Hedley

0:06Hey, what's going on? My name's Dave and this is my friend Jake. We play in the band Headley and you are watching Amazon exclusives So let's start by the video for me anything but when I when I had the CD it said I can do anything no longer titled I can do anything working title the working title right we first called it seven layer dip But it didn't really work out. Yeah, do all the songs start after foods also didn't stick we try to keep it more Yeah, it's one of the food groups So talk about the video. What was that like man? The video for anything was crazy

0:53It was the most footage we'd ever shot or in fact most of the people we were working with had ever shot for a music video You typically shoot somewhere in the area 500 gigabytes for a video and we shot three terabytes of digital footage Not including all of the beta can footage we shot which was just about two days worth as well How long did it take to shoot it? It was a full two-day shoot to do it and we wanted a naked video that you Didn't see the same scene twice. We wanted to really We wanted to deliver a product to our fans that we could say hey look This is literally so full of content that you're just gonna have to watch it a million times to just see what's going on It's true reminds me of if you see the Beatles love thing in Vegas There's just so much going on you like I have to go back and back and see it again, right?

1:39Yeah, that's what it kind of all right. I'm glad you said this is the way we were headed for yeah Whose idea was it have the kids swear because that's amazing. It's a great way to kick off a record Yeah, man I mean that was like obviously this aside from the video that has everything to do with the track But when I first came up with the hook that's really just sort of how I heard it in my head and that's what I loved most about the idea It was the fact that it was it Contrasted what you heard it went from my voice to a tiny little kid's voice to like my chopped and screwed up voice back to my regular voice And I think that character is what creates the hook that we know now But it's just sort of that I think that's what's what I'm so attracted to about it It's how dynamic a single line is instead of just one person singing that entire line It almost feels like there's nine different things going on which there is essentially

2:25We've had some questions about that too like what was it like getting the little kid in and like saying that and Jake said It was like super super professional super professional eight-year-old voice actor from Vancouver heard I was there very consent tool and So it was it was chill talk about all the different voices crazy for you is that it's got to be your voicing in the intro But does not sound like you yeah, so on this album we actually I think a big part of what Helped this album become what it is today is how much we really pushed ourselves into exploring different instruments We hadn't used before and that doesn't necessarily saxophone or violin in in this case it had more to do with different types of instruments like a vocoder and We actually end up using This really old vocoder costs like 50 grand. It was just like an instrument that we were like

3:12Oh, we got before that we had to rent it for a few months So playing around with that we really discovered that just its possibilities and how it could apply to what we were Doing and how it would sort of opened up a lot of doors for us and we often find that when we're when we're writing We're being creative when we pick up a new instrument or something that we're not that familiar with It's often when we find ourselves most inspired when we're not sure what exactly we're doing It's just there's more adventure to it There's more exploration involved in it and that for us is exciting I think a very important part of both staying inspired and just the creative process for us is Coming up with new ways to do things. We don't want to stack name We don't want to make an album with the same tools we did last time go This is how we do it. We've done it in the past. This is what people like there you go That for us is it cheapens the process for us and I think it sells our fans short

3:59So for us exploring with different instruments like a vocoder and just new ways of creating music in general is a huge part of the process Yeah stumbling upon those happy accidents was a real it's fun because you kind of go oh that's Let's try a little of this so you can be an example from the record That's not good shit that that part was crazy with the vocoder. That's exactly what that was There's a cool old song that's around that idea There's a great old soul sample in a song called headlights on the record Which is almost has like a bit of like that kind of 90s like moby kind of aspect to it But then over top of it is like you know Thumping kick and go in who's gonna really racetrack that love that's already as an iPad Yeah, and we actually ended up keeping this great

4:47Jake had this like iPod like electric guitar line that we ended up just not being able to beat It just sounded so cool that we left it in there so that it's good parts And so that was really sort of like the shell of the song headphones And obviously we took it and built it and worked on it for quite some time until we were happy with it But its inception started as this little piano track and a little electric guitar line in this little beat It's the same rhythm. We just sort of elaborated on it But that that inception in its purest form was just this little iPad track that we were like Oh, it's such a perfect little pure piece of music We were so hyped on it. It was such an easy Song to write because of just the honesty in that initial track creation It was those types of moments that really kind of spearheaded the processes for the salvo

5:33Are most of your demos done on a table? Is that a good start most songs? No, absolutely not Some demos are just a acoustic guitar and a voice recorder and it really is different for every song I think we have such a dynamic approach to songwriting and such a dynamic Speccion of songs on our album, which is really typical for us is just to have like nothing sound the same There is no single process that we employ for the duration of an album You know as a songwriter I think Jake has really come into his own and really brought forth such a volume and material that That actually made it really difficult because there were so many songs But throughout the process even still we were writing in the studio and that's where it's fun and creative and still trying to forge out always and I think we literally had to drag us all kicking and screaming out of the studio guys like guys

6:18Like we've got a we got to put out a record at some point here and go on tour. So the limits. Yeah, absolutely Which one took the longest? Individual track man That's really hard to say just because a lot of the times we're working on a handful of songs Yeah, totally at once But I'd say anything was probably this maybe one of the songs that we worked on the most and crazy for you actually just because of How dense those songs are how many layers are to and how much is actually going on in those tracks and taking time to make sure that We're happy with it and that we're totally affecting those parts and places where we want them to be you mentioned headphones in there And I got to ask you about this thing that happened over the weekend you played a concert And everyone had headphones and bam To play for a concert like that. So yeah, so we played the quiet concert ever It was the first time anybody had ever done anything like that over here

7:04It's a concept common in the UK and they use it for after-hours clubs where everybody wants to stay Till seven in the morning and not bother the neighbors So everyone's listening to the same track on a pair of headphones But here it was the first time that it had been done for a concert So essentially we were on stage playing a show business as usual except there were no speakers There were no sidefills and no stacks and nothing. So there is a giant crowd of people Standing under the stars. We were out in Banff National Park It was absolutely beautiful and in pure silence as the band is just going full on and the whole crowd is into it because in their headphones There's a full concert being played but if you didn't have those headphones on it was just a silent crowd. Yeah interesting experience But what a great it was and we played the entire album from front to back

7:50All for the first time. Oh, okay. Like that and it was so it was really they abute for the fans in a really unique environment As well as for us to be able to play the album front to back one of the neat things about it was that there were no Nobody filming filming because there's no audio so it would have been just this dumb video So they didn't bother which was really nice for us because we're used to that's just commonplace now Yeah, it's kind of like stairs another thumb. You for it or against it because I talked to different bands and we're feels different Everybody's allowed to I've done it. I've had my mom. I'm like oh my god There's Jay-Z and I'm like up and I got the camera I'm taking a picture of the but I don't like set there and record entire songs The footage is terrible and the audio quality is worse So it's sort of like a really terrible way to record a memory as opposed to I don't know using your brain to remember that moment Yeah, you used to do that anymore. No regale your friends. Yeah, I used to share memories by describing them with my words

8:41Clicking forward Now you do that in the song form. Yeah, it's grabbing memories Pocketful of dreams talk about building a time machine cheesy question We're gonna ask you anyway, where would each of you go if you did have a time machine? When would each of you go when we go I'd go straight back to 1896 or so during like the pioneer gold rush era the old west That's right. Yeah, I feel like that's where I belong or where I should have like lived. Okay. I'm up Probably don't focusing your maybe cattle rustler. Oh, okay, but fully that would have been like my hair up Post-war 50s I'd go buy a strat Yeah, just hide it under my bed You mentioned having her headlights. I thought like with a different arrangement it could totally be a country song Sure, you think so yes, no or my crazy. I can see where you're coming from probably just with like the lyrical cadence

9:29Yeah, no and feel for it. That's one of my favorite melodies and lyrics in Entire album. I love the concept of it and I love how easily that that idea came together I also love that arrangement of the song and how dynamic it is on on a stage We go from sitting on a piano to like fully rocking out with a guitar to back to the piano to back to a little guitar moment So we're kind of all over the place on stage with it Which lends itself to probably one of the craziest live shows that we've ever put together It's gonna be a challenge for us to perform and both just for people to like grasp because of how how much we're really pushing ourselves this time alive It's it's it's exciting for us because We're really thankful that we can come back to a stage and give our fans That's something that they've never expected before and that's important for us because we're just not the kind of band that wants to like

10:17Do the same thing whether it's recording the album or standing up on stage and playing the songs We want to make sure that it's fresh We want to make sure it's new that we're evolving and growing because we do we all do as individuals as artists as people as a band So it's really great and we're excited that we can stay true to that concept throughout all the different aspects of what we do When will we see this live show this crazy new live show? We are leaving in February and is gonna be more dates than we have ever tackled before Are we very excited for a couple months? Yeah, yeah already It's like next people like hey when you go into we're like next year Yeah, yeah, and we're you know we take it that seriously It's that much of a huge part of what we do. It's always been where we really pride ourselves We're you know we I'm very confident and comfortable saying yeah We're one of those few bands that we sound like the albums we make so you can come to the show and expect to see not just

11:03A concert that sounds like the album you purchase but also just like a show that you weren't gonna expect How do you do that with all the random crazy instruments you guys are adding on this one? Well, that's where it becomes really dynamic and tricky and we don't even want to like let go how we're gonna pull all this off But it's gonna be crazy man cool. You do something called five questions five quick questions one more answers Road or studio? That's so hard. It's really just like the two worlds in which we live in I have to say road because that's what I'm excited for right now cool. Yeah, yeah right now It's the road but but ask us at a different period when we're in the middle of the studio and we'll be like man Do not let us out of here. We just like plugging stuff in and making noise. Yeah, Leonard McCartney McCartney Harrison when you hear a song what usually hits you first lyrics melody or rhythm It really does depend on the song

11:52But I'm gonna have to say lyrics or probably what hits me the hardest if I'm never like really struck by something I like books and stuff, but I will go for melodies. I'll be singing something I'm sure it's it's funny even by the time like I'm singing along to what Jake has written stuff like that kind of I think of myself like do I actually really know the words and I just kind of like you know Melting along in the background to like you know the melodies so If someone's never heard headly before what song do they start with? anything It's kind of where we're at man I think it's really definitive of you know the last year of a creative process that was really all-encompassing It took a lot of our lives a lot of our attention a lot of our heart and soul in so I think a son like anything really defines Where we're at as a band as as individuals and I think it just also sums up the way we really took this album into a

12:41direction Cool Dave I'd say the same thing man. You know it's like there's songs. I love playing still From other records, but yeah totally we were so proud of you know you're always proudest of your newest kid. Mm-hmm. So show them off In one word headly Gastrointestinal Okay elastic nice. Thanks guys. I appreciate it. Good talking to you guys. Okay. Thanks, man