Sean Fournier

Sean Fournier is not only an exceptional singer, songwriter and musician, he also has a firm grasp on what it takes to get heard. Just go to his web site and you can download a free copy of this terrific collection of past and new songs for your very own. Sean’s brand of pop has a lovable mainstream sound that’s infectious, fun and impossible to get out of your head. In addition, it’s a prime example of how, with today’s recording technology, one talented individual, who can play multiple instruments, can create an entire CD. So, before you do anything else, take Sean up on his offer and download your own free copy, your MP3 player will thank you, and so will your musical sensibilities.

http://www.l2pnet.com/ - Live To Play Network - September 2008

Milford singer-songwriter Sean Fournier wants to have his music heard, so he's giving away free downloads of his new record, Oh My, on his Web site, www.sean-fournier.com. If you prefer a hard copy, you can order it on the site and, for the $1.40 shipping cost, the Web site promises it will send a CD for you and an extra copy for a friend. - Connecticut Post - September 2008

http://www.superforest.org/2008/12/superforest-exclusive-sean-fournier-oh.html

Hello SuperForest,
Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how to start this post. Normally the words flow freely, cascading upon the blank page, but this time, it’s different. Probably because, through the course of preparing for this post, Sean Fournier has become more than a name on a web page or under a track title on an iPod. The process has made the name, and the soul behind it, human to me. And what a human he is. It is not often that someone comes across such a genuine being, but Sean is truly a man committed to his music and his message and his positive vibes earn a SuperForest standing ovation. The way I discovered Sean’s music, or rather, the way Sean’s music discovered me, was an incredible chance occasion. While wandering aimlessly around Facebook, my mouse happened to wander to the far right of the screen; a little visited area littered with bright advertisements and occasionally, suggested artists. I accidentally clicked. Frustrated with the fact that I had unwillingly entered an unknown site and with my finger already sliding my mouse over to the back button, I hear music. Wonderful music. Joyous music. And within the minute I was hooked. If you give it a chance, I’m sure it will have the same effect on you:

Sean was kind enough to take the time to respond to a couple questions via Facebook:

SuperForest: What inspires you to write music?

Sean Fournier: Growing up, I would write poems simply because I would always have these crazy ideas and stories in my head. I just had to get them out. Later on in life, when I picked up the guitar, the focus naturally shifted from crafting poems to songs. My journey into songwriting progressed quite organically in that I moved at my own pace. I had no teacher so I taught myself from a chord book. I refused to learn other people's songs because if they were my own songs, then people couldn't tell me I played it wrong.But the true inspiration to write music didn't reveal itself until after I started sharing my music with others. To have someone relate to something that I made simply blew me away. Ever since then, I began to write my music with the listener in mind. My goal now is to craft my songs in a more generic style. That way my music becomes more personal and relatable to more people.

SuperForest: What kind of message do you want your listeners to take from your music?

Sean Fournier: I want my listeners to think of me as a solid songwriter. I put so much thought into what I write and a ton of time into making quality songs. It's not the best out there, but it's the best to my ability. My goal with my free album, 'Oh My', is to make people want to spread the music to their friends and family. Believe me, I need all the help I could get and I am extremely interested in building a strong connection with my audience. Overall, I would like my listeners to be satisfied with my current music and excited for the music to come. - SuperForest.org

Many musicians are born from dreams made when they are young, thinking about the limelight and what possibilities may come from their fame and fortune. Others find themselves famous for their words fill others with hope and meaning, they are the remedy...

Born in Milford on September 14th 1982, Sean spent most of his childhood as a cartoonist, slowly evolving into a guitarist around the age of 16. It was then that the mellow strings of his acoustic guitar provided a remedy to any problems he encountered. That was all music meant at that point, until he began to see others were relating to his songs as well. Since that revelation his songs have evolved. Originally they were written to help him, but now he writes primarily with the listener in mind.

"Music has become a large part of my life and I'd love to see my music become a part of other peoples lives as well. I feel many people can relate to my songs and hope they fall in love with the honesty of my music."

In a world where originality means you've sampled someone's beat but changes a few lyrics, it's refreshing to see someone like Sean come along. He says it took him nearly two years to put together his first album, to that we say... It was worth the wait. Visit www.sean-fournier.com for more info or myspace.com/sfournier. - Pulse Magazine - November 2006

I've had the pleasure of several short e-mails back and forth with Sean Fournier. He's a fun guy. You can tell by his websites at myspace and his official page. He creates music videos, skits, and this, his second album of music. I'd heard several of the songs in their demo stages, ("Falling For You", "More", "Weathervane" and "Something About You") and they are all wonderful in their finished forms. The tracks I had not heard, in a word, amazing. The CD title track and "She Was the Green" are very moving. Again, he has told the true story, in these songs, of love and loss. "All I Tend To Think About" and "To Ruin It With Words", again, the same. Clearly Sean understands what it is to be hurt and finds justice in the sharing of it. The CD boasts 13 tracks, and at his website is $11...and not a disappointing song on the album. I didn't once fast forward. All songs are written, recorded and produced by Sean Fournier. Truly talented. - DarkBoy's Crypt

"Sean Fournier’s latest album, “Paper Tiger” takes its listeners on an audio odyssey in soft rock influenced by blues, folk, and modern pop, reminiscent at times of John Mayer or John Ondrasik… but this is no John. This music is distinctly Sean, and we are the better for it.

