Hannah Wicklund – Interview

Nashville-based musical visionary and multi-instrumentalist Hannah Wicklund has released a courageous and inspiring new album, The Prize. Her mesmerizing vocals and fiery guitar work, along with production by Sam Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet), make her a dazzling and fascinating contribution to the music industry.

The record is a compelling, triumphant dedication that crushes echoes of pop, blues, rock, and growing up, an uplifting energy that embraces self-love. Hannah’s songs require us to go beyond the ordinary. She captures the essence of kaleidoscope vibrancy as orgasmic. Her songs are full of texture, color, and lots of heart.

LOUDER THAN WAR: What was the inspiration for The Prize, this song, and the album?

HW: “Well, The Prize was actually the last song I wrote for this record. I stopped writing songs after I wrote this. You know, I still haven’t really talked about it. I don’t think I’ve ever done it. It’s funny, this is the last song I wrote, but it’s the one I worked on the longest. I had this dream when I was in my first relationship. This The record was made when a relationship with one of my drummers broke down. Basically, about 6 months into our year and a half long relationship, I realized I wasn’t in the right place. I realized that I was growing up. I had this dream while I was running. I had just started running and my whole body turned white. It was a very cinematic dream. I was just running, running, running, and then suddenly I tripped.

I knew I was running away from something. I stumbled and suddenly a gun was pointed at my face. It was very cinematic and completely white. It was just the tip of the gun, the barrel. I couldn’t see who had it. I couldn’t see the body, it was literally just a black circle. I know you don’t actually die in your dreams, when you wake up, but I definitely did. It was this crazy thing where the guns went off and it was like time had passed and we were going straight ahead. Suddenly it moved down. It felt like I fell into this pitch black hole and was there for hours, and I know I died. It felt like I had been there for hours, but it also felt like I wasn’t there at all. As soon as the gun went off, I died, but my perspective also changed. Suddenly I was looking at my dead body and my hand was holding a gun. So I basically committed suicide. And then I started running again. I woke up and told my brother about this dream. He is also a songwriter and an intellectual. He interpreted it as me basically killing parts of myself that I didn’t really need. That I was growing up.

A lot has happened since I was a child. I was bullied so badly that I basically left school as soon as I turned 16. I started touring and really wanted to get away from the people I grew up with. Shortly after starting the band, my first drummer and his entire family died in a plane crash. So I had a heavy story and a lot of things to deal with. I plan to spend many years writing songs. And I keep ideas for songs for years. I have an index of all my ideas that I can go back and look at. I had it for about two years and the first line, “Welcome To My Nightmare,” came from that dream. There was a part of me that said to myself, “You did a great job.” That you don’t have to carry all that burden and anger. It’s about self-love. I definitely didn’t have anything like that growing up. I can’t even use the word beautiful when talking about pictures or dogs. I myself felt so far removed from that word that I couldn’t even use it. Yes, I think this award was ultimately a dream that made me realize that the only way to get out of this life alive is to live my life as a happy person. ”

What are your musical influences?

“I grew up with a great father, and he taught me all about classic rock. He also loved Sheryl Crow. I listened to a lot of Tom Petty, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones. But I grew up learning Beatles songs. That was kind of my foundation and introduction. So I learned quite a bit in the area of ​​songwriting from those songs. I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how much of an influence Etta James, Amy Winehouse, and Adele had on me when 21 came out. It was a big deal for me as a little girl. It was impactful. More recently, Fiona Apple was the record that got me moving and started the reporting process during the coronavirus pandemic. It was really refreshing to be beautiful.”

You are a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, artist… When did you realize you were so talented?

“I’m really lucky to have grown up in a creative household where that was more important than anything else. If you were doing something creative and you didn’t have to clean your room, that was the ultimate thing. My mother is an artist, an oil painter and a sculptor. My father is a musician. My brother, who is seven years older than me, played in a band. So there’s nothing wrong with being creative. It was fundamentally a part of who I was. I did a lot of work in painting and designing. I had painted when I was younger, but never seriously. I had always done my own art in my own way, so it was a big risk to paint my entire world and create it from scratch. I always encouraged my mother.”

What is your ultimate stage fantasy?

“I think one of the most amazing shows is playing at the Met with a full orchestra. Basically, it would be great to bring my fantasy world to life on stage through a set or something. think.”

What are you most looking forward to on your next tour? For that matter, what do you love most about playing live?

“I think I was just able to get past energy back and forth between the audience. When I’m playing at home, I don’t feel like I’m fully myself as a musician because it’s not a live show. I don’t feel like I’m fully myself as a musician when I’m playing at home. I get nourished by other people. I can only be my true self when I’m there. So what I like most is sharing energy and experiences. Because I could write songs, but there are so many people Because I could never write in a room. I’d never be able to perform my songs the same way by myself. That’s what I love most, the people.”

If you could ask me any question on earth, what would it be and how would you answer it?

“You have experienced your fair share of hardships on the business side in building your career, what advice would you give to someone currently pursuing music and how would you change that? ?” You’ve struggled in the music business and now you’re starting your own label, how are you going to do things differently and what do you want to see changed in the music business? mosquito? ”

“The answer is that throughout my life, I’ve been through different struggles and different ups and downs. My experience in the music industry also shares that trait. Just like in life, all of them… It made me the person I am today and led me to the point where I was able to write this record, and I think that’s similar to the path that was given to me in the music business. You can be a part of it and hopefully create a place for artists like me, who don’t have to struggle as much the way I did it.

So the way I would do things differently is to have the artist actually lead the career. For me, I think every time I get a manager, my career is going to slow down, especially if I’m a multifaceted artist. A lot of people didn’t know how to put me in a box and tried to tell me that it wasn’t the time to do that, that it was too much. So I definitely say that artists should be in charge and make most of the decisions in their careers. An artist’s career should be artist-driven, not label-driven. I think it’s really great that artists are actually protected in the music industry. I think there needs to be some checks and balances in the music business so young artists don’t get taken advantage of like I did. ”

Follow Hannah Wicklund on the web:

https://linktr.ee/hannahwicklundmusic

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All words are by Eileen Shapiro. More information about Irene’s writing can be found in her author archive.