Published: July 6, 2010 9:51 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
Rénard
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Rénard
A beautiful blend of acoustics and blues, singer/songwriter Rénard Harris passionately sings the blues with such intensity and heart that one gets lost in his storytelling abilities especially his command of the harmonica; a skill that he has perfected over the last 17 years. In this spotlight with the artist, our Webzine gets up close and personal with the magic of Rénard.
Isaac: Let's get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Rénard: I first became interested in music as a child. There was always music in our home. My mom and dad had us listening and dancing to everything from Joe Tex singing “I Gotcha” to Barbara Streisand singing “The Way We Were”.
I've been playing blues harmonica for about 17 years. I've had lessons with other instruments, but the harmonica is the instrument I speak through best. Interestingly though, recalling prior lessons with other instruments facilitates my understanding of the harmonica. Although the essence of playing blues harmonica is about feel and voice, there is a great deal of theory involved as well.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Rénard: There are too many musical influences to name because I've been exposed to a wide variety of musical genres, and they have all influenced me at some level. My biggest blues influences though, would be artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson (II), Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy and a host of others that played with a passion and wrote to empower and give voice.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Rénard: To be honest, one of the greatest highpoints in my career is to have an opportunity such as this. To use technology to make a connection, share my music, and have the opportunity to share what it means to me, is a highpoint no matter where I am in my career.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Rénard: I don't embrace disappointments because they tend to put the brakes on my forward motion, but they do exist. Disappointments remind that there are an infinite amount of words, sounds, and rhythms that we use to communicate, and unless I choose an effective combination there is a chance that I could be disappointed.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Rénard: The feeling, deep core connection, sincerity, and depth in simplicity.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Rénard: I feel that it takes the willingness to peel back the layers, if just for a moment. I believe that if you speak to your own humanity, and do your best to remove your ego, you will also be speaking to everyone else.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Rénard: I think I'll create an interest for embracing the characteristics and qualities of an African-American folk music, the blues, and using it to speak to our humanity. What is great about my music is that although it is born from a folk music, it speaks to all folks regardless of race, class, gender, nationalism, or ethnicity.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Rénard: Wow, one cover huh? Probably “Sitting on Top of the World”, because the message is empowering. I would put my spin on it by adding a verse or two and performing it with artists that represent the globe. The message would be that there is room for all of us to be whom we choose to be, when we are our most proud, most sharing, and most contributing selves. Wouldn't it be cool if it all happened for each of us at the same time?
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Rénard: I think one has to have the interest in taking whatever experience, real or imagined, he/she is writing about, and telling the story that takes place beneath the actions. In other words, as this story is unfolding, what is happening inside? It is the ability to capture those feelings, emotions, and ideas, while telling the story in a lyrical way that captures the listener's attention.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Rénard: The reality is that juggling all of these things can be tough. Oddly though, I think the more you try to juggle it, the more difficult it is. I think if you love your life, responsibility is not an ugly word. I think your music, family, work obligations, and life in general are those things that make your engine work. I think if you sincerely have interest in those things that affect your life, you will naturally commit to each of them, so “difficulties” become less of a factor. The bottom line is unless you get your music out there, there a chance that you will always be dissatisfied, which can have a negative effect those important things in your life.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Rénard: Def Indie artist/band: An artist/band that embraces the opportunity to create music and share it with an audience that has the same essence as it had when the artist/band created it at home with no audience at all.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Rénard: I'm currently working on my first album. It will available by the end of the summer.
Isaac: In five years…….
Rénard: I will be writing songs with powerful lyrics, publishing articles about the importance of “folk” to understand how we educate and communicate, and playing live shows all over the world.
