1
00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:22,116
Speaker 1: Pushkin, Are you ready to do a vocal lesson? I'm

2
00:00:22,116 --> 00:00:24,436
Speaker 1: ready to do a vocal lesson. Why don't we start

3
00:00:24,436 --> 00:00:26,756
Speaker 1: with a little me me me? Yeah, make me sing

4
00:00:26,956 --> 00:00:29,276
Speaker 1: the one I'm most scared of, me me me me

5
00:00:29,276 --> 00:00:31,396
Speaker 1: me me me me me. I guess it's that, but

6
00:00:31,436 --> 00:00:33,956
Speaker 1: you would go all the way up right, Yeah, do

7
00:00:34,036 --> 00:00:36,916
Speaker 1: that again? Me me me me me me me me

8
00:00:36,916 --> 00:00:39,356
Speaker 1: me all right, I don't know what you're scared of,

9
00:00:39,396 --> 00:00:42,036
Speaker 1: because you made that sound so easy. Me me me

10
00:00:42,036 --> 00:00:45,036
Speaker 1: me me me me me me. Yeah. It's really hard

11
00:00:45,076 --> 00:00:48,316
Speaker 1: to do though, because I'm hyper focused. I'm like hyper

12
00:00:48,316 --> 00:00:51,916
Speaker 1: focused on being relaxed on a e vowel where I'm

13
00:00:51,956 --> 00:00:54,596
Speaker 1: feeling like I'm less open. I start to kind of

14
00:00:54,596 --> 00:00:56,916
Speaker 1: trip myself up even just doing it there. I had

15
00:00:56,956 --> 00:00:58,516
Speaker 1: to be like, all right, we're gonna do this, but

16
00:00:58,556 --> 00:01:00,596
Speaker 1: you gotta relax, man, you don't have to be so tight.

17
00:01:04,276 --> 00:01:12,116
Speaker 1: This is backstage pass. I'm Eric Metro, and this podcast

18
00:01:12,236 --> 00:01:14,996
Speaker 1: I'm inviting you into my studio to hear how some

19
00:01:15,036 --> 00:01:17,916
Speaker 1: of the most successful and famous singers work on their craft,

20
00:01:18,196 --> 00:01:21,036
Speaker 1: the art of singing. They also happened to be students

21
00:01:21,036 --> 00:01:22,956
Speaker 1: of mine, so I have to say I know them

22
00:01:22,956 --> 00:01:27,116
Speaker 1: pretty well. We'll talk about everything, their vocal process, their careers,

23
00:01:27,316 --> 00:01:30,276
Speaker 1: how their emotional life affects their voice, and how it

24
00:01:30,476 --> 00:01:34,636
Speaker 1: all intertwines with their lives. That was me talking with

25
00:01:34,676 --> 00:01:38,836
Speaker 1: Shawn Mendez. He'll know his songs like Stitches, Mercy, treat

26
00:01:38,876 --> 00:01:41,716
Speaker 1: you better If I can't have you, There's nothing holding

27
00:01:41,756 --> 00:01:45,556
Speaker 1: me back Wonder and also Spotify's most dream song of

28
00:01:45,636 --> 00:01:50,956
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, his duet with his girlfriend Camila Cabeo called Senorita.

29
00:01:51,676 --> 00:01:54,836
Speaker 1: Now don't worry, You'll get to hear from Camilla Cabeo

30
00:01:54,956 --> 00:01:59,196
Speaker 1: in a future episode later this season. Sean's really close

31
00:01:59,276 --> 00:02:02,316
Speaker 1: to his family. In fact, they were his earliest audience.

32
00:02:02,996 --> 00:02:05,716
Speaker 1: I remember the first time I sang for my mom

33
00:02:05,756 --> 00:02:09,036
Speaker 1: and my family. He was The Climb by Miley Sara.

34
00:02:09,596 --> 00:02:13,716
Speaker 1: I went into my kitchen and I played the music

35
00:02:13,756 --> 00:02:15,636
Speaker 1: and I was shaking because I was like singing in

36
00:02:15,636 --> 00:02:17,636
Speaker 1: front of my mom and my aunts and my cousins,

37
00:02:18,196 --> 00:02:19,796
Speaker 1: and I sang the whole song with my eye clothes

38
00:02:19,836 --> 00:02:21,356
Speaker 1: and I opened up the eyes and I'm pretty sure

39
00:02:21,396 --> 00:02:23,196
Speaker 1: my mom was crying and everyone was crying, and I

40
00:02:23,236 --> 00:02:27,036
Speaker 1: was like, wow, it was really sweet. So she still

41
00:02:27,036 --> 00:02:28,596
Speaker 1: tries to get me to do that in the kitchen.

42
00:02:28,636 --> 00:02:31,396
Speaker 1: Sometimes some day you've got to record that for her

43
00:02:31,396 --> 00:02:33,636
Speaker 1: as a gift. You know what I did from Mother's Day?

44
00:02:33,676 --> 00:02:36,596
Speaker 1: I recorded her favorite song as Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.

45
00:02:37,316 --> 00:02:39,716
Speaker 1: I was away because of the quarantine, so I recorded

46
00:02:39,756 --> 00:02:49,316
Speaker 1: that for her. You've got a fast I've got a

47
00:02:49,356 --> 00:02:53,676
Speaker 1: ticket to anywhere. Maybe we can make a change. I

48
00:02:53,716 --> 00:02:56,756
Speaker 1: remember when I first started learning guitar. I picked up

49
00:02:56,756 --> 00:02:59,596
Speaker 1: the guitar and she's like, just learned this song from me, please,

50
00:02:59,636 --> 00:03:01,956
Speaker 1: And that was probably like the first or second song

51
00:03:01,996 --> 00:03:04,996
Speaker 1: I ever learned on guitar. Too. It didn't take long

52
00:03:05,036 --> 00:03:07,956
Speaker 1: for Sean to figure out what he needed to do now.

53
00:03:08,116 --> 00:03:10,996
Speaker 1: Even though he got his and innovation and quite an

54
00:03:10,996 --> 00:03:14,836
Speaker 1: emotional response from his kitchen audience, Young Sean decided to

55
00:03:14,836 --> 00:03:18,036
Speaker 1: move his performances to a somewhat wider audience. On Buying

56
00:03:18,556 --> 00:03:20,876
Speaker 1: Fine no longer exists, but for those of you who

57
00:03:20,916 --> 00:03:24,076
Speaker 1: don't know or had forgotten, it was a platform where

58
00:03:24,076 --> 00:03:26,676
Speaker 1: you could share six second long videos like this one

59
00:03:27,356 --> 00:03:34,436
Speaker 1: Hallo from me or this one which got millions of

60
00:03:34,516 --> 00:03:41,196
Speaker 1: views from every second other day and a Jeans Girl

61
00:03:41,876 --> 00:03:45,276
Speaker 1: they were doing like a viner's meet up in downtown Toronto,

62
00:03:46,156 --> 00:03:48,836
Speaker 1: and they asked me to come and just be there.

63
00:03:49,076 --> 00:03:50,876
Speaker 1: So my parents were like, should we come? I said, no,

64
00:03:50,876 --> 00:03:52,556
Speaker 1: no one's gonna know who I am there. I don't

65
00:03:52,596 --> 00:03:54,836
Speaker 1: really think anyone's going to know me. And then when

66
00:03:54,876 --> 00:03:57,076
Speaker 1: I got there, I kind of was walking up the

67
00:03:57,116 --> 00:04:00,516
Speaker 1: subway to like the main area undonea square, and I

68
00:04:00,516 --> 00:04:03,716
Speaker 1: remember just like Mayhem started and I finally found my

69
00:04:03,716 --> 00:04:06,196
Speaker 1: way to this stage and got to perform for like

70
00:04:06,236 --> 00:04:08,236
Speaker 1: a couple hundred people, just with a mic and an

71
00:04:08,236 --> 00:04:12,476
Speaker 1: acoustic guitar, and I remember this feeling of like performing

72
00:04:12,996 --> 00:04:25,276
Speaker 1: for people and with people they were singing along. I

73
00:04:25,356 --> 00:04:27,236
Speaker 1: came home freaking out to my parents. I was like,

74
00:04:27,236 --> 00:04:29,396
Speaker 1: you're not going to believe what happened, Like all these

75
00:04:29,396 --> 00:04:33,556
Speaker 1: people were listening to me singing songs. And when I thought, okay,

76
00:04:33,596 --> 00:04:36,236
Speaker 1: you know what, I want to be a performer. I

77
00:04:36,276 --> 00:04:38,996
Speaker 1: want to be an artist. Was that very first time

78
00:04:39,116 --> 00:04:41,956
Speaker 1: in Toronto, and I was lucky because I got to

79
00:04:41,996 --> 00:04:44,516
Speaker 1: do it in front of people who knew who I

80
00:04:44,636 --> 00:04:47,276
Speaker 1: was because of this social media platform, and it was

81
00:04:47,316 --> 00:04:50,196
Speaker 1: this like such a great first experience for me. I

82
00:04:50,236 --> 00:04:52,756
Speaker 1: guess like ever since that moment when I like really

83
00:04:53,636 --> 00:04:56,436
Speaker 1: got to perform for people for the first time with

84
00:04:56,516 --> 00:04:59,236
Speaker 1: no lights and no cameras and just an acoustic guitar.

