In this week’s 10 Questions we get to know Fifteen Minutes Later, an indie artist from the Philippines in the Province of Siquijor, a town called Lazi.
I’m from the Philippines in the Province of Siquijor, a town called Lazi. Playing my compositions so I will not forget the tune and lyrics.
2. What inspired Fifteen Minutes Later to start playing and making music?
I guess it is in my blood to pick up my guitar and just start singing my heart out even if no one is listening. I do not need an audience to make music, just kinda feels great every time I make music by myself or by my bandmates. It is like you have been brought to another place or another time. Music somehow makes you travel back in time.
I do not need an audience to make music, just kinda feels great every time I make music by myself or by my bandmates.
3. Who are Fifteen Minutes Later’s biggest musical influences?
First my grandfather who taught me how to play ukulele, then the elder locals here in our town dub as music town, I always see them play every year. Then the Rock and Alternative Bands and I guess that is the kind of music that I have.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
The goal is to make music, record them, release them to be available worlwide and lastly, to play them once in a while.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Sometimes it has to start with a tune, other times lyrics, then put them together piece by piece until it is complete.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
September by Daughtry. Just kinda like the arrangement and the melody is haunting.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
Follow your dreams, follow your passion and do not ever quit until you reach them. Just continue to be true to yourself and to your music. One day you will look back and just be proud of yourself for what you have done.
Just continue to be true to yourself and to your music.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
To be able to record my original songs and publish all my compositions into one compilation. For CD or Cassette maybe, one day or perhaps vinyl. That is a dream of every musician I guess. But to be able to publish them worldwide in an online platform is an accomplishment by itself.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
When I ask the audience to laugh and no one’s laughing except me. That is kinda embarrassing you know. But that’s a little bit weird but I guess I am just being funny.
That is kinda embarrassing you know.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
To be part of the indie community such as NAS is by far the highest point and my lowest point is when not able to finish what I’m working for.
Graham and I (Glen) are from Vancouver, Canada. However, Graham was born in Glasgow, Scotland. In July of 2014, Graham and I ran into each other at a Nick Cave & The Bads Seeds show. We have a deep love of that band. The opening act that night was the late, great Mark Lanegan. That night Mark performed with only the accompaniment of guitarist Jeff Fielder. Although Jeff was playing an SG, it was still so intimate. The music just seemed so powerful and connected to the audience on another level. It was the final piece of the puzzle for me. So simple, so real, so raw. Nowhere to hide sonically. Just two voices and an acoustic guitar. It was all about connecting on an intimate level with an audience. That’s what I was moving towards. A few days later Graham and I got together for lunch and we discussed the idea of an acoustic based project. We agreed to give it our best and the rest is history.
We rehearsed for over a year learning a lot of covers from different genres. Initially I didn’t push to write songs for the new project. I wanted to let the music we were playing from the 1920’s all the way to the 1990’s and beyond, infuse the writing that would come. We were playing Jazz, Ragtime, Blues, Country, Folk and Pop/Rock. It was all going into our repertoire. So over time when I began to write, the canvas had gotten bigger. The flood gates opened and many of those songs later became a part of our debut album in 2022, So The Story Goes. The question was always going to be, “Do we record as an acoustic duo?” or “Do we go all in and provide everything the songs are demanding as far as arrangements and instrumentation go?” Well we went with latter and had one of the most amazing and fulfilling musical experiences of our lives. Making that record was magic. And it has been received with great appreciation and praise. For this we are definitely humbled and grateful. As far as growth since the album I’d say we have continued to mine the territory we staked out with the album. Stylistically it is broad and ambitious in scope which we are very proud of. So since So The Story Goes was released we have continued to release a series of singles that have broadened and strengthened out style and sound.
2. What inspired Crash World to start playing and making music?
Like a lot of young people it was the influence of my older brothers that got the ball rolling. My earliest musical memory of real significance was one of my brothers giving me his LP of The Beatles – Yellow Submarine S/T. Six songs on Side 1 and the Orchestral Score on Side 2. I’d say Side One changed my life. The world went from black & white to technicolor. It just fired my imagination and I couldn’t get enough. In those early years some other album’s my brothers betowed upon me were Neil Young – Harvest, The Who – Live At Leeds, Jethro Tull – Aqualung, Todd Rundgren – A Wizard/A True Star and then The Who – Quadrophenia plus many more I discovered on my own. What an era to be experiencing music that was new and exciting. At age six was also when my dear Mother asked me if I’d like to take guitar lessons. So I did for a few years with a kindly local lady. Once I got my first electric guitar around the age of ten it was all learning by ear. And what an education it was.
My earliest musical memory of real significance was one of my brothers giving me his LP of The Beatles – Yellow Submarine S/T.
3. Who are Crash World’s biggest musical influences?
For me part of the magic of Crash World is a giving back. It’s a way of sharing and conveying styles and elements of music that really turned my head as a young music fan. These classic touches still give me shivers and it is so glorious to be able to indulge the songs we record with as much or as little as they seem to be calling for. As a songwriter, I hear the finished version in my head, but to bring that to life is a lot sometimes. But in the end it is enormously satisfying to do so. My influences are different than Graham’s, that’s for sure, but we do share a lot of common ground. I draw from Ian Hunter, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, early Elton John, The Faces as I have deep love of Ronnie Lane, and on and on down that road. And I love the great side players of history like Nicky Hopkins on piano and Paul Buckmaster’s string arrangements are amazing. Graham would lean into darker places and definitely more eclectic corners. As I mentioned one huge common ground for Graham and I is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. We’ve seen them many times over the years and have even done some theme performances where we do an entire night of their music. Arranging full band arrangements for one acoustic guitar is a big challenge, but very gratifying for me. We have been described as genre fluid and also Progressive Canadiana. Those descriptions resonate pretty well with us. Pitch Perfect, a Chicago publication said of us, “Crash World exists in the yellow glow of Edison bulbs, leather couches and dark hardwood.” That’s pretty cool as well.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I live to make music and create. Writing music is my passion and Crash World is my vehicle. I simply want to write and record the best Crash World music we can and share it with the world. Everything beyond that is bonus territory. Connecting with music lovers is a gift that can’t be under appreciated. Establishing Crash World and continuing to grow our audience is enormously gratifying and is ever evolving.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Songs come in various ways, but generally a great lyric line or theme gets the juices flowing. And then it’s a matter getting out of my own way and let the song flow out and find its way. Then it’s detail work like melody, lyrics and arrangement. Lyrics get a lot of my attention and I strive to never waste a word. In the end, everything is just how I mean it to be, for better or for worse. Once the seeds come its the acoustic guitar in my hands to find the musical part of the equation. That leads to chords, riffs, tempos, rhythms and most importantly melodies. I do a great deal of preparation before going to the studio where we work with a producer who has brought a great deal of empathy, energy and understanding to the table regarding what we do and how we do it. We are very lucky to have developed an incredible team that contributes to the recording of Crash World’s music.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
There are simply too many to mention, I couldn’t possibly pick just one. However, I will throw one out there that has me in its spell once again. “Long, Long, Long Time” by Tears For Fears. The melodies, vocal performance, production and writing are incredible. The craft is at the highest level. Great songwriters.
The melodies, vocal performance, production and writing are incredible.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
I always remember Steven Tyler referring to the creative process as “letting the little kid out”. So yeah get in that sandbox and create. Don’t be limited, the sky is the limit. You are creating something out of nothing, so why impose boundaries on yourself. Just get out of your own way and let it happen. It’s a joyous process.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
I’ll just say the entire Crash World project is something both Graham and I are very proud of. The recording of So The Story Goes in two separate studios, two separate teams with some very heavy cats playing on those sessions was a life long dream come true, simply because we made an album we’d always wanted to make. It cost plenty but was worth it to record in that manner. Big goals, big studios, big results. A thrilling experience.
It cost plenty but was worth it to record in that manner.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
A Crash World show that comes to mind, was an outdoor summer performance for a street festival. When we got there and set up, the very young fella that was helping set up turned out to be the sound-man. When I asked where the other side of the PA was, he said, that is the PA. I said, “Wow, we do occasionally touch on an old-timey vibe, so I guess we’ll lean in to it because today we’re playing in MONO”. So we cooked in the hot summer sun, coming out of this tiny speaker, wondering if the audience could even hear us. Later a friend of mine mentioned he’d seen the show. When I mentioned to PA and the various PA adjustments throughout the performance he said, “Yeah, I saw the sound-boy running around.” I thought that was pretty funny…”sound-boy”.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
I’d say over time, giving your all to projects that fell apart or imploded. Those times especially when you’re young can seem quite devastating. But over time all of those experiences lead you to the person you will become. And the ups and downs are somehow all worth it. At this point we’re on a pretty consistent high with Crash World, with plans for the next several years. I’d recommend long term planning, because with the many hats one must wear as an Indie artist these days, it helps to have a plan so that you can prioritize the creativity, and not get swallowed up by managing only the social media and business aspects of what we all do. Lastly, finding NAS has been a safe haven of artistic integrity, inspiration and community. Just the most incredible oasis in the wasteland. Like a great song, Ed Eagle created something special where previously nothing like it had existed. And then all the support that has made it so strong. Amazing!
Lastly, finding NAS has been a safe haven of artistic integrity, inspiration and community.
I’m based in Accra, Ghana. I balance my time as a music producer, recording artist, and an online driver. Right now, I’m actively managing my catalog under my artist’s name E-Great and my producer alias EonDaBeat. Recently, I’ve been focused on the release and promotion of my single “I’m Not Hurt”.
2. What inspired E-Great to start playing and making music?
I have always loved music deeply, starting back in my junior high school days when I was a dancer. I realized I could sing and write songs when I attended Ofori Panin Senior High School. I enjoy creating stories from nothing and making people feel emotions, such as feeling motivated or inspired. However, the real turning point for me was my sister. She helped me record my very first song in a professional studio back in 2011 or 2012, while I was still in senior high school. That experience completely changed my view of music and pushed me to take it seriously as a career.
I enjoy creating stories from nothing and making people feel emotions, such as feeling motivated or inspired.
3. Who are E-Great’s biggest musical influences?
I admire music producers and artists who can mix deep feelings with a great groove. My musical style is based on HipHop and R&B, often featuring powerful drums and rhythms. However, at my core, I really love piano melodies, inspirational songs, and music that tells a story. My goal is always to bring those emotional, narrative elements into any beat I work on, whether it is soft or heavy, and whether I made it myself or got it from another producer.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
My main goal, besides making great music, is to build a strong business for my art. As a producer using the name EonDaBeat, I recently set up professional exclusive and non-exclusive licensing deals for my beats. I want to become one of the top beat sellers and producers in the world. At the same time, I aim to make my artist brand, E-Great, famous globally. As an artist, I plan to keep releasing authentic music and connecting with listeners who resonate with my music.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Because I am naturally reserved, I love working in the sanctuary of my home studio. My process usually starts in FL Studio with emotional chords or a drum loop. Sometimes I write the lyrics first. When focused, I can write a whole song in less than a day. I get inspiration from God, the world around me, and other people’s stories and music.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
That is a hard question because I usually don’t have just one favorite song. I love good music and listen to many different genres. However, if I had to choose “Mansion” by NF is my all-time favorite. I connect deeply with his raw, honest storytelling and themes regarding mental health. I also love that the song uses emotional piano chords.
I connect deeply with his raw, honest storytelling and themes regarding mental health.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
My top advice is to treat your music business and marketing with professional seriousness. Don’t rush the small stuff. It’s easy to get lost in the creative fun and forget about promotion, legal paperwork, or the technical side of releases. Attention to detail is essential for long-term success.
It’s easy to get lost in the creative fun and forget about promotion, legal paperwork, or the technical side of releases.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest achievement was recording my first studio track in 2011/2012, as it set the stage for my current work. Additionally, I am proud of the success of my new sound on the track “I’m Not Hurt,” which secured a spot on a Spotify Editorial playlist and is being well-received by an American audience.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
In December 2025, I was getting ready to release an EP and start a major year-long music promotion campaign. However, right before the start date, my car broke down. Because I depend on my car for my income, I had to postpone all my plans with the PR agency, which was very difficult to do.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
The lowest point was definitely dealing with those car issues, which forced me to halt my momentum and postpone my promotion campaign. It was frustrating, but it just gave me more time to stay indoors, discover NAS, write, and refine my FL Studio mixing templates. On the flip side, the highest points are seeing the tangible results of the grind: releasing “I’m Not Hurt” and successfully locking in the official business and licensing framework for my beats.
I am from Los Angeles area, but originally moved to LA from Europe in early 90’s, I am an artist and making, producing music when time permits.
2. What inspired Sky Moni to start playing and making music?
My love for music and love of creation inspired me + some great bands and singers as well, like David Bowie, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Depeche Mode and many more. I feel I am happiest when I am writing, singing and dancing. I feel life goes by fast and is important to embrace our real passion, and music is mine.
I feel I am happiest when I am writing, singing and dancing.
3. Who are Sky Moni’s biggest musical influences?
David Bowie and Pink Floyd are my biggest influences, and I would say my music is rock-pop genre, but have a listen, let me know what you think?
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
To make many more cool songs and to perform live in Hyde park in London 🙂 I think that would be fulfilling.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
I generally write lyrics first and then look for melody to sing them, but recently I did also the other way around, where I made melody and then wrote lyrics or adjusted my already written lyrics to song. I then record stuff in Logic Pro X and work there until completion.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
Hard one to answer, I have so many great songs and can’t just single out one…. But can list a few: China Girl, Absolute Beginners by David Bowie, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, Thunderstruck by AC/DC, Patience by Guns N’ Roses… Cause they are all amazing for feeling and energy they produce.
…. But can list a few: China Girl, Absolute Beginners by David Bowie, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, Thunderstruck by AC/DC, Patience by Guns N’ Roses…
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
None, I have really not given and or received any worth mentioning. That is maybe sad but that is it …
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
I think I am a good songwriter and not boring as some artists on Billboard charts. But that is my opinion and am I proud about that,,,, no,,, I don’t think I am cling to proudness, I think I made lots of mistakes and lost opportunities and if I could wish I could back in past.
I think I am a good songwriter and not boring as some artists on Billboard charts.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
hmmm I am sure I have few…. maybe flirting with a man that turned out to be gay 🙁 …………………………………………………………….
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
Highest points making just about all my music nearly alone, can’t think of lowest at the moment.
I am British born and raised in Kazakhstan during Soviet and post-Soviet era currently living in Spain.
2. What inspired Lana Crow to start playing and making music?
A melody came to me in a dream a few years ago. I felt I should not ignore it, and I wrote my first song that early morning. It took me two years to finally record it, because I did not know what I was doing. More dreams followed with new melodies, and so I continued recording. I keep telling myself to stop, as it is a costly venture, but something always nudges me towards the next song.
More dreams followed with new melodies, and so I continued recording.
3. Who are Lana Crow’s biggest musical influences?
My style is indie pop with a flavor of pop-rock. I think I am leaning towards the 80s as well. A-ha certainly influenced my style.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I would love to hear my music in a show or a movie. More than that, though, I would love my music to help people feel happier and less alone.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Every song I write starts with an intention. The melody comes later—sometimes in a dream, sometimes in the waking hours. When it arrives I sing it into my phone and later sit down at my keyboard to expand that initial idea, a process that takes anywhere from a day to two weeks. The lyrics always come last; while I usually know what I want to say, I only start writing them once the tune is completely finished.
When it arrives I sing it into my phone and later sit down at my keyboard to expand that initial idea, a process that takes anywhere from a day to two weeks.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
Mr Brightside by The Killers. I love the energy, the tune, the lyrics, everything.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
My producer advised me to buy a home recording kit. It saved me a lot of money and hassle, meaning I no longer had to travel to a studio in Marbella.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest moment was when Tristan Boston reached out, offering to produce tracks for me. I didn’t realize he had won a Grammy for his work; it actually took me months to finally look him up and recognize the opportunity.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
Too many to count! My ski got stuck in between another guy’s skis and I got embarrassingly close to him and could not move. It was not the most embarrassing moment, though. I am not sharing the most embarrassing one, thank you very much.
My ski got stuck in between another guy’s skis and I got embarrassingly close to him and could not move.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
The lowest was getting all these rejections on SubmitHub, and the highest was getting Earmilk coverage through Pillagram.
I’m originally from Essex in the UK but have been living in Norfolk for the last 20+ years. I live here with my wife as my 2 adult daughters have recently flown the nest. I work in the emergency services so my day can be pretty varied. Outside of work I go to the gym a few times a week and collect graphics novels and am an avid film watcher (huge Sylvester Stallone fan) but my primary time consuming activity is writing and playing music. I’m also in a rock and metal covers band.
2. What inspired LUDIOSIS to start playing and making music?
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad first got me into it (& guitar playing) as he was a guitarist and recording artist in his own right (in the days when you couldn’t do it at home and had to be signed and go to a studio) so my earliest memories are listening to instrumental guitar tracks by groups like ‘The Shadows’ or Jeff Beck and the like. I took on some of my mums likes such as ‘Fleetwood Mac’ and ‘Queen’ but it wasn’t until I was at high school when myself and a friend decided to start a band (neither of us could play anything) and I said I’d learn guitar. I’ve not stopped since. The more I listen to and the more I play, the more I am inspired. Music can transport me to whole new worlds and then take me right back to a specific point in my life and I love the idea that my music could do that for someone else.
The more I listen to and the more I play, the more I am inspired.
3. Who are LUDIOSIS’ biggest musical influences?
I have a varied taste in Music. Aside from the artists I’ve already mentioned listening to when young, I first developed my own musical tastes in my early teens. The first album on cassette I bought was ‘Out of Time’ by R.E.M. and I remember cycling 20 miles to buy ‘Master of Puppets’ on CD. I got well into the Grunge scene and love listening to Classical music and film scores. My primary listening genre is rock and my favourite band is Alter Bridge. They are the apex as far as I’m concerned. They are incredible musicians and I love how they can straddle so many subgenres going from soft ballads and then into downtuned heavy riff machines. It is them who I tend to base my own music style on with the new material I write but find influences from all sorts colours my writing and playing.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I just like to create. I love the process of making music and seeing/hearing it come together. As already stated music forms a soundtrack to my life and I love the thought that someone somewhere would have my music as a soundtrack to a moment in their life. I’d love to do this as my actual occupation but I think that possibility has passed me by. I’d like to get better at mixing and mastering as that’s such a huge learning curve and I’m very much an amateur. Doing everything by myself I can’t play live but I’d love to be able to play my own music live to people! I just hope I can continue to produce music and that people keep finding it and enjoying it!
