Exposed Vocals interviews James Dillon AKA Speak Storms

Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals?

Artist: I checked your twitter page out, and was quite impressed with your fan base. A large community dedicated to music is always dope.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Artist: I’m James Dillon, 19 years old. I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout my youth I was always an artist at heart, constantly drawing and writing poetry. Around 2013, I had this idea that I wanted to make music, and this is where I am now.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with your name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Artist: Speak Storms was the first moniker I used for my solo work. Basically “singing feelings”. The Spillers is my band, and that means we spill our emotions and coffee. Cerebral Bloom is my hip-hop project, and that comes from my mind expanding through art and thought.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Artist: I love it! It’s a great way for artists to get their music out there without a wad of cash. I believe digital downloads should be free, so yes all of my albums are available for free on my bandcamp page. ♡

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Artist: I can’t speak on that, as I’ve never played a show. What I can say for people writing music is that you should always make the songs you’d want to listen to yourself.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Artist: I’ve played in front of quite a bit of people at parties so of course I’ve been too inhibited to play perfectly. Just keep it going though, they’d rather see you recover quickly than ruin the song.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Artist: Never toured, I’m pretty solo when it comes to this.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Artist: It’s easy to get caught in thought. It’s best to not stay on one thing too long or it gets dull. I find a lot of my inspiration while smoking outside. It feels as if my ideas flow better with the breeze.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Artist: Yeah, SoundCloud and Bandcamp are my absolute favorites. Black Lungs Music is the collective I run to release all of my projects as well as friends. Check ’em out!

soundcloud.com/blacklungsmusic
blacklungsmusic.bandcamp.com

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Artist: I don’t care what anyone says, MCR was the shit!

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Artist: I’d save some and fund my dream of opening a record store, lable, and venue.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Artist: Right now I have a Blue Snowball usb mic that I’m doing my damage with. Soon I’d like to upgrade my computer and recording software though.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Artist: I use twitter a lot, just simple tweets now and then with a link does the trick. I don’t use money for promotion.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Artist: I’d for sure perform with A$AP Rocky, we have far differing styles, but his show get so poppin’ and the fun is what it’s about up there.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Artist: Definitely, so Valentine’s Day I have two rap tapes dropping with some friends. The Smoke Tape is some catchy stuff over chopped songs, and the Cerebral Bloom self-titled album is all orginal production by my friends and I, we’re definitely gonna shake some things up.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Artist: I’d be pursuing another career in the arts, Interior and Graphic Design interest me. When I’m being creative nothing feels like work.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Artist: The first vinyl I ever bought was Bright Eyes’ “Letting Off the Happiness” and it was a treat. There’s a secret song at the end where you gotta move the needle to it, and I’m just a geek for anything by Conor Oberst.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Artist: Well for me, working on music never stops, I write lyrics at work to be honest. Anytime I pop an idea, I type it in my phone’s notepad.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Artist: Big things. I have 5 albums planned and you might see some music videos and live shows later on. I put my whole life into this; I’m never gonna stop spilling. Thanks y’all!