85
00:04:59,676 --> 00:05:02,196
Speaker 1: I was kind of in love right off the bat.

86
00:05:02,356 --> 00:05:04,876
Speaker 1: And there's a couple hundred people cheering and they're super excited.

87
00:05:05,036 --> 00:05:08,236
Speaker 1: There's this obviously this confidence boost you get and you're like, Okay, well,

88
00:05:08,476 --> 00:05:10,996
Speaker 1: if a couple hundred people are liking this, than maybe

89
00:05:11,036 --> 00:05:12,956
Speaker 1: a couple hundred thousand people will like this, and maybe

90
00:05:12,996 --> 00:05:15,276
Speaker 1: a couple of million people will like this. And I

91
00:05:15,316 --> 00:05:17,756
Speaker 1: think that it only takes a couple to kind of

92
00:05:17,796 --> 00:05:20,516
Speaker 1: ignite that flame of I'm going to take this all

93
00:05:20,556 --> 00:05:23,836
Speaker 1: the way. Did you feel that way right from the start? Yeah?

94
00:05:23,916 --> 00:05:27,276
Speaker 1: I think I always had this grand vision of where

95
00:05:27,396 --> 00:05:29,436
Speaker 1: things can go. And I owe a lot of that

96
00:05:29,476 --> 00:05:33,716
Speaker 1: to my parents for being so you can do anything,

97
00:05:33,956 --> 00:05:36,636
Speaker 1: you can do absolutely anything. And I feel really lucky

98
00:05:36,636 --> 00:05:38,396
Speaker 1: and blessed because I know that a lot of people

99
00:05:38,796 --> 00:05:42,276
Speaker 1: may not have the support that they necessarily need to

100
00:05:42,316 --> 00:05:45,556
Speaker 1: go the distance. And I feel like more support than

101
00:05:45,596 --> 00:05:49,036
Speaker 1: anyone even ever talks about or ever hears about, is

102
00:05:49,196 --> 00:05:52,596
Speaker 1: necessary for success. I got to see Sean play at

103
00:05:52,596 --> 00:05:55,236
Speaker 1: the Rodgers Center in Toronto. It's his home base, so

104
00:05:55,276 --> 00:06:02,476
Speaker 1: of course it was a really special show. I ever

105
00:06:02,556 --> 00:06:19,636
Speaker 1: see a person in this room. I watched the show

106
00:06:19,676 --> 00:06:22,196
Speaker 1: with his family and his friends, and of course Camilla,

107
00:06:22,716 --> 00:06:25,116
Speaker 1: his mother, was right in front of me. She looked

108
00:06:25,116 --> 00:06:28,756
Speaker 1: like every other teenager in the crowd, singing along, dancing

109
00:06:28,876 --> 00:06:40,796
Speaker 1: and enjoying the best concert of her life. I don't

110
00:06:40,796 --> 00:06:43,396
Speaker 1: know if she could have ever imagined just how successful

111
00:06:43,436 --> 00:06:45,836
Speaker 1: he was going to become, but I knew, and I

112
00:06:45,876 --> 00:06:49,436
Speaker 1: think on some level, Sean always knew. My favorite story

113
00:06:49,516 --> 00:06:51,116
Speaker 1: is when you said you used to walk around the

114
00:06:51,116 --> 00:06:53,036
Speaker 1: house with the ball between your legs when you're into

115
00:06:53,076 --> 00:06:55,156
Speaker 1: the soccer face. Yeah, I would have like a soccer

116
00:06:55,196 --> 00:06:57,516
Speaker 1: ball between my feet all the time because I was like,

117
00:06:57,556 --> 00:06:59,196
Speaker 1: this is either going to go to the World Cup

118
00:06:59,316 --> 00:07:02,636
Speaker 1: or nowhere. And that's how you approached the singing. It

119
00:07:02,756 --> 00:07:06,196
Speaker 1: was the same with the singing. When I say Sean's discipline,

120
00:07:06,276 --> 00:07:10,996
Speaker 1: do I ever mean it? I'm already singing in the

121
00:07:11,076 --> 00:07:14,076
Speaker 1: lesson ten minutes before we start a lesson. I'm doing

122
00:07:14,076 --> 00:07:18,996
Speaker 1: my pre warm up warm up. I know. I love that, though,

123
00:07:19,396 --> 00:07:22,916
Speaker 1: and that's just you right totally. I think the truth

124
00:07:23,196 --> 00:07:28,276
Speaker 1: is like everybody has a different real like passion and

125
00:07:28,276 --> 00:07:31,596
Speaker 1: a real desire within them and not everyone's going to be,

126
00:07:31,636 --> 00:07:34,196
Speaker 1: you know, as obsessive about singing as I am, but

127
00:07:34,356 --> 00:07:36,836
Speaker 1: they're going to have something. And I think the trick

128
00:07:36,996 --> 00:07:40,676
Speaker 1: to success in your life is finding the thing that

129
00:07:40,716 --> 00:07:44,156
Speaker 1: you really love and putting all of your energy into that,

130
00:07:44,356 --> 00:07:48,156
Speaker 1: because that is when you're going to get real reward

131
00:07:48,276 --> 00:07:50,836
Speaker 1: from what you do. The truth is, you have to

132
00:07:51,156 --> 00:07:54,116
Speaker 1: practice really really hard, and you have to work really

133
00:07:54,156 --> 00:07:56,636
Speaker 1: really hard, but you also have to be really really

134
00:07:56,676 --> 00:08:00,116
Speaker 1: patient because things that are great take a long time.

135
00:08:00,516 --> 00:08:04,156
Speaker 1: I think in every single profession there's so many times,

136
00:08:04,316 --> 00:08:08,316
Speaker 1: especially when things get bigger, where it's really hard and

137
00:08:08,476 --> 00:08:12,716
Speaker 1: really exhausting, but there's always this kind of flame that

138
00:08:12,956 --> 00:08:15,796
Speaker 1: can't burn out for what you do and this love

139
00:08:15,836 --> 00:08:18,396
Speaker 1: for what you do. And right right, well, I like

140
00:08:18,516 --> 00:08:20,916
Speaker 1: the fact that you did have an obsession before singing,

141
00:08:20,956 --> 00:08:23,876
Speaker 1: and that was with soccer only because it's showing that

142
00:08:23,916 --> 00:08:26,076
Speaker 1: you really got to find the one thing that you

143
00:08:26,116 --> 00:08:28,796
Speaker 1: really love and it might change along the way. Yeah.

144
00:08:28,836 --> 00:08:31,716
Speaker 1: I mean I played soccer, and I played hockey, and

145
00:08:31,756 --> 00:08:35,636
Speaker 1: I played baseball. I played a ton of sports and

146
00:08:36,036 --> 00:08:39,276
Speaker 1: I even took like a drama like acting class where

147
00:08:39,316 --> 00:08:41,836
Speaker 1: I was like I played Prince charming in a play

148
00:08:42,076 --> 00:08:45,196
Speaker 1: when I was like thirteen and I was testing all

149
00:08:45,236 --> 00:08:49,196
Speaker 1: of the waters out before singing and playing guitar came along.

150
00:08:49,236 --> 00:08:52,436
Speaker 1: And there's a very clear difference between something that you

151
00:08:52,636 --> 00:08:55,076
Speaker 1: like to do and something that is your passion, because

152
00:08:55,396 --> 00:08:58,156
Speaker 1: when it's your passion, you start doing it and then

153
00:08:58,396 --> 00:09:00,836
Speaker 1: four hours go buying and you wonder where the time went.

154
00:09:01,196 --> 00:09:03,316
Speaker 1: I think that anyone who has a passion will know

155
00:09:03,556 --> 00:09:06,236
Speaker 1: when I talk about this little tingly feeling that you

156
00:09:06,276 --> 00:09:08,036
Speaker 1: get when you're doing the thing that you love to do.

157
00:09:08,516 --> 00:09:11,956
Speaker 1: And even if you get five seconds of like euphoria

158
00:09:12,076 --> 00:09:14,836
Speaker 1: through your body because you sang it one certain way

159
00:09:14,916 --> 00:09:17,156
Speaker 1: or you played a chord a certain way, you're whatever

160
00:09:17,156 --> 00:09:19,956
Speaker 1: you're doing, you're painting, you're doing anything. That little five

161
00:09:19,956 --> 00:09:24,036
Speaker 1: seconds of euphoria makes a lifetime of work really exciting

162
00:09:24,156 --> 00:09:26,916
Speaker 1: and desirable, you know what I mean. And I also

163
00:09:27,036 --> 00:09:29,636
Speaker 1: think it's really important to say that if you feel

164
00:09:29,636 --> 00:09:32,916
Speaker 1: like you haven't found your passion and you've tried a

165
00:09:32,916 --> 00:09:34,916
Speaker 1: lot of things, it doesn't mean that one of those

166
00:09:34,956 --> 00:09:38,036
Speaker 1: things won't end up being your passion because you kind

167
00:09:38,036 --> 00:09:40,116
Speaker 1: of have to grow to figure out what it is

168
00:09:40,156 --> 00:09:43,116
Speaker 1: that you do love to do. Sean's completely right about that.

169
00:09:43,596 --> 00:09:46,796
Speaker 1: For me, it wasn't until I saw Ed Sheeran and

170
00:09:46,996 --> 00:09:49,876
Speaker 1: him playing an acoustic guitar and him singing the way

171
00:09:49,916 --> 00:09:51,476
Speaker 1: he did that I thought, you know what, I can

172
00:09:51,516 --> 00:09:53,756
Speaker 1: do that. I never really thought I could be justin Bieberan.

173
00:09:53,756 --> 00:09:55,436
Speaker 1: I never really thought I could dance like him and

174
00:09:55,516 --> 00:09:57,916
Speaker 1: be like him. But I can play guitar and I

175
00:09:57,956 --> 00:10:00,916
Speaker 1: can sing like that. Ed to me, was the most

176
00:10:00,956 --> 00:10:05,036
Speaker 1: exciting musician there was because the guitar was his third

177
00:10:05,156 --> 00:10:07,316
Speaker 1: arm and he was like using it as a real

178
00:10:07,396 --> 00:10:09,036
Speaker 1: piece of him. And I love the way he played,

179
00:10:09,116 --> 00:10:11,556
Speaker 1: I love the way he wrote songs and sang. He

180
00:10:11,636 --> 00:10:14,036
Speaker 1: really inspired me. And sometimes it just takes a minute.

181
00:10:14,036 --> 00:10:15,916
Speaker 1: It's waiting for the right time to kind of present

182
00:10:15,956 --> 00:10:18,836
Speaker 1: itself to you. Ed was actually one of the first

183
00:10:18,996 --> 00:10:22,156
Speaker 1: musicians who I ever met. And I flew out to

184
00:10:22,356 --> 00:10:26,036
Speaker 1: la the first time with my mum and he was

185
00:10:26,076 --> 00:10:30,356
Speaker 1: performing on a show called The Voice, and we went

186
00:10:30,396 --> 00:10:32,996
Speaker 1: there to meet him and he was so kind. I

187
00:10:33,036 --> 00:10:35,956
Speaker 1: was backstage with him and he said to me, look man, like,

188
00:10:35,996 --> 00:10:37,396
Speaker 1: what do you want to do? And I said, well,

189
00:10:37,596 --> 00:10:39,116
Speaker 1: I want to do what you do. I want to

190
00:10:39,116 --> 00:10:42,516
Speaker 1: play guitar and sing and be a singer songwriter. And

191
00:10:42,596 --> 00:10:45,836
Speaker 1: he was like, then, you have to put an insane

192
00:10:45,836 --> 00:10:48,316
Speaker 1: amount of effort and work and love into what you do.

193
00:10:48,596 --> 00:10:50,836
Speaker 1: And he's like, no matter who you meet, no matter

194
00:10:50,836 --> 00:10:52,756
Speaker 1: how many people you meet, you have to show them

195
00:10:52,876 --> 00:10:54,996
Speaker 1: so much love and you have to work really hard.

196
00:10:55,116 --> 00:10:57,916
Speaker 1: And I think that his advice. I'll always remember. I

197
00:10:57,996 --> 00:11:01,796
Speaker 1: met you in two fifteen, I believe. Do you remember

198
00:11:01,796 --> 00:11:04,516
Speaker 1: where it was? I think it was at the Staples

199
00:11:04,516 --> 00:11:08,476
Speaker 1: Center and Camilla introduced us. He's talking about Camilla Kabao,

200
00:11:08,556 --> 00:11:11,996
Speaker 1: who was already one of my students. Yeah, we were backstage.

201
00:11:12,036 --> 00:11:14,356
Speaker 1: I was talking to her. You came over. You were

202
00:11:14,476 --> 00:11:17,756
Speaker 1: smiling this big smile, and she said, this is my

203
00:11:17,836 --> 00:11:20,956
Speaker 1: voice teacher, Eric Vitrow, And do you know what you said?

204
00:11:21,116 --> 00:11:23,556
Speaker 1: I don't remember. All right, Oh, okay, I got a

205
00:11:23,596 --> 00:11:27,756
Speaker 1: few questions for you. He started asking me about voice immediately,

206
00:11:27,836 --> 00:11:30,236
Speaker 1: and the whole time we stood backstage, that's how we

207
00:11:30,276 --> 00:11:33,396
Speaker 1: did about it. Yeah. I remember thinking, Wow, he really

208
00:11:33,756 --> 00:11:37,316
Speaker 1: is interested in being great, like he really desires to

209
00:11:37,316 --> 00:11:40,916
Speaker 1: get better. Yeah, which was pretty impressive. And after all

210
00:11:40,956 --> 00:11:44,636
Speaker 1: these years Sean's dedication, it's still impressive. I spend most

211
00:11:44,716 --> 00:11:47,316
Speaker 1: of my time preparing myself to do vocal lessons with you,

212
00:11:47,516 --> 00:11:50,076
Speaker 1: preparing myself to how I'm going to feel after a

213
00:11:50,156 --> 00:11:52,076
Speaker 1: vocal lesson. Am I gonna have to meditate? Am I

214
00:11:52,116 --> 00:11:54,356
Speaker 1: gonna have to meditate before? Am I gonna have to meditate?

215
00:11:54,356 --> 00:11:57,236
Speaker 1: Somewhere in between? So I guess a lot of meditation

216
00:11:57,396 --> 00:12:00,316
Speaker 1: really ranks high in your life, super high. But I

217
00:12:00,356 --> 00:12:04,756
Speaker 1: need the meditation right right. Sometimes I need the meditation.

218
00:12:04,756 --> 00:12:08,396
Speaker 1: Sometimes you have to meditate before our lessons. But Sean

219
00:12:08,476 --> 00:12:11,556
Speaker 1: didn't always meditate in journal. When it actually started taking

220
00:12:11,556 --> 00:12:15,316
Speaker 1: it seriously and discipline myself to meditate daily for ten

221
00:12:15,356 --> 00:12:18,956
Speaker 1: minutes at least, that was life changing because it's not

222
00:12:19,036 --> 00:12:22,156
Speaker 1: about the act of meditating for ten minutes. It's about

223
00:12:22,196 --> 00:12:25,356
Speaker 1: the moment of being in the vocal lesson and being like,

224
00:12:26,156 --> 00:12:28,996
Speaker 1: let me just take a deep breath. It's the attitude.

225
00:12:29,116 --> 00:12:33,756
Speaker 1: It's the motto of meditation. You know. I wake up

226
00:12:33,756 --> 00:12:36,596
Speaker 1: in the morning. Something that really helps me kind of

227
00:12:37,076 --> 00:12:39,876
Speaker 1: not go into an anxious state of thinking right off

228
00:12:39,876 --> 00:12:42,116
Speaker 1: the bat. Is like getting straight into a cold shower

229
00:12:42,116 --> 00:12:45,116
Speaker 1: and breathing and feeling my body and being like, all right,

230
00:12:45,596 --> 00:12:47,436
Speaker 1: here we are. I get out of the shower and

231
00:12:47,516 --> 00:12:50,836
Speaker 1: I go downstairs or outside, I find myself to someone

232
00:12:50,876 --> 00:12:52,756
Speaker 1: where there's some light and I can see this guy,

233
00:12:52,996 --> 00:12:55,076
Speaker 1: or put my feet in the grass or something, and

234
00:12:55,196 --> 00:12:59,676
Speaker 1: I do the Whimhoff breathing technique, and then maybe I'll meditate.

235
00:12:59,756 --> 00:13:02,156
Speaker 1: Maybe I'll have a coffee. And even as I'm having

236
00:13:02,156 --> 00:13:05,476
Speaker 1: my coffee, like I'm doing this all very mindfully, sitting

237
00:13:05,476 --> 00:13:08,116
Speaker 1: there with the coffee, and I'm not letting myself check

238
00:13:08,156 --> 00:13:12,316
Speaker 1: my emails or my Instagram or my Twitter, because this

239
00:13:12,356 --> 00:13:14,676
Speaker 1: morning is for me, it's not for everyone else. And

240
00:13:14,876 --> 00:13:18,836
Speaker 1: I think that that morning ritual of really letting myself

241
00:13:18,916 --> 00:13:22,316
Speaker 1: be there and for myself really helps. And then I

242
00:13:22,316 --> 00:13:24,516
Speaker 1: guess at some point later in the day, I'll find

243
00:13:24,556 --> 00:13:29,156
Speaker 1: myself journaling and meditating and it's really helpful. Yeah, you

244
00:13:29,196 --> 00:13:31,436
Speaker 1: know what I've never said to you. I thought it,

245
00:13:31,476 --> 00:13:33,116
Speaker 1: but I've never said it. I've always been dying to

246
00:13:33,116 --> 00:13:34,756
Speaker 1: stay as a joke, but I didn't want to put

247
00:13:34,756 --> 00:13:36,796
Speaker 1: it in your head. But now you're so far beyond its.

248
00:13:36,836 --> 00:13:40,356
Speaker 1: Like I told you someday this meditation thing would work out,

249
00:13:40,556 --> 00:13:42,156
Speaker 1: because I used to say, and you remember what you

250
00:13:42,236 --> 00:13:44,276
Speaker 1: used to say to me. I can't meditate. I can't

251
00:13:44,316 --> 00:13:46,596
Speaker 1: do that. No, like you get really acting. Oh, I

252
00:13:46,716 --> 00:13:48,516
Speaker 1: used to get so and used to tell me to journal.

253
00:13:48,676 --> 00:13:51,276
Speaker 1: I journal every day. Now, yeah, did you journal today?

254
00:13:51,356 --> 00:13:53,476
Speaker 1: I didn't, but I will, I will, I will do it,

255
00:13:53,476 --> 00:13:55,636
Speaker 1: and I never did. And I could see that look

256
00:13:55,676 --> 00:13:57,636
Speaker 1: in your eyes, like, ask me one more time, and

257
00:13:57,996 --> 00:14:01,636
Speaker 1: I'm gonna you can be so anxious you can't meditate, Like, yeah,

258
00:14:01,676 --> 00:14:03,876
Speaker 1: I get it, Oh my god. Yeah, but look at

259
00:14:03,996 --> 00:14:06,356
Speaker 1: how far it's come. And you know you were You

260
00:14:06,396 --> 00:14:08,436
Speaker 1: were telling me to meditate and journal the day I

261
00:14:08,476 --> 00:14:13,116
Speaker 1: met you. Yeah, I was telling him from the day

262
00:14:13,156 --> 00:14:15,236
Speaker 1: I met him. But I'm so glad now it's a

263
00:14:15,276 --> 00:14:17,836
Speaker 1: part of his daily routine. Sometimes I feel like we're

264
00:14:17,836 --> 00:14:20,476
Speaker 1: in lessons and I'll be sitting on the floor kind

265
00:14:20,516 --> 00:14:23,276
Speaker 1: of closed eyes, cross legged and meditating for five minutes

266
00:14:23,276 --> 00:14:26,276
Speaker 1: and you're just patiently waiting for me to come back

267
00:14:26,316 --> 00:14:28,796
Speaker 1: to being human. But it's part of the process. And

268
00:14:28,836 --> 00:14:32,636
Speaker 1: we've had tons of breakthroughs, and when we have a breakthrough,

269
00:14:32,676 --> 00:14:34,876
Speaker 1: the most important thing to remember is that this will

270
00:14:34,916 --> 00:14:37,756
Speaker 1: not be the last breakthrough. It's gonna come around, it's

271
00:14:37,756 --> 00:14:39,956
Speaker 1: gonna happen again. You just have to be open to

272
00:14:40,036 --> 00:14:43,596
Speaker 1: the fact that it's always changing and you can't do

273
00:14:43,636 --> 00:14:45,716
Speaker 1: anything about that, and that's kind of the beauty of it.

274
00:14:46,596 --> 00:14:49,276
Speaker 1: Comparing Sean from all those years ago when I first

275
00:14:49,316 --> 00:14:52,556
Speaker 1: met him and knowing him now, I definitely see him

276
00:14:52,596 --> 00:14:55,716
Speaker 1: as being much calmer and much more grounded. And I

277
00:14:55,796 --> 00:14:57,796
Speaker 1: have to believe a lot of it has to do

278
00:14:57,876 --> 00:15:04,396
Speaker 1: with the journaling and the meditation. I rest my case now,

279
00:15:04,476 --> 00:15:06,996
Speaker 1: don't go anywhere. Sean and I have even more to

280
00:15:07,036 --> 00:15:18,436
Speaker 1: talk about backstage. Pass will be right back. Welcome back.

281
00:15:18,796 --> 00:15:21,556
Speaker 1: Let's keep going with Shawn Mendez. I think it's time

282
00:15:21,596 --> 00:15:26,316
Speaker 1: to talk about his favorite vocal exercise, the bottle. Don't

283
00:15:26,316 --> 00:15:28,436
Speaker 1: get me started about the bottle. You're gonna have to

284
00:15:28,436 --> 00:15:33,716
Speaker 1: explain that it's not drinking the bottle. It's not whiskey

285
00:15:34,276 --> 00:15:38,796
Speaker 1: or vodka. It's basically like a plastic water bottle with

286
00:15:38,836 --> 00:15:41,316
Speaker 1: a straw attached to it, and you sing into the

287
00:15:41,356 --> 00:15:44,036
Speaker 1: straw and you're blowing air through the straw, and you're

288
00:15:44,076 --> 00:15:47,236
Speaker 1: kind of making bubbles in the bottom, and you're doing scales.

289
00:15:52,916 --> 00:15:55,036
Speaker 1: And I think the reason I love the bottle so

290
00:15:55,116 --> 00:15:57,356
Speaker 1: much it makes my voice feel better. But I think

291
00:15:57,436 --> 00:16:00,476
Speaker 1: the bigger actual reason is because it frees me up

292
00:16:00,516 --> 00:16:02,996
Speaker 1: from judgment and critique. At the beginning of the lesson.

293
00:16:03,036 --> 00:16:04,996
Speaker 1: You know, I can't really hear myself very well because

294
00:16:04,996 --> 00:16:07,156
Speaker 1: I'm being muffled through water. So I'm okay with it

295
00:16:07,196 --> 00:16:08,916
Speaker 1: if I miss a couple of notes and it kind

296
00:16:08,956 --> 00:16:16,716
Speaker 1: of frees you up. I think there's a lot of

297
00:16:17,516 --> 00:16:22,676
Speaker 1: insecurity with singing when you have a lot of people watching.

298
00:16:23,116 --> 00:16:25,996
Speaker 1: Sometimes I get so into it having to be perfect.

299
00:16:26,036 --> 00:16:29,236
Speaker 1: I stopped hearing my voice and I start making up

300
00:16:29,276 --> 00:16:31,916
Speaker 1: what I'm hearing, and I'm like, Eric, it sounds scratchy

301
00:16:31,956 --> 00:16:34,556
Speaker 1: and it sounds bad, and I'm missing the notes. I

302
00:16:34,596 --> 00:16:37,636
Speaker 1: have to sit down and kind of collect myself. Otherwise

303
00:16:37,716 --> 00:16:39,876
Speaker 1: we're not going to be able to move forward with

304
00:16:39,956 --> 00:16:43,436
Speaker 1: this stuff. So it's taken a lot of work. When

305
00:16:43,516 --> 00:16:45,916
Speaker 1: I first started working with Sean, I used to worry

306
00:16:45,916 --> 00:16:51,076
Speaker 1: about his anxiety and full disclosure his anxiety gave me

307
00:16:51,156 --> 00:16:54,556
Speaker 1: a lot of anxiety, but not anymore after all these

308
00:16:54,636 --> 00:16:57,916
Speaker 1: years of observing him, I now know he always pulls

309
00:16:57,916 --> 00:17:00,436
Speaker 1: out of it. You know what's hard for me is

310
00:17:01,236 --> 00:17:04,756
Speaker 1: doing mimes in a scale like really chill and really

311
00:17:04,836 --> 00:17:07,316
Speaker 1: quietly just going up, even like at the beginning of

312
00:17:07,316 --> 00:17:13,916
Speaker 1: the lesson, when you asked me to go m like

313
00:17:14,036 --> 00:17:16,756
Speaker 1: doing that stuff I get so freaked out about doing

314
00:17:16,756 --> 00:17:19,036
Speaker 1: because I'm like, well, if you crack on one of

315
00:17:19,036 --> 00:17:22,716
Speaker 1: these little simple things, you just suck. That's the real truth.

316
00:17:22,996 --> 00:17:25,036
Speaker 1: If you ask me what we do in those lessons.

317
00:17:25,116 --> 00:17:29,156
Speaker 1: Sometimes I black out some days. It's really hard, literally

318
00:17:29,276 --> 00:17:31,676
Speaker 1: word for word. I've said to Eric over and over again,

319
00:17:31,836 --> 00:17:34,756
Speaker 1: I don't know why, but I can't sing, and it's

320
00:17:34,796 --> 00:17:38,036
Speaker 1: a scary place to be. And I think this subject

321
00:17:38,036 --> 00:17:41,956
Speaker 1: goes across hundreds and hundreds of different types and ways

322
00:17:42,116 --> 00:17:44,996
Speaker 1: it could be for people, But for me, it's this

323
00:17:45,036 --> 00:17:47,636
Speaker 1: feeling of like I've forgotten how to sing, or maybe

324
00:17:47,636 --> 00:17:49,676
Speaker 1: I never even knew how to sing, or maybe I'm

325
00:17:49,716 --> 00:17:52,556
Speaker 1: just getting away with this big trick. Maybe I'm not

326
00:17:52,596 --> 00:17:55,396
Speaker 1: even a good musician at all. Sometimes I'm always like,

327
00:17:55,636 --> 00:17:57,356
Speaker 1: if one day Eric was just like, I'm not doing

328
00:17:57,436 --> 00:18:00,356
Speaker 1: lessons anymore, I'd be like, well, I can't sing anymore.

