Is Elvis Back? (ft. Andre Clark)

Welcome everybody to the fourth episode of the Creators Table Podcast.

I'm joined here with Andre Clark for a little discussion.

So how are you doing Andre?

I'm doing good.

Thank you for having me.

Of course.

Now I know Andre from like back when.

How old were we?

I mean we were like 14 maybe.

You were probably 14.

I was like along the lines of like 12.

Yeah that's really like I've known, I haven't like known you like a lot.

Like I've just known of you for a long time.

But yeah like we were, back in the day we had a band somewhat of a band.

Yeah.

If you even wanted to.

We met for like two practices.

It's crazy because like I mean this in the best way dude.

Like you were like short you had like a high like a high you know you had that young voice

and now it's like takes it's weird.

Like I don't even see you as the same person.

It's really strange.

It's the same for me too.

Like dude well I was 12 so I still had my baby voice and everything and now we're like

the exact same height or whatever.

I didn't grow at all dude it's crazy.

No but you have, I'm gonna be honest the second you joined call I was like this may,

do people say you have like an Elvis-esque voice?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah it's there.

I mean it's very apparent.

I've had a few people mention that to me.

I've also had people tell me that like I've grown into more of a Southern accent that

I like I'm not even on purpose.

Just like over time I've slowly developed a little bit more of an accent.

I don't hear it.

I don't.

I want to be honest.

It's plain as day for me.

I mean though it's not okay because there's two types of Southern accent right.

There's like in my opinion there's like redneck you know where you say ain't and y'all all

the time.

Right.

Where you have a very, what's the best way to put this?

Like there's a Southern accent to where it's just how you pronounce words and not improper

grammar.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

And that's what I sense.

Your parents don't have Southern accents though do they?

Oh no not at all.

But my grandparents though that's probably the most Southern you can get because I'll

their house and they live in the neighborhood so I visit them a lot just drive over there

and whatever and I'll open the door and she'll be like oh hey darling you want me to fry

some bologna today or whatever it's great.

Yeah.

It's authentic Southern grandma voice right.

Yeah that's kind of fair.

I want to say it's a lot the same for me because I don't do I sound like I have a Southern

accent?

Uh-oh.

See I don't especially over call and stuff like that.

Especially like anytime I can hear my own voice like come back to me like I tend to

not have anything but when it comes to certain situations I might say certain words and pronounce

certain things in a Southern way but I wouldn't say I have an accent.

I get you.

I really don't hear it.

So why don't I dive right into the questions then.

So how we'll start off by how long have you been pursuing music?

Well I have always loved music like it's always been a part of my life before I played instruments

or sang or whatever and I was over five years old when I took my first piano lesson and

it did not work with me so I decided to teach myself from then and I've been playing piano

for 12 years but I have been playing guitar for about five or four years now and songwriting

for what's crazy is that like as of now it's been probably exactly one year since I've

written my first song.

Since then I've had multiple singles out.

I have an album released and I'm also working on my second album right now.

So that's forgot your music's on Apple Music isn't it?

You're on everything.

You're fully out there.

I completely forgot about that in the best way.

It just shocks me.

I swear like I was talking with, we have a buddy named Beckett.

I was talking with him and he was like, oh yo have you talked with Andre recently because

I didn't even see you on Instagram or anything like that and I was like no I completely remember

him though and just heard like you were doing awesome music stuff because like when we knew

you we were just fascinated by how good are you at piano and it's really kind of, it's

really really wild to see how much progress you have.

I appreciate it.

It's my passion.

Would you, how old are you right now?

You're 17, 18?

I'm 16 man.

You're 16.

Wow.

You're getting a good start on it though.

I appreciate it.

I think there's a bit of a, I've realized I think there's a bit of like a club or whatever,

not club, like a group of people who play it.

So there's a, for people who aren't near us, there's a music venue in an area near where

we live called MadLife.

Shout out to them, I don't know.

But you've played there right?

Oh yeah.

That used to be my home performance place like all the time.

That's where I started out.

And you know, I might know a lot of people you know then who've played there, at least

your age.

Yeah.

I think it's a big for anybody much older than me.

I know a ton of people who've played there, but that's, I'm getting off topic.

How are you getting?

You're good.

Tell me, why don't you tell me a little bit about like what you do?

Because I know what you do, but if you're going to tell somebody else.

