{"id":19853,"date":"2020-09-08T17:11:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T00:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=19853"},"modified":"2020-09-08T17:11:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T00:11:45","slug":"video-exclusive-interview-teddy-swims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2020\/09\/video-exclusive-interview-teddy-swims\/","title":{"rendered":"Video &#038; Exclusive Interview Teddy Swims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<\/strong><br \/>\nArtist:\u00a0 <strong>TEDDY SWIMS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Video:\u00a0 \u201c<strong>Broke\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TEDDY SWIMS RELEASES THE CATCHY, FUNK-INFUSED, SOULFUL \u201cBROKE\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U_vO2OfBnZs\" width=\"660\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>When Teddy Swims sings \u201cBroke\u201d you can feel the pain he must have felt when $20 would have changed his world, yet you can also experience his joy that shines from inside because he is part of a family.<\/p>\n<p>Jaten Dimsdale is Teddy Swims, but as he says, \u201c<em>I\u2019m<\/em> Jaten Dimsdale\u2014<em>we<\/em> are Teddy Swims.\u201d His circle of friends is his family. They live together, write together and make music together. It\u2019s important to him that they experience success together. It\u2019s a beautiful view of life in this current pandemic situation where some want to only lookout for themselves. \u201cBroke\u201d is a catchy, funk-infused, soulful anthem for 2020 that we can sing-along, dance-along and experience Teddy Swims\u2019 inner peace, joy and silent longing to create a better world where friends are family.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19859\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-01-Photo-credit-Aaron-Marsh.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-01-Photo-credit-Aaron-Marsh.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-01-Photo-credit-Aaron-Marsh-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Over the past year, Swims has been building a devoted fanbase. He now has 1.3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and his videos have racked up an astonishing 160 million views. In January, this red-hot Atlanta powerhouse signed with Warner Records and released his first original song \u201cPicky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBroke,\u201d produced by Julian Bunetta [Maroon 5, One Direction, Thomas Rhett, Fifth Harmony], is a track with a boisterous beat that echoes beneath Swims\u2019 bold baritone as he announces, \u201cI\u2019m so used to being broke, but not no more.\u201d He said, \u201cThe song, as carefree as it may sound, comes from an honest place. I was so used to being broke my whole life that it is hard to believe I\u2019m not hurting for money anymore. My brother and best friends now have full-time salaries through Teddy Swims [project]. I was able to buy my Dad a new truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this summer, he shared a stunning cover of the Shania Twain classic, \u201cYou\u2019re Still the One\u201d produced by Grammy Award winner Dave Cobb [Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine]. In June, Teddy released a cover of Marvin Gaye\u2019s \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d and donated the royalties of the song to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.<\/p>\n<p>Swims stands for: Someone Who Isn\u2019t Me Sometimes, a reference to his struggle to integrate the different parts of himself. His goal through music is to break barriers and bring people together. We talked with Jaten Dimsdale, known by his moniker Teddy Swims, about his creative process with his friends\u2014his family, his need to shine a spotlight on social justice, how evoking emotion and being authentic is most important and why his heart needs to always be in the right place.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19854\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-06-Picky.jpg\" alt=\"Teddy Swims\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-06-Picky.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-06-Picky-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-06-Picky-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>TEDDY SWIMS <\/strong>Interview<br \/>\nwith\u00a0<strong><em>M Music &amp; Musicians<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>magazine publisher,<strong> Merlin David<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the idea for \u201cBroke\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\nOn Christmas Eve, I signed with Warner Records. We were on tour and I had the chance to do some writing in Los Angeles. Prior to that, I had gone through a lot\u2014my roommates moved out, my transmission went out on my car and I moved in with my Dad. I lost everything at once\u2014it all seemed to end. Ever since high school, I did everything I could to make music the priority. I never got a fulltime job. I waited tables, taxiing\u2014anything to make ends meet. I wanted to pursue music as far as I could. But that came with a lot of hardships and a lot of times I was very broke\u2014$20 or $30 would have changed my whole life and kept me from walking to work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did things change when you went to Los Angeles?