Cory started playing guitar as an adult in September 2021 with no prior music background or experience playing any instruments. In just the last eight months, he has written, recorded and released three original songs with more on the way! Check out the exclusive Interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
CORY MCCOMAS: Yes! I was born and raised in Cleveland, OH where I currently reside. We have a great music scene in Cleveland. After all, we do have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here!
To keep a long story short of how I got started in music, I partially got started playing music in 2021 because of events that happened during the pandemic. I unexpectedly lost a close family member of mine in 2020 and the pandemic in general made me realize how short life is. The events made me realize what were things that I always wanted to do but never had done yet, like learning an instrument. I have always loved music because I listened to the radio a ton and always went to concerts.
So in 2021, I had a friend rediscover playing guitar after a long hiatus with the instrument himself. Just his love of rediscovering guitar brought me so much joy. I had all these feelings because of the pandemic and seeing my friend’s love for guitar really got me thinking that maybe I should learn guitar. I was 31 years old at the time and thought maybe it was too late to learn. I had always loved heavy guitar riffs though! So I connected with my friend and asked him some basics about guitar, like how to practice and what gear to start with. He really took the time to just answer my questions and that was huge for me because it showed me he cared. Shortly after that, I took his advice and bought a Fender Squier Stratocaster starter pack from Guitar Center. I ordered it online and I literally could not wait to get it home when it came into the store. I can still remember being so excited to pick it up from Guitar Center. That was 3 years ago now and I just kept going from there.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
CORY MCCOMAS: This is a good continuation from the previous question. So I am both in that I started self-taught and are now getting formal lessons/training. After getting that Fender Squier Stratocaster starter pack, I started learning online mostly from Fender’s own program, Fender Play and from Justin Guitar on YouTube. Both are great programs in my opinion! However, I did not want to develop any bad habits too early and decided that I needed to do lessons in person to supplement my online learning. After learning on my own for 6 months, I looked around and found the School of Rock adult grad school program in my area. Literally one of the best decisions I’ve ever made was to join School of Rock because it is a performance-based program that provides lessons and the ability to rehearse with other musicians for a show at the end of the season that you perform in! School of Rock really accelerated my learning. I am still at the school now where I continue my lessons for vocals and I am also taking guitar lessons on my own as well.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘CORY MCCOMAS?
CORY MCCOMAS: Hands down Linkin Park is my biggest influence and inspiration for my music. Not only is Linkin Park my all-time favorite band but they were the very first concert I ever went to! Additionally Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, From Ashes to New, and Fame on Fire are large inspirations from a whole band standpoint.
In terms of solo artists inspirations, Mike Shinoda, elijah, Zero 9:36, and Corey Taylor are vocal artists that are pushing me to get better now. Xander Raymond Charles is a friend and solo guitar artist based in the U.S. that I draw a lot of inspiration from as well as Nita Strauss, the guitarist for Alice Cooper.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
CORY MCCOMAS: I would define my music in the genre of hard rock and metal. Listeners of Linkin Park’s music will really resonate with my music. I love heavy, down tuned guitar riffs and would primarily consider myself a rhythm guitar player. Think of Linkin Park riffs from “Papercut”, “One Step Closer”, and “Don’t Stay.” I love piano keys and stringed instruments in my songs as well. The idea of blending classical instrumentals with down tuned guitars just sounds so good in my mind. While I put more emphasis on rhythm riffs there is definitely room for lead solos in my future releases. Drop C# is my favorite guitar tuning and you will find many of my songs in that tuning. I gather inspiration from many artists featured on Sirius XM Octane (channel 37). Having my music on Sirius XM Octane is one of the goals of where I would like to be!
5. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
CORY MCCOMAS: It can certainly be for both! Many bands like Rage Against the Machine are looking to communicate a specific message for example. Body Count as well, which is a band I absolutely love! I think music is a universal language and can be enjoyed regardless of politics, cultures or spiritual practices, because a cool song is a cool song at the end of the day. I think music certainly has a place in expression and healing. As humans we generally experience suffering around the same things and music will allow us to think and feel differently. It is also an art, an expression from the artist and many will use music to escape the things mentioned above, which is ok. When I am having a stressful day, I definitely will turn on some music and usually ignore the lyrics more to focus on the instrumental to relax.
6. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
CORY MCCOMAS:
They are both very stimulating for different reasons. Funny enough creating in the studio and interactions live fit my personality very well because I would describe myself as a “social introvert.” Meaning I love being alone but also really enjoy that spotlight. I really enjoy writing and that studio time to just explore myself, my thoughts and my feelings. It is a very fulfilling and almost therapeutic experience being alone in my studio and creatively expressing myself in writing new music. I live for that live performance though. That energy and just people in the room changing their thoughts and feelings based on what you are playing and how you are playing it is just an amazing experience. Also it is a powerful relationship between you and your band members on stage as well as that relationship with the audience. Live performance is a very fulfilling experience for different reasons in that regard.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
CORY MCCOMAS:
No music is 100% fulfilling right now. For me music is on its own level and the feelings I experience from creating or performing music is nothing that I can compare to. It is work, believe me. I enjoy the process though! I love not knowing how to play a song and 48 hours later, I am playing it after hard work. I am not chasing the “success” but instead just love the process of creating and performing and the success will be a byproduct of that joy in my opinion.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
CORY MCCOMAS: I usually start with recording a guitar rhythm, riff or general idea. After I get the initial idea down, I need a backing track and this comes in the form of drums for me. So I just put a basic drum track together, because getting the riff to be in time is the next important step for me. I then create a new file in my DAW and start recording with the drum track. The drum track may inspire new guitar ideas as well. After that I mess around with beats per minute (BPM) in what feels right for my idea. Record everything because you just never know where it will lead.
I then figure out a song key based on the initial riff/idea and usually back into the music theory for a basic structure which will get me to a full, draft song. Parts can and probably will change as the song develops. The key of the song provides your boundaries or framework of what you can do though. From there I put gridlines in my DAW and start to get a general sense of the arrangement like do I want 3 choruses in the song? How about a guitar solo? Maybe put a keys part here, etc. I then record a full instrumental, in time, for what I want. Once I feel good about the instrumental, I then start to introduce more melodies with vocals and start writing lyrics usually based on life experiences. Lastly I may add other instruments like synths or strings to add some color to the song and start deciding on final guitar tones for example. I am a very detailed and organized person, so it will usually take me a bit longer to put out a new song but it will be worth it when it comes out!
9. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
CORY MCCOMAS: Both actually! As an artist, I am trying to communicate a message or a feeling in the music. Let’s take my brand new single, “Stand Up.” The main message of the song is the personal battle that you have with your struggles (I call them demons in the song). It could be relationships, addictions, finances, job, or just general stress. I wrote that song to address a few struggles that went through (and are still going through). My struggles are very different than someone else though. For my perspective, the backup vocals/screams in the song are the demons fighting and singing against you. The backup vocal lyrics, tone in terms of the aggression, and meaning are very calculated in the song. Someone may just add the song to their gym playlist and just like an aggressive vocal tone. So there is a message I am trying to communicated but freedom is one of the best things we have and someone can absolutely interpret and receive the song how they would like to.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
CORY MCCOMAS: I released my first ever song, Project X, in May 2024 and within only 3 months of release, I hit over 7000 streams on Spotify alone as a brand new solo artist. I literally had no following or how to even write an original song. I just went after it and did it. The continued success of Project X really told me that I was onto something because people worldwide are listening to my music. Project X was an instrumental track too. So I thought if I took what I learned from creating Project X for a new song and also write lyrics, that the sky is the limit for my music. That new song idea became my latest release “Stand Up!”
Another highlight was just performing on stage for the first time two years ago. It’s one thing to be a bedroom musician, which is totally ok if that is what you are aiming for. For me I wanted to put myself out there and did. Now I just get so much joy performing live.
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