Interview : Sun Voyage

by Tami    7 Comments    Posted under: Adventures in Real Life

The Music

I work for a an audio-visual electronics supply company, a fact which normally doesn’t affect my blog very much. Today, however, I’m featuring one of the very talented musicians on our staff.

Sun Voyage is the name of the band. The musician’s name is Shawn Tallard, and the album is called “on a positive note”. (I don’t think I can express just how much I love that name.)

The music is a mixture of ballad/electronic/pop and Shawn does all of the writing, playing, and singing for the tracks. The guitar, drums, vocals, lyrics — the whole nine yards is just him, which is kind of incredible when you realize that he’s sitting downstairs, a mild-mannered sales pro by day.

I’m a sucker for great guitar, but I also love the melodies and lyrics in this album. They’re standard enough that I can get into them but have enough little twists and twirls to keep me paying attention.

Also, I hope he doesn’t catch me singing the songs in the hallways when I think I’m alone. (Yes, I’m one of THOSE people. Don’t judge me. I only do it when I think nobody’s listening.)

Where To Find It

• Listen to some samples (the recommended track is called “Help Me Forgive You”)
• iTunes
• CD Copy (which includes amazing photography covers designed by another employee here!)

The Interview

Anyway, enough of me gushing. I wheedled an interview alongside the album, and I get to share with you!

Me: How much of this did you do yourself?

Shawn: I wrote, performed, and recorded it on my own. The only thing I didn’t do was the final mastering (which makes sure each track is the same relative volume, tone, etc). I had that done by the same engineer who did Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence, Alison Kraus, etc.

Me: How long have you been making music?

S: I started on guitar when I was 12, learned bass at 14, drums at 15, singing in my early 20’s. I began recording when I was 15. I was in my first band when I was 13, and played live in front of a paying audience for the first time when I was 14.

Me: If you asked someone to listen to just one song on the album, which song would it be?

S: #10 “Help Me Forgive You” seems to capture the attention of the most listeners globally, but I’ve received many comments from different people around the world on each track at some point. Many people have commented on #5 (Love and Sweat—the token electronic track) as standing out to them.

Me: I agree, #10 is great! I also really liked #1. Ten Feet Tall and #11 Plan B. They’re a little more upbeat, and I love music that puts a smile on my lips and a sashay in my hips (and for those following along, those two aren’t available in the sample list! Muahaha. Ha.)

(And, of course, the most important interview question!)

Me: Who do you think would win in a battle between vampires and zombies?

S: Zombies would likely win due to persistence, and the fact that they may not have the healthy blood supply needed by the vampires.

Me: That’s a good point! I think vampires would have to move quickly – a few days into a zombie apocalypse and zombies would take over enough of the world to severely threaten vampire food supply. Easier to kill a handful of cockroaches than a couple thousand, too.

Summary

So there you have it, folks! I don’t do a lot of reviewing/horn-blowing here, but I thought this was incredibly worthwhile. If you listen to the samples and like them, I encourage you to pick up a few tracks from iTunes or even the whole album (the cover art really is incredibly gorgeous).

I think it will make fantastic writing music.

Leave a Comment

Name*

Mail (will not be published)*

Website

Comment

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail