Sin Seer – Artist Interview

BTD Radio presents…. Sin Seer

Welcome to the studio!

-Glad to be here! Thanks for having us…

I see you have a new single out called ” Patch Me Up” which I am totally digging. Before we go into a spoil alert and tell our listeners all about this song. Let’s start off with the question of where are you from?

-Generally speaking, we’re from Austin, TX. While I actually reside in San Marcos, Cameron lives there, and that is where most of our work is done.

Great, now let’s talk about this rockin’ song! I love how it starts and builds up. I also dig the darkness of the song. So, what is that song all about?

-“Patch Me Up” is about learning to heal yourself without relying on anyone else to do it for you. I think we all go through certain times in our lives when we realize we have to start taking matters into our own hands. I was coming to a point in my life where I didn’t want to rely on anyone else to heal my wounds. I couldn’t depend on anyone anymore. It wasn’t fair to them to carry that burden. And it wasn’t fair to myself because I knew I was better than that. I was going to patch myself back up and move on with my life. 

Looks like this hot song comes from a hot self-titled EP “Patch Me Up” which is filled with a total of five songs. What’s your favorite song off this EP?

-Each one holds a special place for me. We write so many songs, so there’s only a very selective few that will ever make the cut. Each of them are significant in their own way, but share a certain type of energy altogether at the same time. But if I had to go with just one, I’d have to say “For His Eyes Only” might be my personal favorite. Just because of how excellent the riffs were executed on that one and how multidimensional that song is, conceptually speaking… I feel like that one best represents the convergence going on throughout the EP. The riffs can leave your neck sore, the leads can make you wonder, and the melodies alone will leave you somber..

Which song took the longest to write?

-Probably “Never Enough”… That one was actually recorded back during the ‘Silent Convictions’ sessions a few months prior to that. The songwriting process always varies for us. Normally, Cameron will send me a song or two. And over time, I will piece together the lyrics, and then we follow it up from there. The amount of time it takes for me, however, is completely unpredictable. There’s been certain situations where it can take me weeks to half a year to finish a particular song. Meanwhile, others can be written within a few hours. You never know how the energy is going to flow, so you kind of just have to ride it out and see where it takes you. But we’ve been doing this for awhile now that I feel like can really trust my instincts and know that it’s all going to take me somewhere. 

”Which song just came out like lightning and took no time to put together?

-The first song we officially collaborated on called ”Nameless” back in 2015. Cameron was really starting to come into his own at that point. From writing riff ideas to all out production, this was where it initially started for us. I remember the first time I ever heard it. It was like the words came to me almost instantly. All of the words were rolling off and pouring right out of me unlike ever before. That still is the craziest thing to me. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. And come to think of it, nothing like that has happened ever since… Within 30 minutes of receiving that song, vocals were already laid down. By the end of the day, we had our very first song done. And the rest is history as they say… 

What made you go with an EP instead of an album?

-It just makes better sense to go the EP route in my opinion. The way we operate as a group sort of calls for it in that way. It’s never been a matter of not having enough material for a record. We just feel that the way music is consumed today, it gives us more advantages to connect with our audience in a more efficient manner. I was always a fan of EP’s from the get-go. And it seems like over the years, it’s become a more prominent way of releasing music. Especially for independent artists that are on a budget of some sort. I think if/when we decide to do a full-length record, it will be unlike anything else we’ve ever put out, with many more dynamic shifts. But until we feel that time is right, we will continue to release EP’s and Singles. 

So let’s talk about the band, who are the members? Who plays what?

-We are just a duo at the moment. I am the lead singer and I write all of the lyrics. Cameron McLendon writes and records all of the music himself. He primarily is a guitar player, but has produced every single one of our songs from start to finish. We’re both aspiring engineers, which I think was another similar interest that led us to eventually starting this group together. We started writing music around August of 2015. We released 4 demos that year, and followed the next year up with 3 other ones. To be technical though, we actually go back much further than that. In fact, I believe our instant message conversation online originally dates back to the MySpace days. We’ve been exchanging demo ideas for over a decade now. 

How did you all meet?

-We met in high school. I remember seeing him around whenever we were freshmen, but I don’t think it was until our junior year though that we actually started talking. We started hanging out more after we realized we had a lot of similar interests. We both started playing guitar around the same time. He might’ve started before me, but I can’t remember. But regardless, he picked it up so much more faster than I did. He took to it like a fish to water. I still remember him playing songs like “Nothing Else Matters”, “One”, “Fade To Black”, and countless others from Metallica, all of which we were in class for. He eventually set up on his own music page on MySpace, and started learning audio engineering over time. In hindsight, he was very influential on me with everything he was doing at that point. That’s where the roots of all of this were planted…

If you were to describe your music to a folk music lover, what would you tell them? Wait, complete this in twenty words or less. Ok, now try to get this person to buy your music as well. What would you say?

-“Listen here… There’s lots of anger behind this, yes? But there’s also plenty of soul too. Give it a shot.” 

Out of all the albums that you have completed, which one is your most favorite and why?

-I think purely for sentimental reasons, I’d have to go with our debut, ‘Echoes of Eternity’. Personally, it was such a big deal to me that I delivered on that EP. The direction we were going in was much more melody-driven, and I wanted to make sure I complimented everything fluently. I put pressure on myself to follow through with everything that I had originally set out to do. More than proving anything to anyone else, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. And I am so proud of what we did on that EP. There are so many magical parts on those songs. All of them. Some of those leads still get to me in some kind of way. I’d like to think that’s the part where I finally came out of my shell and just did what felt natural to me. I was so tapped out from the world and everything going on, that I just hit a breaking point. And once you get to that point, you start to understand what really matters, and what is just noise to you. I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care what anyone was going to think. I just knew I had to get it out, and I did. There really is a certain freedom in letting go of those expectations. Once you become so calloused from everything you’ve endured, and you’re already passed all the points of nervousness, you learn to understand what feels right for yourself. And once you’ve got that, there’s no telling what you’re capable of. 

