BoDeans’ Kurt Neumann & Sam Llanas – HuffPost 10.22.10

Mike Ragogna: Speaking of young people, what kind of advice do you have for new artists?

Kurt Neumann: Get smart, learn math, go into the finance, (laughs) because they’re too big to fail and they get to take home all the money. I’m just kidding. The same thing we’ve always said to younger acts is just be true to who you are and what you do. It may seem like your music is so different from everybody else’s, but in the end, that’s probably a good thing. Just try to really stay true to who you are, what you feel, and do what feels natural inside. As far as the business of it, there’s no rhyme or reason. I’ve seen a lot of songs that you would never think should be on radio go on radio and do really great things somehow. There were times when nobody thought Metallica was going to be a radio-arena band on their earliest records. R.E.M. and bands like that were so underground, and then, all of a sudden, they’re the biggest things. That’s the way the music is — don’t try to figure it out or guess it.

MR: Just do it.

KN: Yeah.

MR: Do you have any advice for new acts?

Sam Llanas: Well, I always just tell people to just be yourself, stick to your guns, and don’t try to let somebody else tell you what you should be doing because it’s coming from inside of you, and that makes it unique. The most important thing you can have in this business is a unique sound. No matter how much you like Led Zeppelin, you’re never going to sound like Led Zeppelin, so don’t try. Try to sound like you, and try to find your own voice.