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Normally the song starts with a riff. I noodle on guitar a lot and when an idea strikes I run it around a lot. I have a home studio in my garage so I generally tend to do a rough take and then just layer and build on it and the song slowly takes shape. I do all the writing, playing, recording and mixing myself so I can just dip in and out as it takes my fancy (which is pretty much every day!) but it’s hard to be objective when it’s just me so I tend to send edits of my songs to my daughter for some objective feedback! I’m also very impatient so always want to get everything finished and get frustrated with myself when I can’t get something right or when I can’t work out where the song is taking me but then get so happy when I get into a groove and it all starts coming together!
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
This is a really tough one as different songs have different meanings to me and affect me differently. I remember the first song that got me into metal was ‘My Friend of Misery’ by Metallica. I always thought metal was just ‘noise’ up to that point and I listened to the whole of the Black album and it just sounded like noise until that song and I was utterly converted. But one of the songs that I always hold on a pedestal is ‘For the love of God’ by Steve Vai. Such an epic guitar piece and was my touchstone to try and learn for years.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
There are a few bits of advice I’ve had which I need to try to remember such as not seeking perfection and embracing the feeling of the ‘take’ even if it’s not perfect as you might lose what makes the song special. Also trying not to think that ‘more is better’ and keep adding layers to songs and just letting them breathe.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
I don’t know. Part of me hopes that it is yet to come! But when I was able to play ‘For the Love of God’ on guitar for the first time felt like beating my Everest! Releasing my first album last year was pretty monumental for me. Some of the songs I had been working on for years and I never got the courage (or knew how) to release any of it for fear of rejection or ridicule so to have found people who listen to it is overwhelming. I don’t know if this counts as it’s not my achievement directly (albeit I had a hand in their being here! 🙂) but I am immensely proud of the women my daughters have become.
Some of the songs I had been working on for years and I never got the courage (or knew how) to release any of it for fear of rejection or ridicule so to have found people who listen to it is overwhelming.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
I embarrass quite easily which is odd as I also make myself look like a fool regularly and enjoy trying to embarrass other people, particularly out in public. I do get embarrassed when I muck up when playing live which unfortunately happens far more than I would like!
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
Lowest point was giving up the band I was in years ago and basically giving up guitar and music for a few years due to ‘life’ happening. Whilst I don’t regret it as it got me where I am now but I do wish I’d not put it aside for so long as it felt like completely starting again when I eventually turned back to it during COVID. My highest point is probably right about now. Up until this point it was very much an insular activity and even when I started releasing music last year I just literally uploaded it and thought people would come across it which obviously didn’t happen. It was only when I started participating in some online groups with other Indie artists and got playlisted and positive feedback that my audience started to grow and now it feels like I’m part of the music community as an artist and not just someone ‘looking in’ from the outside. I just hope I can continue on this path that I love so much!
I’m from the Sacramento area, where I was raised with a strong ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ mindset. I’ve spent a lot of time working in high-pressure, crisis environments, and the effect those experiences had on me was a deeper awareness of how fragile and meaningful life really is. That perspective shaped me. Now, as a full-time musician, I try to translate the impressions that all made on me into my work, developing what I call ‘journey rock’—music meant to take listeners through an emotional experience within a larger theme.
2. What inspired Jake Sommer to start playing and making music?
What got me into music was the effect certain songs had on me growing up. Tracks like Red Hill Mining Town by U2, along with artists like INXS, Depeche Mode, and The Cars—and even composers like Richard Wagner and George Gershwin—took me on emotional journeys I was too young and too broke to experience in real life. That idea stuck with me. It started with piano—after early lessons something evolved into late nights, just me working things out on my own—then grew into bass, guitar, drums, and eventually singing. Music became the way I could explore and express those same kinds of journeys for myself and hopefully for others.”
It started with piano—after early lessons something evolved into late nights, just me working things out on my own—then grew into bass, guitar, drums, and eventually singing.
