends with his friends. So for him it’s just another day in his home town – this is his life and he doesn’t take his friendships for granted.

What's your method at the time of writting a song??
There’s a few ways that I write songs. One method that I use – I will go into a small record store that may sell either used cd’s or old vinyl records or just indie artists. People that I never heard of.  I will then go through a section of cd’s – lets say artists A thru F and begin to look at the song titles on these cd’s . 

If  I read a title that sparks an interest – I will then write that title in a note book that I bring with me. After I go through that section of cd’s  sometimes I’ll have 25 – 40 song titles written down.  About after a week I then go back to that list of titles, reread them and see if they still spark an interest. If so then next to the title I might write what I feel the song would be about based on that title.

Now a few months go by and time for me write new material. I now go back to the list  again – see what sparks an interest – then begin to write based on the titles and what I felt the song should be about.   This is just one way I write so that I don’t run out of ideas.

Which is your music influences??
This is an easy question but at the same token it’s a tough one to answer since I have so many  musical influences. But in a nutshell, hands down. I would say with out a doubt my main influence is Bon Jovi.  Some friends will tease me on that. Jokingly call me Sean Bon Jovi.  But if you look at the career of that band, they have accomplished so much and done things that other bands have never done.  Let’s put it this way. How many bands from the 80’s that were considered “Hair Bands” are still around today selling multi platinum albums?  Answer – NONE!  Not Warrant, not Cinderella, Tesla, Slaughter, Winger, none of them. Bon Jovi has been the only “Hair Band” that has not only moved passed that era but has constantly grown with each album they have put out. Just look at the body of work they have produced in the last decade alone. Obviously they are doing something right, other wise they would be here today still selling out concerts and still being heard on the radio.

Some of my other musical influences are the writing team of Donnie Vie and Chip Znuff, from the band Enuff Z’Nuff.  The Beatles style of melody combined with a hard rock flavor with wonderful harmonies just knocks my socks off. To help me write my latest album I took the advice of my executive producer and started to listen to country music more and began to listen to specific country songwriters.

Keith Urban has been a huge impact on me. I love the simple story telling that he creates.  I’ve also been listening to Brooks & Dunn. Specific songwriters  that have influenced me are  Tom Cochrane, Steven McClintock, Victoria Shaw and Billy Falcon. Who are all very well respected songwriters in the music industry.

What plans do you have for the future??
As far as putting out albums, even though I just released an album in July I’m already writing new material for the next album. I want to take a step further into the Nashville sound that I’ve began to create with this new album.  If I plan things right I’ll start recording this November or December for the Holiday break  and hopefully have it finished and out for next summer.

I’ve also always had this idea to put out a series of EP’s with songs from every decade, starting in the 50’s to today that have impacted me in some way or another. They maybe are songs that I can relate to, have moved me one way or another, been apart of my childhood or just simply been apart of my musical growth. This will be an on going series starting with Volume One and making however many I can. I will be calling the series In Others Words.

As far as touring, I want to get out as much as possible and playing anywhere I can. Street fairs, concerts in the park, county fairs, maybe even short cruises and if things work out in my favor start doing regional tours again with other artists.

Which has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
Well there was this prank that I played on a friend of mine, with his bandmates. The situation was this: He’s the lead singer for his band and his wireless microphone screen had a few dents in it because he had dropped it several times. So the screen needed to be replaced.  The only one that a tech could get was a  red screen, normally they are silver. So right before my friend goes out on stage his guitarist, drummer and I decided to borrow some lipstick from one of the girls who where hanging out back stage. We then put red lipstick on the screen.  Luckily the lipstick matched the screen so you couln’t tell  that something was on the screen. My friend has a tendency to “eat the mic” as they say, when he sings.

So by the time he was done with the first song the lipstick that we put on the mic screen was then transferred to his lips. So now the audience is seeing this singer who does not wear makeup – all of a sudden with lipstick on his mouth.

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you and your band (If any) are, ¿Who would you send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
Wow this is a really obscure but tough question. Well to answer the first part – who would I send to look for help – I would have to say my drummer Jeff. He is the survivor type. He pushes forward and really rolls with the punches and just gets done what needs to get done.

Now who would we eat first? Well I would defiantly go with Jeff to get help so that way I wouldn’t get eaten. So then it would be up to the other 3 guys in my band. Troy, my bassist, is a thin guy – fit. So I don’t think he would get eaten. Not enough meat on the bones. So I think it would be a toss up between my guitarist Jimmy or my keyboardist Mike. 

Which country you would love to play?
For me there will be two countries that I would love to play – the first would be Japan. It seems that the people there are really into American rock-n-roll of all genres.  Some of those 80’s bands that I mentioned earlier who are only doing small clubs or theaters here is the U.S. are still doing the bigger venues over there. So I would love to see how the Japanese audience would treat me.

The second country that I would love to play would be Australia.  I’ve never been, have always wanted to visit that country but never had the opportunity to go there. So if I ever get the chance to tour with some one there I will jump on that one so quick. 

With which bands you would love to share stage??
Well, based on my main influence Bon Jovi for sure. That would be a dream come true for me - to tour with them.  But I would also love to perform with the Nelson Brothers. Matthew and Gunnar are two very talented guys whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting numerous times but never had the chance to perform with them.  So I would like that opportunity. I would also really like to perform with Paul McCartney. Imagine performing the songs that everyone in the world grew up with, with the guy who wrote them standing next to me. How awesome would that be!

Are you OK, with the direction the band is going actually?

 Right now I am so happy with the way the direction of my music is going. I’ve gone through so much heartache in the last two years.  Two and a half years ago a comedy band that I helped produce and develop for 4 years, out of no where, without warning decided to fire me from the project as there guitarist. That really hurt my feelings tremendously. Then a few months later I lost my father. That was just a huge blow to my mom and I.  Especially for me since I lost my grandfather (my dad’s dad) a month before I turned 4. So I never got to know him. Now I lose my dad 4 months before my son turned 4.  It was history repeating itself and I’m still dealing with the fact that my son will grow up with out knowing his grandfather – the way I grew up without knowing mine.

So 2008 ends in my mind with tragedy. 2009 is time for me to start healing, rebuilding and over come these heartaches. So here I am back on my own trying to write and can’t come up with anything.  Then anything I do come up with it’s just BS.  Keep in mind that for 4 years I was mainly producing and not writing. So when it came time to write – I didn’t know what to say anymore.  I didn’t have any stories to share.

So I went to an old friend and asked him for help – I told him that I just need to find a new direction and if he could help me. At his suggestion he wanted me to continue the pop/rock or blues/rock music that I have been known for but this time he wanted me to add a hint of Nashville flavor to it. Add a banjo here, maybe a dobro there or a fiddle on this song.. I thought he was nuts  – but I kept an open mind and went with it and it was the best thing that I could have ever done.

It’s truly brought new life to the way I write songs and how often I write songs, the subject matter of the songs. Now I’m getting ideas all time and it’s really stirred my creative juices again to where I have something to say again – I have stories that I want to tell as an artist again. Then share those emotions and songs with people.

Check out more of this artist by going to  http://www.myspace.com/seanroberts