• About
  • Advertising
  • Coupons
  • History

The Andersonian

The Anderson University Student Newspaper

Anderson University’s Student Newspaper

  • Campus News
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Features
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Raven Watch
You are here: Home / Arts & Culture / Interview with John Schwallie

Interview with John Schwallie

February 18, 2016 by Peyton Bennett

AU student and musical artist John Schwallie sat down to discuss music, songwriting, future endeavors and the changing face of his band John Louis and the Midwest.

Q: Can you give the readers an overview of your history in music?

A: I started playing piano in third grade, started playing guitar in seventh grade. I started writing songs in the seventh grade because I thought it’d be cool and people would like me. I was wrong, but that’s okay—I’ve just always had a passion for songwriting. Even if they sucked, I was still working on them. I’ve got a wealth of demos, because my parents bought me recording software, so whenever I’d write a new song I’d record it.

Q: So how did John Louis and The Midwest form?

A: During freshman year, I continued writing songs as I had done all through high school. My roommate, Jason Boucouras, played guitar really well and we wrote a few songs right off the bat. The two guys across the hall from us were [band drummer] Jarrod [Bright] and [bassist] Caleb [Scott].

Jarrod was really excited about engineering [music] and I was like, “Hey! I like to record songs, and you like to record people who like to record songs, so let’s record some songs!” And he was like, “Cool, man.” So we recorded an EP.

Q: What was the EP like?

A: It was really my solo stuff; I wrote about whatever, it was very freeform. Stylistically it kind of fit, but the first song was like alternative-rock, the second song was like piano-pop. Genres hopped around so much on that EP.

Q: What about the next record? What was the writing process like for that?

A: So, fast forward a few months to the end of freshman year, we had just released our EP on Noisetrade, and I get a message from Mike [Mains and the Branches] on Twitter that said “Hey man, I wanna give you songwriting lessons.” So that summer, I started working with him on various songwriting-related things. I showed him the stuff from the EP and he was like “alright, you’ve got a lot of potential. Let’s roll up our sleeves because we’re gonna put in a lot of work this summer.”

That summer I wrote pretty much every song that’s on our full-length album. So, whether we were really ready for it or not, we did a Kickstarter and went in to the studio. If I could go back and do it again, I definitely would.

Q: Your single “Sunrise” just got released?

A: Yeah, on Friday Feb. 12. Sunrise was a track we recorded last year through an Oranghaus project. Jon McLaughlin was in the studio while we were tracking stuff, and he really enjoyed the production we had on “Sunrise,” and did all of the harmony vocals. It’s on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Q: The past month has seen some big changes with the band. What happened?

A: Well, we’re starting to buckle down. I’m taking a semester in Nashville with the Contemporary Music Center, so I’ve really only got two more semesters here. If I want to prepare myself to be the most successful, the best move was to break away from seeing it as a full band thing.

It made the most sense to go back to it being my solo project, with control over the songs and control over the social media stuff. Now that things are different, it doesn’t seem as weird as I thought it would. It definitely feels good, like I made the right choice. I’ve been sticking to a pretty strict pace for this project that I’m working on.

Q: Stylistically, what is culminating in your new project?

A: It’s got a bit of a darker sound. Lyrically, it focuses on issues everyone deals with. I’m focusing on some more universal topics that are maybe not the easiest to explore. So the EP itself is a lot more coherent content-wise. It’s more of an analysis trying to figure out where we draw meaning from in life and what makes us whole, what makes us who we are.

John Louis and the Midwest can be heard on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and Bandcamp. News and updates can be seen on Facebook, Twitter (@JohnLouisMusic) and Instagram (@John.Louis.Music).

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Arts & Culture Tagged With: has_image

Watch

In this week’s Raven Watch, Jordan Yaney discusses sports highlights.

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Jordan Yaney discusses this week’s sports highlights.

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

More Video

Listen

Jeeninga Museum reopening: Professor Tai Lipan and Dr. David Murphy

Professor Tai Lipan and Dr. David Murphy discuss the reopening of AU’s Jeeninga Museum. [transcript]

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Featured Faculty: Dr. Caroline Baker

Amalia Arms chats with Dr. Caroline Baker about her journey to becoming a professor. [transcript]

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Featured Faculty: Tai Lipan

Kylie Osborne talks with Tai Lipan, director of galleries and permanent collections and assistant professor of art. [transcript]

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Featured Faculty: Dr. Wayne Priest

Jordan Yaney meets with Dr. Wayne Priest, professor of psychology and chair of the psychology department at Anderson University. [transcript]

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

More Audio

Follow

Retweet on TwitterAndersonian Retweeted
dabairdDavid Baird@dabaird·
23 Nov

Proud indeed of these former @andersonian staffers. That’s Caleb on the left, David on the right. #AUCommDesign

2
Reply on Twitter 1198084605921910787Retweet on Twitter 11980846059219107873Like on Twitter 119808460592191078721Twitter 1198084605921910787
andersonianAndersonian@andersonian·
19 Nov

See what @AvantiBoosters has been doing to help make a difference: https://andersonian.com/2019/11/12/boosters-collects-donations-at-encore-to-fund-hurricane-dorian-relief-in-bahamas/

Reply on Twitter 1196933480892051456Retweet on Twitter 11969334808920514563Like on Twitter 11969334808920514566Twitter 1196933480892051456
Retweet on TwitterAndersonian Retweeted
dabairdDavid Baird@dabaird·
13 Nov

This Friday night at 6—come on out. #AUCommDesign https://twitter.com/andersonian/status/1194445048009637888

Reply on Twitter 1194620315479035904Retweet on Twitter 11946203154790359042Like on Twitter 11946203154790359045Twitter 1194620315479035904
Load More...

The Andersonian, the student newspaper of Anderson University, Anderson, Ind., publishes a print edition and maintains this website. As a matter of institutional policy, the University administration does not review or edit Andersonian content prior to publication. The student editors are responsible for both print and online content. While the administration recognizes the role of the student press on a college campus and in journalism education, the views expressed in the Andersonian are not necessarily those of Anderson University.

© Andersonian 2017, All rights reserved · Site by Mere
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.