William Blake Interview Research Paper

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Pages: 6

The subject of my interview was a University of North Texas student Blake. Blake is an American citizen, born and raised in the southern United States. He does not consider himself a musician, nor is any of his family closely tied to the music industry or considers themselves musicians. Blake professes his family to be cultural homogenous in nature with the labels of white, southern, and Christian. All of which are major influences on his musical taste and how he sees music.
“The general consensus of my family is from Georgia. My more immediate family is in (Texas). I’m from more Oklahoma myself.”

When asked about his childhood Blake reminisced about his grandmother from Oklahoma. Blake has fond childhood memories of singing with his church
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She strictly listened to popular country music. When asked for specifics he named Tim McGraw song that spoke of a bridge that his mother grew up next to. I would suspect that this style of music and its association with his mother’s culture in the American south is why she is such a fan. Blake, on the other hand, isn’t as connected or inspired by this style of music. He does listen to it, but only when he is with his mom, or with his girlfriend who also enjoys this style of music. This seems to me to be a sonic sacrifice that Blake makes to spend time with loved ones and not enough of a deal breaker for him to want to distance himself from either individual.
Blake’s father introduced him to Frank Sinatra at a young age as well. Blake goes on to say that being exposed to this style of music at an early age has influenced his experience in high school. When he was in high school band Blake typically enjoyed performing jazz style pieces. This jazzier style of music is typically reserved for when Blake and his father spend time together, or when Blake is alone. When he is alone this is a style that Blake likes to use to calm himself down. Music without lyrics and gentle tones help him feel at peace and