Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Chris Bicknell: I was born and raised in Birmingham, England and first discovered music at the age of 11 years old at school. It was at 15 that I first picked up an acoustic guitar and started writing songs. Very quickly, I realised that song writing was my real passion. The very first original song that I performed was at our school’s annual music festival and was called “Knocked Back Again”. Looking back at it now, it was a pretty standard piece of teen angst nonsense but it was really well received and gave me loads of confidence to carry on writing. Throughout my college years I carried on writing and performing. I also formed (a very short lived) band call Marvina Road.
In 2012 I linked up with an old friend (and former Marvina Road band member) to start a new band. The band was called Secret Eye and we played a few gigs around Birmingham. In June 2013 I took the decision to leave the band and return to my acoustic roots. Since then I have gigged in Birmingham, London, Shrewsbury, Tamworth, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Northampton and Stratford – Upon – Avon.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Chris Bicknell: My birth certificate. I’m afraid I never got around to choosing a stage name that suited me and, sadly, both Cliff Richard and Englebert Humperdink were taken.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Chris Bicknell: Music sharing has been an amazing outlet for independent musicians like myself. I’ve read several autobiographies of musicians who struggled to break through and get their music out there. The fact that we have outlets like soundcloud, spotify, youtube etc etc is a fantastic thing. I give away lots of free music. CDs at gigs, downloads on soundcloud etc. I also have two albums available to to purchase on Soundcloud. The idea is that the free music acts as a sample encouraging people to explore my music in more detail.
It seems like a fitting point to share a couple of songs from my soundcloud page:
Twelve Degrees In Nashville
https://soundcloud.com/chris-
It’s Too Late
https://soundcloud.com/chris-
You Are A Mystery
https://soundcloud.com/chris-
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?
Chris Bicknell: Gig,gig, gig. Take any and every chance you can. Whether it’s in front of three people at a quiet pub, a thousand at a major festival or as a support act for somebody else it doesn’t matter. Gigging is the best way to gauge the quality of your songs, will give you valuable confidence and is the best form of rehearsal.
The other big piece of advice I can give is don’t be afraid to follow your own musical path. I found myself in a situation with the last band I played in where original songs were gradually being replaced with covers which, as a songwriter, started to render me a bit redundant and led to me feeling disillusioned with being in the band. At that point I reached a crossroads and had a choice to make. I could either carry on and settle for being in a band that was, slowly, morphing into a covers band. Or, I could break away and put my own songs out there where I felt they belonged. I chose the latter and haven;t regretted it for a single second. So, if you’re a songwriter. be a songwriter. Have confidence in your material and don’t let others shout it down.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Chris Bicknell: I take inspiration from many different sources and have written about all sorts of things. The death of my father (It’s Too Late, one of the links I shared previously), my love for New York City (New York City & Guy), Ayrton Senna’s death (Tamburello) and my own hometown, Birmingham (Hometown Boy & Utopiasville). A large number of my songs are also pieces of complete fiction, selections of short stories and I am currently compiling some of them for a concept album I’m working. It’s quite funny whenever I’m asked this question because it always reminds me how much I ‘ve changed and developed as a songwriter over the years. When i first started it was all typical teen angst stuff (girls, heartbreak etc) and as I’ve got older my songs have gotten (as a general rule) more and more objective and that has allowed me to be far more creative and write with a greater sense of freedom.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Chris Bicknell:
www.soundcloud.com/chris-
www.youtube.com/
www.facebook.com/
Twitter: @cbicknellmusic
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Chris Bicknell: Easy peasy. One month gigging and busking in New York, two months gigging around Europe and a further month gigging around Britain. The final two months would be spent in a studio recording an album….or two.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Chris Bicknell: Social media is the single biggest tool at my disposable and facebook & twitter have become very powerful tools. The other thing that has been amazing over the past three years has been the fact that the acoustic scene in the Midlands and Warwickshire is such a tight knit and supportive community. We all look out for gigs for each other, promote each other and support each other. It’s a fantastic thing to be a part of.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Chris Bicknell: I am currently recording an album called Forgiveness Is Underrated which will be a very pure acoustic album. Plus, recordings from gigs will be compiled into a live album and I’ll also be recording some covers as a free Soundcloud album. I am aiming to have all three albums completed by the end of the year so it will be a very busy 6 months. plus, I have gigs galore coming up all over the Midlands so it’s a very exciting time for me.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Chris Bicknell: I honestly couldn’t say. I know this is a bit of a cliche but without music my life would have, literally, been completely different. Not only because music itself has been such a big part of my life and who I am but also because I met my wife through the school band I was a part of all those years back. Had I never discovered music I would never have met her so who knows where I would be without music.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Chris Bicknell: It’s not something I struggle with to be honest. Obviously, I would love to be in a position where I could devote myself to music full time but I don’t feel that music suffers as a result of the fact that I work full time and have a young family. At the end of the day, I am very lucky to have my family, a job and my music so it’s never something I would allow myself to stress over or get me down.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Chris Bicknell: Well, I am working on a new album, compiling recordings from gigs into a live album and will be putting a few of my favourite covers together into a free soundcloud download album. Plus I have gigs coming up in Birmingham, Stratford Northampton and Nuneaton so there is loads going on in 2016 and beyond.