Listeners are enthralled by his ability to capture the spirit of individualism through his songs that make feet tap.
At the age of 26 Charles Fullwood is a voice to be heard.
Learning from the age of 10, Fullwood was inspired by his older brother to play music. “It was like follow the leader. Everything he did I did, so when I saw him pick up a guitar, I wanted to learn too. But it hurt my hand, so he taught me bass instead.”
The first song he ever learned was Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. This was the start of a journey of evolving, learning and growth.
As time passed, the aspiring musician joined a handful of bands during middle school through high school, like Not Quite Cool when he was 11 and Lush Behavior at 14.
But soon Fullwood realized that his true calling was to perform solo as these bands broke up.
“Every band I was in would get together and break up. I was done with producing music and disbanding the next minute.”
But there’s no regrets towards joining these bands because the musician feels it gave him important insight into the process of playing and expressing his creativity through not just his music, but his way of dressing as well.
“Before I joined (Not Quite Cool), I would wear baggy Dickies. That was style at the time, but the band told me to wear tight jeans so I went to Walmart and bought spandex to be sewed into them. That was when I really starting expressing myself.”
This made Fullwood well known for not only his melodic sound and vocal range, but outlandish arrangement of bedazzled jackets and torn shirts, which immediately captured his audience’s attention.
A main point of his look is the assortment of items attached to his microphone, but the solo-artist claims he just does it for fun. “I just like collecting items that are weird and unordinary. It goes with my personality. So if I like something, I just attach it to the mic.”
Besides Nirvana, other huge inspirations that helped shaped his sound and look have been artists like Michael Jackson, Fiona Apple and Keith Sweat, which he would use to inspire mixing the different sounds together.
“I usually take the alternative/rock influences of music and mix the melodies and vocals of R&B,” Fullwood explained. “I also like songs that have good jams. I liked the way they would enunciate the words.”
His goal with his music is to make melodies that people can remember and dance to.
After his final split with Lush Behavior, he continued with his solo career with his bass and acoustic songs at until he met his infamous Kaossilator during a trip to Guitar Center at 21.
This pushed him into taking music seriously, which kick started into him creating many originals like “Fervor” and “Caress“.
“I constantly push myself into getting better and better with my voice. I try to exceed other people’s song to help me to do the best of my abilities. These songs train me.”
Fullwood is in it for the artistry. His reward is being heard and leaving people with lingering thoughts of peace and love.
“I [feel that] this is what I was born to do. Life goes by fast. You got to do what you feel inside. I would constantly [have] dreams about it.”
His main foundation for music is the constant support from family, friends and God’s grace.
“There was a time after I got baptized when I didn’t make music for six months. I wasn’t sure with myself and it wasn’t until I had a dream one night of my brother touching my broken arm and saying ‘There is nothing greater than being anointed by the Holy Spirit through the power of music’,” Fullwood explained. “I realized then I want[ed] to play music, but I want[ed] to play it in a way that would help express myself and not be generic. I wanted to do something that would lay out my soul. That’s the way music should be.”
Fullwood also expresses his need to break the boundaries of music by not containing his sound in a box, “Everyone is different in their own way. It’s crazy how society tends to put people in boxes and categories. I am going to do what I want.”
With his writing process, he explains that he plays the melody first before writing lyrics. “The music comes first. Then once I feel the groove of the it, I sing out the lyrics and vocals. I record any ideas on my phone and use it for later.”
Fullwood recommends to anyone who is pursuing music that the best way to go about it is to record yourself – as he has 2,100 voice memos.
“For anyone who is pursuing music; they’re going to be haters to bring you down, to avoid that just be yourself and be smart. Be you.”
