Kevin Conaway is a singer/songwriter from Cleveland, OH. Kevin draws a lot of influence from alternative rock bands and artists such as Toad the Wet Sprocket, Oasis, and Jimmy Eat World, joined with just a touch of classic and progressive rock. Kevin crafts songs with intelligent lyrics, strong melodies, and infectious hooks.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Kevin about technology, challenges, and, of course, the music.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m from Hudson, OH, a suburb of Cleveland.
I classify my music as alternative rock. I know that’s a pretty vague description, but that’s partially why I use it. I’m heavily influenced by the alt rock bands that were big in the 90’s and 2000’s, such as Toad the Wet Sprocket, Gin Blossoms, Oasis, and Jimmy Eat World. These influences have shaped much of my writing style. However, I’ve been known to write heavier songs or longer songs that are influenced by bands such as Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, and Porcupine Tree.
As a performer, I am a solo artist, performing with an acoustic guitar, a loop pedal, a drum pad, and various other effects pedals.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I’ve always loved music, as far back as I can remember. When I was a young child, my dad gave me toy record player and a stack of his old 45’s. I remember loving the Beatles from a very young age. The first time that I decided I was serious about learning how to play the guitar and pursuing music was the first time that I heard “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd, in my early teens.
I’m not sure if there’s anything specific that I can point to that motivates me to keep going. I’m still a huge music lover; I consume a ton of it and I take a lot of inspiration from the great music that I discover. I’m also constantly inspired (positively and negatively) by the world around me, and music provides a creative outlet to release that energy or cope with the things that are bothering me. I heard a great quote once that music is cheaper than therapy. I think even if I wasn’t pursuing it as a business, I’d still be writing and playing for that reason alone.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Even though there are only 6 songs on the EP, I feel that A Deafening Silence is my most complete and cohesive release yet, as well as my best sounding. I went into this with a vision in mind that was completely my own, and I did not compromise on anything. The result sounds just as good as I had hoped it would… better, actually. It feels weird to say, but this release sounds more like “me” than any previous release.
As for what I was trying to accomplish… this was my first release of any kind in seven years, so I guess I was just trying to have something new to promote! Haha. This actually started out as a completely different project, but I had trouble coordinating schedules with the people I was working with, which caused several delays, which caused me to change the scope of the project(s) several times. There are still projects in the works currently, but the first finished product is an EP that I’m incredibly proud of.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
It is an interesting time to be a musician. Thanks to technology, it has never been easier (or less expensive) to make a good sounding song and release it globally. However, there has also never been more people doing it, and the attention span of society has never been less. It’s definitely difficult to grab people’s attention, and even more difficult to hold onto it. It’s easy to get discouraged, but I choose to focus on the fact that I’ve made something that I’m proud of. Whether it gets 10 listens or 10,000, my opinion of it won’t change.
What was the last song you listened to?
I’m listening to the latest album from O’Brother as I type this. Before that, I was rocking a playlist of 80’s Rush.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
My listening preference usually depends on the situation. For sheer convenience, I typically stream music. When I’m at home and want to immerse myself a little deeper, I usually reach for a vinyl. I do still have my CD collection prominently on display on several shelves, but I don’t get much use out of it these days unfortunately. I do see a day when they become trendy again though. What’s old always becomes new again eventually.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
This could be an entire discussion in and of itself. I resisted streaming for a long time because I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I didn’t own the songs I was listening to. After I accidentally broke my Zune (yep, you read that right), I decided to give streaming a try and eventually came around. Sure, the payouts aren’t good, but it’s a fantastic way to find and discover much more music than was ever possible before. I also think that streaming services are keeping the album format alive (if you like the song, it costs you nothing extra to check out the album that it was on, so you might as well check the rest of it out), which is great for me because I am very much an album-oriented listener.
As a consumer, I like Spotify. I used Apple Music for a while when it was first introduced, but I seemed to find a lot of bugs in it. I eventually got tired of the issues and switched back to Spotify. Now, I’ve built up a large library within Spotify and also maintain a few public playlists, so I am sticking with it. It might be in my head also, but I think it actually has a better sound quality than Apple as well.
Those public playlists, by the way, are Caught In The Current (a collection of new music that I update every couple weeks) and Members Only (a rotating playlist of 80’s music that I update every Monday).
As a creator, I do like Bandcamp a lot. They seem to really be friendly toward independent musicians and offer good payouts for downloads.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can check out my website: www.kevinconaway.com
I also always appreciate a follow on Spotify.
I’m also on most social media platforms. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Untappd, if you want to know what beers I’m drinking.
https://www.facebook.com/KevinConawayMusic/
https://twitter.com/Kevin_Conaway
https://www.youtube.com/kevinconawaymusic
https://kevinconaway.bandcamp.com/
Anything else before we sign off?
Be nice to each other. And remember it is not a sign of weakness to change your opinion on something when presented with new information.
Thank you for talking with me.
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