Tristan Bushman on debut EP, songwriting in Nashville and more…
Tristan Bushman is a 25 year old singer/songwriter from Ashton, Illinois. He grew up around quite a bit of musical influence since he was little, starting as young as 5 years old; because of that, his relationship with music quickly blossomed and soon led to him moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018.
Since then, he has released a self-titled 6-song EP which came out in 2021. As well as 3 additional singles (Scared To Love You, Hangin' Around, All I Did Was Love You) that came out this year, which are a prerequisite to his second EP coming out later in the year. His music is the kind to captivate you from the very start; bringing powerfully emotional lyrics, catchy melodies and leaves you wanting to hear more. In the East Nashville music scene, he is definitely one to keep your eyes on!
I had the honor of sitting down and talking to him about how he started and what life has been like the last few years through his musical journey!
Q: Being surrounded by musical influence, when exactly did you think, 'this is what i want to do for a living'?
A: I started singing with my dad when i was 5. I was always around it, but in high school was when i realized i could do it. My friends were getting summer jobs, and i was playing gigs. My dad had connections, and they would let me play for a bit of money. By the time i was 14, i was playing 3 hour gigs, and just realized i could make pretty good money. Seeing artists at small venues usually in Chicago or Milwaukee, and getting to meet them afterwards really made me realize that it is what i wanted to do. Even currently, playing those same type of venues, i remember to soak it in.
Q: Being from a small town, what was it that made you move to Nashville? (What factors played into it?)
A: I first visited when i was a junior in high school, and toured Belmont. During that visit we looked around and explored, and thought it was a cool city. I got accepted into Belmont, which was cool, since Nashville is very music-centered. At the time one of the artists i grew up seeing, Andy Davis, played a show at my uncle's. We just talked about the college experience and how fun it could be, but he also helped me see that music isn't about the degree. He said even just moving down there would be a good start as a songwriter and you can decide about college later; but i decided to go to community college for two years back home. My cousin and I knew we wanted to move out of our town, so we eventually visited Nashville together and decided to go for it.
Q: Your debut EP has 6 songs, all of which revolve around love and heartbreak; How did that come to be? What is your writing process like?
A: Before i moved here, i was 14 years old when i wrote my first song. My usual process would be writing a couple songs a year, but moving here in 2018 i got thrown into co-writing with other artists. I got lucky with a group of really talented friends, and through association eventually had people reaching out to me about who i was. I eventually signed a publication deal, and started writing 5 days a week, which i learned a lot from. Most of my first EP, were songs i had written years before. So, the process involves heavily with co-writing.Overall, i have just learned, to write things down; if there's something you think could be a song title, you write it down and bring it into your session. For example Illinois, came from a session where nothing was happening, but we just started talking about what was going on in our lives, and it shaped into that song. I'm naturally drawn to sad songs; i have always been drawn to music that makes you feel something. This next EP i involved a few upbeat ones but overall the subject tends to be sad. Sometimes, songs aren't always about personal experience, but about channeling things and finding parallels.
Q: Living in 'Music City', did you feel like you had 'your sound' before moving here, or did you find it after?
A: I feel like i knew what type of artist i wanted to be, but sound-wise i wasn't sure. I was and am influenced by so many different types of artists; rock, punk, indie. When my dad started getting into the singer/songwriter stuff, like Andy Davis or Griffin House, i was very drawn to people who could just play with only an acoustic guitar. Their way of storytelling is next level, and affected me to where i felt like it really mattered. The way they weaved stories and had a lot of emotion in it, i knew i wanted to write songs like that. It was just about finding where i fit in; i really got a lot out of the co-writing thing. When you're writing 200 songs a year, it helps you start to find which ones sound like what you want and narrows your view. Everyone starts out trying to emulate someone, but then you form your own path.
Q: The pandemic affected so many artists. How would you say that affected you in your music career?
A: Now being removed from it, it's easier to look back. Obviously overall the health circumstance was terrible, but i was still writing songs 5 days a week over zoom. I felt grateful that i was still able to have income, and i was writing with people from LA or London so it wasn't weird. We would have a few local sessions of sitting out in someones yard and writing; but i was still productive in a way. I was in the middle of working on the first EP in the middle of it, so that slowed down the process having to do the last bit of it over zoom. Overall, though, i was lucky to have roommates and was able to just have time to slow down and recenter into my sound again. Being surrounded by a lot of country music, I've had to navigate around that and it was a good time to reset.
Q: If you could create your own 'Mount Rushmore' of artists, which four would you pick?
A: Tom Petty, Noah Gunderson, Ed Sheeran, and Brandon Flowers.
Q: Besides music, what other hobbies do you have?
A: I'm into sports, so i love watching, I'm really into football, randomly i'm a patriots fan. Me and my cousin get together a lot to watch. I also, love playing basketball. Other than that, just playing with my dog.
Q: What's something at the top of your bucket list?
A: I really want to go to London. I've never been to the UK, and I've worked with people there over zoom. The music scene there is really cool and the singer/songwriter genre there is really big.
Q: What's currently your favorite song?
A: "Grocery Store" by Ken Yates. Although his whole last record is what I've been listening to.
I want to thank Tristan for giving me the opportunity to sit down with him, and getting to know him more! On behalf of Melomania, I want to say that we are very excited for his upcoming second EP! We can’t wait to see what else he does! Be sure to check out his latest single, “ All I Did Was Love You” on spotify , and subscribe to his email list for updates!!
Be sure to follow Tristan on Instagram , Facebook , Tik Tok , Twitter , and Youtube .