We were lucky to catch up with Db Stewart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi DB, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents put my brothers and I into piano lessons at an early age. Better yet, they put us in lessons with a gentleman named Ken Roberts who beautifully blended technique and theory with fun. Every recital was a PRODUCTION. He always had a theme and encouraged us to pick pieces that we were genuinely passionate about and encouraged us to be different.

While some students were playing Für Elise, my brothers and I were playing songs by The Beatles and theme songs from James Bond, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. The freedom to be ourselves and play the music we loved made both practice and performance fun and rewarding.

And that was just the beginning.

To get back to your question, the best thing my mom ever did was instruct me to take control of my artistic vision. I was in a band with a buddy of mine down the street and a woman from school. We were starting to record some songs, but when it came to rehearsal folks were really flakey. On top of that, they kept changing lyrics to songs I was writing (totally valid for an artist to do by the way). I was voicing frustration to my mom and she quickly responded with “if you want the songs delivered how you wrote them, you need to step up and sing them”.

Despite not being confident in my voice at the time, I knew she was right and the only way I could have my vision realized was to step into the frontman role. That was pivotal for me and I haven’t looked back since.

My brothers and I were in a three-piece band; I was 16, Erik was 13, and Jared – who is my drummer today – was 10. Not once did my folks complain about the noise, which is truly incredible because it can’t have been that great. That said, they have always been our #1 fans and roadies. Even now, when a set wraps they’re the first to the front asking if they can help strike things from the stage or carry gear to the car. I feel so incredibly lucky my parents were supportive from the time I was a child to now.

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’ve been obsessed with storytelling as long as I can remember. The piano recitals I mentioned before were my foray into the world of musical performance. Once I heard “Back in Black” by AC/DC, I knew all I wanted to do was write and play on the guitar. Before I ever got on stage for original music, I interned at a teen center “Ground Zero” that hosted local shows. I helped transition the space from after school community programs to the concert venue setting, worked the ticket and snack counter, and cleaned up when shows were done. I saw countless shows there and one day asked my supervisor Nick if I could book a show of my own – having never played one before. One the spot he agreed and we scheduled a show 6 months ahead of time.

At that point, I’d been writing songs with my brothers for a few months. We knew we would have a 30 minute set and we practiced the 6 songs we’d be performing every day leading up to the show. We played that show. May 2010 and that set me off on my current trajectory. I was in that band with both my brothers for about 6 years, and it ran a total of 10 years – which was a really amazing journey.

DB Stewart came to fruition initially as my solo side project in 2018 to experiment a bit more sonically.

Ultimately, what I’m most proud of is that this really has been a family endeavor for me since I first picked up the guitar. My parents have been at almost every show and my youngest brother Jared – who was the drummer in my original rock band – is my current drummer. There’s truly an unmatched energy and freedom playing with him that I have yet to feel with anyone else. We love a lot of the same music, but we also introduce each other to tons of new material. It keeps me inspired while also have a consistency and comfort that I can’t find outside of our dynamic.

On an artistic level, my solo work has been an opportunity for me to deeply explore myself – finding meaningful and mature ways to be vulnerability on and off the mic. For me, music has always been about connecting over the human experience. When I was in junior high and high school I had a hard time feeling connected to my peers, but my favorite artists always provided a space for me to know that I wasn’t alone in my experience. To me, that is the fuel to keep going and I hope people find themselves in my songs, just as I found myself in the work of others.

Sonically, I pride myself on consistently pushing my boundaries as a songwriter and musician. I never want any two songs to sound the same. My goal is to create an ever expanding sonic universe for people to explore.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The early days of the podcast “And the Writer Is…” changed the way I navigated the music industry. It’s hosted by Ross Golan, a platinum songwriter. It pulled back the curtain on the songwriting industry, which led me to dive in head-first myself into the business side myself. For one, it inspired me to create a podcast “Made for Music” that I ran for a while that explored virtually every facet of the music industry. It was effectively a vehicle for me to interview industry professionals a) to satisfy my own curiosity and b) to provide others with a comprehensive view of the music world – from the artistry to the business.

When the pandemic hit, it pushed me to go back to school and get a Masters Degree in Music Business from Berklee College of Music. There are COUNTLESS resources from this program that I could recommend. I’d say go check out the curriculum online and pull from it there.

The one that I found most useful was “Take Care of Your Music Business” by my professor John Kellogg. He was an industry lawyer for quite some time and a member of the band Cameo. Another book that I found really helpful was “Music Monday and Success: The Insider’s Guide to Making Money in the Music Business”.

Lastly, the one every single person in the industry will tell you to read is “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” by Donald Passman.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Connecting with people through songs – whether songs of my own or by other artists – is the most rewarding part of being a creative. This happens in so many ways to.
There’s connectivity to self. Songwriting is the way I am able to process the world around me. Having the time and vehicle to do so correlates with my happiness and mental fortitude.
There’s the process of recording songs. I love getting into my home studio with my brother Jared to track drums, remotely collaborate with artists I admire – like Arieliza – and all the deep conversations I have with my producer Xstitch. With Xstitch in particular, most of the time we spend together is in his home studio. That’s where we talk about virtually everything – music, family politics, dating, etc. – which all funnels back into the music itself.
Then there’s connecting with fans of my music. That’s been the most surreal part of this year. Music has provided me with so many experiences and connections I could never have had otherwise.
For example, when I toured Europe for the first time this past summer I got to meet this man Edwin who found my music a few years ago over social media when I released my single “The Problem with Falling in Love”. He’s in the Netherlands and I’m in Seattle so we really could only go back and forth over social media. When I performed in Berlin, he actually came all the way from Netherlands to see me and we ended up getting to explore Berlin a bit together the next day. That never would have happened had I never put that song out. The fact that two people from across the world could connect in a city foreign to them both over a song is incredible to me and I’m so grateful for that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dbstewart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/db.stewart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dbstewartmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dbstewart
• Other: https://linktr.ee/dbstewart

Image Credits

All live performance shots are by Marina Boichuk.

The indoor shot of me sitting on the TV is by Darren Vorel.

The two outdoor shots of me in Golden Hour (sitting in the truck and the shoulder-up shot looking left) are by Ronnie Hamilton.