Well, I write music constantly and pursuing music has been extremely fun for me because

that has always been a passion in my life.

And being able now to just shout out to Ken Music Shop work there is like living in a

dream man because making this money that can like buy equipment for me and then my music

is making me some money as well.

And then being able to gig at all these different places is so fun.

And my favorite thing to do would be songwriting, like sitting down, writing lyrics, guitar.

It's like a dream man.

And then I produce myself or whenever I put my music out there and like from the second

album, it's going to be completely different or at least that's my plan or what I have

been working on recently and be so fun.

So I don't know, I'm also getting off topic, but I don't know, based off of just what I

do, music, songwriting and music all the time, I guess.

Music music music.

That's what it sounds like.

That pretty much.

Um, that's, I forgot you worked at a Ken Music Shop.

I, that's where I took lessons for a hot minute.

Uh, because what you know, I don't remember his last name, but you know the other Tyler

then, right?

I know both Tyler's Tyler Messer and Tyler Frush.

Okay.

Tyler Messer is the one I know.

Yeah.

That's funny.

He taught, he taught me.

Uh, he, well, I took lessons from him for a hot second.

Oh, he's hilarious.

He's so funny.

Yeah.

He's awesome because he, he is the band.

It's half hot, right?

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

He has half hot and then Tyler Frush.

He has his own band, Tyler Lee Frush, where he records his music and all of the members

of that band are just people that I work with and it's super, super cool and it sounds really

good too.

So it sounds like everybody who really works there are, are really kind of, they're in

a band, right?

Sounds like everybody's kind of musically inclined.

Yeah.

No, yeah, for sure.

Everyone's musically inclined that works there, but me, Tyler and the other Tyler are the

only ones that have our music screaming out there, I'd say.

So what is some early music that inspired you to start pursuing music and, and to add

on to that, did you have any figures in your life that were musically inclined that also

inspired you?

Music wise, I've, I still am and always have been my favorite genre of music.

I might surprise you, it's classical music.

Yeah.

I love classical music because that was, well, there's all this baby TV on now, just Coco

Melon or whatever, which is stupid.

Then like you've got baby Einstein, which has all classical music playing on.

And it's, that's what I listened to whenever I was growing up, that stuff.

And over, I began writing my own classical music and not anything that's been released,

but just stuff for fun.

I can sit down at a piano and work on some stuff.

So that has classical music in itself, more especially Beethoven was the inspiration for

me to start music.

But what's funny is that was like all I listened to up until when I was nine.

So you can call me a nerd or whatever.

But whenever I would turn nine, my parents bought me a record player from a garage sale.

And they also bought five records to go along with it, like Beethoven Mozart or whatever.

And not because like my parents were forcing me to take music lessons, like most kids who

listen to classical music, but because I was like obsessed with that stuff.

I love that.

But in the record player, the guy that sold it accidentally left one of his records in

there.

And that was the Sergeant Pepper's album by the Beatles.

And I put that on also since it was already in there.

And that like opened up a whole another world of music for me.

And that was what really inspired me to start playing music and then exploring all these

different kinds of realms of the music world also.

So the Beatles are still my favorite band and have been.

I knew it.

Yeah, of course.

You have not changed.

You have not changed.

Music was like music taste wise.

I've changed a lot.

But at the same time, no, the Beatles are absolutely still my favorite band.

I don't remember.

I don't remember any of our conversations from like five years ago.

Like I'm sure I talked about them all the time.

I'm pretty positive.

Oh, yeah.

Look, I'm not like nuts.

You were a big Beatles fan and that was very apparent.

And I love the Beatles as well.

But I remember you sat down and you were playing your piano.

You had this really nice keyboard you're showing us.

And you had, you were like, oh, let me show you all the Beatles songs I have memorized.

And you just sat there and played like a ton of Beatles songs just that you had memorized

because you love the Beatles.

And who couldn't love the Beatles?

Just saying.

Holy crap.

I was a nerd.

Heck yeah.

No, I think it's good.

I think it's great.

I still love their stuff.

But like you see at that time, I like was very closed off to a lot of things.

And whenever I opened up that new realm of music with the Beatles, that was then all

I listened to the point that like every single thing in music I focused on was the Beatles.

And while they are still my favorite band at that time, it was only them.

And those are the only kind of music stuff that I loved.

