Texas Music Pickers - "The B Side Session" Interview
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By Texas Music Pickers
*Sean McConnell - "The B-Side Session" Interview
(Win an autographed copy!)
Texas Music Pickers sat down with Sean McConnell last Friday to discuss his latest release, “The B-Side Session-EP”. Written and produced by McConnell himself, this 5 track EP is full of emotion, amazing vocals, and song writing artistry at its best.
McConnell described the album as a “bridge between Midland and [the] next full-length album. It gives me some new material to have on tour and bring to the shows. These were songs that maybe didn’t fit Midland, or may or may not be on the next one…Just songs I’m excited about now, that I wanted to release to people. It started off as just a side record, an “in the meantime project”, but once I started on it, I fell in love with it and ended up spending a lot more time on it.”
What’s unbelievable about this album is that it was recorded in less than 24 hours. McConnell described it as a “pretty concentrated time of creativity”. He gives a lot of the credit to the musicians he worked with saying, “They were pros. The band part was done in about 4 hours.” He went on to say “most of it was done live, all together, and afterwards, I went back and sang over it the same day.” Wow! (What can you do in 24 hours?)
The EP offers a lot of introspection, as McConnell pours his soul into every song. The first track, “Bottom of the Sea”, was written while McConnell was on a writing trip. “It was the last day and I had written a bunch, and I was kind of tired. I really didn’t think much was going to happen. I picked up this guitalele….and it just fell out of the sky”. One of the deepest (no pun intended) songs on the album, it describes the contemplation of finding oneself. McConnell sees it as a song “about living life intentionally”. Like most of the tracks on this EP, the song packs a powerful message, yet the tempo keeps it fun.
When we asked about the 2nd track, “California”, McConnell just laughed and said “ uhh….that’s one …..I probably won’t talk about (laughter). It can be interpreted in whatever way you want it to be.” So we just left that one at that. - Although since the interview I have gone back and listened to the song with the intention of figuring it out and…I have nothing….
The 3rd track on the EP, “The Magician”, McConnell wrote 5 or 6 years ago. He just could never find the right place for it, and was excited that this EP “was the perfect place to finally release it”. The song is about being fooled by what looks like love. Someone might “bring you flowers and all of that stuff”, but a lot of time it’s just “smoke and mirrors”. This track is the most instrumental and the fastest; It’s the one you sing to as loud as you can when no one is looking (I may or may not be talking about myself).
McConnell follows “The Magician” with “Rock & Roll”, which he describes as one of his most favorite songs he’s ever written. The song details the alluding authenticity of music these days. McConnell commented “music these days can be so processed and contrived, not all music, but a good portion of it can be. [This song] talks about me wanting the opposite of that.” We think McConnell’s aim to be original and unique is one of the biggest things that sets him apart in the music scene. Like his music or not, one thing that’s for sure, his music is most certainly not contrived.
The B-Side Session concludes with “Praise the Lord” a song McConnell said is “the story of when God became bigger than I ever imagined he could be.” In our opinion it’s one of the most spiritual songs you will hear in this scene and it’s refreshing to see an artist open up spiritually on their album and talk about their personal beliefs.
When we asked McConnell if there was anything else he’d like people to know about the album, he said “umm….buy it (laughter)”. While known for being a fantastic song writer, he has a pretty good sense of humor too!
Overall, Texas Music Pickers thinks this a great EP. The songs are amazingly written and McConnell’s voice is one of the best you’ll ever come across. The EP is currently available on iTunes for $4.95! Sean McConnell under 5 bucks, how do you beat that? We strongly recommend you check this EP out!
-Texas Music Pickers
