An Interview With The Fast-Rising LA-Based Singer-Songwriter EDDY FAULKNER On His Newest AirBnB Musical Partnership and Much More!

Meet Eddy Faulkner! He is a 26 year old singer-songwriter currently living in Los Angeles, CA. With a brand new partnership with AirBnB (starting tonight, April 5), he will be hosting in select venue(s), curating talent and also performing in his very own series of music showcases starting locally in Los Angeles.

Read more about this brand new venture here: 

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/200288

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8216223/airbnb-expands-music-offering-concerts-platform?utm_source=twitter

Below you can check out his recent singles, “Fire” and his latest track, “One” which he was able to successfully get licensed to a couple television shows last year.

Connect With Him Here: 

eddyfaulknermusic@gmail.com
www.eddyfaulkner.com

Learn more about Eddy Faulkner in the following All Access interview:

Hello Eddy! Thank you for your time today. So where does this interview find you? What’s on tap for the rest of your day?

Hello Leah! No problem. Big fan of All Access. It’s an honor to chat with you. Well, for the rest of the day today I have phone calls/emails to do, I’m writing some new songs, and also I’ll be rehearsing for my first showcase with Airbnb tonight here in Los Angeles. Every single day I try and do something new/different if I can, but I make sure I move every single ball forward as well. LA is a city where it’s what you make of it every day. I’m in year two of my LA adventures now and still love every second of it so far. Feel blessed to still be here doing what I love.

Overall, how do you think 2017 was for you and your career? What are you most excited about for this year? What is one big goal you have for 2018?

2017 was a pivotal moment for both my career and personally. I grew up in Arlington, Virginia right outside of Washington, D.C. I have lived there my whole life with my family. Graduated from Lynchburg College in 2014 with a Business Management degree. After graduating, I started working several jobs while growing my business as a Singer/ Songwriter which I started at the end of 2013 before my last year of college. After three years of working in restaurants, doing freelance marketing/PR work, and also teaching guitar it felt right to move out of D.C and come to more of a music hub town. Plus I thought I’d save up some money and gain valuable work experience before moving out. Before moving to LA I checked out Nashville, Austin and also LA once as well before making my final decision in 2016. At the beginning of 2017 in January I made my move out here. 2017 was the most challenging year so far, but also the most fun I’ve had as well.

2018 so far has been an amazing year for me. This past week I worked out a partnership with Airbnb. Airbnb just started a global live music experiential program for their travelers and people who want to just come and check out live music. They’re disrupting live music in such a positive way on a global scale. So my big goal for 2018 with this is to continue growing my own music showcases I’m hosting/curating the talent/performing in with them, and also at the same time help other artists through this in LA and beyond.

Growing up, did you ever think that this would be the kind of life that you would have? Has music always been a big part of your life? Can you recall your first ever musical experience?

If I could talk to baby Eddy, I bet he would be shocked with where I’m at now!

Music has always been in my life, however, I could have never pictured it being such a huge part of my life as it is now.

I remember when I was very young my mom and dad playing records from The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Elvis Presley and etc. This was my first taste of music that I can remember. When I was in Elementary School I picked up trumpet which was my first instrument. I stuck with trumpet and played it in concert and marching bands until my last year in high school. During my last year of high school in 2010 is when I fell in love with writing songs, performing, singing and playing other instruments such as guitar, drums, piano and bass guitar. In life especially with different passion(s) you have growing up, you just never know sometimes where they will take you. Going into college in 2010 and during my four years there I found a strong love for what I do now to this day with music.

How do you think that your hometown has influenced the kind of artist that you are today?

Growing up in Arlington there is a huge amount of talent within the music world. Arlington and surrounding areas have an endless array of talented people within Hip- Hop, Rap, Pop, Rock, Punk and more. I was immersed at a young age in musical talent from all walks of life being involved in school bands, and once I got into what I do now it was inspiring to see so many people doing what I do out there. The talent from my hometown has definitely influenced me, and still does to this day even here now in LA. Beyond just the great music I love listening too out there the work ethic, drive and passion from so many people is what inspires me. Artists such as Wale, THEY and others have the set bar and have put my hometown and surrounding areas on the map. I hope to do this for my hometown and continue to give light to it too.

Let’s talk about your current partnership with Airbnb. How did this collaboration first come to be? What can people expect from these showcases? How often will these events be happening? How do you about selecting the venues to host them? What other artists are you hoping to have perform along with you?

This collaboration with Airbnb came from me just simply reaching out to corporate up in San Francisco directly via LinkedIn.com over their direct messaging system just two months ago. I use LinkedIn daily for networking, posting content, and also learning from others in the business. It’s a valuable resource for news, trends, tips and just good solid people to connect with around the globe. Airbnb’s global program is at the very beginning stages right now, so with this partnership with them it was actually a flip from most brand partnerships. As with most brand partnerships and/or influencer partnerships, we usually tend to see the brand dictating what they want the influencer(s) to do for them. However, in this case, it was entirely up to me what I wanted to do with the partnership. So we agreed, why don’t we start by having me set up my own music showcases here in LA. Helping and giving back to others has always been a strong passion of mine since I was very young. So I see this as a great way to help others, and especially other creatives in my lane of music.

With my showcases I’m hosting in select venue(s), curating the talent and performing. People who come to these can expect to hear the stories of artist(s) here in LA who are making a positive impact on culture, community and the world through their music and beyond. For my showcases I thought with all of this in mind an appropriate title would be ‘Make An Impact Series – #MAISeries’.

