Calculated from Coast to Coast - Interview with Sheridan Crane

On June 18th Sheridan released his most recent full length project "On Myself". The project was released onto streaming services with physical copies going into stores across the country.

"On Myself" released to an immediate response with the project jumping into the top 20 of the iTunes hip-hop music charts for purchases. He's since followed the release up with a number of interviews with platforms like 607sound. He's also received positive reception not only from fans but critics as NotYaManz Podcast gave the project an 8.8/10.

Now Sheridan is preparing for the second phase of his "On Myself" release with a virtual concert event on July 2nd that will feature both performance and visual elements of his latest project. We spoke with Sheridan ahead of his virtual event and discussed his project, his upcoming performance and much more.

Sheridan spent a majority of the pandemic in his home state of New York, giving him the ability to connect with other local artists while creating this project. He had an opportunity to collaborate with new artists and producers he had never worked with previously. While he spent a majority of the pandemic creating he was very selective with the release of his content during that time patiently waiting for the right time to release his next project.

During the pandemic you were very selective with your releases only dropping a handful of singles during that time what made you decide to take this time to sit back and create rather than drop during that time?

About a week before quarantine started in the US, I had basically locked myself in my studio apartment in SF and wrote and recorded dozens of songs over that period of time. Unfortunately, at the end of that week, I learned that I would be getting used to hardly going outside very quickly. Within the first few weeks, I went down to LA to stay with a girl who I’d been making music with at the time and I continued to record while slow dripping some of the songs I had recorded just before lockdown. After I left LA, I had some pretty life changing events that caused me to rethink how I wanted to go about my career. I decided to kinda go ghost for the rest of 2020 while really honing in my sound at home and compiling tracks so I could have a lot to present to a marketing team when I was ready.

And upon your return home you were able to connect with other artists in the area, what was this experience like to work with artists you never have before?

Before I came home for the pandemic, the list of local artists I had worked with was very short. For a while, I really didn’t realize how much talent there was in the area. Anthony with his unmatched networking skills and UA’s (Upstate Aesthetic's) incredible artist discovery talent really helped show me how much Upstate really has to offer. Corey Loveless had been my friend for years and I knew he had a group of guys that he worked with that included Kyng who’s another Cortland native that I go back pretty far with. Corey lives with Ryan aka Process who not only produces for all of Dim 136 but is also one of Upstate’s artist heavyweights that I consider among the elites in the area. Before coming home, I had barely spoken to bro but after months of pulling up on him at the stu and dragging him to DBrown’s he’s really become one of my best friends.

And you mentioned Process also handles production, did you work with him or any other producers while you were back home?

As some of my fans may know, before working with Process I had really only worked with 2 other producers under my current artist name which are Cosmo(Wilder) & Ruen both of which I continue to work with. Not only was I able to make a connection with Process, but I also was able to start working with one of Upstate's most talented and successful artists, Jake Daniels. I seriously feel like working with him has helped bring my concept of melody and commercialism to another level and with the team I’m starting to build in general, I really feel unstoppable.

What has the reception for the project been like?

The reception for ‘On Myself’ as a project has really been incredible and blown away my expectations so far. I believe in my music but to see physical copies of my release in nationally recognized record stores and with well known online carriers is surreal. To have the EP peak at #16 on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts and #117 for all genres is simply unbelievable and if I hadn’t checked 50x to be sure I’d say it never happened. In general, one of the things I cherish most is the fact that each of the 8 songs have at least a small group of people who thinks it’s the best track, from the highest to the lowest streamed.

Which songs are fans telling you is their favorite thus far?

Right now ‘Where’s the Ref?’ is the highest streamed, as the lead single with a good group of fans who favor it above the rest. I also think I’ve heard ‘The Don ft BDT Don Pablo & Drae V’, ‘Hell’, ‘Like You Did’ and the title track named as favorites really often. I know that’s like half the project.. but there really just are different demographics of my fans that are looking for different things from my music.

