How would you classify your music?
I would classify my music as Dark-Pop. Its just light and fun enough that you can dance and sing along to, but upon a deeper reading of the lyrics, the subject is matter conveys something much darker. I find it more interesting to talk about relationships that are a little screwed up. Sometimes you’re desperately in love with someone that isn’t remotely interested, sometimes you’re trying to figure out a creative way to cheat. But we always make it catchy!
Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?
I’d say Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran have influenced my music the most.
What do you want fans to take from your music?
My goal as an entertainer is pretty simple; for people to be entertained. My favorite thing is when people listen to my song and say “wow I’ve never heard a song about THAT before.” I find a lot of top40 radio hits to be too similar and generic. If I can tell a story that hasn’t been told before, I can bring people into the whole visualization of it.
How’s the music scene in your locale?
Not great, lol! I live in the relatively small mountain city of Spokane. Especially during Covid, there’s nothing going on here. But so much of the music industry takes place via email anyways so we’re able to do what we need to.
When did you know you were destined for music?
My mom says that I was singing before I could talk. There was never a time in my life that I wasn’t sure that this is what I wanted to do. When I was 6 years old I started taking voice lessons so that I could learn how to not hurt my voice while singing from the top of my lungs!
What is the best concert you have been to? What do you like most about playing live?
Seeing the Kiss concert live was one of my first concerts and it was incredible to see all of the most famous artists at the time perform; Kesha, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj etc. While my friends were just having a good time, I was taking notes! I watched the various ways that the artists used the magic of the moment and the energy from the audience to their advantage. Now when I perform live, it brings me back to that moment but on the other side. Looking out at thousands of people jumping up and down can terrify you or it can energize you. Or both.
Is there a song on your latest CD release here that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
This track “WHOLEthing featuring Afroman” which releases on NOV27 has got to be my favorite track so far. It is bursting with fun energy and it was such an honor to work with Afroman who I idolized growing up. The process went so smoothly because of his flexibility and passion and we worked so well together. It’s just such a cool concept for a song and I can’t wait for people to experience it.
How have you evolved as an artist over the last year?
Over the last year I think my music has become a lot less genre specific. I used to have a pretty rigid idea of what all of the instrumentation should sound like and through working with different producers and taking a more hands off approach, I’ve seen the songs that I write take a wild journey and go places that I never expected or intended and it’s always for the better. Looking at the collection of songs now that we’re gearing up to release, I’m so proud of the wide range that we’ve created.
If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
That would have to be The Weeknd. That’s the artist I listen to when I need to break out of my writers block and listen to dope lyrics and melodies. It would be incredible to get songwriting advice from someone like that in real time and I get the feeling that he’s a really cool dude.
What’s next for you?
Once “WHOLEthing” comes out, it’s gonna be a full time job of promoting the hell out of it. Spotify campaigns, social media, a press tour with Afroman etc. And then the hope is that the success from this single provides the opening that we need to get the rest of these tracks out there and do a full album!
URL: iamhewas.com
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/iamhewas
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Fat0S2NkXp7d8OL1c0Xbj
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/iamhewas
End of Interview