Glenn Lewis – Interview

On the hook with Glenn Lewis!

How has life changed?

Every day is something new, one blessing after the next. It’s been cool. I’m working a lot and touring with Alicia we’ve been traveling from city to city and meeting new people. It’s been a lot of fun, people’s response to the single has been really great and I’m humbled by it. It’s great to be appreciated and it’s rewarding to have people stop and take time out to tell you they appreciate what you are doing.

Has it been a big change staying away from home for so long?

It’s been a real adjustment. Again you kind of sort of know what you are getting into and there are things that are happening right now that I didn’t know how much work it entailed, but I love to do this and through that passion for music it makes the job that much easier. There are so many rewards that it’s really a blessing.

So you grew up in Toronto.

Yeah. I’ve been doing my thing out there for a minute writing, doing demos, and more and caught the attention of people in the states and one thing lead to the other and here I am.

I was actually born and raised in Buffalo, New York.

Oh okay. You know people from Toronto go back and forth to Buffalo and before we had our radio station we had to tune into WBLK (Buffalo’s Urban Music Station).

Right. I know I hear that a lot. How tough was it to get recognized in Toronto, especially considering when you were growing up there was no Urban radio station?

It was tough because there aren’t many outlets there. So that’s why I had to run to the states and try to make it happen. It was difficult, but like anything else if you love it and are willing to put the work into it God willing, it’ll pay off. And in my case it did.

It seemed about five years ago the techno scene was heating up in Toronto and rock has always been big there. Was it discouraging?

Well like anywhere else there are pockets and there was definitely a hip hop scene. The funny thing is now I’ll run into people and they’ll say ‘man, I didn’t even know there were black people in Toronto’. (We both laugh) it is kind of funny, but really there is a lot of talent out there.

When did you first know you could sing and sing well?

I don’t know. Even to this day I don’t completely think of myself as a great vocalist. People pay me tremendous compliments and I’m like ‘wow’ but maybe it’s just the way I was brought up. People will say stuff and I say thanks but I don’t react to it too much because I don’t want to sound conceded. What ever motivates me is the love for music and as long as I stay in tune with that I’ll be okay because really that is what pushes me. It’s not really knowing I can sing, I don’t even think like that. I come from the standpoint that I love it and if people like it then it’s really cool.

Do you view songwriting as a gift or a skill?

I think really truly deep songwriters that have a significant message is a gift and something you have to work at and continue to develop. For me I try to remain open and continue to learn and grow. I try to write about different topics from abstract things to things that come up in conversation. I’m still learning. It’s a gift, but its something that can be nurtured.

I read you looked up to Stevie Wonder, who better to look up to with his gifts.

There isn’t enough adjectives to describe him. Beyond his vocal abilities, what he has inspired me the most with is his sense of harmonics and the way he creates his arrangements. Also melodically how he express himself through the music and the lyrics. He almost acts as an interpreter on behalf of the music. It’s amazing. He is just brilliant and I think he has effected me more so that way than any other way.

I read you met him, did you get time with him?

Yeah. He was kind of picking my brain a little bit like where I was at and where I was going. He wanted to know if I was sincere and was asking about my spirituality. He’s a very deep man and he doesn’t even have to be a man of many words because he is so expressive. He didn’t have to say much. We talked a little and in the space of time we spoke he was just telling me different things about the business and he expressed how much he liked the single and even sang a little bit to me, it was a very humbling and an educational experience. Needless to say to meet someone of his stature will affect me for the rest of my life.

Do you draw your inspirations from your own life?

A little of everything. With the single, “Don’t You Forget It”, I decided to have the plot revolved around a young woman. The message was something everyone could relate to beyond the lines of gender or race. Everyone finds themself in a situation faced with adversity and an obstacle in their way and are unsure as to whether or not they can get through it. Sometimes you need the love of an individual to reconfirm how special you are and you have what it takes to make it. The core of the song is “don’t forget your way home” and home is where your heart is where you can get an encouraging word.

And “Beautiful Eyes” I read was dedicated to your sons?

Yeah it is. I wrote that song with Marsha Ambrosias, who wrote “Butterflies” with Michael Jackson, it’s a funny story. The night we wrote it I was a little burnt out and I was talking to Marsha and I told her that I wanted to dedicate something to my kids and I kept saying the things that I felt and before I knew it she said ‘here is the first and second verse” and I just simplified things and came up with the chorus.

What do you hope to pass on to them?

To show them that nothing comes easy and you have to be determined, prepared to work and focus. That even though you might be discouraged you have to press through it. Certainly I’ve gone through my trying times of what I was doing and where I was going, but I had individuals to push me and show me that they believed in me. I want them to learn from my example and to see that when you put in the work it does pay off. There are so many things that I want to do and show them that I didn’t necessarily have growing up.

+ charlie craine