I guess it’s the circles I run in — or maybe just the algorithm smiling upon me (see what I did there?) — but I’ve been meeting a decent number of people who are passionate supporters of independent music: broadcasters, promoters, venue owners, and bloggers. Case in point, I was on Threads a few days ago when I saw the following post from Jeff Thomas: “ATTENTION INDEPENDENT ARTISTS!!! I have a blog where I review music from independent artists ONLY. This is a forum where you have a published reference to use as a marketing resource to promote YOUR music. If you are interested in having an album or song reviewed, leave a comment.” Needless to say, it got my attention, so I dropped Jeff a line with a few questions…

It’s always cool to meet another music blogger. When did you start the Fifteen Minutes of Fame blog, and what inspired you to get it going?

First, I wanted to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you, talk music, blogs, and the journey of Indie artists. I, too, love meeting and talking with other bloggers. I love giving feedback and receiving advice on ways to improve what we’re doing.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame was a concept that came to me after a couple of trial and error attempts to promote independent music, which stemmed from unsuccessful attempts to promote my own. And it all revolves around the friendliest place on the internet: Threads. A year ago, I posted on Threads that I would create a Spotify playlist and comment feedback about songs to anybody who was interested. It was a pretty popular post, as it garnered a bit of interest. I created the playlist, almost nobody followed it, and I was probably the only person listening to it. I tried again and it wasn’t as popular.

Last year, I binged the podcast “New Heights,” which is hosted by two professional athletes and siblings, the Kelce brothers. Travis Kelce, is famously known as the romantic partner of Taylor Swift. Listening to the podcast, I witnessed as their podcast changed in an instant after the news broke of their relationship. It was already popular, but the addition of The Swifties was so profound, you could hear it in their voices how they were just taken aback. And these are famous athletes! I thought that was interesting. I thought about what an impact an event like that would have on an independent artist, if even for 15 minutes. 

After another unsuccessful idea that consisted of another playlist and a “contest” approach where I would select an artist to feature for “fifteen minutes of fame,” I came up with the idea of writing the blog and launched it in July. I wanted it to be something artists could take with them and reference.

Great title, by the way. I’m a big fan of Andy Warhol! Beyond his fifteen minutes of fame quote, I’m wondering if you see any parallels between Warhol’s approach to and attitude toward art and contemporary indie music.

I think Warhol was definitely ahead of his time. Imagine saying “In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes,” before the internet existed! It’s unbelievable how right he was about so many things. He got to a place where every trend was derivative, exotic was boring, sex was overrated, and if there’s something truly important happening, don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

You know, it’s interesting he went back and revised his quote and said “In fifteen minutes, everyone will be famous.” I think people are one “trend” trend away from that every day. I am fascinated by social constructs around those moments. Like the “Hawk Tuah” girl, and how her life transformed overnight from 5 seconds in front of a camera.

Like his quote, “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” evolved to mean 2 things. The first is obviously seeking that spotlight for a moment. What would you do with it?

But the second meaning is a call to action. How willing are you to contribute to a community that is committed to lifting the collective group? Would you commit 15 minutes out of your day or week to it? I think I can relate to Warhol in that I bear witness to the evolutionary and adaptive process around these things. They interest me on a deep level.

Though I’ve written the occasional review, I really struggle with how to talk about music. What’s your approach to writing reviews? Is there anything in particular that you focus on? And how do you get beyond just saying, “Hey, this song is cool!”?

So, I had no idea how to write a music review going into this. I knew I didn’t like a lot of critics, necessarily. I don’t like the ego behind them. I think one of the most popular online music critics right now is Anthony Fantano. Though we sometimes have similar tastes in music, I find his critical approach to be harsh and unnecessary. I know it appeals to some; he’s very popular. But I didn’t want to do it that way.

I want Fifteen Minutes of Fame to be a place where artists could feel safe sharing their most vulnerable moments. I struggle with the facade that everything is so polar, when it should be viewed on a spectrum. I want to enable critical thought as something that should take time, that should be a commitment to understanding. So, there may be instances where an artist I review is singing off key. Or they might have a couple of rhythmic breaks. Or the production value might sound low budget. But their stint in rehab was a very real thing and they’re pouring their hearts out about that. How does that make me feel? How does that make you feel? This is an unconventional album? Find an unconventional way to listen to it so that it resonates with you. 

Once I established how I wanted to do that, the reviews practically began writing themselves. 

Do you have any advice for people who might be interested in submitting their music to your blog — or to music blogs in general? Are there any “beginner mistakes” that you see people make — or that you may have made yourself at once time?

I think that it is important to learn about the blog. Make sure its vibe fits your own. Read some of the articles and get a sense of how it operates.

Engage with the creator(s) and those communities. You want to be recognizable to them and they you. Don’t just do a link dump and pop smoke. Be a real contributor.

When submitting, be organized and attentive. At some point, bloggers have to start filtering submissions if we want to empty the bucket. A short bio, Spotify link, and album artwork gets opened every time.

I know that you’re a musician as well as a blogger. Has blogging allowed you to look at your own music in a new or different light?

