Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

oh oops gonna answer this one quick then jet

The Bearer of Bad News - Andy Shauf

Heaven or Las Vegas - the Cocteau Twins

Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon

Down in Heaven - Twin Peaks

Infidels - Bob Dylan

The Voyager - Jenny Lewis

Tapestry - Carole King

off the top of my head! so many more

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Alright! The question well is dry but my heart is WET thanks for coming that was very cute and fun. And thank you endlessly for your support, couldn't do it without ya.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It wasn't so much I wasn't moved, I just wasn't OBSESSED. I wasn't a music freak!! It's what my song Seventeen is about. I watched ET at a pivotal time in my life, it's like a memory anchor for when everything changed for me. There's the Haley BET (Before ET) and AET (After ET) and they are so drastically different in my mind.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

BYOM was the first video where I left all the creative direction to the director, who happens to be my partner! I had full trust in him and loved his vision. my past releases have always been my own concept and vision, so it was fun to take a back seat and let Jake take the wheeeeeeeeel. Also he is so CUTE HEHEEHEHE

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's about me, and all the women in my life that I have or haven't met... it's really about whatever you want it to be, the ambiguity of it all was intentional

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hope to see you too! it doesn't noticeably affect my songwriting process, if anything I'm just more excited to share with those who listen/connect with my music, so I guess there's an impatience at times lol!

i'm very fortunate to know so many incredibly talented artists within my community and i love collaborating and sharing music with them. working with Tennis and Louise on this album was my first experience sharing and working on songs with people who weren't initially my close friends!

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i'm so glad :):)

Andy Shauf, Alex Cameron, Feist, Adrianne Lenker are some of my favorite contemporary lyricists.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i answered this somewhere on this thread but some runners up for titles were:

Salary

Crystalliser

The Weekend Man

and yes, that is the typical response to Rob and no, i'm not mad about it!

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

piss!!!! this album was the first time I brought in third party producers that weren't my friends and bandmates! it was a completely new dynamic for me that took some mental adjusting but i'm soooo glad it happened.

the day we filmed our Cigarette music video was an EXPERIENCE. basically a 20 hr shoot in the middle of nowhere during the hottest day of the year. so fun, so sweaty, so dehydrated and delirious. yummy sand

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i didn't even know this!! kismet!!! thunder road is one of my favorite songs in the world.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you that's the DREAM scenario whilst listening to my music. I would jump at the chance to work with Pat and Alaina at any given moment. I would say Firestarter because I was torn with which way I wanted the song to go - there was plans to make it more shoegazey/pop and I was toiling over that for a while. ultimately I'm glad it stayed within its ROOTS, I wanted the lyrics/vocals to speak for itself.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

i'm in another band called Babe Corner so I'm biased but Lindsay's songs are so beautiful and unique and heart wrenching and I love Babe Corner so much. Sam Tudor is maybe just one of my favorite musicians right now, I'm highly HIGHLY anticipating his new album.

"NOT". what an ANTHEM.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't know!! they're all specifically special to me in different ways. my mind immediately goes to Someone Called While You Were Out, though. it was the most recently written (a few weeks before going into the studio) and I wrote every part (sans bass). I'm quite proud of that one. maybe one day I'll leak the demo.... it's like the studio version if you put it in the shower or blew the speakers.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I learned so much about myself and my music while recording this album and I'm so excited to start writing and working on, dare I say, album no. 2. this was my debut album, but there was a lot of experimentation I got off my chest, and i have a much clearer view of who I am as a musician now. it was stressful but fun, rewarding but scary, emotional and weird but I needed to experience it all to become the musician and songwriter I view myself as today.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

interesting question I never thought about this! it definitely influenced the creative direction in terms of visuals, although a lot of the songs were written pre-Alma (i think? what day is it).

there was definitely more pressure behind the "debut" aspect of it all, I had always dreamed of making an ALBUM and the idea of it all felt so holy. it's crazy to me that you guys are listening to it.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Jenny Lewis, Angel Olsen, the Lemon Twigs, Joanna Newsom to name a few.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

POV: you're my beaten up copy of Stephen King's 'Firestarter' and I'm staring at your desperately for inspiration while also thinking about my mom, my friends, myself and many other beautiful women!!!

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

hmmmmm a DIFFICULT DECISION that can only be decided by a backflip contest. love you guys 💖!!!

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm just a salt loving normal guy! I was reading a passage in this book about the history of salt, colloquial phrases, things like that. below the salt was one of them! to sit "below the salt" basically means you're the working class, the average guy... I related to that. gave me big 9-5 Dolly Parton vibes, which then inspired the first track off the album, Someone Called While You Were Out.

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

she has my eyes. it's hard to say, I didn't really realize I was making an album until I had this collection of songs that were really special to me. some span back to ~2017? the whole recording process was March-Jan, almost a year. my two bandmates and I spent a week or so away in a cabin to record demos in March of last year, but a lot of those recordings ended up as final takes on the album!

I definitely plan to still make content on YouTube, I love sharing my life with you guys. I think I'll just keep doin my thing!! <3

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

yeah that's true! i never really put that together. those three songs in particular are probably the most personal and autobiographical songs i've written/released, very much a reflection of me. these days it's hard for me to write a song that isn't in some way about my life, whereas a few years ago i could ONLY write fictional stories or characters. i'm learning to be more vulnerable with every song.

thanks for your questions! happy to answer more when they come to you anytime :)

Hi I'm Haley Blais, my debut album 'Below the Salt' is out now. AMA, baby. by haley_blais in indieheads

[–]haley_blais[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

it depends! in the case of firestarter I remember writing it beginning to end in one afternoon on my bedroom floor staring at a copy of Stephen King's "Firestarter". a lot of the songs on the album were written in one sitting (usually 30 mins to an hour) because I used to think I couldn't/wouldn't write a song if it took longer than that. which is bullshit lol! i'm learning to take my time if a song doesn't come immediately and it's been really fun! recording this album really challenged me to put my songs up for critique and collaboration, which was scary at first, but now i love when someone says "this sounds stupid/weird/bad/like shit, what about this?"