Interview: Hydra Melody – Bassist Jason Harari

Interview – Hydra Melody

Texas based 5-piece Hydra Melody have made Texas size leaps this year. The group won the ultra competitive “Land The Big Gig” contest, placing them on a big stage at Summerfest 2013 and putting $20k in the band’s pocket. If that wasn’t enough, the guys are now on the road as direct to support to Third Eye Blind. The tour stops in Cleveland on Sunday, November 24 at House of Blues. [Complete show and ticket info]

Spending an off day recovering from their first show with 3eb and a long drive from Texas the day before, bassist Jason Harari phoned our hotline to discuss the tour and the band’s success in 2013.

This tour for Hydra Melody, whose sound, as described by Harari is “an alternative pop-rock band that has very rhythmic elements throughout the whole thing,” is literally a dream come true for the band:

“The first album I ever got was the Third Eye Blind self-titled. My sister handed it to me and that’s been my favorite band ever since. I remember telling people, ‘One day, I’m going to open for that band.’ My manager surprised us not that long ago and told us that we got the opportunity. We’re such huge fans of all their music,” Jason said. “I kind of feel like that kid from the Philippines that got a call from Journey. They are pretty much the reason I picked up music,” he added.

The show with Third Eye Blind will mark the band’s second time in Cleveland. The first came after an invite from Alternative press founder Mike Shea, who the band met at a conference in Atlanta.

“I think we played for the bartenders and Mike Shea. I think that’s it. So ya, we played Cleveland once before, but nothing like this,” said Harari.

Cleveland isn’t the only city the band has played in an empty room. But Jason explains that it’s their resilience that has helped lead to their success:

“What separates the men from the boys in this industry is to see who really has the passion for it. See who wants to play for small rooms and empty rooms. You put up with the road, and sleepless nights, and driving through the night for thirty minutes to an hour onstage. The payoff is there. It makes it all kind of worth it. There is no glamour on the way up,” he said.

Hydra Melody recently holed up in the studio in Austin, Texas to work on their debut LP. “It’s the first time we’ve really been able to afford ourselves the opportunity to do that. It was huge for us. It was a great opportunity to just crank out songs but also get out in the community like Austin that’s so creative and there are so many musicians and talented people. You never really get out of the creative mode when you’re in a town like Austin, which is great for us,” said Harari.

While Jason would not provide a timetable for the upcoming album release, he hinted that it could be sooner rather than later:

“We’re pretty close. Right now, we have about 12 or 13 tracks that we really like. We’re writing all the time and we’re going to test some of those new songs on the road to see how well they go over live, because that is a huge part for us; not just seeing how well it sounds in the rehearsal space but how well it translates to a live setting. Right now, we are most interested in finding the right producer that can help us find something in our music that we haven’t noticed before,” Jason said.

Hydra Melody Official Site |Hydra Melody on Facebook | @HydraMelody

[box_info]Hydra Melody will perform as direct support for Third Eye Blind on Sunday, November 24. Complete show and ticket info can be found on our concert calendar, HERE![/box_info]