Almost A Dirty Dozen with JOE SETTINERI – November 2018

According to a recent press release: “American Singer/Song-writer JOE SETTINERI has released the official music video for his deeply moving new single, “Batman Cries.” Originally premiered on CELEBMIX, “Batman Cries” was directed by Jared Cordes. Joe’s newest singles, “HELLO GOODBYE,” “BATMAN CRIES,” and “OXYGEN,” all collaborations with multi-platinum Nashville-based producer Mike Krompass (Smash Mouth, Nellie Furtado), are slated for release in Summer and Fall 2018.” We get Joe to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

“Batman Cries” is my favorite song I’ve ever written… both conceptually and musically.  It’s also a song that almost didn’t happen because I was having a crisis of confidence with the song until my producer (Mike Krompass) pushed me to do it. The funny thing or I guess ‘hidden nugget,’ is at the end of the song where the high female voice comes in.  We were talking about finding a female voice to record that, and I said, “I think I can help with that… let me give it a try.” So yes, that’s me and my weird voice there.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was about 5 when I felt this inner-surge to sing and write music.  I remember the day very clearly when I found out there was a job where you could write songs.  I couldn’t find a pen and paper fast enough.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I would say one particular ‘era’ was very influential on me — the 80’s.  The strong rock power ballads were just dripping with raw emotion and those voices were beyond.  Still today, and even when I’m writing, if a song has a vulnerable, emotive side and a raw, killer vocal, I’m all in.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

They are really all over the place… from childhood – Laura Branigan, from country – Rascal Flatts, from jazz it’s a tie between Diana Krall and Miles Davis, and from today’s pop world, Train and Sia.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Simple. Sia. No brainer. She’s a brilliant songwriter and an even better singer and I would give anything to sing with her – wig and all baby!

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Ha!  I was once described as a male Adele.   I loved that, and I only cringe because I feel she is so amazing and so talented and in such a stratosphere of her own that I’m not worthy of that comparison.   But with that said, I have used her music as a way to describe my sound to people. I think she and I have definitely had a few of the same kind of heartbreaks.

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

I love getting to create with music.  For me there is nothing like it. This ‘being’ is bubbling up from within you, and it’s both fulfilling and therapeutic.  Add to that getting to see my music touch someone else deeply, and I realize I’m very, very lucky to do what I do.

8. When you have downtime and are hanging out with your family, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and how often is their an acoustic singalong or impromptu karaoke night?

You just described my favorite kind of night.   I try to draw on my Italian heritage by cooking, and my husband handles the drinks.  And absolutely there have been many nights where someone hops on the piano and one of us sings along.  You don’t want to be here when we pop a couple of my musical theater friends into the mix.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

Diana Ross. I saw her at a café here in LA, and all I could do was stare at her and smile.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Something with home design – interiors, eclectic furniture, fragrance, etc.  It’s such a fascinating and personal world. And actually similar to creating music when you think about it.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Oh I have so many potential ‘do over’ moments, but I think they are part of the journey right?  Only thing I’d change is learning, sooner in my career, not to listen to people. It’s really hard to navigate that, but today I feel like I am good at knowing when to listen to a critique and when to quickly ignore it and skip along down my own happy path of missteps.

JOE SETTINERI LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Interviews