Oh absolutely! I have always hated how I sound on recordings because it sounds so different in my head. So I would rush the process. That would just create moments in every project I would want to do over. Doing the blog has really strengthened my analytical skills. I value the process more. I’ve also been more able to accept my authentic sound.

Your music offers an interesting blend of acoustic and electronic sounds, not to mention some cool atmospherics. Who are some of your influences?

Growing up, I was exposed to old country music, The Beatles, and Beethoven. I think those roots are important. I personally love all things Radiohead, Bon Iver, Childish Gambino, and The National. But my influences are always changing.

Your latest track, “Tangible,” is extremely dynamic! The lead guitar gives off a strong garage-rock vibe, but there’s also an epic, polished cinematic quality to song that reminds me a little bit of 80s bands like Ultravox. What inspired you to straddle those two disparate styles?

Tangible, to me, is supposed to sound chaotic. Almost schizophrenic, even. It was written nearly 20 years ago when I was playing in a band called Next Year’s Best. When I wrote it, I was in the most indefinite place in my life I had ever been. I was second-guessing everything I had ever known. I think the lyrics convey that but I think it came out a bit in the composition I wrote as well. To me, each transition needed to be unexpected. Because that is the revelation that takes place in the song. The idea I feared for most of my life turned out to be the most comforting truth I had ever known.

How long have you been making music, and how has your approach to it changed over the years?

If we are getting technical, I have been a musician since I was 3 years old. My mother is a professional cellist, as well as a violin, viola, and cello teacher. She is also a retired public school music teacher. 

She put a violin in my hands then and recognized early on that I had a strong ear. So she nurtured those things. My dad put me onto the guitar in high school. I wrote my first song at 17 and haven’t looked back.

A lifetime of making music, then! And your instagram bio mentions that you work in finance. Do the two worlds — music and finance — ever meet?

They haven’t yet. Though, at the risk of sounding a little presumptuous, I can definitely see opportunity for that to happen.

Finance is something I am just as passionate about as I am with music. Having both of these career aspirations offers an interesting balance as they both sort of keep me steadfast to one another. I never feel burned out, complacent, or fatigued by either path. In fact, the deeper I get into both, the more I want to succeed. 

It helps that there is a complement to both. No matter how far in one I go, that success only helps my capability to continue to do the other, in fact, relieving some of the pressures I might feel to continue to do them, either way you look at it.

And your Linktree page includes a link to support Antiracism. What draw you to that cause in particular, and is it reflected in your music in any way?

Antiracism is very important to me. I feel embarrassed that this is a battle society still fights today. Equality as a whole isn’t even a topic that should be debated. It should be a birth right. If you occupy this planet, you should have the same rights and freedoms as the next person. 

I think it’s sad that there are people in this world who were born with a certain skin tone, or sex organ, or sexual preference even, who feel like that entitles them to privilege. From my perspective, occupants of this planet won an insane lottery just by being born. There is no greater odds we will ever face than when the fertilization process occurred. Instead of money, we win time: 70-90 years to enjoy this planet. This incredible rock located in the middle of infinity. Why waste that time concerning ourselves with how we think others should occupy their time? Why is there this need to feel like we must control? We must take? We need to look within ourselves and find peace and happiness. That doesn’t involve taking those same rights from the next person. 

So, to sum it up, yes it is very important to me. As are many human rights efforts.

What’s on the horizon for you?

Well musically, Tangible will be my last hard rock song. Lately, I’ve been gravitating towards more Folk, Americana, and Bluegrass sounds. I have a series of three singles I am working on and plan on releasing in the next few months. This is ahead of next year, you’re hearing it first, I will be releasing a new album that will be called “Evaporate.” I’m not going into more detail about the album because I don’t want to spoil anything more than it can be expected in 2025. I will say, my next single is going to be called “Sunny Side.” I am targeting a release for it some time in early November. I also want to “pass the torch” to my kids. They’re coming into their own musically. They have even helped produce some of my recent releases. It’s their world, I’m just living in it!

With Fifteen Minutes of Fame, I am still holding on for dear life, as this wonderful thing continues to grow. The forefront of that will always be the reviews, but we are going to continue to find innovative ways to provide exposure to the independent musician community. There will be social media campaigns, marketing ventures, I am starting to consider the benefit of launching a website, maybe getting into merchandising. That’s all down the road but definitely being planned. This thing is growing so much, I am fortunate to say, my wife has been very supportive and she is going to actually be taking on some roles to help manage and organize what it is becoming. Having her involved speaks very well of the future of Fifteen Minutes of Fame. She will really help bring structure to the process and give it a sturdy foundation to really grow.

With finance, I have a very important couple of months ahead of me as I am going to be testing for some very significant licenses that will help me pursue some of the more targeted goals I have in that industry, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you so much for having me here to discuss Fifteen Minutes of Fame, as well as my own independent work. It is so important, the work that is being done to create platforms for independent artists to take some of the spotlight from mainstream music.

Not to say all mainstream music is good or bad, or independent musicians for that matter. But I don’t think there is a single thing wrong with mainstream music having to scoot over and share the stage with independent musicians. It is the work that you’re doing that is making that possible. So thank you again.