Today, wet sat down with Craig Ewan from Dead Defined to talk his inspiration to write music, advice for musicians and much more! Be sure to check out his music below after the interview!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your
surroundings?
My inspiration comes in many shapes and forms. It could be my surroundings, it could be what’s going on in my head from time to time too. I tend to write randomly. Could be anything from a few sentences that I sing in my head that turn into a hooky melody or a guitar part I’ve been playing around with for awhile. I make sure to always document my ideas by recording them on my phone.That’s what makes writing and art so much fun because it’s never planned. If I tell myself to sit down and write at a certain day or time it just doesn’t flow naturally for me. I like the spontaneity of it.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
I listened to a lot of mid 90’s to early 2000’s Hard Rock/Numetal. That was my jam. I’m lucky enough to say that I grew up in the MTV era where bands like Korn, Three Days Grace and Papa Roach were mainstream. I’m still influenced by them today although my music isn’t as aggressive as their mega hits were. I was never into the 70’s or 80’s rock like most of my peers are. I definitely admire their skill and song writing back in the day, but I just couldn’t get into the skinny leather pants, full makeup and blonde wigs.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
I wouldn’t so much as say hero but definitely major influencers in my music. A few that come to mind would be Aaron Lewis of Staind, Brett Smith of Shinedown, Scott Stapp of Creed and Scott Weiland of STP. The sound of their grunge driven vocals and song writing pretty much moulded my own style as I’m sure you can certainly tell when you hear it. The commercial aspect of their music and bands is something I’ve always looked up to as an artist.
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
Chasing Tornadoes. I know it’s not really a ‘job’ but I do have a huge fascination with severe weather. Meteorology is a bit of a side hobby for me in the summer months. I’d love to one day turn it into a fulltime job but that takes a lot of schooling and I’m just not ready to commit to it yet, nor do I enjoy sitting and learning from books. Maybe you’ll see Craig the Weatherman on TV one day.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
music?
Have fun! I get asked this question a lot. It’s the #1 one thing I tell everyone. Once finances and life situations enter the mix, it’s a lot of work to keep level headed and on the same page as everyone else in the band. The whole reason you start a band is because it’s fun! Sadly a lot of people lose site of that over time which is sad and a bit frustrating. There’s a lot more I could go into but we can save that for another time haha. It is one of the reasons I decided to pursue this solo project (Dead Defined) in 2018. I wanted to have artistic control and to just have fun while writing and releasing music at my own pace.
Music:
