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For the month of June, our TapSongz team had the honor of speaking with a very well known artist who has been working very hard since his latest album launched nearly a year ago. Lee DeWyze, winner of the ninth season of American Idol, has had the pleasure of making a career doing the one thing he truly loves: music. Born in the Chicagoland area, DeWyze had countless musical inspirations growing up. He was always drawn to songwriters from an early age. “When I was really young, I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and many others. I always tried to keep an open music mind,” DeWyze told our TapSongz team. “My heart lies in songwriting, and telling stories through music. John Lennon, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, James Taylor…I always aspire to touch people with music the way I was inspired by them,” DeWyze added.
Growing up, Lee began playing the drums well before he turned to the guitar. “My dad bought me an old Pearl Drum kit, which I beat the hell out of in my room for about a year until I was about 13 and then I moved to piano,” DeWyze recalled. It wasn’t until one day when Lee went into his hall closet and found his dad’s old Yamaha guitar that he decided to give it a try. He began learning with an old intro to guitar book along with tons of Beatles Tab Books. DeWyze taught himself the basics and was very driven to write his own songs. “I always taught myself to play whatever instrument I picked up. I guess it was just my love for music, but I wanted to learn everything I could about it. I was always singing,” DeWyze said. He recalls singing the likes of John Denver and James Taylor with his mother and Pink Floyd and Genesis with his father, both of whom have great voices.
DeWyze started out his career with his first album at roughly 17 years of age when he recorded two approved records “So I’m Told” and “Slumberland”. The project was done with a small startup label, WuLi Records, out of Chicago. “I always loved being a part of the recording process. I really learned a lot about being in the studio, as well as how the business side of things work in the music industry,” DeWyze told our TapSongz team. After American Idol, Lee put out a record “Live It Up”, a project where he wrote and co-wrote all of the songs. While DeWyze says he is very proud of that album, he also mentions the great amount of pressure to make an album that would satisfy everyone. “I think it was a great learning experience for me, and taught me to stick to my musical guns,” DeWyze reflected.
Departing ways with the label, DeWyze spent the next year writing music that was honest and spoke to him as a writer and an artist. He then released the album “Frames” in August of 2013, which has become a huge hit with fans. “It almost felt like I was releasing my first record. It was me. I was in a space that I could create and write without any outside influence,” DeWyze said. Several songs from “Frames” have been used in television shows, including Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Reign, and the independent film “Sister”.
For the month of June, our TapSongz team had the honor of speaking with a very well known artist who has been working very hard since his latest album launched nearly a year ago. Lee DeWyze, winner of the ninth season of American Idol, has had the pleasure of making a career doing the one thing he truly loves: music. Born in the Chicagoland area, DeWyze had countless musical inspirations growing up. He was always drawn to songwriters from an early age. “When I was really young, I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and many others. I always tried to keep an open music mind,” DeWyze told our TapSongz team. “My heart lies in songwriting, and telling stories through music. John Lennon, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, James Taylor…I always aspire to touch people with music the way I was inspired by them,” DeWyze added.
Growing up, Lee began playing the drums well before he turned to the guitar. “My dad bought me an old Pearl Drum kit, which I beat the hell out of in my room for about a year until I was about 13 and then I moved to piano,” DeWyze recalled. It wasn’t until one day when Lee went into his hall closet and found his dad’s old Yamaha guitar that he decided to give it a try. He began learning with an old intro to guitar book along with tons of Beatles Tab Books. DeWyze taught himself the basics and was very driven to write his own songs. “I always taught myself to play whatever instrument I picked up. I guess it was just my love for music, but I wanted to learn everything I could about it. I was always singing,” DeWyze said. He recalls singing the likes of John Denver and James Taylor with his mother and Pink Floyd and Genesis with his father, both of whom have great voices.
