May 6, 2008
A few years ago when I was hosting Soulstice at the Shades of Afrika in Long Beach, California, a young singer walked into the gallery, signed up for open mike and politely waited for his chance in the back. Being that he was a newbie I reminded the audience to cheer him on even if he messed up and encouraged him to start again and play on even if he did. There was no need for us to even worry about that because he came up acoustic guitar in tow, trademark pork pie hat and proceeded to blow us away with three solid tunes and his tasty playing and soulful voice. Afterwards, he walked to the back of the gallery and watched the rest of the show. After all the open mike participants finished their sets, I geared up for round two; It was then, that we all found out just how special "Sandbloom" was when one of the sistahs in attendance yelled out " Can he sing again? pointing to Sandbloom who was behind her. He obliged and promptly showed us that his first set was just a warm up. Well, he supported Soulstice frequently and it seems every other open mike set on the Long Beach/East Arts Village scene. It appeared that where ever I went to gig and promote he was there also. I must say he is a nice, humble, and very talented cat and It's a pleasure and privilege to host this interview. Y'all enjoy!
Mista Jaycee:
How long have you been playing music and when were you first inspired to play? Do you remember?
Sandbloom:
I have been playing ever since high school....and that's a,hhmm, a while.
Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder and I'd say maybe The Specials and English Beat
were big inspirations. I was a big ska head when I first started playing.
Mista Jaycee:
Who have you played with that blows or just blew you away?
Sandbloom:
Melany Bell is one of the most naturally talented people I have ever played with...
I'd have to say also I love my current band members. James Alsanders is a M.F.
on drums and Daniel Seef is really inventive on bass and guitar...As far as who else
blows me away, there are probably too many to name.
Mista Jaycee:
How would you describe your sound and how has it evolved or devolved for the better or worse?
Sandbloom:
Interesting that you added devolved in there because fans of certain performers
usually like their early stuff or the stuff they first heard when they got into them...
as for how I feel about it, I think I'm always progressing, but that could be debatable.
I think my songwriting has become a lot more natural. It just kinda flows out and
I either like it or can it. I used to spend a lot of time hammering out this or that
particular song....as for how I describe my sound now? I would say it's soul-blues
with Alot of influences.
Mista Jaycee:
Sonically...
I noticed on the your sound has changed a little from Earthbound to the Delta 6 EP
Are you using more compression or different mikes?
Sandbloom:
I have had 2 CDs out since the EP so my sound has changed since then too..
I used almost the same equipment on both those records. I think I just got
better at manipulating it.
Mista Jaycee:
Dig! I Am aware ( laughing) of the newer albums " From a bird" and "Madloveactivate" but since I'm still a semi- starving artist I haven't gotten those yet and I still play " Earthbound and Delta 6 on the trusty Ipod! Heck! I'm still hearing new stuff on them! (Laughing)
Don't worry folks I will be legally purchasing the two or three new ones soon.
Mista Jaycee:
How organic would you say your sound is becoming or has become?
Sandbloom:
I'm always a fan of just vocals and guitar, which is about as organic as it gets.
How much stuff I put around those two elements is generally dictated by the
song, my mind-state, how I feel like a record should sound once I'm a
couple tracks in. The process itself is pretty organic.
Mista Jaycee:
Are you using Pro-tools or Ableton Live?
Sandbloom:
Pro-Tools
Mista Jaycee:
Don't let me make it too nerdy but there's gotta be better questions than what's ya favorite color? LOL
Mista Jaycee:
In an age of downloading how does an independent artists survive and thrive?
Sandbloom:
Well, I play live alot and that's pretty much my bread and butter is the merchandise sales
from shows and whatever I'm getting on the gig. I would like to figure out what is going to equal that live response in the digital world, but haven't found the magic key yet. Still working on that...
Mista Jaycee:
What advice could you give an up and coming artist or even an old vet trying to remain relevant?
Sandbloom:
Stay true to your heart...it's a cliche, but it's the only way I know how to live.
Mista Jaycee:
What's next?
Sandbloom:
Working on a new record and possibly scoring a film....I'm also trying to find a way to start touring abroad, but logistically that's a little harder than just getting in my van and driving from gig to gig.
Mista Jaycee:
Well Thanks for sharing with us be sure to listen and purchase Sandbloom at
http://www.kevinsandbloom.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/sandbloom
Be Mindful! Be Prayerful! Be Careful!
The Views expressed in this blog are the opinions of Mista Jaycee and are not necessarily the views of anyone interviewed in the blog.
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