Cory M. Coons

Interview With Cory M. Coons

SBS:  Welcome to our pages!  Whether you’ve been here with us in some way before, or you’re brand-new to the site, it’s probably best to get an introduction from you so that we get everyone on the same page to start.  Tell us a little bit about the history of your music, and what’s happening with it lately!?!

Cory M. Coons:  Thanks so much for this opportunity!  My music, I think is best described as a melting pot of Roots-Rock & Americana, with hints of Country Rock and Classic Rock vibes.  I am from eastern Ontario, and have been an independent recording artist and singer-songwriter for about three decades.  🙂  I currently have two new (all-acoustic version) singles just released earlier this year with MTS Records.  “Crumbs ’24” & “Faded Glory (Land of the Free).”  Both songs are celebrating 20 years since their original release in 2004′, and both have accompanying videos that were shot in Columbia, Tennessee (near Nashville), and Memphis Tennessee, between the legendary Sun Studio and Graceland.

SBS:  Let’s talk about the before and after of where you’re currently at.  What’s something about the music that you’re making now that you don’t think you could have done five years ago, and what’s something you think you’ll be able to do with your music five years from now that you can’t do today?  How have you grown as an artist/band, and what steps do you take to continue your artistic evolution?

Cory:  I think that perhaps with the two latest singles, (and also with a couple previous to them), I have been able to record them, and sort of “self-produce” them between a classic recording studio like Sun Studio, with blending old school techniques like reel to reel analogue tape recording with an engineer on hand, and vintage mics and gear, etc…and then take them back to my home recording setup where I can mix and master on my own, with tracks that I can “fly-in” so to speak, from other original files previously.  It’s kind of like the best of both worlds for me!  No real middle man in the mix, lol.  😉  And since they were all-acoustic and stripped down songs with just guitar and vocal mostly, it was much easier without too many tracks to go through, (after doing basic “live-off-the-floor” takes straight to file).  🙂  I think I am always growing as an artist and songwriter…evolution tends to be a natural thing for me, both spiritually and professionally.  I have learned so much over the years in working with other legendary record producers and people in the industry at many different studios, and I take a little something from everyone that I have worked with both in the studio and on stage, and behind the scenes in PR and promotion as well!  We are never too old to learn!

SBS:  If you were to assess the overall health of the independent music scene right now, what would you say?  What are the positives and the negatives about the current state of independent music, and what do you feel like artists & bands can do to contribute to the community & help it grow beyond the music being made?  If you’re not actively looking to listen to the music of other independent artists/bands, is it really all that fair to expect anyone would listen to yours?  How do you help the scene around you grow?

Cory:  I think the overall independent music scene all over the world is very lucrative and thriving currently!  A positive: Being truly independent means you call all your own shots!  A negative: You pay for everything on your own out of pocket with no help from anyone like a record label in the old days… lol  😉  (But that is also a positive because you are never owned in the end by a label or possibly a publishing company).  😉  Independent artists should keep trying to all work together for the benefit of everyone by keeping independent associations and even independent award shows alive and vibrant, as I consider these the “salt of the earth” and “real” people and true working artists in the industry.  No fake BS like you may see in the mainstream music scene with big labels, etc…

SBS:  What do you consider to be the biggest accomplishment or achievement you’ve had with your music to-date?  How do you personally measure your own success – is that something that even can be measured?  Is it awards, accolades, chart position…or is your definition of success based on something entirely different?  Should success, however you define it, be something that artists are continually focused on – or is success something that naturally occurs in the course of doing what you love to do?

Cory:  I feel that being fortunate enough to have taken home an award in 2023 from the Josie Music Awards in Nashville TN, for Rock Song of the Year, on the legendary stage (in the circle) of the Grand Ole Opry, is probably one of my biggest highlights as an artist!  It was an incredible feeling to be recognized among many independent artists, friends and peers!  And especially to have my wife and 9 year-old daughter (at the time) with me, was just amazing!  Success to me is simply being able to resonate on a personal level with someone through any of my songs or music…I think we’ve done our job right as a songwriter and artist if we can hit home with fans or followers by way of our music!  If you love what you do, and are passionate about it, and you are resonating on some level with people through your art or craft, then you have achieved success in my mind.

SBS:  When you’re working on something brand-new, and something about it just doesn’t feel like it’s coming together the way that you think it should, how do you know when it’s time to give up on it, or how do you know that it’s time to dig in even harder and find a way to make it work?  Are there distinct red flags you can hear when something’s not working?  What are the signs you look for that tell you to stop forcing the material?  What would actually encourage you to keep going with the process instead?

