There’s an energy that usually occurs when a band or musician performs at a particular venue for the first time. It’s an opportunity for folks who might not have heard them before to give their music a listen and it’s also an opportunity to create new networking opportunities and a new group of friends. It’s a cool thing to experience for both the performer and the audience, and if all goes according to plan, it won’t be the last time this happens at the establishment.

For vocalist and guitarist Seth Salois from the Providence hard rock act Psycle, this is exactly what’s going to happen when he takes the stage on March 25 at Strings Bar & Grill in Johnston. Starting at 7pm, he’s going to be doing a full set of acoustic tunes and showing a different aspect of his musical abilities.

We had a talk ahead of the debut performance about what made him want to play stripped down versions of songs, having an evolving song list and a new record he’s been working on.

Rob Duguay: What made you want to pursue this side gig of performing acoustically?

Seth Salois: I started doing it years ago and I really enjoyed it. I was doing it as part of a duo and it’s kind of a different platform for me, it allows me to interpret versions of songs that I really like. It also gives me the opportunity to strip things down and work on vocal stuff. It’s nice to front a loud rock band, but I’ve always enjoyed those stripped down versions of songs. I love going out and being able to play in front of people in a different atmosphere, which is great.

RD: Does it feel drastically different for you to be performing by yourself with a guitar without a full-fledged band behind you? If so, how do you handle it?

SS: It’s definitely different because you’re under the microscope, but that’s partially the reason why I like it because it makes me really hone what I’m doing. I spend a lot of time practicing, rehearsing and making sure my voice is good. I try to push it even more when I’m doing acoustic stuff. To me, it also comes down to song choice. I try to pick things that people might not necessarily know the artist, but they know every word to the song.

It’s stuff that I really enjoy, and I span everything from stuff by Peter Gabriel and Elton John all the way to the stuff I grew up on during the ‘90s, rock, alternative and grunge. Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and stuff like that and even reinterpreting songs by Linkin Park and Metallica.

I try to be mindful of the songs that I’m picking, and I also want to give people an appreciation for going out there and stripping it down while showing them that you can be vulnerable. You can just go lay it out there. It’s not really about mistakes or anything like that, it’s about being in tune with the audience. You can do a song a different way without being backed up by a bunch of other instruments and trying to create different energy can be a lot of fun.

RD: That’s a cool approach to have. You just mentioned the songs that you play, and you do a mix of covers and originals with a growing song list that features The Beatles “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, Incubus’ “Drive” and Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” among others. When you first started pursuing this outlet, how many songs did you learn how to play and how many did you already know given a rough estimate? Did you find yourself learning 30 songs to begin with, or did you already have an established repertoire from the get go?

SS: I did have a lot of songs that I had played either as a cover with a band or stuff that I did when I first started playing solo acoustic years ago. Recently, what I’ve really tried to start to do is to take songs that I run into each other. For example, doing something like “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty and going into a Bill Withers song. I’m staying in the same key and I’m able to transition into a different song to give a different flavor. It kind of makes a show within itself while stacking songs that are fun to reinterpret like that.

I try to look at it that way, but I’d say that I probably know around 150 songs. I’m always trying to add and I’m always asking people because I want to know what songs they like, which songs I would sound good doing or what they think would be enjoyable. I’m always trying to get feedback or trying to play something that people enjoy, even if it’s a piece of it. I think that’s fun for people too.

RD: When it comes to learning new material to grow the song list, do you make an effort to learn a new song on a daily basis? How would you describe your approach?

SS: What I try to do is I will go onto ultimate-guitar.com, where you can learn a lot of songs through tablature and stuff like that. For me, I’ll start going through lists of decades and songs from the ‘70s, 80s and ‘90s. I also follow a bunch of different groups on Facebook and Instagram where people will put up songs randomly and I’ll just save them into a folder. I always try to add at least two, three or maybe four new songs into the rotation. It’s nice to go to a new place where people hear you for the first time, but I’m lucky to have a lot of friends and people who follow me and they go to multiple shows, so it’s nice to always have something to include that’s new.

I’ll save them into a folder on my phone and when I have time I’ll sit down to go through a few songs and get to where I feel comfortable playing them. I’ll pick at least two and I’ll keep on adding them as I go, but I grab them from multiple places and then I’ll go back to chunk them out.

RD: What are your thoughts on this upcoming show at Strings and are there any plans for either a solo album or a new record from Psycle in the near future?

SS: I’m really excited about the show. I have a lot of friends who’ve played at Strings and my friend Rob Davis, who is also a local musician, has helped me out with stuff and he always has an open ear. He does so many shows and there’s so many good artists who are playing there too. Rob told me that Strings is a great place for music, so I’m looking forward to it and I’ve been really lucky to play the venues I’ve been able to play at. There’s great ownership, some good crowds and I’m hoping to add on to that.

I’m also doing a solo album. I’ve been working with Chris Piquette at No Boundaries Studios [in North Kingstown] and he also recorded Psycle’s first EP and our full-length album. We’ve stayed close over the years, so I told him that I had these songs, and I really wanted to do something original. We’ve been fleshing out these ideas and I’m going to be heading back there soon to do the vocals for the second single, so we’re probably going to be doing a full five song EP. I’m going to release three or four songs off of it as singles along with a bunch of media behind it to push it while getting as many ears on it as possible.

It’s the first time I’ve done a solo album and just being able to sit with Chris in a room and design these songs the way I want them to has been great. Hopefully people like it and I can get some cats together to play it live, which is an exciting possibility. I’ve been sitting on these songs for a bit and I’m really excited for people to hear them.