Below, you can read our interview with artist Cory Threatt, and listen to his album Eyes Above the Skyline. Check out our full music review of Eyes Above the Skyline here.
Q: Great to be speaking with you, Cory! You’ve told us you’re based in Rock Hill, SC. How has that environment shaped you as a musician and performer?
A: Thanks so much! It’s fantastic speaking with you as well.
Rock Hill, to me, is a “big little town”. It’s small enough that it’s managed to maintain a lot of its charm but getting large enough that you don’t feel like you’re limited in your options. It’s great for me because I love the small town feel it has, that’s always been preferable to me. Many of the musicians here run in the same circles and that camaraderie is enjoyable. There are a lot of venues here, restaurants and bars, that are very supportive of the local music scene so it’s especially nice to have a variety of venues and options to play in where the folks there appreciate what you’re doing.
Q: You started out playing in a cover band in your early twenties before transitioning into writing and performing original music. Can you walk us through what that transition looked like for you and what encouraged you to make that switch?
A: Sure thing! The first band just fizzled naturally, as a lot of bands, cover bands or otherwise, do. And as much as I enjoyed playing in a cover band, that wasn’t where my heart was. Unfortunately, though, that was what you had to do back then and that’s still very true today – if you wanted to play out you mostly had to play covers. Playing the covers that moved me wasn’t really an option since a lot of them weren’t mainstream songs. Props to the guys, though, for indulging me with a few of the songs I threw in. For the most part, they were well-received even though a lot of folks had never heard them. I think that’s because we made the effort to put forth a great performance of every song, especially the more obscure ones, and the crowds appreciated that. It also didn’t hurt that most of the folks listening to us were our friends. Another small town benefit. But I digress…
Once the cover band was through, I didn’t want to stop playing but didn’t have enough confidence at that time to go out solo so I started writing as a way to keep playing without just learning cover song after cover song. A lot of the first songs were admittedly pretty terrible but, as I worked at it more and more, I felt like they were getting better and songwriting was something I could do to a level that made me feel like it was worth it to stay with it.
Q: After a long break from performing, you jumped back in last year in 2024 with solo acoustic shows. What inspired you to make that leap again, and what’s been the biggest surprise about being back on stage?
A: Telling a great friend of mine over and over that I wanted to do it and was going to do it and then never actually doing it started the whole thing. I guess he got tired of me making excuses and finally told me, and I’m paraphrasing, to quit making excuses and just make it happen. Sound, and quite obvious advice. So I did it. I worked up a list of about 60 or so songs and started reaching out to local restaurants and bars, anywhere that hosted live music. I started reaching out in April and had a show booked in June (2024) and I’ve been at it since.
The biggest surprise for me is how natural it feels being on stage by myself. I have always been really reserved. I was aggressively shy as a kid and that carried into adulthood so I’d always expected that to be the feeling on stage. That’s a lot of the reason I was hesitant to go solo early on. With the band, I had 3 other guys up there with me so it was easier to blend in, not be the center of attention.
Q: Despite all your years of songwriting and performing, “Eyes Above the Skyline” is actually your first official album. What made you finally want to pull the trigger and record?
A: The “want to” was always there. I had a few forays in local studios, mostly home studios operated by friends, that never seemed to pan out. I tried recording at home and that never worked, at least not to my level of satisfaction…probably because I kept trying to record the same 5 or 10 songs and they always sounded the same. Definition of insanity, right? Over time, that “want to” slowly turned into “need to” so I decided to go all in and do it the right way. I wrote 6 new songs specifically for this album, brought in 4 from my back catalog, got lucky and found a local studio – an actual studio – that was in line with what I was trying to accomplish, and here we are.
Q: How long did “Eyes Above the Skyline” take to record? What was the process like?
A: I started writing the new songs in July of 2024. We went into the studio in October ’24 and wrapped at the end of February ’25. That seems like a long time but most of the sessions were in the evenings after work so that stretched things out a little longer. The process itself was amazingly fun, painless, and entirely too short. I LOVE being in the studio so the more time I get to be there the better. But, everyone who worked on the album got in and really knocked out their parts so it felt like we were in and out. We started with drums then tracked bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and lead vocals. Then, our other vocalist and piano player came in and added her touches. Once that was done, we spent some time refining the individual songs then they were off to mixing and mastering.
Q: You mentioned that most of these tracks aren’t autobiographical. Can you walk us through your songwriting process and why you prefer writing from a more narrative-driven perspective?
A: Honestly, I just don’t know that my life is all that exciting. I’ve always been a little too cautious, a little too safe. My wife gives me grief about driving “like an old man” but that’s just who I am. So I felt, rather than trying to glamorize my life, it made more sense to treat each song like an author treats a novel. I like to create characters for each song and let them have their own lives, as mundane or exciting as that may be but try to put them in situations that are relatable. I think that makes it easier to write a wider variety of songs that will appeal to more people.
Most of my songs start with a title and central idea. I usually get the chorus first. Once those lyrics are mostly in place, I’ll pick up my guitar and get some chords to go behind that. I let those chords dictate the chords behind the other parts of the song and then get the verse lyrics then a bridge and prechorus if the song calls for it.
Once I get the general structure I’ll usually make a quick recording to use as a reference and try to get the song “complete”…chords and lyrics, overall structure. Once I’m there, I let it sit for a day or so then come back to it just to let my ears and brain refresh a little before I add finishing touches.
Q: What was your first guitar? Do you still have/play it?
A: My first guitar was a Charvel acoustic guitar. Charvel 625. My parents got it for me for Christmas way back. Still have it but I seldom play it. It put in a lot of work in the early years so I felt like it was fitting to let it live an easy life. I still give it a few strums from time to time, though, just to let it know I haven’t forgotten about it.
Q: Perhaps in some unspecified amount of time, your musical career explodes in the best of ways. What does that look like for you?
A: I don’t have to be a superstar playing sold-out stadium shows all around the world to feel like I’ve “made it”. Being able to make a decent living from music would be perfect for me. You know, just replacing the old 9 to 5 with a new 9 to 5 that involves hanging out with other songwriters and writing songs every day. In a perfect world, I’m a staff songwriter who still plays on the local circuit a few weekends a month.
Q: You get to collaborate with anyone of your choosing. Who is it?
A: That’s a tough one. There are so many that I think would be amazing to work with. If I had to choose one, though, I’d say Rob Thomas. I feel like our styles aren’t so far apart that we’d be able to get something going pretty quickly. He’s always been a favorite writer, singer, and performer of mine. I can’t imagine he’d be any less fantastic as a collaborator.
Q: Your favorite album of all time? (Yup, you gotta choose one.)
A: There are so many strong contenders. Desert Island choice, though, is Counting Crows – August and Everything After. It’s just a great listen from start to finish. It’s high. It’s low. The emotions in Adam Duritz’s voice…I get chills just thinking about it. So many absolutely amazing songs on that album
Q: Your favorite song of all time? (Again, only one!)
A: “Away From the Sun” by 3 Doors Down? “On Fire” by Switchfoot? Oh, man, this is tough. It’s definitely one of those two. They’re both beautiful, absolutely moving songs. I mean, I could flip a coin and there isn’t a wrong choice there. Since I’m on the spot, let’s give it to 3 Doors Down today. Sorry, Switchfoot. It was a close one. “Away From the Sun” by 3 Doors Down. Final answer.
Q: What would you like fans to know about you that they’re most likely unaware of?
A: I love songwriting but lack the ability to write, say a “Rock” song, for example. I write what I write and the songs come out the way they do. I’m ok with letting the song dictate what it wants to be. I don’t fight it. Most of them end up feeling a little more Country/Alt-Country, I guess, if I had to pick a genre, so that’s where I let them live.
Q: Any shout-outs you wanna make?
A: My wife has been endlessly supportive of me as a musician and of this project specifically. She’s endured all the writing and rehearsing and the “let me play this song for you really quickly” times so I have to give it up for her. My mom, dad (RIP), step-dad, and the rest of my friends and family for being supportive…coming to shows and just being generally encouraging. It’s a super long list. My cousin, Ryan, for playing guitar on the album. He’s my first and only choice when I need guitar or just help on a song in general. He’s an amazing musician and collaborator. We have always written well together. A new friend, Karlie, for her vocal work and piano/keyboard playing on the record…another absolutely phenomenal musician. And my producer/engineer Chris. Those three took my super rough demos to places I had no idea existed. Rob, who encouraged me to get back into playing live since that’s what started this whole new chapter. I could go on…
I owe everyone on this list, named or not, so, so much.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: I think this record happened at exactly the right time. I’ve always said that I should have recorded an album long before now but I think if I had done that it wouldn’t have been as good. Waiting as long as I did gave me time to work on my craft, maybe mature a little (or a lot), so the first album, for what it’s worth, feels like some of the best songs I have. This has been such a great experience overall. As soon as we wrapped I started working on a batch of new songs and have 10 or 12 new demos ready to go. I hope to get started on my follow-up in the next few months but I want to take a little time to let this first one sink in.
I document most everything I do, shows, album updates, etc., at www.corythreattmusic.com so fans can keep up with what I have going on there. There are also links to all my socials to give an even better idea of what I’m up to musically.
Thanks so much for spending some time with me and I hope you’ll be hearing a lot from me in the future.
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