We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Weston Saverance a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Weston thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.
I started writing my music when I was around 16 years old. I always kept it to myself and never told anyone that I had my own creative capabilities with music. When I was in college I had a lot of friends that would ask me if I made my own music and I was forced to admit that I do indeed. One friend in particular had mentioned to me that he is a producer and that he would love to help me bring my art into the world to share with everyone. I pondered on the idea and realized just how much of a daunting task that would really be. After a few weeks I decided that I wanted to take a chance and show everyone how I can channel my thoughts and emotions into song. I began recording soon after. I was soon hit with the reality that being a musician takes much more than just recording and releasing music. I had to essentially create a brand behind my art. I had a seemingly endless list of tedious tasks to do like find cover art, take artists photos, and make a distrokid account. One of the hardest things I had to do was come up with my artist name. I spent so much time really thinking about what I wanted it to portray. I wanted it to directly relate to my music. So finally, after countless iphone notes pages and hours of thought, I came up with WESTON (yes in all caps) because truly that is what my music is. My music is an amplified version of myself. My music is the essence of my emotions and experiences carefully handcrafted by myself. After coming up with my artist name, recording my first single, posting on social media, and submitting the music and art to my distributor, I had officially done it; I had created WESTON. It was a lot of work and it required a lot of collaboration. However, after hearing stories of how my music has impacted people and seeing the smiles on peoples faces at my shows, it has proven to be far beyond worth it.
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 first picked up a guitar when I was in 7th grade. I had always been enamored by music and musicians and I wanted to somehow get a taste of that world. When I was in college I was convinced to start recording and releasing my own original music. Much of the reason I set out to become an artist was the realization that there is a possibility that my songs could impact other people in a similar way that my favorite artists have impacted me. Theres a lot of weirdness behind putting your emotions on display for all of the world to hear and that is one of the hardest obstacles to get over. I have found that holding on to the hope that my music will reach the right persons ears trumps the daunting anxiety behind caring about what the other people may think. I am proud to say that I am learning and growing as an artist and it helps me connect with myself on a much deeper level. My ultimate goal is that other people would also be able to learn and grow by empathizing with my music all while having fun and of course rocking out.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I guess my clients are my listeners or fans. I have made it such a pillar to my artistry to reach out to every single person who supports me no matter what. If someone shares my post on social media I thank them and I try to talk with every person at my shows and thank them for being there. I believe it is interactions like these that helps people understand that there is a real person behind the music and I want everyone to know that I actually care about them.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Hearing stories of how my music has impacted people is hands down my favorite thing in the world. My debut single, “Adeline”, is a story of a girl who wasn’t treating me fairly and my second single, “Devil On My Shoulder”, is about how I was struggling on whether or not to entertain a new relationship. Shortly after these two songs had been released someone reached out to me and told me how he had just broken up with his girlfriend when Adeline was released and how much he related to it at the time being. He proceeded to explain how when Devil On My Shoulder released he was considering getting back together with his girlfriend. To me, this is what being an artist is all about. It is about allowing others to connect to music and channel their emotions through song. I have heard several similar stories regarding my music and that is truly what makes it worth it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @westonsaverance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSMO7eI0SPymdvi-2cckAIg
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Dm2hipTFinQ3lsnUmNJs4?si=2066ePYDQE6ZZ_Z6ZHc9AA Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/weston/1620004887