Where can we find you right now and what are you up to?
You can find me on your social media of choice (however I tend to prefer Instagram), or you can go to my website www.cohensieg.com to see what shows are coming up and listen to my latest music. I’ve been busy recording for an upcoming EP, and playing lots of live shows, so definitely stay on top of my socials to see when I will be playing near you, and when my new music will be coming out!
Tell us a bit about your influences.
I usually tell new listeners that my music is like if Ed Sheeran was jamming with John Mayer, but honestly my influences have varied a lot over the course of my career. I initially wanted to be a country star, the male Taylor Swift if you will, so a lot of my influences then were country or roots orientated, with Blake Shelton being my idol at the time. You’ll still find some country influence in my music even now if you listen for it. But as I grew up my music preferences definitely changed, and I started to incorporate different genres, such as 80’s pop sounds with the likes of Phil Collins, or more modern takes on it such as The 1975 and Charlie Puth. I’ve also been incorporating elements of alternative drawing from My Chemical Romance and early 5 Seconds of Summer. But I think as a musician, and being surrounded by music all the time there’s elements from an array of artists in your work. We’re really all just a mosaic of artists that have come before us.
How did you start?
I first started taking guitar lessons when I was 6 years old (my first guitar teacher was actually Kris Ulrich, who’s starting to get some recognition through Boy Golden and his own solo career), but after 2 lessons I decided guitar was too hard and there were way too many scales involved (haha). It wasn’t until one of my friends started taking lessons at 10 years old that I decided to give guitar another shot. I started progressing quite quickly, out growing hot cross buns in a few lessons, and once I learned my first few chords, I started writing songs shortly after. My parents would take me into every open mic they could find after school, and I would try out new material and some covers I had been working on. I eventually started playing small events and festivals all across Manitoba, and eventually all of Canada.
What obstacles does an emerging artist have to face in our time?
Besides the fact that there’s hundreds of thousands, if not millions of artists trying to do this whole music thing, and there’s only a limited number of spots for those artists to fill, I would say not too much (haha). But in all seriousness, you don’t go into music because it’s an easy career choice, you go into it because you love it, and you have something you want to share with the world. And even though there are more artists now than ever, I think the playing field is becoming more level, and giving all artists an equal shot at this thing, which is great, and allows for more art to be heard.
What worked for you marketing-wise? What advice or tips would you give to new artists?
My advice to new artists? Figure out a game plan and stick to it. It’s way easier to get a fresh new account lots of likes and views than to try and build up an old (maybe even dying) account. The algorithm likes to see consistency, so if it sees that this account you’ve made has been consistently active since day one, it’s going to want to push that account, vs an account that maybe hasn’t been super consistent for the last couple of years. But that’s not to say you can’t build up an old account, it will just take longer to see the results you’re looking for. And being consistent is not only a great strategy for your marketing, but also with being a good musician in general. Be consistent with writing, recording, and releasing (all things I will admit I’ve been slacking at, so don’t be like me, be better!).
What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in five years?
My goal has always been to make a career out of this, playing shows, releasing music, as long as I can sustain myself by doing what I love, then I’ll continue to be happy. As for any milestones I would like to have passed in 5 years time, definitely to have surpassed 1 million streams on a single would be great, maybe even play a sold-out tour. I feel like telling people that I will be as big as Shawn Mendes, or Ed Sheeran in 5 years sounds a little cocky, so I’m not saying that (but I also won’t say I won’t be). However you look at it, in 5 years I will still be making a career out of music, and just the thought of that puts a smile on my face.
Tell us about your latest or upcoming release
Well, my latest (if 2020 is even close to being latest) release “Glad You’re My Girl” will actually be featured on my newest release which is going to be an EP (that I won’t disclose the name of just yet). But since I’m feeling chipper at the moment, I will say my next single is going to be a song called “Will You Ever Come Back?” that will be released later this year, and I am super excited to release it as it’s unlike anything I’ve written before, so give me a follow on social media, or Spotify, so you don’t miss when that song comes out!
@cohensieg