Interview: Bob Larson Speaks with Country Rock Musician Shawn Perry About New Single, “Lawnchair” and Much More
Bob Larson: Who is on your current favorite music list to listen to?
Shawn Perry: I just went to NKOTB, naughty by nature and Salt-N-Peppa…so I have been on a bit of 90s pop kick…that and Slayer.
Bob Larson: How would you like to see music and videos handled nowadays?
Shawn Perry: Well, I wish MTV stilled played music videos, I am thankful that they put me on their Network for reality TV but I could not care less …literally is not possible…about just about everything on that network. It’s like if McDonald’s stopped serving cheeseburgers….why would you go.
Bob Larson: You have spent some time in this industry. What have been the most valuable tools you have taken away and used yourself?
Shawn Perry: treat folks the way you want to be treated…and do the treat celebrities like celebrities if you mean somebody and you do the immediately feel like you can share a beer or bbq with them …walk away, they are damaged and there is nothing you can do….so always be the guy that treats fans like he would have them over for pork chops.
Bob Larson: Do you play multiple instruments?
Shawn Perry: Yes my day gig is music teacher, I own a music school called Rock City. I teach six instruments….but guitar, drums, and bass are the ones that I am always playing in world domination mode
Bob Larson: When did songwriting begin for you? Was it an automatic natural thing to do, or was it something you needed work on?
Shawn Perry: I have been writing my own songs ever since I started playing…I never wanted to do covers …but all of have to in some capacity…I started playing bout when I was 13 and it was all originals sans one or two covers even back then
Bob Larson: Talk to us about this song “Lawnchair” how did it begin?
Shawn Perry: being so tired I wanted to cry (LoL) but in all seriousness, between teaching music and doing martial arts I am at like sixty+ hours a week before we even talking about what I do as an artist….so to quote Bilbo Baggins I feel like butter scraped across too much bread. ..so spread real thin…I need some time in the sun, so I wrote that song from the heart hoping it would allow me a much needed holiday at some point.
Bob Larson: As the song progressed who did you bring in to fine tune it and develop the song?
Shawn Perry: Like most of my/out times, I wrote the thing and did a full studio version of the song…I was about to release it and I was hit up by Christian Dave (producer) to do a single….so we did that one, Christian wanted to take it way further into the pop realm, which I am thankful for I have always really been a fan of pop music but never allowed myself to explore it as an artist I kind of needed somebody else to tell me it was okay to do that.
Bob Larson: Great day at the beach. “Lawnchair” really feels like a lifestyle. How close does the song resemble your daily life?…
Shawn Perry: Not as much as I would like unfortunately I spend too much time in the office, but I’m trying more and more to give myself some downtime but I’m trying to make lawnchair into a lifestyle I’m looking at starting a clothing and whiskey company it would be heavily influenced by that music video.
Bob Larson: Somewhere we read that you are involved in activism. What all are you involved in? What projects are near and dear to your heart?
Shawn Perry: Well I’ve been strongly fighting the opioid epidemic for several years and I feel like part of that is legalizing marijuana… I know this is hard to believe but I have never smoked it, however, I am all for it being available for medical and recreational use. It worked for my father in law much better than prescription opioids.
And possibly even more important I want us, farmers, to be able to grow industrial hemp again, all of my best Jiu-Jitsu Gis are made of hemp…I can not even tell you how much stronger and more comfortable they are than cotton….too bad we have to get the fabric from Afghanistan or China….because we can’t even grow it here ….thanks Dow chemical-
Bob Larson: Summer plans?
Shawn Perry: play a bunch of shows write some new songs, start on a new record ….buy a convertible and ride with the top down-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5cXT4X5
