Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Findley (Front man in Honest Men).
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
In 2015, the four of us were attending Baylor University at the time, studying what we thought would be the most interesting thing we could spend 4 years on. Brooks (guitar) studied journalism, Zach (drums) studied philosophy, Nate (bass) studied communications, and I (Seth – vocals) studied business. In reality, we individually wanted to play music full time, we just didn’t want to major in it – and we didn’t know each other yet. It wasn’t until we started playing music at the church we were attending at the time that we met.
It wasn’t long before we realized that we had musical chemistry that needed to be explored. I had some songs that I had written in high school (I was a freshman when we started the band) that I really wanted to show Brooks and Zach (Nate joined the band 6 months after we formed). They thought the songs were good so we entered Baylor’s annual battle of the bands. We had to choose a band name for the competition – one massive group text poll with 10 potential band names later, we chose Honest Men. We won the battle of the bands and really started to feel like what we had was special.
Turns out, people agreed. With the handful of those songs that I had written in high school, we headed up to Nashville in 2016 to record our debut EP “Okay Dreamer” and released it the following winter. We began touring across Texas as frequently as our busy college schedules allowed us. It was a grind. We didn’t really know what we were doing, we just wanted to write good songs and play them in front of people. One night we would play a show at a bar in Austin, TX for a nice elderly drunk British couple and the bar staff, the next we would be headlining in College Station in front of hundreds.
With a year of shows, growth, and experience under our belt, we headed back to Nashville to record our second EP which we released in the summer of 2018. This EP helped define who we are, and who we want to be as a band. Next thing we knew, we were opening for artists like Smash Mouth, Colony House, COIN, and more as well as headlining multiple tours across Texas as well as our first shows out of state.
When we started the band, we honestly weren’t friends. My favorite thing about Honest Men, regardless of if we become the biggest band in the world, or stay exactly the same size as we are now, is that these past three years have made us best friends. We’ve moved to a new city together, we’ve been groomsmen in each other’s weddings, we’ve spent countless hours in the car, on stage, and in the studio together. Honest Men will last forever.
Please tell us about your art.
From the start, we’ve wanted to make music that does two things – spreads hope, and inspires. The music that has impacted us the most individually is the music that makes us want to lock ourselves in our rooms to write and create for hours.
We want to do the same thing for our listeners. We want people to leave a concert feeling inspired to do the thing they love most. Our music is fun – we want to spread positivity with our sound and the message behind each song. Our songs are real and come from personal experiences. They mean a lot to us individually, but we want our fans to derive their own meaning from each song.
We’re very intentional about the visual artwork that goes along with everything we release. Every post, every light at a live show, every album artwork – it all had countless hours of thought put into it. Everything we say and do and present to the world has been processed through a series of conversations between the four of us and is exactly what we want you to see and hear.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK! We were never taught anything. We learned as we progressed. Learn the industry, learn what you need to accomplish, take steps to accomplish that, and don’t be afraid to ask. Ask for advice, ask if you can open for your favorite band next time, they’re in town, ask if a store would be willing to put your music on their playlist, ask a label to listen to your music, etc. Be bold and share your creation.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can listen to our music anywhere where music is streamed or downloaded online. You can support us by following us on Spotify (Honest Men) and our socials (@HonestMenMusic), sharing our music with your friends and family, and coming to a live show. We’ll be playing in a city near you in 2019.
Contact Info:
- Website: honestmenmusic.com
- Email: honestmenmusic@gmail.com (email for booking, media, press, licensing, or PR related questions)
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/honestmenmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honestmenmusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/honestmenmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ed5eSusVIBEIvmkASgzKj
Image Credit:
Photos by Micaela Fox, Oliver Soderberg, Graham Dodd, Megan Whitehurst, and Ky Kasselman
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