Dion Roy is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and performing artist. His music has been featured in TV & Film and his albums have ranked in the Top 10 on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts.
Dion has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, and he’s currently the front-man for the Band Fire and The Romance, which working on their debut LP “Adaptations” set to release on August 26, 2014.
Table of Contents
2:38 – If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
5:02 – How did you get started in the business of music?
14:01 – Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
16:14 – What’s been one of your biggest failures?
26:42 – Four things artists should be doing today to grow their fan-base and move their careers forward
If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
It would definitely be a song, because I’m kinda all over the place. I feel like I have a chill verse, then a crazy chorus that comes out of no where. I’m five different BPM’s and ten different keys. Maybe a cross between Leonard Cohen and Awolnation.
How did you get started in the business of music?
I was 14 or 15 years old, and my buddies were starting a band. I decided that I didn’t want to be left out and they were rehearsing during the summer. They suggested that I play bass by saying: “Hit this note, and that hit this note. It’s three notes. Don’t do anything else.”
I did that, and obviously I loved it. From then on, it was a series of terrible bands for awhile. I spent a few years playing bass, and then I put everything on pause because I had a daughter at 18. I started engineering while playing gigs on the side. It was cool, but the thing about music is that if it’s in you, it’s never coming out and it’s always going to be there.
After working at Lehman Brothers and single-handedly bankrupting them, I left there and decided that I wanted to write songs. I loved music so much that I had to go back and not sleep for awhile. That’s when I started writing some of the original stuff that I started touring on. After a couple of years, I was touring Europe.
Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
I’m a Dad, so I wrote a song called Daughter. It’s probably my most honest, truest song. I wasn’t hunting for lyrics, it just kinda rolled out. It’s doing well on YouTube, it’s getting a lot of plays. It’s really special to me. Like any musician, you want to connect with people and I know for a fact that I gave happiness to someone through that song. That’s huge for me that the song has become important to a lot of peoples lives.
What’s been one of your biggest failures?
If you’re doing music as a career, you better get used to failing and then getting up, over and over again. Be ruthless. Learn to roll with the punches.
I’m not sure if this is a failure, or just part of finding your musical identity, but I did spend time writing songs that really weren’t what I wanted to be playing. I thought, “Well, that’s what these guys are doing that are successful.” So I might have wasted 10 or 15 songs on writing for the wrong reasons. Fans a smart and they can tell: “Hmm, that’s cool, it’s pleasant, next!” If I could look back I would say, just write the songs you want to write.
Four things artists should be doing today to grow their fan-base and move their careers forward:
- Start an email list. It sounds antiquated, but tools like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Myspace…these things come and go while for the most part, people keep their email address over time. When I do pre-orders for the new record, that’s where the majority of sales are coming from. Granted, it sucks to walk around after the show and pass around email lists, print it out, and input all these zip codes, but emails are gold.
- Engage with EVERY fan on Twitter. We are now in an environment where everyone expects interaction. And when you don’t interact, your fans will find an artist who does. Get personally invested in your social media.
- Be aware of editing, producing, and mixing. You want to be educated when you’re opinion is asked.
- When you are on tour, be super respectful of the other bands you are playing with. It’s short-sighted to not be that. You will find that the nicer you are to people, the more opportunities you will get.
The best ways to reach Dion Roy:
On the web:
http://fireandtheromance.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/fireandtheromance
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/fireandthemusic
Intro Music:
She’s a Devil by Fire and the Romance. Go to FireandtheRomance.com and leave your email address for a free download of this track.
Tracy
Great interview! I love when musicians share a little of their personal side. Can’t wait to hear more from Dion Roy & Fire And The Romance!