Unrendered – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

CP: UnRendered started as a solo project, destined for somewhere between pop-punk and shoegaze. It quickly became a creative outlet, without genre or production expectations, for a variety of ideas. Soon we’ll put out singles featuring other local artists, as I expand the project into so much more.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

CP: I admire the significant others, and close family/friends throughout the community. They’re often the glue that holds it all together; an entire art of its own.

RRX: With services like Spotify, streaming revenue can be pretty dismal. Without spilling state secrets, do you have a promotional strategy? Anything work well? Anything you recommend other musicians avoid from your own experience.

CP: Promote yourself, nobody will do it for you! Over 100k tracks are uploaded to streaming services daily, how will you stand out if you silently drop yours? BE LOUD!

RRX: Part of learning to be a musician is to fall in love with a song, an album, and hammer away at your instrument until you can play that whole thing. What was that song for you? Was there a hardest part?

CP: I grew up listening to everything from Zeppelin to Rage Against The Machine to Kid Cudi, and all in between. To choose a genre, let alone an artist or album in particular, feels impossible. The Jay Z/Linkin Park collision course EP was probably one of the strongest catalysts for my passion as a musician. It showed me a simple, but impactful style of genre-blending that hadn’t yet occurred to my young mind. It still slaps.

RRX: Cover art is cool. It shows listeners what the artist thinks the album is all about. Because music can be felt visually. If you had to give the public a visual image that you think they would see and just “get” your groove right away, what would it be?

CP: All of my cover art is self-produced, because imagery is a huge part of my identity. Picture the sky, right now. It could bright blue, with soft, puffy clouds. Or a deep purple, with a fading orange glow as the sun sets. From violent thunderstorms, to moonlit starry nights, the sky is a never-ending canvas; amorphous and UnRendered.

RRX: You sing or you rap, you play guitar, play drums, what have you, you have no doubt struggled to learn music. Something probably tripped you up. What was it for each of you? What did you have to overcome (bands, pick a member)?

CP: I can’t overstate this — don’t spend a lifetime perfecting your track, instead spend a lifetime perfecting your craft. I’m a drummer, but I learned a few other basic skills needed to translate the melodies in my head. I’ve left countless projects and ideas on the back burner, because I was overly self-critical of my ability, crushing my motivation. Grow as you go, because time is the great motivator. Regardless of your craft: Share it with the world, and please, never stop creating!