3. Who are Jake Sommer’s biggest musical influences?
I really miss the anthem-driven rock of the ’70s through the ’90s. When bands started to fade, I think we lost some of that shared, immersive experience that a full band can sometimes so powerfully create. I played in about seven bands myself, and that helped refine me as a musician and performer. Eventually though, I realized I had songs I needed to get out—whether they were well received or not. They’re rooted the everyday but never discussed generic but specific human experiences and real-life struggles we all face. When I looked for where that fit, I couldn’t find a single genre that captured it, and I didn’t want to limit it to one. My music moves between singer-songwriter, folk, rock, and indie/alternative, but the constant is the journey. Each song is meant to build, evolve, and take you somewhere emotionally. That’s what I call ‘journey rock’—music that unfolds like a story, almost like films such as The Truman Show or Rental Family, where you end up somewhere you didn’t expect when it began.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
My goal is to share something authentic. Life is fleeting, and I learned early on that a lot of what passes between people isn’t said in words. Music does that better than anything. I’ve been deeply moved by things like guitar tones, vocal textures, the sustain of a note, the shimmer of a chord, or a simple piano line. What I’m trying to do now is give something back—to translate what those moments meant to me and record that along the way.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
My creative process can vary, but a lot of the time it comes all at once. Ideas tend to form when I’m waking up, walking, or just connecting to something—then there’s usually a sense of urgency to capture it. From there, I go into what I’d call a recording trance. I’ll often start with piano or bass and build a drum cadence, then layer in the technical elements, vocals, and finish with mixing. It’s a balance between instinct in the moment and shaping it into something complete. When its out of my head it’s finally done. That’s when I know I can move on.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
My favorite songs are probably Running to Stand Still by U2 and Where I Belong by Switchfoot. There’s something in both of them that really resonates with me. With Running to Stand Still, it’s the way it captures generational struggle—the weight of hard labor and how it carries forward, along with the fading of a community. It’s epic, but also deeply human—sad, but still hopeful. And Bono’s vocal delivery feels incredibly raw and pure. Switchfoot, on the other hand, has this ability to express displacement and spiritual tension in a really honest way. When they let their guard down, it hits hard. Even Jon Foreman’s side project Fiction Family captures that feeling in songs like Godbadge. That kind of emotional honesty is something I really connect with and try to carry into my own music.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
I think it’s narrow-minded to ignore criticism, so I try to stay open to it, as much of it as can be offered. At the same time, you have to stay grounded in your own voice. There’s a line from Art Isn’t Easy by Stephen Sondheim that really sticks with me—it’s a reminder that honesty in art takes work…”every minor detail seems to be a major decision”.
For me all art is a major detail, if I don’t believe what I’m creating—if it doesn’t move me—then I can’t expect it to move anyone else. Some of my best songs took multiple takes, vocally, until I could get through them without breaking Ito tears or joy. I don’t see that as a flaw—I think that puts potential energy into the sound for those who have the kinetics to unleash it.
For me all art is a major detail, if I don’t believe what I’m creating—if it doesn’t move me—then I can’t expect it to move anyone else.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
When you have people in villages without anything in life streaming “What I’ve Learned About Life,” or “Anthem” or “Portwine,” how can you not feel connected to your brothers/sisters somewhere around the world. It may not always be in big numbers, but it can be big between the small numbers in mattering.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
I once messed up an introduction in poor translation and asked someone to marry me. When she laughed and her husband looked astonished I quickly figured out what I had said and wanted to crawl under Kilimanjaro.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
It’s never fun during those live concerts when you’re heckled for a different genre or maybe worse ignored. But maybe the high was once I was playing Freeboard at night just for the hey of it. A man came up and bawled for an hour in the dark next to me. We never said a verbal word, just a conversation in pain written by someone dead. Now that’s what it is all about.
Hi I go by Myslie online, and I’m from California. Currently I am finishing up the soundtrack for my video game.
2. What inspired Myslie to start playing and making music?
I used to have a composer for the video game I was making. Things weren’t working out, so we stopped working together. After we parted ways, I asked my DJ partner, who happens to voice one of the characters in the game, what I should do. She told me to make the music myself. I figured I would give it a shot, and I took the idea and ran with it.
After we parted ways, I asked my DJ partner, who happens to voice one of the characters in the game, what I should do.
3. Who are Myslie’s biggest musical influences?
The way I sing comes from my obsession with Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. I really liked punk rock when I was a kid. I also find many games to be a big inspiration, like Rhythm Heaven and Pokémon Platinum. A little Jet Set Radio and Yakuza as well, specifically the karaoke tracks.
I would describe my genre as indie-adjacent OST. I really can’t pin a specific style or genre to my music unless I just say pop, because there are a lot of different influences mixing together to form my sound.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
Music was like a proof of concept for my creative endeavors. Music is a big part of what I think makes media work. If a scene has great music, the audience or player can really feel the emotions the characters are going through. I happened to start making music and releasing it first because Toby Fox started in a similar way.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
I usually start with chords, and I just loop them until I can find a melody in them. That’s usually what comes first. After that, everything else clicks into place. I loop phrases over and over again in an effort to find a song underneath the beat I create. It’s usually after the vocals that I start adding embellishments and such.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
This answer always fluctuates. If I were to say right now what my favorite song would be, it might be Goodbye to a World by Porter Robinson. Everything about that track is rich with a feeling of lament and sorrow. I think he knew exactly what he wanted to convey, and he did it so well.
