Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Illinois-based Americana singer-songwriter Seth Samuelson Cocquit has just released a brand new solo single called “Old Timer.” Rife with Midwestern grit and determination and laced with the importance of those who came before us, Cocquit’s song was inspired by the life lessons he learned from his grandfather in particular. Cocquit, who also teaches music in Central Illinois, paints a picture of life in the Midwest through his songs, about living the simple life in an ever more complicated world. Midwest-soaked and Tennessee-steeped, “Old Timer” is Cocquit’s first solo turn after releasing music and touring as part of Americana outfit Harvest Sons.
Vents Magazine sat down with Cocquit to talk about “Old Timer,” the special footage that made it into the video for the song, the importance of family and the Midwest in his music, as well as what fans can expect from him in the coming months.
Vents: Hi Seth, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Seth: I’ve been cold, man. I absolutely hate February.
Vents: Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Old Timer”?
Seth: “Old Timer” is a song I recorded with my brother-in-law in Nashville. He handled production. I wrote the song about my grandfather, who was a hero of mine. He passed away a long time ago (2003), but there are always things to learn about yourself through the eyes of your elders.
Vents: Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Seth: Yeah, you know what… the music video I’m putting out for “Old Timer” includes a lot of VHS footage of the farm back in 1989 when my aunt Jodi documented some days on the farm. I used to watch those tapes as a kid thinking I was going to be a farmer, and then I grew up and moved away from the farm, and I realized how much it remains a part of me to this day. But really it’s the people who are a part of you. My grandfather and great uncles are just men from another time – they’re old timers. I mean one of my great uncles was telling me about the first time they had indoor plumbing installed in the house and how they didn’t have to use the outhouse in the middle of the night anymore. No internet. No smart phones. It was just such a different time – one I can’t even truly grasp, having been a ’90s and 2000s kid.
Vents: I was going to ask you if you have any plans to release any sort of video for the track and you already answered that, so maybe you can give us the inside scoop on the video.
Seth: Yes, I’ll be releasing the video for this song in early March. I think I’m more excited to get that out there than I am the song. I love how all the VHS footage for the video came together for the vid. My family will appreciate it more than anyone else probably, and that’s just fine with me. I just wanted to paint the profile of life back in the day, and how those people shaped who I am today. I’m always questioning who I am and where I fit in the world. The video is kind of introspective as well if you pay close enough attention.
Vents: How was the recording and writing process?
Seth: The writing process was easy. Some songs I force, relatively. Some songs come naturally, and this one of those. I wrote it after a talk I had on my grandma’s front porch with one of my great uncles. I couldn’t help but write a song dedicated to old timers like my grandfather, who the song is really about. My great uncle unlocked a lot of inspiration for the song.
The recording process was easy as well, with my man Clint May (Cole Swindell) running the show. All I had to do was take care of the acoustic and vocal part. Featured on the track is Adam Cunningham (bass) and Josh Schultz (keys) – both from the Cole Swindell camp. Then we had Hubert Payne from Little Big Town with the drums. The song grooves, and has a genuine quality I’m really pleased with here on this end of it.
Vents: You touched on this a little bit, but what role does Illinois play in your music?
Seth: All of it. Ha ha. Midwest is best, baby.
Vents: What is it about the Midwest that you find so fascinating?
Seth: Fascinating is one way to put it. Honestly, February is about the time I start thinking about how nice it’d be to live further south. I keep trying to talk my wife into us just moving to Costa Rica to teach there. That said, the Midwest has so much history, and it is always the place that seems to move last with the rest of the country. We have time to really process what really matters in life, if that makes any sense. Most of us out here know family is what matters most, and I suppose everyone, everywhere knows that. But in the Midwest, that is really a nurtured thing from the patriarchs and matriarchs.
Vents: Does the new single mean we can expect a new material – how’s that coming along?
Seth: I’m always working on new material. There are a couple more singles I’m releasing over the summer that were also recorded in the same session as “Old Timer,” including a song I tried to release last year – but it didn’t feel right with COVID at the time – called “Midwest Stars.” It’s a song about proposing to my wife back in the day.
Vents: Any tentative release date in mind?
Seth: “Midwest Stars” will be the next release, and I’m shooting for a May 2021 release on that one.
Vents: What else is happening next in Seth Samuelson Cocquit’s world?
Seth: Well, my band, Harvest Sons, and I are going back into the studio pretty soon. We’ve been sitting on some songs we just need to record and hopefully get to touring again one of these days.
Website & social media
Artist website: https://www.sethquit.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sethquit/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCev0yRVZQd7rDTFiscC8MLg
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sethquit
