In 2013, Todd Murray (AKA Sincerely, Iris), received a unique and surprise Christmas gift. His cousin, a fellow guitar player and tinkerer had built him a homemade 4-string guitar made out of various scrap materials, with the centerpiece being Todd’s old Colorado license plate. Thought to just be an art piece, it sparked an entirely new direction for Todd’s music.
The first music birthed from this oddball gift was the EP “License Plate Sessions” in 2014. A 6-song road trip album, it was mostly written while commuting back and forth from Savannah, GA to Charlotte, NC. He later released two more EPs including “Trouble,” where he added a 6-string acoustic guitar to his gritty blues sound, and “Goodnight Carolina,” which he recorded in a 200 year old church in Charlotte, NC. On October 1, 2019, Todd released his first full-length album in six years titled “I’m Not the Same,” marking a turning point in his career.
The Crafty Musician Blog is proud to feature ‘Sincerely, Iris’ in this month’s edition of Artist Spotlight…
So let’s start with your stage name, ‘Sincerely, Iris,’ which is obviously unique. How did you come up with that and what made you decide to use something other than your birth name?
I had just released my first real self titled album online back in 2006. There was another Todd Murray out there who is a jazz crooner style of singer. It was like the internet wasn’t quite smart enough yet to separate us on iTunes and Pandora so our songs were getting mixed up and played together. My girlfriend and I did some brainstorming and I thought that my albums were like letters written about my life, so we came up with the “Sincerely” part. Her favorite flower is the Iris and I had always gravitated towards that word too. So that’s how Sincerely, Iris came about.
Nice! I like how you took a challenge, in this case the name issue online, and used it to come up with a really cool stage name. So what led you to get into music in the first place?
I grew up with my dad listening to classic rock and my mom listening to country. Music was always around, but neither parent really played any instruments. I always remember that when songs would come on the radio I would just be locked in attention wise. My cousin, who I’d see once every 6 months, played guitar. He taught me to read tabs and it was off to the races after that. I’d see him at Thanksgiving and we’d just disappear into his room playing guitar the whole time.
Okay, so you you were exposed to classic rock and country growing up; How would you describe your music?
I think “road trip music” is a good way to describe it. For me, a song has to work when you’re driving down the open road. Plus, my license plate guitar fits that road trip vibe too. Another way to describe it is: Tom Petty meets Jeff Buckley on a homemade license plate guitar.
Yeah, I mainly listen to music in the car these days so I can definitely see that commanding a certain style and sound, which your music has. You also mentioned the license plate guitar. Tell us more about that because I think that’s one of the many things that sets you apart from other artists.
My guitar player cousin who I mentioned before (Jay Patton) built that for me. It was a surprise Christmas present from him and my mom. I think they figured it would just hang on my bedroom wall, but there was just something about it that I gravitated towards. It’s made out of old scrap wood, my old Colorado license plate, a bolt and a nut for the bridge, and a cow bone for the nut. It’s the top 4 strings of a regular guitar tuned to open E or E minor. Oh, and there are no frets, so you can only play slide on it.
So obviously it never quite made it up on your wall…
I think the only time it’s been on the wall has been for photos that I wanted to post on social media. I bring it to almost every gig that I play now.
Do you feel like having a unique instrument like that has opened up more opportunities for you?
I think so. It definitely catches people’s attention and it’s a great conversation starter. I’m an introvert so it gives me something to chat about when people come up to talk to me at a show. Last year I booked a show at a museum in Charlotte, and it was because they wanted someone who played a unique instrument. So I played my two license plate guitars for the entire gig. One tuned to open D and one tuned to open E.
Wait, so you have two now?
Yeah, I had him make me another one about 2 years ago. It’s an Ohio plate, which is the state where I grew up. It’s the 30th guitar that he’s built so it’s signed and numbered on the back of the headstock. He made this one out of harder kinds of wood (Hickory and Mahogany) because I hit the guitar with my slide for a percussive sound, and that was kind of digging a hole in the other guitar.
Sounds like you made some improvements to it. How long have you been a full-time artist and how long did it take to make the transition?
