Paul Marotto is a musician based in the Philadelphia area. Paul is very open about his experiences fighting through addiction and mental illness; and dedicates his music to anyone battling through the same things.
His latest song “Anthem for the Forgotten” focuses on people affected by the recent opiate epidemic and is his own self realization of where his addiction has brought him in his life. The lyrics are brutally honest and accompanied by a simple but captivating beat that pushes the listener into Paul’s world. The effects and panning of the song finally crescendo into a blazing guitar solo that will make even the most reserved people jump up and play air guitar. Paul’s hope is that someone out there suffering from the same things he’s been through might hear his song and realize that they are not alone and that their experiences matter.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Paul about the music, dream collabs, AI, and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
AI (aka Artificial Intelligence aka Chat GPT 4.0)… How is it changing the music world? What are your thoughts about this new trend?
To be honest with you, if there’s a trend, I don’t like it. I can’t even turn on the radio anymore. It’s unbearable. I feel like when I was younger, there was still interesting and catchy music coming out. I don’t know, maybe I’m just lazy and don’t feel like searching for what I used to just turn on the radio and listen to. I want to be blown away when I listen to a song. I want to listen to it over and over. I want to get jealous wishing that I had written it. That just hasn’t happened to me for so long that I’ve kinda giving up on trying to find that special sound. It’s sad and frustrating because I know there’s people out there that can create such compositions. In my opinion they’re just harder to find in the one size fits all meaninglessness that I usually find on the radio. The good news is that things change… They have to. It’s a law of nature. One day in the future I might just hear something playing in the distance that makes my eyes widen and I’ll say to myself “There it is”, “That persons got that sound that we all have been waiting for for so long”. I can’t wait till that happens again.
Can you choose a favorite song of all time? Or is this an impossible task? If yes, what’s the song? If no, what’s your current Top 3?
Personally, the one song that gives me chills each time I listen to it…that makes me shake my head in disbelief that something so beautiful could have even been written by one person…that makes time seem to slow down a bit and takes me out of the repetition of life is actually a classical composition by Rachmaninov. There’s a phrase in his second piano concerto that must make God himself smile every time the notes are played. I honestly get teared up every time I hear it. Every time I listen, I’m repeatedly amazed that such a beautiful combination of notes could even be imagined. That’s what music is about…connecting the feelings of one with another. If done right, there’s no other experience that can beat it.
What about this project makes you most proud? Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?
I always try to be honest when I’m writing a song. You can’t connect with someone else’s feelings if you’re not honest with yourself first. If I’m proud about anything in this tune it would be the first lyric of the song. “Alone…on methadone, and 41 fucking years has passed me by…high.” That’s just about as honest as I’ve ever been with myself let alone another person listening to the song. There are many things in my life that I am not proud of, and one of these is the fact that I’m 41 and still struggling with an opiate addiction. I haven’t let my family listen to this song because I’m afraid my realizations might make them sad. That said, my hope is that someone in the same position as me might feel a little less alone in the world if I can admit my faults and failures to them. In some way I hope to form a connection through the music.
What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?
Wow. That’s a really good question and I’ll try to answer it as best I can. It can be hard to keep writing sometimes, but no matter what I’ve been through in my life, I’ve always had this invisible drive to keep composing music and I have no idea where it comes from. There were parts of my life where I sold all my instruments for drugs, and you’d think there’s no coming back from that, but a few years later I was able to buy most of them back and then build a home recording studio on top of it.
It’s like the need to create songs is in my blood or something. Sometimes I get frustrated when the music just isn’t flowing easily from my mind, and it almost feels like a curse, but it’s weird, one way or another I always come back to music. Always. My whole life it’s been like that.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
Ok, this is gonna sound weird at first, especially because I’m not really into their type of music, but there’s a good reason behind my choice. I’d team up with the drummer from Panic At The DIsco. Ok, hear me out on this. When I was young I was in a band called Minus Paul. The drummer for Minus Paul was Dan Pawlovich. Many years later he would become the drummer for Panic. I was very good friends with Dan and we did tons of cool stuff together but then my drug use was introduced into the situation. Dan and I eventually grew apart and we both went separate ways. I choose Dan Pawlovich to collaborate with not only because he’s a freaking awesome drummer but because I miss my old friend, and I think it’s important to be friends when you’re in a band together. Where ever you are Dan. Please know I’m very proud of you and hope you’re doing well.
What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?
I can’t say that I have a favorite band of all time. I’ve been influenced by so many different bands and various types of music. There are, however some bands that have had more of an impact on me than others and are worth mentioning. These bands and composers are as follows (in no particular order): The Pixes, Pavement, Failure, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, Why?, The Beatles, Debussy, David Bowie, Self, Radiohead, Muse, and Weezer. These are just a few. There’s so many more that deserve to be mentioned.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
The best place to find out about me, my music, and what I’ve been up to, is on my website https://hallowseve.net/home
Here you can find All my music which is downloadable for free, photos, my bio, lyrics to my songs, and the stories behind them. My contact info is also listed on the site. I’m also looking to put together a band of misfits to play live. So musicians, is you live in the Philly area, hit me up and lets write some more awesome music.
I appreciate Your time. Want to say or plug any other projects before we part ways?
I’d just like to say thank you to anyone out there who has listened to or commented on my music. Like I said before, I find it hard to keep writing music sometimes. The creative spirit comes and goes. When I find out that someone has enjoyed one of my songs, it makes me want to write more music…it gives me a purpose. I’d also like to thank you for your interest in “Anthem for the Forgotten”. I enjoyed answering your interview questions and would happily do it again. Thanks.
