Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eva Swanson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Eva, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
The first glimmer of music creativity started when songs rose in prayer during a hard time. The organic need to cry out and seek help led me to find melodies that helped me receive comfort and have hope.
I was also in a choir throughout graduate school, and my choir director did a workshop to help us identify and get on track to pursue our dreams. My dream job was a music producer, but to my surprise, my choir director took me seriously and encouraged me to start learning and told me about the primary building blocks I needed to know.
As soon as I started working my job I bought LogicPro, got other gear I needed, and dove into YouTube university. I also ordered books on production and mixing and read those. Through that process of creating, I developed a love for songwriting as well.
I looked for a freelance music producer teacher and took zoom lessons for a while to learn hands-on production skills. There’s only so much you can learn from a non-interactive teacher online, so it was helpful to ask a person questions live and help me get through moments of feeling stuck on a song.
To speed up the process I might have gotten a tutor earlier, or engaged in a 30 day challenge or something where you are getting in the habit of progressing a small amount daily. That’s much more powerful that spread out spurts. Consistency adds up way more over time.
Another way to speed up the process is to get integrated in a community ASAP. I started connecting with other singer songwriters eventually, and got connected to more and more artists/producers. This community is integral to healthy growth as an artist, and finding opportunities to work on projects and grow from learning from others. Community is also a space to receive encouragement and surround yourself with like-minded people pursuing similar goals and encountering similar challenges.
The most essential skills were determination because oftentimes you get stuck, and if you don’t fight to figure things out, you’ll give up. Another essential skill is patience. You have to deal for a long time with bad quality creations, and be patient to stick it out until you get something that kind of works out. Also, at the end of the day fascination is key. Not sure if this is a skill, but if you aren’t fascinated with a certain topic, it will be much harder to refine your skills.
Obstacles include other commitments in life that take up time. You need to make space for and prioritize consistent growth and learning.
Eva, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I grew up in music, learning piano from a young age because my mom didn’t give us another option. I never resisted it though! I was excited about all things music. I was always involved in band (played oboe) and choir.
Choir is what I was drawn to the most over time, and found it to be a place where I felt myself, safe, comfortable, and like I belonged. I was in a choir called Essence of Joy at Penn State and another called the African American Choral Ensemble at Indiana University. These choirs provided a space to also sing music that connected to my faith, which I cherished deeply.
I also love running and playing basketball! I love learning, reading, and writing. I’m really excited about the newness arising in art in our generation and do a lot of reading/podcasting to keep up with it and generate my own thoughts/opinions.
I serve at my church by leading worship. I sing frequently at a local coffee shop, mostly covers and the occasional original song. I hope to have more perfomances in the future, whether that be house concerts with a future EP and/or opening for some artists at their concerts/gigs.
It’s from my involvement in choir that I was introduced to music-making tools and technology. Also, I remember my choir director at IU telling us: if there’s something in the world you wish existed, create it. This is a lot of the inspiration behind Fam Jam, the creative community my friends and I established in DC where we hold creative nights (kind of like a Tiny Desk concert or Sofar Sounds but not just music). I wanted a space to exist where it wouldn’t be “weird” to present art about God, but then also present art about all other kinds of things in life.
In terms of services, I write songs, sing and collaborate with artists on music, and provide a space for people to showcase their creativity (Fam Jam). I also am going to be getting more involved in some large DC community worship nights where I’ll be singing. That’s all volunteer now, but maybe down the road I could be doing that more professionally.
I’m most proud of the overall journey of learning how to create music, write songs, connect with community, perform my music (one of the most challenging things), and build a local community of creatives. Creative communities often spread around the world, and I wanted to create one that was more embodied and tapping into what’s physically around me, and the community I already have.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
It’s one thing to explore the world you can paint in your head, and then translate that to words and sound, and a whole other thing to hear about what other people see/think in their head upon hearing/experiencing your art. I love the newness of hearing what reaction your art can have on another… it continues the inspiration because it paints a new canvas for me and can give even more ideas. And I love how everyone is different and sees different things, it reminds me how unique we all are, and we need each other’s diverse thoughts/perspective.
It’s also very rewarding when people encounter healing or encouragement through my music. If my voice and music can encourage anyone to hope, heal, and take heart, I’m very satisfied and reminded of the meaningfulness of the work. It pushes me forward in the hopes that I can continue to make art that has a similar effect.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I know some artists are very opposed to NFTs, and while I still have reservations I admit I love learning about NFTs. I listen to a bunch of NFT-related podcasts, and follow a couple newsletters. It’s kind of inevitable that they are the future, and I think you should definitely care about them if you are in any kind of arts industry. I also like how they create a way for creators to make a living on their work; it’s a whole new landscape of the music business when NFTs come into the picture. I’m excited about what NFTs can do, and how it can create an ecosystem of more artists doing their thing, and for their value to be experienced on all kinds of levels.
Everything is starting to be about who can draw people’s attention, what causes you stand for, and therefore what internet space can draw traffic. There are pros and cons to this, like most things. My reservation with NFTs and metaverse-type stuff, is the way it will pull us away from embodied living, and making virtual spaces as penultimate. It tempts us to disassociate ourselves from physical reality. I believe ultimately art is about humanity, and as long as NFTs can coexist with embodied art exchange spaces that are deemed more valuable than digital spaces, I’ll be happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: evaswanson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evaswansonmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evaswansonmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-swanson-mpa-mses-csm-bb69478a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Swansotron
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOcX1QstGBl-TmbnT3wQw8g
Image Credits
https://alexaleephotography.com/ for the really light photo in the field. Other personal photo (pink shirt) is by Aubrey Swanson Performance shot is by @c.rockett.photos