I’ve been doing it professionally for about 8 1/2 years. I always played little shows here and there, but I just had no idea how to make a full time living off of it. I honestly didn’t really know it was possible unless you were famous. I was living in Savannah working at a semi tank wash and I was sick of being watched by a camera that fed to the main factory in Cleveland all day/every day. Anyways, that ended badly…but with the encouragement of my fiancé, I decided to really try to play music full time. It was a slow start and I probably worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my life, but over time it panned out.
That’s crazy to think someone as gifted as you were once upon a time working a job like that, but I guess we all start somewhere…
I appreciate that. The list of all the jobs that I had would fill up a page! I was a massage therapist, front desk guy at a hotel, driving instructor, and remodeled a house one summer. I worked at Target, Home Depot, Verizon, and a college bookstore. I feel like I’ve always pretty much had a job, especially after high school. I didn’t have rich parents or anything.
And it sounds like once you left that last job, it still took a while for the music to take off and it required you to work extra hard. Can you go a little deeper into that?
I just started calling, emailing, and visiting as many places as I could. A big part of it all really happening was my fiance Elizabeth. Just her saying, “You know what, just give it a shot. Stop filling out resumes and put all of your effort into trying to find gigs.” And it worked out. But having someone to kind of say, “you can do this” made a huge difference now that I look back on it.
Yeah, I think having someone beside you who can truly encourage you goes a long way. So what type of shows do you typically do these days?
I definitely mix it up haha! I play a ton of breweries, restaurants, coffee shops, wedding ceremonies, private parties, even Christmas parties. There are a ton of gorgeous vineyards here in Virginia and I really enjoy playing those. My favorite gigs are the one’s where I can play all of my own songs. Real music venues, songwriter in the rounds, etc.
And how do you make your money as a musician, just from shows or from other things as well? Also, do you have any side jobs?
Up until last year I always taught guitar lessons a few days a week and played music on the other days. So it was about half and half. Right now I make all of my money from playing music. I currently have one student. Teaching really didn’t pan out in Richmond when I first moved here, so I just plunged into music and it seems to be working.
So are you having to play more gigs to make up for the lack of teaching?
Yeah, it seems that way. I play more during the weekdays (Wed/Thurs) than I used to. When I was teaching lessons I always had to turn down a lot of weekday gigs. So not teaching was always kind of an option in the back of my mind. I still like having Mondays and Tuesdays off. I get so much stuff done because everyone is at work!
How do you deal with the financial uncertainty that comes along with being an independent artist?
It’s definitely not for everyone! You really have to be organized to keep track of your money, plan for cancellations (because they WILL happen), and be OK with getting out of your comfort zone. I use an app that keeps track of what I’ll be making that month. With such an up and down industry, I feel like you really have to have a lot of discipline to make it work.
Absolutely! I think you have to have talent and creativity to be a musician, but you have to discipline to succeed. By the way, what is this app you’re referring to? Sounds cool…
It’s called EveryDollar. It’s a Dave Ramsey app I believe. I don’t do the paid version where I hook it up to my bank account or anything, but it’s just nice seeing what I do make, what bills I’m going to be paying, and how much I tend to spend each month on gas, groceries, dog haircuts, etc. I’m honestly not sure how I figured it all out before I started using it.
+21 Insanely Practical Budgeting Tips for Musicians
Another thing about you is that you’ve moved around a little and have had to re-establish yourself as a musician several times? How many cities have you been based out of in your career so far and what kind of techniques have you found work when it comes to establishing yourself in a new city?
That’s a good question! This answer might get a little nerdy. I’ve lived in Ohio, Colorado, Chicago, Savannah, GA, Charlotte, NC, and Richmond, VA in the past 13 years. Richmond was the first city where I knew we were moving there ahead of time. I put together a Google spreadsheet, and just email every restaurant, brewery, vineyard that I can find. I save the email and date that I wrote them and follow up about a week later if I don’t get a response. After that I wait about 2 weeks to follow up. I always try to stay polite and keep it short and sweet. I can’t tell you how many gigs I’ve gotten from the 4th follow up. After getting crickets from them, they’ll say, “Hey would you like to play one Friday a month for the rest of the year?” You can’t take anything personally in this business, which is hilarious because songwriters are sensitive people. If I can’t find an email on the website, I call them up on the phone. Sometimes I’ll even hit the streets and go to the venues with an EPK. I did a lot of that in Savannah, and would get gigs right on the spot without them even listening to my music, but you can definitely hit more places with emails and calls. Open mics are also a great way to network in a new city. Going to other people’s shows is a great thing too. I always liked this quote by Dale Carnegie: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
That’s all great advice! We might have to have you write a whole blog post just about your booking techniques…
Haha, you probably could! It would potentially be your nerdiest post, but I’d totally read it.
