Glass Fortress — A look into an Indie band you haven’t heard of, until now
Q: Please introduce yourself to the readers and how you first got into this field of work –and who were some of your influences growing up?
I’m Louie. I’ve always been into music. I was influenced by Twisted Sister, Guns n Roses, then Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Nirvana, then punk bands like The Ramones, Nofx, and The Riverdales, then got into Ritchie Blackmore and Peter Green.
I’m Jose. My parents introduced me to different musical styles from their vast LP record collection and from the radio when I was growing up. From The Beatles to Styx to Lionel Richie and Cindy Laupner. Then as I got older I gravitated to Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, Veruca Salt, Blink 182, Fuel, Oasis, Sum 41, Creed.
Q: Where People Can see your updates?
https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Sky-Glass-Fortress-Band/dp/B087Z6FYD5
Q: What kind of training have you had, if any?
Louie: I took a guitar class in high school, one in college, and had 1 month of singing lessons.
Jose: I had music lessons with the Accordion, the Guitar but didn’t keep up with them.
Q: What has been your favorite project to work on so far?
Jose: Equine abduction...
Louie: The Manhattan Project. just kidding.
Q: What sports do you enjoy watching?
Louie: hockey, hockey, and hockey.
Jose: Basketball
Q: What is it that you are hoping to accomplish?
Jose: We want to share our music with the world in the hope that they enjoy it. We hope that it might touch someone in a profound way or encourage them to keep on going despite the challenges they may face.
Louie: I’m hoping to accomplish having music being my life and having people hearing my/our music.
Q: What has been one of the biggest highlights/achievements of your career so far?
Louie: Being played on the radio. Jose: And we really loved having someone doing a cover of one of our songs. To see it for yourself someone really digging your song was just amazing to see.
Q: If you had a chance to work alongside anybody who would that be?
Louie: Anybody famous, haha
Jose: Really anybody who is serious about doing something special, would be an honor
Q: What is your creative process like?
Jose: There’s usually something that affects my emotional state or story I want to express. I’ll write it down or text it to myself. As I work on the lyrics or a chorus or group of words that sounds great, I’ll then bounce it across Louie. He has the mind to really pick things apart and find better words that make the song lyrically singable and playable on the guitar. I don’t know chords so I have to reproduce the sound that I have in my head and Louie can pick up very quickly the chord I’m looking for. There have been many times where he will hit a chord by mistake and I’m like Wait, Play that Again! That’s perfect! Sometimes, we work on songs for as little as half an hour or hour and other times up to a month of constant back and forth. We record it on our phones and listen to it, work on it more to really perfect it and practice it for Recording at Sonic Palace Studios.
Louie: My creative process varies. Sometimes I’ll have a vocal melody in my head or a topic I want to write about, and I’ll make music to fit that. Or sometimes I’ll have a guitar riff or melody and work around that. Other times I’ll hear a song or riff, and it’ll “inspire” me (read: ripoff, haha)
Q: Are there any funny stories during practice or recording?
Louie: A funny story was you writing what you thought the lyrics for mothers' smiles were, compared to what they actually were.
Jose: Yeah I remember that I thought I heard the words right but was way off. I also remember there I was struggling to get “The last party of the Summer” down pat and Louie was like, ‘hey you’re getting caught between the lines’. And I looked dead set at him when he suggested to change it up to make it easier for me, and I said, “I don’t wanna change the song just because I can’t sing it.” We cracked up and I listen to that blooper and it cracks me up every time.
Q: How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
Jose: The internet has made things easier for indie artists to show their artistic side, whether it’s in music or any other form. You can have an idea, record it digitally and share it with the world almost instantly. I feel the music industry has controlled things to their own detriment and the detriment of artists. Now anyone can make music and be heard around the world, get paid for their music without labels hogging it all.
Louie: I think the internet killed the radio star. That whole file-sharing royalties issue exposed a lot of artists as greedy, “in-it-for-the-money”, and, as image is very important to popular music, it was very damaging to the “rock n roll image”. On the other hand, the internet is fantastic for artists who just want their music to be heard.
Q: What would you change in the industry if you could?
Jose: The major problems that artists face when trying to share their music is funding, time, and the resources to really have an impact in reaching listeners. Being independent means it’s all on you to do everything to make your music, get gigs, sell your songs, collaborate with other artists etc. There has got to be a better way for the industry which really won’t change due to their greed. If you removed that element, you would see more artists featured that have great music to share to the world that you wouldn’t otherwise hear in today’s music paradigm. It would be great if artists that were really successful, support other artists with a fund that they could use to make their music. I would support that.
The major hurdle for indie artists are just getting people to listen to your stuff. Radio is still king and even with all of the online platforms it’s hard to get people to listen to your stuff. There is just so many other bands out there with great music that I’m still discovering until this day. The industry pushes those out for whom and only whom THEY want to elevate, really those that can make them the most money.
Louie: If I could change the music industry, I’d slow it down. Not tempo-wise, but the music industry runs its artists into the ground. The constant touring, and deadlines, stuff like “you need to have this album released by this date” kinda suppresses creativity. Let them have a break. Give them time to write good songs.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve been given?
That you can do things yourself. It takes hard work, time and energy but it’s worth it in the end to be able to create things and mold things to how you want them, just not how others would bend it into towards their vision. Don’t waste time or mental energy on those who are flakey or really don’t fully support what you are trying to do.
Q: What’s next for you?
Louie and I will continue to record and release singles, collaborate with other artists to record songs and release more singles and maybe a few more albums. It would be easier to concentrate on our music if we could put our jobs and bills on pause. But Life keeps rolling along and we are trying to hold on during its ride. Despite it all we will keep on Rockin!
Original Publication: https://www.huffingpost.ga
