Exposed Vocals interviews Scotty Zepplin
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Scotty Zepplin: It’s quite actally i was doing some crazy web browsing and i can across a post that redirected me to twitter so i thought “what the hell” since i almost am never on teitter. I noticed i had a message so i checked it out and there i found a message from exposed music.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Scotty Zepplin: I am African to the very core though born in ireland and raised in Zambiam Africa whereo this day i still remain. My parents always wanted to me to either be an astrologer or a doctor, it wasn’t until after my first course in computer science did start to play around with music software. For the most part it was easy to figure out and i felt i could express myself through this medium and thus i begun this musicak journey. Which is ironic because at one point i hated anything related to music production. I once felt it wasn’t intellectual enough but boy was i so wrong and i am so glad i took this path.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Scotty Zepplin: It was easy really. I could just be me. I used to go by the alias punksta back in my teenage years but as i got older and more serious it felt a little off for my age thus i took on my name and went from there. Who knows maybe it could change some day in future.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Scotty Zepplin: It’s funny you should ask because from day one all i have ever done is sahre my music online for free. On the other hand when i sell it i give all proceeds to charit and never personally make a profit from it, I like to think of it as giving back. Sharing music online for me is a dorr way to may opportunities to a wider and more diverse audience so it really works for the modern day artist i mean nobody buys CDs anymore. I give it out for free (for now) because to be honest music is an artm a part of whosoever creates it and you can’t put a price on that really in my view. To me music is intrinsic and it’s value is not how much money it makes me but how it makes those who listen to it feel.
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?
Scotty Zepplin: Sure. My advice for bands who are starting out is to never give up. They will meet many roadblocks and will be turned down many times but they must push on The secret lies in how they engage their audience and what message they are sending to the in their music. They must be able to make the crowd or their fans feel their energy and stories through their music. It takes time but surely enough a big break is around the corner with hard work and input.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Scotty Zepplin: I have only ever performed once in my life despite having an arsenal of music produced and i have to say yes. I really screwed up my first live performance but i kept it together somehow and turned that disaster into something great. It’s all about being calm and knowing that you are in cintrol of the situation.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Scotty Zepplin: Unfortunately no i have never toured beofre but i will eventually soon as i find a manager who isn’t trying to rip me off somehow. Mnay shady blokes out there you know.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Scotty Zepplin: How i come up with vocals is quite odd. Sometimes i light a blunt, get high and maybe something crazy will turn up but i usually just end up losing my mind. However, normally i will create a melody and listen to it over and over and somehow the words just come to me. Then there are times when i reflect on my life situationsm could be anything and then i put right down the words as they come based on how i feel or what i have been through. I have lots of inspiration from artists like Imogen Heap, Mobi, Frank Sinatra, Bjork etc. But it mostly just comes from listen to that silent voice within myself that all of ot stems into something wonderful.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Artist: Yes i dom or atleast i think so. I have reverbnation, facebook and soundcloud pages where my music can be found, listened to and doownloaded for free.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Scotty Zepplin: hahaha, Oh jeez yeah you got me htere. OK chances are you might find a justin beiber or nickelback song or three. Yeah those are my guilty pleasures i wouldn’t otherwise be caught listening to by jus anyone.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Scotty Zepplin: Oh that’s pretty easy. First i’d head over to Mcdonalds and get me a big Mac oh yeah. On the real though i would invest in studio equipment and perhaps open a record lable for freelance artists who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to have their talents realized and harnessed. My goal would be to help people realize that voice they have inside of them. Thing is in my country? There is a lot of wild talent but sadly it is not recognized or perhaps it coests too much to get studio time so this is something i would like to tackled, to make things easier for those without the opportunity. Either that or i get a big yacht and go chill on an island for the rest of my life hahaha… i’m kidding there.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Scotty Zepplin: Upgrades? i like the sounds of that… i get asked that alot. I work with only a laptop and a simple voice recorder for my vocals. To be more precise it’s a phone with an app on it that really captures sound rather well. However i have plans of purchasing a propoer mic, midi-pad and a brand new acoustic guitar, I accidentally trashed my older one.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Scotty Zepplin: One word “SOCIAL MEDIA”
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Scotty Zepplin: I would love to perform alongside imogen heap. She is a rare woman in her musical euphoria. It would be an honor to do a performance with her. For me it would be really cool to perform right here at home in my country because this is where my heart is.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Scotty Zepplin: Yup, there is an album i have been working on since last year called Before Dawn. Mostly electronic and mixed genre. It goes from dusbtep, Edm, chilled, a little bit of urban rap… i meam you name it i am fitting it all in there. I have set date for its release yet because i have so much work to do on it as of now so i can’t yet confirm.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Scotty Zepplin: I’d probably be a clown doing shows for kids or a full time photographer because it happens to be one of my hobbies but i never really took it to the next level
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Scotty Zepplin: It was so mny years ago i recall going into a store, back then when we had cassette tapes and i remember thinking “This is not a good idea”. It was the lion king Sound track tape i wanted for the death of me back then. I know it’s quite ridiculous hahaha.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Scotty Zepplin: It’s not easy that’s for sure but it all comes down to what i prioritise and go from there. There are times when things get overwhelming i put music on hold for many months but i always fall back to it because it’s what i enjoy doing most.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Scotty Zepplin: Well….in a nutshell? A HAPPY NEW YEAR hahahaha lets just say i am full of surprises. The plot thickens still.
