Ewan Cunningham is 19 years old and he is a self-taught musician. He started playing drums at the age of 4 and now he also practicing other instruments such as guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals.
Our blog team, at the beginning of January 2018 have seen all the videos from Ewan’s YouTube Channel, where he has been playing some of Dire Straits songs. So, we decided to contact him and asked him for a possible interview. We get positive feedback from Ewan, and what you’ll read today from this blog-post is an amazing interview with Ewan Cunningham.
Really, Ewan has amazing covers on his YouTube channel. When he was 10 years old, his passion was to learn how to mix, record and make film music. Until now, he has made five cover versions from Dire Straits songs, and many more from Pink Floyd (his favorite band), The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and other great bands.
Interview with Ewan Cunningham
Tell us something more about yourself, who is Ewan Cunningham?
My name is Ewan Cunningham, I’m 19 years old and I’m from Falkirk, Scotland. I am the youngest of three brothers and the son of John Cunningham and Ruth Cunningham. I’m currently still living in Falkirk and I work as a freelance video editor.
Are you a professional musician and do you have a music career?
I don’t currently gig so I’m not sure if I qualify as a “professional” musician. I do however write and produce my own music and publish it on Spotify, YouTube, and Bandcamp. I hope to continue building the following I have on YouTube and start to produce more original music which will hopefully lead to doing gigs and concerts.
When and why did you start playing?
I started playing drums at the age of 4 and that’s all I ever played until I started branching out into other instruments such as guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals. I’ve been teaching myself to mix, record and film music since I was 10 years old and this is my passion. I started to play the drums at the age of 4 when my parents bought me a cheap plastic kit for Christmas.
Apparently, I had smashed it to pieces by the end of Christmas day. My parents then decided to get me a junior kit, which I played for most of my early childhood. As for playing the guitar, my Dad has been a guitarist since his teenage years and the sound of the guitar was always playing in our house when I was growing up. Sadly, since my Dad is left-handed, I was never able to play any of his guitars.
When I was 17, around the time I started getting really into David Gilmour, I decided to learn the guitar. My Dad gave me his very first acoustic guitar which had a wide neck and high action. I learned the basics of that for about a year before buying my first ever Strat. I also started to pick up the keyboard and bass around this time. Although, the only bass we had in our house was my Dad’s left-handed Aria Pro. To this day, I only know how to play a left-handed bass.
What kind of music do you like and who is your favorite music bands/artists?
My taste in music mostly hovers around 70’s progressive rock although I do like some lesser-known artists that are making music today. My favorite band of all time is Pink Floyd. Some of my other favorites include Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, The Beatles, ELO, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and many more.
About Dire Straits, when was the first time when you listened to a song from them, which song was that and when was the first cover version that you made from Dire Straits?
I probably heard Dire Straits for the first time when I was just a baby. My Dad was always playing Dire Straits throughout my childhood. I fondly remember whenever we were on a long car journey, Dire Straits would always be playing. I think the first song of theirs that I really started to like was “Walk of Life”. For me, that is the song of my childhood since I remember hearing it so much. The first cover I ever posted of a Dire Straits song was back in 2013 when I did a drum cover of “Angel of Mercy”, another song I remember fondly when growing up.
How many cover versions of Dire Strait’s songs have you made till now?
I currently have 5 Dire Straits covers up on YouTube. I’m sure there will be many more in the future.
Do you enjoy listening to music from Dire Straits?
Dire Straits are one of my favorite bands to listen to. They always have a spot on my playlist!
What plans do you have for the next year? Do you expect something more from you on a musical level?
I hope to keep improving my skills as a musician and a producer. I plan to write and release a lot of my own music as well as doing some gigs. 2018 is going to be a great year for me in terms of creative output.
What is your motto in life and what is that which motivates you to continue with good vibes and positive energy in life?
I guess my motto in life is to always be doing something that makes me happy. The thing that motivates me the most is to always be the best person I can be. I love teaching myself new skills and being able to take on ambitious creative projects.
And for the end can you tell something to all fans who read the Dire Straits Blog?
Hello to all of the Dire Straits fans out there. Hopefully, some of you have already seen some of my Dire Straits covers. If you haven’t, check them out over at my YouTube channel.
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