A New Vision for Music

Sean Russell looks like a rock star.

Today, he’s wearing a funky cowboy hat, jeans, and boots. His t-shirt was a gift from his wife, Honey. Tattoos peek out from beneath his short sleeves. But the lead singer and frontman of Fort Worth’s Cut Throat Finches isn’t your typical rock star. He’s got a day job in finance, just became a grandfather, and thinks like a businessman.

Right now, he’s working on a new record and a new vision for the arts in Fort Worth.

Russell wants to connect local musicians with local businesses, forming collaborations that would benefit both parties and strengthen our community.

photo credit: Rob Chickering

For the band’s upcoming record, he’s looking for a local sponsor. It’s a model and mindset that might make working as a musician a more sustainable lifestyle. Because right now, it’s not.

For one million plays of a song on iTunes or Pandora, an artist grosses $4,000. For a band like Cut Throat Finches, that money gets divided up, and the sum total is even smaller.

“Live music and touring are the only way to earn an income,” says Russell. Well, performing plus vinyl.

Vinyl is on a roll. Since 2021, it’s outsold CD albums in the U.S. — an unthinkable comeback. Today, those sales make up roughly half of a band’s music sales revenue. What’s even more retro? The U.S. is selling the same number of records as it did in the mid-1980s.

The band’s next album will be released on glorious vinyl. With a highly designed and detailed record jacket where Russell hopes to also showcase a local sponsor.

The innovative sponsorship idea is akin to how our local public radio stations, KERA and KXT, generate revenue: local business support local radio. Russell is hoping a similar model can support local music.

The blue-eyed, bearded singer-songwriter has deep roots in Fort Worth. He started at Texas Christian University (TCU) in 1992; he wanted to be a graphic designer or work in advertising. But life had other plans. Russell’s first child was born when he was just 19. And he knew he needed a stable income and way to support his family immediately, so he left TCU and joined the army. But the biggest challenge of his life wasn’t making music or money. It was becoming a dad and “making the choice to step into the raging rapids of parenthood.”

Becoming a parent at 19 showed him what he’s capable of achieving. “It was make or break.”

Life has given Russell a master’s degree in resilience. At 50, he’s learned that you can’t avoid tragedy, but you can teach people the strength to overcome it. That tragedy hit his own life when he got divorced in his late 30s. Soon after, he met his wife, Honey Russell, at a concert. That relationship gave him the foundation to become who he is today — a man who looks like a rockstar (and even played with the band Deep Blue Something) but lives for his family.

The band’s a family act, too, with Russell’s niece, Draya Ruse, playing the drums. Together, with guitarist Taylor Tatsch, keys player Eric Webb, and bass player Rob Paine, Cut Throat Finches puts out an indie-rock sound that’s won awards and air time. Everyone in the band has a day job, and they all realize the hard reality of making music.

“Musicians always try to be so cool,” said Russell. “But, you know, there’s nothing cool about what we have to do to get heard. It’s the most uncool part of the entire deal.”

Hence his sponsorship idea. Maybe it’s a local restaurant that names an entrée after a song title or a winery that creates a flight or new menu item to compliment the album. The possibilities are endless with a bit of creativity and the power of Fort Worth’s well-established community of entrepreneurs.

photo credit: Rob Chickering

The new album about relationships, says Russell. “It’s about sleeplessness and insomnia and the stress and anxiety that happens to people.”

It’s much more introspective than the band’s last concept album, In Event of Moon Disaster, which focused on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. But like all the band’s music, its sound is reminiscent of a British blues rock band.

With any luck, this new record will build upon the legacy that Russell is working hard to create between Fort Worth business and local music. The band will be supporting the release with local shows.

Wear your cowboy boots or a business suit. You’re always welcome.

photo credit: Rob Chickering