Sheridan has been taking a calculated approach with this project waiting for the perfect time to release it due to the pandemic and other outstanding factors. Over the last few months he has quietly teased the release of the project on outlets like The Cypher podcast and let fans know that big things were looming. More recently the promotion for the project has kicked into high gear with a number of outlets reaching out to Sheridan for interviews and to give reviews on the project including platforms in other countries.

With you taking this calculated approach to releasing your music, what made you decide to release this project when you did?

To keep this simple.. it was the only date that made sense. Any sooner wouldn’t have left me and the team enough time for a proper rollout and any later would’ve run the risk of not giving the project enough life to catch fire in the summer.

Was there anything you did differently with this release that you weren't able to do in the past? Any mistakes you learned from your previous release? I did so much differently. First off, I really pushed my friends and family to Pre-Order the project on iTunes in order to help it chart. I hired a true marketing team with multiple team members and countless moving parts to help the rollout go smoothly but with a bang. I’m selling physical copies for the first time and have more coming. I’ve also just been a lot more active than I have been in the past in trying to reach out to new outlets and network. I’m treating music as a full time job right now.

You've recently had physical copies of your project up for sale in retail stores in California, Texas and other states, what is it like being able to go into a store and see a copy of your project available for purchase?

It’s seriously unreal. Amoeba Music is pretty universally regarded as the premier record store in California so to be able to see my physicals in that setting it quite unbelievable. They’re available at other indie record stores in places like Austin, Portland & Seattle. You can also find it on Barnes and Noble. Before the campaign, I even questioned the necessity of producing CDs but it has really paid off already.

Now Sheridan is gearing up for his virtual event promoting his project "On Myself". The event will be both a visual and performance based experience with the audience being able to tune in via YouTube. Sheridan will be performing a number of tracks from the project and hopes to create a memorable visual experience for his fans to go alongside the project he has put a lot of work into.

Now you are getting ready for a virtual event put together for the release of your project "On Myself" how did this event come together?

The Virtual Event was actually what was originally pitched to me by Steffen and the IDC team. Over time we crafted more of a complete plan around it but honestly it’s a situation where I think even with things starting to open up, it’s still happening pretty slowly so this is a great free way to get some eyes on me in a performance setting before I really have a chance to be out there in front of a crowd. I’m also really excited to be able to cut out clips from the event and post them in various place in order to stretch out the life of this release and potentially pitch myself to venues back at home and here in the Bay Area.

What was it like putting together this performance and performing for a crowd on YouTube rather than in person?

Well, I’ve only had one experience actually performing in front of a crowd and while it’s a great memory.. I still don’t know if it’s enough to make a comparison. I’m usually the type of person who likes to be the center of attention, but knowing I still would be in that setting made me feel really comfortable and I definitely felt very confident even without the support of a crowd.

What have you done to try and set yourself apart in a world where virtual performances are now becoming a lot more common?

This is not only a free event but it’s also not a traditional performance setting. I definitely prioritized production quality above all when discussing my goals with they team so there are lost of angles, cuts and different ad ons that never could be possible in an in-person performance setting. I’ll also be responding to some interview questions throughout the show which showcase a completely different setting. As it gets closer to the closing moments, I think those who are viewing will really see the difference in what the team and I achieved vs what the rest of the industry is doing right now in terms of virtual concerts.

What, if anything, have you taken from other virtual performances you've seen from both major and smaller artists that you tried to incorporate in your performance? I honestly havent viewed any virtual performances aside from UA’s Live From Yo Timeline series which I definitely spent some time studying because I really thought most of the artists found a really creative way to present their style and I really enjoyed and respected it. For the most part though, I’ve tried to avoid giving myself much of a bias or subconscious feeling about what I wanted to do with my event so I’ve mostly stayed away from other events.

Sheridan has consistently taken a calculated approach with his music and the release of his latest project "On Myself" was no different. Putting a ton of effort and preparation into the release Sheridan has received a great amount of positive feedback from both his fans and peers alike for the project. Now he looks to give fans an additional experience alongside his release with his upcoming virtual performance. You can stream the virtual event live on Youtube on Friday July 2nd and can stream "On Myself" on all streaming services