Exposed Vocals Interviews Bryan Howell

Bryan Howell: Randy, who is the head of the site, found me on Twitter and got in touch, offering to help me out with getting my music out there if he could.

Bryan Howell: I was raised in a small town outside of Utica, NY, in what’s now frequently called “The Rust Belt”. It was an area part of a trend that the term “Rust Belt” is used to describe–in short, factories and industries closed down or moved out, and the area gets kind of economically depressed. On top of that, the military base near us that helped drive the area, Griffiss, ended up shutting down its operations as well. They had Woodstock ’99 there a few years later after the military left, but I was too young to go, which turned out to be for the best ultimately with all the rioting and messes and all…But anyway….

 When the jobs left, the population siphoned off–a lot of people moved to other cities or down south. I was too young to really understand it, and my family wasn’t destitute, but in retrospect, I was growing up in an area that was going through something that sadly wasn’t very unique to American towns all over in the ’80s and ’90s into the ’00s, and even now. There’s a kind of “The good days are over”, run-down feeling that starts to permeate things and beats some people really down. It hurts communities and makes people act with resignation and frustration. As a songwriter and performer, you can’t not be aware of this, and some of my writing is about these kinds of people and places.

 My parents were always big into music. They had, without exaggeration, hundreds of LPs and CDs of every possible genre.  Many Saturdays they played music all day in a massive stereo in the living room den. There’d be a break for dinner, then they’d come back and play more. Then I’d be sent to bed, later during the summer, and they’d turn down the music a bit, but you could still hear it through the house. So I’d lay in bed listening in the dark.

   I heard so much in that period, and it made me really eclectic, and also from a taste standpoint, a bit blind to being part of one “scene”. Music was music. I didn’t know that stylistically, people went into camps–Johnny Cash was good music, as was the Bee Gees, as was The Who, and on and on. I was too young to understand the difference between country and disco and rock at the time. My parents didn’t care about genre or what was perceived “cool” or not–a good song was all that mattered. That definitely got in my veins. And perhaps that was where I first started becoming an outsider who didn’t fit in neatly anywhere.

    I then ended up going to film school, because I had always loved movies. But secretly, I started singing along to music, and I became a DJ at my college station, which soon was where I spent most of my time….when I wasn’t practicing the guitar, which I had become obsessed with. I was too shy to be a singer at first, so initially I started forming bands where I wrote songs but someone else sang them. I got my degree, but my heart wasn’t really in making movies anymore, so I came back home and I had what I say was my “lost period”, where I was spinning my wheels, working dead-end jobs, and not admitting what I really wanted to do most and was most interested in, to myself or anyone else. Then one day I decided I would front a band, and didn’t look back. After a few more false starts in other bands, and playing in cover bands and things, and searching for and evolving my sound, I came across this kind of rock and roll/r&b/pop/roots music sound that suddenly felt “right” in every way, all around. Then I ended up putting together several people to play behind me for what was initially a one-off gig that would become Bryan Howell and The Standalones.

Bryan: Well, it does have a certain ring to it, right? [laughs] The band had several names, almost varying from gig to gig, but we ultimately chose that one because it seemed to say how we felt about where we felt we fit in musically and where we wanted to go. The area music scene was mostly metal bands or cover bands, and here I was writing original, high-energy rock-and-roll songs with some rockabilly and r&b influences, which were played with such a total abandon that people sometimes just stood in disbelief. So, I didn’t feel like we entirely fit in, sonically or from a live show expectation. I also felt it gives us latitude–we want to do our own thing, and if we “stand alone” in that regard, so be it. That’s who we are, we told you! [laughs]

Bryan Howell: I’m not a big fan of free sharing, because I think it devalues music, when music is so cheap as it is. A dollar for a song is a lot, so you steal it for free because you’re entitled? You can’t buy a bottle of water from a vending machine for that. Which will last longer? It costs money for a good-sounding instrument, money for good gear to record with and people who can get the best out of it. It costs money to record and produce a good-sounding record.

 The positive about the Internet and music is that you can get your music out to anyone, around the world, instantly. You don’t need to ship vinyl or CD, just send a link. Boom! They can listen and get into it with a click. I’ve gotten fan mail from around the world, and it’s great because 20 years ago, these people likely would not have ever had the chance to hear an independent artist like me. And they can spread the word. And they do end up supporting you, and hopefully seeing a show, so you can still make that emotional connection that I think music comes down to at the end of the day, past all the hype and hashtags and sales figures and all that stuff.

  I do give some music away. I feel it’s like playing with fire though. I’ve had success with internet and college radio and gotten to play some important, famous venues. To do that, you’ve got to spread the word, and the best way before everyone starts talking about you on your own is to pound the pavement and sometimes give stuff away. The goal of it, though, is to allow you the opportunity to keep playing shows and recording more material from that, so sometimes giving away music for free is the way to get your foot in the door and say, “Hey, here I am.” But I feel it’s also important to be clear you feel your music has some kind of value, be it monetary or emotional, or otherwise people will just treat it as worthless in kind, since that’s the signal you’re sending out.

Bryan Howell: I’d say there’s two big things. The first is that I constantly hear a variation of “Play anywhere and everywhere for anyone when you start”. I think there’s good intent in that statement, but I’d instead say, “Play anywhere and everywhere for PEOPLE WHO MIGHT GET IT.” Meaning you need to understand your genre and who you are as an artist, and where you fit in, and get that you don’t have to fit a simple mold, but you do need to understand where your audience is. I’m a rock-and-roller, so bringing my full band and stage show to a coffeehouse is not going to work. Conversely, if you’re trying to get your song on the radio, and you’re a folk-pop act whose biggest influences are Bob Dylan and Mumford and Sons, sending your album to a DJ who hosts the Doom Metal Thunder Hour or some variation is not really going to help. So I’d say, pursue every avenue that is in your ballpark as an artist, but be willing to admit what you’re not and why that is, without putting blinders on. Then go from there and pursue every avenue you can along with that knowledge.

   The second thing I’d say is not to have an attitude. I’m frequently amazed at the snobbishness of many “up-and-coming” musicians. I’ve always felt like people have a choice between seeing you and doing a lot of other things, so when they come to the show, I’ll do everything I can onstage to make it worth it. Make people want to go to bat for you and help you, play the best you can every night for whoever shows up, and thank anyone who gives you any break or likes your songs, and let them know you appreciate it. To be blunt, no one goes the extra mile for an asshole, in the audience or backstage. Or in life. So don’t be an asshole. Um, can you print that?

Bryan Howell: There’s such a confluence of factors in any live show that I don’t think that doing a show with 100% accuracy is possible, unless you are willing to sacrifice liveliness and passion for perfection. To me, that’s not a trade-off I’d even consider, because I feel a live show should have its end result being that it was fun, joyous, emotionally involving and unique. To get there, you have to allow for a bit of error and the unpredictable. Without it, you sacrifice the human element that makes live music great. I want every show to be unique to that night, a unique moment in some way, but to go for those moments–as a musician, as a band, with an audience–you have to take risks, and with risks come pratfalls. And then you make mistakes! [laughs]

    So, I’ve found that the best shows I’ve played had a certain element of anarchy to them. Even I don’t know exactly what I might do next. Then there’s the element of the audience–when an audience gets on the same page as you, they can push you to heights you didn’t know you could go, and they can also do things during songs you didn’t imagine could happen–suddenly they’re jumping up on the stage dancing uninvited, singing along at the front of the stage so loud you can barely hear yourself, or who knows what. Crazy, unpredictable, but hopefully and usually wonderful things. The best way to minimize mistakes in this kind of environment, and this approach to playing live, is to just be well-rehearsed and ready to hold on if things go in a different direction. When mistakes happen, they are easy to just blast through because everyone is so tight that any speedbump is minor in the greater scheme of things. If you screw up, you just keep a kind of stiff upper lip about it, pick things up as quickly as you can, and keep going. I’d rather fail pushing things to the limit than succeed by playing it safe. “Go broke or go home”, you know? But I’ve found that when I go as far as I can, I don’t usually fall flat on my face, and then I play a great show with only a few mistakes, and whatever screw-ups that happened fade from memory as quickly as they might have occurred.

Bryan Howell: I’ve played a good amount in the Northeast in the past. These past few months, I’ve been busy recording an album, and I’ve learned that everything that goes with that doesn’t leave me time to divide my energy. That said, I feel playing live is the real, ultimate jewel for me, and I’m chomping at the bit to get on stage again.

    Every show is different, and ends up being memorable in its own way. Starting out, I played a college house party once where people got so wild dancing that the floor literally started to buckle and wobble, and my amp was swaying back and forth as we played. I’ve climbed on tables while playing shows and watched the audience freak out….because with my height, on top of the table, I was literally two inches below a spinning ceiling fan. Then there were the Spinal Tap moments, like where we were booked to play a show that ended up being held at a bowling alley….at the same time as a 5 year-old’s birthday party. Needless to say it was a weird vibe that didn’t fit a rock band….and we were way too loud! [laughs] I’ve played so many different kinds of venues that there are probably a million stories I could tell, but I’ll hold off, because otherwise we’ll be here until next week and still haven’t gotten through half of them! [laughs]

Bryan Howell: I’ve found the inspiration doesn’t come from just one place. The best way for me is to just have life experiences, go out and do stuff and see things, read the news, books, watch movies, and so on. Then I end up coming up with lines out of the blue, bits of descriptions, or ideas about songs. I always keep a pen and some scraps of paper on me, because I can literally be out at the bar with some friends, and we’ll discuss something, or I’ll see somebody walk by outside, and like a flash I have a verse or a good phrase. I have a typical process that I’m not dogmatic about, but it seems to work for me. I’ll play the guitar and mess with chords, or if I hear a riff or lick in my head, I’ll figure it out on the guitar. After that, I’ll scat melody lines over the music I have, and not really bother with words. At this point, I’m just trying to find stuff that I find catchy to play on the guitar over and over, and some kind of melody I like that sits right. I have to like it and not get bored with it before I feel it can be a song I want to play.At the same time, I’ll be working in my notebook, although frequently not concurrently, and I’ll be writing down possible song titles or putting together a verse or lyric lines here and there. One moment, suddenly I’ll be playing a song in development and scatting, and I’ll realize the feel of the music matches a theme or a song title, and it feels “right”. At that point, there’s no reason to hesitate, just go after it and work at it. I can wrestle with songs and beat myself up to force them out, but that’s not productive. I find that usually once I get down to work with real words and what a song is going to be about, it just keeps coming into view slowly as long as I’m willing to work at it, provided I had that “right” moment before I really dug in on it. From there, I’ll take it when I feel it’s complete in terms of what I’ll sing and play, and bring it to the band, where we start hashing on what I’m trying to get to musically, and everyone puts their two cents in with arrangements and figuring out what to play and where. Then we get ruthless. Do we really need another chorus at the end? Is this bridge driving things forward or just kind of stuck in there? I’ll have to take my lumps frequently and coldly realize what I felt worked on my own isn’t flowing well in a full-band, real context, and feel out with the band for the final moment where it’s all working from start to end. When that point happens, then you have a song.

Bryan Howell: Yeah, www.bryanhowellmusic.com is my website. There are links to shows and songs and everything else there. Right now I’m a big fan of Bandcamp, because it allows people to listen to your song in full in an unencumbered way, and then they can choose how much to pay for it, and it all effectively goes straight to me, minus Bandcamp’s hosting cut. Effectively you get to act as your own record label, which is awesome. You can also search and find me on Soundcloud and YouTube, and I’m moving into the Itunes arena full-on as well in the next few months.

Bryan Howell: Well, here’s something some people find odd: I don’t own an mp3 player! I prefer to listen to music on CD or LP for a variety of reasons, and I’ve never gone the full mp3/digital route as a result, and with the recent rise of vinyl pressing, along with CD and LP merch at shows and easily available online, I don’t think I ever will. I get why people do it though, and I know my music has to be available that way, so I’ll always give people that option.

     That said, I would say nothing in my collection–and I own hundreds of LPs and more CDs–would embarass me. One big thing about physical media is, you have to pay for it, and I find that’s important for a lot of reasons, both to support artists, and to have to take full responsibility for what you listen to, because you only want to pay for good stuff. So that means I only buy stuff I like, and wouldn’t be ashamed of admitting anything I had.

Bryan Howell: Hell, that’s easy–I’d put the people in my band, and whoever else of the best musicians I could find, on a nice salary and record and tour as much as we could until the money ran out! Since we’d have decent money in the bank, we wouldn’t have to worry about the day-to-day costs of touring and recording, and just go out and meet and play for as many people as we could for as long as there was cash in the bank. That would satisfy the whole thing for me–making music and playing it for and meeting as many people with it as I could.

Bryan Howell: I learned a few years ago that I’m not an engineer, for a variety of reasons. I have an 8-track digital recorder for demos, but that’s it. Recording of my first full-length album recently has been done at a studio called Big

Blue North in Utica, NY, using digital and analog recording through a Neve 8088 analog console. I’ve been working with a great engineer named Jeff Aderman there, who also runs the studio, and the results have blown my mind every day. He’s not just a tech guy, but someone with an exhaustive knowledge of music that I can be on the same page with, because we can discuss recordings of songs, as well specifics of the sounds in them, and Jeff will say, “Yeah, I have this mic that we can run through this rack item, which is how they get that sound, so we can get something like that too”, and things like that. He knows pretty well what his gear can do, which frees me up as an artist to just play and perform and “sculpt” songs if you will. But he’s like me in that at the end of the day, he cares more about getting the response from a listener than all of this gearhead bullshit that people brag about, which has no real effect on getting someone to dance or sing the chorus or anything like that. That ability to wield the technical side with the conceptual, emotional reasons to make a song has turned out for the best in spades for me on this album.

