"ALL CAUGHT UP" Produced & Written By CW Fields`Point Tip Production
Production Spotlight
In this Spotlight we speak to Point Tip Productions (PTP) founder CW Fields, aka 2Tone. As a production house PTP has worked with a multitude of artists from different genres. Although best known for its Hip Hop work with mid-level artists such as Swisha House, Lil Flip, South Park Mexican, Kid Frost, Texas Ballers and more, they have now jumped feet first into the exploding new country genre.
TDM: Coming from a Hip Hop, Pop & Rock background why did you decide to start producing country music?
CW: I`ve always had a love for it, so it was an easy transition. We do the music we love and try to be a part of projects we truly feel. And we absolutely love the country we've been working on.
TDM: Do you find it challenging to get country artist to trust your production company given that you come from such a prominent rap background?
CW: Country artists who don't get our production style are set in their ways and would not be open minded enough for us to want to work with anyway. And at Tone Dose Music, we just let the music do the talking. Seriously. My upbringing comes into play here. I was raised on rock n roll and american top 40. As a guitarist I first learned to play Lynyrd Skynyrd songs at the age of 14. I`m telling my agebut, way before cable tv I watched Hee Haw every saturday at 6pm sharp. I was a Roy Clark & Buck Owens fan and a Barbi Benton fan. I think that explains why I just had to learn every lyric to Charlie Daniels, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia". No matter what your background or race you knew the words to it. For me the lyric is the heart of any country music song, and that is what we make sure we place at the centerpiece of our productions. If a basic vocal and a single guitar performance of a song don't excite me then there isn’t any point in moving forward with it.
TDM: What is the current state of Country Music as far as production goes?
CW: I’m so excited about where country music is today. New production styles being explored with new sounds. Jason Aldean`s new single is a straight Hip Hop beat, while keeping it country. Guys like Eric Church are experimenting with exciting new sounds and techniques, but the foundation of a great song has to be there. More artists are pushing the envelope, and that’s what we intend to do. I`m trying to envision what Country Music will sound like 2, 3, or even 4 years from now.
TDM: What do you as a Producer bring to the table?
CW: Friends that have kept up with me and what I'm up to are like, “Dude, you're doing country now? Wow!" By no means did i chase Country Music down. I’ve just come full circle on my musical journey and me and country music just ran into each other on our paths. We kind of met in the middle. I bring rock, rap, edm, classical, blues and even salsa to the table. I can pull from my bag of tricks when ever need be.
CW: I also love guitar based music whether it’s Brad Paisley or Eddie Van Halen. And what i love most about Hip Hop is its indie mindset and its ability to achieve success as a grass roots music that totally ignores the music industry and sales product out of the trunk, so to speak, and makes the record company conform to them. I love the lyrical word play as well. To be able to inject these elements into country is so awesome. Loving it!
TDM: Some say Country Music is the last of the corporate controlled genres, when it comes to radio and video networks. Do you foresee a change in the near future? And do you have any parting advice for artists and songwriters?
CW: I don't know how near in the future but change is definitely coming. I’d suggest to all artists to not wait on a&a reps to return their emails. Just get your indie hustle on, and they'll be checking their inbox for your reply. After releasing the Texas Ballers projects independently I received calls from major labels looking for me. We released 7 CDs and had scanned 80k units, and they wanted to know why. I worked with another indie artist that would scan 150k each time he dropped a CD, and that was before youtube and itunes even existed. With so many great media tools today there is no excuse not to make some noise. My best advice to any aspiring artist would be to put your grind cap on, and jump to it! Let’s Go!