Everything about that track is rich with a feeling of lament and sorrow.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
I remember when I first started, I was up in Tahoe with my friend. We were going to meet some of the friends he met while he was in SoCal. I talked to one guy who was studying music, and he told me I should start with one thing first. Just something small to start with, and then start building on that phrase if it inspired me. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
Right after I released Double Stepper, my friend asked me to perform at her sister’s wedding. I had just started making music, and my friend heard the song I released and asked if I wanted to perform for them. It was such a high honor, especially since I wasn’t really that known creatively. They just knew the name and the face and asked if I could perform for them.
That was a really sweet moment, and it showed me that performing and making music can make an impact on people. Hearing about how my performance went from others was such an eye-opening experience. I realized I moved people with my music, and that’s not something I thought I would be able to say, especially after just one release. I still have the bottle of Pinaq they gave me on my desk.
That was a really sweet moment, and it showed me that performing and making music can make an impact on people.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
I cringe every time I think I see someone calling out to me and then find out they were trying to say hi to someone else. I haven’t been in too many embarrassing situations, at least not enough to really dictate “the most embarrassing moment,” but the calling-out thing happens to me enough times that I consider it the worst.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
The lowest I’ve ever been with my music was when I was chasing genre. I came into the soundtrack world trying to make plugnb. I even bought presets to make that type of music. The hard part was that it’s tough for me to make music within a genre, as my other influences always seem to make their way into the tracks and turn them into something completely different. Eventually, I stopped trying so hard and just went with it.
Which, in turn, happened to be my highest point: accepting my own music. Just letting the sound be what it wants to be really changed my perception of music creation. I couldn’t beat it, so I joined it. I brought it all together to create something I can truly call my own.
I’m an independent award winning multi genre recording artist and songwriter currently working on my fifth studio album which is set to be released in a few weeks.
2. What inspired Amy Rowbottom to start playing and making music?
I’ve been writing songs since childhood and have over twenty years experience. I’m a professional songwriter and started recording and releasing my music in 2023. Music is a huge part of my life, I was introduced to my music producer in 2022 and since then I have a professional working relationship with him.
I’m a professional songwriter and started recording and releasing my music in 2023.
3. Who are Amy Rowbottom’s biggest musical influences?
My biggest musical influence is Celine Dion. She’s my idol. I also love many genres of music from different eras icons who have made their own mark in the industry. I’m a multi genre writer and singer and have drawn inspiration from Dolly Parton, Queen, Shania Twain, etc. I love all kinds of music.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I have already achieved many of my goals as an independent artist. I have charted number one in the iTunes charts as well as other independent and radio charts. I have received Grammy consideration for my song last year. My whole life revolves around music and the sky is the limit.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
I work closely with my producer to ensure all my music meets high professional standards for airplay, etc.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
I’m a huge Celine Dion fan and love all her music. I also enjoy music from many other artists. I don’t particularly have a favourite song.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
I have learned so much in the last few years about different aspects of the industry but the best advice is to have patience and determination, always make sure that you understand the business aspects of music as there’s so much more to just making, releasing and promoting music.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
I’m proud of every single part of my music journey. So far I’ve accomplished more than I could ever have imagined in three years and I keep going. It’s not about the destination it’s about the journey.
So far I’ve accomplished more than I could ever have imagined in three years and I keep going.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
Can’t think of anything. I’m sure there probably is something or maybe a few things. I can be quite clumsy at times tripping over things and sometimes forgetful.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
It can be challenging at times as an independent artist. Everything comes out of my own pocket. Also there is always so much work involved behind the scenes, but I just love doing what I’m doing. It’s all about the love of it and the fans. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
I am from Baltimore Maryland. Currently I am working on finishing up album number 7. This time I am releasing a lead single with a b-side, which is something I’ve not done until now. I’m finishing up the mastering for the album and lyrics for the b-side. As well as the artwork. Time permitting, I might try my hand at music video for this single (but don’t hold me to that).
2. What inspired David Von Beahm to start playing and making music?
Music was always a big part of my life. My father and uncle would bring guitars to family gatherings and play a lot of old Country and Western songs for everyone. It was my favorite part of those parties. My mother was also a dance teacher, so she would always be listening to a lot of piano and classical music. There was always a constant stream of music around me. Growing up in the 80s and 90s MTV also had a big influence on me especially 120 Minutes that was on late Sunday nights. There was also a lot of live concert VHS tapes that I would watch over and over. When I bought my first guitar at 12, with my summer lawn mowing money, I would watch what these guitarists were doing and do my best to mimic them. I felt music so deeply, especially when experiencing it live, that I knew from a very young age, that I wanted to create my own wonderful collection of sound paintings.
When I bought my first guitar at 12, with my summer lawn mowing money, I would watch what these guitarists were doing and do my best to mimic them.
