Sean Lafontaine Releases Electrifying Single “Sliver”
Sean Lafontaine, the Detroit-born, Duluth-raised powerhouse musician, continues to carve his path through the rock landscape with the release of his electrifying single “Sliver.” Serving as the second installment from his highly anticipated EP Thorn, Sliver, Smolder, Lafontaine once again proves his prowess in delivering hard-hitting, adrenaline-pumping rock music that resonates with listeners across generations.
“Sliver” wastes no time in making its presence known, opening with the primal roar of a thunderstorm before erupting into a relentless torrent of driving hard rock. Seamlessly blending elements of classic rock with a contemporary edge, Lafontaine effortlessly navigates through the song’s labyrinthine grooves, exuding a palpable sense of power and confidence with every chord struck and every beat hammered.
Following the success of his previous single “Thorn,” which made waves with its premiere on Canadian Beats, Lafontaine solidified his position as a force to be reckoned with in the rock scene. Drawing on his diverse musical influences and experiences, Lafontaine crafts a sonic journey that captivates the senses and leaves an indelible mark on the listener’s psyche.
“Sliver” is not merely a song; it’s a sonic tempest, a raw manifestation of Lafontaine’s unbridled passion and unwavering dedication to his craft. From its thunderous opening to its climactic conclusion, “Sliver” serves as a testament to Lafontaine’s ability to harness the raw energy of guitar-driven rock music and channel it into a transcendent auditory experience.
As Lafontaine continues to tease audiences with glimpses of what’s to come from Thorn, Sliver, Smolder, anticipation reaches a fever pitch. With each release, Lafontaine proves himself to be a true maestro of rock, forging ahead with an unyielding spirit and an insatiable hunger for musical innovation.
First off care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Sean Lafontaine, born in 1971 in Detroit MI, raised in Duluth MN currently residing in St. Paul MN. I am a working-class family man. My current occupation is in the IT field as a Technical Alignment Manager. Regarding music, I have been writing as far back as I can remember. Self-taught on the guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, etc.
Tell us a bit about your recent release.
The first single, “Thorn” released on 1/26/2024 is from a three-song EP, “Thorn, Sliver, Smolder” that will be released on 3/29/2024. “Thorn” kicks off the EP with a raw, dirty, overdriven, fist-pumping instrumental. No fancy fast arpeggios or lightning solo, just good fist-pumping hard rock with a personality.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
I have been building my songwriting process and routine for many years. The core of it starts with a guitar riff, bass riff, or drum groove that moves me. I then take that part and loop it for 8 to 16 bars and then improvise with whatever instrument that I hear. If it is fun to play and I get a good feel from the playback, then I start to build the foundation. The foundation for me is the bass and drums. Once the foundation is to a point that I am happy with I then start to lay down the solid guitar, vocals, keys, etc. At this point, I start to allow the song to tell me what it wants. Most often this is where the foundation will change many times over. This is due to how the song wants the instruments to communicate with one another. This could be anything from removing notes, adding space between notes, using clean guitar and bass tones or dirty to high overdrive or even adding delay and/or reverb to a specific instrument to give it more personality.
The difference between when I wrote M.M.I and how I am writing now is the equipment, environment, and time that I have. Regarding equipment and the environment, things have changed so much since M.M.I. Back then I had to purchase studio time that gave me all the equipment, studio musicians, and sound engineers that I needed, and it was all analog recorded onto real-to-real tape. Now I am in my basement where I have no choice but to record silently using an audio interface, computer with a DAW, plugins, amp sims, and drum sims. Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why “Thorn, Sliver, Smolder” is an instrumental EP. It is impossible to silently record vocals. Regarding time, I now have all the time in the world, after my day job during the week and family life during the weekend. During M.M.I. I had to schedule/book studio time and get as much done as possible in that timeframe with the ever-changing studio musicians and sound engineers that were provided.
The challenges are never-ending with this basement-style, silent recording. I have had to learn how to work the DAW, learn what guitar, bass, key/synth, and drum sims were best for me as well as the challenge of getting good sound quality from each. Then came the sound engineering production side. I had to learn how to use the EQ, Compressor, and Limiter plugins during the mixing process. Incidentally, this would also change the foundation of any song because it would enhance the sound quality of whatever instrument or all instruments giving a different feel during playback as well as during the performance of the parts.
