The Biomechanical Being Interview
Q: What’s behind the name The Biomechanical Being?
A: The idea first came about when I made the decision that I did not want to go by my name. I’ve been trying to put a group together for a couple of years now to no avail and I felt that by going by my name, people would see me as the guy who wants to be in the spotlight while they’re in the back supporting me when it’s exactly the opposite: I want to share the stage with other people.
As far as the name itself, I can be a little stiff at times and not be as expressive as I should be so the name fit. If you think about it however, we are all a biomechanical machine composed of a solid structure and powered through biological processes. It’s a bit of a mouthful though so I’m hoping it’ll catch on as The BMB.
Q: When did you starting writing music? Can you talk a little bit about your musical background?
A: I started writing in the 5th grade when I convinced my friend to start a band with me. My goals were solely to impress the girls in my class. I grew up listening to a lot of oldies and then discovered that no, not all music today is awful, and really dove into independent artists. Being a singer first, I prefer clean vocals though my punk side wishes I could scream so that has influenced my style a bit. I did the musicals in high school and took some voice lessons which helped bring out a cleaner side to my voice. I’m not sure you can really tell in the EP though, because my mixing skills are not astounding but that in turn got me into really old songs like early 1900’s music, early jazz and opera because it was heavily influenced by technique. Ideally, I’d be writing more songs like that but I don’t have the theory yet to mess around with that stuff. As of right now, I’m experimenting, like a lot of other musicians, with ‘80s inspired synth music.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: I wish it was being inspired by a life-changing event but I’ll get a tune in my head, record it on my phone, jam out to it while trying to flesh it out, get upset because nothing is working, leave it for a good while, then one day think of another tune which may or may not fit with the original tune. I’ve tried almost every method for writing songs: lyrics first- melody second and vice versa, starting with a title, outlining, free verse, but it all boils down to am I feeling it or not.
It’s a slow process which is why this album took so long to put out. That, and having yet to find my sound (though I’m still experimenting) and writing songs that I feel are good enough to put on an album. But I have a lot of really nice tunes on my phone that once I devote myself and really focus, should be solid songs.
Q: What are themes and idea the unite the songs on your self-titled EP?
A: Growing up is probably the underlying theme. Each song has its own theme which I think are self-explanatory. “Storms” is about putting your foot down almost because you’re tired of how life is going. “Georgia” is simply about me wanting to move back to Texas (that probably was not self-explanatory). “Mr. Cloud” is about helping others and yet finding yourself alone with no one to help you. “Real Moments” is a reflection of me growing up. And “I’m Just a Dog” is about wishing there was more time to play. Granted, these are simplified themes but the overall theme is about growing up as these songs span from middle school to the end of college.
Q: I heard that the album started off “impersonal” but that changed by the end. Can you talk about what you mean by that?
A: Well, I’ve been wanting to put out an album for the sole purpose of having an album and I did not care if the songs meshed or anything - I just wanted some songs that sounded nice. When I first had the idea for this album, I had a lot of songs that really meant nothing to me. I used to write songs from made up stories because my life was not dramatic enough to inspire anything. College turned that around and I learned how to be sad, how to be angry, and happy and everything else in between which naturally carried into my songwriting and I began to write songs that I could relate to because I actually went through it. And by the end, wrapping up the album, I realized that the songs fit together perfectly and the more I explained the album to my friends or family, the more it dawned on me just how personal some of these songs really were.
Q: Do you play live? What are your plans for 2017?
A: I do play shows here and there. I’ve got my pocket full of a couple of sweet coffee shops but my plans for 2017 are to get back into writing and playing and making YouTube videos because I miss it and I don’t feel like myself if I am not neck deep in that stuff.
Q: What’s behind the name The Biomechanical Being?
A: The idea first came about when I made the decision that I did not want to go by my name. I’ve been trying to put a group together for a couple of years now to no avail and I felt that by going by my name, people would see me as the guy who wants to be in the spotlight while they’re in the back supporting me when it’s exactly the opposite: I want to share the stage with other people.
As far as the name itself, I can be a little stiff at times and not be as expressive as I should be so the name fit. If you think about it however, we are all a biomechanical machine composed of a solid structure and powered through biological processes. It’s a bit of a mouthful though so I’m hoping it’ll catch on as The BMB.
Q: When did you starting writing music? Can you talk a little bit about your musical background?
A: I started writing in the 5th grade when I convinced my friend to start a band with me. My goals were solely to impress the girls in my class. I grew up listening to a lot of oldies and then discovered that no, not all music today is awful, and really dove into independent artists. Being a singer first, I prefer clean vocals though my punk side wishes I could scream so that has influenced my style a bit. I did the musicals in high school and took some voice lessons which helped bring out a cleaner side to my voice. I’m not sure you can really tell in the EP though, because my mixing skills are not astounding but that in turn got me into really old songs like early 1900’s music, early jazz and opera because it was heavily influenced by technique. Ideally, I’d be writing more songs like that but I don’t have the theory yet to mess around with that stuff. As of right now, I’m experimenting, like a lot of other musicians, with ‘80s inspired synth music.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: I wish it was being inspired by a life-changing event but I’ll get a tune in my head, record it on my phone, jam out to it while trying to flesh it out, get upset because nothing is working, leave it for a good while, then one day think of another tune which may or may not fit with the original tune. I’ve tried almost every method for writing songs: lyrics first- melody second and vice versa, starting with a title, outlining, free verse, but it all boils down to am I feeling it or not.
It’s a slow process which is why this album took so long to put out. That, and having yet to find my sound (though I’m still experimenting) and writing songs that I feel are good enough to put on an album. But I have a lot of really nice tunes on my phone that once I devote myself and really focus, should be solid songs.
Q: What are themes and idea the unite the songs on your self-titled EP?
A: Growing up is probably the underlying theme. Each song has its own theme which I think are self-explanatory. “Storms” is about putting your foot down almost because you’re tired of how life is going. “Georgia” is simply about me wanting to move back to Texas (that probably was not self-explanatory). “Mr. Cloud” is about helping others and yet finding yourself alone with no one to help you. “Real Moments” is a reflection of me growing up. And “I’m Just a Dog” is about wishing there was more time to play. Granted, these are simplified themes but the overall theme is about growing up as these songs span from middle school to the end of college.
Q: I heard that the album started off “impersonal” but that changed by the end. Can you talk about what you mean by that?
A: Well, I’ve been wanting to put out an album for the sole purpose of having an album and I did not care if the songs meshed or anything - I just wanted some songs that sounded nice. When I first had the idea for this album, I had a lot of songs that really meant nothing to me. I used to write songs from made up stories because my life was not dramatic enough to inspire anything. College turned that around and I learned how to be sad, how to be angry, and happy and everything else in between which naturally carried into my songwriting and I began to write songs that I could relate to because I actually went through it. And by the end, wrapping up the album, I realized that the songs fit together perfectly and the more I explained the album to my friends or family, the more it dawned on me just how personal some of these songs really were.
Q: Do you play live? What are your plans for 2017?
A: I do play shows here and there. I’ve got my pocket full of a couple of sweet coffee shops but my plans for 2017 are to get back into writing and playing and making YouTube videos because I miss it and I don’t feel like myself if I am not neck deep in that stuff.