Exposed Vocals Interviews Cities

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

Cities: I was born in Apple Valley, California before moving to Colorado in 1997 where I spent the remainder of my childhood. I decided to become an artist as an escape from the present live I was in. Growing up with family issues and bullying at school I found a lot of peace just sitting at home with nothing but a guitar and pretending that I was going to be the next Tom Delonge.

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

Cities: I feel that it is important to share your music to expand your audience however, it hurts the artist with how many streaming websites there are today where people can just go and download your songs for free. An artist can not be successful with just the music alone. You have to play shows, tours, and have merch. Not forgetting you have to have enough expanded content for your career.

Yes. I try not to give it ALL away for free however, If a fan who just simply cant afford my music wants a physical copy, i’ll slide them one for free. The music I write is not just for me. It’s for me to share with others who can connect with the lyrics and develop a relationship with Cities.

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?

Cities: Build your fan base through social media and face to face interaction before playing your first show/shows. Get out there to the local shows of bands similar to your sound and meet people!  Give them a flyer, a demo, bring some headphones and have them listen to your track in between sets that night. Anything you can do to get your name out there. Be patient and remember, A good song, is a good song. Always reach out to people in confidence.

As far as airplay goes, GET A GOOD MIX!!!! Reach out to the stations professionally! Be patient. Getting airplay takes some time. Don’t be that guy who sends and email every week asking them to play your song. They will put you down as spam.

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

Cities: Of course, every artist makes a mistake here and there. I handle my mistakes by seeing a show as practice for the next show. For the most part only you will notice your mistakes. I always remember, never stop playing!

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

Cities: As Cities not yet. Still have some work to do before hitting the road but,  a 2017 tour is currently in the works. There will be a lot of good stories to share, I’m sure of that.

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

Cities: Dreams. Most of my songs come from a dream of some sort. Day dreams, good dreams, nightmares. I take what I saw or see in my dream and transfer it to a guitar. Then as i’m playing the guitar  I add the lyrics and a rough vocal melody. After that it’s strait to my producer Gino Colletti’s studio to start developing the basic structure of the song. Lead guitar melodies, vocal melodies, drum, ect.

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

Cities: Yes! Citiesdenver.com

I use iTunes, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, Big Cartel and YouTube to share my music!

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

Cities: If I still had my mp3 player I think the song “This Charming Man by a band called The Smiths”. But, come on. It’s good!

and probably “Safety Dance by Men Without Hats”.

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

Cities: Honestly, I would probably just continue writing songs. Doesn’t feel like work when you love what you are doing. I would spend most of my money on food, coffee, and things I don’t really need at the time like legos, or a jetpack. And of course more music gear.

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

Cities: Currently I work at Gino Colletti’s studio. The gear we typically use are Logic, Pro Tools, a large variety of mics and preamps, Ltd guitars, Fender basses, a Savior drum kit, Mark bass amp, and thousands of plugins on a Mac Pro.

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

Cities: Social media. It’s one of the most effective ways to get your music herd around the world. Also, radio play. I do find though that passing out demos at other shows and interacting with new people works best for me. 

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

Cities: Red Rocks Amphitheater with Angels and Airwaves! That band is one of the main reasons why Cities exists! And I choose Red Rocks because well, It’s Red Rocks! It truly is a magical place to watch a show. So I could only imagine how it would feel to play there. What an experience that would be.

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

Cities: More singles and shows! Since the “Made Up Home” EP was just released recently I want to focus a lot of time on getting a few more songs done so I can have a full set ready for some shows and tour!

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

Cities: um…. I don’t really know. Music is such a big part of my life now that I couldn’t imagine doing anything other then that.

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

Cities: The very first album I ever bought for my self was in 2007  “Angels and Airwaves We don’t need to whisper”

My mind was blown! I thought “How can someone be this creative with music? Where do those melodies come from? I hope I can give someone the same feeling with my music as I received from this album”

 

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

Cities: I try to give my self enough time to spend with friends and family. I treat my music career as if I am working a Monday through Friday 9-5 job. Giving myself the weekends off. However, with music there’s no telling what may come up. Rather that be a song idea, a lyric line, guitar riff, anything. So I remain prepared to hit the studio at any time, any day. Creativity doesn’t have a schedule.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so

Cities: Shows, tours, and the next EP!  Also, more giveaways. I try to give back to my fans as much as i can! I give away things every couple months from CD’s to guitars! So definitely somethings to keep an eye out for!