Give us your name and where you're originally from?
Luke: My name is Luke Potter and I live in Weston-Super Mare in the United Kingdom.
When was the first moment you recall being exposed to music at a young age?
Luke: I always remember going on really, really long drives with my dad in the car listening to all types of music like Oasis and The Beatles, the list goes on.
Who are some artists that have inspired you to the point where you are now?
Luke: I remember going on this long trip with my dad one time, and my iPod had run out of battery, so I asked my friend to borrow his brothers' iPod on the long journey with me, and I was scrolling through these artists which I never listened to before as I stumbled across this band called Goo Goo Dolls, and I remember thinking what a crazy name for a band. And I took on to them and I listened to a few of their songs, mainly "Iris" which spoke to me and I knew from that moment that's what I wanted to do, that I wanted to be a solo artist.
What is the overall theme or subject matter your music is trying to convey?
Luke: I don't really know actually about that. It's hard to sort of pinpoint what to write about. I generally write about how I feel, I write about situations I may have been in the past or things I've been through. I guess what I really want to do with my music is send a message to other people or give people some comfort or give them something they can listen to and go, "Yeah, I've been in that situation before".
Take us behind the recording process of your EP "One Day" and what that experience was like?
Luke: It was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was recorded with an amazing producer by the name of Bleu, and one of his closest friends was the guitarist of a band called Rooney named Taylor Locke, and he was lucky enough to play electric guitar on one of my songs so I was really happy with that. It was crazy, I've never been a part of anything like it before. We had a batch of songs and before we knew it, Bleu had half of the arrangements ready and it was a great experience, one I'll never forget and I'm glad to be going out there (Los Angeles) in a couple of months to record with him again.
What was it like working with Ken Cailiat on your debut EP?
Luke: I recorded with another fantastic producer by the name of Ken Caillat, his daughter is Colbie Caillat. I actually did quite alot of writing with a colleague of his Eric Burden who I am now lucky to call my friend, he's a very talented guy. I would say we got another 2 songs recorded with that, so that was fantastic.
Do you get a sense of the impact your music has had amongst your fans?
Luke: Yeah, I've had quite alot of feedback from people which has stunned me. I remember getting up one morning and look at my postings from this one listener who had written a 2 page essay on how much my music has helped her and it was quite a touching moment for me because that's exactly why I do this, that's exactly why I write music, I write music because it talks to people, it's a message that you can send and anyone can be listening to the message, it's brilliant. I get alot of great feedback from my videos saying how much they enjoy it or how much they can relate to it, I love it.
What is your favorite thing about performing in a live setting?
Luke: I think it's always great to play live. There's some energy that you just can't get back from it and it's a moment where you're actually sharing the moment, for me it is because I write about situations in my life that I'm sharing moments of my life with people that have never heard my music before. So I think that's my favorite thing about it, how people can view you or one song on a set that you're doing, how you can talk to people, interact, and the way it has the power to hit someone with their songs, it's all about you.
Recently I've been doing school tours around the U.K. which has been going around the outskirts of London. There have been some gigs where people have come up to me and asked me to sign crutches because they hurt their leg or because they had a bad school day. For me to get anything like that, it's breathtaking for me because it just moves me if I can talk to people and make a difference, there's no better thing that I would rather be doing than what I want to do.
What do you like to do in your spare time when not making music?
Luke: I used to actually play quite alot of basketball. I used to play basketball for the southwest of England at one point when I was about 15 before I picked up a guitar. I still play now with my friends every once in awhile and all of my friends have started learning instruments now so they can join me and start playing so it's been good.
What do you have planned for this year in terms of tour dates and new music?
Luke: I'll be heading out to Los Angeles at the end of March for 3 and a half weeks where I'll be recording an extra 4 songs with Bleu which I'm really, really excited about. As far as touring goes, I've got an extra 2 weeks touring around England like Cardiff, Bristol, London, all back and forth gigs to schools and colleges, and hopefully I'll get to play a few dates in Los Angeles. Further than that, hopefully I'm looking at doing a college tour over in America, that will be amazing to go back.
Any last words to those who may be reading this interview?
Luke: I just want to say I hope you enjoy my music, hope you check it out. It means alot to me, all the support I've had so far and they've been a big help.
Thanks once again to Luke for being so kind to spare me so much of his time to conduct this interview. I look forward to hearing more of Luke in the coming months, especially with his new album that I'll be sure to review here on the blog! For more information on Luke Potter, 'Like' his Facebook page here to listen to some audio clips of his music and you can follow him on Twitter as well right here
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