<\/strong><br \/>\nWith the opportunity to go to LA, I wanted to get an Airbnb for a month\u2014for my entire team: my manager, producer, band, videographer, photographer, FOH engineer and our guy who does the artwork and merch designs. We have a big house in Snellville, east of Atlanta, where 12 of us live together. We looked for a place in LA to work with writers out there. My manager Luke [Conway] said, \u201cWarner will pay for it but this will come out of the production budget. It\u2019ll be $35,000.\u201d It broke my heart knowing my little brother just went to West Virginia to start college. I couldn\u2019t imagine paying for a place like that for a month when it could pay for his whole tuition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It must have been a tough decision.<\/strong><br \/>\nI watched my family struggle my whole life. I wasn\u2019t going to allow this to happen. Luke said, \u201cJust know this money will be well spent. It can possibly make millions that will take care of your family forever\u2014they won\u2019t struggle again. Sometimes you have to be OK to spend money to make money and not be precious about money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>When did you write \u201cBroke\u201d?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cBroke\u201d came from writing with\u00a0[producer] Julian Bunetta and Kendo and Shweez of Two Fresh Beats [twins Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls]. I told them I was so used to being broke for most of my life. Now that I have money and am financially stable, I\u2019m still terrified of it. Spending $100 still makes me sick to my stomach. I keep thinking the money could have been used to help somebody else. It\u2019s still hard for me to learn the value of treating myself and doing things I deserve to get what I want out of life. I didn\u2019t want to write the song out of hardship. I wrote it from the aspect of \u2018what if you did have money and you didn\u2019t do something super responsible.\u2019 The video and the whole song is about\u2014now that we have money, I want my buddies and me to enjoy it together.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19858\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-02-promo.jpg\" alt=\"Teddy Swims\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-02-promo.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-02-promo-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>How did your approach \u201cBroke\u201d versus \u201cYou\u2019re Still the One\u201d (which now has almost 36 million streams)?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt comes down to what you\u2019re trying to communicate. Certain emotions are portrayed through different styles of music. I listen to hip-hop to build my self-esteem; metal, to get the anger inside me out there to let the world hear; R&amp;B to get to sadness. We approach music with the emotion we want to portray. It\u2019s about the communication of the emotion that we\u2019re always after. To evoke emotion is the most important thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How does someone like Dave Cobb help the way you approach a song?<\/strong><br \/>\nHe\u2019s a genius. We were having label meetings with Pete Ganbarg at Atlantic. He called Dave and put him in touch with me. I went out to Nashville and met him before COVID. Since then, he\u2019s given me advice and wisdom. He\u2019s always believed in me\u2014thought I was something special. When we did the Shania cover by ourselves and put it on YouTube, it blew up and caught his attention. He said we should revamp it and make it big\u2014like it deserves to be. He introduced me to Reuben James [Sam Smith, Bonnie Raitt] who played keys on the newer version. Reuben really captured the emotion and took it all the way home. Nobody feels emotions like Dave Cobb. He invests that wisdom and it\u2019s so powerful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who originally inspired you to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nFirst time I ever had a feeling for music was in the fourth grade at Middle Ridge Elementary School in Convington, GA. We had a teacher, Miss Berry. She was Sgt. Berry in the Army. Depending on the way we acted, she said if we came in after recess, were quiet and got our work done, she\u2019d turn on Al Green\u2019s <em>Greatest Hits<\/em>. You have no idea what that did for a kid in the fourth grade. Coming up with a church background, I had never been exposed to soul music in my life. I\u2019ll never forget the first song (<em>singing<\/em>) \u201cI\u2019m so tired of being alone \u2026.\u201d It just changed my life. I dropped my pen. I was amazed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What did you do?<\/strong><br \/>\nI went home to my Dad and said \u2018who is Al Green? What is this music?\u2019 I\u2019d never heard anything like this in my life. He said if you like soul songs let me introduce you to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and other artists who were writing and saying things I\u2019d never heard. I knew I\u2019d never be the same again. It\u2019s amazing that as fourth graders we could grasp and understand the music and have the freedom to decide that if we were quiet\u2014we could hear this amazing music and sing along. She doesn\u2019t even know how much she did for me. Miss Berry changed my life forever.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19857\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-03-broke-promo.jpg\" alt=\"Teddy Swims\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-03-broke-promo.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-03-broke-promo-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your songwriting process?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m lucky to live in a house with my team. We work on a Dropbox together. Sometimes, they\u2019ll have instrumentals that they\u2019ve built up and I can catch an idea. Sometimes, I\u2019ll sit down at the piano or with an acoustic guitar. We all collaborate. One guy may come up with something on the acoustic and I\u2019ll come up with the melody. We take it to the computer and build it up from there in the studio. No matter what we do and how the song gets written, we break it back down to the barebones. If a song can live with just an acoustic guitar or piano and vocal, it will be a good song and anybody can sing that song. It will speak for itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What songwriting tip would you like to offer?<\/strong><br \/>\nTrust your gut\u2014it\u2019s the most important thing in the world. I\u2019ve overthought so many things, so many times. I overthink things to the grave and get so attached to it. Don\u2019t ever be too attached to something\u2014that\u2019s when the music can suffer. If I\u2019m not open to change or see a different perspective, it can hurt the creative process. Trust your gut, don\u2019t overthink anything and don\u2019t get attached.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What instruments do you use?<\/strong><br \/>\nI recently bought a mini-Martin guitar [Little Martin]. It\u2019s so perfect. I love it more than anything in the world. I can take it outside, take it on the road, beat the hell out of it\u2014and it still sounds great. It\u2019s the smallest little thing and it\u2019s incredibly portable. I love open tunings. It opens up the music and helps convey an emotion. I like playing a chord on the piano, tuning down the guitar to that chord and finding progressions to play within that tuning. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d fall in love with the ukulele. It\u2019s so good to hear someone on a simple instrument. In a week, you can learn almost any chord on it and you can have the freedom of playing and singing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which Top 5 Musicians\u00a0inspired you?<\/strong><br \/>\nLeslie Odom Jr. is one of the best vocalists on the planet. He played Aaron Burr in <em>Hamilton<\/em>. His voice is just out of this world. Allen Stone is simply amazing. Jessie J, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Tori Kelly. I\u2019ve nerded and dissected so many vocalists and every little vocal decision they\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Songs in the Key of Life <\/em>(1976) \u2013 Stevie Wonder \u2013 best album ever.<br \/>\n<em>Voyage to India<\/em> (2002) \u2013 India.Arie<br \/>\n<em>Channel Orange<\/em> (2012) \u2013 Frank Ocean<br \/>\n<em>What\u2019s Going On<\/em> (1976) \u2013 Marvin Gaye<br \/>\n<em>Free Black<\/em> (2016) \u2013 Black [<em>Free 6lack<\/em> by 6LACK]<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19856\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19856\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19856\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-04-Photo-credit-David-Sharpe.jpg\" alt=\"Teddy Swims - Photo credit David Sharpe\" width=\"660\" height=\"825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-04-Photo-credit-David-Sharpe.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-04-Photo-credit-David-Sharpe-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-04-Photo-credit-David-Sharpe-300x375.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-19856\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teddy Swims &#8211; Photo credit David Sharpe<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Tell us a \u201cpinch me\u201d moment when you thought \u201c<em>Wow, this is really happening to me!