Greg Holden Talks Songwriting, Social Media & Giving Back
Photos by Sam Polonsky
Interview by Rachael Dowd
You just finished the first part of your spring tour. How have the shows been so far?
So far, so good thanks. People showing up is always a result, and whether they’re large or small crowds, seeing people singing along always feels good.
You’ve had a heavy touring schedule over the past year, what is it about being on the road that you enjoy and what to do you want fans to take away from your live performance?
Being on the road is far from glamorous, but getting to play every night is what makes it all worth it really. I try to make sure that whoever is in the audience is involved from the very beginning. So usually there’s a lot of singing along, either voluntary, or forced… and often Q&A sessions in between songs. I always want people to feel included and don’t want it to be all about me. That makes me deeply
uncomfortable.
For those out there who may not have heard your music before, what is one song of yours they should listen to and why?
I’d say, if they can stomach it, listen to two. One might pigeon hole me into a category I don’t want to be in, depending on what song they pick. So “Boys in the Street” and “Hold on Tight” should cover it. If you’re still in after that, see you soon!
On your official website, you have a page that is dedicated toward donating and giving back to organizations of all sorts. You also collect donations for charities while out on the road. When did you first get involved with these types of organizations and charities and have they impacted your music in any way?
I’d say after my song “The Lost Boy” was used as part of a charity campaign in the Netherlands in 2010. The song raised $80,000 for the Red Cross, and it was the first moment I realized that my songs could actually help someone, or something. Since then, I’ve always tried to think of ways to do something more than just self-promote. Whether it’s raising money on the road or writing about a specific topic linked to something I care about. Obviously, it’s not always effective, and I sometimes get lazy, but I try to remind myself as much as possible that I’m in a good spot right now and should help those who aren’t as much as I can.
Yours sincerely, Bono.
You were born in Scotland, raised in England and currently live in New York. Do these aspects of your life influence your music in any way and if so, how?
Not so much these days. I wrote the “where the f**k am I and what am I going to do” album in 2010. Nowadays I’m really more affected by things I read, or things I see on the news. Where I live has little effect on my music now I think, which I only just realized after you asked me this question… Oh god maybe I should move!?
When you are creating music, is there a particular order/way in which you create a song or is it a spontaneous process for you (i.e. do lyrics normally come first, melody, etc.)?
For me, it’s a lot like throwing up. You never really know when it’s going to happen, and when it does, it kind of hurts a little, but you feel way better afterwards.
For your single “Boys In The Street,” a series of different filmmakers created their own music videos and you picking the winning video. What was that process like for you? How did it come about and was it difficult to decide a winning video?
We’d already made an official video prior to this, which I love. But when my label suggested the video competition idea, I was really into it and thought it’d be fun to see what people came up with. In the end, it was mind-blowing to see just how many people went to so much effort to make a video for a song I wrote. Some of them were incredible actually, particularly the one I chose to be the winner. There are some seriously talented people out there and it’s so inspiring to see that.
You are a very active artist on social media. Why is it important for you to have a strong social media presence?
I never really thought of it as important, just more of a necessity I guess. It’s mostly just pictures of dogs and food anyway.
You shared on social media that you are in the studio demoing new music. Do you have plans to release any new music this year and is there anything you can tell us about it?
Yeah. I’m actually writing my next album right now and demoing the songs in my home studio. I like to demo stuff before actually recording them for real, so I can live with the songs for a while. If I still like them after a few weeks, they usually end up on the record. If not, well, they sucked.
