Seth Horan:

October 9, 2003:


On a crisp October night at 11 p.m., Seth Horan sits on a curb after his open-mic performance at the Mogollon in downtown Flagstaff. His dark hair is short and unkempt and his light grey t-shirt has grease stains across his left shoulder from the rental car he has been driving for the last week. The side-pockets of his khaki pants are packed full of his album Not Withstanding, which has just been re-released in stores nationall, Sept. 16.

"I only saw him perform two songs and thought he was awesome," said Sara Padilla, 26, a student at Northern Arizona University. "I'm very big on vocals and his range and power are amazing."

In third grade, Horan started piano lessons, but quit after three years, due to his lack of improvement. At the age of 11, Horan wished to be part of his junior high school's band in Buffalo, N.Y.

"I wanted to play and instrument so big that I didn't have to take it home to practice," said Horan. "My teacher was so excited for me to play double bass that he drove me one home that day."

Horan ended up enjoying the instrument and committed numerous hours of his time to rehearsal. By Eigth grade, he had discovered girls and switched to a bass guitar.

"My abrupt manner never worked with girls," said Horan. "I'm still waiting."

Since then, Horan's musical talent, on stage wit and flagrant charisma have charmed audiences from coast to coast. A rarity in the music market, Horan tours solo with just his bass and some effects pedals. Since leaving the glitzy, pop-rock band Vertical Horizon in 1998, Horan has been on the road solo for the past 18 months.

On Mar. 2, 2002, Horan played his first show as 'the solo singer/bass-player guy' to an off-beat crowd in Atlanta, Ga.

"I was fed great food, treated like royalty, and was really expecting a great show," said Horan. "The [headlining] lead singer showed up looking exactly like a young Neil Diamond. When I saw the rhinestone jumpsuit, I knew something was up."

As soon as the Neil Diamond tribute band had finished, Horan meandered out to his car with $100 in hand, only to find that his car was missing.

"It had been towed," said Horan. "It cost $85 to get my van back. It was depressing to know that I made $15 my first show to play for a band that did hard rock versions of Neil Diamond songs."

But Horan's experience on the road has only gone up from there. Living like a nomad, cliaming no ownership to an actual house or apartment, Horan holds a small, 10 feet by 10 feet storage unit to his name in L.A.

"There are pockets in the country where I feel at home," said Horan. "I do sometimes long for the ability to be in one place for an extended period of time, but for now, I'm happy to see as much of the country as I can. When I settle down, I'll never have to wonder."

Horan has already begun to work on his next album, but is still working to establish himself wiht his previous record. Observing popular artists like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears having to dumb down everything they are to be well-known, Horan has revamped his ideas on what it means to be famous. Horan hopes to reach a level where he can still be himself, but still reach teh widest audience he can.

"Seth's a very empathetic person," says Justin Simison, 26, a Flagstaff local actively involved in the city's music scene. "He's a little abrasive, but once you expect that, he's not so unusual."

Horan has made frequent stops in Flagstaff, performing at Charly's, The Mogollon and The Joint at open mics. Last May, Horan opened for David Wilcox at The Orpheum. Horan will return in December for a two-hour show at the Coffee Bean.

Until then, he will continue his trek across the U.S., stopping at random road-side attractions and off-kilter diners along the way.

"I want to spit on the continental divide and see which way my spit will roll," said Horan. "That sounds pretty stupid, but it's funny when ou have a video camera."