Cory:  I tend to let the music, song, or lyrical ideas come to me, through me, and guide me, as opposed to trying to direct where it should go…it can be a spiritual thing, or other times can just simply be portraying a great story that resonates.  I also have written a few very close and personal songs about family members over the years.  That can be very emotional as well.  Sometimes songs come together fast and all at once, and other times they can sit for quite some time, and what I like to call “marinate” in my mind or on paper until I am ready to come back to them through other inspiration.  If it doesn’t feel right at the time or doesn’t have a good flow, then I will usually let the ideas rest for a while.  🙂

SBS:  One of the points of general consensus in the art of making music, is that we all get our sound from somewhere…we hear what we like, then more often than not, we take tiny pieces of what we love to find our own voice & approach to go on and make music in our own way.  Essentially, what I’m saying is that it’s absolutely natural to be inspired by other artists/bands, and almost every artist/band ends up having that inspiration show up in their own work in some way, shape, or form.  What the real key is though, is retaining your own organic perspective – you still wanna be original too, right?  So how do you go about doing that?  Are there artists or bands that you know have been an influence on your style & sound?  How were you able to incorporate that influence without becoming too noticeably derivative and still be yourself?  Should we embrace and celebrate our influences more than we do?  It’s almost like we try not to admit influences exist in the pursuit of being original, but it’s like, bruh…if it’s there, we can hear it.  We all borrow something from those that came before us to some extent, don’t we?

Cory:  You’re right!  We all have many influences from many different artists and bands in our lifetime.  We can’t really escape having someone, somewhere along the line comment on how we may sound like a certain artist…I think the best thing to do is just take it all in stride, and find it as compliment in the best way we can.  🙂  As long as the music you are creating isn’t blatantly ripping off someone else, but instead maybe expanding on that certain kind of sound or influence in some way, then I think it’s generally natural that we all have sounded somewhat like someone from our past influences…this goes way back to even music of the 1950’s and 60’s if you think about it?  Even a lot of the chord progressions were the same, especially for example in the Blues?  There’s really only so many ways you can use the same three chord progressions or stylings…lol 😉  But that’s just an example, and maybe Blues music is a little more forgiving in that way, who knows?  Sometimes it may be a vocal comparison.  Or an influence, in that singers have people that they sound like as well.  The key here might be to put a new twist on your vocal sound and phrasing, or expand it a little with a new dimension that adds to the familiarity perhaps?  If that makes sense?  But in the end, we all have to get our ideas and style from somewhere or someone…I think eventually everyone will grow into their own lane, with their own unique set of stylings.  🙂

SBS:  Has there ever been a time where you wrote something inside one of your songs…maybe it’s a lyrical line, or maybe it’s a riff of some kind…something that you did, where you surprised yourself?  I like to think we all have a moment or two where we can stand back and be amazed by something we created, and appreciate the fact that maybe, just maybe, we exceeded our own expectations of what we thought we could accomplish – you know what I mean?  Get as specific as you can so the fans out there know what they should be paying attention to when they hear it – what’s your favorite thing that you’ve written on the inside of one of your songs, and why does this particular piece resonate so much to you?

Cory:  Lyrically, perhaps there are a couple that come to mind…  Ones that are possibly a touch “autobiographical” on some level, like “White Picket Fence,” or that are about family members, like “Remember Me” (a tribute to my mom and dad, who are both passed on), and a song I wrote last year “The Morning Drive,” about spending time with my daughter as we did our morning drives to her former micro-school along the St. Lawrence Seaway Valley over the past couple of years, and all the beautiful sights and scenery we got to observe in a time period of our lives that I will always cherish together!  These are very personal lyrics for me that hold deep meaning for sure.  And then of course there are just the good ol’ story-telling songs like “Crumbs”…and I am still fond of “Long Hard Rain,” and the lyrical content that I expressed in that particular song as well, along with receiving the wonderful JMA award particularly.  I feel truly blessed and grateful for this!

SBS:  I’ve been having a lot of great debates lately about whether or not everybody that’s making music has the right to be heard…and you’d probably be surprised by how different people seem to feel about this issue.  I know where I stand on it, and I think you can all probably get an idea of what my position would be from this free interview we’re doing here & the way we run things at sleepingbagstudios…but regardless, I’m putting this question out there to you, because I’m interested in YOUR perspective.  Just because you’ve made a song, does that mean people should listen?  If your answer is yes, do your best to explain why you feel that way & why we should make a sincere effort to listen to the music of others.  If your answer is no, explain why you feel that way, but also explain why people should still be listening to your music if that’s the case – what would make your music the exception, and not follow the rule?  Is there any value to an idea that’s not finished, or a song in its demo stages, or maybe something that’s not recorded in a top-shelf studio or with good equipment – somebody still took the time to make that song to the best of their ability with the means they had to create it – should that be listened to, or not?

Cory:  I think maybe this depends on what someone is really trying to accomplish with their songs or music?  If you are putting your complete heart and soul into something, it can be very tough to lay it all out there on the line, and bare your soul for just instant recognition or critique.  If you feel driven enough, and it’s something that keeps coming back to you to do, or accomplish, then you should probably go for it!  But you have to be ready for some out there to not be fans, or like what you do…  And remember that sometimes, it’s just personal taste, and not everyone enjoys or resonates with the same things in life that you might be trying to portray, or maybe enjoy the same genre you are in.  I think everyone deserves a fair shake for sure…and we may remember, there have been many artists over the course of their careers who have had many a rejection letter in their day on their music in this business.  And sometimes it is just a business for some, unfortunately.  🙁  (Hope this makes sense as well?)  😉

SBS:  There are ups and downs in the dynamics of almost every album we listen to, with very few exceptions.  Even those exceptions, probably still come down to more of a personal preference about what we enjoy about music and how we personally hear it, rather than anything being completely and totally “perfect” – you know what I mean?  Does an album actually need to have some kind of up/down dynamics in terms of what’s appealing to the masses in order for the best of the best songs in a lineup to be fully appreciated?  Wouldn’t every artist & band avoid the ‘down’ side (less accessible/less popular for example) if they could?  Does the ‘down’ side represent something else perhaps, like the story of an album or journey of an artist?  Is the ‘up’ side of a record as potent or noticeable if it doesn’t have a ‘down’ side to go with it?  Would a completely balanced album somehow be boring if it didn’t have the ups/downs that most have?  Do we HAVE to like every single song on a record for it to be considered complete?  Are the dynamics of an album something anyone can really steer in the direction they want to, or are all artists & bands simply going with the strongest material they have created at the time?

Cory:  I think this might depend on knowing who your audience actually is, and what you think they have come to expect from you as an artist, perhaps?  But there are times when not every song on a particular album may be balanced with all the others.  Again it comes down to personal taste as well…I myself, am generally a fan of a good, old-school “solid” balanced album.  But that doesn’t mean every song from every artist that I like, has a 100% perfectly balanced album every time they release one.  These days it seems also that more artists are just releasing singles, and some may not generally have a distinct sound or genre perhaps with each single release.  It just depends on the artist I think.

SBS:  I wanna send out a shout-out to YOU from me personally – I appreciate  everyone that has taken the time to talk tunes with me throughout the years, and I appreciate the time YOU have taken with this interview too.  Because this one’s a little different in the sense that it’s been sent out to multiple people and is a little more generic in that regard, I have no doubt whatsoever that we probably didn’t get to talk to you about something you wanted to talk about – so let’s fix that!  This final space is what we call the SBS Open Floor – a spot where you can say anything else you want to say to the people out there.  It can be anything at all…your main websites…something else you want them to know about you and/or your music…your favorite bands in the scene right now…the secret 11 herbs and spices to the Colonel’s secret recipe – you get the idea, and it’s probably best you choose something that suits you rather than take any of my suggestions, but feel free to take the SBS Open Floor for a ride.  Whatever it is you want the people to know, now is the prime time for you to tell’em!  Thanks again for everything – keep in touch!

Cory:  Thank you very much for this opportunity once again with SBS!  I always try to be as honest with my interviews, (as well as in my music and songwriting as I can).  🙂  I always appreciate the support as well, and to be able to expose my music to a wider audience.  If anyone wants to continue following me and my music, and shows, all of my official links can be found here at my official Linktree: https://linktr.ee/corymcoons.  All of my socials are listed here, as well as YouTube and Spotify, website etc…and my official EPK/BIO.  🙂  Special thanks as always to Michael Stover at MTS Management/MTS Records for all the PR support!  And to all the fans and followers of my music, I am forever grateful to you all for continuing to support what I do!  It means a lot to me…

Much love, CMC…

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