But now I believe me, I love the Beatles, but now it's just so much more stuff that

I listened to.

And what you were asking me the second question of any people in my life that have inspired

me to start, Bezeker just, I've been a big inspiration.

My number one answer would be my uncle.

Uncle Bryant, he is a phenomenal songwriter and a really good musician too.

And he's hopefully going to get some of his stuff out soon as well, because it's all so

good, way, way better than I could ever imagine writing.

And I give him a big, big piece of the credits roll whenever I die about my inspiration and

just influences in my life.

He gets a big part of that just because of his music and what he's taught me and we've

talked about, like, yeah, no, he's great.

He's great.

Yeah, no, absolutely.

That's really awesome.

I mean, that's the guy I had on last night.

He was, he kind of was in a different situation.

I always find it very interesting with people who have kind of a musical figure in their

life because I know some people are like, oh, my dad was in a band, my mom's singing

in the church choir, something like that.

And then some people are like, my parents couldn't be any more not musically related.

You know, like they couldn't be more non musically inclined.

And it's cool to see those people kind of, and it sounds like not to your parents' house.

My mom used to sing a lot, but not really anymore.

So she loves music, but no, not super musically inclined at all.

And my dad absolutely not.

So my uncle, and pretty much only my uncle has been the biggest musical inspiration in

my life since there's really, but not really anyone else that's as musically inclined as

me or him, my family.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

And then kind of with what you said about back to the kind of music and inspiration, I think

it's kind of the music you play is very reflective of what inspires you.

I think it's really interesting.

I believe it sounds like you are big.

Is it Jim Croc?

Jim Croc.

Okay.

I always screw up his last name.

I always do.

I know him and I love his music.

He's an older artist.

I don't know what time period, but.

I always say stuff like that.

Yeah.

But that's very, you can really see that style in which you play.

And I think some people might even try to label you as country.

Yeah.

Now, I've been labeled as country music a lot of the time, but I would say, I'd say

I'm more of like, but the stuff that I have been writing, not the second album coming

up is probably going to be different.

But the stuff that I usually write is more like the folk music kind of genre.

Maybe it can be a big country, but there's a difference between listening to a country

song on the radio and listening to my music and then listening to an old folk song from

the seventies and then listening to my music.

And it like.

I would totally agree.

But yeah, Jim Croc has been a massive influence on my life.

Absolutely.

And his song operator is still without a doubt my favorite song all time.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, I know that song.

Yeah, that's a great song.

That's a great, that's a great favorite song right there.

Would you, this is a random poll.

Would you say, what are your thoughts on John Denver?

Oh, I love some John Denver fits in along the lines of that seventies folk stuff.

So he is a lot more country as well too.

I would say that's the vibe I get from you.

And I, I now I personally don't see John Denver as country as he's labeled.

He's got a country accent and he has songs that are, I would say our country, but like

the songs that I like for him, I wouldn't say our country.

So I'm sure you've got fans.

I'm sure you have supporters.

Would you have, do you have any interesting fans or supporters to talk about?

It's hard to think about last year.

Last year they had a piano in the chorus room of my school.

I was friends with the main chorus teacher of my school and I still am, but we were friends

outside of school and then he turned out to be the chorus teacher and I was like, oh heck

yeah.

So I went into a lunch period in there and played piano a lot of the time and that part

of that year I had the whole like class of chorus girls trying to be like obsessed with

me stuff.

And I'm not trying to brag or anything or like say I'm like absolute friggin as the

kids say Riz God or whatever.

But no, it was so funny.

Like whenever I would just be, what's really funny is that I'll be working so hard on

not just guitar and songwriting, but piano is also a passion of mine.

I'll be working on like a rhapsody or a concerto by Rachmaninoff or Liszt or whatever, a fancy

classical song that takes me so long.

And I'll sit down on piano and play it and then a girl will come up to me and be like,

hey, can you play Runaway or can you play Golden Hour?

And I'm like, no, I'm not sure.

That's so awesome.

I love that you have to go through that in the best way possible because you're over

here trying to learn these symphonies and such and these great historical compositions

and and they're like, can you play Golden Hour?

Oh, can you?

The Runaway is hilarious.

Runaway is absolutely hilarious if people actually play that.

It's so funny, man.

I'll be like working so hard or like just going off on the piano after like not practicing

today or whatever.

