Interview // Matt Hires
Conducted by Christina Belles
You just released your latest EP Heartache Machine on April 8th, how would you say the response has been?
It has been really great! The EP made it into the top 5 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. I’d say that’s not so bad for my first independent release.
What would you say makes Heartache Machine different from your previous releases?
I think Heartache Machine is my most honest collection of songs to date, lyrically and musically. I went into the studio expecting to make a very stripped down, most acoustic EP, and it ended up being a lot more than that. It all happened very naturally, though. Since I recorded it in my home state of Florida, I had a lot of friends hanging out in the studio when we were recording, many of them being musicians. So we ended up just having a lot of friends play different parts on the album, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Heartache Machine is also your first release since parting with Atlantic Records in January. Would you say the decision to part ways with Atlantic has been a beneficial one?
It’s a little early to tell, I guess, but I’m definitely enjoying the freedom. I have a lot more on my plate, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m staying really busy, and I’m happy with how things are going so far.
Going from a major label to an independent artist is definitely a huge transition; have you found it difficult at all to sort of get back to the DIY style of putting out your music, booking tours, etc?
A little bit. I had a lot to learn about booking tours, but I was able to get it done. As far as making the music goes, it was really awesome for me to be able to record the EP and put it out in just a little over two months. When I was on the label, I always had to wait such a long time between recording and the release. Usually at least a year. It’s cool to be able to get the music out while I’m still excited about it.
You’re heading out on a roughly two-week tour kicking off on the 15th in Nashville. Are you excited to get out on the road and play some new songs off Heartache Machine?
Very excited. I’m actually in the middle of this tour right now, and it has been great. I started out playing five house shows, which was a totally new experience for me. I plan on doing more of it in the future. I loved being able to connect with fans on that level without lights and stages and sound guys and promoters and everything that goes into a regular show. Right now, I’m playing some acoustic co-headlining shows with my friend Alex Dezen from The Damnwells. It was been an awesome time. We’re approaching these shows a little differently, too. For our set, we’re both on stage for about two hours, and we just go back and forth playing our songs.
What’s really cool about your upcoming tour is that the first five shows are house shows. What made you want to go this route?
I wanted to try it out because I had heard good things from other people who had done it, and it was something I wouldn’t have been able to do on the label. It was a really cool way to tour, and I met a lot of great people.
You’re co-headlining this tour with Alex Dezen of The Damnwells. How did that come to be?
Alex and I met a few years ago when the label put us together to write a song. We ended up having a lot of fun doing it and wrote four of the songs on my last album together, including “Restless Heart.” Through that, we got to be friends and thought it would be a lot of fun to do a little tour together. So far, so good.
What are you most looking forward to as this new chapter of your career unfolds?
I’m mostly looking forward to just trying out a lot of new things and new ways to get my music to people. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I can do absolutely whatever I want to right now, and I’m trying to take advantage of that.
What would you say has been the most difficult part of your career for you all personally and collectively?
I guess the most difficult thing for me has been trying to shed expectations on my music, lyrically and musically. It’s easy to get comfortable in a certain style, but I’m always trying to push myself and grow with every song that I write.
How did you, or do you continue to, overcome these struggles?
I try to just write a lot and, more and more, try to write the kind of songs that I would love to listen to. That’s a lot harder than you would think it is.
What is the ‘highlight’ of your career so far?
I’ve had a lot of highlights. Supporting Matchbox Twenty on their Spring tour last year was a big one. I got to play in front of thousands of people every night. You can’t really beat that. Another highlight has been releasing this EP on my own. I guess it wasn’t really “on my own” because I had a lot of help from some really great friends, but it was awesome to be able to hold something in my hands that was all my vision from start to finish.
What is the one dream the moment at which point either personally or collectively you would be able to say yes I’ve achieved this, I’m living my dreams?
I feel like that now, actually. I always want to do more and more, but as long as I can play music for a living, I’m a happy man.
