Meet Sean Carney

We were lucky to catch up with Sean Carney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I got my work ethic mostly from my experience in college. I was a freshman with no declared major when I found out that you could study music as a college student! I was fortunate enough to have incredible professors at Western Michigan University who pushed and challenged me to grow into 10 times the musician I was when I started. They instilled in me the value and importance of daily practice. The music they gave me to learn forced me to develop skills to keep with the coursework and from those skills, I started my life-long career as a musician.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a full-time professional musician focusing on songwriting and performance. I play 2 to 4 shows a week as a solo artist here in LA when I’m not on the road and have an exciting live set where I run my guitar and vocals through a loop pedal to create huge soundscapes and funky beats. In addition to my work as a solo artist, I am a member of the alternative-pop band WOLVES.

Between WOLVES and my solo project, I have had a a successful songwriting career in sync licensing. Sync licensing is when your song is “synced” with a film, TV or commercial. I have heard my music appear on The Fast And Furious 9 trailer, the NBA on TNT, The MLB on TBS, the CW’s All American, The Ellen Show, and many more! Whether I’m in the studio with WOLVES, or writing as a solo artist, I enjoy the song-creation process thoroughly! It gives me a chance to express what I might be feeling, as well as have FUN with collaborators in the studio.

I just finished recording a brand new solo album with some rock and western influences with one of my great friends and collaborators, Kairo. “Run This Town” will be available in January, 2024.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For any aspiring musician, I’d say this:

Master your instrument! This is the bare minimum requirement if you have sights on becoming a professional musician. There is a lot more that goes into it, but being a master of your voice, guitar, tuba, etc. will greatly increase your chances of people noticing you and your skills. So practice your scales, learn your theory, and STOP COMPLAINING.

Learn how to record yourself! It is not that hard anymore, and this takes years to get good at, so start NOW. There are countless opportunities in the recording industry for those who know how to make demos, track and tune their own vocals and know the basics of mixing.

Collaborate! Whether it’s joining a band, working with a choir or rap battling your buddies, collaboration is a necessary part of music making where you will pick up a wealth of tips and tricks from others. I quickly learned that being the “worst in the room” is some times exactly what I needed to get to the next level, and stay on my toes.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I am huge on making to-do lists. As a self-managed artist, it is crucial that I stay organized. I try to write daily goals for myself before I go to bed each night, so I can tackle my tasks the next day with clarity and focus. I also make weekly and monthly goals for myself.

When writing my to-do list, I can clearly see everything laid out in front of me and then prioritize, prioritize, prioritize! Once I’ve prioritized my list, I often see things on there that I don’t actually need to do at all. This method decreases a lot of stress for me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photos By J. Simone

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