Exposed Vocals Interviews London Sweaters
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
London Sweaters (London): I was born in Florissant, Missouri but I was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. As a child I wasn’t surrounded by too much music, so overtime I heard something I hadn’t heard before it would be the best ever to me. I listened to just about everything and it clicked to me when I was about twelve that I wanted to be an artist, because I knew I was talented but was always afraid to show it.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
London Sweaters: I actually got my name in an embarrassing way. I couldn’t come up with a name so I found a stage name generator online that lets you put in key words of things you like and it put out London Sweaters. I have always wanted to go to London and I am absolutely obsessed with sweaters…I could wear them anytime of the year! I instantly fell in love with this stage name and it stuck with me.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
London Sweaters: I love the thought of online music sharing because it gets artists heard and it gets them the criticism they want. I currently give my music away for free because its on Soundcloud (and previously wasn’t looking to sell).
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?
London Sweaters: Never give up! Try and get yourself out there and be heard! Sign up for small gigs in coffee shops and try and squeeze yourselves in a local musical program. Someone will hear you!
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
London Sweaters: Believe it or not, I have yet to make a mistake while performing on a stage or in front of a crowd with vocals. But I have made a mistake playing the wrong chord on my guitar, luckily it still sounded good because it was in the same key as I was playing in and nobody noticed. But if I do make mistakes which I do, I just continue to sing and try to do something amazing with my voice to get past it.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
London Sweaters: I have currently never been on tour. I hope to one day though!
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
London Sweaters: I bottle things up (even happiness). All my emotions and events in my life and when I explode about something (happy or sad) it comes out in a song. I usually get one written in about ten minutes. A lot of people think that this is a bad habit, but it’s just the way I work. Everything I write is completely from the heart.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
London Sweaters: I do not have a band website currently, but I am in the process of getting one because all this happened to me so soon I need to catch up! I use Soundcloud to share my music but in a couple days I go live on iTunes, Spotify, and many other platforms.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs we might find on your mp3 player?
London Sweaters: This is a difficult question because I do have A LOT of funky things on my music player but none of it embarrasses me unless it’s the music I made in the beginning start of becoming an artist! There is some of the first songs I have ever made on there and those would probably make me turn red in front of anyone because I didn’t know how to produce then.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given a half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
London Sweaters: I would buy a fancy house just for me and never come out of it. I would spend it online and have everything delivered to me (including food).
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
London Sweaters: I do plan to upgrade everything I own studio wise right now. I have a small Scarlett 2i2 interphase and an MXI microphone and it was all given to me by a friend who thought music was for them but changed their mind (bless them because I was not able to afford any of it, and still wouldn’t be able to today). I currently record in my shed and personally I like it.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
London Sweaters: I have never promoted my music big time before (just a couple Facebook posts here and there). This is the first time I have ever gotten my music promoted through someone else. I wouldn’t be able to say what works best for me until I try a lot more and see what gives me the best results.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artist (dead or alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
London Sweaters: Miami, Florida with Sia. Sia has greatly inspired to do everything I am doing today.
Exposed Vocals: So what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
London Sweaters: Hopefully my debut album! I want to get my single heard first so I know that people want more!
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music what would you be doing?
London Sweaters: I would be finding another hobby to take its place, like painting or something artistic.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
London Sweaters: I do remember buying my first album! I was in best buy with my mom and I was gawking over Some Nights, which then was the new album by FUN. I was in love with that band when I was younger but grew out of it and eventually became obsessed with the Arctic Monkeys.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
London Sweaters: Since music comes so naturally to me I can tie in my life to the music. This doesn’t always work with everyone because some don’t know the limit, but it works perfectly for me. I just take breaks from it and do what I need to do!
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
London Sweaters: A nice big fat debut album on all the platforms I can get it on!