YouTube page for Seth G<\/a>. (that\u2019s his stage name) has more than 10,000 subscribers, and the videos that appear there\u00a0\u2014 some in a studio, some showing Gilliard playing to passers-by on Charleston\u2019s busy sidewalks \u2014 have attracted more than a million views.<\/p>\nSound, of course, is a musician\u2019s main medium. But Gilliard, 22, knows that visuals are an important part of modern music appreciation, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what I\u2019m doing, it\u2019s something different a lot of people haven\u2019t seen before,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you have the video component and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, OK, he\u2019s actually playing this,\u2019 I think it does help as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he plays, Gilliard is backed by a track (or sometimes a live disc jockey) that provides a foundation for his expressive violin work. There\u2019s percussion and bass and maybe some electronica effects or subtle chords, but the violin is the star of the show.<\/p>\n
Gilliard plays with his whole body, swaying gracefully to a slow song or appearing almost to dance to tunes with stronger beats. His face never betrays when he\u2019s playing a technically difficult passage; instead, there\u2019s a smile that transmits the pure joy of a musician in his element.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long way from Beethoven. But then again, maybe it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout my classical background, I wouldn\u2019t be able to do what I\u2019m doing now,\u201d Gilliard says. \u201cClassical music gets your technical abilities where they need to be so that you can play what you want to play. That\u2019s the beauty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes, he says, he\u2019ll tuck a classical passage into one of his pop songs or improvise during a live performance using techniques he learned from his work with Furman jazz ensembles his junior and senior years.<\/p>\n
Gilliard\u2019s taste for experimenting with instrumental music developed amid his classical training in middle and high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, and even now, there was definitely a divide between what I was playing on a regular basis and what I was listening to on a regular basis,\u201d he says. \u201cI was listening to pop music, listening to what was on the radio just like everyone else. I just started messing around with different things, just trying to play random stuff that I would hear, figure it out on the instrument. And that just kind of went from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a while, he decided to see how his interpretations would strike an audience. So during summers and on weekends, he\u2019d find a spot among the crowds in Charleston\u2019s City Market and start to play, leaving his violin case open for tips.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really good money when I was younger,\u201d he says, \u201cand it also gave me the opportunity to play in front of people, and a chance to experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he started college at Furman, he shifted his focus to classical music, logging countless hours in practice rooms and rehearsal halls, playing concerts and auditioning for competitions amid all his other schoolwork. But a semester abroad in Italy during his senior year gave him a more open schedule, and he found time to get back in touch with his passion for pop music.<\/p>\n
He started recording the songs he composed and covered, and a full-time career was launched.<\/p>\n
Gilliard released his first EP, \u201cThe Introduction of Seth G,\u201d in February. Four of its five songs are original compositions \u2014 but he couldn\u2019t resist just one cover, Ne-Yo\u2019s \u201cLet Me Love You.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now he\u2019s working toward his first full-length album, which he hopes to release this year. And, as any working musician must do, he\u2019s concentrating on building his fan base and looking for bigger and better opportunities to perform.<\/p>\n
Music-wise, he says, \u201cI\u2019m trying to do more experimental stuff. I don\u2019t know exactly how it\u2019s going to turn out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somehow, though, one suspects that Bach and Mozart would be proud.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe author, a 1999 graduate, is a freelance journalist in Raleigh, N.C. Aside from the YouTube site, see more about Seth on tumblr.<\/a>\u00a0Photo by\u00a0Jonathan Boncek\/<\/em>Charleston City Paper.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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