After a 20+ year hiatus, Rob returns to writing and recording music. He visits with Coyote Music about that experience, getting his kids' help with social media promotion, and more!

Coyote Music: Your bio talks about your long break from music, more than 20 years. And it was during the pandemic where you 'rediscovered your passion for songwriting'. First, what was it that led to your break from music? Then during the pandemic, what was it that brought music back to the forefront for you? Was it merely the choice of watching TV, playing video games, or picking up the guitar again, and you happened to choose the latter?

Rob Lalain: When I walked away from music in 1999, it was solely to raise my family and be a dad to my kids. You know it started as going to kid’s events and turned into coaching football and basketball. I am proud to say that I coached two of my kids from grade school through high school which afforded me a lot of time with my kids as they were growing up.

In 2020, when Covid hit, I was stuck at home and needed something to do. I was listening to a lot of music at the time and something struck me about the instruments The Beatles used on their later albums. That’s when I discovered the role that the Epiphone Casino electric guitar played in most of their albums from Revolver on and decided to get one. I truly believed when I bought I was just going to try and teach myself some of those songs but it turned into me also picking up and using GarageBand on my iMac. Next thing I knew, I had pulled out a number of my instruments and wrote my first new song in over 20+ years called "The Lows". It was a short number with an addictive beat/rhythm that when I played it to my family and close friends, I was shocked that people were into it and wanted more. From there, the floodgates opened and the songs began to flow.

CM: Influences. Much of your album "Life" has a really 'big' sound to it. Kinda late-era Beatles, maybe some Phil Spector influence. Are those among the artists who you've been inspired by or am I way off?

RL: You’re spot on! The Beatles have had the biggest influence on my life both musically and personally. When I discovered them in 1984, a bright light went on in my head that I could write songs and learn how to play the guitar and piano. The big sound you hear on “Life” is becoming more of my style of music. I love taking a song from simple to complex. I don’t think I am trying to recreate Phil Spector's “Wall of Sound” but I just enjoy rock music with strings and brass; really Sgt. Pepperish.

CM: Everything about creating and putting out music has changed from 2000 to 2020. Once you started recording, what was your process like diving into the modern day music business. Hell, there wasn't Spotify, TikTok, no social media at all. Not even MySpace! That seems like a huge learning curve.

RL: You want to talk about a learning curve, all of the recording I did in the late 80’s and 90’s was on tape. I had to learn how to use the computer to record now. GarageBand was the first step and then around my third song I moved on to Logic Pro and some ProTools. But what freedom this technology brought to me in terms of not being limited to 4, 8, or even 16 tracks and having to bounce them down. As far as the music business went, everything had changed. It truly is the Wild West and thankfully I have had some help navigating through it but I also have kids who were quick to help and get my social media up and running, help create the website, and from there it has kind of taken off. But it was a huge learning curve and one that I can see would scare a lot of people off who don’t have a support system in place.

CM: What's been the best thing about returning to the world of writing and recording?

RL: Getting all of these noises out of my head! One thing I never did do when I stopped writing and recording over the years was stop listening to a lot of music. The first three years I was back I wrote close to 30 new songs of which 13 made it onto my 2023 album Back To The Start. It was truly like the floodgates opened and I had a lot to say. I actually began writing for my new album Life while doing the final mix and master sessions for my last album. Over the course of 18 months I wrote another 20 new songs of which 14 made it onto Life. So, for me, it’s the process of getting these sounds/noises out of my head and into a song that is truly rewarding. But on top of that, the best thing about returning has been those people that have welcomed me in to their life by listening to my music or watching my music videos. I am truly grateful for them.

CM: Are you playing out live much, or do you consider yourself more of a studio musician? I suppose in either case, what are your favorite (and least favorite) things about writing, recording, and performing?

RL: I have not played live with a band since the 90’s. As with the McCartney album in 1970, McCartney II album in 1980, and the McCartney III album in 2020, I followed in Paul’s footsteps and do everything myself. I have written every song, played every instrument, performed all of the vocals, arranged, and produced everything you hear on both my recent albums outside of my 2 recent collaborations with Sean Weyers on “Life” and the one duet (“Like We Used To Be”) on “Back To The Start”. Sorry for a long answer to your question, but yes I am very comfortable in the studio but am looking at the possibilities of getting out on the road sometime in the future.

In terms of my favorite and least favorite things about writing and recording, I would have to say I love everything about being in the studio and creating something from nothing.

CM: You've produced videos for a number of your songs. Can you talk a bit about that--the process and what having videos has meant as far as spreading your music to a broader audience?

RL: I was brought up in the MTV era and for me it’s like a requirement that a song should have a proper video. Now do videos today have the impact they had back in the 80’s and 90’s? No. But a lot of people use YouTube for music as well as other apps. So for me, the process starts once I select what my next single is going to be. From there I typically spend some time working out a sketch of what I want the video to be and then I bounce it off the video director. We work together until my vision comes to life. The results have been very eye opening in that the views on each one of my videos have been high, and in turn it has led to more streaming and more purchases of my music from the stores.

CM: Still regarding videos, how have YouTube and TikTok worked out for you? Is one much better than the other from an artist's perspective? Or does each have its own pros and cons?

RL: I definitely do a lot more on YouTube than Tik Tok only because I keep hearing that it is going to be banned in the US. I really don’t know if one is better than the other at this point because I don’t feel like I’ve pushed a lot out to Tik Tok just yet. But when I look at the two services, I think they both have a lot of pros and are truly good platforms for artists to expand their base.

CM: What do you have in the works now, looking ahead to the rest of 2024 and on into 2025?

RL: I have a few more music videos in the works with one coming out at the end of this month and I am already back in the studio working on the follow up to Life which I hope to release some time next year.

CM: Anything else on your mind that you'd like to share with this audience?

RL: Really, I just really appreciate everyone who has gone out and listened to my music and have watched my music videos. From the emails and notes I get, I know I am relating to a lot of people out there. So, I really appreciate people giving my music an opportunity.

For those that want to keep up to date with me, my website is the one source of everything going on. It has all the latest news, all of my music and music videos, and even a section called “Behind the Songs” that takes you into the making of each one of my songs. Recently I also started a new monthly playlist called “Moments in Time” on Spotify that has some of my favorite tracks by other artists tied back to the theme of one of my songs. It changes monthly and is something I enjoy doing. Website is at: roblalainmusic.com

CM: Thanks so much for spending some time with Coyote Music. I wish you all the best with your forthcoming endeavors!

RL: Thank you Wiley for this opportunity. I truly appreciate you and hope to keep in touch!