With summer coming to a bittersweet finale, it only makes sense to end things right where they began; talking about The Hails.
The five piece group was optimistic about summer’s start, yet no one could have predicted the opportunities that were placed in the band’s path. From the release of their EP Impel, to playing the Las Olas Music Festival, and appearing on NBC 6 in Miami, it is evident that they had more than your average summer experience.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t be there personally to see the success of the band, but who can tell t
he story better than the band members themselves? Robbie Kingsley (vocals), Zach Levy (drums), Dylan McCue (guitar), Andre Escobar (bass), and Franco Solari (guitar) were kind enough to provide feedback to give you the perfect recap of their summer as an up-and-coming band.
Tell me a little about “Impel”
Kingsley: “It’s very cool that we were able to put out music. It’s as if we have five little kids running around in the world. Hopefully, they’re not causing trouble.”
What was the most challenging aspect of this summer?
Escobar: “Definitely, marketing our music and brand. By no means was the making of music, studio production, and coordinating of schedules easy. But this is all of our business and we are working every day to promote and excite people about The Hails.”
McCue: “Making conclusive decisions about arrangement during production. All of the songs had been fully written and played live many times by the time we started recording. But when you’re in the studio there’s always an opportunity to add things to the songs that you wouldn’t typically be able to incorporate outside the studio. So we sort of felt obligated to question whether the versions of the songs that we had grown so accustomed to were the versions that we wanted to put out into the world.”
What was the biggest surprise for the band?
Levy: “The biggest surprise to me was how fast “Parking Lot” got listens through SoundCloud. It definitely caught us off guard and it felt amazing to get that kind of reaction.”
Escobar: “The biggest surprise to me was how responsive our friends and the local music communities from South Florida and Gainesville have been. We are seeing the support from everywhere and honestly, I am so grateful.”
McCue: “I think we were all pretty caught off guard by the volume of positive feedback we got after we put the music out. People we don’t know or hadn’t spoken to in years took time out of their day to tell us that they enjoyed the songs and are looking forward to whatever we do in the future. I don’t think any of us expected that.”
What was your favorite moment from this summer?
Levy: “My favorite moment from the summer was playing on TV. The whole experience was surreal and it just inspired me in a different way to keep pushing to create new music.”
McCue: “Playing on TV for the first time was pretty surreal. Not stuttering or making an ass of myself during the interview was a high point for me personally. Also, seeing the EP on Apple Music and Spotify for the first time was both very strange and very rewarding at the same time.”
Kingsley: “The photo shoot was cool. We weren’t really a full band for the whole summer and that was the only time all five of us were in the same room.”
What can we expect to see next?
Levy: “There are a lot of ideas we have flowing for the future between music videos, live performances, and writing new music for the debut LP.”
Escobar: “You can expect to see us playing all over Florida, starting in the fall, and new tunes.”
What is the biggest thing you learned?
Escobar: “Every band member needs to be active and driven for us to be successful. We are the catalyst of keeping The Hails in people’s minds.”
Kingsley: “Keep promoting. Every person on the planet is a potential fan, so I want them all to hear it [Impel].”
Are things starting to feel more real now?
Escobar: “100%. This is a reality for us and not a hobby. We only have one shot and unified dream. With persistence, it’s becoming a reality.”
What do you need the most from your fans?
Kingsley: “Keep the conversation alive. Tell every single soul you know about The Hails… Listen to the Spotify, listen to the SoundCloud. Obviously, it’s pretty cool when people can talk about your music.”
Levy: “From the fans, we need their support in every way possible. Whether that’s bringing new people to shows, sharing the music with friends and family, and spreading the news through word of mouth.”
I think it goes without saying that The Hails have had a busy few months, but the work never ends. It’s been more than a pleasure to be working alongside them and watch them start to gain the recognition that they deserve. As the band heads back to Gainesville, Florida, they have upcoming shows that can be found on their new website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Not only that, but if you have yet to listen to Impel, I strongly recommend dropping everything else you could possibly be doing right now. Their music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Amazon and other streaming platforms. Every song has an independent identity, but they all come together cohesively to give you a glimpse in to who The Hails really are as a group.
