Thomas Fountain – It Don’t Matter

By starrymag | June 18, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound? 

 

A) Musically, my sound has a very 90’s country feel that dips into the Honky Tonk vibe with a little mix of Americana depending on the vibe of the song and lyrics.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) In reference to the previous question, I think that’s where my heart lies.  I grew up listening artists like Alan Jackson, George Strait, Randy Travis, etc.  AJ is probably my biggest influence from the 90’s because he is such a prolific songwriter.  Haggard is my favorite country artist of all time though.  It’s almost like he didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to say some of those things in song.  There is pure honesty there and I think that’s why his lyrics are relatable and timeless.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “It Don’t Matter.” 

 

A) The song was written by Wyatt McCubbin and Aaron Raiterre, both well-known songwriters.  The song was sent to me as almost a bluegrass tune.  I kept hearing a super twangy, Honky Tonk, sing along version.  We went in the studio and grabbed some buddies to sing a background outro chorus.  It’s just a super fun, get with your buddies and drink the relationship blues away song.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to? 

 

A) I think with this release fans have now seen a wide range of my artistry.  They’ve heard love songs, inspirational songs, sad songs and now with “It Don’t Matter” a super fun, upbeat song.

 

Q) This is your first release of 2021. What kind of fan feedback have you been receiving to the song? 

 

A) The feedback I’m getting is amazing.  The one word I’m hearing the most is “fun” and that’s what we were aiming for.  I want people to smile and feel carefree when they hear it.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) I get asked this a lot.  I know some writers say they start with a melody and some start with lyrics.  For me, personally, I do both.  I do find a lot of times my ideas come with a hook or one line.  I don’t ever really sit down and think I want to write a song about a specific idea or person.  I’ll be driving down the road and a hook comes by, and I’ll write that down.  On a quite Saturday morning I’ll be picking around on some melody and pair it with a hook and build from there.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

 

A) Usually, a lot these days.  As a new artist starting out, I was very intimidated in a studio full of A list players.  “Will they like my song?  Will they think I’m a crappy writer/musician/vocalist?”  But as you go along you learn your niche and learn to trust your craft and creative process.  Now, when I go in the studio, I’m much more confident in giving direction.  After all, it is my song, and my name will be on it.

 

Q) Will there be a full EP or album coming in the near future? 

 

A) We have another single coming out in the coming months called “Window Pane.”  It is probably the best written song I’ve released thus far.  It’s an extremely dark, moody song written with a good friend of mine Kyle Daniel.  The song took us probably a year to finish as we kept going back and forth.  We knew we had something good and wanted to give the song justice.  Touching on the previous question, I had a huge hand in producing this one.  When we tracked it as a demo, there was a little downtime for the musicians after one of the tracking passes.  The steel guitarist played a very haunting piece just playing around.  Everyone in the room was talking at the time and we all stopped and just went whoa!  So, there’s a point toward the end of the tune where the music drops out and it’s just that dark, haunting steel guitar solo.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

 

A) I’ve gotten to play some pretty cool venues at this point and there’s quite a few that hold a special place in my heart.  For me it’s all about the show, I think.  If we performed well somewhere and we made a good crowd connection, it’s always memorable.  I think for musicians it’s just like any job.  When you know you did your job to the best of your ability at a given time, you’re proud of it.  As far as an area goes, anywhere in the Midwest is super fun.  They seem to have a deep appreciation/love for country music.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future? 

 

A) Oh man, I’m a big Stapleton guy.  I’ve followed his career when he was barely selling 75 tickets.  I had a chance to open a show for him once as well.  He’s just a super nice guy and an absolute monster vocalist and songwriter.  I have always wanted to do a duet with a female as well.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) Even with my classic sound I guess you could call it my musical taste is very broad.  I think Bruno Mars is one of the best artists of our generation.  It’s kind of rare you find a pop type artist like that who is extremely popular with fans but also very well respected by musicians.  He’s such a great musician and talent.  I also recently watched a Justin Timberlake live concert, and it was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.  He had like a 12-piece band, a vocal section, etc.  Then, I may go five minutes later and listen to Ricky Skaggs. [laughs]  I just appreciated true talent in any form.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans? 

 

A) Well, it’s really the main way to connect.  To me, it’s taken away from fans really appreciating music.  The best approach is to gain a fanbase via social media and THEN present the music to them which is kind of backwards.  People seem to view social media and think well his following isn’t that big so his music must not be that good.  I’d wish people could hear an artist or band first and think wow they’re good I’m going to follow their journey.  So, in short it can help get our music out, but we sacrifice a lot doing so, mainly time spent on it.  I think it takes away from our craft, but it’s definitely not going anywhere.  You got to play the game to stay in the game.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work? 

 

A) I just touched on it a little bit.  There isn’t really any artist development anymore from the higher ups.  Labels seem to want a ready-made artist.  What I mean by that is someone with numbers.  Someone with a following.  I wish it was still a time where artists where judged based on their talent and people in the industry would believe in that and help put their music to the masses.  I said all that to say if you believe in an artist support them in any way you can.  They are doing a ton of work on their own and spending countless hours and money to hope people notice.  My fans have been phenomenal.  I started out playing thinking the most important thing was live performance.  I didn’t have much music at the time so how could I get people to keep coming back to shows.  I cut my teeth in Honky Tonks learning how to captivate people.  That helped translate over when I started recording my own songs.  Most of those fans are still around and we’ve added more and are selling out shows.  We can’t literally do anything without fans, they will always be the most important in determining our success.  The industry has changed so much and will continue to do so, but the once constant that will never change is a fan.