3. Who are David Von Beahm’s biggest musical influences?
Being a product of the 80’s and 90’s, much of that music still holds a special place for me. I was definitely into the punk, post-punk, goth, shoegaze, dreampop sounds. Bands like Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Limited, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, The Smiths (specifically Johnny Marr’s writing and playing), and Joy Division are some of my obvious influences. I also love David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Sabbath/Ozzy, Radiohead, Nirvana, The Beatles; though some of those might not be as obvious. If something resonates with me, I take it into myself in some way. It sounds a bit cliche’ but there really is too many to name.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I think like any other artist, I’d like to grow my audience especially with non-musicians. I’d like to see that for many indie artists actually. Being an indie, I do have to support myself and my daughter with a stable income which takes away a lot of time that I would otherwise use to create. To be able to lock myself away for a couple of months to record every so often without having to worry about how the bills would get paid is a bit of a dream.
Due to having to live a “normal life” (whatever that is, really) I haven’t played live in a very long time and I do miss it. I think my music would sound excellent live, massive, big. Ultimately, my goal is to just keep creating in some capacity until I physically can’t any more regardless of how the industry of music changes.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
The impetus of most ideas come from just noodling around on a guitar, bass, or piano and I build the arrangement from there. It starts small, mostly with a chord progression for a verse or chorus then I add to it to varying degrees of complexity. Some of that arrangement editing process is done when mixing as well. If I find that a verse is too long, it doesn’t make sense with the words, or I might think I need to do this section a couple more times for another melodic instrument, I will change/edit in the DAW. Typically though, the arrangement of the song is done before I record. I often don’t realize how good it will be until later when it is fleshed out further with other instrumentation. Sometimes an idea just doesn’t work at all and it is abandoned or saved until later when I can figure something out for it.
I’ve yet to write music to lyrics. The music has always come first as the mood dictates the words. I suppose as a challenge in the future, I could try that. I do have random lyrical lines that pop in my head that I will write in a notebook or a post-it and save it for later. Sometimes they’ve made it in to a song.
In the studio, I love to experiment with mic placements, different effects, even looking around the house for something interesting that could be used for percussive parts. For example, using a wine glass and a pencil or a zipper from a backpack. I don’t have a treated room, its in an open area of my home which I guess would be considered a dining room and I think even that has become part of my sound. I’m almost certain house noises (washing machine beep, work laptop pings, or my cat meowing) have been picked up.
I also listen to my album a whole lot while it’s being worked on. Mixes in car, earbuds, speakers. Then after it’s released, I seldom listen to it after the initial promo blasts. I’m usually on to the next grouping of songs at that point.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
Untitled by The Cure. It’s on Disintegration, one of the most gorgeously heartbreaking records ever made. Between the song’s atmosphere and lyrics; it puts me in such a beautifully melancholic state of mind. Anything that can elicit that kind of emotion I am drawn to.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
Keep learning, keep growing, keep living, and keep going.
Learn as much as you can about music, business, gear, tools, marketing. Grow your contacts and network, grow your fan base, grow as a human being. Live life, you need experiences to write about, to fuel your creativity. Keep going, even when it’s tough, and it will be. Don’t give up on yourself because something spectacular just might be right. around the corner.
Live life, you need experiences to write about, to fuel your creativity.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
It’s all part of a journey really and it’s all ongoing, but I’d say the coolest thing is when my daughter noticed someone at her school playing something I wrote on his guitar, specifically “Wintergrey” from the Existence album, and seeing how thrilled she was about that. It was probably to get her attention in some teenage wooing ritual by playing one of her dad’s songs. Since I haven’t met this boy, I don’t think it worked out for him. Nonetheless, knowing that your kid is proud of something you’ve done and doesn’t always think you’re just a lame parent, that’s pretty good.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
Not to cop out, but I don’t embarrass easily. I’m often the one who acts like an idiot and embarrassing those I am with. I get a lot of personal amusement from the eye rolls of my loved ones.
There is one moment that does come up a lot though. I was on a weekend getaway with my daughter and Amanda (my significant other life partner who lives 500 miles away – a whole other story right there) and her kids. I couldn’t walk down one singular step off the porch without rolling my foot, falling, then subsequently crushing all the sandwiches Amanda spent all morning making for all of us. I still remember the look on her son’s face as I was falling down; this wide eyed look of absolute confusion almost to say “Is this happening right now? Are you really falling from one step?” Though hurt, I felt so bad about the sandwiches. Needless to say, I’m not allowed to carry food up and down steps without supervision now.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
Can there be a low point if you’re doing what you love? I suppose that would be the low point, was not doing it at all for a number of years for whatever the excuse was I was telling myself. It’s the realization that I wish I had done more when I was younger; when I had the energy and time to do it.
I’d say the highest point is what is happening currently. Knowing that many other musicians across the world have found my music and seem to love it. When other musicians, your peers, appreciate what you do and recognize your talent, it is such an honor. There is so much great, unknown by the masses, talent out there. I am finally making the music that I want to make without compromise. I’m learning and growing with each new release.
