Tell us about yourself and your music
Music has been a part of my life all of my life. I was raised in the church with my dad and mother who were both gospel singers. That’s where the love for harmonies comes from. As kids, we were never discouraged about what music we listened to. I listened to every type of music from Jazz to Rock and everything in between. My father would take me to see the greatest acts ever at The Apollo Theater in Harlem and any other act I wanted to see at Madison Square Garden or wherever live music was. It was an amazing learning experience and convinced me exactly what I was going to do for a living. I was hooked. That’s why my music is so diverse and has a hint of so many different genres in it because I’ve had such a vast pool of knowledge to pull from.
Talk to us more about your latest release
“Make It Easy” displays what I mentioned earlier about the love of many different types of music. The intro is a complex classical vibe and then jumps into a heavy funky dance groove that grabs you hopefully right away. My young protege Eleyana Estrada is an amazing talent with a great future ahead of her in music. She has her finger on the pulse of today’s hits and I wanted her to bring that to my music to stay on top of what’s happening in music right now. I’m very happy with the results and I can’t wait for everyone the hear the new tune September 1st.
What inspired you to write this release?
I wanted to make a song that I would like to hear on the radio now. There are a lot of great artists out there so I just wanted to portray another option that maybe others would have never considered.
Describe the writing and recording process
For me, it always comes down to a great song. If you can have all the production on top of it and then strip it down to just vocals and an acoustic guitar, then it qualifies as a great song that will stand the test of time. I like to start a song with a concept in my head. That way it’s easier for me to make the arrangement and help with the melody and breaks and so on. Once I have a concept in my head then the rest flows usually pretty easily.
Any plans to hit the road?
With the way things are right now, we’re gonna put off live performances until things get somewhat more back to normal.
As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?
The main genre that I classify myself first is a funky rock artist. But there are so many things that I love to do it just branches put from there but that would be the primary genre.
Who have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to Bruno Mars. He’s amazing. I recently went back and watched a video of Toto live which was amazing. Prince will always be a constant and then there’s my heavy metal side where I love Ozzy and The Crue.
Who are your biggest influences?
The Beatles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Kiss, Earth Wind & Fire, and Of course Prince.
Tell us about your passions
Besides music, I love to go to the beach and jet skiing is a lot of fun. I also love video production and editing. I really am connected to the creative process. It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
What else is happening next in your world?
After I finishing promoting the new single I plan on working on finishing my long-awaited new album entitled “Utmost”. It’s a compilation of all of the genres I love so much. Everything from Classic to heavy rock. It’s a very exciting record and a labor of love.
Thanks for an awesome interview, Tate Simms Productions
Connect with Tate Simms Productions
Website: https://www.tatesimms.net/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tate.simms/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatesimms/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tate132LastFM: https://www.last.fm/user/tatesimmsYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqY83gBv8Jypzd8clAOoBdw?view_as=subscriberLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatesimms/Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tatesimmsReverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/tatesimms