Today, we sat down with Guy North to talking inspiration to write music, type of music listened to growing up, and much more! Be sure to check out the music from Guy North on Spotify below after the interview.
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your
surroundings?
surroundings?
The inspiration for each song is unique. The process of composition and lyricism is very cathartic for me and so I sometimes write about a situation or person that I struggled with. There’s a song I’ve written on my next album with the working title “Racist Brenda”. It’s not a good idea to get on the wrong side of me or you could be the inspiration for my next song! Also, I do think that surroundings sometimes affect my songwriting. The opening line to “Dust on the Breeze” (on my debut album, “Retreat”) is “Walk with me, across these green fields.”, and I wrote that when I was out in the countryside. However, I’d say I generally take my inspiration from interactions.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
I listened to a lot of Soul and Motown in my pre-teen years. We’d go on a summer vacation and the drive was pretty long. My parents would alternate between a worn C-90 cassette of the Emperor Rosko show or the Best of the Eagles. When I was fourteen my Dad got me into the Rolling Stones. I must have listened to Exile on Main St hundreds of times.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
I loved Steve Marriot from the Small Faces but sadly he had passed by the time I got into their music. His voice was just amazingly powerful and unique. I think the only vocalist that comes close to him is John Fogerty.
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
Learning how to play an instrument so that I could become a musician.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
music?
Just get on with it! I guarantee you that you will write some terrible stuff but amongst the garbage will be the occasional diamond. The more you write the less garbage there will be. I hear people say that they could never do this or that. If you have that mindset then you probably won’t achieve much. I like to think almost anything is possible if you believe in it and put in the effort. The main thing with music creation is that you enjoy doing it. If you feel like it’s a chore then maybe it isn’t for you.
Music:
