UCN Interview at CRS 2013 – Amber Hayes: “Any day is a good day when you write songs.”

11 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on UCN Interview at CRS 2013 – Amber Hayes: “Any day is a good day when you write songs.”

CRS 2013 was the perfect time to catch up with artists and chat about what has been going on since we last spoke. Over the last two years, Amber Hayes has expanded her career and she had some exciting things to share. Her new EP, Any Day Is a Good Day, holds really great songs and they were the focus of our conversation.

 

UCN: It was about two years ago that we talked here and a lot has been going on since. You were named as an artist to watch by Billboard’s 615 blog. Did you see that as pressure or a challenge.
Amber Hayes: I think it’s a challenge!

UCN: Something to live up to?
AH: Yes, let’s just do this, you know. [smiles] It came out of nowhere for me. I mean, I work hard, but you just never expect something like that. So it was really an honor for them to think that about me. I hope that I do live up to it for sure. I’m excited about this year, I’m excited about the new music. I think a lot of it has to do with the album coming out in October, it has to do with the new music. It was exciting!

UCN: Something else you’ve been involved with that’s really interesting is the book you are a part of. It’s a guide book for aspiring musicians moving to Nashville. I assume they asked what advice you would give, so I’m interested in the other side. What would you tell those people not to do?
AH: I would say to not come to Nashville and expect things to happen really fast, you know. I mean, it can happen, and it happens to some people and there are those stories, and that’s great. But I think you need to have realistic expectations. You’ve got to go for it, you’ve got a work hard, but if you come here and you think it’s going happen in about six months, and you’re going to be Faith Hill, it typically doesn’t happen like that.

UCN: What about how to handle the business side of the music business? A lot of people are focused on the creative, and so they should be, but then they come here and there is this whole other side to it that they’ve never had to consider before, when they were playing in the club in their small town. How did you first find your way into that and how did you handle that?
AH: I think you need to surround yourself with great people, people who have been successful. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to ask hard questions. Sometimes it’s not easy being the product, and being the leader of the team. That was probably one of the biggest things that I learned from one of my biggest influences. When I got to sit down with Barbara Mandrell, she told me that. She said ‘don’t ever forget that you are the product and that it’s a business. You have to think of yourself as if you are Pepsi and you are a brand.’ That has always stuck with me, because you do have to think in those terms. The industry is changing too much not to, and you can do so much on your own. I’m an independent artist and I have done a lot of my own. I mean, you need help, we all need help. You can’t do it all on your own, it would be too much work. But you can take a lot of steps on your own. You do have to have that mindset of ‘I am the product,’ and it’s hard. Because most of those that are creative don’t have those types of minds, you know what I mean? [smiles]

UCN: Yes, I do. I say the same thing to the artists I work with. It is that Pepsi thing but obviously because it’s me, it’s Starbucks. [smiles] I’ll tell them ‘you are Starbucks, that’s your brand, and your songs are the coffees.’ There are bold coffees and smooth coffees, and it’s different flavors targeted to different people. Same as the different coffees you’ll have the different songs, which will appeal to different people. At the end of the day, anyone who makes a decision for you, it’s not their name on the CD, it will be your name on there. So assemble a team but always sign off on everything.
AH: Yes, artists have to be aware of everything. You can’t just sit back anymore. You can’t just let things happen.

UCN: What I think for some artists, when they come here and they’re 20 and have only lived in a very small town, where they are a big star, and then they come here…
AH: Oh my gosh, it’s a totally different ballgame! It’s totally a wake-up call! There are just so many talented people here. And there’s always somebody new moving to town who’s equally, or even more, talented than you.

UCN: Let’s talk about your new album. Of the three songs you co-wrote, the first I want to mention is the song ‘Me and Loretta,’ because I love it.
AH: Oh, thank you!

UCN: She’s one of those artists who I think everybody respects, whether you do or don’t like her music, she herself as a person, how she has built her career, the chances she took, you know, singing stuff like ‘Rated X’ at the time when she did…
AH: I know, isn’t that crazy! [smiles] And that’s what I love about her, you know. You can practically say that you’ve lived a Loretta Lynn song at some point in your life. I mean, if it’s not ‘Rated X,’ it’ll be another one. We are obviously not all coal miners daughter’s, but there’s going to be something that’s part of your story. That’s what I love about her. She’s always said what she wanted to say and I respect her for that. I love traditional country music and so when I sat down to write this, I wrote it with Ryan Packard and Brady Seals. Brady is a huge Loretta Lynn fan, so we were talking about how we love traditional country music and he said ‘let’s write a song about that. We need people to know that that’s where your heart is.’ That’s where that song came from. I’m glad you like it!

UCN: Yes, I love it, and I love her too, so I think that’s part of that. And I think there’s a line in there that says that you’re going to take her advice.
AH: That’s right.

UCN: I like that. You know when people shorten that phrase ‘what would Jesus do’ to WWJD?
AH: Yes.

UCN: For me it’s WWJTD, as in ‘what would James Taylor do’? [smiles] AH: That is so funny! [laughs]

UCN: I adore him. And last year he told me I was sweet, so now he can do no wrong!
AH: There you go! [laughs] So now, on your twitter, you can put “James Taylor told me I was sweet.” That is so cute. [smiles]

UCN: But anyway, yes, I understand it, where there is this artist you feel you can go to for advice.
AH: Yes, that’s exactly how we thought about it. It talks about being soul sisters, you feel like you have a connection. I think that’s what we all as artists want to do, is connect with our audience.

UCN: Is that why a lot of your songs, like ‘Any Day Is a Good Day,’ are message driven?
A: Yes, and I think with ‘Any Day,’ that song kind of came out of nowhere. When we sat down to write, we were talking about doing an up-tempo, and about different songs, and in the room we just kind of started talking about how blessed we are just to be able to do what we love. And it was like, you know what, any day is a good day when you can come in here and write some songs. It started that way and actually the guy we wrote that with, he is blind. I was sick that day and he was singing the work tape, and as he sang through the whole thing and he got to the end, I was almost crying. It was a moment for me. It’s one of my favorite songs to be a part of. You know, his day, compared to our day, is so much harder but yet it seems so simple to him. And it was just in that moment that I really felt that any day is a good day. I’m really proud of that song and that’s the reason why I wanted that to be the title of the album. You can say that and you don’t have to explain why any day is a good day; people know what you mean.

UCN: Who was it written with?
AH: It was written with J.P. Williams and Bill DiLuigi.

UCN: The third song you have your name on it is ‘Far Far Away.’ I like the idea that song. When it first started, I thought it was a song about getting away from it all and that’s it. But that’s not all it is. It starts like that, about let’s sit on a mountaintop and get away from it all, but the real reason is because we need to reconnect. I love that.
AH: Thank you.

UCN: It’s great to have that first verse that makes you think this is what it’s going to be, and then you have that point in the chorus where you go ‘oh wait, this is not just another one of those songs.’
AH: Well, thanks! For that song, I wanted something kind of like ‘Cowboy Take Me Away,’ by the Dixie chicks. When we sat down to write, I said let’s try to write something like that. And I think it’s so true that we get caught up in everyday life, that we do not take time for the people who mean the most to us. It’s not because we don’t want to, it’s just because we don’t take the time, so that’s the whole thought behind that song. And I’ve performed for the troops in Diego Garcia last year and that was their stand-out. I would get e-mails saying ‘I love ‘Far Far Away’,’ which makes sense. It’s definitely one of my favorites to sing.

UCN: In other one I really like is ‘Suspicious,’ because it’s really an old-school cheatin’ song.
AH: Oh yeah! [smiles] Paul Kennerley wrote that, and he wrote a lot of stuff for The Judds. The first time I heard that song, I heard it at Universal, and I just loved it. Like you said, it’s old-school, fun, and it’s also so much fun to sing live.

UCN: Another great song is ‘Somewhere Out West,’ which has a really interesting story.
AH: You know, that is a story I feel that hasn’t really been touched on very much, and I wanted a story song from this album. When I sat down to record this project, I wanted it to be a complete album, and not just be singles. I wanted to have one story song, and when I heard that, I thought ‘that is my story song for this record.’ It touches on something that a lot of kids deal with. I thought, this is perfect, and it hasn’t really been touched on very much.

UCN: The song ‘Built this Wall,’ has a character saying I can be independent…
AH: But… [smiles]

UCN: …until I don’t want to be. [smiles] AH: Exactly. [laughs]

UCN: I thought that was really interesting. You have strong female characters that say ‘I can be independent,’ or you’ll have those characters that say ‘I’m totally ready to let you in.’
AH: Right.

UCN: But I’ve never actually found both in the same song.
AH: And that’s kind of who I am, you know. I think that’s also where I am in my life.

UCN: Yes, me too, and I connected to that; I know this woman in that song. [smiles] AH: Well, there you go. And it’s me too. [smiles] When I heard that for the first time, I thought ‘I can sing that!’ I could have written that story, you know. It’s definitely about being independent but maybe, if I find the right one, I’ll let you in. So yes, I love the song.

UCN: I also love the line they came up with to explain that, where they say ‘I built the wall, but I can also tear down.’
AH: Yes, I love that too!

UCN: I love that the record closes with a simple love song about a simple love, which is again not something that’s done a lot. Those songs exist, like Rascal Flatts did with ‘This Everyday Love,’ but in most songs it tends to be all about being really big and dramatic.
AH: And that’s exactly what I was going for with that song.

UCN: We are so on the same page about all the songs! [smiles] AH: I know, right! [laughs] And it’s funny because this one I literally got the night before I went in to cut tracks. My producer sent it over and he said ‘I think I have found what you’re looking for on this one.’ I wanted a vulnerable love song that wasn’t a power thing, but was just about, you know, saying ‘this is awesome and I love it.’

UCN: How did you decide the slots on the record? Did you sit down and decide I want one of these, one of these, one of these? I’ve already written this, now let’s go find these type of songs?
AH: I picked my three songs, like, this was my strongest material. Then, as the other ones came in I felt like… Well, I didn’t write it down, but I had in my mind, and so did my producer. It wasn’t written down but we had talked about it. I think we were really on the same page as far as what I wanted to say, and what types of songs I was looking for. And I think we covered all the types of songs I wanted. If I had to do ten songs, maybe I’d had a big power thing. Maybe… I mean, it is me to a certain extent, but it’s got to be the right one. And I felt like with this song, this is just the perfect balance, this is what I wanted.

UCN: How have fans responded to this being an EP rather than a full-length project?
AH: Because my projects were two years apart, I think the first EP was a great way of saying ‘here’s Amber, here’s who she is.’

UCN: And then with this one you say, ‘and here’s how I have evolved’?
AH: Yes, exactly. I think that for the next project, it will be interesting to see what the fans would want. It’s like, do you want an EP or do you want a full album?

UCN: How do you collect feedback from your fans?
AH: Mostly social media, I do gauge that a lot. But live shows are really good opportunities to see what songs are hitting them. I mean, ‘Me & Loretta’ is one, ‘Any Day Is a Good Day’ too. After the show I will go to the merchandise table and they’ll be like ‘I love that Loretta song!’ So I just think it depends, but social media is a great gauge to see what they want.

UCN: This was a great conversation, I love that we’re so on the same page about this.
AH: [to her publicist] She, seriously, is one of the best interviewers!

UCN: Well thank you! [smiles] We should include you in the Songwriters Circle interviews too.
AH: Oh, I would love that.

UCN: Thank you so much for your time here, it was great to see you again!
AH: Yes, thank you!

Keep up to date with the latest Amber Hayes news via www.amberhayesmusic.com.

 

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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