MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you Sterling, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.
What motivated you to start creating music? What age did you begin?
Sterling Witt: Deciding to be a musician didn’t feel like a choice. It was my destiny. I have an overwhelming urge to create. I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was 15 years old.
MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the musician you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?
Sterling Witt: Tom Waits and Nirvana have been consistent. Their validity never seems to fade.
MuzicNotez: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?
Sterling Witt: I was the supporting artist for Jason Webley in Kansas City. He is a captivating performer whom I have learned a great deal from. I think back to that concert more often than any other.
MuzicNotez: Your latest album is “Sterling Loves U”, where did the inspiration come from for this album?
Sterling Loves U was inspired by Love and the idea of transforming the planet into a place where everyone can coexist in harmony.
MuzicNotez: Your featured single “Hollow Moon” questions a lot of things in life. How do you describe this track and what would you like people whom hear it to take from it?
Sterling Witt: Hollow Moon questions the world we believe to be real. So called facts are on the examination table. Do we know what we think we know? How do we know it is accurate? Hollow Moon presents the idea that factual common knowledge is actually nothing more than theory. How do we know the earth isn’t hollow? How do we know the moon isn’t a technologically advanced spaceship built by inter-dimensional beings? The truth is we do not know. Therefore these ideas are possibilities just as much as the ones we consider to be facts.
MuzicNotez: You’re left handed and play your guitar upside down. How come you decided to take this approach instead of using a left handed guitar? Do you feel this gives you a unique sound?
Sterling Witt: It wasn’t a conscious decision. I didn’t have guidance when I was learning how to play the guitar. I had to teach myself. I was a 15 years old kid who had access to a right-handed guitar only. I couldn’t play it right-handed so I flipped it upside-down. It felt natural to me. By the time I got my hands on a left-handed guitar it was too late. I was accustom to having the strings in the backwards order. I couldn’t play a left-handed guitar if I wanted to. I was destined to play upside-down and backwards. I think it helps me achieve a unique sound. I can play all kinds of bizarre chords and progressions that are virtually impossible for a right-handed player. The opposite is also true. I struggle to play some of the simplest chords that are effortless for a right handed player.
MuzicNotez: You cross a lot of different genres, any genre you haven’t experimented with yet but are interested in trying?
Sterling Witt: I am an experimental artist. I can only assume I will continue to dismantle the barrier between “genres”. Genres are not a sufficient way to describe my music. Especially when an album like Sterling Loves U crosses over into several different genres. Often 2 or 3 genres show up in one song. So what kind of music is it? If it is a genre, it is one that has not yet been classified. I call it: Experimental Emotionalized Expressionism.
MuzicNotez: What can we expect from you in the future? Anything new coming up?
Sterling Witt: We are shooting a music video for Let Me Down from Sterling Loves U. it’s going to be filmed in a restaurant called Harold’s Smokehouse in my home town of Freeman Missouri. There is a 2 story Victorian style house that has been moved from New Orleans and reconstructed inside this restaurant. it is like a giant doll house. Exterior walls are removed so you can see into the old fashioned furnished rooms. To say the least it is extraordinary. It looks like a multi-million dollar movie set and It just happens to be in my backyard. We are calling out to all the fans in the area. We need 75 volunteers to make the video. For those who are interested in being a part if the video, if you can dress in solid black clothes head to toe we want you! Check out the details on the website: www.SterlingWitt.com/I-Want-You.
MuzicNotez: Anything else you wish to say about yourself or your music? Any message for your fans?
Sterling Witt: We just finished a slide show music video for Every Single Second featuring my watercolor Love Paintings. Check it out at: www.SterlingWitt.com
