Stone White performing live
Ever since I can remember, I have believed it was my purpose in life to write and perform music. When I was in college and playing music around Nashville in the 90’s, it seemed like a strange time for pop/rock music. Most of the Top 40 radio was rap, R&B and grunge, except for artists like Garth Brooks and Shana Twain who were country artists’ crossing over. I had been writing songs for a while and my style had been heavily influenced by classic rock, especially artists like the Eagles, John Mellencamp and Bob Seger. I always thought that when I was ready I would move to Los Angeles and find my fame and fortune. But the music in LA had changed and my songs felt more Garth Brooks than 2Pac, Usher or Nirvana. Evidently, many artists felt that way because there was influx of pop and soft rock singers moving to Nashville during that time. So I stayed in Nashville and released an all original CD that was received well by critics and sold well locally. It was voted best independent release in the Nashville Scene magazine reads poll; prompting the reviewer to write “Someday, Someway” is an eclectic blend of Southern Rock, Country Blues and Pop with a little something for everybody”. I was also voted third in the “Best Male Vocalist” category (behind Vince Gill and Garth Brooks) and third in “Best Songwriter” (behind Vince Gill and Bobby Green).
The attention that was generated because of the CD convinced some major label A&R people to start coming to my shows. The audiences response and energy to my shows was awesome, but the labels reaction was “you’re not really country… we have no idea how to market this… country radio will not play this”. You see I had put on a cowboy hat and was trying to “fit in”, we were playing my songs with more of a country instrumentation, which made them sound southern rock and rockabilly, but I am a blues vocalist and continued to be a high energy performer (that is what my audience expected). I remember one conversation with two A&R people; one said, “We like your songs and we like your stage performance, but we don’t get the two together? What is it? I don’t know what to compare it to?” The other said, “Garth Brooks?” To which the first replied, “Garth Brooks on crack maybe.” Lol, yea I had a lot of energy and Nashville wasn’t feeling it. So I was too rock for Nashville and not rock/rap/R&B enough for LA. I was frustrated with my music career, but at the same time I was getting a lot of opportunities with acting, which I had also been doing since I was 12 years old. I had a chance to open my own theater and since I was banging my head against the wall with music, I decided to take a break and focus on theater for a couple of years to get it up and running and then return to music.
Well as often happens, I was busy with life and running the theater group (trying to keep my head above water), the next thing I know seven years had passed and I had not written a song or done any music performing (except for the occasional karaoke with the theater group). Then a strange thing happened, one morning I awoke and was fixated on why I had stopped doing music (my calling) and that seven years had passed, I could not stop beating myself up or thinking about it. I could not get any work done and only laid around depressed and obsessing over it. Music was what I was supposed to be doing; I knew it in my gut, in my soul! It was one of those moments when you look in the rear-view mirror and realize you should have turned left instead of going straight, but there is no way to turn around. I obsessed over it for two weeks day and night like nothing I had ever gone through in my life. Then one night, I picked up my guitar and made my first attempt to write a song in seven years, in about 20 minutes the quickest song I had ever written, “Angel’s Don’t Let Me Down” poured out of me. And I knew I was back.
The theater company was doing very well by this time; we were touring with shows for students at 2,000 seat venues in 14 states. It took me a couple of years to close down the theater company, all the time I worked on dancing, performance, writing and recording music. I moved to LA (I finally made it) released a couple of albums that have received excellent reviews and continue to perform and do the work while waiting for the next door to open. Driving across the country from Nashville pulling an enclose trailer carrying all my belongings, leaving behind a successful business and following my calling, I couldn’t help but think I ultimately made a U-turn to find that left turn I had missed. I am no longer trying to fit into someone else box, I am performing and recording the music I feel in my heart and letting other people decide what it is.
Here is the song I wrote that night, check out the lyric video below. If you enjoy it, download "Angels Don't Let Me Down" at the top of this page as a thank you from me for your interest! I appreciate you listening and being a part of my journey!
Talk to you soon,
Stone
From the “Groove Thang” album here is the lyric video for my song “Angel’s Don’t Let Me Down” that I wrote on that faithful night! Enjoy!
Click here to download or order my “Groove Thang” CD
“A dazzling entertainer, a stunning performer and a versatile musician; these are some of the adjectives that come to mind when describing Stone White, a driven, charismatic and unique artist with an explosive attitude. His recent CD release, “Groove Thang” is chock-full of stunning grooves, funky vibes and bluesy overtones, following in the footsteps of masters such as James Brown, Otis Redding, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Stone White is an absolute master at translating his love for old-school soul, rock and R&B into a modern and appealing blend of sound that captures the attention of a broad audience.” – The Bandcamp Diaries
