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Hayley
Sales - A Rising Star - "Like Never Before" |
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Rarely in this century has an
individual come along who possesses the ability to equally amaze others
with her acting and her musical talent to the degree that American /
Canadian Hayley Sales does. It has been an incredibly busy late summer
and early fall for the affable Hayley Sales, as she recorded one album,
is recording another, shot a film and a television episode and in the
midst of all that she also got married.
Sales, took time out from her busy schedule to sit down with Riveting
Riffs Magazine to discuss at length her album
Slightly Out of Tune, which
will be released in the spring of 2019 (She
has posted some songs on YouTube), her twin careers and to share a
little bit about her life.
The self-described romantic co-produced her album (and
yes she really does know her way around a recording studio) with her
father Richard Sales, known for his work as a producer and sound
engineer with the Grateful Dead, The Ramones and Miles Davis. The songs
on Slightly Out of Tune range
from those that invite the listener to dance, such as the opening track
“I Don’t Believe,” and the retro infused “Waiting It Out,” backed by a
stellar horn section and the soulful “Out of Tune,” to her romantic love
letter “Like Never Before,” co-written with Sharon Stone.
Often punctuating our conversation with light laughter Hayley Sales
talks about her musical influences, “I have always been in love with
Judy Garland who was my first influence. When I was five years old I was
madly in love with her and that introduced me to a different time. In
some ways I was that absolute dork. I didn’t know that Pop culture
existed until I was eleven or twelve. I live with the forties and
fifties in my head. I watched old movies and I listened to old music. I
loved Motown, Sam Cooke and all of these people. In a lot of ways
Slightly Out of Tune was my
way of exploring that whole world, but with a modern twist. In some ways
I wanted to explore the cinematic blend of the two.
I am really grateful that for whatever fluke of nature happened, because
in a lot of ways the melodies, arrangements and content of that time is
so rich. There is so much to draw from. I think especially nowadays that
a lot of music has lost the romance of that sound and not even that it
has to be a love song. There was just a romantic feel to the music. I am
a pretty romantic person for better or for worse. I’ve had both good and
bad in my life, but I really had fun with that record. I was trying to
let that grow.
I am really excited about the new record, because of all that I learned
from that record, but now I plan on stripping it down again and having
it be piano, voice and bass music (for
her next record). It was so much fun to do that album. We got to
record it in Nashville with all of the strings and horns and with an
orchestra. That was my dream to sing in front of an orchestra.
For the next (record) I am trying to do it simpler. I love
Slightly Out of Tune, but (I
thought) what could I do now if I used fewer instruments and have the
voice more upfront? I think it will be fun to have those contrasting
albums and I think they may come out at the same time (spring
2019).”
The album opens with “I Don’t Believe,” and you can be sure this song is
going to have audiences at her concerts up on their feet before the
first few bars of the song are finished. This is a really good dance
song. One can also envision her fans singing the refrain “I don’t
believe” back to her.
“I can’t remember when I put out
“I Don’t Believe.” I leaked it out and I put it on
Spotify and on YouTube. It seems to be people of all ages who are
reaching out. It is people who want change who are really responding to
it.
Gosh we live in such a crazy world right now, political views aside.
There are a lot of people who find in that song a resurgence of love.
Their priority is seeing that love is real and that people will care
about each other. We can actually be happy in this lifetime. I have
noticed that is what the private messages I have been getting (have
said). I am all about that. I am so happy that is what people are taking
away from the song. They like the strings,” she says, while noting that
it was her idea to add the strings and Carl Marsh (Stax / Volt) arranged
them.
“I produced this record, with my dad Richards Sales, the way that I
wanted to hear it. In my head I was hearing a lot, strings, horns and
all of this stuff. We started flirting with that idea and then we met
Carl Marsh out of Nashville, who is an amazing arranger of strings and
horns. He worked with everyone from Etta James to James Brown. He came
in and he took it to a whole other level. I remembered hearing it and
crying, because I couldn’t believe these people were playing strings to
my song (she laughs joyfully).
It actually started as a reggae song. I might have been a teenager when
I wrote that song.