329
00:18:02,356 --> 00:18:05,996
Speaker 1: And there's this big spiral that happens within the course

330
00:18:06,036 --> 00:18:09,836
Speaker 1: of twenty seconds, and Eric sees it in is this

331
00:18:09,956 --> 00:18:15,796
Speaker 1: they start to cross. Okay, So sometimes it is my

332
00:18:15,916 --> 00:18:18,556
Speaker 1: job to get people out of their heads. Make that

333
00:18:18,716 --> 00:18:20,996
Speaker 1: quite often my job is to get people out of

334
00:18:21,036 --> 00:18:24,956
Speaker 1: their heads. It's an occupational hazard. Some singers find singing

335
00:18:24,996 --> 00:18:28,356
Speaker 1: scales up and down or singing major arpeggio's really easy,

336
00:18:28,916 --> 00:18:31,316
Speaker 1: So I'll throw in a minor one because when they

337
00:18:31,356 --> 00:18:34,636
Speaker 1: start focusing on how to sing that unexpected minor note

338
00:18:34,636 --> 00:18:37,596
Speaker 1: and tune, they can't pay attention as much to the

339
00:18:37,716 --> 00:18:40,956
Speaker 1: quality of their singing voice, So then their voice can

340
00:18:40,956 --> 00:18:43,836
Speaker 1: really open up. Or I'll have them do a variety

341
00:18:43,876 --> 00:18:46,916
Speaker 1: of physical gestures so they completely forget about their voice

342
00:18:47,156 --> 00:18:49,196
Speaker 1: because now all they can think about is all the

343
00:18:49,316 --> 00:18:52,316
Speaker 1: ridiculous moves I'm making them do. Like for me, I

344
00:18:52,596 --> 00:18:54,116
Speaker 1: go through this thing, I'm like, well, why can't I

345
00:18:54,156 --> 00:18:56,836
Speaker 1: just sing because I can speak when I wake up?

346
00:18:57,196 --> 00:19:01,516
Speaker 1: But you're doing vocal gymnastics and you really have to

347
00:19:01,516 --> 00:19:04,276
Speaker 1: warm up otherwise you can really hurt yourself. But yeah,

348
00:19:04,356 --> 00:19:07,116
Speaker 1: I still haven't learned that lesson. Well, yeah, because if

349
00:19:07,116 --> 00:19:10,796
Speaker 1: you start listening to yourself with that afectionistic ear right

350
00:19:10,836 --> 00:19:12,876
Speaker 1: from the very beginning of the warm up, it puts

351
00:19:12,876 --> 00:19:15,316
Speaker 1: you at a disadvantage because you're not going to sound

352
00:19:15,356 --> 00:19:17,276
Speaker 1: great at the beginning of a warm up. That's the

353
00:19:17,316 --> 00:19:20,516
Speaker 1: whole purpose of warming up, and sometimes it doesn't even

354
00:19:20,556 --> 00:19:22,756
Speaker 1: sound great at the end of the warm up. Sometimes

355
00:19:22,756 --> 00:19:25,316
Speaker 1: it takes doing a vocal warm up and then even

356
00:19:25,436 --> 00:19:28,316
Speaker 1: taking thirty minutes of like resting your voice, or thirty

357
00:19:28,356 --> 00:19:30,716
Speaker 1: minutes of just eating some food or anything, and you

358
00:19:30,756 --> 00:19:32,956
Speaker 1: come back and you're like, oh, wow, I am warmed up.

359
00:19:32,996 --> 00:19:36,116
Speaker 1: It's just you're a little bit too inside of the practice.

360
00:19:36,836 --> 00:19:39,036
Speaker 1: And I think the hardest part of singing is getting

361
00:19:39,036 --> 00:19:42,116
Speaker 1: out of your own way, is dropping the ego and

362
00:19:42,156 --> 00:19:44,676
Speaker 1: like just being a kid about it. Like when you're

363
00:19:44,716 --> 00:19:48,196
Speaker 1: a kid, you just sing. When you're an adult, you're

364
00:19:48,236 --> 00:19:50,836
Speaker 1: like singing, but at the same time also like critiquing

365
00:19:50,876 --> 00:19:53,476
Speaker 1: and judging and like afraid. And one of the most

366
00:19:53,516 --> 00:19:58,716
Speaker 1: amazing leaps we made as a duo was the day

367
00:19:59,196 --> 00:20:05,116
Speaker 1: I was like realizing I was like not letting you

368
00:20:05,196 --> 00:20:08,756
Speaker 1: tell me what the real objective thing was because I

369
00:20:08,796 --> 00:20:10,796
Speaker 1: was so afraid and so anxious, and I was like

370
00:20:10,836 --> 00:20:12,116
Speaker 1: no, no no, no, yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear that.

371
00:20:12,116 --> 00:20:14,236
Speaker 1: I don't want to hear that. I wasn't listening to

372
00:20:14,396 --> 00:20:17,316
Speaker 1: my teacher. I was like, I just have to get

373
00:20:17,316 --> 00:20:20,116
Speaker 1: through it out of so much anxiety. And then you're like,

374
00:20:20,236 --> 00:20:22,836
Speaker 1: I really think you should trust me. That was not

375
00:20:22,916 --> 00:20:25,996
Speaker 1: long ago, and I feel like once I really like

376
00:20:26,116 --> 00:20:29,356
Speaker 1: started to just like trust you and trust the process

377
00:20:29,396 --> 00:20:33,036
Speaker 1: and trust me, my voice started to open up more.

378
00:20:33,796 --> 00:20:36,076
Speaker 1: Not only your voice, but don't you feel better as

379
00:20:36,116 --> 00:20:39,116
Speaker 1: a human being? I mean, like I said, it's parallel

380
00:20:39,236 --> 00:20:43,916
Speaker 1: to like to life in general. I love when we

381
00:20:43,996 --> 00:20:48,836
Speaker 1: are just like cruising, like I think for me, it's

382
00:20:48,916 --> 00:20:51,916
Speaker 1: become a meditation too, because I put my phone down

383
00:20:52,116 --> 00:20:54,476
Speaker 1: for an hour. I just basically have headphones and I

384
00:20:54,556 --> 00:20:57,596
Speaker 1: can only hear you in the piano, and I can

385
00:20:57,636 --> 00:21:00,836
Speaker 1: be so focused on just the notes and my breathing

386
00:21:00,836 --> 00:21:04,036
Speaker 1: and very present in my body, and you and I

387
00:21:04,036 --> 00:21:08,476
Speaker 1: are very just zoned in and calm. It's a beautiful experience.

388
00:21:08,556 --> 00:21:11,676
Speaker 1: I find a lot of the time I end up

389
00:21:11,956 --> 00:21:15,116
Speaker 1: leaving the vocal lesson calmer. The whole thing was a

390
00:21:15,236 --> 00:21:19,356
Speaker 1: very zen moment, even in the silence when we're breathing.

391
00:21:19,476 --> 00:21:22,476
Speaker 1: I love those moments because that feels like the only

392
00:21:22,636 --> 00:21:25,716
Speaker 1: hour of the day where things move that slow and carefree.

393
00:21:26,156 --> 00:21:30,236
Speaker 1: Oh wow. Yeah, when people can let go, it makes

394
00:21:30,316 --> 00:21:32,276
Speaker 1: all the difference in the world. And like you said,

395
00:21:32,636 --> 00:21:35,156
Speaker 1: be able to open your mind and go all right,

396
00:21:35,276 --> 00:21:38,076
Speaker 1: So tell me what to do and I'll do it,

397
00:21:38,116 --> 00:21:40,356
Speaker 1: and I'll trust it, because if you can't trust your teacher,

398
00:21:40,436 --> 00:21:43,156
Speaker 1: then who can you really trust totally? I mean, I

399
00:21:43,156 --> 00:21:45,636
Speaker 1: think singers are so emotionally attached to their voice that

400
00:21:46,076 --> 00:21:48,796
Speaker 1: sometimes we'll be backstage at an award show. We'll spend

401
00:21:49,276 --> 00:21:52,076
Speaker 1: fifteen twenty minutes warming up, and then another forty minutes

402
00:21:52,636 --> 00:21:55,476
Speaker 1: just talking about the heart and calming down and getting

403
00:21:55,516 --> 00:21:57,276
Speaker 1: into the right frame of mind to be able to

404
00:21:57,316 --> 00:22:00,516
Speaker 1: do this. Even in our lessons, you end up accomplishing

405
00:22:00,596 --> 00:22:03,116
Speaker 1: more when you're in the right frame of mind than

406
00:22:03,596 --> 00:22:07,196
Speaker 1: doing an hour worth of scales stressed out and frustrated.

