Today we’d like to introduce you to Soutchay Soungpradith.
Hi Soutchay, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Let’s hop in a DeLorean and time travel back to the ’80s. There I am, a young child immersed in a vast ocean in little Coshocton, Ohio. Warm waves of sounds undulating over me from my brothers listening to rock albums. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and more slowly trickling through me. It all permeated deep down inside and regulated the tempo of my heart. I listened as one brother played piano and heard another brother strumming on guitar. Naturally, I was curious, so I began experimenting, tapping on keys and plucking strings. I was very young. I recall sometimes having to hold one guitar flat on my lap and play that way instead of upright. I fell in love with the guitar and taught myself over the years on several instruments, figuring out songs by ear, but I never learned to read music. I remember playing Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” guitar riff when I was in elementary school after listening to it and how amazing that felt, like deciphering some secret code. Although I wondered to myself, how is that wahwah sound achieved? Discovered years later it’s from a guitar effects pedal called… a wah pedal lol! I believe I began writing songs in junior high school or shortly after and also spent a lot of time polishing my voice, sometimes singing along to musicians like Lenny Kravitz. I’ve spent over three decades honing my musical skills and continue to do so. Look over here! I’m in elementary school with two friends trying to form a band. Funny thing is, it was a three-piece, and we all played guitar. Needless to say, it didn’t go very far at all lol! Years later in High School, when grunge was in the spotlight, I became the lead guitarist for a five-piece rock band called “Outlet” with a group of great guys. We experienced some success, playing live shows and recorded an album together with a small record label. It was an awesome time in life. After a few years, things unfortunately unraveled, and we drifted in separate ways. I later jammed with the bass player and drummer for a while, writing songs that we performed out a couple times, but it eventually faded out as well. I also occasionally messed around on guitar with the singer too. Zooming forward a few years, I took on the task of singing, playing, and recording every instrument by myself and uploaded rough original recordings online with YouTube and on Myspace when Myspace was popular.
Now let’s teleport to 2012! I had been singing and jamming, writing songs with the drummer from the Outlet days when we decided to bring in a bass player. The chemistry was solid. For me, it was as if a star had just exploded in the heavens and the cosmic dust coalesced into us, “Dead Mans Dew.” I’m very proud of the music we created together. We recorded a three-song demo and uploaded it to SoundCloud. We played live shows and eventually worked our way up, opening for well-known national acts like Trapt, Sons of Texas, and others that were touring through Columbus, OH. We even performed at the Newport Music Hall once, “the longest continually running rock club in the country.” It was one dream of mine to play that venue. Eventually, we recorded a five-song EP called “Nucleus Lepidoptera,” and it was released by a digital distribution company in 2019 to Spotify, iTunes, and several other streaming platforms. We did it all ourselves without a major record label. That was one of the greatest achievements of my life. We were working on a second album, but sadly, after eight years of writing amazing music, we broke apart. I’m still picking up the pieces, but I’m sculpting something totally new now, albeit alone.
Assuming you’re twenty-one, let’s finish a beer, get back in this crazy car again and bend space-time fabric! Right there, I’m drawing a house, pine trees, a deer and a rabbit, birds flying, and coloring it all in. I still have that tiny piece in a frame. It was completed in 1984 when I was only six years old. I’ve been creating art about as long as I’ve been creating music. I grew up drawing robots, creatures, and more. Honed my skills through many years and in 1996, I received a $24,000 scholarship to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design, where I studied illustration. Honestly, college was just a backup plan. My dream for years was to make it in the music industry and tour with a band. I had a short stay there and left the scholarship behind after about a year and a half to pursue a career in music. That pursuit wasn’t easy (still isn’t to this day). I later got a job working at a meat packing factory back in Coshocton. After a couple years of saving money, chasing my musical dream, I literally just walked out of that place during my shift one day and never returned. I moved into a single-bedroom apartment in Columbus, OH, and ended up with another factory job unloading boxes from trailers and driving around a forklift and other heavy equipment, all while still writing songs. After a couple years, I moved into a bigger apartment with my wife (before we were married). We eventually got married and bought a house in 2006. After about five years of working at that factory, I was let go. I began considering getting my art world moving. Later, my wife informed me she was pregnant with our first child. That lit a fire under me to seriously get my art together faster. While I spent time building up my portfolio, my daughter was born in 2010. One painting I did for a cancer charity caught the attention of the founder of Illuxcon. It’s a large event in Pennsylvania that very well-known artists in the imaginative realism genre attend, where they all showcase their original pieces. The founder invited me to be a part of it, and that changed my life.
