Made It In Music: Interviews With Artists, Songwriters, And Music Industry Pros

fullcirclemusic.org Chris Stevens has been in the music industry for more than 20 years. We hear his story from being influenced by his father as a kid to being a 4 time Grammy winner. Going from bands, music for games, to music for everyone he has had a career that has blurred the lines in all genres. He explains how important family is, mentors are, and advice for anyone in the music industry. M...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Katie Wynn is a sophomore Songwriting major at Belmont University, taking on part two of the “Ask Me Anything.” Katie asks Seth about his start and journey in the music industry and what made him decide to start Full Circle Music. She also turns the conversation toward what a typical day for Seth looks like, how often they work with new artists, and several key things someo...

fullcirclemusic.org Jon Steingard is the lead singer for the Christian-Rock band Hawk Nelson. Jon takes us on his journey from playing guitar for a band at 15, to signing his first record deal, to transitioning from being a side-man to the front-man. He talks about how touring has been Hawk Nelson’s focus and why, and he also touches on what that looks like while having a family. Jon has some grea...

fullcirclemusic.org Barry Graul is a highly accomplished guitarist and twenty-seven-year music industry veteran. He shares some unique stories of how he started as a musician and how he eventually ended up full time in music, specifically the Christian industry. Most of his experience has been as a sideman for an artist – the most notable of whom he has been involved with to date is MercyMe. Barry...

fullcirclemusic.org Karrie Hardwick Dawley has a lot of insight on the label side of the industry. She has worked in radio promotion, A&R, and publishing for 10+ years. She shares her experience with the key pieces of being a successful artist, like balancing a strong artistic identity while at the same time being “commercial.” Karrie also talks about being a woman in an industry where there...

fullcirclemusic.org Aaron Shust had a unique beginning to his career as a CCM artist. He walks us through his journey of first moving away to college, leading worship at a church, writing songs for the church, and how that inadvertently led to him to make his first record. He talks about how the decisions he has made have been from having peace with believing God was calling him to do something, n...

fullcirclemusic.org Mike and Molly (now musically known as Grayson Reed) share their stories of when they first crossed paths with music, followed it into a career, and then eventually crossed paths with each other. They both attended Belmont University, both separately choosing the school because of the “magic” of Nashville. They talk about their experiences first signing with a label and the imp...

fullcirclemusic.org I had a chance to chat with long-time colleague Brad Rempel, who makes up half of the Canadian country band High Valley. Brad talks about his upbringing away from popular music and how he made his way into being involved in radio, making records and eventually touring as an artist. He also touches on the importance of building good relationships and how to go about doing it wel...

fullcirclemusic.org We hear from three heavy hitters in the area of music for film and television. Songwriter Josh Silverberg, session musician and music producer Tim Lauer, and industry veteran publisher Chad Segura, unleash a wealth of information about what it is like to navigate the unique world of music for sync licensing. These expert panelists answer questions from our live studio audience...

fullcirclemusic.org Listen in as some of our boot camp mentors share their wisdom on relationships, location, learning from a mentor, and breaking into the music biz. Seth interviews A&R at Capitol Records Brad O’Donnell, songwriter Benji Cowart, lawyer Jason Turner, and Centricity publisher Chad Segura, all long-term music industry pros. Also included in this episode is a panel discussion wi...

fullcirclemusic.org Tom Jackson is a live music producer who helps artists and bands turn their commercial studio songs into live show hits. He has worked with a ton of major artists, both established (Taylor Swift) and more recent (Shawn Mendes). He talks about finding the moments within a song, whether it’s in the instruments, rhythm, or vocals, and playing on those for a more captivating show....