I am so grateful that I practically grew up in a studio, because so much
of recording is different than being a songwriter. The EQing and being
able to explain to people what you are hearing. I have so much to learn
still and I will be learning probably until the day that I die. It is
really helpful and also (often) I have opted to sing my vocals alone. I
record my own vocals. I set the mic up and I tell everybody to get out
and then I go into my own little world. I wouldn’t be able to do that in
a lot of situations and I definitely wouldn’t if I didn’t know how to
record.
I think it is a really great thing that my dad gave me. He just let me
roam around the studio as a kid and then as he realized I was really
interested he started teaching me the tricks and how things work and how
to mic your guitar or how to mic your piano. I am very grateful for that
(you can hear the gratitude in
her voice) and it has been so fun to be more hands on in that way
than just going somewhere and saying produce me.
I hope these albums become number one hits and I am touring arenas and
all of that, but I also think if nothing else I am going to be able to
have these wonderful gems that are a representation of my dad and me.
My dad is a genius and he just
never really chose to pursue it in the way that you might need to pursue
it in this industry.
What is so interesting about music is if you are hearing the person
playing a guitar part, it is totally different if you play it or if I
play it and it is the same with drums, or bass or anything. When I
listen back to my first two records there is a lot I would change. I can
reflect on it (the albums) and say that’s my dad and me. We worked
together on these pieces of art that are going to last forever. My dad
is one of my best friends. We get along very well. In the studio we have
a funny dynamic. I would say I am a little more structured. When I was
growing up I took piano lessons and I studied music. He just knows
everything. When we work together he is this idea meld and he just
throws these thoughts at me.
Nope, nope, nope, yep, that’s perfect.”
About
"Waiting It Out," she says, “I played it live a lot
and it is what I always ended my shows with. Everybody loved it when I
played it live. When I looked at this song (again) I thought it had a
lot of potential and I really liked what was being said, but I wanted to
say it in a different way. This song has gone through many incarnations.
I love that song so much. It is my favorite song to sing and I have so
much fun singing it. I think one of the interesting things about (being a romantic) is not just about falling in love, but it also infiltrates the way you view the world too. It is like your view of life can shift. You also go cry for three hours, but then you are back up!” she says laughing heartily.
Continuing Sales says, “It takes a lot of energy to figure out what the
song wants you to do with it, as a producer. With “Waiting It Out,” my
bassist, drummer and I sat down and it was oh my god and it was instant
with the horn arrangement and everything. I sang it in one take.”
The horn section introduces the fifth song “Easy To Love,” from the
album Slightly Out of Tune,
and it is a finger snapping, head nodding, foot tapping tune right from
the first few notes. The arrangements on this album, the production and
the ability of Hayley Sales to cross so many musical boundaries in what
at least appears to the listener almost effortlessly suggests that this
is a singer and songwriter who would have been a star in almost any age
of music during the past century.
Talking about “Easy To Love,” Hayley Sales says, “There is a different
version of that song, with just guitar (without
horns or other instruments). I came up with the guitar and drums and
bass, (before) we realized the horns were necessary for that particular
arrangement of the song. Some of the songs went through so many
versions. The sax is my favorite. It sounds like a grumpy old man in the
background.
I have done the song at a couple of showcases. Everybody (in the
audience) wants to sing it, which makes me really happy. It is an
uplifter. The people who won’t tap their feet will be nodding their
heads. To make the people move who don’t want to move, that means my job
is done.”
“You Don’t Know How To Love,” the eighth song on the album is about two
people in a relationship and the woman has invested her time and her
love in someone that seems incapable or unwilling to do the same for
her. That frustration is expressed in lyrics such as, “I’m not wasting
my time” and “You don’t know how to love,” as well as “I’m sick of it
all.” Contrary to what our readers might think however, this song is not
moody, nor is it a downer. The sense is more of a woman portrayed, as
having the strength to say, I deserve better and I am prepared to walk
out that door unless you shape up mister. Juxtaposed to the lyrics is
upbeat music that is once again very danceable.
The song “Like Never Before,” co-written with Sharon Stone (Yes
that Sharon Stone) is slow, romantic and showcases Hayley Sales’
incredible vocals. All of the songs that comprise
Slightly Out of Tune were
written solely by Hayley Sales, with the exception of this one.