I met a lot of famous artists like Boris Vallejo, Michael Whelan, Donato Giancola, and more, got my paintings in front of loads of people, sold pieces to recognized collectors, and received commissions. I even got to sing and jam on stage there with other artists that played instruments. It was a great experience. I attended the event for a few years, but it’s been many years since I’ve been back because of my focus on music. I’ve been very fortunate and have had pieces hanging in galleries, published in books and magazines. I even ended up on the cover of a magazine in 2015. Recently I was awarded grand prize winner of an art contest that COSI (Center of Science and Industry) put together. I was given two tickets to see the Marvel Superhero Exhibit there, a new iPad, and was surprised later by a letter from the President and CEO, with a one-year membership for me and my family. The original piece is currently on display there for a limited time.
One of my pieces is a painting of Carlos Santana. Long story short, because of connections from my former bassist, I ended up giving the painting to Santana, and he asked to meet me. I wasn’t expecting anything in return or any of that at all. In 2014 I was guided by a bodyguard backstage before his concert began in Columbus, and I shook his hand. We talked for maybe a couple minutes. It was a very short meeting, but it was amazing. I left backstage and was surprisingly called for again. The second time I was led by a different bodyguard to a dark room. I could hear Santana playing a guitar. He stopped to present to me a signed electric guitar! I was in shock, so I didn’t say much, but I recall thanking him. It was another short conversation, unfortunately. I didn’t want to take up too much of his time right before he was going to perform onstage. Perhaps one day, we’ll get to chat again or better yet, jam together! We shook hands again, and next thing I know, I’m walking across the outdoor stage, looking out at the massive crowd before the show started, with a PRS strapped around my shoulder. Crazy! Needless to say, he played the guitar beautifully, and that was an incredible night! I’m so grateful and happy with the journey that my art has taken me on. I hope that my music will also elevate me and others up to higher levels, to even greater experiences.
Let’s configure the dials to 2022, make the wheels screech, set the road on fire, and get back to the future! I’m currently way more focused on my music side, and I’ve been recording preproduction tracks for my debut solo EP named “Inhale Eternity, Exhale Infinity.” I’m so glad to be finally hitting the studio to have it professionally recorded and I plan on having it released on streaming platforms in 2023, where it’ll be accessible for anyone in the World to hear. I’ve been working hard on it for about a year and a half, and it may take another year or more to complete. I’ve written lyrics and musical parts on all the instruments for several songs, and I’m singing and playing every single instrument by myself, literally. The guitar, bass, drums. I do, however, have a professional engineer helping me record, and I’ll have professionals helping me with the mixing and mastering process before it’s released. This is the path I’ve chosen, and I’m looking forward to sharing it all. When I release the EP, I hope it’s well received by everyone and that it gets the attention of the right people in the industry. Regardless of the outcome, it will be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Programing controls to the late ’70s. 3, 2, 1, Launch! The road has not been smooth. I was born in Laos without a silver spoon in my mouth. There was turmoil in the country. My father wanted a better life for us. We ended up in a refugee camp for six months in Thailand where my family was given one chicken per week. We spent around four and a half months in another camp there where food was not distributed properly. Then we spent a month at a camp where we were given one handful of rice per person. Because of our situation, we were moved to a camp in the Philippines. Very small quarters shared with two other strangers. After about seven and a half months we received good word that we had a sponsor. Some people of the Grace United Methodist Church in Coshocton, OH. To them, I am forever grateful. With a newborn sister, we were then a family of seven. We travelled from Manilla to Tokyo, Chicago, and arrived in Columbus on May 17, 1981. I was only three years old. I don’t have any memories of any of that rough stuff, but somewhere, deep inside, it’s in repose. We travelled to Coshocton and stayed at a small motel. My Dad thought it was a nice jail lol! It was explained that it was only temporary until preparations on a house for our family was complete. The house had only two bedrooms and one bathroom for all of us, but we made it work. I shared a bedroom with three older brothers. Bunk beds on one side, a mattress centered, and a bed on the other side. My mom never had an education, but both my parents acquired jobs. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had people that helped us adjust and grow. We acclimated to the American way of life. Unfortunately, on October 11, 1986, my father became ill and passed away. That was a difficult blow. I was eight years old.
Pushing on, that was one of the things that fueled my music and art. My oldest brother worked hard to help out, and he bought guitars to jam with, and I can’t thank him enough for passing them all down to me. Growing up, I was a bit insecure and introverted. More often than not, I performed alright in front of people, but I recall playing a lot when nobody was in the room, and once at one party, I was intentionally facing a wall with my back towards the crowd as everyone listened to me jamming on a guitar. The music and art helped me channel my mixed-up emotions in a positive way, and I’ve become more confident. As I mentioned, I taught myself on instruments, so I never learned how to read music. A blessing and a curse. That’s been a bit of challenge as far as remembering how to play songs I write. I have a decent memory, but because I obviously don’t write notes down of what I compose, I’ve lost many good songs to the dark recesses of my mind, and they will most likely never see the light of day. Nowadays, I try to record rough ideas I want to take further.
