Passport Louis

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

Passport Louis: I grew up in Peoria, IL with a very musical family. My dad was a Jazz musician, my mother sang in the choir and my brother was a rapper/producer.  My brother got me into writing at a very young age and I never looked back.

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

Passport Louis: Louis is my middle name and I love to travel. I have also always felt that I have a global sound that can’t be regionally classified. I feel like my music can take you anywhere, just like a Passport.

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

Passport Louis: The way that music is distributed is constantly evolving so as an artist I have to adapt to the times. I do give my music a way for free at times but it isn’t something that I constantly do. Unfortunately thats the nature of the business.

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?

Passport Louis: Being consistent is key. Also, focus on developing relationships with people instead of just asking them to do stuff for you. A solid relationship will go further in the long run.

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

Passport Louis: I have absolutely made mistakes but the great thing about performing my own material is that the audience rarely notices it. I just act like its part of the show and keep it moving. Thats why rehearsal is key. 

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

Passport Louis: I perform as much as I can. Honestly, nothing too interesting has happen to me while on tour. Nothing out of the ordinary at least.

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

Passport Louis: I gather inspiration from everything in my life and everything that I’m exposed to. I am constantly inspired by things around me or from internal feelings. My process always begins with the beat and moves along from there.

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

Passport Louis: I have a website, passportlouis.com. I also use soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify.

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

Passport Louis: My playlist is very unique but I don’t think theres anything embarrassing on there. There’s a few songs that my daughter likes and if you saw them you might think “why is this grown man listening to Baby by Justin Bieber”.

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

Passport Louis: I would record, record, record. Then I would film videos for my entire project. After that, I would promote it like crazy and then tour off of the project. Somewhere in between all of that I would buy a lot of shoes.

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

Passport Louis: Im pretty happy with my setup. I’m running protools HD.

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

Passport Louis: I’m constantly looking for new ways to promote my music. Social media obviously works well for me. I do however still enjoy getting out there and meeting people face to face.

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

Passport Louis: I would perform at MSG with Nas. He is my favorite artist of all time and it would be a dream come true.

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

Passport Louis: I am releasing a new project later this year. The project is currently untitled.

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

Passport Louis: I would go back to school, get my doctorate and become a psychiatrist.  

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

Passport Louis: The first album I bought was “What the album” by Redman. I just kept thinking, I can’t wait until people are this excited about buying my music as I am right now. 

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

Passport Louis: Time management is key. Also, I don’t really sleep a lot, maybe 3-4 hours a night.

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

Passport Louis: New music, new videos and music merchandise.

Links
twitter.com/passportlouis
instagram.com/passportlouis
facebook.com/passportlouis
soundcloud.com/passportlouis