I’m too excited about the album’s best song to write about anything else first, so I won’t make you wait to find out. The fifth track, “She was the Green” is a masterpiece. You’ll know as soon as you hear it; it will move you, it will quietly grip you, and you won’t want it to end. Listen to it and tell me I’m wrong - I dare you. This song is both simple and complex at once in the way only the best songs can be.

You will not be disappointed with the rest of the album; in fact, even without “She was the Green”, the album would be a resounding success. Other fantastic songs include “Something About You”, a catchy song you won’t be able to get out of your head, soft-spoken and calming with an energy that floats you along with it. The last song on the album is also great, and “Ruin it with Words” will leave you with touching, human images that breathe the exact magic of a moment to you that the song is describing.

All the praise would be hollow and hard to believe without any criticism, so I will include some with the hope that it makes my enthusiasm for the album that much clearer overall. For starters, there are a few places where Fournier falls back on some overused phrases. “More”, for instance, uses “pick my heart up off the floor” and “bull in china shop” in succession… not necessarily bad, but given the man’s capabilities, we begin to expect more vivid imagery than that. For all that, “More” is still a good song and I like the direction it takes. While I’m being critical, “Weak” is a song that left me a bit confused, though it has strong moments. The Superman metaphor is a bit incongruent… he’s weak from Kryptonite, the girl’s the Kryptonite, but he’s Superman, so he’s strong, but not anymore, and there’s going to be a bar fight… horrible paraphrasing on my part there, but that describes my confusion more than the song itself. There’s a metaphor in there, or perhaps several, but they’re a bit difficult to parse. Lastly, rhyming the word “shelf” with “self” just barely works for the Georgia Satellites and it doesn’t really work for me in this song.

That already seems like too much criticism for an album this good, but there it is. I hope the criticism gives more credibility to the praise. Back to the brilliance.

“Paper Tiger”, the album’s title song, is a wonderfully philosophic piece that’s purposefully unsteady in sentiment and backed with a balance of steady beats that gives it strength. Fournier sings, “No one will ever write a book about the life I’ve lived”, but the wonderful irony is that Fournier is immortalizing the very moments the song’s character laments as lost.

“Broken Stereo” leaves you with the idea of humanity being perfect in its imperfections, and it’s jaunty enough to be fun while still being serious enough to send out a profound message.

A complete album with thirteen tracks in all, you will find here some songs that are better than others, but there are no songs that sound unfinished and none that don’t earn their keep. Some quiet pace-setters like “All I Tend to Think About is You” work their way back to you with more poignancy once you’ve listened more than once and others hit you between the eyes with their immediacy and take you along to wherever they lead. The paths generally lead to some revelation about love and human relationships, and while that is not new ground, the perspective is fresh and the subjects are timeless. The album is mature, strong, and stands on its own legs… Paper Tiger roars like the real thing.

And did I mention that “She Was the Green” is a masterpiece? It bears repeating. Fournier astounds with an album that delivers more than you could hope for, even if you had great expectations after listening to the prior album a hundred times or so, as I did. This is an album you’ll spin again and again." - Jeff Lange

This Connecticut singer/songwriter usually plays to the coffeehouse crowd—meaning mostly acoustic. And there are some gems on here in the vein of Derek Webb and Jack Johnson—like the opener quick-step, ‘Step Inside,’ followed by ‘Falling for You.’
Sean Fournier takes off though with the title track, ‘Paper Tiger,’ which opens with a classical music sound, and Fournier’s voice roughed up a bit. It’s a tasteful melody, like a less annoying Rocket Summer. The pop presence isn’t messing, and the paper tiger metaphor works perfect—as an image and as a pop chorus. A simple jingle, it picks up where John Mayer left off before diverging into his jazz trios.
Fournier’s pop sense seems real, not falsified as made up by a bunch of label execs for exclusive Top 40 play. ‘More’ follows up ‘Paper Tiger’ with a deeper rhythm, heavily influenced by bass lines and easy keyboard melodies. Fournier’s high tenor takes a dive here, but he pulls it off well. Fournier increases the outlook with a more simple surf tune, ‘All I Tend to Think About,” which concentrates on the simplicity of songwriting, and repeats like a folk hymn.
Fournier shouldn’t be described as diverse, but more like ambidextrous, in the same way that the left hand and right hand sometimes do different tasks, but are part of the same body. Those interested in Howie Day and Jack Johnson will find a home here. Nothing too deep or moribund here, (though ‘Lie’ does woe us a bit with its mournful piano) just a nice leap through spunky lovelorn singer/songwriter musings. But in a populated genre where there is more chaff than wheat, and nobody bothers to separate it, Fournier stands out as wheat. That’s a compliment, I swear.
- Josh Spilker - Bootleg Magazine - August 2007

The explosion of the computer generation constantly amazes me. When I turned 16, my mother gave me a beautiful, bulky cellular phone, which I was to keep turned off, in my glove compartment, and use only in case of automotive emergency. Now, barely 10 years later, I can hardly remember what it was like to not have a phone always on hand—not simply to make calls, but to check my e-mail, cruise the Internet, take pictures and
download music.

