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Interview with Hal Savar
Catching up with our next "Just Passing Thru" column, we checked into Hal Savar, playing at Molly Malones. Hal hails from Las Vegas! We asked those not so hard to ask questions and tried to dig into the differences between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Q) Hal, you're from Las Vegas, new to playing Los Angeles, how would you go about describing your music to Hal Savar newbies?
A) Well, I would have to say that my music is a mix of Folk, Rock, and blues, all blended into what is basically acoustic rock in it's rawest form.
Q) Tell us a little about your debut release?
A) I'm very proud of it, it took a lot of hard work. It's exactly the way I wanted it to sound conceptually. It's melodic, eerie, rock and pop at times. It's mixed very open and there is no auto tuning on the CD. I wanted people to hear the CD and get a sense of some sort of a throw back to the whole classic rock, singer /songwriter era, and I think that comes across.
Q) What's your favorite song on your album?
A) This was a tough question, because every song I write is my baby, ya know. But after a lot of thought I decided that my favorite song on the album is number 4, Shadow Lane. Its such an awesome up beat, feel good rock song. I never get sick of blasting that one in the car.
Q) If you had to pick one song on your album that best defines you as an artists, which song and why?
A) Another tough question. How can you define yourself as an artist anyway, let alone attatch a song to who you are. I’m very versatile. My songs have ridiculous range, but if I had to, I think number 6, Illusion defines me very good as an artist. That song is exactly the way it should be, very dreamy sounding, catchy, melodic... It has a great hook, and its very metaphorical. I think that describes me well. I'm a very deep emotionally charged artist, I never write unless something makes me feel the need to write, normally it has to be an emotion, love, anger, and sadness.
Q) What's the experience of branching out of Vegas and coming out to LA like?
A) Terrifying! It’s always hard to let go of that security blanket and do something your not very comfortable doing like playing in front of people who have never heard you before. But in the end it’s becoming a very gratifying experience. LA is great, the people are so cool, and very supportive, and the talent is so vast, I’m having a blast.
Q) Is the crowd reaction much different in Los Angeles?
A) The crowd reaction is familiar, in that it’s the same reaction I had when I started out in Vegas, and Boston Before that. I’ve been performing in Vegas long enough now to have a following of people. So every time I step on a stage in Vegas I have an attentive crowd. It’s hard starting over in a new place where no one knows you. You have to win them over and keep coming back.
Q) As an artist coming from another area, do you feel like LA has some un-delivered hype, or did it exceed your expectations?
A) So far I think LA is exactly what I expected. I knew coming to Vegas that the music scene was a little smaller than the LA scene, so for me it was a matter of being a big fish in a small pond, but it’s the other way around with LA. People hype everything up, I try not to listen to all the hype, because it’s going to undeniably end up being a let down if you concentrate on that. But LA is an amazing place to play music and reach people, there’s such an awesome history of show biz stuff there and a lot of people in the business hanging out around town, you never know who you might reach.
Q) Do you find yourself going thru gambling withdraws?
A) Ha, ha,ha. Gambling withdraws, huh? Well, no, not really. Playing music in LA is a big enough gamble for me. I’m not that into gambling anyway.
Q) Since you've been out here have you seen any artists that you've really liked?
A) Every single artist I’ve seen I respect massively just for having the balls to get up there and do their thing. But I haven’t had that much of an opportunity to really see enough performers in LA to come up with an opinion on who I really, really like.
Q) What's in the future for Hal Savar?
A) As far as I’m concerned, keep playing music, keep performing, sell CD’s, Keep writing songs. Get the right record deal, meet some amazing people, make some good money, hear my stuff on the radio, music videos, MTV, work hard, travel, win a Grammy, keep making people happy, and well entertained. The sky is the limit at this point in my life and I‘m dreaming big. I want people to say man, I knew him when. I want to change the world in some way, make my mark, leave something behind. Basically, I want what everyone wants. I just want Validation for what I love to do, and most of all I just want success.
Article by: TLAMS
Submitted: May, 2004
Photos: Artist's Website
Artist Website: www.halsavar.com
Email: info@thelamusicscene.com
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