In honor of ‘Tributes, Covers, Renditions, Oh My!!!,’ here’s an insightful interview I did with tribute pianist, Mr. David Sides. The first time I heard about him, it was out of the blue. I was chillin’ in the Smoking Section (a loyal BBP affiliate…what up, Gotty!) watching Sides cover T-Pain’s Buy U A Drink via YouTube.
Looking back at it, he resembles somewhat of an early Miri Ben-Ari, better known as the Hip-Hop Violinist in the game. Alrite, enough of me blabbering. Ladies & gents, Make it Hot! for Mr. David Sides.
Q&A Session with iAn, Bigg Boy Himself.
iAn: What’s good, Mr. Sides? Thank you for taking time out your busy schedule to chill with iAn of Bigg Boy Productions.
Mr. Sides: No problem, it’s my pleasure.
iAn: For those that don’t know you, here’s some ice-breaking questions:
iAn: What’s your government name?
Mr. Sides: David Sides
iAn: Where u from?
Mr. Sides: I’m from Oxnard, California. It’s a small town about 45 minutes south of Santa Barbara.
iAn: The most recent CD bumping in your car stereo?
Mr. Sides: That would have to be Lupe Fiasco’s “Food & Liquor.”
iAn: Your weapon of choice [piano-wise]?
Mr. Sides: Well my favorite song to play right now is Rihanna’s “Umbrella” so I’ll
have to go with that one.
iAn: At what age did you start taking piano lessons? Was it something you were quite fond of?
Mr. Sides: I actually started out by teaching myself how to play the piano at the age of 10. I didn’t take any piano lessons until my Junior Year in college. I was never really fond of them so I eventually just stopped taking them after a few months.
iAn: I was fortunate to see your talent for the first time [thanks
to YouTube]. You were doing a cover from T-Pain’s Buy U a Drink. According to prior songs, it’s obvious that you’re a big fan of Hip-Hop/R&B.
Mr. Sides: Yes sir, that is correct. I love Hip-Hop.
iAn: Are there any other genres/artists that help influence your style of work?
Mr. Sides: Well I actually like to listen to a lot of different styles of music, ranging from Hip Hop, to Rock, to Choral music. I guess you can say that I try to learn a little bit from each genre to develop my style of play.
iAn: How long does it usually take you to a remember a single song?
Mr. Sides: It all depends on the complexity of the song. After learning the overall structure, I usually spend about 10-20 minutes memorizing it. I’ve come to realize that if I learn the lyrics to the song before I try to play it, the memorizing process goes a lot smoother.
iAn: Have you been receiving any phone calls from T-Pain, Ne-yo, any artists you’ve paid tribute to?
Mr. Sides: No sir, but that would be nice.
iAn: Aside from doing covers, do you have any songs of your own? I’m sure your fans would like to get a hold of that.
Mr. Sides: I actually do have some songs of my own but they’re all old. With my hectic schedule, I don’t really have a lot of time to sit down and write
originals like I used to.
iAn: As a pianist, what are your aspirations or ambitions in the near future?
Mr. Sides: To be honest, I just love to perform, even if that means performing for an empty room and recording it to showcase on youtube. So if I could have it my way, I’d love to be traveling the world and performing at different venues.
iAn: If I may ask, what is it that you’re doing now? Any current projects?
Mr. Sides: As of right now, I’m not really working on anything besides trying to graduate from college. I know that once school is out, I’ll have a lot more time on my hands to put towards projects and my aspirations.
iAn: …Again Mr. Sides, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. Before we leave every hot seat interview, do you have any shout outs? Promotions? Contact Info?
Mr. Sides: Yes, I’d like to thank my family, my friends, and last but not least, I’d like to thank all of my fans and supporters. I also want to encourage you all to check out my youtube videos at: www.youtube.com/kemlye1 or you can visit my myspace page at: www.myspace.com/davidsides.
Get familiar, people! And who knows, later down the road he may very well be on the same route as the hip hop violinist. Available for download, I put together some of his covers including ‘Buy U a Drink.’ Make sure to peep Sides’ myspace for more exclusives. Last but not least, keep your eye out for his upcoming CD, The Collection, Vol. 1 which releases in June 26, 2007.
BBP presents David Sides: Piano Renditions
01. Because of You [ne-yo]
02. Buy U A Drink [t-pain]
03. Buddy [musiq]
04. Circles [marques houston]
05. Fix You [coldplay]
06. How Do I Breathe [mario]
07. I Tried [bone-thugs-n-harmony]
08. Ice Box [omarion]
09. Like A Boy [ciara]
10. Lost Without You [robin thicke]
11. Make It Rain [fat joe]
12. The Scientist [colplay]
13. We Be Burning [sean paul]
14. Wouldn’t Get Far [the game]
