Interviewdatum: 04. Januar 2008.

Landon Smith wurde am 27. April 1983 in Houston, Texas geboren, wo er heute auch lebt und arbeitet.

INTERVIEW!
OBZ: Schreiben sie Ihre Songs selber? Und schreiben sie über Ihr Leben?
LANDON: I believe that music is much more engaging and passionate when songs are sung by their writers. With that said, I do write my own songs. I’m heavily influenced by my own life experiences as well as those of people close to me.

OBZ: Wie entstehen Ihre Songs?
LANDON: Usually I write the music when I’m just messing around on the guitar. I’ll play something I like and just keep messing with it until the song develops musically. Once I have that done I start humming the melody of the vocals. The last thing I do is write the lyrics.

OBZ: Songs klingen nach Freiheit, viel Lebenserfahrungen. Sehen sie das auch so?
LANDON: I think music is about all of those things. I feel like I’m free when I’m playing and I am. I can play whatever chord I want whether it sounds good or not. I think most songs are written about life experiences, they just differ in their seriousness. I think all songs are love songs in that the musicians love what they’re singing about, or love to express themselves through that song.

OBZ: Auch Ihre Musik kann man nicht im Handel kaufen. Wo kann man sie bekommen?
LANDON: My cd is available at www.myspace.com/landonsmithmusic, http://cdbaby.com/cd/landonsmith, and on iTunes at the end of January.

OBZ: Spielen sie Ihre Musik immer Live? Ist Ihnen das sehr wichtig?
LANDON: I play live every chance I get. There are a lot of people that you can reach that would never have found you. I feel like I’m better live than in the studio. I think it’s very important for people to hear a live show. There’s so much more energy and emotion that’s very hard to capture in the studio. More importantly, it’s the most enjoyable thing to do in the world.

OBZ: Ist es Ihnen wichtig, mit anderen Künstlern zusammen zu arbeiten? Mit wem würden sie gerne mal etwas zusammen machen?
LANDON: I’ve gotten to work with a lot of amazing musicians. My band and I were able to open for Wide Awake and I got to meet Scott Leger which was very cool. I’ve gotten to perform with or around many musicians who are about to make it in music. It’s very cool to see my friends rising up.

OBZ: Was ist das wichtigste in Ihrem Leben?
LANDON: Without a doubt, my family is most important to me. They are all very supportive and my younger brother plays lead guitar in the band. There’s nothing better than being on stage with him.

OBZ: Waren sie schon mal in Deutschland? Haben sie in Deutschland mal Musik gespielt?
LANDON: I have never been to Germany but I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve met several people going to school in the United States who were from Germany and all of them were very great people. I’d love to perform a show in Germany.

OBZ: Würden sie gerne mal bei einem Deutschen Projekt mitmachen?
LANDON: Absolutely.

OBZ: Auch sie kennen sicherlich die Bezeichnung "Independent"? Ist dieses Wort in den Bereichen Musik und Film für sie sehr wichtig? Oder sind sie der Meinung, das man sich in diesen Geschäft / in der Gesellschaft anpassen sollte und das selbe Macht was alle anderen auch tun? Hat "Independent" etwas mit Freiheit zu tun?
LANDON: Independent in a way does have to do with “liberty” or “freedom”. In the music world it means that a person is not signed with a major-label. An independent record-label is basically a record label that’s not a major-label. That said, there are many independent artists now because the music industry is changing. There are also a lot of amazing independent labels out there formed by people who were once under major-labels. There are pros and cons to each which could be talked about for hours.

OBZ: Was war für sie der schönste Augenblick mit einem Fan? Oder mit Ihren Fans?
LANDON: There was a single-mother who came to a show and after it was over she approached me saying that she listened to one of my songs every day. She said it helped her get through her day. It was very emotional as she was crying. This was a while back and it was the first time I had ever experienced one of my songs touching someone. I’ll never forget her, or that moment.

OBZ: Ist Ihnen der persönliche Kontakt mir Ihren Fans sehr wichtig?
LANDON: I think my relationship with fans is extremely important. I spend about two or three hours a day replying to emails from fans. I don’t have one message on myspace that I have not responded to and I’m not looking forward to the day that I cannot physically respond to everyone.

OBZ: Was würden sie gerne Ihren Fans sagen?
LANDON: That I would be nowhere without them. I know that many artists say that, but at this point, if it wasn’t for them buying my cds, coming to shows, and giving their support, I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent and keep doing what I’m doing.


© Landon Smith.
© Dewey Darko.