MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.

What motivated you to start creating music? What age did you begin?

• Hayden Grove: It’s an honor for me to do this interview with YOU! Thank you so much. I started singing around the time I was five. My dad heard that I could match pitches vocally and the rest was history. I fell in love with the Great American Songbook around 9 or 10 and everything kind of just fell into place. I love performing and always have.

Website: www.HaydenFrankGrove.com
Facebook.com/haydenfgrove
Twitter: @H_Grove
Instagram: @h_grove

MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the musician you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?

• Hayden Grove: Man, there are so many. Michael Buble was definitely the biggest influence on me. He’s my hero, for sure. His voice is perfect and he has such a genuine appreciation and love for the music, I just connected with him the moment I saw him for the first time on TV. Obviously, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Louis Prima, Elvis Presley, Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby were massive influences as well.

MuzicNotez: What’s the ultimate goal you want your music to achieve, or for you to achieve in your career as a musician? Any particular message you wish to send?

• Hayden Grove: The ultimate goal is just to share my music with the world. I think this is the most beautiful genre of music. It’s filled with love and romance and authenticity. It’s beautiful in its happiness and beautiful in its sadness. Today, we lose melody. We lose lyrics. We lose stories that are told by the music. This music makes us feel good, feel warm and I think we could all use that now. So, that’s my goal, to continue to pull this music back into a modern age, along with Buble, Connick and so many others!

MuzicNotez: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?

• Hayden Grove: Well, there’s nothing like a Michael Buble show. I mean, he’s, I believe, one of the world’s greatest entertainers. He puts on an incredible show. I’ve sat front row a couple times now and the energy is absolutely incredible. I love watching Harry as well. He’s the world’s greatest musician. The things he’s able to do are absolutely out of this world and you sit in awe as you watch him perform.

MuzicNotez: Your latest release is your cover of the famous Elvis track ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, what’s it like covering such an iconic track?

• Hayden Grove: On this record, I actually cover two iconic Elvis tracks and I did so to show growth, to show range and to honor the greatest entertainer to ever live. His voice was unlike any other. He could sing with the huskiness of Dean Martin and the upper register of Frankie Valli, all the while dancing like Michael Jackson. That being said, I wanted to keep it fun and do a quintessential Elvis track and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ was one that I felt was a bit different from the stuff I normally cover, showing that I can work in a little rock n’ roll into my repertoire.

MuzicNotez: Your next release is covering one of your personal favorite tracks, ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ by Sinatra. What was that process like?

• Hayden Grove: I got so mad at myself for not putting the song on my first album that I had to put it on my second. It’s just so incredibly iconic. The Nelson Riddle arrangement is the only way to go with it, if I’m going to be honest. It’s absolutely perfect. It swings, it builds and when it swells in the middle, there’s no energy like it. That being said, I knew I had to do it and to bring my own life and energy into the song.

MuzicNotez: When covering such classic tracks, whats your process to respect the original, while making it your own?

• Hayden Grove: I think the answer to this is that I respect the originals so much that I don’t even have to think about that aspect of it. I would say my process is just to sing the damn song. Not to embellish too much. Not to go too out of the way to make it different. Just sing the damn song. Just use my voice and my vocal process to sing the song authentically. I think so often in this genre, people get sucked into trying to sound a certain way—like Frank, like Dean, etc. I certainly got sucked into it when I was younger. But as I’ve grown, I’ve tried to emulate less and less and just sing the song the way I sing it. I’ve sung these songs for decades now and I’m much closer to finding my own sound and my own voice than ever.

MuzicNotez: What else are you working on? What can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?

• Hayden Grove: Honestly, just trying to get out and perform for bigger audiences. The recording thing is great and very necessary, but I love performing. There’s nothing that connects you with people more than being on stage, pouring your heart and soul out for them. It’s the most beautiful and wonderful feeling in the world and I wish I could have it every single day.

  That being said, Christmas music is my absolute favorite. It’s really where I learned to love this music so much. I would LOVE to put together a Christmas album filled with classic songs and new arrangements I’d put together. That would be a dream.

MuzicNotez: Anything else you wish to say about yourself or your music? Any message for your fans?

• Hayden Grove: Thank you. That’s it. Thank you. You’re support and love mean the world to me, and I hope I give it right back to you! God bless you!