We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sean Anthony Sullivan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sean Anthony, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Writing, recording, and performing music has been a relentless journey for me. Whether it was the early moments of feeling the reverberation of an open grand piano or the amplification of an electric guitar beating against my chest, I knew there was something powerful there that I wanted to be part of. As a kid, I would write and record songs on multi-track cassette machines and share them with my friends at school. I was always looking for a stage to play on, eager to share the joy of music with others.
I have honed my craft by immersing myself in music and constantly seeking new ways to make it better. I lean into my influences and am always on the lookout for new inspirations. I fully embrace my music and sound as an amalgam of everything I have heard and experienced. I keep myself motivated and driven with fresh projects and goals to push myself outside of the usual way of doing things — whether it’s a fresh approach to writing or recording a song or putting a new spin on a performance.
For me, the most essential skill I’ve learned as a musician is that music is a conversation. Whether you’re holding the instrument or taking in a performance, you’re part of that experience together, and it’s a two-way street. This understanding influences how I tell stories through songs and approach playing a show. I want to share that experience with others and create those shared moments together.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
About me.
I’m a rock ‘n’ roll artist based out of Lansing, Michigan. My band and I play a music that I self describe as “Bob Seger helping The Wallflowers work on their muscle car.” A fan recently related the music as “John Mellencamp playing with the Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones,” which I thought was a great way of describing the sound. Playing shows around the Midwest, we’re out there working to meet music fans and share with them in celebrating rock ‘n’ roll music. We try to split our time as equally as possible between the stage and studio — always working to write and record new music and also getting out there and performing it. We have a pretty steady stream of new song releases going on these days on all of the music platforms.
How you got into this..
One of my earliest memories is my dad play Johnny B. Goode on his guitar and the way he’d make that Chuck Berry riff sing, the way those guitar speakers felt hitting my chest, I was obsessed with the feeling. From there I was off and running. I’ll never forget the day that, as a kid, I discovered that any set of headphones could used as a microphone — that’s when the obsession with getting my songs down to tape began.
As dedicated piano player for many years, in middle school I decided to pick up an acoustic guitar and start learning to play. At that time, it was really a means to further my songwriting. I was inspired about how artists like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan could tell their stories through song in such a connected and unshakeable manner. But the electric guitar was not far behind, as I started playing in bands covering popular songs old and new. But it didn’t take long before I was ready to play my own songs with others, so that’s always been there.
As a young, young kid, I was really into marching band music. Back in those days, you were basically limited to your parents’ record collection and whatever was on the radio. My dad was a band director so we had all of these promo records laying around the house, and I remember listening to the arrangement of songs like “Power of Love” by Huey Lewis on those records and loving how those melodies came through. And I also grew up listening to horn bands, and was obsessed with Chicago. I would say it was the song “25 or 6 to 4” that made me want to play guitar — the main primal guitar riff, almost Black Sabbath in nature, and the explosive lead guitar parts and how they interwove with the horns. I was hooked with what a guitar could do and sound like because of Terry Kath. He was my Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen.
What sets me apart…
The great Keith Richards is on record as saying “Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.” When you grow up in the Midwest, you have a certain hustle as part of your DNA. We inject that roll, think machines running in a GM plant, into our sound. It needs to get you (maybe involuntarily?) moving to the music. After all, music is just emotions tranlated to sound waves right? When on stage, we absolutely present that swagger and rock, but it’s founded in the roll.
Recent releases and the sound…
Our biggest release to date has been a song called “Here and Gone.” This song commonly gets referred to as Southern rock or classic rock, but I say at the end of the day it’s all rock ‘n’ roll right? I’ve spend my life between two places— Michigan and the West Coast. As an artist, I bring together those cultures— that hard brow but soulful Midwest rock ‘n’ roll that you’ll find on the streets of Detroit or Chicago combined with the Laurel Canyon free spirit. And of course sprinkle in a bunch of the Southern renegade nature so rampant in some of my favorite artists such as Waylon Jennings or The Black Crowes.
We also recently release a single, “Traveled Roads.” This one has been a lot of fun to play at shows as it really wraps up a lot of my favorite sounds. It’s a rock track with a sound born out of my equal love for the lively East Coast Springsteen energy and electric SoCal grit combined with a heartland Steve Earle and Mellencamp influence it’s an anthem of reflection, it’s a song that describes driving down the same roads I did years ago, considering the way things used to be.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I learned at a young age that music is meant to be shared, not held within. These songs and performances are going to happen regardless, so I want to share them with as many people as possible. Recording music and playing shows have always been about expressing what I’m feeling through song. What often astounds me is how some of the most personal and vulnerable things I’ve written resonate with others who are feeling the same way or have had similar experiences.
I think about how much other songs have helped me along the way, whether by fueling a road trip or helping me through an emotional time. At the end of the day, if my music can serve as the soundtrack to somebody’s day at the lake or a cruise in a souped-up ‘68 Camaro, then I’m being authentic to myself and what I’m trying to accomplish.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
As an aspiring musician, you develop this sense of awe and see the artists you admire as otherworldly or untouchable icons. Early on, trying to figure out how to build a musical following, it’s a trap to think you need to present themselves in that light, creating that kind of image. As I grew up and met some people in this arena, I quickly learned that we’re all only human. Everyone is looking for the same things — belonging, fulfillment, enjoyment.
It’s important for me to connect with each person who takes the time to listen to my music or come out to a show. I recognize how fortunate I am to have their support and build those relationships. To me, that’s been one of the best parts of this journey — making new friends and connections through music that we all enjoy together.
Unlearning the need to create a facade and embracing authenticity has been a game-changer for me. It’s taught me that genuine connection is far more valuable than any image or persona. By being real and approachable, I’ve been able to forge deeper connections with my audience, and that’s what truly makes this journey fulfilling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.seananthonysullivan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seananthonysullivan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seananthonysullivan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@seananthonysullivan
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yYlSqI5yF5KEGXzNOTzM6
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sean-anthony-sullivan/780047175