When I was around the age of 18, the organist from our church offered me free piano lessons. A wonderful woman! Although I was already writing songs on the piano, I took up her offer. As I learned songs, I would just memorize them and not actually truly read the music, so when I had to start in the middle somewhere; I was completely lost lol! It was like having to learn how several mechanisms under a vehicle’s hood functioned before getting to drive it after you’ve already been driving efficiently for over a decade. It was so backwards but I was willing to try. It didn’t feel right. The lessons only lasted a short period before I wrote her a letter telling her it wasn’t for me. I did, however, perform an original song called “Liquid Midnight” at a recital in the Church. The song is complex, and I’m happy to say I surprisingly played it flawlessly. I wish that performance was recorded. The downside is that I couldn’t write the notes down, so I’ve forgotten how to play some of it lol! All bumps in the road.
Let’s travel forward, at about light speed to 2015! While in Dead Mans Dew, I became very sick, but I didn’t let it stop me. I drove myself to the ER one day and marched on, taking care of my kids, playing shows feeling very weak. That was tough. After a couple weeks, it got so bad that my wife had to drive me to another ER, and I was taken inside on a wheelchair. I thought I was dying and spent seven days there. Fortunately, I was released and put on medication for my gut issues. On the bright side, on that creaky hospital bed, I wrote lyrics down for a song, but I didn’t have the music for it yet. When I returned home, I picked up the guitar and wrote the music, and worked out the singing. Songs usually don’t work out that way for me. I typically write with the guitar and come up with lyrics during or after the music. It worked out, and it ended up on our first and only EP. The song is called “Tempered in Blood.” It has a special place in my heart.
After I left the hospital, I began living a healthier lifestyle mentally, physically, and spiritually. I had a new appreciation for life. Doctors wanted me on that medication for the rest of my life, but against their advice, I weened myself off and haven’t had a single issue to this day. I’m a firm believer in mind and body connection. I feel I’m living proof of it. I’ve prayed, meditated, and have read pages of books literally every single morning for years to sharpen my mind, developed exercise routines on my own for my body, usually five days a week, and I’ve logged over one thousand total miles of jogging. Through sickness and health, vacations, rain, snow, or shine, I haven’t missed a single week of exercise for almost seven years. I think more positively now and overall, just try to be a good human being that’s more in tune with the Universe.
Another bump on the road was not being able to take martial arts classes growing up. I idolized Bruce Lee as a kid and still do today. He’s a huge source of inspiration. In 2016, at the age of 38, I finally made the decision to study Kung Fu with Master Sen Gao, a World Champion martial artist. At that age, it was definitely a challenge. The older I get, the more taxing it seems on my body, but it gives my life balance. I’ve done moves that I never knew I would do. It’s helped build up my confidence. The greatest opponent I’ve ever had to face in life is myself. I’m always challenging myself to evolve and grow. A few years after I began training, right around the beginning of the pandemic, I finally became a black belt.
Speaking of obstacles on the road, the pandemic for me was more like a mountain blocking my path, as I’m sure it was for many others. I wasn’t able to play out live with my band anymore. I was having to help teach my kids with schools transitioning to virtual classes. I absolutely hated it. I wasn’t physically training at the Kung Fu school either. I was, unfortunately, in a dark place, mad at the World. I wasn’t getting enough time (alone) to focus on writing music. It just wasn’t a conducive atmosphere for creating. I felt a little lost and was drinking heavily. To top it all off, I was desperately trying to keep Dead Mans Dew from falling apart. I finally released the pressure I had on a wall that was holding back the force of a river that needed to be set free. The dam broke, and I had to let the waters flow near the beginning of 2021. That completely devastated me. My heart felt like it had been crushed, but I’m marching on alone in pursuit of my dream because I don’t quit and never will. I’ve always believed in myself. So much so that I decided to play all the instruments myself for my EP, but the drums have been really challenging for me. I mainly play guitar, only dabbling on drums the last several years, but I’ve been working hard, getting better, and writing parts that mesh well.
