A Dirty Dozen with SYDNEY SHERWOOD – January 2021

According to a recent press release: “New Jersey based Singer / Songwriter SYDNEY SHERWOOD has released the official lyric video for “Creep,” which was created by Jared Dylan of Red 13 Studios, and is the first single off of her upcoming, sophomore EP, Headspace. Produced and co-written by Brian Craddock, guitarist of Daughtry and owner of The Cat Room Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, Headspace is due to release on February 27, 2021. Sydney Sherwood is an 18-year-old singer/songwriter from New Jersey. Sydney began singing and playing guitar as a way to express her emotions after her brother was diagnosed with cancer. Since her brother’s diagnosis, being a childhood cancer advocate has become a big part of Sydney’s life. She has performed and spoken at many childhood cancer events over the past twelve years and continues to be a voice for all children with cancer, as well as their siblings.” We get Sydney 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?

My latest song “Creep” is a song about anxiety, which I have battled pretty much all of my life. It was important to me that this would be the lead off single of the new record because I wanted to share my experience with anxiety to hopefully help others but also because the lyrics serve as a visual aid for people who may not know what it’s like to have anxiety or experience a panic attack. I found that some people would give me the cliche answers such as “just don’t think about it” or “just be positive” which while meant to be helpful, do not help when your thoughts are constantly at war in your mind!

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

From a young age I always LOVED music- you can ask my parents how many times I listened to the Tarzan soundtrack or any volume of the Kidz Bop CDs! While my parents are not musicians, music was a huge part of their life and they did a great job at making it a part of mine. My parents and I constantly listened to music together and when I was younger, I was exposed to artists like Billy Joel, Phil Collins, and John Denver to Creed, Pearl Jam, and Counting Crows. They really made me love music and appreciate so many different genres and I attribute them as to what got me into music. I feel like I always sang, not very well in my younger years, haha, but it wasn’t until I was about thirteen that I finally started to perform, was unafraid to sing and play guitar in front of people, and write my own music. I realized I wanted to be a musician when I saw that people could relate to my music. When I saw something that I wrote that was about my personal experience touch someone else, that was awesome. My biggest goal as a musician is to write music that makes people feel less alone, loved, and understood.

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

The album that guided my musical taste has to be Pearl Jam’s Ten. That album to me, is one of the greatest to ever exist. My dad and mom introduced me to them and ever since I have become a huge 90s grunge rock fan. I love Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam- definitely my favorite genre of music.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

My five main musical influences are Chris Daughty, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Creed, and Chris Cornell. All of these artists and bands have had a major impact on me musically.

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

I would love to do a song with Chris Stapleton. I love his voice, the lyrics to all of his songs, and man, he is just an all-around talented musician. I’m convinced he does not have the capability to make a bad song or record. I really admire him as a musician and songwriter and this would be a dream collaboration for me.

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?

Every song I write comes from the heart and is derived from personal experiences and things that I’ve been through. Genre-wise, I’ve never been able to put myself into a box but I’d say I’m somewhere situated between alternative and rock and somewhat pop. This second part is a tough question for me to answer because when people have been asked who I sound like or to compare me to another artist, they haven’t been able to pinpoint it. Whoever is reading this, please let me know because I still have no idea, lol. A common misconception that I get all the time is whenever someone sees my last name, Sherwood, they always assume I’m a country artist!

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

One of my favorite things about being a musician is writing material that has a specific meaning to me but then could take on a totally new meaning to another person depending on what they’re going through in life- I love when people interpret it in their own way.

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

The last time I was starstruck was when I went to see Billy Joel at The Garden. I didn’t even meet him but I could not fathom that I was in the same room as Billy Joel, having the privilege of listening to him sing. I felt like the luckiest person in the world that I was in attendance of one of his shows. Huge dream of mine to meet him for sure even though I don’t know if I’ll be able to function.

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

If I wasn’t a musician, my dream job would be to be a celebrity makeup artist for photoshoots or for movies/TV. I can really only see myself doing some sort of creative/art based job and makeup is another one of my passions, so I would be that!

10. 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?

I think the only biggest misstep I had was putting myself down and not thinking I was good enough for a lot of years. I had some vocal coaches try to change my voice and tell me my range was not big enough for a female artist and that really screwed with my confidence. It wasn’t until I met people like my producer in Jersey and made my first record with him that I started to gain confidence in my abilities. He really pushed me to be better and made me do so many things I didn’t think I could do. He’s like family now and I’m so thankful for him and how he believes in me so much. Making it onto American Idol was also a huge confidence booster as well. I made it through countless preliminary rounds and out of 100,000 people, I was one of the 100 that made it to Hollywood Week. It still blows my mind and I’m so thankful to God for that. The people I work with now, helped me realize what made me different from other female artists wasn’t a hindrance but was what made me unique. I spent too much time focusing on what I couldn’t do and not what I could do and if I could go back I’d just tell myself that the voice God gave me was good enough.

11. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Wow, this is so hard because there’s so many I could choose from, but the main one would be A Night at the Opera by Queen. To be in the studio watching and listening to Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor record “Bohemian Rhapsody” would be INSANE. They are all such talented musicians and Freddie Mercury is a musical genius and one of the greatest performers to ever live. That song is such a masterpiece and listening to them make it and piece that whole record together would be a dream. Not just this record, but Queen and Freddie Mercury himself are all so inspiring to me and I really admire how they built themselves from playing in small venues to selling out giant arenas all over the world.

SYDNEY SHERWOOD LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Interviews