fullcirclemusic.org Ben Stennis is a songwriter in which you might have been singing his song and not even known it. Life as a songwriter wasn't always the story though. Would you believe that he went to school and got a Business Management Degree? Or would you believe that before that he was wanting to become a stunt man… Ben shares with us his story and how he got to where he is today. 10...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Zach Kelm is truly a super-manager, who says that the music industry found him. Working with artists like Skillet and Colton Dixon, he lets us see into the hectic life of a manager and why he still loves it so much. In this interview, Zach touches on some extremely difficult personal struggles that he and his family have gone through, and how they kept their careers going d...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Luke Sullivant is a multi-instrumentalist, who wears several hats in the music industry, including touring with major artists. In this interview he walks us through how his post-hippie musical upbringing and first gigs in the jazz world brought him to his understanding of music. He touches on technology, including going through the transition from analog to digital recordin...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Chad Segura, 20-year music industry veteran publisher, explains his story on how he got into music and is now the Vice President of Centricity Publishing. His journey shows that with hard work and faith you can do anything. We get the inside scoop of a huge medical surgery he and his family had to overcome. Then at the end he shares some inside tips on the music industry an...

fullcirclemusic.org Dove award winning songwriter Tony Wood shares his story of how a quiet obsession for lyric writing lead to moving to Nashville and turning his dream into a reality as a successful songwriter. In this episode, Tony shares with us how he got his start as a songwriter, as well as his thoughts on the specific art of crafting a song and how to avoid some mistakes that can accompany...

www.fullcirclemusic.org In this episode, we have Jordan Feliz. Many of you might have heard his No.1 single on AC radio that has topped the chart for ten consecutive weeks. We get to hear his story about starting as a drummer, being thrown into singing, and how that lead into what is now his blossoming career. Jordan explains how much work he put into his music not only during the shows but in-bet...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Guest Mike Snider discusses his career as head of the Christian booking division for William Morris Entertainment, one of the premier booking agencies in the music business. He provides insight on facing the challenges and obstacles artists are presented with in a constantly evolving industry, what booking agencies look for in new artists, and much more in this episode of t...

www.fullcirclemusic.org This episode, we have Casey Brown with us. He's been on quite the journey, from being a student at Belmont to songwriting/producing full-time and now touring with Rascal Flatts. Ever wonder what the key skill for being a pro music producer is? Listen to this episode and you'll find out. It's probably not what you think. He talks about the people who surround him, and the im...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Today we have Walt Smith. He is the bass player for Jeremy Camp. We hear the story of bass player to tour manager and the inside scoop and tips for that. He offers up keys to success on landing a gig. One of them is Location and explains why. Other tips he offers to being a good tour manager. One of those tips is being detailed oriented. To find out the other tips you'll ha...

fullcirclemusic.org Today we have Mike Payne. We hear his story of growing up with music to touring as a guitar player to now living life as a successful session player. Keys to focus on are parts, timing, and your tone. We also get the inside scoop of his favorite pieces of gear as of right now. One thing he ends on is never stop learning. Always learn something new and keep tweaking for new soun...

You may not have heard of Roger Love. But we know you've heard of Eminem, John Mayer, Selena Gomez, Jeff Bridges, Tony Robbins, and Brendon Burchard. Who is behind helping them find their voice? It is Roger. This week we take a personal turn and hear from Seth Mosley, Grammy Winning Producer and Songwriter, about his experience working with Roger love for 3 days. This is the 5 lessons learned from...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Today we have Josh Bailey, A&R at Word Entertainment. He dives into the process of being an A&R now and what his journey has been like. We get to hear his story on how he ended up where he is now. How does he have a degree unrelated to music and still end up where he is? You'll have to listen to find that out. He answers a lot of questions I think most people have...

www.fullcirclemusic.org This is a new segment we are adding into our podcasts. We are calling it “Ask Me Anything” Here we have Caylea Ingram who is from Belmont and has been interning with us this semester. She dives into a more in depth look at Seth's career. Seth explains his heart on songwriting and his thoughts on workflow. This time he goes a little bit deeper and explains the servant mental...

www.fullcirclemusic.org Here we have Matt Hammitt. Hearing about his early days which went from drumming to singing to where he is now. Songwriting has always been a part of his life and we get to hear what helps him grow in that. Collaborations, the people you surround yourself with, watching production gurus, etc. We also get to hear the inside story about how sometimes the music life can put st...