407
00:22:07,236 --> 00:22:10,356
Speaker 1: And I think being a vocal coach it's much more

408
00:22:10,396 --> 00:22:14,236
Speaker 1: than going through scales with someone I always call Eric

409
00:22:14,276 --> 00:22:18,436
Speaker 1: my vocal coach slash therapist, because you're never like just

410
00:22:18,596 --> 00:22:21,676
Speaker 1: doing one thing. That's what you are in my phone.

411
00:22:21,996 --> 00:22:26,836
Speaker 1: Your bio is voice teachers, last therapist. Well, someone did

412
00:22:26,876 --> 00:22:29,676
Speaker 1: say in an interview once I was their vocal life coach,

413
00:22:29,796 --> 00:22:33,316
Speaker 1: It's true, you really are. I love that phrase, vocal

414
00:22:33,316 --> 00:22:35,316
Speaker 1: life coach. I thought that was one of the biggest

415
00:22:35,316 --> 00:22:38,956
Speaker 1: compliments I'd ever gotten, because my lessons aren't always about

416
00:22:39,036 --> 00:22:42,996
Speaker 1: vocal placement. Sometimes the most important thing is helping a

417
00:22:43,036 --> 00:22:46,796
Speaker 1: student get mentally ready for a show. Something that helps

418
00:22:46,796 --> 00:22:49,436
Speaker 1: me a lot is that I say to myself before

419
00:22:49,476 --> 00:22:52,076
Speaker 1: a vocal lesson. I say to myself before a performance

420
00:22:52,076 --> 00:22:55,756
Speaker 1: at the Grammys that this is just play. It's art,

421
00:22:55,876 --> 00:22:59,116
Speaker 1: this is music, this is love. This is something that

422
00:22:59,196 --> 00:23:02,636
Speaker 1: was created to make people feel. It sounds crazy, but

423
00:23:02,796 --> 00:23:05,076
Speaker 1: sometimes the pressure and a vocal lesson that I put

424
00:23:05,076 --> 00:23:08,276
Speaker 1: on myself is equivalent to the pressure backstage at the Grammys.

425
00:23:08,676 --> 00:23:11,556
Speaker 1: And it's because they're the same thing. To me, You've

426
00:23:11,596 --> 00:23:14,916
Speaker 1: got to sound perfect. Working on that on kind of

427
00:23:14,956 --> 00:23:17,676
Speaker 1: toning that perfectionism down has been a really big part

428
00:23:17,716 --> 00:23:20,676
Speaker 1: of my life. Yeah. I would actually say, you're more

429
00:23:20,756 --> 00:23:24,916
Speaker 1: nervous than our voice lessons then you are at award shows. Yeah, totally.

430
00:23:25,196 --> 00:23:27,316
Speaker 1: At an award show you kind of have no choice.

431
00:23:27,316 --> 00:23:28,836
Speaker 1: But at a voice lesson, I can be like, I

432
00:23:28,876 --> 00:23:31,196
Speaker 1: can't do this, I can't do this today, and then

433
00:23:31,556 --> 00:23:33,636
Speaker 1: I get more nervous. I can psych myself out a

434
00:23:33,676 --> 00:23:35,876
Speaker 1: little bit more. I'm already I'm even sitting here right

435
00:23:35,916 --> 00:23:37,556
Speaker 1: now being like I'm talking too much. I'm gonna be

436
00:23:37,556 --> 00:23:40,636
Speaker 1: tired for our vocal lesson in an hour. So I

437
00:23:40,676 --> 00:23:43,316
Speaker 1: find even if I'm doing a lesson. The thing that

438
00:23:43,356 --> 00:23:46,716
Speaker 1: helps me the most is that if I'm three warmups

439
00:23:46,756 --> 00:23:50,276
Speaker 1: in and I'm starting to feel myself get that perfectionist

440
00:23:50,356 --> 00:23:53,116
Speaker 1: kind of vibe going on, my tunnel vision is going in,

441
00:23:53,396 --> 00:23:55,516
Speaker 1: I just kind of shake my body like crazy and

442
00:23:55,516 --> 00:24:01,276
Speaker 1: I go, I'll start like whatever, like to like laugh,

443
00:24:01,356 --> 00:24:03,916
Speaker 1: to get myself out of that little thing. It's like

444
00:24:03,996 --> 00:24:07,916
Speaker 1: snapping myself out before I go into that perfectionist place.

445
00:24:08,116 --> 00:24:10,316
Speaker 1: I say to myself in that it's just fun. This

446
00:24:10,436 --> 00:24:12,636
Speaker 1: is just play. Let's just have fun, you know. I

447
00:24:12,676 --> 00:24:14,916
Speaker 1: always get the sense that a lot of times people

448
00:24:14,916 --> 00:24:17,636
Speaker 1: in their mind think, well, when I or if I

449
00:24:17,836 --> 00:24:20,356
Speaker 1: become really successful, if I make a lot of money,

450
00:24:20,876 --> 00:24:22,956
Speaker 1: if I get a certain amount of success, if I'm

451
00:24:23,036 --> 00:24:25,716
Speaker 1: number one on the charts, then I'll be happier. Then

452
00:24:25,756 --> 00:24:28,716
Speaker 1: I'm going to feel really good. Yeah. I mean, this

453
00:24:28,836 --> 00:24:33,436
Speaker 1: is a very touchy, a hard thing to talk about

454
00:24:33,476 --> 00:24:37,876
Speaker 1: because when you say that money and success doesn't bring

455
00:24:37,876 --> 00:24:40,236
Speaker 1: you happiness, and maybe a bunch of people would jump

456
00:24:40,236 --> 00:24:43,356
Speaker 1: to say, oh, switch lives with me, and I'll tell you,

457
00:24:43,356 --> 00:24:45,276
Speaker 1: you know, and I'll be happy, you know, if I

458
00:24:45,316 --> 00:24:47,316
Speaker 1: had the money you had. Money does a lot of

459
00:24:47,356 --> 00:24:49,916
Speaker 1: amazing things, and success does a lot of amazing things

460
00:24:49,996 --> 00:24:52,556
Speaker 1: for you, and it makes your life comfortable and easy,

461
00:24:52,636 --> 00:24:55,796
Speaker 1: and it's the biggest blessing in the entire world. And

462
00:24:56,436 --> 00:24:58,316
Speaker 1: I think you have to be aware of that. But

463
00:24:58,356 --> 00:25:02,236
Speaker 1: at the same time, you have to be happy before

464
00:25:02,316 --> 00:25:05,516
Speaker 1: you play the stadium for the stadium to make you happy,

465
00:25:06,036 --> 00:25:08,556
Speaker 1: because you're not going to get on the stage and

466
00:25:08,636 --> 00:25:11,036
Speaker 1: walk off that night and lay in bed and be like,

467
00:25:11,196 --> 00:25:14,196
Speaker 1: now I'm truly happy because I've played in front of

468
00:25:14,236 --> 00:25:17,396
Speaker 1: fifty thousand people. You can maybe make the ego happy,

469
00:25:17,756 --> 00:25:20,596
Speaker 1: but I'm talking about the real heart. It has nothing

470
00:25:20,636 --> 00:25:22,876
Speaker 1: to do with the fifty thousand people. How did you

471
00:25:22,876 --> 00:25:24,516
Speaker 1: feel when you were on the stage. Did you feel

472
00:25:24,556 --> 00:25:28,276
Speaker 1: that you were being an honest, kind of real version

473
00:25:28,316 --> 00:25:30,276
Speaker 1: of yourself And did you feel like there was love

474
00:25:30,316 --> 00:25:33,956
Speaker 1: in the room and was this thing very real? Then

475
00:25:33,996 --> 00:25:36,276
Speaker 1: that's really what's going to bring you happiness. So it's

476
00:25:36,316 --> 00:25:42,356
Speaker 1: just true happiness comes from within and not from outside success.

477
00:25:42,396 --> 00:25:44,716
Speaker 1: Some of the most fun shows of my life have

478
00:25:44,836 --> 00:25:47,596
Speaker 1: been in front of like fifty people that you're like

479
00:25:47,716 --> 00:25:50,396
Speaker 1: sweating and everyone's screaming the lyrics as loud as you can,

480
00:25:50,476 --> 00:25:53,316
Speaker 1: and there's this insane amount of excitement in the room

481
00:25:53,316 --> 00:25:55,756
Speaker 1: and the pressure is down, and it just feels so

482
00:25:56,036 --> 00:25:58,356
Speaker 1: intimate and close. And those have been some of my

483
00:25:59,076 --> 00:26:02,836
Speaker 1: absolute favorite shows Mine too. One of my favorites was

484
00:26:02,876 --> 00:26:05,556
Speaker 1: at the Grammy Museum Me Too. That was one of

485
00:26:05,596 --> 00:26:18,516
Speaker 1: my favorite shows ever. And that was such a small

486
00:26:18,556 --> 00:26:20,796
Speaker 1: audience and it wasn't the same as a huge arena

487
00:26:20,836 --> 00:26:23,956
Speaker 1: with everybody laughing and screaming and dancing and carrying on.

