Liam Pendergrass

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What is music to you? What does it give you?

Music is my entire life. I am a teacher and student of music. Every aspect of my working day is musical, and most of my free time is as well. It gives me a realm of comfort and creativity that is completely unmatched in comparison.

What is your music dream?

My dream is to one day sustain myself and family with a career as a College music educator and frequent performer.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

I would start with racism and hostility between nationalities and nations alike, for we are all a single species that needs to come together to save our Earth from the perils we have accidentally created through greed.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

Paperback Writer - The Beatles This was the heaviest-played Beatles tune in my area at the time, and I have fond memories of being strapped into a car seat and bouncing around to the energetic rhythms of the song, and singing along to the exciting harmonies.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

There are too many to name. I take big inspiration from Motown artists such as The Temptations and The Commodores, as well as other Soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, but most of my instrumentation is rooted in 60s and 70s bands like The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, and The Lovin' Spoonful, as well as 90s R&B artists like Mint Condition, New Edition, and many 90s Gospel greats like Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond. I also take a lot of influence from Lukas Nelson, Marcus King, and Vulfpeck.

What inspires you to make music?

It is the first and only thing that removes me from my stresses and allows me to focus comfortably on a singular task. Beyond that, sharing my thoughts lyrically offers peace of mind on stresses of life, and building progressions and instrumentations allows me to express my feelings without the limitations of grammar.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

I want to send the message that we as humans all have similar struggles and comparable feelings, and therefore should focus on loving each other and building each other up, rather than dividing ourselves. I also aim to express my feelings and experiences in hopes that someone may find peace or inspiration in them, or at least comfort in similarities.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

It is a feeling unlike any other. I am at ease mentally, but physically electrified, and my overall focus does not stray from the music until the final note is played. It is a true escape from everything for me. I feel the energy of the band and the room, and try to translate my energy back to them through my instruments. I thoroughly enjoy talking and connecting to my audience as well. Banter often calms my electrified state, and allows me to speak my mind freely to a captive audience.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

Musicians are simply not compensated enough for recordings and content anymore. What was once our main source of income is now expected of us nearly free-of-charge. The market for live music at a local level seems to be growing again, but the understanding of necessity for pay does not match the potential money lost to streaming services. Honestly, just like most industries, put less money into the pockets of CEOs, and more into the people working to maintain the industry.

What do you think of Drooble?

Drooble is wonderful. I love being able to connect with musicians in my area, and all over the world alike in one easy, fun interface. I have had a great experience presenting myself and my music, and I have learned a lot of helpful things from the Drooble community!

What frustrates you most as a musician?

What frustrates me most as a musician is the constant under-valuing of working musicians by venues. It is sad that the typical consumer cannot see past the face-value of music. We as musicians work too many unpaid hours already, only to be underappreciated by the establishments we lend our craft to.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

I am constantly going to see local performances. At my level in my scene, showing support for fellow bands is very important, because we all often work with each other and help each other out.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Consistency and Creativity; the public is GREEDY. Even people who don't consider themselves big fans of our seem to point their noses if we aren't consistently feeding them new, exciting content. It's a spoiled world full with a general public who are not as educated about music as those of the past, so we have to be in their faces all the time to keep their attention.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Some of my favorite NC musician friends: - Travers Brothership - Downtown Abby & The Echoes - Ashton Eller - Destiny Stone - Korsei - Ol' Sport - The Lilly Brothers