Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shea Stratton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Shea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
I battled alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, anxiety, and now my mom’s passing from a brain tumor.
I stopped playing music to conquer my own personal demons and right after I got a hold on things my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
For the last year I’ve been taking care of my dying mom until she passed peacefully at home just this past Friday.
The last year has had the highest of highs (marrying the love of my life) and the lowest of lows. I’ve learned so much about myself; almost a lifetime of learning compressed into 14 months.
Music has been my whole life, but my life was put into perspective. Now I feel like I’m finally ready to make my most honest music after the last year.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was the main writer and singer of the band State to State, but we since have retired the band.
Now I’m singing for a Beatles cover band called, “That Beatles Cover Band” and we are really, really good. Obviously the Beatles did all the heavy lifting by writing such amazing songs, but we do them justice. Lots of shows happing this summer…
I just recently built a studio in my home and plan to record all the songs I’ve been writing over the past year as well as some old tunes that slipped through the cracks. If I feel good about it I may even release it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission in music is to write for me. I spent so much time writing “competitive music” that I forgot why I did it in the first place.
When I was a teenager my best friend and I recorded music in his garage on a 4-track recorder. The way it made me feel was incomparable to anything else I felt. The endless possibilities, the journey of finding the sounds and melodies that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That feeling is what I want to recapture. Kind of an innocence there.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Take the business out of it. Much like world peace this is an unattainable goal, but individually it’s very real. Write for you and no one else. Spotify algorithms and social media posts are NOT my goal or my real concern anymore and it’s a freeing feeling.
Write, record, release. The rest will take care of itself and however the chips fall I can sleep easily.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://statetostateband.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/shea.stratton
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@StatetoStateBand
