We recently connected with Sean Santeri and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started self-teaching myself the guitar around age 19 after graduating from high-school where my sole focus at the time was basketball and trying to play on a college team. At the time, it was just something I thought was fun and challenging, but never aspired to do professionally as I never had any prior music training.

I applied for Snow College because I had several tryouts for the basketball team and the coach liked me enough to invite me to apply for the school and recruit me onto the team. This was a major dream and life goal of mine, but unfortunately didn’t work out because the coach left shortly before the school year started to coach at another school; and the new head coach brought on his entire team upon arriving and did not do any tryouts for his first year.

This was pretty devastating as it was the entire reason I applied for Snow College in the first place, but I had already moved into the dorms and there wasn’t anything that could be done. My motivation and drive for basketball and also school took a nose dive, and I had a very difficult time passing my classes.

After I left Snow College I decided to move to Las Vegas. I wanted to try living in a new city and I also attended UNLV for a couple years.

I met a great friend while I was there who also loved playing guitar, and we became roommates. I was still very much a beginner and he was at a much higher level than me, but we quickly bonded and were able to play a lot of songs together. He was my mentor and taught me a lot about music and how to improv on the guitar and play whatever came to mind and whatever felt good. He was the best improv player I’d ever met.

This is was really inspired me to start taking guitar a lot more seriously. I practiced for hours every single day trying my best to improve so I could play better with my friend.

A couple years later I met a woman through my family back in Utah, and we quickly got along and I decided to leave Las Vegas and move back to Utah to be with her. We rented a house in Downtown Salt Lake City and during this time my passion for guitar and music faded because I was so focused on the relationship. We got married and started a family together, and guitar was more of a hobby I picked up from time to time.

Fast forward ten years, our relationship became very toxic. I was seeing myself becoming devalued to my wife more and more as time went on. She started spending less time with me and began secretly seeing other partners. This was a very difficult and depressing time, and this is when my passion for music and playing guitar was sparked again. It was the only thing that was able to take the pain away, it was always there when I needed it.

I had never written a song before this time, I had always learned songs from other artists I loved. But I quickly found I was able to channel my emotions into writing my own songs. All of the time I learned improvisation from playing with my friend in Las Vegas started to pay off as I began writing new songs on a daily basis. Songwriting became my new passion and it was then I knew I wanted it to become something more then a hobby and the desire to share the songs with the world took over.

Since then, I had been writing daily and learning the path to a career in music. I’ve released 3 singles and am planning on releasing my debut EP “Breaking Free” in 2023.

Sean, 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?

Sean Santeri found early solace in the good vibes and lyrical sentiments of Reggae, but his music contrastingly emerges with the weight and intensity of rock, a natural outcome of his song writing and vocal technique.

Utilizing innovative traits from the likes of Pink Floyd as much so as 311, Incubus, Maroon 5, Stick Figure and
Slightly Stoopid; Santeri’s love for music knows no limits. Though his songwriting journey began at 34
years old, he started playing decades earlier, at 18.

Born in Alaska and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah; Santeri initially attended UNLV to study music, but later
departed to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

After twelve years of commitment and work ethic, Santeri’s passion for music finally took the reins when events in his life, and relationship, took a turn for the worse and songwriting became a form of therapy.

His debut single ‘All Night’ would release in July of 2022, blending elements of progressive and alternative
rock, and showcasing authenticity as an inherent trait of his sound.

Santeri seeks to inspire listeners with positive messages and absolute honesty. His music will share fragments of his personal journey, his struggles with a severe toxic relationship, outlining creativity in all its hardship and glory, and ultimately gift audiences of an awareness of how fleeting time can be; that we must take the day as ours, work hard and achieve our dreams, while we still can.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My career prior to music was working on Website Development and Marketing. I spent over 10 years in this field and became very comfortable advertising online for many different businesses.

This experience paid off when I started to build a brand for myself. I knew exactly how to brand myself and create all of my social media profiles and website.

Once all of these assets were complete, I started posting online as much as I could. Following other artists and engaging with them. Building friendships and relationships in the industry.

Once my first single was ready for release, I started promoting it through Social Media advertising through Facebook and Instagram ads. These were by far the most efficient way to promote myself and gain new followers.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being able to push myself out of my comfort zone. I’ve always been a very shy and reserved person and was terrified of being the center of attention my entire life. This has helped me get out of that mindset.

Also being able to create art ignites a feeling inside like nothing else. It brings a lot of joy to create something new and share it with others who can relate to the message.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://seansanterimusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seansanterimusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sean-Santeri-Music-104162282323502
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SanteriSean
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNlN_ym-FPx2JDHGce1Fy3A
• Other: https://linktr.ee/seansanterimusic