Syd

Tell us about yourself as an artist/musician. What do you do?

All in all, I sing, play bass, piano, ukulele, and a little bit of guitar. My goal as a musician is just to try and get people to feel emotions in the most raw state because, as human beings, we really connect when we are vulnerable. We connect with other human beings through music, and I think that in itself is beautiful. So that’s my goal; I want to get people to connect and feel something with what I put out into the world.

How long have you been making music, and what sparked your interest in music?

So I’ve been making my own music since I’ve been here at Norco. I’ve been playing since I was eight, so about eleven years now. What first sparked my interest in music was my Dad. When I was young I would go with him to his band practices and I would say to myself that music was what I wanted to do with my life. I also loved to sing for as long as I can remember and my overall love for music is what pushed me to be where I am today

Tell us about your time at NOMU so far? Do you have a favorite memory or experience during your time here?

I haven’t been here very long. I’ve been here since the beginning of last semester (August 2021). I don’t really have a specific favorite memory because I love everything that Norco Music is. The whole experience in itself has just been amazing.

When you're writing or playing music, what influences constantly inspire you as a musician/artist (specific artist, film, art piece, etc.)?

What inspires me is emotions. When I write music, I want to evoke certain emotions in people, so that’s what I go for. One of the challenges that we did in the Pro Tools class last semester was to write a song that invokes a certain emotion in people. I forgot what my emotion was, but that is all that I strive to do in music. So people inspire me, like if I see someone angry, that will inspire me to write a song that is angry. If I see someone that is ecstatic and happy, I’ll write a song that is happy. That has been my whole goal since starting music.

So based on experience?

Yeah, they are based on life experiences.

What are your plans or goals in your life now concerning school, music, or just personally, any other pursuits?

I just want to be a musician, like a touring or session musician; I want to do music for the rest of my life. That is all I have ever wanted to do my whole life. When I was three years old I told my Dad that I wanted to be a pop star. Now the pop star dream has changed to just being a successful musician but it is still music. I don’t see myself doing anything else.

Any hobbies outside of music that you're interested in?

I just love to create. I love sewing, painting, drawing, dyeing my hair, photography, and really anything having to do with art in any form. I like designing tattoos. I want to be a tattoo artist one day as a side hobby. I enjoy doing anything that involves art in some sort of way.

Is there anything you’d like to add, anything you want to tell whoever might be reading this interview, or anything you want people to know about you?

I want to say that I was talking to the lead singer of my band last night, and he was asking me, “Am I going to be like another Corey Taylor or these other amazing musicians that we look up to?” And I said, “No, you’re not because you’re going to be you. You are not going to be anybody else because you are your own person, and you have different goals, aspirations, and influences than what anybody else has. So you are not going to be another Corey Taylor. You are going to be another you.” And that’s what I think many people in the industry have wrong. We all want to be like these fantastic musicians that we have grown up loving, but we don’t see ourselves as being a new artist for people to look up to. We see ourselves as being the next Adele, Corey Taylor, or Eminem, but we need to start seeing that we are capable of being great like our inspirations just by being who we are.

So, be you.

Yeah, just be you because everybody already knows that one person that you want to be like. They don’t know you yet, and that’s what they want to know.

Album Credits:

Gravity

Peanut Gallery
Lying

Winter Still

I’ll Be Home