Hawai are set to release their debut 5-track EP, produced by Lars Stalfors (Cold War Kids, Deap Vally) in early 2016. We caught up with frontman Jake Pappas to discuss the recording of their upcoming EP, the dollar game and birthday card:
Cougar Microbes: Describe your sound to the uninitiated?
HAWAI: We’re a culmination of all of our favorite music over the years. Lots of influences play into a 5 piece. The most generic description would be Alternative Rock. A few bands that have played the biggest influence are Radiohead, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The War on Drugs and Rufus Wainwright.
CM: What have been the highlights of your year (musically) so far.
H: We’ve started the year off prepping for our soon to be released EP titled ‘Working All Night‘, so we’ve laid pretty low focusing on that. However, a highlight would have to be the new songs we’ve written in the last couple weeks. It always feels good and right to have brand new songs you’re proud of that are fun to play.
CM: How do you kill time on the road when on the road? hobbies/games?
H:We have this stupid game that always seems to keep us entertained called the Dollar Game. It’s simple and without rules. Whoever has a dollar starts the game with a question, whoever gets the question right gets the dollar and presumes with the next question. The dollar never gets kept, it’s simply a thing to pass around to know who’s asking the question. The questions are usually themed around the town we are passing through. Like I said, it’s dumb, but it passes the time by on those 10 hour drives.
CM: What have been your favourite venues to play? Any Venues you hated?
H:The last tour we did with Zella Day had some incredible venues. Some stand outs were Star Theatre in Portland, Chop Suey in Seattle, The Observatory in Santa Ana. In Los Angeles, the Troubadour is a big favorite as well as the El Rey. We always have a good time at The Bootleg in LA too.
CM: Are you able to write on the road or do you do this in your off time?
H:I’m always getting ideas down. Even if it means recording a melody idea on my phone, I usually try to always jot down anything that pops into my head. I’ve written full songs on the road before, but mostly try to gather all those ideas I have and finish them back at home.
CM: -Is there a song you are simply sick of playing live?
H:No yet. Fingers crossed. Some are definitely more fun to play then others though.
CM: What is the songwriting process like for you?
H:The songwriting process is constantly moving and evolving. I can’t say I have one specific process because we’re always trying out different things to see what sticks. But as of late, we’ve been privileged to work with producers that record the song as it’s being written, giving you a clear idea of what the song is going to sound like step by step. However I usually have a general idea of the whole song before it’s brought in to be record (the melody, chord structure, tempo, etc.) I’ve also gone in with just a melody and chord structure and have pieced songs together in the recording process. I still sit down daily with my acoustic guitar and write the “old fashioned” way though. The voice memo app on my phone is my best friend; I’ve recorded melodies on my phone that I think of in a public bathroom. I’ll come back to them days later knowing I would have forgotten them if I didn’t record them.
CM: Do your songs go through many revisions and demos before recordings?
H:Y es and no. We’ve had to break the bad habit of changing a song multiple times expecting a version outside of the original to be better. We’ve found it to be a complete waste of time and energy trying to change something that already exists. You find yourself banging your head against the wall eager to find something that is right in front of you. 9 out of 10 times we go back to the original way of playing it. However, that’s not to say that minor tweaks here and there haven’t made a song better. We now try to get the demo of our song as good as if it was going on a record.
CM: What came first, the lyrics or the melody?
H:The melody almost always comes first. There have been multiple times though that I’ve recorded a melody with fake lyrics and I’ll find something in that that I really like that actually speaks true to what I want to say. So sometimes they come together at the same time.
CM: What is your favorite track of yours?
H: “On My Own” is the most fun to play live. It has this constant mood throughout the whole song that’s dark and eerie but also dreamy and a tad bit psychedelic.
CM:If you could record any cover in the world what would it be?
H: “Pretty Saro” by Bob Dylan.
CM:What is the most flattering thing you’ve read about yourselves?
H: That I’m the most handsome man in the world. My wife wrote that in a birthday card one time.
CM: What are your views on auto tune?
H: I used to be against it, thinking it took away credibility as a singer. But now, I’m for it as long as it’s used moderately to perfect a recording. It’s a tool that only enhances recordings, which nowadays, music has shifted so much to the point where most individuals listening to music just want to hear a good song. They don’t care who really wrote it, how it was produced, how many real instruments were used, etc. I still have a sense of wanting authenticity in music, recording to tape, recording live, using vintage instruments, different mic placements, that type of stuff. But I think myself and the band makes up the less than 1% that care about that stuff. There are lots of tools now in recording that almost seem like you’re cheating. Autotune is probably the least of all of them. Like I said, people just want a good song. If Dylan or The Beatles used it, it wouldn’t take away from what’s already great music. Some would probably criticize it, but only some, not most.
CM: Any other artists/bands from your local scene we really should know about?
H:Be sure to check out our friends Roah Summit and also The Futures League.
CM: What was the first record/tape/cd you ever bought?
H: Weezer – The Blue Album
CM: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
H: “I Have Been To The Mountain” by Kevin Morby
CM: What was the last show you paid and queued up for?
H: Night Beds at the Echoplex in LA
CM: If you had to bring one artist back from the dead in exchange for sending a living artist down, which artists would it be and why??
H: I don’t know if I can answer the second part, but I’d like to see Nick Drake alive again and hear him sing at the Ryman or some big theater. It would be cool to see Elvis in his prime too. Nobody does what he did.
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