Along with all the setbacks with the music, the road to get to where I’m at with my art was not easy either. I experienced many rejections with art submissions to art books for years; my work was turned away by art directors. Honestly, I still don’t have a ton of people knocking on my door for commissions or to do work for their companies, but I’m focused more on music anyway. Many times, my art wasn’t good enough to get any job offers, but hey, I got a signed guitar from Santana (because of my art). So again, the road has not been smooth, but that is life. Rough roads made me stronger. Hard times taught me important lessons. It’s helped me to navigate more precisely and appreciate the small things along the ride. Sometimes, it’s the small things in life that make a big difference. It has all given me a different perspective on everything, and I now try to enjoy every second and live life to the fullest. I believe it’s important for all of us to strive to be at least 1% greater than who we were the day before and to evolve into better human beings with each passing moment, for life is ephemeral. We need to work together and support each other in tough times. I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case. Although you can overcome difficult situations alone, it’s usually a bit more fun with someone by your side. Through dark paths that sometimes feel insurmountable, we should always continue to follow our hearts, believe in ourselves, sharpen our minds, bodies, spirits and march on towards the light!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Let me first start off by saying that I wouldn’t be doing what it is I do if it wasn’t for my wife. She’s worked very hard for years to become a dentist which has fortunately allowed me to continue to follow my passion. She believed in me and supported me from the very beginning which was well over twenty years ago. Words cannot express my gratitude and my eternal love. I’ve been able to achieve a lot. Although at times, it can still be a struggle thinking about what I have not achieved after all these years trying. I’m not exactly at the level where I want to truly be with my music or art so that I can help my family, friends, and the World more in the way I’d like to, but I continue to push onward and upward. I guess that’s one of the things I’m proud of. When tangled by the rain, I still have this unstoppable persistence to make my dreams unfold and rise, unrestrained like the Sun. So many things to be grateful for and be proud of. My family, my friends, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without them and the different people I’ve connected with along the way. They’ve all helped me become a better human being. As I mentioned, teaching myself on instruments, releasing an EP with Dead Mans Dew, the black belt, the songs I’m currently writing, the Santana guitar, all the art accolades, I’m extremely proud of it all. However, the single most important, the most precious and priceless masterpieces of all, for lack of more suitable terms, are the two beautiful daughters that are now inhabiting a tiny blue dot, that we call Earth. Our small home in the seemingly infinite Universe. They are shining Angels. Of course, there are good and not-so-fun days, but what an absolutely profound experience it has been. Also, they’ve fortunately been blessed with their mother’s beauty because they sure as heck didn’t acquire it from me lol!
Back to the details of your question. I’m a freelance artist. Over the years, although I can work in several mediums traditionally, I developed an affinity for oils and specialize in the imaginative realism genre. I’ve done work for collectors and different companies like Dungeons & Dragons. My paintings have a distinctive presence. My art has evolved along with the music. I stopped playing with a guitar pick at a young age while learning on a classical acoustic guitar, and I haven’t used a pick in decades. My fingerpicking abilities along with the way in which I fuse the timing of my singing with notes and chord structures to create a song, it also has a distinctive and sometimes mysterious sound. I may be bias but I feel like I’ve written some good quality, catchy tunes. It’s a magical feeling to be able to sit down and be a medium for which music flows through and then hear something substantial that seems to manifest from some great, eternal nothingness. I think it all distinguishes me apart from others in the field. But what I feel is more important than the differences that sets us apart is the fact that we have a lot more in common than some may believe. We have similarities that brings us all together. I’m not some rare genius. Yeah, I can paint realistic portraits and hear things in a different way but spend the amount of time on art and instruments as I have, and I can assure you, you’d have some nice paintings and pretty good guitar-playing skills. We are all special and searching for a purpose as to why we’re here, whether we’re conscious of it or not. The quest for a deeper understanding of life makes life interesting and worthwhile. Music and art is just a part of my personal journey. We’re all trying to extrapolate answers to complex equations of truth, love, and happiness. My music and art, as far as my mathematical calculations, has helped me arrive to approximate answers. These equations haven’t been easy to solve, but I’m doing alright. I just wish that I was a bit better at arithmetic though lol!
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Anyone can support me by checking out and sharing the music and art that I’ve created over the years. The Dead Mans Dew songs are on streaming platforms online. You can find various music videos on YouTube. There are even a few physical copies of the 2019 EP still left but not very many. For anyone interested in purchasing one, you can contact me directly via my email address. I plan on having a website in the future with both music and art on it and probably some merchandise, so stay tuned. Currently, I have a website for just my art where you can see some of my published and unpublished paintings. Some pieces are still available to purchase. I prefer to paint in the imaginative realism genre, but as I mentioned, I can paint traditionally with different mediums on other subject matter. Feel free to contact me for commissions, although with the music, I’m not taking on any more requests at this time. When I’m more ready to play out live in the future and you’re a musician looking for an opening act, hit me up! If you work in the music industry and would like to represent me as an agent or manager, reach out to me. As far as collaboration, that’s not something I’ve ever professionally done in the painting world but if you have an idea, let me know. Although I’m working on the solo EP, I’m always up to jam with other musicians for fun if schedules align. If you’re recording in a studio and need a musician to help you with guitar tracks, bass, etc., shoot me an email. Although, as I mentioned, I’m focused on my debut solo EP. I greatly appreciate the love and support from everyone!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.soutchay.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soutchay
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/soutchay8
Image Credits
Monty Soungpradith
Open Image Studio