488
00:26:24,116 --> 00:26:27,516
Speaker 1: But oh, your voice sound it is so beautiful, and

489
00:26:27,556 --> 00:26:30,516
Speaker 1: the audience was totally with you, like they were breathing

490
00:26:30,556 --> 00:26:32,516
Speaker 1: with you. Yeah, you have to just kind of like

491
00:26:33,116 --> 00:26:37,236
Speaker 1: surrender to what the place you're playing wants to give you.

492
00:26:37,316 --> 00:26:40,196
Speaker 1: And that night, I think sometimes you just get struck

493
00:26:40,196 --> 00:26:41,916
Speaker 1: by a little bit of lightning, and that night had

494
00:26:41,916 --> 00:26:44,636
Speaker 1: some lightning in it, and it felt really amazing. I

495
00:26:44,756 --> 00:26:47,156
Speaker 1: often will be on stage and I'm kind of singing

496
00:26:47,196 --> 00:26:49,836
Speaker 1: with them. It's something that I think Bruce Springsteen had

497
00:26:50,036 --> 00:26:53,036
Speaker 1: that I really admire and love. And it just feels

498
00:26:53,036 --> 00:26:55,276
Speaker 1: like you're part of the people in like a really

499
00:26:55,356 --> 00:26:57,956
Speaker 1: like kind of a small town way. And I always

500
00:26:57,996 --> 00:27:00,556
Speaker 1: like to think about it that way, right, I get

501
00:27:00,636 --> 00:27:03,476
Speaker 1: that I almost think of you sometimes when I've watched

502
00:27:03,476 --> 00:27:06,316
Speaker 1: you and this sounds really odd, but I think of

503
00:27:06,396 --> 00:27:08,756
Speaker 1: you is kind of a healer because when I've seen

504
00:27:08,796 --> 00:27:11,356
Speaker 1: you with that audience, I see the look in your

505
00:27:11,436 --> 00:27:13,436
Speaker 1: eye and the way they react to what you're doing.

506
00:27:14,236 --> 00:27:16,436
Speaker 1: And I think I told you the first time I

507
00:27:16,476 --> 00:27:19,676
Speaker 1: really saw that was it Radio City, right, because that

508
00:27:19,716 --> 00:27:21,756
Speaker 1: was many years ago, that was early on when we

509
00:27:22,036 --> 00:27:24,796
Speaker 1: first started working together. No, that doesn't sound ought at

510
00:27:24,836 --> 00:27:26,756
Speaker 1: all funny that you said. I think that if I

511
00:27:26,796 --> 00:27:31,356
Speaker 1: wasn't doing music, I'd probably be studying holistic medicine and healing,

512
00:27:31,516 --> 00:27:35,036
Speaker 1: and so that lives really deep within me. So that's

513
00:27:35,036 --> 00:27:37,356
Speaker 1: actually really sweet. I feel like you've never told me

514
00:27:37,396 --> 00:27:40,556
Speaker 1: about the healer thing. I guess I haven't, but I

515
00:27:40,596 --> 00:27:43,196
Speaker 1: always think about it. It goes back to that show

516
00:27:43,236 --> 00:27:46,596
Speaker 1: at Radio City. I remember thinking to myself, Wow, he

517
00:27:46,796 --> 00:27:50,596
Speaker 1: is really playing with this audience, and the best way possible.

518
00:27:51,076 --> 00:27:52,476
Speaker 1: You know, you would do the thing when you would

519
00:27:52,476 --> 00:27:55,316
Speaker 1: get really really soft and there was that soft moment

520
00:27:55,356 --> 00:27:57,436
Speaker 1: and you'd get them to quiet down. Then you get

521
00:27:57,436 --> 00:28:08,276
Speaker 1: louder again. They'd get louder again. Don't, don't, don't, So

522
00:28:09,396 --> 00:28:24,916
Speaker 1: that's sorry, that's sorry, right, And I remember thinking, he

523
00:28:25,076 --> 00:28:29,796
Speaker 1: really understands this. He's creating an incredible evening for these people.

524
00:28:30,196 --> 00:28:32,676
Speaker 1: They are really enjoying this, and they're gonna go home

525
00:28:32,716 --> 00:28:34,756
Speaker 1: and talk about it, and they're gonna remember it and

526
00:28:34,796 --> 00:28:42,036
Speaker 1: they're gonna be inspired. Thank you. Stick around after the

527
00:28:42,076 --> 00:28:45,276
Speaker 1: break for this week's vocal tip and more with Seawan Mendez.

528
00:28:49,476 --> 00:28:51,796
Speaker 1: If you want to do this exercise with me, you'll

529
00:28:51,836 --> 00:28:54,596
Speaker 1: need a small bottle half filled with water and a straw.

530
00:28:55,036 --> 00:28:57,356
Speaker 1: Don't forget to press pause while you go find him.

531
00:29:00,836 --> 00:29:10,476
Speaker 1: Let's dive into this week's vocal tip. A lot of

532
00:29:10,476 --> 00:29:13,796
Speaker 1: people feel anxiety before going on stage. I'm going to

533
00:29:13,836 --> 00:29:16,636
Speaker 1: give you a few suggestions that will alleviate some of

534
00:29:16,636 --> 00:29:19,796
Speaker 1: that stress before you even start to warm up your voice.

535
00:29:20,076 --> 00:29:22,956
Speaker 1: If you're someone who likes to meditate, then meditate for

536
00:29:22,996 --> 00:29:26,036
Speaker 1: a few minutes. If you're someone who enjoys yoga, then

537
00:29:26,076 --> 00:29:30,596
Speaker 1: do some poses and stretches. Sometimes journaling can be very cathartic,

538
00:29:30,796 --> 00:29:33,676
Speaker 1: so try writing in a journal. You can either write

539
00:29:33,676 --> 00:29:37,396
Speaker 1: positive affirmations, or you can write what you're feeling and

540
00:29:37,476 --> 00:29:40,156
Speaker 1: what your fears are. Or if you have any anxiety

541
00:29:40,156 --> 00:29:43,316
Speaker 1: about singing, write that down too. Get it all out

542
00:29:43,356 --> 00:29:46,156
Speaker 1: of your system and free yourself from it. Before you

543
00:29:46,196 --> 00:29:49,556
Speaker 1: start to practice. Do whatever starts to relax your body

544
00:29:49,596 --> 00:29:51,676
Speaker 1: and take you away from the stress of the day.

545
00:29:52,076 --> 00:29:55,836
Speaker 1: It's always worth taking a few minutes to do. Now,

546
00:29:55,956 --> 00:29:59,356
Speaker 1: let's loosen up your body. Stand up slightly, bend your

547
00:29:59,436 --> 00:30:01,716
Speaker 1: knees to take the pressure off your lower back, and

548
00:30:01,876 --> 00:30:04,956
Speaker 1: just hang forward from the waist. You want your upper

549
00:30:04,996 --> 00:30:07,556
Speaker 1: body to just be hanging forward like a rag doll.

550
00:30:08,156 --> 00:30:11,076
Speaker 1: Let your head and ar hang loosely and freely. Take

551
00:30:11,116 --> 00:30:13,996
Speaker 1: a deep breath in. You might even feel your back

552
00:30:14,036 --> 00:30:16,636
Speaker 1: expand as you breathe in, and then just blow out.

553
00:30:19,276 --> 00:30:21,916
Speaker 1: Let all the tension out. When you do this, take

554
00:30:21,956 --> 00:30:26,356
Speaker 1: another deep breath in, and then this time as you

555
00:30:26,436 --> 00:30:31,196
Speaker 1: blow out, make a hissing sound as you slowly roll

556
00:30:31,316 --> 00:30:35,556
Speaker 1: up into a standing position. Once you're in the standing position,

557
00:30:35,836 --> 00:30:40,076
Speaker 1: take a deep breath and sigh ah. Just let all

558
00:30:40,316 --> 00:30:42,756
Speaker 1: the tension and the tightness of the day out of

559
00:30:42,796 --> 00:30:48,636
Speaker 1: your body. Next to tilt your head forward and just

560
00:30:48,716 --> 00:30:53,436
Speaker 1: do a gentle face shake. It's just to shake your

561
00:30:53,436 --> 00:30:56,756
Speaker 1: facial muscles loose and free, but make sure it's gentle

562
00:30:56,796 --> 00:31:01,196
Speaker 1: so you don't tense up your neck. Then you can

563
00:31:01,356 --> 00:31:04,476
Speaker 1: really shake your entire body loose by shaking your hands

564
00:31:04,516 --> 00:31:11,876
Speaker 1: and your legs and your face altogether. Now let's work

565
00:31:11,916 --> 00:31:15,116
Speaker 1: on your voice. You heard Sean mentioned that his favorite

566
00:31:15,156 --> 00:31:17,956
Speaker 1: exercise is the bottle exercise, where he sings through a

567
00:31:17,996 --> 00:31:22,156
Speaker 1: straw blowing bubbles into water. Singing to a straw helps

568
00:31:22,156 --> 00:31:24,916
Speaker 1: put your vocal cords in the best possible position in

569
00:31:24,956 --> 00:31:29,076
Speaker 1: shape to create the vibrations that produce a free singing tone.