In the last five years alone, MySpace and YouTube have grown from novelty Web sites to multi-million dollar companies, feeding our ravenous need for instant gratification and perpetuating our short attention spans. While I do believe that this technological evolution has many drawbacks, the absolutely fantastic part—the part that I love—is what it has done for the independent music scene. Artists that once may have never had a chance to reach a larger audience now have the ability to build a fanbase worldwide before they even record their first album. No one knows this better than Mike Falzone and Sean Fournier, acoustic singer-songwriters from Connecticut, who can attribute much of their recent success to the wonders of the World Wide Web.

These two solo artists became acquainted through MySpace and became friends when they met at an open-mic night shortly thereafter. With mutual admiration, they decided not to team up and become another Simon and Garfunkel, but to tour together and showcase their complementary talents. Fournier has reached over 15,000 fans on MySpace, and Falzone developed a local following at Fairfield University, winning Best On-Campus Band with his original group, Jonnieproud, and again as a solo artist. On a whim, the two decided to film some of their escapades and release them on YouTube.

“I was a film student in college, so we thought it be funny to make some movies to promote us a bit and give our friends a laugh,” Falzone explains. “But then we started getting feedback from fans who wanted to know what we were up to and when the next episode was coming out.”

The documentary Makin’ It became so popular, in fact, that the next installment will be a full-length account of their summer tour.
But any Joe Schmo can put music and movies out on the Internet; it doesn’t necessarily mean he will become a smash hit. There has to be talent to back it up, and these guys have plenty of it. Falzone began performing when he was 8 years old, a tear-jerking cover of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Let Her Cry” for a third-grade show-and-tell. “My teacher was blown away,” he recalls, “but I was thinking how easy it was—it only has three chords!”

Thankfully his repertoire has expanded significantly since then, where he has embraced his own sound: frenetic strumming and lyrics that spill out so quickly I can only compare him to Jason Mraz (with a better voice). Fournier waited a bit longer to pick up a guitar, teaching himself at 17, and in those seven years, he has developed into a smooth vocalist with a mellower style.

What truly puts the two 20-somethings ahead of the pack, and what ultimately connects them to their audience, is their impressive songwriting that displays a maturity rarely achieved so young.

“The best songs come the quickest for me,” Falzone says. “If you try to start a song and then come back to it a week later, you are not going to be as in the moment as you were when you started.” He describes the songwriting process as “therapeutic,” a way to examine his own experiences, as well as those of people closest to him. Fournier similarly notes on his Web site (www.sean-fournier.com) that he “hopes the listener can relate to his music and put words to a feeling that they couldn’t previously put their finger on.”

The dynamic duo of Mike Falzone and Sean Fournier will make their first-ever appearance in Wilmington this week as part of their East Coast tour. Like the city’s vibe, they are expecting a laid-back, communal experience. “We don’t know anybody down there,” Falzone jokes, “so pretty much anyone who comes to the show will be a friend to us!”

Come spark up a hookah, catch some great acoustic music, and hang with the boys Wednesday, August 15th, 9pm, at the Juggling Gypsy.

-Ashley Ess
http://encorepub.com - Encore Magazine - August 2007

Sean Fournier is a singer/songwriter whose sound stretches across folk, pop, and rock. Recently, Sean was a Semifinalist in Disc Makers' Independent Music World Series 2007 and showcased at the NACA Northern Conference. - Vain Magazine - Issue 02 (Spring 2008)

Milford, CT (PRWEB) December 2, 2008 -- Musician Sean Fournier harnesses the power of Peer-to-Peer networking to distribute his free album, 'Oh My', to hundreds of thousands all over the world via FrostWire's welcome screen. Within the first weekend, this exposure returned over 25,000 complete downloads for this independent singer/songwriter.

Fournier's 'Oh My' is the first free album download to be featured on FrostWire's Welcome Screen, which is a new feature designed to help musicians and content owners share their media for free on the FrostWire network.

'Oh My' is a six-track album which was created to be 100% free. Sean encourages his listeners to download it, share it, give it friends and family - and do anything within their power to "Spread it like the plague."

Aside from it's recent exposure on FrostClick.com, listeners can get their hands on 'Oh My' at Sean Fournier's Official Website, Sean-Fournier.com. - PRWeb