DeWyze started out his career with his first album at roughly 17 years of age when he recorded two approved records “So I’m Told” and “Slumberland”. The project was done with a small startup label, WuLi Records, out of Chicago. “I always loved being a part of the recording process. I really learned a lot about being in the studio, as well as how the business side of things work in the music industry,” DeWyze told our TapSongz team. After American Idol, Lee put out a record “Live It Up”, a project where he wrote and co-wrote all of the songs. While DeWyze says he is very proud of that album, he also mentions the great amount of pressure to make an album that would satisfy everyone. “I think it was a great learning experience for me, and taught me to stick to my musical guns,” DeWyze reflected.
Departing ways with the label, DeWyze spent the next year writing music that was honest and spoke to him as a writer and an artist. He then released the album “Frames” in August of 2013, which has become a huge hit with fans. “It almost felt like I was releasing my first record. It was me. I was in a space that I could create and write without any outside influence,” DeWyze said. Several songs from “Frames” have been used in television shows, including Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Reign, and the independent film “Sister”.
Lee’s most recent release was “Blackbird Song”, which was written for the hit AMC show “The Walking Dead” in March. DeWyze is currently writing for other projects and his upcoming album is set to release in early 2015. It is clear that Lee won’t be taking a break from his passion for quite some time. “I’m the type of person who is never satisfied. I am always setting goals for myself,” DeWyze said. He hopes to continue his songwriting, especially for other artists. This past year, Lee was able to write songs for platinum selling artist Ronan Keating and Italy’s own X-Factor Winner Marco Mengioni.
DeWyze’s experience with American Idol is one that is incomparable to anything he’s ever been through in his career. While American Idol was an incredible experience for Lee, he does not want it to define him. “There is so much more to me as an artist, writer, and performer than anyone could probably see or hear in my minute or so performance every week,” DeWyze said. He hopes that the music he is making now will be the forefront of what defines him as an artist and is excited to release new music with the support of his amazing fans along the ride. His most recent album “Frames” is exactly what Lee needed to give his his music fans more authentic sound and meaningful lyrics, both of which have been the base of his music since he began writing. The album definitely portrays DeWyze’s artistic abilities, showing his versatility throughout the project. Our TapSongz team’s favorite songs from the album include “Stay Away”, “Fight”, “Like I Do” and “Don’t Be Afraid” so be sure to check them out!
We encourage all of our viewers to check out Lee DeWyze’s latest album “Frames” on iTunes and on his SoundCloud in the link provided below! The skill level of his writing, lyrics and instrumentation has grown immensely since his first project years back. Be sure to follow Lee on Twitter and like his Facebook page to keep up-to-date with his projects in the near future! Here at TapSongz, we hope you have enjoyed this feature article as we continue finding tomorrow’s greatest music today!
DeWyze’s experience with American Idol is one that is incomparable to anything he’s ever been through in his career. While American Idol was an incredible experience for Lee, he does not want it to define him. “There is so much more to me as an artist, writer, and performer than anyone could probably see or hear in my minute or so performance every week,” DeWyze said. He hopes that the music he is making now will be the forefront of what defines him as an artist and is excited to release new music with the support of his amazing fans along the ride. His most recent album “Frames” is exactly what Lee needed to give his his music fans more authentic sound and meaningful lyrics, both of which have been the base of his music since he began writing. The album definitely portrays DeWyze’s artistic abilities, showing his versatility throughout the project. Our TapSongz team’s favorite songs from the album include “Stay Away”, “Fight”, “Like I Do” and “Don’t Be Afraid” so be sure to check them out!
We encourage all of our viewers to check out Lee DeWyze’s latest album “Frames” on iTunes and on his SoundCloud in the link provided below! The skill level of his writing, lyrics and instrumentation has grown immensely since his first project years back. Be sure to follow Lee on Twitter and like his Facebook page to keep up-to-date with his projects in the near future! Here at TapSongz, we hope you have enjoyed this feature article as we continue finding tomorrow’s greatest music today!