<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em>Every day. I\u2019m just so grateful. Every time I feel I\u2019m finally wrapping my head around what\u2019s going on, it just gets bigger. I live every day thinking this can\u2019t be real. It\u2019s awesome because this is what I\u2019ve worked for my whole life. I get to share it with the best people in the world. I\u2019m so lucky to be with my family, all the time. I\u2019m with people I know have my best interest. I surround myself with people I know will preserve innocence. I can move through this like a child\u2014happy and excited, love absolutely freely and intrigued to see where this goes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice you\u2019d give upcoming musicians?<\/strong><br \/>\nQuit overthinking things\u2014trust your gut. My best friend Smooth told me, \u201cIf you can tell me one time in your life when you went with your gut and you were wrong, I\u2019ll shut up.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why was it important to donate money to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund?<\/strong><br \/>\nCorona and all the social unrest are really tough. I\u2019m glad there\u2019s so much good that has come from this. I look at the positive. The attention it\u2019s given to social injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement is so important and powerful. Without that, I would have been on tour and wouldn\u2019t have gotten the chance to be a part of the protest or see what goes on right here in my hometown [Conyers]. I want to be a part of it and stand up\u2014stand for something. I now get a chance to use my platform, however big or small it is, to stand up and say something. In Conyers, we hear about the Breonna Taylors and the George Floyds. We support those, but there are so many other situations like that going on in small towns that we don\u2019t hear about.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19855\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-05-Broke-Cover-Art.jpg\" alt=\"Teddy Swims\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-05-Broke-Cover-Art.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-05-Broke-Cover-Art-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Teddy-Swims-05-Broke-Cover-Art-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anything in particular?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve tried to bring attention to Shali Tilson in Rockdale County, in Conyers, where I was born and raised. This kid got arrested and spent nine days in solitary confinement in Rockdale County\u2014no food, no water, no medical attention. It\u2019s been two years\u2014no justice. Nothing\u2019s been done. Nobody knows about it. It was on the news and it was brushed under the rug, like nothing happened. During the pandemic, I was able to put together a small protest here. It was important to me because it\u2019s easy to stand for the big things and the big movements. I want to challenge everybody to see what is going on in your own hometowns. Making changes in your small town, that you control, will spread to the big movement and help create change in a big way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you remain hopeful in this unique socio-political time?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have a wonderful support system and foundation in my family and friends. They keep me grounded. I am thankful I get to do this as a family. Without them, I am nothing. I can\u2019t do this alone. I say it all the time: <em>I\u2019m<\/em> Jaten Dimsdale, <em>we<\/em>are Teddy Swims. It only works that way. So much of my life I\u2019ve let people step on me\u2014now I\u2019m responsible for people. I\u2019ve learned the fine line between love and loyalty. It\u2019s beautiful to have a family I can trust. I have their best interest\u2014they have my best interest. That trust alone keeps everything afloat. If I\u2019m vulnerable, I leave them vulnerable. So I do all I can to protect all of us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.teddyswims.com\/\">www.TeddySwims.com<\/a><br \/>\nTwitter: @teddyswims<br \/>\nInstagram: @teddyswims404<br \/>\nFacebook.com\/teddyswims404\/<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Artist:\u00a0 TEDDY SWIMS Video:\u00a0 \u201cBroke\u201d TEDDY SWIMS RELEASES THE CATCHY, FUNK-INFUSED, SOULFUL \u201cBROKE\u201d \ufeff\ufeff When Teddy Swims sings \u201cBroke\u201d you can feel the pain he must have felt when $20 would have changed his world, yet you can also experience his joy that shines from inside because he is part [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[12125,12123,12124,12074,7169,11846,837,12126,9885,12127,3186,11849,12128,12129,8623,12130,7499,12131,12132,12133,9435,12134,6139,12089,6924,12135,12136,8259,12137,12138,12139,12099,12140,12141,2303,3277,7856,1022,12142,9645,12143,12144,12145,12146,12147,12148,12149,12150,12151,4012,12152,12153,12154,5372,12155,12156,11866,12157,11609,12158],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19860,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19853\/revisions\/19860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}