We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sean McCole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sean , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Definitely my freshman year of college; I knew that nothing else intrigued my interest. My childhood fascinations could no longer be tamed and I knew at the start of my adulthood I had to do something about it. I first delved into psychology (that was always my favorite subject in high-school) but soon realized, this was not going to be my professional path. I kept day dreaming of one day being like one of my heroes on stage (Dave Grohl, Billie Joe Armstrong, David Bowie, Trent Reznor) The list goes on… And I told myself, I need to do this…
Sean , 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’m a multi-instrumentals, composer and an explorer of musical expression. You may find me gigging at Hennessy’s Tavern in La Jolla or playing at one of Temeculas wineries (Avensole, Peltzer & Akash to name a few). I got into gigging full-time as soon as I moved out here shortly after I was encouraged by fellow musicians and chicagoans, Common Allies & Mike Silvestri. They definitely pushed me into the deep end and I’m forever grateful. This path has led me to countless of amazing opportunities and I’ve met the coolest people along the way.
When I’m not providing nostalgic acoustic jams for ambiance, you can hear my personal work as well as my band, Madame Gun. The rock n roll is embedded deep and I need to get it out.
I also adore composing music to picture and sonically assisting the director’s/supervisor’s vision to tell a story.
At the end of the day If I’m able to emotionally move someone with my music or tell a story, thats an accomplishment in itself.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Honestly, shop locally. I know you want to pay through the nose for those Taylor Swift tickets, but you’d probably be better off supporting a smaller artist thats just getting off the ground in a more intimate environment. Like a lot of other fields, music has become completely saturated to a point where it’s overwhelming for a lot of us. Going to your local record store and buying vinyl not only gives fans a unique listening experience, but there’s more sentimental value of possessing tangible music. You discover a cool band on Spotify? See if they have a bandcamp page or merch on their website and help support a smaller business.
These little things add up to make a huge difference in the long run. Meanwhile we’re electing to get hosed by ticketmaster…
Our choices will influence a necessary change.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Do what you love and you wont have to work a day in your life. Well, that’s somewhat true…
believe me, I run into my fair share of headaches pursuing music full-time, (worried I don’t t have enough gigs in the pipeline, cancellations, deadlines of turning music in) but damn is the juice worth the squeeze. I’ve worked jobs in the past that have been soul sucking to a point where I wouldn’t want to work on music when I got home.
I tell myself, the less I want, the more I have. I do music because I love it. If it gets to a point where it’s like pulling teeth, I have to take a step back and reflect.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.acousticspottalent.com/musicians/sean-mccole
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealseanmccole/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanmccolemusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Mg52LRMPo_PHjj8HQjPMw
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1anijTj2aJmMALTLOqZqrF
Image Credits
Emma Zanger (Chicago based Photographer) Zak Hanan Daniel Martin Gost Media (Chicago)