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PCM's Melissa got the opportunity to chat with twenty-one-year-old
winger/songwriter Hilary McRae
about the release of her debut album "Through These Walls"
and her upcoming performance on the CBS Early Morning Show. McRae's
refreshing style and captivating melodies echo the vintage pop/rock
of the 60s and 70s while blazing headlong into a territory all her
own. Be sure to visit her MySpace
and Official Site
for more information!
Melissa: Hi, Hilary. How are you doing? I have a couple of questions
for you today. How did you first become interested in music?
Hilary: It's always been a really big important part of my life.
My parents are very musical. I started playing piano when I was
really young, and it has always been a part of me.
M: What other instruments do you play?
H: I play drums and I play saxophone. I play a little guitar and
a little base but not as much.
M: Oh, cool. So the piano/keyboard your main instrument, then?
And of course you sing. I read that you got a scholarship to Berklee
College of Music in Boston by performing one of the songs you had
written. Do you think that experience helped you grow musically?
H: Definitely! I think Berklee helped me incorporate a lot of jazz
chords into my music that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise.
It was just a great experience studying classical music. I was starting
to get a feel for exactly what I was doing, and a lot of the songs
I wrote come from that experience.
M: How would you classify your sound?
H: It's modern, with a little bit of old school and new school,
It has a lot of sixties influence in there as well. It sounds unique,
with a mix of a little but of everything.
M: Who are some of your musical influences?
H: I listen to a lot of stuff from the seventies: Don Henley's
Band, Earth Wind and Fire, The Carpenters.
M: So, you spent the summer of 2006 on tour in Central and South
America as a keyboardist and back-up vocalist for Christian Castro,
how was that experience?
H: It was great! It was very interesting, and I got a lot of experience
on the road and I realized how important it was to be punctual.
I got to see the behind the scenes of what was goes on in a performance,
which is what's going on in my life now. It was a good practice
for what I'm doing, and it was just a great experience.
M: Cool! I read that Zach Ziskin has been your long time musical
collaborator. How did you end up meeting and working with him?
H: I went to a recording studio, probably when I was about 15 or
16 to work on a few demos that I wanted to do, and at the time Zach
was an engineer. We became great friends through that process, and
we kept in touch over the years. After I had the album written,
I went back and he had become a producer by then, and so we got
together and collaborated on this record and things just kind of
went from there.
M: Great! How did you come about forming the rest of the band
that is on your album?
H: Zach introduced me to Fernando Perdomo and Derek Cintron who
are the bassist and drummer on the record, and I was thrilled because
they're phenomenal players.
M: Your album "Through These Walls" is going to be
released on April 15th. Are you excited?
H: Oh, I am so excited! I can't wait.
M: Can you tell us about recording and that experience?
H: The recording was great, and it was different not having an
audience there as I was playing the songs. It's just a different
type of environment. I definitely learned a lot, and I'm glad that
we did that. We have come out with a great record, there were times
when it didn't seem like it would happen, but we came through.
M: Cool! You are the first developing artist to be signed to
Hear Music. What has it been like working with them?
H: It has been fantastic. They have been really supportive of this
record, and they are just as passionate about it as I am and that
is a really great thing. You don't find that very often with big
labels these days, and I feel like I have found a really great home
and I am excited about the release. As are they. (laughing)
M: You are set to perform three songs on the CBS Early Morning
Show May 24th. How did that come about and are you looking forward
to it?
H: Yeah, I am really excited about it! We did a show in New York
a few weeks ago, and they came out and saw me perform, and they
loved it and wanted us to perform on the show. I am thrilled about
it. It's going to be my first time on TV.
M: Great! Is TV and acting something you are interested in breaking
into eventually or is music your only passion?
H: Definitely, I would love to! We just filmed a music video about
a month and a half ago and to be behind the camera was something
I really felt comfortable with and yeah, I'd like to act. I am a
little out of practice, but I would definitely give it a try.
M: How does performing live compare with recording?
H: It's very different. When you are out there, you know it is
sort of hard, because in the studio you feel like you are kind of
focused and you feel like you are in your own element when you do
that. Performing live includes the element of other people, and
it's great and it is a really phenomenal feeling. I like both avenues,
but they are definitely really different.
M: When writing a song what usually comes first for you? The
hook, melody, lyrics?
H: Usually I come up with the melody. I will usually come up with
an idea and add in the lyrics to what I am writing. Sometimes I
approach it a few different ways, sometimes the lyrics will come
first and then the melody.
M: A lot of your songs seem to be about life and relationships.
Do you write from personal experience?
H: Yeah, definitely. I think that is a really important thing to
do.
M: What music are you currently listening to? Who are some of
your favorite bands that are out there now?
H: I like a lot of bands ranging from Saves the Day to the Goo
Goo Dolls.
M: I've read that you have been compared to Amy Winehouse in
some aspects, how do you feel about that musical comparison?
H: That's cool. I dig her music. I think she is a great singer
and performer.
M: Do you maintain your own MySpace page and official site?
H: Yes, I mean there are some people that work on the dot com site,
but I do my blog.
M: How involved are you with your fans?
H: I am involved, I try to respond to as many emails as I can,
and I try keep in touch with the fans because they're really important.
M: Have you ever considered a career other than music?
H: I haven't really, it has always just been the one thing that
has stuck with me.
M: Have you ever had any other sorts of odd jobs?
H: I worked at an airport for a long time.
M: Oh, really what did you do there?
H: I was a hostess on a private airplane.
M: Oh, that is really interesting.
H: Yeah, it was really cool.
M: What do you like to do in your free time?
H: I play a lot of sports. I like board games and stuff like that.
M: Cool! What is your favorite game?
H: I like Boggle a lot.
M: Oh, me too! I like making words. I also like Scrabble, do
you like Scrabble?
H: Yeah, Scrabble is cool as well.
M: What can we expect from you in the future?
H: I'm just going to try to keep playing with my band. We have
a few tour dates set-up, so that should be good.
M: Cool. I have one last question for you, can you tell our
readers one interesting fact about yourself that we may not already
know?
H: I had chicken pox twice.
M: Chicken pox twice! You are only supposed to get it once!
H: Yeah, I don't know it was weird
M: That is very unusual. Well, Hilary it has been great talking
to you and we wish you the best of luck in the future. Have a great
afternoon!
H: You too! Bye.
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