Christopher Shayne
Interview conduct on July 17, 2022
By Dan Locke
Blood, sweat, and guts. These are three of the core elements required of artists who set out to make music that’s steadfast, honest, and true. And if you’re going to make the kind of music that’s embedded in the finest, deepest-rooted Southern rock traditions, then you better be ready, willing, and able to deliver the goods straight up, no chaser. Christopher Shayne knows this stratagem inside and out, having long traveled the crossroads where rogues, renegades, and thieves are tossed aside and only the best hard-livin’ and hard-rockin’ sound practitioners get to move forward.
As the holy grit and hellfire groove of the title song “Any Given Sunday” amply proves, Shayne and his band of road-dog brethren are more than the sum of what would happen if ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd dove head first into a Cuisinart together without missing a beat. “For the newer stuff, we wanted that old-school, AC/DC, Highway to Hell kinda sound, so we stripped away some of the production layers to see what that would sound like,” Shayne reports. “And what came out was music that’s as raw and as human as possible. Making sure we had an extra tinge of soul in there too made it much more interesting in the rock setting we wanted this music to have.”
BAND MEMBERS
• Christopher Shayne- Vocals/Guitar
• Dave Lansing – Lead Guitar
• Zachary Hughes – Organ, Guitar
• Mark Blades – Bass Guitar
• Eric Bongiorno – Drums
What is your upbringing?
I grew up in a music family. My father was a bass player and my mother would always make sure I went to every concert I wanted to. They exposed me to so much music at an early age.
How did you discover music?
I was born into it! Almost literally – got to see Motely Crue from the womb!
How did you start to write music?
When I first started to learn guitar, I was learning with a friend in high school. We would go back and forth trying to learn more complicated riffs than each other. Eventually, he out paced me in skill, so I decided to learn how to write and study what makes a good song a good song. Eventually I just learned and developed that skill.
Describe your music.
It’s southern hard rock with a base in blues. I really idolized those old blues guitarists and so our music really reflects that.
What was your first performance like?
It was amazing! Nerve wracked of course but after a little bit that just fell away. I think it was an industrial band so it was all weird and techno-y, but a lot of fun!
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
I’m a part of BMI.
What makes a good songwriter?
I think the best songs are honest. Something that taps into humanity. My favorite songs and lyrics are ones that really deliver a feeling or memory in the shortest and most poignant way. Being able to deliver a relatable feeling is so so important. And you have to be honest with it. A lot of audiences are smart enough to know when it feels fake so you have to walk the line between telling a good story outside of yourself while also putting enough of your own perspective and experiences into it.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I can barely remember, and I wish I still had the recording. I think I wrote it for some girl I was interested in. It was a good little melody on an acoustic and that was it. But it definitely felt good to get the ideas out.
What is the process of writing your music?
I start by writing song seeds: A chorus and a riff or maybe a verse and pre chorus. Then I’ll separate myself from it for a couple days and return back. If it was good enough that I still like it, I’ll move forward with the concept and see what happens there. Then I’ll take it to my writing partner Dave, and we’ll woodshed it for a bit until it’s been tinkered enough to have a final product.
Did NICERIDE find you or you found them?
We met at a Nascar race where we were playing. Niceride had their 60′ hauler store at the track and they sponsored the stage and asked us if they could throw out swag during our set. We obliged and immediately started a friendship. From there our manager reached out to see if they would want to continue the relationship and have the band wear the swag we loved so much and here we are years later, still living the #niceridelife
How was it working with Frank Borin on the video?
Frank was amazing. This was a big project and we had shut down a state park, as well as the PCH intermittently. He was hands on and came up with some epic shots for the video on the fly. The original cut is a steamy vid and can be found on our YouTube page as the “After Dark version”.
Tell me about the day you shot the video?
Being that the band was not in it, we got to watch all of the shots from behind the lens with Frank. We watch all of the actors gel behind the scenes and moved around Malibu for the different shots. It was awesome to see what looked like chaos to us, become a well refined music video at the end.
What are you feeling about streaming music?