Take me through a day in the studio. What would I see, or do?

-Depends on which one you go to. We both have our own separate studios. Cameron works at home, as well do I, but my studio where I officially track everything is located about two and a half hours away from where I live. So naturally, I’m there once or twice out of the month. I’ll make a trip over there for a few days to lay down the recordings I need to, and work on music with my other band, Count Your Dead. Hours vary, but it will normally start around 6 or 7 in the evening and work it’s way into 2 or 3 in the morning. As far as what you would see? Not sure what you’d see at Cam’s, but with ours you would probably just see a couple of dudes being goofy and laughing at each other’s inside jokes. It’s more of a laid-back playful kind of environment whenever I’m working on recordings. I’d like to think it would be a good vibe to be around. It’s always important to me to have fun with whatever it is I’m doing.

Do you think the internet and social media has helped you in your music business? Could you give us some examples?

-Oh wholeheartedly. I have no shame in admitting that if it wasn’t for these platforms, there’s no way we’d stand a chance today. But thanks to the likes of Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud, and other sites of that sort, we’ve slowly been developing a following. The numbers grow on a weekly basis. So we feel it’s right we do our part with providing quality content, which will hopefully lead to a bigger audience in the future. I think the internet in general is a vital tool for anything and everything when it comes to music business. The amount of knowledge you can obtain from songwriting, production, marketing, networking, etc. is endless.  It all depends on how ambitious you are. I think some of the best examples would be how we’ve been able to land spots on certain radio shows, podcasts, Spotify and Apple Music playlists because of it. Whether it’s by catching someone’s ear, or just by simply reaching out with an email, we’ve been fortunate enough already to have others’ support with spreading the word about our music.

I love your album covers, who comes up with the graphics?

-Really appreciate you saying that. I do artwork for all of the EP’s and Singles that we’ve released. All of our covers almost have a reoccurring theme going on, if you look deep enough into it. The ‘Echoes of Eternity’ cover was speaking from a metaphorical standpoint. The concept being that although worlds can be faded, empty, and grey at certain parts in your life… there is always potential for color. ‘Silent Convictions’ was taking the opposite approach, both conceptually and musically, but the message remained the same. Worlds will get dark. So dark to where you can barely see a thing sometimes… but when you search for it, you will find light. In essence, the artwork can mean everything to the music or not a single thing at all. And I like playing around with that. Cover art has always been such a huge thing for me. I’ve always loved it, even whenever I was younger. 

What interesting things can you tell us about your band?

-We have never written or recorded anything in the same room ever. Every song you’ve ever heard from us was always written separately at different times. We’ve tried writing traditionally in jam sessions multiple times throughout the years, but nothing ever came to fruition. It wasn’t until “Nameless” that we started figuring out a particular process that worked for us. And since then, that’s how we’ve been operating. We hardly see each other. In fact, I wanna say I saw him a total of 4 or 5 times at all last year, despite all of the music that we had released. Which is the funniest thing because I talk to him more than I talk to any one of my other friends or bandmates. We’ve had an ongoing conversation on FB Messenger for over the last decade. Most of the time whenever we do get together, it’s for production reasons.

Here’s one of your basic questions, who are your musical influences?

-I think it goes without saying that there are certain elements of Hardcore, Thrash, and Alternative Rock that are apparent in our songs. Some of those, which are more obvious than others, would be bands like Metallica, Alice In Chains, Korn, Deftones, Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, and the list goes on.. I know Mark Morton is a primary influence for Cameron, as well as Jonathan Davis is for me. 

Where do you see Sin Seer in about five years from now?

-I often ask myself that question a lot… I have no idea. And I think that’s the most exciting thing about it. It can be anything at all. I think everything I’ve ever done in all of my musical endeavors was attempt some sort of game plan, and almost all of them fell flat or fizzled out. This time around, I’m on a whole other mindset. I’m open to anything and everything that happens. I feel like there’s more fun and freedom in that. And I think Cameron would agree. There are no pipe dreams. We’ll see where it goes. 

We are about to come to a close of this interview. Is there anything else you would like to add? Any new projects, shout-outs, etc?

-Sure! We’re about to drop a new music video in the near future for our upcoming single, “Best Kept Secret”. The teaser is officially out, which you can check out on our YouTube channel. We also will be releasing 3 other singles in the months to follow, as well as ending the year with a documentary. I’m also about to go back into the studio with the boys in CYD to record their follow-up album, ‘Still Bleeding’, which will be out later on this year. We’ll keep you posted on that and everything else within the 1090 Productions family as time goes on. Shoutouts to all of our fans, friends, and family. The very few of you that go out of their way to like and share our posts all the time. You know who you are! And we love you for that. Thanks!

I know you provided us with links to your music, which one is the best for people to actually purchase your music?

-iTunes and Amazon are the best ways. Bandcamp is also a great option if you are on a budget and can only spare a few bucks. But if you’re broke like the rest of us, then there are free downloads of course. You can download all of our songs off of our SoundCloud website, or off Bandcamp if you sign up for our mailing list. Really and truly, anything helps. What’s most important to us though, is that people hear the music and can take it with them wherever they go. So by all means, however you can get it, take it. Thank you.

It was a pleasure getting to know you through your music!

-Thank you for the interview! Excellent questions. We really appreciate you taking the time out to learn more about us. We look forward to talking with you again soon.