570
00:31:29,196 --> 00:31:32,076
Speaker 1: Teachers explain this technique as setting up the most efficient

571
00:31:32,116 --> 00:31:34,836
Speaker 1: way for your vocal cords to work. By singing through

572
00:31:34,836 --> 00:31:37,676
Speaker 1: a straw, you will be automatically training the muscles of

573
00:31:37,676 --> 00:31:41,196
Speaker 1: your larynx without trying to manipulate them physically. If you're

574
00:31:41,196 --> 00:31:44,196
Speaker 1: looking for the technical term, it's often referred to as

575
00:31:44,236 --> 00:31:48,156
Speaker 1: a semi occluded vocal track exercise because your breath is

576
00:31:48,196 --> 00:31:51,956
Speaker 1: partially blocked, which creates a helpful back pressure in the

577
00:31:52,036 --> 00:31:55,916
Speaker 1: vocal tract. But really, seriously, you do not need to

578
00:31:55,996 --> 00:31:58,356
Speaker 1: understand any of that to have it help you. Just

579
00:31:58,596 --> 00:32:01,156
Speaker 1: try it. Put a straw into a small bottle or

580
00:32:01,196 --> 00:32:04,276
Speaker 1: a tall glass half filled with water, and you'll see

581
00:32:04,276 --> 00:32:07,116
Speaker 1: how helpful it can be right away. Let's blow some

582
00:32:07,156 --> 00:32:14,196
Speaker 1: bubbles and get started like this. Now you do that,

583
00:32:14,276 --> 00:32:21,636
Speaker 1: blow some bubbles into that water. Next, sing through that

584
00:32:21,716 --> 00:32:38,156
Speaker 1: straw your turn. You can sing a simple arpeggio, try that,

585
00:32:42,236 --> 00:32:44,596
Speaker 1: or really any musical pattern of notes that you like.

586
00:32:49,756 --> 00:32:51,676
Speaker 1: You can also try this on a song that you

587
00:32:51,716 --> 00:32:54,676
Speaker 1: want to improve on. It can really help the song

588
00:32:54,716 --> 00:32:57,396
Speaker 1: if you do it, sing through the whole song. Singing

589
00:32:57,396 --> 00:33:00,556
Speaker 1: through that straw into the bottle. Now there are straws

590
00:33:00,636 --> 00:33:03,836
Speaker 1: made especially for this, and also bottles we built in straws,

591
00:33:04,076 --> 00:33:06,236
Speaker 1: but you can experiment at home with this with just

592
00:33:06,276 --> 00:33:09,316
Speaker 1: a regular straw in a bottle. The size of the

593
00:33:09,356 --> 00:33:13,116
Speaker 1: straw will increase or decrease, the amount of resistance you feel,

594
00:33:13,356 --> 00:33:15,836
Speaker 1: and how far you put the straw into the water

595
00:33:16,076 --> 00:33:18,956
Speaker 1: will also make a difference. You'll feel what works best

596
00:33:18,996 --> 00:33:22,076
Speaker 1: for you. By the way, you don't always have to

597
00:33:22,116 --> 00:33:25,076
Speaker 1: sing into the straw in water. You can also sing

598
00:33:25,116 --> 00:33:27,476
Speaker 1: into the straw and just feel the air flowing out.

599
00:33:27,916 --> 00:33:30,516
Speaker 1: Put your hand about two inches away from the opening

600
00:33:30,516 --> 00:33:33,636
Speaker 1: of the straw, and you should feel a steady stream

601
00:33:33,676 --> 00:33:37,036
Speaker 1: of air blowing onto your palm. Then you'll really start

602
00:33:37,036 --> 00:33:40,156
Speaker 1: developing that muscle memory of keeping the air flowing forward.

603
00:33:40,596 --> 00:33:43,316
Speaker 1: And as you heard Shun say in our conversation, one

604
00:33:43,356 --> 00:33:46,036
Speaker 1: reason he likes singing through the straw into water is

605
00:33:46,036 --> 00:33:48,276
Speaker 1: because it muffles his voice so he can start his

606
00:33:48,356 --> 00:33:51,236
Speaker 1: vocal warm up freely without judging how his voice sounds

607
00:33:51,236 --> 00:33:53,676
Speaker 1: at the beginning, which I think is a great idea.

608
00:33:54,236 --> 00:33:57,196
Speaker 1: I always tell people when you begin warming up, the

609
00:33:57,276 --> 00:34:00,596
Speaker 1: way your vocal chords feel is far more important than

610
00:34:00,636 --> 00:34:03,036
Speaker 1: how they sound. If you want to try out the

611
00:34:03,116 --> 00:34:05,476
Speaker 1: vocal tip from this episode, I'd love to hear it.

612
00:34:05,836 --> 00:34:07,916
Speaker 1: Or maybe you want to share a bit from your journal,

613
00:34:08,316 --> 00:34:10,276
Speaker 1: or even a picture of the spot where you like

614
00:34:10,396 --> 00:34:13,436
Speaker 1: to do yoga or where you like to meditate. Use

615
00:34:13,516 --> 00:34:18,836
Speaker 1: the hashtag Backstage Pass pod on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or

616
00:34:18,836 --> 00:34:21,636
Speaker 1: wherever you like to post. I can't wait to see

617
00:34:21,676 --> 00:34:24,716
Speaker 1: what you do with this week's vocal tips. I'll be

618
00:34:24,756 --> 00:34:28,116
Speaker 1: back next week with another interview and another vocal tip.

619
00:34:28,556 --> 00:34:43,516
Speaker 1: Talk to you then, maybe maybe, maybe maybe maybe. Backstage

620
00:34:43,556 --> 00:34:46,116
Speaker 1: Pass with Eric Vitro is written and hosted by me

621
00:34:46,516 --> 00:34:50,876
Speaker 1: Eric Vitro and produced by Morgan Jaffee. Katherine Giardo is

622
00:34:50,916 --> 00:34:55,596
Speaker 1: our managing producer. Emily Rosstech is our associate producer. Mixed

623
00:34:55,636 --> 00:35:00,396
Speaker 1: and mastered by Ben Polliday. Additional engineering help from Jacob Purski.

624
00:35:00,916 --> 00:35:04,556
Speaker 1: Mia Lobel is our VP of Content Director's Development. Justine

625
00:35:04,636 --> 00:35:08,116
Speaker 1: Lange helped create the show. Thanks also to Jacob Weisberg,

626
00:35:08,236 --> 00:35:12,996
Speaker 1: Heather faine, On Schnars, Carli Migliori, Christina Sullivan, Eric Sandler,

627
00:35:13,156 --> 00:35:18,316
Speaker 1: Maggie Taylor, Nicole Morano, Daniello Lacan and Royston Bazzer. Original

628
00:35:18,396 --> 00:35:21,596
Speaker 1: theme music by Jacob and Sita Steele for Premier Music Group.

629
00:35:21,996 --> 00:35:25,836
Speaker 1: We record at Resonate Studios. Fred Tlackson does our videography

630
00:35:25,956 --> 00:35:29,556
Speaker 1: and the photography is by Ken Sawyer. Special thanks to

631
00:35:29,676 --> 00:35:32,876
Speaker 1: Michael Lewis for his inspiration, his friendship, and the best

632
00:35:32,956 --> 00:35:37,396
Speaker 1: guidance anyone could ask for. Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro

633
00:35:37,556 --> 00:35:40,636
Speaker 1: as a production of Pushkin Industries. If you like the show,

634
00:35:40,756 --> 00:35:44,516
Speaker 1: please remember to share, rate, and review. I mean that really.

635
00:35:45,156 --> 00:35:48,596
Speaker 1: To find more Pushkin podcast listen to the iHeartRadio app,

636
00:35:48,876 --> 00:35:57,476
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you

637
00:35:57,596 --> 00:36:01,196
Speaker 1: were going to write an autobiography today, what would you

638
00:36:01,276 --> 00:36:08,156
Speaker 1: title it? Falsetto okay? I said, we say falsetto okay

639
00:36:08,276 --> 00:36:11,876
Speaker 1: ironically because I had the hardest time learning how to

640
00:36:11,916 --> 00:36:14,036
Speaker 1: sing false head. Now you don't, and now it's in

641
00:36:14,116 --> 00:36:16,796
Speaker 1: this that's that's that hard word. That's what I would

642
00:36:16,836 --> 00:36:18,916
Speaker 1: title it. What would you title it? That's what you

643
00:36:18,956 --> 00:36:23,076
Speaker 1: would title Yeah, Um, I don't know what I would

644
00:36:23,116 --> 00:36:26,396
Speaker 1: title it. I really don't know. Must mean I'm not

645
00:36:26,476 --> 00:36:28,476
Speaker 1: ready to write it yet. Yeah, I guess not. Well,

646
00:36:28,516 --> 00:36:30,316
Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot more to come, but yeah,