It’s basically changed everything in bigger ways than people think. It used to be that you were defined by your music taste: “I’m a country fan.” Or “I’m a metal head” and I think a lot of that has been eroded due to streaming. Because everyone has access to everything, everyone is listening to everything. Which is great from a general standpoint removes those kinds of “super fan” types. It also is great for every musician as now everyone has access to your music for little cost, but that has now added a lot of static. It takes a lot of searching through streaming to find the thing that speaks to you.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
“Death of the artist” at work. It’s now a part of the public and has been twisted to mean what they wanted. It’s still in music and that’s fine enough. Just as long as my tuners don’t change!!
Digital vs. vinyl?
I like vinyl because it makes listening to music an activity. There’s almost a ritual to it because it requires engagement.
That being said, I rarely have time for that ritual anymore so I mainly stick with digital to help my ADHD listening habits or else I’d be stopping the record and picking new ones every 30 seconds.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Rosalie – Thin Lizzy. My very close friend wanted to do it as a cover once with me and so whenever I think of him, that song gets the needle drop in my brain. He’s been through some tough times so I’ve been thinking about him a lot and have the song on repeat.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I don’t think it will. I think it reminded us all what it’s like without live music. While some people may be holding back, seeing the diehards make their show attendance go through the roof has been amazing to see.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Yes. Forced everyone to practice!!!
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
A lot of writing and a lot of video games lol!
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
My wife is very into staying healthy, so I work out and eat healthy based on just pure guilt of watching her!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I started playing DND! Helped me exercise my creative muscle when music wasn’t making the cut. It really keeps those wheels turning as it’s just another form of storytelling.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then you Omicron, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music.
How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
I want everyone to be as safe as they can/want, but I think there’s enough science out there with vaccines, boosters, masks, etc. In the early days before we had the tools we had now, absolutely shut it down and protect those who can’t protect themselves. But now we know enough, we know how to avoid it, how to treat it, and how to prevent it.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Marketing is marketing. Pay to play has ALWAYS been a thing in music in one way or another. You have to play the game and as I said before with the amount of static out there, you have to do what you can to get over the noise.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Yep. I was looking into one of those 360 directional cameras to put in the middle of our stage for streaming a love show to fans!
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I’d probably grab a twitch channel and stream games, DnD, whatever. I’ve got those host skills!
What is your happy place?
My happy place is a day with a little bit of plans and a lot of empty space. Something that’s just enough to keep me focused but not enough to get me stressed. And probably be a little inebriated in there somewhere.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is willing to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Music is active. It’s only worth really two things: what it’s currently doing and what someone is willing to pay for it. If I’m not actively doing anything with it and I’ve gotten what I can from a song, there’s really no reason to hold onto it any longer, especially if there’s a lump sum involved. Music isn’t a safe investment most of the time, so I can see why those artists would want security versus only getting paid based on how the song is doing that year.
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think that could mean to independent artists?
It’s the same as it’s always been for an artist of my generation. No one makes music because it’s a smart business venture: there’s very little attention and money if you’re starting out. Very few artists start with a machine behind them so you have to grind away to get what you can get. And if you have those dreams of being a famous rockstar, PLEASE follow them but understand the work and the incredible luck it takes to get there. With enough practice and skill you can absolutely become a professional musician but you’re just going to have to keep working the system until you can get the system to work for you. A friend who works at a record label told me a long time ago when I was starting out, “You have to make your own story”. So as an independent artist, make music because you enjoy it and have fun with it. Put the songs on Spotify and do what you can. Eventually you’ll be able to make your own story that people will attach themselves to, and they’ll have an entire catalogue to go through!
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the algorithm that generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
I like the bitesized content, but it’s not enough for me to sink my teeth into. And now, it seems the current trend is to take a well known song and crank the pitch of the song so high it’s almost unrecognizable to the original (perhaps to get around copyright) which kind of ruins “discovery” of new music. Can you become a viral hit overnight there? Absolutely but just like everything above, as an independent artist you’re going to have to figure out how to navigate that space. But for right now, I’m just enjoying the popcorn sized content and leaving the discovery of new music to spotify playlists and youtube rabbit holes.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the members on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
Absolutely. As more and more people are staying inside their homes and limiting travel, anything to bridge those gaps between listening sessions is helpful for an artist. If a listener can go from their TikTok to getting in the car and having it pull up on their radio without any part of the listener, then it’s just more opportunities to gain fans. This kind of solves the issue I stated above as it gives listeners more to grab onto.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
We truly appreciate each and every listener, fan and friend that supports us. Hoping more and more join the #shaynegang
