Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I come from and was raised in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania where I have lived my entire life. I believe me wanting to begin a music career was based on the fact that I was such a huge music fan. Since I was around 14 I believe, I took a heavy interest in analyzing production in music and became obsessed with wanting to attempt to create a sound people could identify with. My grandfather also had an amazing musical ear and was very talented at the variety of instruments he played, so I’m thinking his genes definitely worked their way into me.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: Lately, I wouldn’t say its favorite artists but more so just a giant cluster of songs I get inspired by. Though, if we are talking artists- I’ve been really digging a lot of Jez Dior’s older music and a lot of tunes from this English rock band DON BROCO that I have been absolutely addicted to for the past few months. I highly recommend DON BROCO’s third album: Technology.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Evening Hallucinations’?
A: As far as influences go, One pivotal moment I do remember was listening to Chase Atlantic’s self titled record around the time it came out and being utterly fascinated by the production. The way the album fused trap, pop, R&B, and rock to me was absolutely insane because it was done so smoothly and with incredible mixing. The Neighbourhood is another band that I had a lot of fascination with during my early teen years. I just loved their washed out, ethereal rock sound. I feel like what you get interested in when you are a teenager gets pretty ingrained into your palette so it was definitely a huge combo of those along with a few other bands / artists I gained inspiration from over the years such as Gleemer, Foster The People, The 1975, PVRIS, etc. Whilst also being super fascinated with the emotions ambient music can make you feel.
For some reason, some people think I got the name ‘Evening Hallucinations’ from an eye opening acid trip or something but I literally just thought of it one night when I was sitting in my basement in the dark when I was 15 and was trying to come up with an artist name to release my first single ‘Relapse’ under. Evening Hallucinations came to mind after compiling a small list of names I thought sounded cool at the time, so I saw this and thought, “yeah, that sounds dope.” Not really that deep, but I feel it does fit the sound of the music pretty well.
Q: Is there a story behind your latest single, ‘95’?
A: ”95′ in simple terms is about the feeling of being “too late to the party” so to speak. As well as just an intense desperation to be heard mixed with self-frustration when it comes to why you may be giving people or things attention when those things don’t even value your time. Essentially just the whole realization of this pattern is the center of the track.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: My debut EP is coming out very soon with the most recent single included on it which is something I have been super excited for. I believe the songs on this EP are a great representation of my sound today and I feel like it is something that’ll resonate pretty well across all audiences. That’s all I got to say about that.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I believe the core elements in my music that do resonate with others is the lyrical honesty and the soundscape I like to create within my music. Though, that is likely something that varies from person to person. I like to describe my sound as a cross between pop, hip-hop, and alternative all under the vein of a very ethereal and ambient soundscape. I honestly don’t even know if I’ll ever have my sound figured out. I always wanna keep pushing my limits creatively and explore as much as I can in the world of music.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Honestly, each time I put out a song I feel like I get so much out of it. A great sense of catharsis mainly. Other people digging it only feels like a bonus, so I don’t get too bummed out if a song doesn’t do as well as I thought. It always feels like the harder I work on a project and the more effort that is put in, the more I get out of it. If a song gets 20 streams, cool. If it gets 1,000, cool. Even if a song blows up, the core of it is what it does for me and it often feels like such a healer that I don’t even really pay attention to if a song does well or not.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: My creative process is honestly sporadic as hell. However, I don’t mind it being this way. Sometimes a song starts with a loop I create or find, sometimes it is from a vocal melody idea, sometimes it is just me wailing in autotune over an instrumental I like. Hell, it could be from an old guitar voice memo I have from two years ago. Cool thing is that my creativity gets gassed up so easily from the smallest of things so songs are constantly being started. Every artist knows only 20% of these ideas ever reach the completed phase though. I am also very stubborn when it comes to working with others on my music. I always have such a specific sound nailed down in my head. However, it is dope to work with others occasionally to open my mind up and see what can be brought to a track.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: You’ll hear it a lot but self-doubt is without question the biggest obstacle I’ve had to face in life and in music. I feel like this is common for a lot of people but I try to use it as fuel above anything else. A million people could like what I do but if I don’t like it, then the fulfillment is going to be at an all time low. Truthfully, if you are doing what you are doing for the simple reason to seek validation or approval from others, you might as well quit now. I often just combat these doubtful feelings through staying focused and knowing my music is doing something beneficial just from me putting my soul and honesty into it. I know if I do the best with what I got- I’m okay because it’s all I can do and I gave it my 100% with what I had.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: God, there’s so many. The most monumental was definitely dropping my debut single ‘I’ back in 2021, other than that- playing live for the first time was super gnarly. As far as a super significant point though lately, it would honestly have to just be recently as a whole. I recently just got out of a 4 week long streak of just terrible luck: Accidentally backing into my garage door and blowing it off the hinges, damaging my car on multiple occasions from hitting deer, tripping one night on a bag in my room and slamming my head into a wall, and just being a zombified mess from being nocturnal for months on end and recovering from covid, as well as some other matters in my personal life. I got to a point where things were so bad to the point where I had to laugh. Cool thing is that a lot of those bad experiences ended up being the fuel for this recent EP, so at the end of the day I feel grateful for that streak of terrible luck.
