Interview/Review — To Whom It May Concern — Learning To Let Go
Artist: To Whom It May Concern
Album: Learning To Let Go
Rating: 9.5/10
I had time to sit down with guitarist Sean and Leadman Zack of To Whom It May Concern and get an idea of who they were and what they wanted to reveal to the masses, here is our conversation.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): When did you realize you wanted to be in the music industry?
Zack: Ever since I was young I’ve had a passion for music, I loved all forms of art but music just really spoke me. The amount of influence music has on your mind is truly amazing. I have many stories to tell and I really wanted to get them out there. Plus its an extremely great way to let your emotions out! Music has helped me find myself, and I hope to give that back to more people.
Sean: After I played my first show back in 2013, I knew this was something that I really wanted to try to make a career out of eventually. There just is nothing like the rush of being on the stage playing something you’ve created and just getting to release every bit of emotion you have out to the people listening.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): Has music always been a passion? Did you grow up around music in your childhood?
Zack: I kinda answered this already, but yes. I started with guitar but I have such a passion for the lyrics of the songs I was listening to that I had to start writing myself. My household hasn’t very musical, but with my headphones in through many hours of the day, it seemed like it.
Sean: I didn’t really grow up around music other than what my parents would play in the car. My closest friend got his first guitar back when he was 13 which was 15 years ago, and I thought it was the coolest thing. So naturally, I begged my parents for one for my birthday the next month. I’ve been hooked ever since!
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): What track speaks the most to you musically and lyrically?
Zack: I’m assuming this question is towards songs we have written. I have to say our song “Inner Peace” for me. It was the first song we wrote together as the band. The title track to the album is “Learning To Let Go” but “Inner Peace” is the one that really digs into me. Its one of our softest songs. Its about trying to find your inner peace after loss. Sean actually came up with the song topic himself, but I instantly connected and wrote the lyrics to his idea. For me, its about the loss of my mother.
Sean: I would have to say that it is a tie between “Inner Peace” and the title track “Learning to Let Go”. I wrote “Inner Peace” musically as a softer song than normal for me so I could add a more emotional feel to it. I had lost two grandparents shortly before I had written it both of which I wasn’t able to say goodbye so I just put it into my music. Zach made some absolutely perfect lyrics for it since he also has been through loss, and it turned into such a beautiful song. The latter track I actually wrote the lyrics to in a different perspective than I was used to and it turned into the strongest ending to the album that I could have hoped for.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): What are some inspirations that have helped motivate you to be in a band?
Zack: My motivations are really just all the bands I’ve looked up to telling their stories and helping so many people, such as myself. My personal motivation is a lot of the negative stuff I’ve seen in my life, and trying to let that out and let others who go through hard times, know that they aren’t alone.
Sean: Well having friends out in the industry having the time of their lives is definitely part of what drives me because I see that if you try and work hard you can make it happen. Also these people are my most of my closest friends and getting to do what I love and travel with them drives me to keep this going every day.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): What was your production process like while in development?
Zack: Honestly we were a bit rushed when writing because we set a deadline for ourselves. But mostly it was all of us coming together and the band just jamming until stuff clicked. A lot of the main instrumental creativity comes from our guitarist, Sean. But the rest of the band puts in equal work in the writing. Once the instrumentals are done I vibe to them on repeat for hours until the melodies fall into place.
Sean: I actually was one of the last members to join the band in its inception. I came in with a lot of different song ideas to test out because I am constantly writing, and we kind of sifted through them to get a few base songs started. We quickly got a feel for how we each like to write and play, and we made the other songs on the EP rather quickly. They just came so naturally that we were able to pull off a rather fast deadline! That definitely was made possible by my friend Zach also, who engineered the album beside me with his company Lake Effect Audio.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): What do you hope to accomplish with your music in the future?
Zack: I really hope we can push ourselves to achieve further than we ever imagined. I want to be able to be an inspiration to those in need. I want to help anyway I can. I think the write music is an amazing, simple way I can help. Audio medicine if you will.
Sean: The biggest goal for our music would have to be being able to travel around the country playing our music for everyone we possibly can. We try to put a strong relatable message in these songs and I feel people can really connect with the things that we write. I just really want the music to help the people who need it and for them to be able to share it with others.
Toney Emmons (New Transcendence): What would you like to voice to your growing fans and the masses?
Zack: I want to voice that a lot of us go through some pretty bad stuff. Some more than others. But that you can overcome it. Let go when you need to, fight for that you believe in when you need to. But never, ever give up. Build each other up, not tear each other down.
Sean: I definitely want to point out that you should never EVER give up on anything that makes you happy. Whether this be a dream that you have or something you are currently trying to do that you may be struggling at. This is my 4th time trying to get a band off the ground and share music with everyone, and I will never give that up because of how happy the 30 minutes to an hour that I get to spend on stage makes me feel. I even put off the last couple years of college to follow my dream. There has been so much criticism I have faced for the choices I made to pursue music instead of a “real job”, but none of it is about money to me. I just follow my dream and being able to stay focused is what I feel real success actually is.
They were great guys to have a moment to sit and talk with. Now, this album, “Learning To Let Go” was an explosion in my eardrums. Right off the bat you can hear the effort and complexity of their passion.
The title track, “Learning To Let Go” has a melodic intro to set you up for the intense and edgy growling and onslaught that is Zack’s vocals. This tracks offers some extremities and a very solid clean vocals as well.
“Wait For Dawn” is their first single off the album to be released and the first taste I had of To Whom It May Concern. I wasn’t disappointed. The track offers up some out of this world guitar work to balance out the vocals for a well rounded song. This was a great single break out release.
A stand out track on this EP was, “Inner Peace” and it’s easy to see why. This track explodes off the EP with some solemn emotion. “Inner Peace” offers some fantastic riffs and powerful vocals and definitely worth a listen. Zack’s vocals range is astonishingly powerful and really catches you.
And finally, “Cut The Ties” has some echoing vocals that carry some resonance. This is definitely a track to listen to off this album. The transcendent delivery will leave you starting the song over to listen again and again. This was an outstanding track from To Whom It May Concern.
Overall, this album really speaks of loss, gain and everything in between. It’s melodic, emotional and raw. The guys in To Whom It May Concern brought it and put everything into this release and you can hear it in every lyric, guitar strum and drum beat. This album is definitely worth your time!
Official Audio Video for, “Wait For Dawn”
To Whom It May Concern On Social Media