“It is the one and (only) co-write that I have done in my whole life. It
was amazing. Sharon did a lot of the lyrics and I sat there at the piano
at her house. She said what are you thinking?
I said I would like to write a
song in the Judy Garland mode. We sat there for the whole day crafting
that song. Sharon is
amazing and she is a brilliant writer. It was the coolest songwriting
session to have in your first songwriting session ever. I’m really
lucky. She is brilliant.
A really interesting point is Sharon (Stone) is very caring. I remember
at one point she looked at me and said you don’t need that makeup. You
don’t need any of that. You have it. You are it. It is just you. That
was the kind of moment where aww that is Sharon Stone telling me. I was
a bit nervous and it just broke the ice. It was a really important thing
for me to hear at that point in my life (a
few years ago when the song was written) when I was just getting
back into acting. She was really caring and she is brilliant in the way
that she writes. You can tell when you are around people who are very
smart and intellectual. Their minds are just spinning. It is beautiful
to watch.”
When this writer suggested that
“Like Never Before,” is the ultimate wedding song,
Hayley Sales said, “I surprised my groom and I played it as the last
song of the night. It is a real love song and it came from a place
within both of us at that moment we were very much in love. It is about
two people meeting at this moment in their lives and having this thing
they want to say. It turned out really cool.”
Like many of the songs on this record “Out of Tune,” was not written
specifically for this album, but rather was given birth many years ago
and evolved over the years.
Sales explains, “I started writing that song at sixteen, when I dated
that person and I finished it six years later. It was many years, before
that song was finished.
“Out Of Tune,” is that moment when you are sitting alone at 2 am and you
are just wishing there was a way that you could be with someone that you
love and that doesn’t want to be with you. You are just wishing you
could get that second chance. I actually did write it at 2 am (she
laughs) on a couch in LA, while thinking of a person who was very
impactful in my life and just wishing that I could get that second
chance.”
We wondered if Hayley Sales finds it easier to write songs such as “Out
of Tune,” once there has been some emotional distance and space.
She says, “I would say it is a healthy split. I know that is not the
best answer, but sometimes it is the moment when you are really feeling
it that you are able to capture it. It is hard. It is a painful
experience in some ways. There are definitely those moments, but then it
is really easy to look back on something. This is when acting is fun,
because I will be able to go back into that frame of mind and when you
do have the distance you are able to really fine tune what you want to
say. When you are in the moment you are just saying what you need to
say. It depends on whether you are able to be creative when you are
having those feelings. Sometimes I literally cannot write songs or I
cannot do anything when I am experiencing something like that and there
are other times that I can.”
Your writer suggests jokingly to heck with the people who say writing
about such events in one’s life is cathartic and she agrees, as we share
some laughter about that, while Sales adds that it can be a very painful
experience.
The string section introduces “Out of Tune,” and one has the sense of a
big scene in a movie. There are so many reasons to purchase this album
once it is released and this song is one of them. The soulful vocals of
Hayley Sales on this song are reason enough for you to buy
Slightly Out of Tune, the
record.
“What is so fascinating is the record that you heard is so different
from how the other record is going to be. There are two sides of me. One
is very cinematic and I love the drama of the strings and horns and one
is just me playing piano. I was hearing this 1960s movie soundtrack, as
the intro and I talked to Carl (Marsh) about it. It was a cool creation
and he came up with that. It is
more moody and it lends itself to more of what the next record is going
to have a lot of, but without the strings and horns,” she says.
We take a few minutes to talk about the acting side of Hayley Sales’
career. Since the beginning of 2017 if we counted correctly she has
filmed episodes for four different television series and six movies.
“I recently filmed a musical film
Strike! It is based on the successful stage musical
Strike! I play a historic
figure, Helen Armstrong, who took part in the union strikes of 1919. I
also recently guest starred in
Supernatural (TV). I will be in the Halloween episode,” she says.
Hayley Sales projects this girl next door persona and she is very down
to earth, so we could not resist asking her what it was like to play the
haughty and somewhat less than friendly Lady Isabelle in Hallmark /
Crown Media’s made for TV movie
Royal New Year’s Eve in 2017.
