We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Randall Shreve . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Randall below.
Randall , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My latest album, Excessively Refined is the most meaningful to me for a lot of reasons. I started working on it years ago. I had never written so many songs for one album, but I kept pushing the songs aside and replacing them with new ones, and it seemed like a never ending process. There were so many setbacks, and I couldn’t visualize the album for so long. I realize now that what was happening was that I was healing from my past trauma and therefore growing faster than I was writing. The songs that I was writing for the album were being used to heal me and walk me through my process, but once I finished each step of my process, the songs felt more like something from my past. The songs that can be heard on the finished version of the album are what made it through the fire, and helped bring me to the place I am today. It should also be noted that during the writing process, I began going to therapy and really working on who I am as a person. This is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and my music.
Randall , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started making music as a kid. Music was my first love. I grew up in a very small town (Hatfield, AR) with a very religious based upbringing. I knew from a very young age what I wanted to do with my life. Music was my identity. I spent all of my formidable years learning my craft and improving as a musician. I took church and my relationship to God very seriously as well. I felt like my talent was a gift from God, and was taught that I was supposed to use it for him. Doing this made me feel safe, but also restricted who I could be. I didn’t realize how much I was limiting my potential as an artist and a person until I was well into my twenties. It was in my mid twenties that I started realizing all the restrictions I had allowed to be put on my writing. That’s when I began to write more honestly. I was subsequently dismissed by a lot of those I called friends and fans, and was left to start over. Writing without those old limitations allowed an outlet for all the weird wonderful that is uniquely me. I feel like that’s when my career as a musician really started. With each album I released, I built a larger fan base of people who related to the music I was making, while simultaneously losing the audience that supported me when I wrote from a very repressed place. I was told many times that God is unhappy with me and that I’ve sold my soul to the devil and lots of other silly nonsense that somehow hurt at the time. But what I ended up with is a beautiful fan base that loves me for who I am. All of my albums to date have explored my process and my journey. The latest one feels like where I am right now at this moment.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think people need to recognize the huge difference between being a music lover and being a big concert goer. They are not the same. If you aren’t supporting your local artists who are digging in and sharing their hearts and souls at some small bar in your area, but you’re first in line to buy outrageously expensive tickets to stand in a huge crowd for extremely successful touring acts, you’re not a music lover. You are a person who loves the giant concert experience. Nothing wrong with that. Just don’t call yourself a “music lover” if that’s you’re thing. It’s just a little insulting to the hard working musician two blocks away playing his/her heart out for tips in front of 12 music lovers. Those who miss that often miss out on the real beauty of live music. Support independent musicians. They’re the life blood of this industry.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
When I lived in New York, I was given several opportunities to play for many of the decision makers in the music industry. I played for A&R reps for major record companies, major label managers, king’s of the music industry. I had several offers that would have no doubt catapulted me into some level of stardom. But each of these offers came with a different compromise that was a bridge too far for me. I had finally found my path to creating in a way that was true and real, and I couldn’t give that up for anything, because I knew that compromising and returning to a situation that would make me write the way other people wanted would ultimately cost me everything I loved about me. Turning down those offers felt so counterintuitive at the time, but being true to myself has allowed me to be happy and proud of myself at all later stages of my career. Now it’s part of my nature as an artist to immediately recognize compromises that are bad for my soul. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RandallShreve.com
- Instagram: /therealrandallshreve
- Facebook: Facebook.com/randallshreveandthedevilles
- Twitter: /randallshreve
- Youtube: YouTube.com/randallshreve
Image Credits
Victor Chalfant