Today, we sat down with Ian, co-founder and lead guitarist of Hey Radio. We discussed their inspiration to write music, advice for musicians and much more! Be sure to check out the music of Hey Radio below after the interview on Spotify.

Interview:

What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?

 A lot of what we write is based on certain styles we love, especially the stuff that gets folks hyped. Style wise, it’d be the classic skate punk stuff we used to hear on skateboarding videos or in the Tony Hawk games, as well as the tunes you’d hear on teen movie soundtracks of the 90s. Just fun, party songs with the occasional pop culture lyric references!

We also throw in style references from some of our favorite genres like ska, metal, indie, alternative, and 80s tunes. We’re really all over the place, but that’s what really drives us, you know? Sharing the styles that we like and think are super fun!

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

 In my household, there was everything. My parents had a lot of the classic soul and R&B, but there were also things like Journey, Hendrix, Parliament, and others. My older brother got me into a lot of the alternative and college rock that was big at the time, and I was completely enamoured by the flashy hair bands and glam guitar solos!

Is there someone you looked up as a hero?

 Besides my parents and brother?  Musically, it was Jimi Hendrix, Vernon Reid, Robert Johnson, Prince, and Dr. Know. Those guys showed that representation in their styles really mattered, and showed that if they could do it, so could I!

If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?

 I would either be a college professor or a palaeontologist.That, or a baseball player! Gotta love childhood dreams haha

What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?

Breathe, sit down, start creating. Turn on a recorder, just start jamming ideas. Once you’ve got a few solid riffs, build on them! Just remember that not every riff is gonna be a winner at first, but that doesn’t mean abandon it. You can always come back to one, revamp it, and next thing you know it’s a big hit!

Writing music can be tricky and frustrating, but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun. One more thing to remember: look to your influences, but don’t completely copy what they do, because you don’t wanna get sued haha

Music: