THE SCENE: 'I didn't discover music as much as it discovered me'

Lachie Hayes is another product of the talented Hayes family. In 2018 Hayes was named Southland Entertainer of the Year joining his father Steven who won the award in 2016.

Southland musician Lachie Hayes.

Lachie Hayes is another product of the talented Hayes family. In 2018 Hayes was named Southland Entertainer of the Year joining his father Steven who won the award in 2016.

ARTIST - Lachie Hayes

What's your style of music?
Country Blues Rock. Cosmic Kiwi Music.

Tell us about your music journey, where did it start?
Music has always been around. My parents are both Musical as were my Grandparents and even my Great-Grandies.

I didn't discover music as much as it discovered me. I was dragged to pubs about the place to fill in on guitar or drums or whatever I was told to at a young age. After a while it was about all I could do. 

Who have been your music influences?
Obviously my parents have been a big influence, they introduced me to most of the music that I know.

From there I think of Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters. I listen to anything that I think is authentic or different and I try to listen to as many genres as I can. It's good to explore and listen to something totally new and sometimes even challenging. 

What does the creative process look like when it comes to you writing songs?
I beg, borrow and steal influences from everywhere and anywhere. I watch a lot of old films and read about history, I like stand up comedy and talking to poetic strangers.

I use all of these ideas and everything around me and try to culminate them in a song. Sometimes it's a methodical process and other times it's like a surge of ideas that come out of thin air. 

What's been the most enjoyable gig where you have performed your own songs?
I got the chance to perform a set before Julian Deans. I love a small setting to perform originals, a space where the audience are on an equal level, and are keenly listening, even though the music is all new to them. 

What song have you attached for the Southland Tribune audience to listen to?
 Shoot em' once

How did that song come about, and why is it so special for you?
The chorus from the song is inspired by dialogue from a Western film called Hombre, starring Paul Newman. Much of the story is from old cowboy movies.

I am always interested in the character trope of people who break the law, based on a necessity to save the society that made the law to begin with.

They are too bad to be good but too good to be truly bad. They base their actions on scruples and personal morals rather than societal laws and bureaucracy.

That's the Cowboy of cinema in a nutshell. It's Paul Newman, John Wayne and Eastwood. So many of my songs have been inspired by the philosophical questions those characters ask of us as the audience. 

More content from The SCENE (A partnership between MASSAV Productions and The Southland Tribune):

• Arun O’Connor’s music journey.

• From SIT to the formation of Filth Wizard

• Jenny Mitchell: A music journey that started in the family home