The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Hunter Hayes nurtures a burning desire to create
Singer and songwriter Hunter Hayes has done a lot since he dropped his self-titled debut album with the award-winning single “Wanted” in 2011.
He first made a name for himself in the country genre, went on to write songs with Rascal Flatts and supported major acts on tour including Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Lady A. He’s headlined several tours of his own and now, with the forthcoming release of his album “Red Sky,” which is part of a trilogy and due in August, Hayes said he’s ready to bring fans along on the next chapter of his career.
“I’m a singer-songwriter at heart, and that’s the core of what I do,” he said during a recent phone interview. “I’ve always floated in and out of genres since I started. This whole project is based around doing things I’ve never been able to do before, and with that comes a message lyrically of not holding anything back.”
The multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-nominated performer will hit the stage at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio on Saturday. Though he’ll be playing some of the newer material, he still has some fun surprises in store for his loyal fans.
“I’ve learned from the last 15 years the different ways people have discovered my music and connected with it, so I want to include all of it,” he said. “I want us onstage to have fun so everyone in the audience feels that joy.”
QWith “Red Sky,” what kind of music and focus were you going for?
AIt’s my first fully independent album in 12-14 years. The spirit of the album is becoming your own and becoming your whole self. The title, “Red Sky,” was born out of the fire inside, the things that light you up and make you unique. It’s about letting that fire burn bright and not trying to hide it or compromise it. It’s a celebration of self and becoming more of yourself as a human.
QYou’ve been mostly associated with country music but also recognized for your ability to write and play in other genres. How do you see yourself as an artist?
AGrowing up, I started studying some of the singer-songwriters that I loved. My favorite artists make their own genre and it’s not intentional. They make albums that are nothing like you’ve ever heard, but it’s also all of your favorite things in the same place, and that’s how they make their own sound. It’s always been my career goal to become that bold. It is scary to do something that you maybe haven’t heard before. I’ve never been one thing, and if there have ever been any struggles in my career, that’s it. How do you define everything you do with one or two words? At the end of the day, I‘m a singer-songwriter making my own genre.
QHow many instruments can you play and how did you get started playing them?
HUNTER HAYES
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AI think somebody asked me once how many instruments I played for a particular song and my answer was, “As many as it took.” I started out finishing songs by myself because that was my only option. I didn’t have the budget for a band or a studio. I heard these songs in my head and if I didn’t figure out how to finish them, they were never going to be finished. I had musical instruments and an equipment trailer … so I’d grab what I needed just enough to figure out how to finish a song. The downside is I can’t read music but it really trained my ear, so I’m really grateful for that trade-off. I found performing first and that’s kind of where my soul is the happiest, and I found the studio to be quite a lovely place. When you’re writing, there are no wrong answers and you have to have this safe zone where you can try anything and nobody has to hear it if you don’t want them to.
QIn the music video for “Sober” you’re playing all the instruments. Was that choice driven by your ability to play multiple instruments?
ATwo different things. It kind of came from references to some of my early videos. I never wanted it to be like, look at me, I can play all these instruments, but I wanted people to know it was coming from the same heart. The fact that we referenced an early video was me saying to the fans that I know it seems like my musical style has changed, but I’ve always been this way and I’ve always been influenced by different things. I also want people to know that there is a lot of intentionality behind it and know that everything in this album was carefully crafted and thought out.
QHow does having the ability to play different instruments contribute to how you write your music and allow you to cross into different genres?
AI’ve got a library of voice memos and lyrics, concepts or just feelings that I want to explore. I wear multiple hats, and writing is a very different hat for me. I prefer writing on piano because you tend to write the song that’s supposed to be written without writing the genre in it. Once you hear it, it tells you what sounds it wants with it. Certain things just lend themselves to certain emotions and instruments. There’s a discovery, writing and production portion and it’s all in a linear shape to each song having its own individual identity.
QThere was a brief couple of years where you weren’t releasing music between “The 21 Project” and “Wild Blue.” Do you ever feel like there is pressure to release more new music, or do you only try to release music when you feel ready to?
AI think it’s the opposite for me. I have too much music and I don’t know what to do with it. You can’t exactly release 100 songs in a year. That’s just me saying I love making music, collecting catalogs and having a library of music to pull from anytime. I think there are seasons where I feel like writing and there are other times I want to wear a different hat and switch to another role, like a producer. If there is a challenge I have, it’s figuring out what to do with a lot of music. Something I’d like to work on is putting out more music, but there’s more to that than just me making it.