Tampa Band, Set It Off, have maximized their creative synergy to bring to life their own Pop and Electronic infused niche that is idiosyncratic and abounding with heart. Gearing up for the upcoming release of ‘MIDNIGHT’, I caught up with Lead Vocalist, Cody Carson, to discuss the paradoxes of facing rejection, the power within realizing your worth, being proactive and aware of anxiety triggers stemming from social media, choosing not to sacrifice your moral compass for success and more.
Congrats on the upcoming release of ‘MIDNIGHT’. Tell us about the creative and recording process so far and what you have learned along the way.
Thank you so much! It is been an absolutely amazing process filled with growth, vulnerability, and experimentation. Once we had our start date to begin the record, it wasn’t an endless grind every day to try to produce what we consider to be our best songs yet. We came in with around 60 ideas and wrote as many songs as we could to end up tasking ourselves with narrowing it down to just 15. This will be our longest release yet, and we’re happy to say that we feel this is the best we’ve been.
What new techniques or skills did you acquire during the process of record ‘MIDNIGHT’?
For me personally, three skills that I honed in on the most were learning when to subtract rather than add, fighting for the best possible metaphor (that I have never heard before) whether it be one line or the concept of the song itself, and how to come up with better titles for the songs overall.
Showcasing the human in you, what is a challenging thought that you recently had and were able to overcome over time?
Rejection within my career. It is one of the most difficult things I’ve had to personally face because in all honesty, we are talking about our dreams. For someone to make you feel like your dream doesn’t count or that you’re not wanted is a hard pill to swallow. That’s how I felt in November of 2017, right before we started creating this album due to being dropped by people we were working with in the past. But we needed that feeling, it’s good to feel low sometimes, because if we never did, we would never know exactly what we have to fight for. It gives you time to realize your own worth and refuel that fire to succeed.
What is your perception on the digital world that we live in and social media culture?
I think like anything in the world it has it’s pros and cons. It is incredibly convenient that we can access any song we want to whenever we want to because of the digital world. It is also incredibly hard for musicians to sell the albums they create now due to the format of digital streaming. But then you factor in that anyone can access your music with incredible ease and you can’t really complain. Another example is that we are simultaneously the most connected and disconnected we have ever been. Random phone calls or knocks at the door used to be an exciting thing with a positive connotation and now it triggers anxiety. But we also have the ability to talk to whoever we want to whenever we want to on a device just bigger than our hand. Just like anything in life there are positive sides and there are negative sides. For me personally, I think we’re extremely lucky to have the technology that we do.
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
I take pride in the fact that each member of this band will never sacrifice their integrity or their moral compass to gain success. I pride myself in the fact that I will always be real with all of you, If I’m happy you will know it, if I am sad you will know it, and you will know my flaws. I don’t want there to be a separation between who we are supports us. I want Set It Off to be a home where people can go to cope with everything that they are going through or have been through.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
Funny enough, but by feeding it more stimulus. I am a big believer in positive distractions. I deal with my problems, but if they are too hard to face in that moment, then I will just turn to video games, music, or movies. It is okay to take your brain away from stressful situations sometimes. Personally, video games are my escape from the real world.
You have toured with a wide variety of musicians over the past years and have played at some major festivals. Tell us some words of wisdom that you collected along the way.
There is something that can be learned from every artist no matter if they’re outside of your genre or a spitting image of yourself. You can learn what you should be doing and what you shouldn’t be doing. You should constantly be evaluating how you can better yourself. I’m happy with the fact I will never feel secure in my level of success because that means I will always feel that I have room to grow. Playing shows alongside people who have the same passion as you is the perfect place to learn.
If any of our readers have never been to Tampa, what are three of your favorite restaurants that you recommend to visit?
This may not be a restaurant, but if you go to Florida in general and don’t go to Publix and get a Publix sub from their deli then you’ve wasted your trip! You can customize whatever you want and they will do it with a smile. I miss it so much! Also, my favorite date spot in Tampa is definitely Ciro’s Speakeasy & Supper Club, it’s a real intimate vibe with craft cocktails and amazing food. Right up my alley!
