Interview with CS Hellman about "Up Til Dawn"

Hey Chris, How did you get into music?

I got into music at a very young age starting with piano lessons when I was about 4 years old. I grew up in a very musically inclined family where my dad and brother and sisters all played an instrument and my mom also played piano when she was younger, but she was mostly into listening to and enjoying music on the radio and on cassettes/cd’s.

I would steal my brother and sisters cd’s and cassettes and listen to them on my little cd/cassette/radio boombox and make my own mix cassettes of their music – that was the only way to have all of your favorite music in one place (before iPods/iPhones).

Who are some of your musical influences?

Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of Beach Boys and Beatles music by my parents, and I still really enjoy listening to their records today.

I also listened to whatever my brother and sisters were playing at the time. My brother was really into grunge/alt rock like Bush, Nirvana, and Candlebox as well as AC/DC, Van Halen, Green Day, Sublime and The Offspring.

My sisters listened to more pop like Hootie & The Blowfish, The Verve Pipe, Madonna, Paula Abdul, U2, INXS, etc.

When I first started taking guitar lessons my guitar instructor exposed me to more classic rock like Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix.

I love all types of music and listen to a variety of genres and styles but mainly gravitate back to bands like Wilco, Weezer, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, and Sublime.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Adapt and overcome.

I sold my old band’s van to a Nigerian man who was planning to ship it back to his country to use as a school bus. Unfortunately when he arrived to pick up the van the battery ended up going dead as well as a snowstorm approaching which delayed him by a day. He told me a popular saying they have in Nigeria is to “Adapt and Overcome”. For whatever reason that always stuck with me. It’s a mantra to keep fighting through adversity and to put things in perspective.

I think a similar saying to this is it’s not what you accomplish in life but what you overcome. We are always going to be faced with adversity in our lives in different forms, and it’s our responsibility to be able to handle these difficult situations with grace and come out on the better side of these challenges.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I have a relatively diverse range of musical influences which I think helps me incorporate different styles of music into each of my songs whether that be a reggae feel and emotion to more straight ahead rocknroll evocative and expressive guitar playing. Most of my songwriting comes from personal experience whether it be heartache, anger or frustration, or elation. As an artist and songwriter I try to channel those emotions into words and music.

Music should be spiritual and cathartic and that should be how we as artists and musicians connect with our audience.

What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?

I think with the playlist generation of songs and artists today that get compartmentalized into a specific genre or mood really limits what artists and songwriters try to convey in their music. It’s great for passive easy listening music, but it leaves me wanting more substance.

On the other side of this, there are thousands of really good bands out there that don’t get the recognition they deserve whether that be through radio/terrestrial airtime or exposure on the internet.

For example, A local ‘independent’ radio station in Nashville runs a local artist weekly show which used to do a really good job of giving any artist or band a chance to be heard on the radio. Now the show seems to cater towards the corporate interest of big record companies and publishers with national acts that happen to live in Nashville.

Spotify tries to do a good job of getting exposure to these bands, but the payoff for what Spotify gives back to the artist is pretty miniscule. Even if you were to get one million streams that’s equivalent to about $4,000! That’s not sustainable for any artist or musician. The cost of recording, promoting your music, etc is very high for any independent artist and that makes it hard for any to solely rely on their music for a living.

What’s the story behind your latest single, ”Up Til Dawn”?

I wrote this song while in a lawsuit with a contractor who I hired to rehab a property of mine. I discovered his mistakes and shoddy work through another contractor and when I confronted him about it he told me that he owed me nothing. I considered him a friend, and he turned out to be a shyster and it really took a toll on me both financially and emotionally.

This legal battle kept me up at night thinking about how to deal with him as he was costing me thousands of dollars and thinking of what recourse (if any) I could take to collect the debts he owed me.

Why should people listen to it?

My music is honest and straightforward. I’m not trying to be too cute or have some sort of gimmick and sell you on something that’s not genuine. I breathe and live the music that I make, and I hope potential fans and listeners can pick up on that.

How do you know when a work is finished?

None of my songs ever feel finished. I always feel like I could tweak or change something, but you come to a point where you have to move on or you will be spinning your wheels on the same song for months/years.

What are your favorite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

I’ve really grown to love bluegrass music over the last few years. One of my friends and former roommates would play a heavy dose of bluegrass music, especially more Christian leaning bluegrass on Sundays. More contemporary artists like Billy Strings, Sturgill Simpson, and Tyler Childers all embrace the classic prose of bluegrass while also giving their own spin on it.

For everyday easy listening music especially if I’m having a bad day would be reggae. It’s such uplifting and spiritual and can’t help you feel better.

I also love a heavy dose of 90’s/2000’s rock music for nostalgia.

There’s really no specific genre I don’t like because I think there are talented artists and musicians in any style of music. Some I like better than others but that’s just preference.

Would you like to say anything to emerging artists?

Keep it real and work really hard. When you think you’ve given your music everything you’ve got to dig deeper. Creating music and art is a constant journey and battle and it never is finished. One day you will be able to look back at all of your hard work and know that you’ve given everything you can and it will be the most rewarding feeling you can have.

But probably the most important advice I can give is never give up! There will be days you want to throw in the towel or don’t think you are cut out to be a musician or artist which is a natural feeling, but don’t let that overcome your drive and will to succeed.