5 Questions
with...
1. If I knew absolutely nothing about Reed Waddle,
how would you describe your music to me?
-- This question is always hard for me to answer..kind
of like being asked..so what kind of person are you? In any case, if I
had to describe it, I would say new smart pop songs with old school influences.
Songs that make you think as well as feel. When I write a song it is because
I am at a place where I need to say something. In turn, I want the listener
to feel..good, happy, sad, something, depending on the song.
2. If I were to buy your new album Piece By Piece,
what songs should I pay particular attention to and why?
-- I pay attention to all of them, because I
wrote them. Kind of like picking your favorite kid I would imagine
(no kids for me at the moment). I try to cover my bases when putting
together a batch of songs for an album. This particular album, the
songs came organically wtih no intent on, "hey, I need to make
an album." I wrote as many songs as I could and started to record
them one by one. A few songs were actually finished in the studio.
Each song sounds different, and that's
the way I wanted it. They come from different places and to me, that is
what I look for in an artist
I want to listen to. Someone who is familiar to your soul, but unpredictable
to your ear.
But if I had to pick a list I'd say- The Beast Within, Piece by Piece,
Ready to Run, Remember the Roses, Velveteen Skies. These are the
ones I am most proud of content wise...songs
I think I will always cherish.
3. When did you decide a career in music was for
you and is music paying the bills yet? ?
--
I have been fortunate enough to grow up in a house full of music. My father
was a singer/songwriter and there were always guitars around me. Even as
a little kid I can remember my dad playing songs he wrote in our living
room. When I started writing songs, my dad was obviously thrilled and began
to push me to record them. When I went off to college, things started to
take shape for me as a songwriter and performer and people started to notice.
I had some label interest and did a few showcases. For the first time,
I really believed that my music affected people and I could take it far
if I tried hard. I began playing around bars and have been doing it ever
since. Right now I live in a place where I can play music as my only job,
which is a great thing.
I am very excited about this new CD coming out. I had the chance to write
and record with John Oates of Hall and Oates. That was a really great experience
as a songwriter. Just seeing how he operates in the studio was a learning
experience. Plus the songs turned out great. With an east coast tour in
October and some radio play on the horizon, we'll have to wait and see
what happens.
4.
What was your worst on stage experience? What was your
best?
-- In the past few years I've played so many gigs
it's hard to really narrow it down to one great experience. Every time
you play live, it can be a totally different experience. I guess my best
onstage experience that I can recall was probably in 2003 in Orlando
at the Florida Music Festival. I was selected as a feature act on a main
stage in downtown Orlando. It was also the first time I played with a
big band in front of a lot of people. You never really forget that.
My worst is easy, a few years back I played a show in Birmingham, Alabama.
It was a really cool venue, a lot of people were there. The set however,
didn't start out so well. The opening song was one of my tunes that starts
out with just my voice. For some reason I didn't think I needed to check
to make sure I was in the right key. I started out the song in one key
and the band came in on a totally different one. Just thinking about
it makes me cringe! It was awful, mainly because it was all my fault!
Somehow I made it through the song, but I learned the hard way always
to double check to make sure you are singing in the right key.
5. Do you think that the Internet (whether it be Internet
radio, legal downloading, MySpace, streaming audio, etc.) is a good tool
for musicians or is it a bad thing because it hinders profits?
-- For Independent artists that want to be heard, there
is no doubt that the Internet is a great tool. Myspace has provided me with
gigs, musical contacts and another way to showcase my songs. The best part
is, it's free! Present sites like that and many others basically are the
future of this business. Everyone obviously is aware of that with iTunes
and myspace basically being a necessity as a performing artist. These days,
there are many different avenues to take as an independent artist on line.
Sites like CD Baby, and www.mytracks.com to name a few, cater to feature
artists that are under the radar.
Sure the on line music explosion has its double-edged sword aspect...but
I believe that it is on a sliding scale to a certain degree. It still is
hurting the marketplace for music to be sold in, no matter what level you
are on. People are always going to figure out ways to download music for
free...it's just the nature of our technology in our society. I truly believe
that number has gotten smaller in the past few years though. There are just
a lot of ways you can buy music now. It is much more accessible on an every
day basis, whether it's for your iPod or through your cable bill. We can
only hope that people realize that illegal downloading hurts every aspect
of the music business in the long run. All I can control is the music that
I create and hope that this problem can be resolved.
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