Interview with Charlie PS

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Exploring my parent’s music collection and seeing my dad’s enthusiasm for live music when I was a kid definitely was a big contributor towards what got me into music and my love for it today. We had quite a few of those ‘Live at’ and “A Night With’ DVD’s and we watched and rewatched them religiously.

If I hadn’t gotten into music I wanted to be a marine biologist. I love animals and biology was the class I found the most interesting in high school.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

My ‘day job’ consists of working at a live music venue in both front of house and back of house roles so my whole life pretty much revolves around music in some way or another. It can honestly be a little exhausting but for the most part it’s a huge influence and pushes me to keep going on my own music journey.

How long have you been making music?

Since middle school when my parents bought me a piano and I learned to play by watching youtube tutorials on how to play my favourite songs at the time (probably mostly Adele and Sara Bareilles songs) which then lead me to beginning to write my own songs.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

I grew up in the UK and moved to Canada when I was just starting grade 2. I think that influenced the eclectic mix within my music because I grew up in 2 countries listening to a huge range of music genres and I think in a lot of ways many of those genres subconsciously made their way into the music I make now. I’m now based out of Vancouver, BC.

Tell me about your most memorable shows, if you haven’t played live what is your vision for a live show?

My first festival gig was my most memorable. Before that, I had played to a lot of mostly empty small venues and coffee shops that felt like nobody was listening and that first festival was filled with people who seemed to really resonate with what I was doing and after that show was the first time I had complete strangers come up and want to buy a CD purely because they had stumbled upon my set and loved my music and it gave me a lot of confidence to keep going.

What is your favourite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

My favourite place I’ve played is at Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver. Behind the stage is the most incredible view of the Lions Gate bridge, Stanley Park and all of the surrounding mountains and it’s honestly hard to stay facing the audience when you’re on stage, you just want to turn around and take it all in! A huge goal of mine is to play at the famous Commodore Ballroom here in Vancouver one day.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

It would be myself, Grace Potter and Chris Stapleton. It would be this epic rock/country/bluesy mix of high energy meets soul. Ideally Queen and Elton John would be there too but now I’m just day dreaming.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into making music and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

A lot of people are going to tell you a lot of different opinions on what you’re doing and how you should do it, whether you’ve asked for that opinion or not. My advice would be to trust yourself and take the time to find a few trusted people (bonus if they’re industry professionals you’ve worked with previously) who you can go to for advice. Too many opinions crushes my creative spirit and leaves me confused and frustrated so I tend to ask those few people the questions I have and block out the rest of the noise. :)

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Maybe because it’s one of my newest but my song “Even If It Kills Me”. For me, it’s the reminder that I am capable as a musician and that I can be 100% authentically myself and people seem to relate to

that, which means a lot to me.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Definitely the newest songs from my latest EP “Even If It Kills Me” because they’re still fresh so my band is having fun playing them in a live setting. We have a few covers in our set from legends Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and Heart and those always get requested which I take as a compliment because to me it means that people think we cover them well.

What is your creative process, and what inspires you to write your music?

It’s all over the place, it can start as a hook or as just a title idea or sometimes a full verse, chorus or a full song falls out of my head in one session. I am mostly inspired by film and TV as well as other artists I listen to on my playlists. If I’m feeling like I’m in the mood to write, I’ll sit down before hand and jam some of my favourite songs at that current time and that always helps me get into the groove of sitting down and writing my own mixed version of all of those songs.

Do you have messages that you like to get across in your music, if so please tell me about them?

Be yourself, be bold and be fearless. When I look back, I realize that I wasted so much time and energy worrying about things that I had no control over and that mindset turned me into the worst version of myself for many years. Nowadays I try to be unapologetically me and it has honestly set me free, so I put that into my music and I hope that’s what people take away for themselves from listening.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

I have a few new singles that I’m getting ready to record in 2024 and I hope to play as many live shows as possible. Nothing concrete just yet as I am taking a much needed rest for a couple of weeks over Christmas and then I plan to head ‘guns a-blazing’ into 2024!

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

You can find me at @CharliePSMusic on all social media platforms and Charlie PS on streaming services. Thanks everyone for the support and thank you Volatile for your time!