We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corey Breedlove a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Corey, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was my first Album. It was during the lockdowns and I forced myself to put something out even when it never feels finished. Following that release we did a series of shows with a full band, selling hundreds of tickets and merch surrounding the record.

That showed me that I am capable of moving forward and finalizing my ideas. I’m very excited going into the next release knowing what I’m going into this time. My next original album is very tightly focused on my love for traditional pop. The era of the 40s,50s,60s swing, jazz, bossa nova, and pop. And I’ve constructed a new name for the project “Corey Breedlove & the Golden Age” debuting on NYE at The Rustic in Dallas.

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.

I starting writing music from an early age, maybe 13 or so, as an outlet to explore my own creativity and cope with some serious health issues. After putting going through high school and college playing in many original rock projects, I fell in love with the music of Sinatra and 40’s-60s pop. This lead me to begin a new venture of performing American songbook tunes in lounges and jazz bars, ultimately leading to thousands of shows for every type of event you can think of.

Now I’ve fine tuned what direction I want to go with my new project “Corey Breedlove & The Golden Age”. With an emphasis on vintage style & music, we would like to perform more weddings and corporate events going forward. I see those types of events as an opportunity to do something very special and unique for people who are excited to celebrate! We’re also able to produce a show that is unique to our style and share that experience with a broad audience.

In addition I’m always writing and working on new original music. My new album is set to release in spring 2025 with an emphasis on my love of 40s-60s swing, pop, jazz, and bossa nova.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I don’t think the modern age quite understands traditional art like it used to. Even artists now have found different ways to shortcut final products vs the journey building to something creatively whole. I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours with a guitar & pen/paper. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on equipment, recording sessions, trainings, ads, graphic design, videography. I’ve spent thousands of hours developing relationships, social skills, stage presence. On top of that, It’s my only job and I treat it as such. The amount of effort that goes into one show should be viewed as the same effort that would go into running a business. People and artists alike should treat their work as a valuable contribution any time they walk up to a mic or get on stage. You’re setting the tone for everyone in the room and even if you don’t have a captivated audience, performance needs to be viewed with respect. It is not easy to stand in a room full of strangers and sing. Paying artists what they feel is fair is very important to allowing that artist to continue to grow, share, and bring more to the community.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best thing you can do to support artists is buy whatever they have to sell. If it’s an album, that cost thousands of dollars to pay musicians, mixing, mastering, studio, production, graphic design and even two or three years of their life to create. If it’s 20$, that’s two cups of coffee from starbucks. If it’s a $30 t shirt, they cost $15 to produce, the artist can’t even buy gas with the little profit from something like this. But it is encouraging to feel as though people care enough to support them even if they aren’t becoming rich and famous.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coreybreedlove.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreybreedlove
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coreybreedlovemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/coreybreedlove
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

AET Photography
Nicollette Mollet