Sometimes the challenges would be extremely frustrating and time-consuming. With that said, I am very thankful for the technology that we have, how far it has come, and where it is going. This journey has been a blast, and it has taught me that writing music is a very small part of the process from the beginning to the end product.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
To be honest, I have not given much thought to touring, or music videos. This is the first time that I worked with a promotion company. I am learning as I go. The promotion company, V13 Promotions, has been excellent with transparency and showing me the ropes in this crazy industry. Would I like to play live? YES! Just isn’t in the near future at the moment.
My upfront intention with this release is to build a foundation for my music career. Times have changed so much in the past 20 years since I first released M.M.I. Back then streaming was just starting out and bands, local and new, were not paying much attention to it. The way you would build a foundation is by touring the local bar/music scene and hopefully, get noticed. Now, after covid, the local bar/music scene has all but disappeared. It is starting to come back, but it has been slow, causing many challenges for new and established bands. Right now, I am just taking it as it comes.
Regarding music videos or additional content, I am in the planning stage to produce a series of guitar training videos. This is a challenge because there are so many of them out there. The angle I am looking to take is to break down the guitar and bass into their individual components and create a routine to follow. Most of the videos that are out there only show bits and pieces of instruction and never the full picture. I feel it is by design. I feel teachers do this, so the students keep coming back for more and I want to change that. If I had had instruction in the form I am talking about, I would have learned way faster and not have created all the bad habits that I struggle with. With that said, I am still in the research phase. I will be keeping fans posted on my social media accounts.
Another kind of project that I am thinking about is to bring forth the current disconnect that has happened in the last 15 years. It started with streaming. The organic feel that music used to bring has faded away. I remember waiting for my favorite bands to come out with a new album or demo release. Rushing to the store to buy a vinyl, cassette, or CD. Checking out the album cover, reading the insert cover to cover, and playing it for the first time. Most importantly, knowing where that music came from. “This was the result of Sabbath. Without Sabbath this band and this style would have never been possible man!” I want to bring that back. I want to bring back the organic feel that music still brings to me today. I feel that it has been lost and if someone doesn’t push to get it back then the true music experience will be lost forever. Just to be clear I am not the only one stating this, Sting, Gene Simmons, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Robert Plant, and many others have stated that the organic feel is being lost in music. Gene Simmons states that the music industry is dead. Sting stated that music has been boiled down to short YouTube clips and that most of the new music he hears has no real structure, no bridge, no chorus, and no verse. This is sad and I want to help bring it back in some way.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
Back when I was creating M.M.I. I was also working with a few other musicians on other projects. The projects or bands we were attempting to create never ended well. I found that I was the one who wanted and had the passion to work on a song or project and put the time into it to make it worth something. Most of the time the other musicians were too busy having a good time. You know, drinking, smoking, and other substances. Now, I am not against having a good time, after all, that is why we are in this business. The issue for me was that these musicians didn’t realize that the greats, Zepplin, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, etc. worked extremely hard at their craft and that yes, they were having a good time but they had to work their asses off to get there. This caused friction and ultimately drove me away from the music scene entirely for many years.
A few years back, now married with a career, I was practicing and started to write again. Not thinking much of it. Then I listened to M.M.I for the first time in 15 years and realized that I could do this. I don’t need a group to accomplish my dream of a career in the music industry. I can do this on my own. I sat back and said to myself, “If I put even a fraction of the work, I put into my current career making someone else rich and just scraping by then there is no reason why this can’t work out. I am not looking to become a star, have massive fame, or get rich at this. All I want is to be recognized for my music and what I stand for. What do I have to lose and why would I let the bad experiences stop me from accomplishing this goal?”
That was the turning point. I started writing and practicing every time I had a chance. I struggled with the new technology. Learning from frustration, passion, and drive for 2 ½ to 3 years and the result was “Thorn, Sliver, Smolder”. When I felt the songs were done, I did some research on how promotion works in this time we are in. Sent the songs to several promotion companies. Was turned down many times. V13 stated they could help. Invested with them and now I am doing an interview with Canadian Beats.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
This is a very difficult question for me and a bit embarrassing. Juggling my day job, family life, writing and now the promotion of this release, I haven’t had much time to search for new music in the past three years. When I do, it is extremely hard to sift through all the new releases. Quite frankly I get frustrated and stop. I guess it is this new music environment that I must get a handle on.
Let me move in this direction, I think it is overwhelmingly awesome that there are so many bands and artists able to release their art to the world with no holds barred and no record labels stopping them from doing so. In this new, and ever-changing global music scene we are in I would recommend to my fans to listen and support all new upcoming bands and artists out there. They need your support as well as mine.
Connect with Sean Lafontaine:
Facebook