No, just I wouldn't call it practicing.

I wouldn't say practice me.

I just play music all the time.

After like not playing piano today, just going all the way off on the piano so I can like

hear what it sounds like because I want to hear myself playing all these different like

compositions, like you said.

And then a girl will walk up to me like, hey, you play Runaway too.

And like, yeah, I'll play Runaway after this.

Can you play it now?

Fine.

Yeah.

Runaway.

I don't know, it'd just be they should be like, oh my God, could you come on or something

like that to what I have been playing?

It's just such as not to be mean and not to say like to it's weird that I just find it

strange when people ask people that because like I low key was my buddy had a piano at

his house and I was like, I'm going to learn that.

Like I should have just like I've never played piano.

I've never even tried to learn piano and I just sat there because it's because it's

not not saying like you're not like talented to know how to play it.

But it's like, I see what you're saying.

Like you have these songs that are really stretching your capabilities and what you're

good at.

And I think that's what you should always strive to do.

Like if you're good at something, then find the thing that's more difficult.

Appreciate it.

But when it comes to like Runaway, it's so easy.

I mean, come on.

Right.

I mean, for someone that hasn't played it before, yeah, sure it's hard because I mean,

they haven't played it before and you're new to music whenever it comes to like the whole

world of piano and everything.

Like I have a friend of mine named Sam who wanted to learn that the other day.

So I sat down on the piano with him and I worked on it with him just being like a teacher

to him or whatever, just so he could learn how to play that song.

And that was hard for him.

And I was like, whoa, that's actually kind of hard for me.

So it had to make me like the way I described music or the way I would like picture music

in my head have to like be very died down and like help him learn that song because

he's a friend of mine.

I thought it'd be fun.

He asked to learn it anyway.

And so yeah, kind of and I'm also not trying to say this in a braggy way, but it kind of

like made me realize in a different perspective how some other songs are like so hard for

people when for me after like doing this over and over again for years and piano being my

main instrument how like, oh man, this actually seems pretty easy, but nah, it's can be really

hard for some people.

So that's why it's a weird perspective being like a teacher to someone as well.

Because I've been told, Andre, it could be a pretty good piano teacher, a guitar teacher,

you a teacher at the music shop, you should be.

And I'll be like, hmm, I mean, I could be, I don't know if that's something I'd want

to do because I don't consider myself to be a good teacher.

But I ended up learning the song.

I think I'm just yapping now.

I don't know what I'm saying anymore.

You're fine.

I mean, I feel like being a teacher is like a music is like, I feel like you could do

that now that doesn't have to be the only thing like you don't have to be like, well,

this is what I'm going to do.

Right.

You don't have to like plant your feet.

I'm going to be a music teacher with that's not what you want to do, but it's still something

you can do and people are going to be very fascinated by you teaching music because you

just have because I mean, you said you've been doing it for 12 years.

Like or piano in particular.

That's a long time.

I mean, I've only been playing guitar since sixth grade.

That's only six years right there.

I mean, like when you really think about it, like you've you have a long, a lot of practice

on piano compared to a lot of people our age.

Like I know a lot of people who are, you know, now performing guitar and stuff like that have

only been playing for a few years, you know.

And so, I mean, you definitely have, I mean, I'm sure you don't take lessons, right?

No, I taught myself mainly.

That's crazy.

I think though, I think to be self taught at your age, I feel like not to say like it

was easy, but if like since you started at such a young age, you kind of, when you had

that time, I mean, when you're a kid, you just have time.

Right.

You're bored, like most of the time, that's at least that's my experience for my childhood.

But I mean, it's very easy to dedicate yourself and to learn something when you're so young

compared to now where it's going to take me a lot longer, you know, especially to do self

taught.

Yeah.

I get that.

I mean, like it makes me wish that I could like go back to that time, like where I've

had so much time to do things, just like had exams to do this morning, I had a chemistry

exam for that frigging school.

I couldn't get the word out.

But then that I drove home and now I'm on this podcast and now I have to leave for work

in a couple of hours too.

Like I'm so busy all the time, man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's kind of, that's kind of how it goes.

Yeah.

Did you, where maybe my next question will be, where are some, how many events have you

played if you have a, if it's an easy number for you to calculate kind of what's been some

of your favorite experiences playing in front of people?

I think it'd be an easy number for me to calculate because well, while I do work at the music

shop, my biggest main source of income for me is like whenever I get a gig somewhere

and what I get paid from there.

So yeah, I don't think I can give you a specific number, but my favorite gigs that I've done

been other times that I've been on the big stage at the, at MadLife.

Oh, at the mill in Edelweil.

Oh, at the mill.

Oh yeah.

I can't believe I missed those.

Oh dude.

Oh, they're so fun.

Like, I'm friends with the sound guy over there and the mill is now pretty much my home

for music.

It used to be MadLife, but now I play the mill so much that that's become my main place that

I play at.

And whenever I get the chance to, you know, have my own show, big stage, which I have a

couple of times.

Those are always my most memorable and super fun ones.

And I've played indoors at MadLife a few times as well.

And those have also been like big memorable moments for me too, getting to open for all

these bands and stuff.

And hopefully soon getting my own show at MadLife on the big stage.

So yeah, I guess whenever it's a really, really big crowd or just feeling that giant stage

presence, you feel like, man, this is like a core memory for me.

And it really has been like that for me.

Those are the ones that I can remember the most and I'm like the happiest times playing

music would be like with a big crowd and stuff.

Yeah, for sure.

I definitely get that.

I mean, it's, it's, I'm sure you'll keep going on the bigger stages and bigger venues.

Would you say you're nervous for each of your times you're playing still or no?

Not at all.

Since I do it all the time, like, you know, the big stage at the at the middle and it'll

all right.

Oh yeah, of course.

Yeah.

Like that's a, that's a big stage and it's a list of certain events that gets a big crowd

too.

Like whenever I go up there, it's like, all right, cool, playing at the middle now, walk

on stage, play some music and walk off in front of like 2000 people and then I'll walk

off stage and I'll be like, okay, let me just grab a bite to eat now.

I'm not nervous or anything anymore since I just do it so much.

That's really good.

Yeah.

I guess that's a, well, that's a good mindset to have and it also just takes time to get

to that point as well.

So yeah.

Absolutely.

Do you play places every now and then?

Oh, I'm going to be honest.

My, my, me playing, me and playing guitar have, it's been a minute.

It's been a minute.

I don't play as regularly as I used to.

I would say as a player, I know the basics and maybe a little some, but I would say I'm

no great guitarist by any means.

It's one of those things where, it's one of those things where I do, I do like playing

and I do enjoy it, but I just don't know if that was quite my calling.

I'll be honest.

I liked making guitars and I still enjoy doing that.

Oh yeah.

Those are cool, man.

I'm happy you're doing that.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

I've done some, I've done some that I really like and I guess I got, when I got into that,

I was like, what do I really like about it?

I think for me, it's like I like making stuff and making stuff that I can hold and present

to somebody.

And that's kind of, that's kind of me and not, obviously not to say anything against

like if you're playing music, I think making music is awesome too.

It's just, it's just not my, not what I was great at.

You know what I mean?

Right.

No, yeah.

Everyone has their own role in life.

I get that.

But I want to do, I want to get into that kind of thing for building guitars as well

and building and track.

That's what I really, really want to do also.

Like not blocking out writing music and performing music.

No, that's absolutely what I really want to do also.

But I would also really, really want to get into that realm of stuff.

It's a cool thing to try.

Yeah.

I mean, I would, if you ever want some recommendations, I mean, I would, I would start with one of

these kit type deals.

Cause I mean, like here's the people, I've had people be on and off.

So I've done a lot of kits.

Now I've made guitars from, I haven't made, I've made guitars from cutting the body and

stuff like that.

But when it comes to, I've mainly used, got like pre-precut bodies and pre-cut nets,

which next, which is, it's not as, you know, there's not as much difficulty in that.

I will say like to anybody who's like, not to, you know, discredit anybody who makes

guitars from straight scratch from the piece of wood.

It is definitely a step in the process, which is very debatable on if it's needed, because

it's like, you know, these big guitar companies, Fender, Gibson, Iviness, they aren't, there

are not, they're not using people who are, you know, Luthiers or guitar builders.

They're not using them to hand cut the nets, necks and hand shape.

They're not doing that.

They're using CNC machines and these heavy machinery to pre-cut them anyways.

Cause they get them exact.

I mean, you can't, you can't lie.

I mean, the computer, the machine's going to get it perfect every single time.

Well, they're manufacturing companies.

So yeah.

Yeah.

They got to get like, they got to get out a ton a day.

So which this, if anything, should be shed a light on how difficult it is to cut out

guitars and stuff like that.

And how, and how that really set with the process is a completely and entirely different

thing than what I do, where it's the, where it's the, the finishing technique.

Oh yeah.

I'm getting good at that.

And just the overall design, like I tell people like, not saying I don't like when somebody

just gets a playing guitar, but I'm like, you really just want a purple guitar?

You know, I'm like, really?

You don't want anything else on it, you know?

Cause for me, it's like, I want to do something like different every time.

Yeah.

And because for me, it's just like a, like a canvas.

And if I just paint the canvas purple, then I don't feel very accomplished.

Oh, for sure.

Like your Rick and Morty guitar is sick as hell.

And then I wish I still had that dude.

I gave that away like a long, long time ago.

I sold it.

And there's the ukulele that you're writing all the names on now.

Did you paint that on it?

Uh, yeah.

Actually, my brother actually did that one.

Yeah.

I think that one's pretty.

I liked that.

Yeah.

I really liked how that one turned out.

He did another one like that a while ago, but I never posted anything about it.

And I believe I sold that one as well, I think.

But anyways, it's, it's, it's definitely something I definitely think you should try.

I think you should find yourself a kit from one of these brands and try it.

Yeah.

I've made the first one's probably going to be awful.

Just going to be completely honest.

But yeah, first I did, I have built a guitar from one of those kits before and nobody

had him looking at it right now and it is awful.

So yeah, that's how it goes.

Don't worry.

Yeah.

I'd say from kits, I've built two guitars in a ukulele, but like I want to get into

that stage where I can like buy wood from or just buy like a sprucer mahogany line

of wood like from online or wherever, Home Depot or whatever.

And then like cut it out and route out the stuff.

Yeah.

You know, it's, yeah, no, I think that is something definitely, definitely.

It's definitely worth a try.

It takes a lot more time.

Oh, no, yeah.

It's definitely something worth a try because I remember when I did mine, it took me like

months, months of doing it.

And like, you know, if you don't have like the routing tools to like for like, so you're

not hand measuring and doing that stuff for like where the, you know, the pickup cavities

go and stuff like that.

And the neck cavity.

If you don't have routing tools for that and you're just hand measuring it, that makes

it even more difficult.

But again, you can do it, you know.

Yeah.

Dude, like, I mean, I already like work at the music shop and a lot of the time I get

to go in the back and prepare the guitars or whatever.

So I guess you can't consider me a luthier, which is super fun to say, but I do really

want to be, I do also just really want to do that thing where I make guitars from scratch.

I think that'll be, that'd be fun to do at one point.

Yeah, I get you.

You gotta get your whole woodworking shop in, you know, there's a lot of tools.

That's, that's the one thing with anything with woodworking.

It's just tons and tons and tons of tools.

Are there any difficulties you ran into with playing at gigs or writing music?

Well, lyrics has always been a very, very hard part of songwriting for me.

And for the longest time until December of last year, I never thought I'd be able to

write a single song in my life because I was so bad at writing lyrics.

But then I don't even know how I can explain this to you just out of nowhere.

I was probably doing homework or I was doing something or I was, you know, okay, I was

doing anything besides music, either being bored or homework or watching TV and whatever.

And then out of nowhere, a lyric from The Bridge of We Could Just Be Friends comes into

my mind.

And out of nowhere, it comes into my mind and I'm thinking, whoa, did I just come up

with that?

That sounded really good.

Like out of no prior thought as well.

Um, um, you know that I could see through all this pain and misery, but now all the seas

have gotten rough.

And I was like, where did that come from?

Then I sat down, I sat down at a piano and take some stuff out.

And then I had The Bridge of that entire song written just out of nowhere after doing completely

nothing.

And from that point on, it felt like songwriting came to me so quick.

And before I knew it, I had that entire song written down in just two days.

Wow.

Or did it in my life?

At least a single a month later.

And since then I found the confidence in myself after telling myself I couldn't do it.

The songwriting, and here I am.

Working on music all the time.

Have so much that I haven't released yet, writing songs weekly.

So fun.

Would you say, so you would say then the easiest part of this whole thing is in writing music

would be, would be the melody.

The melody has not been very difficult for you to put together.

Okay.

What you said is the complete opposite.

The melody is the hard part.

Oh, really?

Okay.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Well then, how would you say is it, is it, is it the fact that putting the melody together

is hard or finding the right melody?

It's a little bit of both.

It's a little bit of both because I can write lyrics now easier than I did.

It's still a little hard, but I can still write down lyrics fairly easily.

And guitar is easy as well, but it's the way to fit the lyrics into there.

Just coming up with a melody or whatever.

Yeah.

And like, whenever I wrote my song, The Wind, which is on my first album, I sat in my hotel

room in Destin and wanting to, wanting to write a song for how much I missed my girlfriend

at the time.

And I had some lyrics going through my brain.

I wrote that song entirely in probably one hour with a, just a guitar sitting on top

of my bed.

And I wrote some of the lyrics.

I had the guitar part down I wanted.

Then like 90% of that entire songwriting is trying to find the right melody.

I played riffs, I played them slowed down.

I played so many things working towards finding a way that I could put those to each other.

And I think that is the longest part of my songwriting is going through so many melodies

on the spot.

Well, I can find the one that works just perfect with that song.

And oh yeah, believe me, it's hard to find the right one.

And for a lot of my songs, I still haven't found the right melody for them.

That's why they're either not out or just not even recorded as a demo on my phone or

anything.

Yeah.

A guitar part in my phone and a note also in my phone that I'll like be working on.

For this.

So, oh yeah, the hard part absolutely is working on melody for it.

But besides that, whenever I find it, I feel like I can bring everything together just

so naturally.

Well, it's just gosh, our melody that is usually the big issue for me whenever it comes to

songwriting and things like that.

Yeah, definitely.

That definitely, that definitely makes me realize something for sure.

That's something I think everybody I would say anytime that I've attempted to write a

song, that's a big roadblock is just you can sure you can come up with lyrics and sure

you can come up together with something that sounds good on the guitar.

But like, do they fit together?

You know, would you?

Well as they're reaching the end, is there any advice you would give to anybody in your

situation?

Oh, no.

I'd say probably you have to live through a lot of things to find out the right way to

put it into words.

Because there are some of my songs like Dear Virginia, which I haven't lived through like,

you know, like riding on a train to go see how when you love across the whole country

and had the experience of doing to write it.

Like I sat down and had my guitar take me to some other place that I'd go to.

But the best songs that I have written are the ones that I have lived through and experienced

and the ones that are speaking my mind and speaking my heart entirely.

That's why I had a lot of songs about past relationships or I had a lot of songs about

just what I've been going through.

If it is a loss, if it is like the end of a relationship or something like that, then

those end up a lot of the time.

But well, then the other ones that I've already written.

So I guess advice wise would be just to write down what you're feeling and write down what

you're going through, whether it be like a happy moment or a sad moment or anything.

Like write it.

If you're looking into songwriting, just describe your day or describe what you're going through,

not as lyrics, but write it down.

And then try to convert that to poetry because poetry is a great exercise.

So invert what you've written or talking about your day into poetry and then go through

some chord progressions just for some simple songwriting.

Go through some chord progressions and find a way you can fit that in there.

Take the time to find that melody that you can go for.

And if you're planning on pursuing music in your future, it would just be dedicate a lot

of work into it.

Don't just put things off to the side and make sure you get gigs where you want to go.

And you absolutely have to have a burning passion for what you're wanting to do.

And that will take you very far in the future as well if you're wanting that to be your passion

for music.

But do what your mind is set on.

And more importantly, do what you believe God is wanting you to do with your life as

well.

And I guess that'd be my advice.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's, that's, I'd sum that up with singing, singing right from the heart.

That's a very good, it's a very good thing to tell people.

Thanks.

Well, I want to thank you for being on my podcast and I want to thank everybody for

listening.

If you want, if you're interested in seeing more of Andre's content and songs he's writing,

I'll have some stuff in the description of this video or wherever you're listening to

it where you can find some of his, some of his stuff.

And if you have anybody, if you have anybody that you know would like to be on the podcast,

you let them know they already have an invite and they just need to message me because I'm

sure you know plenty of people in the music area.

So if they want to be on and they're listening to this, you have an invite.

Just so you know.

Yeah.

Well, if that's it, then I want to thank you for joining and thank you guys for listening

and have a great day.