“That was so much fun.
First of all along with loving the forties when I was growing up, I
loved Shakespeare. I was very into England and I loved the accent. My
parents and I went to England when I was ten and I embraced the accent
the whole time. I got mad at my mom for speaking with an American
accent, because it gave it away that I wasn’t actually British. I have
loved speaking with accents my whole life, so when this part popped up
as an option I was just so smitten. The idea that I got to play a
princess was pretty awesome and to do it with an accent. Then to not be
the good person in the story was so amazing. The actors were so much fun
to work with.
I was just talking to my mom today about how nobody is without the dark
side in some ways. It is really fun when you get to be the heroine and
then you think where are the fears? Where are the weaknesses and the bad
agendas? When you look at that it makes you see how real that character
is. The reverse goes for the bad characters and you ask why is that
person so catty and shallow? To get to play characters who aren’t
necessarily the good people in the story, but then find the reasons why
they might not be the best person. The juiciness of getting to go this
person is conditioned to be like this in their life and then ask why?
What is the good side of this person and why do I like this person? This
is one of the things about acting that I love.”
One would think that with such an active acting and music career there
must be days when Hayley Sales just runs out of steam.
Laughing she says, “I don’t stop. It’s my passion and I just make the
time. I don’t think that I do anything besides acting and music right
now. I don’t really have a life, but to me that is my life and I love it
so much. (As for) the energy, those are on my good days. Sometimes I am
very tired. I have been trying to do this since I was five. I said mom
I’m going to be in movies and I am going to be a singer and I am going
to make it happen. Since then it
has been both easy and an uphill battle. The energy comes from the
determination to make it happen and not taking no for an answer. It is
just doing it and I love it. I
am doing it and trying to do the best that I can at it. I keep going
until it starts coasting and then it is less of an uphill battle. The
thing is once you get to the next level, there is a next level and a
next level up. It is like you keep learning and you keep pushing to
something new. It is always exciting. There is always something going
on. I love it.”
Hayley Sales is young, but she is an old soul. One gets the sense that
she is having fun with both her acting and music career and while she
has worked really hard at her career, gratitude still seems front and
center in the way she approaches life. She has been through the tough
times when through an unfortunate series of events the rights to her own
music were tied up for eight years, yet that did not deter her. Hayley
Sales is the first to admit that she is a romantic and it informs her
music. Her ability to meld modern influences with classic arrangements
and vocals has carved out for her a somewhat unique niche in today’s
music.
“It is sometimes challenging, because it can take a bit longer when you
are doing something a little different. I think I am doing something out
of the ordinary for the current times. I flirted with doing the thing
that would instantly get on top forties during my time as a musician.
Then it becomes I want to do it
this way, because I feel music is very one sided right now.
I said to my friends when did being a romantic or being in love become
uncool? I want to gently nudge people back into this mindset when the
melodies were more emotive or romantic. I do it for that reason and it
is also just who I am. I have been singing this way and playing these
songs since I was a kid. I feel that I would be lying to the world if I
didn’t sing the songs that I know I need to sing. I do it for whoever
wants to listen,” she says.
You should listen. We have embedded some links in this interview to some
of the songs from Hayley Sales’ album
Slightly Out of Tune. We will
let you know when the entire album is released. We have heard it and it
is the best record that Riveting Riffs Magazine has heard this year.
Please take time
to visit the
website for Hayley Sales where you can keep track
of her music and acting. You can also follow
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My
parents were so bewildered (when I was a child). They grew up completely
in the sixties and I love that music too, but for some reason as a kid I
gravitated toward something completely different. They liked Bob Dylan,
John Lennon and Joni Mitchell, but I came along and (It
is easy to detect the enthusiasm in her voice) I wanted to listen to
Judy Garland! They were (saying) what? (She
laughs) They supported me, they bought all of the music that I
needed and they let me do it. They were saying you are into this? What
about the Backstreet Boys? (She
laughs again) I did get around to liking all of that. It just took
me longer. (They were probably wondering) is she really five or is she
fifty? 