Bryan Howell: Well, I’ll try anything once! [laughs] I suppose I’m only half-joking, but I feel that the old, tried-and-true ways are still the best. Get your music out to everyone you can, play as much as you can. Write the best music you can, because at the end of the day, the cream still rises to the top in my opinion. Whatever avenues are available, try them. Not all end up working, but you can’t be sure until you find out. Facebook and Twitter are good, but I’ve also been really pleasantly surprised at bloggers who’ve found my music and put the word out. They’ve frequently turned out to be genuinely nice people who just love music and want to help people find out more about it.

    My big beef with internet promo is that so many artists do it on what seems like 90 different platforms, and they seem to spend half their time on them hounding you to follow them on another site. I feel there’s a definite point where when you get a fan on a site, you shouldn’t send them messages to follow them on a dozen other sites too. If they like me and I put the word out, I have faith that they will find it.

Bryan Howell: Well, that’s a tough one, because there’s so many musicians who I really respect. For Dead, I’ll say I’d like to write and sing with Joe Strummer, and our band would be made up of The Clash, and the MGs before Al Jackson’s death. The Clash remain my favorite band, and Joe Strummer had an integrity and passion about music that is just transcendent and humbling. I can’t help but be energized and feeling alive after listening to a Clash album. And I feel that the MGs were just an amazing studio and live unit, and when you have musicians as good as Booker T, Steve Cropper, and Duck Dunn together with one of the greatest drummers ever, you can’t go wrong with your songs if they’re half-decent. For Alive, man, where to start? Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, John Fogerty, The Black Keys? Hall and Oates? They’re all near and dear to me as a musician in many ways, and they’ve all consistently put out so much great “desert-island” stuff that I have a lot of trouble picking. And throughout all of their careers, they all have stuck to their guns and followed their muse, even if it wasn’t always in everybody else’s best interest. That’s a real important lesson to me.

Bryan Howell: My first full-length album should be out soon. I really pushed myself to pick the best songs I’ve been playing live, and write more for it that were the best I could come up with. And I asked the best people in the area I could find to play on it, besides who was already in The Standalones playing with me, or got help finding the best people. The result has been something that has been a crazy ride these last few months for a lot of reasons, but I’m really excited to put it out. Make that euphoric!

Bryan Howell: I don’t know. That’s like asking what I would be doing if I wasn’t breathing. I can’t think of doing anything else–and trust me, I’ve asked myself a few times. There was a period of my life a few years ago where I worked

two jobs and had time for nothing else, and was doing nothing with music whatsoever–just some noodling on the guitar when I had time. After a few months of that, suddenly I just inexplicably started feeling sick every day, I lost my appetite, started losing weight, and I was just miserable to be around. I quit one of the jobs and started writing songs again, and a few weeks later I was like a new person. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t do this in some form, because I tried it then and it was bad all around without music.

Bryan Howell: Hmm….I’m not totally sure what was really my first album I bought, chronology-wise. It might have been Led Zeppelin I, the first Weezer album, or a James Bond soundtrack songs collection. I remember buying all of those in a certain brief period of time, but as to what was truly first, I couldn’t say. What I remember about all of them was the excitement of getting a CD with songs I liked on it, and getting to hear the full album, but also the trepidation–Will this be good all the way through? Will it be worth spending the money on? Will the songs I haven’t heard be good? And then having a series of “Wow” moments after listening, where I was just thinking something like, “Yeah, this is good, I made a good choice”. Then there’s that follow-up moment, where it becomes a piece of you, where you’ll say, “Yeah, I like that band”, and whoever would put them down or mock you for it be damned. In some way, every album I’ve bought after that has had that same charge and initial feeling about it when I first go to listen to it. And I’m proud to say all of those albums I named are still in my collection and still get played.

Bryan Howell: It’s best for me to kind of have a list and put a chunk of time aside each day to work on it. Menial errands, groceries, you name it. I know that I’ll be playing guitar every day, chipping away at songs, so that’s a given and I will find the time for that. So then I always remember that all the relationships I have with people are important, and I need to make time to spend time. If I have to sacrifice everything about my life, that’s not worth it to make music, and I don’t think the music I would make would be resonant, because there’d be no emotional truth to someone singing about life when they don’t have one of their own. So there’s always a point where I say, “Yeah, I’ll play guitar then, but I should go have dinner with or visit such-and-such at this time before or after that, because that’s healthy all-around”. You go with that mindset and find the happy medium where music and life tugs back and forth, and you’re in balance and not overwhelmed.

Bryan Howell: The first single off of the upcoming album will come out early in 2016, and then I’ll be finalizing the album release. Then it’s time to get back onstage in a major way and let loose!