This week, we have a brief chat with an up-and-coming young singer.
Eddy Faulkner
Singer-songwriter Eddy Faulkner has loved music for as long as he can remember. Part of the short-lived northern Virginia band The Remedy in 2009, Eddy struck out on his own in 2010, posting solo music videos of his original music and his covers of popular artists on YouTube, Facebook and other social media. About the covers, Eddy says: “My favorite part about covering songs is making them my own. I think that is one of the marks of a true artist; when he or she can change a song around and have people still like it.” He’s slowly building an international fan-base through his videos, and is releasing an EP, THE ROAD, online this coming weekend. Although at 19 he is slightly older than other teen acts making a name for themselves through YouTube, it’s entirely possible Eddy will be following in the footsteps of Kropp Circle, Burnham, Matt Johnson, Jordan Jansen, Anthony Garguila, Cody Simpson and Justin Beiber before 2011 is over.
ANTHONY: Hi Eddy. Thanks for sitting down to ramble on with us for a little while.
EDDY: Hey!
A: So: you’re a new young musician on the scene. You’ve got over 1,000 “Likes” on your Facebook page. And you’ve got an EP coming out this weekend. How did this roller-coaster ride start for you?
E: Yeah I’ve been doing music my whole life but rock music and writing songs came into play in late 2008. It all started actually after playing the video game “Rock Band” in February of 2008. The first time I played that game on the “drumset” I was like woah…this is what I would love to do. So that fall I got my first drumset and ever since then I’ve been playing it. After playing drums though for awhile it made lyrics start to pour out of me, out of like nowhere. So then I got a keyboard and a few months later a guitar in the summer of 2009. I taught myself all of these instruments by the way, so basically it was instrument/songwriting boot-camp 1-2 years for me. Singing eventually came into play and I never had lessons or anything, I just thought since I wrote songs all the time I might as well sing some of them. So after awhile I started to mold a voice for my songs and I discovered my true voice about 1-2 years later in 2011. I started a band in late 2009 as well which allowed me to play on stage (which was nerve-wrecking the first time), but after awhile it was a lot of fun and I knew that this was my dream. To play in front of people and to play and write songs that connect people to their experiences and mine. I also started this solo project last summer in 2010 and I’ve only been doing it for 11 months. I learned though that to get your name out there successfully use all the social media tools at your disposal. At the start I just used Facebook. But I got a YouTube, MySpace, PureVolume, Twitter, and many more social outlets ever since which have massively increased my fan-base.
A: You’ve covered Maroon 5 acoustically. There are portions of the songs on the EP that are reminiscent of artists as diverse as Plain White T’s, John Mayer, and even the great Lou Reed. Who are your song-writing and vocal influences?
E: My influences range from many classic artists such as BB King, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix to artists of today like John Mayer, Nick Jonas, and Jack Johnson. I’m basically influenced by all music out there that I listen too. When writing songs it really just comes out of me the sound/words as well I don’t look at a song and say…I want to you know write one exactly like it. It’s the same with vocals as well, I really don’t have any influences for it. One day in 2008 I just started singing and took it from there!
A: Tell me a little about your song-writing process. What comes first, lyrics or melody? Or do they develop at the same time?
E: For writing songs it changes up all the time. Sometimes a word hits me and from that one word I can write a whole song. Or I play a certain chord on the guitar or I hear a song by another artist and it inspires something. Really it depends and I think a lot of artists out there can agree with me on that statement. It’s good to change it up anyways because you don’t want to get stuck in one process cause you can get a writer block more easily that way.
A: “Shine Your Light” takes on the topic of being yourself and not letting bullies get the best of you. It’s a very important topic that a lot of young singer-songwriters are addressing (I’m thinking specifically of Greyson Chance’s “Waiting Outside The Lines,” Anthony Garguila’s “Finally Done,” and Jordan Jansen’s “Break Free It’ll Be Okay”). Did you bring any personal experience with bullying to the song?
E: Yeah actually I used to get bullied when I was younger. Never physically but more with words. I’ve learned that words can hurt more in some cases, than actually being physically bullied. I also see you know especially in today’s society people you know getting bullied for very silly small things based on their physical appearance or values. I say today’s society because the mindset of many people today has changed drastically since like 10-15 years ago. You see all these TV shows and videos online of people that you have to look like or act like. That’s what this song is about as well. Just being yourself and being all YOU can be. Not what someone else wants YOU to be. I also believe that since God gives us all one life, why waste it doing what everyone else wants of us or does, or being scared of what your heart tells you to do or say. Just be who you are and you’ll go far!
A: Tell me a little about the upcoming EP launch and what audience you hope to reach through it.
E: With my EP THE ROAD I hope to reach everyone out there who loves music in general. In this EP I have five songs that all send a distinct message/that are easily relatable. I think everyone out there will enjoy at least one song on this record as well since sound-wise it’s very diverse so it’s a more universal sound which is exactly what I’m going for. It is basically a mix of funk/blues/rock/pop/acoustic music. Yes…all in one EP I know it’s crazy!
A: Okay, now on to my usual last question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who has never read it?
E: (Haha) nice last question. My favorite book is probably To Kill A Mockingbird because that’s the last book I remember reading. Yes I don’t read that much I’m sorry ladies…most of my time is devoted to music, friends, family, and etc. But I do spare some time to reading when I have nothing to do or I am bored. It’s a good way to make time go by fast AND exercise that brain!
A: Thanks again for taking the time to join us, Eddy! Best of luck with the EP!
You can find Eddy Faulkner, and his music on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You can also join the Facebook release party for his EP this Wednesday.