Now let’s talk about some of your accomplishments because I know you’ve had some cool ones like being a part of the ‘Post Secret’ production and having your music featured in a TV show. Can you tell us about some of those things? Don’t be afraid to brag…
The Post Secret thing was really great. Post Secret is a blog where people send in random, funny, heartbreaking admissions about themselves anonymously on Postcards. They turned the blog into a theater show. I was the only musician on the stage with 3 actors. It was at the Blumenthal in Charlotte and was a huge honor. You could hear people weeping in the audience for certain parts. That was a new powerful experience for me. It showed the real purpose of art.
I was lucky enough to have my song in a show starring Anna Paquin called “Bellevue.” It was a Canadian television crime drama. I messaged the only Canadian friend I have and he sent me a little snippet of the scene my song was in. In a crazy turn of events the show got picked up on American television too, so we got to see it on TV at my house. That was a really great night for me and my fiancé.
I bet! There’s nothing like seeing your work being presented to the whole world! Where do you see yourself as a musician in 5 years? Do you have any exciting projects coming down the pipe?
I’m hoping to get more songs licensed in TV and films over the next 5 years. To continue making a living off of playing music, but specifically to make a living off of my own creative output. AKA from my own songs. If we’re talking big picture, I’d love to win a Grammy.
I have a brand new full length album that just came out on 10/1/19. It’s my first full length album in 6 years. I’ve been working on that for about 2 years now and honestly I’m kind of glad that music listeners are veering towards singles. Albums are a ton of work and money. Especially for independent artists. They’re beneficial to sell at shows, but maybe not for my all around sanity haha.
Congratulations on the new album! They can definitely be a lot of work, and costly… Speaking of getting more songs licensed on TV and films, do you have a trick for doing that?
I kind of think it’s the same trick you have to use to get gigs. Emailing licensing places, following up a few weeks later, staying patient, and learning the lingo of non-exclusive/exclusive deals. I’m definitely not as consistent with the licensing emails as I am with the gigs. It’s hard to make the time when you only get one placement out of the blue here and there. At least gigs can be a little more consistent. I’m kind of the same way with Spotify playlists too. I’ll dive in head first for a week or so emailing people, but then I’ll get discouraged, and just try to book some more shows haha.
What advice do you have for artists looking to take the plunge to being a full-time musician?
Well you have to love it, that’s for sure. My fiancé watched a panel a few years ago with Mike Wolfe from the show American Pickers. He said that he knew he wasn’t the best at what he did, but that he loved it more than anyone else. That was his strength. I’d say that’s a good thing to have in the music business. It will keep you going when things are at their worst. There will be 800 kids on Instagram who are better than you, but do they love it more than you? Also, keep your jealousy in check. It’s really easy to become jealous or jaded when certain bands get more attention than you, or if they have more success than you. I try to change that outlook to, “what can I learn from this person?” or “what can I learn from their career?” I definitely don’t always succeed at that technique haha! But it’s a good trick to have up your sleeve.
Man, that’s some really good wisdom! Passion trumps perfection, and turn jealousy into a lesson. So where can our readers find you on the internet?
You can head over to www.sincerelyiris.com.
You can also find Sincerely, Iris on Instagram (@sincerelyirismusic) and Facebook.
Well Todd, we really appreciate you sharing your story on The Crafty Musician. Definitely keep up the great work and we wish you the best!
Thanks for all that you guys do! I love your website and I’m glad you guys are still making music AND helping other musicians along the way. That’s really rare and admirable.
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Thanks so much guys! This was a fun one. Thanks for taking the time and going into such depth about the ins and outs of being an independent musician.
Thanks for sharing your story Todd. We really appreciate getting to hear first hand about your exploits in music.