 Courtesy: Average Joe's Entertainment DeQueen, Arkansas native, Charlie Farley, has come a long way from making his own mix tapes. Currently, his music is streamed in excess of 4 million times per month across digital platforms and can be heard on various shows such as Party Down South, and Exposed: Pros on Tour. His first album, "Hog Heaven," showcased his unorthodox style and quickly earned him a cult following. Recently, Farley took time to answer his Essential 8 and talk about songwriting, offer his advice to those starting out, and more. Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? I wouldn't say that I've necessarily had a mentor when it comes to music, but I've had a couple of people who really have helped guide me throughout my career. The first would be J from Phivestarr Productions. He literally took me under his wing about five years ago, produced both of my previous albums, helped me get my foot in the door, and has continued to help me still to this day. The other person is Lyn (who is now my manager) with Rebel One Entertainment. Without her I still would have no clue about the actual business of music. I've always knew and loved music itself, but the business side of it can be very stressful, complex, and complicated if you are as clueless as I was three years ago. Without those two people in my corner I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am in my career today, so I'm forever grateful and appreciative of them both. With "Drinks and Dreams", what was the “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was complete? “Drinks and Dreams,” I actually came up with that title and idea about a year ago. My band and I went to DJ KO's ( Jared and KO are the duo that make up Phivestarr Production) studio to record. We had no idea what we wanted to record when we got there. I scrolled through my phone and landed on “Drinks and Dreams.” Once we wrote it and recorded it, I sat back amazed at how well it turned out. Then we listened to it over and over for 12 hours on our road trip afterwards! There's nothing quite like that feeling when a song is over and it's a banger! What’s the story behind your album’s title? At this point my newest album doesn't have a title. I'm about two song away from having it completed, and once that happens I will sit down and decide what the title should be. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I always draw inspiration from life experiences. Growing up I loved songs that I could relate to and so now as a writer I continually write about the things I've seen or been through. When/where do you do your best writing?
It may sound weird but I do my best writing when it's spur of the moment. I have a tendency to over think a song if I have a lot of time to do so. So when something happens or I have an idea and I jump right on it, the song generally turns out better. For instance, there's a song on my album called "Feeling Like I Love It." I met a girl, felt some emotions, called the guys in the band while on our way to practice to tell them what I was feeling and that we should write the song before practice, when we got there we wrote it in 30 minutes and it turned out to be one of my favorite songs on the album. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? Definitely personal experiences. There's been a time or two when I've had a friend going through something and I would write about it, but I never make up stories when writing. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? I think the best advice I've ever been given by a musician was learning how to deal with the road. He told me that the road will eat you alive if you let it, but it can also give you the life you dream of if you make it do so. I thought about that for awhile before it really sunk in at how true those words where. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? The best advice I could give to young musicians is to find a team of people that really have your best interest at heart and build an empire with them. Sure you can do a ton by yourself, so I'm not talking about getting a huge 30 man/woman team together. I'm talking about finding a few hard working, like minded individuals that want to grow and succeed with you. I've always felt like the people who came in with me at ground zero will be the ones who hang the hat on the rack with me when I'm done. Loyalty is hard to find these days but if you get lucky enough to find the few loyal ones, stick with them. For more information Website Purchase
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