Shelley High senior attending songwriting camp in city synonymous with music
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SHELLEY — Cole Fryar is a senior at Shelley High School. He learned how to play the piano from his mother at a young age, and now his skills as a musician have taken him to the songwriting capital of the world — Nashville.
Fryar was accepted into a music camp at Song House — a songwriting community attempting to change the way music is made.
“I’ve thought about doing something like this for a while — every musician wants to go and be a musician,” Fryar told EastIdahoNews.com. “If you’re a musician, you want to live and work and make music, that’s all you want to do. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity. Even to have a week to spend time with professional producers and songwriters and just get a chance — I can’t even explain how excited I am.”
The Song House Writing Camp runs from Sept. 14 to Sept. 25 and will allow Fryar the opportunity to work with professional producers and songwriters.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” he said.
Applying for the camp, Fryar said, was a lot like applying for a job online. The only difference, he added, was this application demanded he include music samples and a video of himself explaining why he wanted to be part of the camp, and why he thought he should be selected.
The music sample part was easy, he said, he just included a link to his Spotify channel — which you can find here.
His music has also been uploaded to Apple Music and, as he said, “any streaming service you have.”
As for his musical style, Fryar described it as “chill” pop that borrows from many different genres. And he doesn’t just sing, he creates the music himself — from start to finish.
Because he can play piano, guitar and “whatever random instrument I can get my hands on,” as he put it, he is able to write the lyrics and compose the music. He then produces, records and mixes the song.
His mother and former piano teacher, Heather Fryar, said her son quickly mastered his craft — going from watching YouTube videos on how to produce music to producing his own in around three years.
“Cole just really picked it up quick,” she said. “His songwriting abilities are what got him a spot in the camp.”
Heather said she was contacted by Song House shortly after her son received his acceptance — as one of just 10 from hundreds of applicants. They told her that they were so quick to accept him they didn’t realize he was 17 at the time, which is the youngest age they allow for consideration.
Because of his age, Fryar arrived at the camp as the greenhorn and with obligations that he leaves behind — most notably his senior year of high school.
Asked if he would consider a possible contract offer to stay in Nashville to become a musician, he said that he would have to give it serious considerations. However, he will need to find a way to complete high school, and would like to serve an LDS mission before making that move.
“There are a few things in life that I want to hit before I jump into a career,” he said.