Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Holcomb
Hi Sean, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Orlando at a very young age into a small family of 8 children, My parents worked hard to provide for us but we didn’t have much as far as money goes, understandably. When I was around 12 years old I was gifted a hand me down acoustic guitar from a relative. I slowly learned the basics with the help of guitar world magazines and picking along with the radio.
In my early teens I played for our church worship team at Orlando Grace Church in Maitland. It wasn’t until I was around 16 or so when Thomas Wynn (another talented Orlando staple) asked me to join his band. I played guitar for him off and on through several projects over the years.
In my early 20’s I moved out to Colorado to work as a ranch hand on the 3R ranch in Beulah CO. I flew up there with only a duffel bag and a guitar. The time spent out west was crucial to my story. It taught me many lessons but most importantly, hard work. Being that we were on 10,000+ acres in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t a lot to do when I found myself with precious “downtime” much less a night-life to keep a young cowboy entertained.
Luckily, it was the perfect setting to start writing my own music. I started working on my own songs and by the time I moved back to Florida, I had a catalog of some decent, and some crappy songs.
I started booking my own gigs locally along with my brother, Aaron who played the cello. We called ourselves “The Holcomb Brothers Band” even though it was usually just the two of us. He ended up joining the Navy and almost a decade later he is still in service, based in Maryland. I’d be lying if I said that my style is my own. If it wasn’t for my younger brother and the stirring sound of a cello, I don’t know what I’d be sounding like today. I love the feel that those sounds add to a song, I think it’s really an important part of music that rarely found in the mainstream.
Around the time Aaron was in the DEP program training for his departure to basic, we met a guy named John Zerrip who was a classically trained violinist. So, out went the cello, and in came the violin. John has been playing with me ever since, in fact, this March 17’th (St Patricks Day) will be his 10 year anniversary.
I’ve been lucky enough to put out a couple records, and play my music all over the country. It’s the best job I’ve ever had. At times, it is also the hardest job I’ve ever had. It keeps me honest, and I love that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh lord no haha
I’ve had bumps and hurdles and still have them.
For example, I went up to Nashville to make a record with some big players back in 2019.
I spent the month of July back and forth between the Castle Studio and Sound Kitchen Studios in Franklin TN.
I wanted this record to be special but I really wanted to stack the cast of players as if I was making a hollywood movie.
We got Blair Masters on Keys (Garth Brooks).
Andy Leftwich on fiddle, mandolin (Ricky Skaggs)
Matt Slocumb on cello (Sixpence None the Richer)
Miles McPhereson on drums (Paramore, Kelly Clarkson, Tonic, Reba McEntire, Rascall Flatts, Chris Young, Tyler Farr, Lee Brice, Chase Rice)
Byron House on Bass, who played on records with the Dixie Chicks, Chris Cornell, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Al Green, Buddy and Julie Miller, Dolly Parton, Robert Plant, Linda Ronstadt, and Ricky Skaggs. At the time I believe he was on retainer from Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin).
So, the record wasn’t cheap by any means. We set to release the record in the beginning on 2020. We all probably still remember what happened in the beginning of 2020.
So yeah, we could tour the record and could barely pay my own bills for a while during the whole covid fiasco but lets face it, nobody got out of that time unscathed.
Playing music for a living probably isn’t the wisest career path, However, it really is the most rewarding if you put in the work. But if you are looking to get rich, I probably wouldn’t recommend it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I don’t know if there is anything particularly special about what I do. I write songs and tell stories to those who will listen. I will say, one thing we have that is special is our fans. I wouldn’t be here without them. We’ve some of the most hardcore, die-hard followers that follow from all over the country and pop up out of nowhere wearing my shirts/ hats, ect.
I think having such dedicated supporters is what I’m really proud of. The relationships I’ve been lucky to make along the way keeps me humble and makes me want to do better.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I’ll always love Orlando. It’s where I was born and raised. It’s where my parents were born and raised. My dad went to Boone, my mother went to Bishop Moore. Being from a big family that was all pretty close locally, I think helped me a lot in sort of having a built-in support base from the beginning.
It’s definitely grown and changed in my 40 (yikes) years of life but it’ll always be home.
But yeah my least favorite part is I4!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.seanholcomb.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanholcombmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanholcombmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sholcomb2
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H5CEu90Ad8merwgtqxqfd?si=5lHtz20EReG0-ULWFybI4Q
Image Credits
Stacey Johnson
Jerry Martin
Trevor McCarty