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
Yes! We are lucky to have you. We are also very lucky that you’re so kind to each other and also some of the funniest people we’ve ever seen online. Thank you for being a part of our lives and for letting us be a part of yours. Here’s to the new era of Set It Off!
Ohio Pop Rockers, Morning in May, are consistently subconsciously celebrating their ability to be on tour and share their music that is created from the heart with the world. I caught up with Lead Vocalist, Jake Bartolic, to discuss the creative process behind ‘Survive The Night’, perceiving social media as either a platform to your benefit to promote your artistry and connect or a battlefield, having a conversation with himself as a senior citizen and much more.
Congrats on the release of your recent EP, ‘Survive The Night’. Tell us about the creative and recording process and what you learned along the way.
The creative process behind ‘Survive The Night’. Josh (Guitar/Backing Vocals) and I wanted to write an EP that encompassed elements of all the music we love and grew up listening to. We wanted break downs and pop punk elements and all of the Feelings we could pack into 6 songs. Josh and I sat down over a couple months and wrote our hearts out trying to formulate perfect songs that people could feel confident, laugh, and just simply feel something to. We write songs for when you’re sitting in your bed at night alone from the world scrolling through your phone and seeing all the stuff you want to be or think youll never have. when you’re completely alone and your friends are gone. We wanted a medium for people to start helping themselves from within. We learned how to write and capture those ideas and really getting our troubles into songs.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with yourself as either a child or a wizened senior citizen, who would you choose and why?
I would sit down with myself as a senior citizen. If I told myself as a child everything was gonna be okay. I wouldn’t be as crazy and passionate about what I do. The fire may be doused and I would of had a safety net. Therefore, I pick my senior self and figure out what I could have done better or faster to help myself actually enjoy things in life instead of always trying to progress.
Showcasing the human in you, what is a challenging thought that you recently had and were able to overcome over time?
A challenging thought I’ve had to or always have to overcome is the doubt and struggle our whole career. “What is this for?”, “Have I wasted my whole life on something that’ll never be?’, “Am I destined to fail because I’m made for something else in life and just haven’t figured it out?”…..Over time these questions sway back and forth from worse to motivation and our progression and goals we achieve and lives we touch just prove me wrong and I love that.
What is your perception on the digital world that we live in and social media culture?
Our perception on the digital world. I believe there’s always a balance in life. With the digital world being more accessible to get your music or whatever you’re creating out there. everyone else is as well. So it’s easier but your competition is stiffer. Figuratively we shouldn’t be looking into our neighbors yard to see what they’re doing or how well, but were forced to on social media. it could be motivation or horribly discouraging. Social Media just like anything else isn’t the problem, it’s people. A platform is only a foundation or a battlefield depending on how its used.
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
Parts of us beyond being musicians; we’re entrepreneurs. I myself do a little bit of everything. I do woodworking, metal sculptures, skateboard, all of those as hobbies. But what the guys and I share is that we love just being therapists for people, friends/fans whatever it is we all love talking about life to others and just sharing stories. We always wanted to help lives and spread so much beauty. We don’t have a lot of time here so we wanna do as much as we can with the time given.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
Honestly being on the road is our dream come true and with that being said, we also get those questions “Does this matter?”, “Are we close to where we want to be?”….. We love our families and friends of course but we have different lives and none of them really know what’s going on or how far we are or the fact that people all over the world listen to our songs and were out here doing what we do. So the guys and I all share the same separation. We have something to go back to but we really don’t have anything to go back to if that makes sense. So our mental states always swaying. It’s like, ” Cool we can be on the road forever cause no ones checking in on us….oh… no ones really checking in on us.”…..So like i said there’s always a balance. We really have each other so we kinda just write the best story we can with each other.
You have toured with a wide variety of musicians over the past years and have played at some major festivals. Tell us some words of wisdom that you collected along the way.
Words of wisdom. Always be nice to everyone. No one owes you anything. Smile and be grateful you’re there. Always be on time and make everyone else’s job as easy as you can. Always help. Yes even if they’re not good to you.
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
Find the beauty in all things and create it where there is none. Something I like to say. Life’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it. Never see your problems as crutches only lessons.
