Today, we sit down with Hootin to talk about his inspiration to write music, heroes and much more! Be sure to check out his music below on Spotify after the interview!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?
It has taken me quite a while to come to a description of the style of music I create. The best I have come up with so far is “Expressive Alternative”. Being a drummer by trade, rhythm and energy are usually the most important factors in good music for me; lyrics being a close second. I usually begin writing a new song with the drums or percussion to define a feel. From there I take time to think about all of the things that have been going on in my life that tend to otherwise be hard to express verbally; things I’ve been feeling, thinking about but maybe struggling to articulate… I then pick one of these ideas that I think fits the energy of the track I’ve put together so far. I build the rest of the instrumentation to fit the tone and timbre of the idea I’m trying to express. Finally, I then find lyrics that don’t describe the feeling I’m trying to express… but demonstrate it. I want each of my songs to be about something. A concrete idea that I can name but allows the listener to have their own experience with. For example, the first track of my recent album “Exit Conditions” is titled Wisdom. It is about the exchange that we all make: the time we have left on earth, for the experience we gain. It’s a sort of transaction we all make throughout our lives, but affects each of us differently. I want each listener to reflect on their own transactions: how it shaped them. The instrumentation underneath is driving yet jagged, much like the ups and downs of life.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
I take inspiration from a lot of different artists. At first the list might seem quite eclectic but it has a theme. What makes a great artist to me is one that I feel is truly expressing an idea, something personal or tangible. There is a lot of music that just picks a catchy phrase and repeats it over and over in hopes of getting it stuck in your head; often there is no greater message to it. Artists that catch my ear are trying to tell me something whether that be with the lyrics, the instrumentation, or both. If I feel like a song is just trying to get my attention I lose interest pretty fast.
Off the top of my head, for amazing lyrics you really can’t beat Laura Marling or Tom Waits.
For pure energy, there is a well known underground funk band from Vancouver called Five Alarm Funk that constantly tours across Canada. Their size varies but usually consists of no less than 6 members, their music is primarily instrumental but is some of the hardest hitting, energetic, danceable music I have ever heard. As a drummer by trade, it’s impossible to not be inspired by them. Unlike most ensembles, Five Alarm Funk sets up their live performance with their drummer front and center. Nobody else does that as far as I know.
There is another Vancouver based artist named Matthew Goode, his raw expression is unbeatable. If you really pay attention to his music, it’s like sitting in on a therapy session.
I also find expression in the way you perform extremely important, and for that my first stop is Jordan Rakei. The tone of his voice, the soft diction, it creates so much texture to his music… I find it irresistible.
Here is a little list of others I really enjoy: Tom Misch, Lianne La Havas, Still Woozy, Erik Sumo, FKJ, Half Moon Run, Pinegrove, Mike Snow, Amber Mark, Neil Frances, Rudy Norman.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
Not so much as a “hero” but there was one person in my life when I was younger that I really looked up to and I think had a large impact on shaping the person I am today and the music I make. My high school music teacher, who also happened to be the mother of my best friend. She was almost like a second mom; not just to me, but all of us “music kids”. She was the head of quite an expansive high school music department that included orchestras, jazz bands, vocal ensembles, musical theaters…. She would even mentor and guide the bands the kids would form on their own.
Her son and I were in pretty much every band/group/ensemble there was at that school. We always had to audition and were never handed anything (afaik) but we ended up in everything.
For a while in high school we had a ska band we called “Combat Wombat” with a group of (I think) 9 of us in total. We were invited to perform on a local TV station for a talent show they were hosting… “Totally Teen Talent” I think it was called. Though it wasn’t school affiliated, she was there with us for the auditions, rehearsals and performances, giving us no B.S. critiques and feedback constantly. “The drums are too loud, it’s drowning out the piano”, “when you get up there, thank the judges before you start”, (to our singer) “Dan, I know you’re the lead singer, but you don’t HAVE to always be the center of attention”.
And if things ever went wrong she went to war for us. I remember once when playing with a jazz trio, being adjudicated at a festival, one of the panel members ripped us apart in front of a large audience, I’m sure there was a lot to legitimately critique but he was cruel. I don’t really know what happened as we were backstage at the time but for the rest of the week other kids from other programs would come up to us and say things like “are you those guys who were abused by that panelist? We heard your teacher really gave it to him afterwards, wish we had someone like that”.
I think what she taught me was that I deserved to be myself and who I am deserves respect. It was invaluable to a self conscious kid at the time. I think it’s a lesson that still has a large impact on the music I make today.
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
Music is my creative outlet, so when I’m not doing it I tend to do things that don’t burn up that creativity. I garden a lot, hike with my dogs, I got into powerlifting a few years ago and am contemplating doing a competition some time in the future… though my long spindly appendages have no chance of winning… haha. I’m also working on getting my private pilot’s license. It takes a lot of mental energy. I find all of these alternative experiences really help build inspiration for when I’m back in the studio.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?
I would tell them to never be embarrassed by your own style/sound. Some of the worst music is made by people trying to sound like artists they like. Take inspiration or techniques from your favorite artists but when you try to sound like them you stomp out your own voice. What I think people connect with the most when listening to music is the real personality of what they are hearing. I spent way too long hating my own music because it didn’t sound enough like this artist or that band…. Once I gained enough confidence to be proud of my own voice/style, creating music became way more fun.
Music:
