Landon Buford
Colbi Childs is a multi-instrumentalist musician, producer, songwriter, creative and enthusiastic who leads his band Sun Mother. He is a recovering opioid addict who is motivated by putting his story in music for other addicts to learn and become inspired by. Mixing a mix of genres like grunge and hip-hop to music his home in Seattle, WA.
Sun Mother was named in honor of Colbi’s grandmother, who died in 2014 and was founded in 2017 as three musicians.
Sun Mother was named in honor of Colbi’s grandmother who died in 2014 and was founded in 2017 as a group of three musicians. Finally, It became a group of four musicians who played every month in different venues around Seattle. The band also got air play on the local radio and even landed a gig in Hollywood at the Whisky a go go venue.
All the music was composed by Colbi, culminating in his experiences with opioid addiction, loss of friends and family, personal battles, and internal struggles. The one group has condensed itself down to a one-person project with new sounds and features, drawing from many eclectic styles. There are many more developments in the world of Sun Mother.
Landonbuford.com spoke with Childs’ about his newest single “Slip Away,” and the opportunity to work with his sister Skylar Costello.
“Creating music is such an intimate and personal experience that I get shy, scared….terrified almost when thinking of releasing it to the masses. But working with Colbi and seeing firsthand how you can use that intimate and personal touch to connect with others has inspired me to dig within,” said Costello via email.
“I’ve loved being a part of the creative process and watching an idea come to fruition. Learning how to tap into older styles and make them new again is so neat! Many artists have one craft that they master, but Colbi has made it a mission to learn it all and that really inspires me to want to do the same. So many of us are experiencing the same hardships or asking the same questions & music is a way we can all come together no matter where we are in life’s journey.”
The full interview with Colbi Childs can be seen its full entirety below.
- Sun Mother recently released the single “Slip Away.” Can you share the inspiration behind the song?
Childs: Slip Away I started last August in the middle of the pandemic, and it is technically an older song, and I wrote parts of it a long time ago. But it just resonated with the times, and I had a feature on by SAAKO in the middle verse. He is a security guard where I work, and we would discuss current events, and he is a lyricist so that he would rap to customers. We work at a weed shop. Anyway, I was working on a new recording style, and during the process, I came up with the song. The single was longer, and I told him I had a part where he could share how he feels, and it came to life from there. I wanted to feature a couple of other people, but it became shortened, edited, and liked how it turned out.
2. Can you talk about how Covid-19 attribute to the creation process of the single?
Childs: About some of the lyrics that I am talking about in the verses, I talk about feeling down. We are all being challenged on COVID-19. I called it the karma virus, and here is why because it contributes to some of the things you were dealing with before Covid, and it has somewhat attributed to things happening during it. I cannot speak for everyone because not everybody has someone due to being isolated. So, we have not had the opportunity to really dive into our feelings. That is what the song is about and using that down feeling to motivate you to make something people can connect with there is a lot thing I listen. However, with my current financial status, I cannot always relate to everything. So, I wanted to make something I could relate to, and the second verse is the most recent lyrics that I wrote is how I felt about what is going at this time.
3. You are also working on another single called communications. What is the backstory of the single?
Childs: As much as we have cellphones and other different apps, and still struggle to communicate. So, that is what the song is about, referencing some of the things we did right before Covid, such as going out on the town and having fun. Listening to music and rocking out enjoying a show, but we do not get a chance to do that anymore. So, what do we do now and some of the similar emotions that we are feeling? That is what I am trying to do with communication, and I will try to get a feature on the single. And that is the beauty of it where we can talk about material things that deflect, but I want to learn more about and how you are processing this. Being able to put it in music because if you do not get to say what to your friend, they will hear it in your music.
4. Have thought about collaborating with your sister Skylar on any music?
Childs: We have started on song and we had a couple other songs that we have made together, but this song which is called ‘My Song.’ It is super old, but we never recorded it, and this has been my problem as an artist trying to find ways to record. Play live and recording are two different animals before Covid there was live, and I was so distracted with it that I almost neglected recording. I played live because that was a way, I could meet people instead of locking myself in a room I rather play live.
So, now that has changed, and I spent my 2020 learning how to record in a fun way, and yeah, I got Skylar on a song, her voice songs amazing. She has a cool raspy voice, which I want to do harmonies on that with her. We must tweak a couple of things, and she will be moving to California next month, but that is the beauty of the internet. We can still send things to each other, but with her being new, I’m trying to get her back in a couple more times before she moves. If we can put out a song before she moves, it will help her want to put out more music.
5. When was Sun Mother originally created and you guys are based out of Seattle correct?
Childs: Sun Mother started in 2017 as a three-piece made up of my girlfriend. At the time, Patrina was the bass player, Brandon was the drummer, and I was the guitarist. Later we replace him with David. We put in many shows and did some recordings; we were working on a project, then Covid hit, Patrina, and I went our separate ways. I struggled during the first part of Covid, which I referenced in my lyrics. Sharing that it is okay to struggle because it is something that can bring you opportunities moving forward.
6. Before the group was formed what, was your background in music?
Childs: I played the recorder, and I also played the saxophone from fifth to eighth grade. That was fun. I remember learning some theories, notes and playing songs, but I was not as expressive with my instrument growing up. However, I did learn drums from my mother. Our whole family is musical. We had a piano, but she gave me her drum set at the age of 13, I also tried the guitar, but once I tried the drums, it came naturally to me.
7. How has the helped you create music today?
Childs: So important, and do not be afraid to mess up or try weird notes and cords. More notes on the guitar work than do not work, and people do not realize that. You can try more than one note, and it is like Buzz Lightyear falling with style. If you are playing with style, then it will work, and that is what jazz is all about accidentals. You find yourself asking if you played the note right, but you can play any note if you play them right. So, once I learned that there was a theory to it in terms of what you want to say, a play. However, do not be afraid to try new things. The thing that separates an amateur from a professional is ten thousand hours of practice, that is it. They had their practice, and that is why they are there, and I had my practice. Still, the studio is its own instrument that I am now putting together with all the other instruments that I already know how to play to create masterpieces, that; how life works, you keep growing and challenging yourself.
8. Are you planning on dropping a full project this year?
Childs: There is a chance that I might focus on the song that I started before Covid. When I was getting ready this morning, I released one of the songs with the group before Covid, and I thought to myself, and It sounds pretty good. Back then, I was not as good in the studio as I am now. If I get the magic in me, I might back into it. However, I think with all that I have learned, and I feel I can create those sounds in a sexier way.
