Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I’d say I am a fairly regular guy that has a healthy obsession with music. I am from Texas but live in the PNW, I moved up here for the superior summers and the availability of outdoor activities. I think music has always been my number one love in life, it just took a long time to realize that was what I wanted to figure out how to do full time. Both of my parents thankfully had good taste in music, so at an early age I was exposed to some really great songs and bands. To this day we still have a lot of overlap of what we like to listen to. My parents signed my siblings and I up for piano lessons when we were all fairly young, this turned into me taking guitar lessons since that was way more interesting to me. My folks were always very encouraging with me playing music, but never to the point of them saying I should plan on doing music professionally.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of CJ Hooper in three words?
A: Country,
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: My broadest reach to my fans is definitely through social media, so far they have been a big source of motivation. It’s been neat receiving messages asking about when I might be playing in their area. This makes me feel like I am doing something right and makes me want to keep sharing material for people to enjoy.
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘Over Yonder’. Is there a story behind it?
A: I wouldn’t say that there is necessarily a story behind the album. From a songwriting perspective I seem to have periods where I write songs that go together, this is from one of those times. I had finished my first record and had plenty of motivation to keep writing songs, these 7 that are on “Over Yonder” all seemed promising enough to head to the studio and see what we could come up with. I’ve never been interested in just releasing a bunch of singles, I grew up listening to entire albums and that’s how I want to put out my music. I like the having new music each year
Q: What is your favorite track from the album and why?
A: Hmmmm, that is a tough question. Right now I’m going to have to say “Rain Song”. This one turned out pretty much exactly as I had planned, I especially like how it sounds having the drums be super minimal on this track.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the album, “Over Yonder”?
A: Pretty much I head into the studio with a number of songs that I’ve written. I would have thought about how I might like all the parts to go but it’s not until I actually hear the other instruments that I really can decide how I like things. For example I might have a thought on how I think the drums should be and then completely scrap that idea when playing around with different options. Same goes with the lead guitar parts, I might be leaning in one direction with how I want it to come out and then hear something I hadn’t expected and have been like “that’s waaayyyy better”.Dylan Fant from 1 Shot Studio came up with the background instrumentation on “Hard Times”. He told me had an idea he wanted to try out and I was blown away by what he came up with, it helps to work with someone that you trust. I just try to be open to ideas and know that I will make the right decisions.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for you so far?
A: Quite possibly it was my first solo open mic performance. Before that I had played enough shows in bands to be totally fine performing, but as my first time doing that solo was a whole different thing. I was fairly satisfied with how I did with my 4 song set, and it didn’t hurt that the folks in the audience were incredibly supportive. That provided a boost to my confidence to know I’d be perfectly fine playing solo.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: I would say my song “Trip” which was the first track on my album “Primero”. When coming up with the arrangement for this song I immediately knew it was going to be one of my favorites, now I had no clue how others would like it but at least I was a fan. For me all it took was hearing the bass guitar added that really kicked up my excitement about the track.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into CJ Hooper’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: So far I’d say my songs come from a point of inspiration and not as much from me sitting down to write a song. This is something I will continue to work on since it is important to me to learn the craft of songwriting and to get better at it. When inspiration for a song shows up, that is such a great feeling. Once I have the scaffolding of the song done; I play around with it for a while, making sure I like the word selections, figuring if the song calls for a solo of some type, I try to avoid having solos just for the sake of having a solo. I think I spend a lot of time thinking about what each song doesn’t need, like that’s a good way for me to narrow down what I am going for.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: I’d say my goal is to figure out how to be successful enough playing music to be able to do it professionally for the next 40 years. I am not trying to be the next mega star, I could not be less interested in that, I just want to play my music for people and visit some cool places while doing that. I want to thank you to everyone for the support and kind words of encouragement.
