Musician, artist and performer Sterling Spence has released his new EP, Someone Tried to Calm The Storm. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Sterling was raised between the Micronesian Islands and the East Bay in San Francisco and his work focuses on "the places between justice and faith, inner lives and communal contracts, hope and hopelessness".
"Someone Tried to Calm the Storm is a celebration of the labours of love and an embrace of the people who remind us of our place in their hearts," he says.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Well, I definitely feel like a lot of my life is compartmentalised into so many different areas. So, about half of my time is spent on art projects. I do a lot of song writing both by myself and with my band Westerly. We keep a pretty rigorous performance schedule so I'm playing a lot of shows and splitting the music between the solo stuff which is a bit quieter and then Westerly’s bigger soul rock n roll sound.
The other half of my time is spent on community work. I’m a development director for a non-profit called buildOn that works around the world to build about 250 schools each year in countries with some of the lowest education rates on the planet.
I guess finally, a huge part of my identity is that I’m born and raised in the East San Francisco Bay Area. My parents started a non-profit when I was a kid so half of the year I’d be with them out in the Micronesian Islands and the other half I’d be here in the Bay. This is my home and I love it very dearly.
How would you describe your music?
I think Someone Tried to Calm the Storm really came out of a love of American folk music and the great artist storytellers. It's a softer, almost melancholic record but I think it holds a lot of optimism. My amazing producers, Noa Zimmerman and Chris Krotky, heard a lot in my small little songs and added these amazing soundscapes behind everything. It gives the record an introspective yet sweeping feeling. I feel very lucky to have gotten to work with them.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I’ve always been a huge Springsteen fan. Obviously, I love his music, but the main thing that spoke to me was his way of writing with genuine love for his subjects. He found the hidden meaning in everyday life, whether it was a factory worker or a marriage struggling financially. His writing always showed the beauty and dignity of those experiences. I love Leonard Cohen, Jason Isbell, Katie Pruitt, Lianne La Havas. All these artists who are writing to bring the listener in close.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I grew up around a lot of music so it’s hard to recall the first gig I ever went to. But one of the most impactful was going to see a bunch of bands at 924 Gilman St in Berkeley. It’s a legendary all-ages punk venue where bands like Rancid and Green Day got their start. I don’t even remember who I saw, but I remember the feeling of all that energy. All these kids fighting for something and feeling it in the music. The bands weren’t technically amazing and it reminded me of all the old folk songs my parents listened to. It was simple music but with a lot of heart. It made me think I could do that too.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Ha! I think the first time I ever went to a CD store, I got the soundtrack to Star Wars and Smash Mouth. I listened to those over and over. I also used to just tape songs off of the radio and make little cassettes for my Walkman. Always from the classic rock station 107.7 the Bone and Live 105. Just rock n roll stuff. It was the energy that always caught me.
What’s your favourite song right now?
There’s a song by Conor Oberst that I’ve been just studying for the last few years called Gossamer Thin. I've always loved his stuff and his band Bright Eyes was pretty big for me in high school. So, I know he’s an amazing writer, but that song Gossamer Thin is on another level. I think he has such a command of language and I’m in awe of the way he writes prose that seemingly turns into poetry. He writes these long drawn-out thoughts that end up rhyming and staying in cadence. It's unbelievable really. He’s the kind of writer that almost makes me mad at how good he can be.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"I’ve heard the men in your wake describe you as a snake as you slip away when they start to wilt. But I firmly believe you’re a lot more like Eve as she enjoys a bit of her guilt."
That’s from Dawes’ song The Way That You Laugh. It’s just so masterfully written. It’s playful and insightful and it makes a little biblical call back. I love that sort of thing. I love any lyric where you can tell the writer wrote something else first that probably worked just fine, and then paused and said, "I can do this better."
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be
Maybe Leonard Cohen’s song There Ain’t No Cure for Love. He has a live in London version that just gets me every time. He was just such a force. And he lived with such care and intentionality. I think you can hear that in his music. You see a man who is trying very hard to be a good person and admits that it’s not always an easy thing to do.
Where can people find your music/more information?
You can follow me on Instagram. That’s where I talk most about my life. @sterlingaustinspence. You can also check out Westerly on Spotify or our website. I mostly moderate all of those, so a lot of my songs and thoughts go out there.
Alan Corr
