Published: June 20, 2010 5:43 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight June 2010 Edition
Phil Lomac
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Phil Lomac
Indie musician Phil Lomac recently spoke to our Webzine about his music and what others will find enjoyable about it. Lomac sings and writes some of the most beautiful songs that are full of enriching stories that capture the essence of life. Lomac reveals in this spotlight the drive, passion, and heart that it takes to make his music and why he feels he is meant to perform. Here is what developed.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Phil: My father had an old guitar in his room and in the case he had a John Denver songbook. It was the around the age of 14, so I didn't know who John Denver was but the songbook showed you how to make the chords on the guitar so I taught myself the basics that way. I've been playing about 21 years now.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Phil: My first big influence on the guitar was Jimi Hendrix. I remember going to the record store when I was 15 or 16 and buying the album Live at Filmore East. When I brought it home, my mother told me to take it back to the store and return it. Of course, I didn't and I was hooked on playing ever since. Since that time, my influences have been many, more recently bands like Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Sparklehorse and even Ani DiFranco & Ben Harper & REM.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Phil: Some of the greatest highlights in my career so far would include placing 4th/honorable mention in the International Songwriting Competition for the lyrical composition of one my songs & getting to open for the band War.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Phil: A few years ago, in one of my previous bands, we partnered with a producer to record a demo to shop to labels. We were turned down by several labels including Elektra I believe...we went and played a showcase for another smaller label that was interested in us....they ended up signing the band that played before us.
The disappointment part was all the work and time we put into it without getting the result we were after. The positive side was it made me more confident in my do-it-yourself ability and allowed me to realize that you really don't have to get signed to be happy and pursue your music career!
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Phil: It's hard to explain but somewhere inside me I have this passion, urge and primal need to do what I do....playing music just makes sense to me on so many levels. To me, it's an art form just like painting....you create these "landscapes" with sound and lyrics to get it out of your mind and then the recordings become your canvas.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Phil: It really just takes going out on a limb and putting your stuff out there...sometimes you fail & sometimes you succeed. The trick is to keep writing and trying new things.
Phil Lomac
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Phil: I would like to think I am putting some emphasis back on the lyrics. I strive to write songs that have meaningful content that the listener can connect with on some level.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Phil: I would like to take a mellow Nirvana song like "Something in the Way" and do a heavier version of it, not necessarily changing the tempo, but just heavier in the sense of maybe layering 20 tracks of distorted guitars. I think someone already did the flip of slowing down and doing a mellow version of "Smells like Teen Spirit" a few years ago.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Phil: I had a drawing professor in college who made me erase a sketch I had been working on for days and start over because he knew I could do better. I think it takes the same kind of self-critic to tear up the piece of paper with a song idea & lyrics and start over because you have the confidence that the next version will be even better.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Phil: As the dad of an 11 month old daughter and twin boys on the way, I am starting to find out. It is difficult to balance everything, making time for music, and not feeling guilty and thinking "am I being selfish to go lock myself in the bedroom and work on some songs?" There was only a short period a few years ago when I did music fulltime....I have a day job that pays the bills and supports my family and helps pay for my music habit. It would be nice to make enough money some day from the music alone, but I don't do just for the money or I would have quit a long time ago.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Phil: To me, it's all about the approach and the mindset, whether your signed to a label or not, if you are actively contributing and working on your music career then to me you are an indie artist...I think the point you stop being an indie artist is when you hand over all control to someone else and you give up the passion of why you got into in the first place.
Phil: I have spent the last few years building up my gear, my website, and have worked a little to improve my networking and business skills. I hope in five years I will be able to produce the whole package from writing a song, to recording it, to pressing and releasing records, to promotion & booking out of my own home. Technology and the power of web 2.0 are making all of this more and more accessible. What you used to hire a professional to do you can now do yourself, in the comfort of your own home.
