Inspiration for songwriting can strike at any time. Be ready. Our recent discovery D.R Webster loves writing music and makes sure he is always ready. The rock star in the making took some time to let us into his world. Enjoy the interview
What draws D.R Webster to create music?
I create music because I have the need to do it and it’s one of my favourite things to do. I have been writing songs since a young age, listening to music itself is always an inspiration and life always gives you something to say/write about so i’ll keep doing it as long as that is the case.
How would you describe your sound?
For this project in particular it definitely has a 70’s Classic Rock vibe to it with a modern edge, being in São Paulo living and recording while doing the project also had a big effect on the overall sound. I like to think of it as having the heart and grit of Glasgow where it was written but with the soul and feel of São Paulo where it was recorded. It has a raw quality to it and to quote something mentioned often by people involved in the project, it sounds “honest” hence the eventual title of the EP (Truth).
Which artists have had the biggest influence on you?
That’s always a hard one to answer and project dependent but for this upcoming EP, it’s definitely heavily influenced by Classic/Hard Rock bands from Led Zeppelin to The Who to AC/DC to Deep Purple, especially in the first two tracks, along with some other bands like U2, The Cult, Oasis in different moments/approaches. Rock music has always been my main style, from my earliest band days to my previous band Mercury Underground until now, it’s always something I gravitate back towards.
How does a song come to you? What is your songwriting process?
Inspiration for a song for me can come at anytime and in many different forms, from a word/title, a riff, from experiences, from people, observing the world and what is going on in it, whatever the case may be. Process wise it varies, sometimes I write on different instruments aside from my main choice (Guitar) to spark new ideas, sometimes the lyrics come first and then the music or vice versa, etc.
We hear that you have a new EP called Truth coming out soon. Tell us about how that came to be?
Yes I do, my new EP Truth is available for pre-order now via Bandcamp and will be released on October 1st. The EP really came about through my good friend and mentor, André Christovam who co-produced it with me. He was heading back to Brazil to play some shows to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first album Mandinga this past Summer and we got to talking earlier in the year about some of the songs I had been working on and others I had written beforehand, from there we decided it would be a cool idea to record some of them in São Paulo at the wonderful Mosh Studios in between shows on the tour. The idea grew from there and we ended up doing exactly that, which was a fantastic experience.
What do you hope the listener takes away from a D.R Webster song?
First of all that they like it of course, aside from that to feel/hear that there is something real behind each of them, all three songs on Truth have something to say and are delivered as such, hopefully that comes through.
After being all around the music scene for a while, what advice would you give to other artists trying to create original music?
Keep doing it, even if things aren’t going quite to plan or you haven’t got as far as you might have wanted to, keep writing, keep playing and get inspired, you never want to lose it.
What does the future hold for D.R Webster?
At the moment I am focusing on promoting and releasing Truth of course and then I am looking to return to Brazil around December/January time to play some shows to further promote the EP. I loved my time there this Summer, it really is a great country and São Paulo welcomed me with open arms so I hope that is the case again very soon along with a few other cities in the country that I haven’t been to yet, aside from that I’m open to whatever else interesting comes my way.
Follow D.R Webster on FACEBOOK.
