Hello! 

I am involved in this thing called “Arts Award” and one of my assignments was to interview one of my inspirations, and immediately thought of Greg Holden! I sent him some questions and he replied! I asked him if I could blog them and he said yes!

Here it is:

1. Why did you start song-writing and who inspired you to?

I started song-writing because throughout my teens I didn’t really

have any goals, any drive or any friends, I was just kind of existing.

I was collecting glasses in a bar one night when I was 17 and there

was a friend of mine playing his own material to people, I saw their

faces fixed on him and I realised that I needed to learn how to do

that. So I got that same guy to teach me 3 chords, and away I went, it

was meant to be! At the time I was listening to things like Green Day,

Blink 182, you know, the usual when you’re 17. But I had developed a

huge obsession with Bob Dylan too, I listened to him everyday.

 

 2. As my favourite song by you, what were you feeling when you wrote

“Serendipity”?

Serendipity is about the first time I ever went to New York City. It’s

about falling in love, but not with a person, a place. It’s about

realising that you’ve found where you need to be, so you no longer

need to worry about your path in life. But I think the lyrics in that

song can be about many things, that’s just how it is for me. I’d be

interested to hear what you thought it was about.

 

 3. What is your favourite song to perform?

Probably Serendipity actually.

 

 4. How old were you when you wrote your first song, and what was it

 about?

I was 17 when I wrote my first song. I learned 2 covers when I started

playing guitar, the 3rd song I learned how to play was my own. I

remember it so clearly, it was called “You Go Left, I Go Right”, haha,

so many memories. It was about this girl I was going out with and she

used to fuck me over all the time, so I wrote a song about us going in

different directions. She didn’t deserve it if you ask me, a waste a

paper haha!

 

5. How do you go about song writing? Melody or lyrics first?

It’s different all the time. Sometimes I will sit there with my book

and just write lyrics, then later will sit down with my guitar and try

and put music to them. It’s harder that way but the lyrics always come

out better. Other times I may just sat there with my guitar and hum

along to a guitar piece, then stick lyrics in where I think they

belong. That’s actually how I ended up writing Serendipity.

 

 6. What are your top 5 favourite albums?

Wow tough question. Ok, this is a rough guess…

1. Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’

2. Green Day – Dookie

3. Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light

4. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger

5. John Mayer – Continuum

 

 7. Who are your favourite artists at the moment?

Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)

Nate Campany (A guy I’m writing with)

Foy Vance

Ryan Adams

 

8. Do you ever sit down and say “I’m going write me a song!” or does

 it happen sporadically?

All the time, but it doesn’t always work out. Sometimes I will sit

there for hours looking at my paper with my guitar in my hand.

Sometimes nothing comes out and it’s the most frustrating thing ever.

But you have to do it because often something will come out. Other

times I may be walking down the street and something will pop into my

head, so I write it in my phone. It’s kind of like needing a piss,

when you gotta go you gotta go!

 

 9. What do you think is your greatest achievement in music so far?

Hmmm, I don’t know. Dancing with Kylie Minogue at The Brit Awards was

a pretty big achievement haha! I think the fact that I have 2 records

on iTunes right now that I fully wrote and paid for is quite big for

me. I have worked with 3 of the biggest writers in the UK in the last

12 months also which I’m pretty proud of. I don’t know really, that’s

a tough question.

 

 10. What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

I think I would love worldwide recognition for my songwriting. Not

fame, just recognition. I would  to be able to have a family, a house

and a good life, all from wrting songs. That would make me feel very

proud.