These showcases will be happening at least two times a month here in LA at select venue(s) starting tonight at Artshare in downtown LA at 8 PM. Airbnb negotiates on my behalf with the select venue(s) beforehand so the back-end (meaning the sound, ticketing platform and marketing/PR) is taken care of. I’m open to all kinds of artists no matter where they are in their career. For my first showcase tonight I’m having Taylor Alexander who I’ve known personally since last Spring. He’s one of the first people I met here in LA and resembles perfectly someone who is making an impact.

Best way to follow this series of mine and others that are going on here in LA and beyond is via my website and Airbnb’s website.

How would you describe your sound for people that haven’t heard your music before?

My sound is a mix of influences from my love of Classic Rock to the Pop of today. The best way to describe it is a mix of John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars and a hint of Elvis Presley. Imagine if they all got together and had a kid (kind of a weird picture, right?) but that would be me!

What was the inspiration for your most recent singles, “Fire” and “One”? Do you have plans to release an EP or a full-length album of new songs soon? Are you constantly writing new material?

The inspiration for “Fire” came from just living here in LA for six months. We Architects sent over an instrumental to me after I discovered them on Spotify during July of 2017. I love listening to new music and discovering new/trending artists, DJ’s, singers, producers and songwriters. Found them trending on Spotify from their last single “Escape” which hit over 100,000+ streams that month. They had this instrumental sitting around they told me for a few months and they just never had the right vocal for it. Once they heard my song “One”, along with a few others they sent it over to me. I ended up writing to it and singing on it that week. “Fire” is about the people in your life who give you that fire to keep going through the ups and downs of life. Wrote this about my family, friends and fans who help keep me going every day. The support from them along with people here in LA from my gym, church and others in the industry to this day has helped tremendously.

With “One”, I actually wrote it in 2015 on my acoustic guitar. I remember just sitting in my bedroom in Arlington one day before working at the restaurant that night and the words ‘we are one’ kept coming into my head. I just started writing around that and playing a few chords with my guitar and then “One” was made. I love starting songs acoustically on guitar, piano or even just
with a vocal or a couple words. That way if the basic structure is right I can then take the time to build around it with production.

My Debut EP “Unbreakable” came out in 2016. Since then, I’ve released two singles “Cruel” and “Fire”. I definitely plan on releasing another EP and more content just in general. I am always writing, and right now I’m working on my next round of singles as well as writing for productions within the Film/TV world here in LA. Recently, I wrote a song with my friend here in LA for a buy-out opportunity with a production music house called Megatrax. I love challenging myself, especially when it comes to writing. There are many opportunities out here if you get yourself out there to do just that.

How has it been being licensed to a couple TV shows? Can you remember the first time that you heard one of your songs on TV? What show has been the most rewarding to be a part of?

Before moving out to LA, I made sure to build up during 2014-2016 as much as I could a network of people within the industry here in LA and beyond. Music supervisors and licensing is a fantastic avenue for reaching the masses, and also at the same time getting paid for what you love to do. I reached out to the supervisor for the MTV show ‘Are You The One?’ in late 2016 before moving out to LA via email. Ended up meeting her in February after a month of being here in LA at a licensing panel. Two weeks later, I get an email from her saying I would love to use your song “One” in the next episode for ‘Are You The One?’. It was a rewarding and humbling feeling hearing that for the first time on a TV show of that caliber and reach. It ended up getting licensed again on another TV show she supervises which is ‘Are You The One: Second Chances’ two months later.

This alone has now opened the door to me working with an agent on the sync/licensing front now non-exclusively, and also a few more licensing placements on a website called Songtradr.com.

We are living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious how you think being a musician gives you the most joy in life today? How do you think that music is going to reflect these challenging times?

Music is a powerful force and is in all of us. Music I believe is something that can be used to give hope, movement, and also inspiration for people to take action in what they believe in. No matter what kind of climate we’re in, I believe that music gives us and always will give us a voice. It is a joy to this day to be able to live, do and breathe music, while also giving people a voice in return. I see music for a long time continuing to influence us.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely still love to work with in the future?

I love all kinds of music as I mentioned above, and there are so many artists that I continue to discover and have loved for a while now to this day that inspire me and my music in return. My favorites currently are Avicii, Max Martin, Steve Aoki and Shawn Mendes. All of these people and so many others give me inspiration to this day. I would love to work with these guys and so many other people such as again Taylor Swift, Enrique Iglesias, John Mayer, Bruno Mars and others.

At the end of the day, what do you hope your fans take away from your music?

At the end of the day, I hope people take away inspiration, encouragement, hope and even guidance. We’re in the business if you think about it of people, communications and reactions. How do you get the biggest reaction out of someone in a positive way?

That is something we all time and time again have to take action on and answer as songwriters. Music is a powerful universal tool. I want to do as much as I can in a positive way with it for as long as possible.

Would you like to share anything else about yourself or your music with our readers?

It was a pleasure talking with you today! I read All Access, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, Digital Music News and so many other outlets daily. You and your team inspire me with what you do for people to this day. Keep up the great work. Hope to see you at my Airbnb show tonight and stay tuned for new music! 🙂

For the readers, thank you for taking the time to read this Q&A. I hope this conversation can inspire, give hope, motivate, encourage, guide or even help you just move forward in life. For those of you who have dream(s) in life don’t ever give up. You’re not alone. Dream big!

Airbnb Showcases: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/200288