Published: May 10, 2010 11:19 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight May 2010 Edition
HARDcharlie
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
HARDcharlie
Our Webzine really enjoyed listening to the music of this next band who mixes acoustics, emo, and hip-hop into their own unique still that is full of enriching life learning lyrics. Lead front man Charles Goldberg's voice is another strong point to this band's music as one can easily melt when Goldberg begins to sing. Charles Goldberg of HARDcharlie recently spent some time speaking about the matters of the heart that he brings out in the band's music in this in-depth and cool spotlight. Here is what formulated.
Isaac: I just listened to one of your songs from your CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?
HARDcharlie: When I was in high school, I literally did no homework what-so-ever. I would have full blown relationships with three to four girls at a time, and spent my time breaking hearts. My grades plummeted, my parents were mad at me all the time. I had very low self-esteem. I think I was really insecure back then and just unsatisfied with life. These feelings remained until I came to college and fell in love with a girl named Neta. She and I had a very emotionally intense relationship, but we were very deeply in love; I was completely loyal to her.
One day I caught her in a lie concerning another guy, and she left me because I didn’t trust her. Blinded by my adoration for her, I thought I was the one in the wrong, and decided I needed to get her back. Days after the breakup, I wrote her a letter with a list of reasons why I loved her. She kissed me after reading it, and I thought things would be ok. Sadly, things only became worse. Neta led me on for two years sometimes saying she wanted me back, other times saying she never wanted to speak to me again. The struggle she put me through forced me into a deep depression. A wonderful Rabbi saw my sadness and taught me how to deal with myself; I had always been dependent on girls, and I had no clue how to stand on my own two feet.
Neta and I never got back together in the end; she moved on to another guy, and soon after I moved away. My album is titled “to forgive myself…” Each song on the album is about one of the girls that I invested time, effort, and emotion in, who I either ended up hurting or who ended up hurting me. Writing a song about these girls allows me to forgive myself for the heartbreak I put myself through, and reminds me that the entire experience surrounding that girl wasn’t a waste.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
HARDcharlie: Musically, my biggest influence was Dashboard Confessional. The passion that Chris Carrabba sings with rubbed off on me the first time I heard his voice. His lyrics are more powerful than any other singer out there. My goal from the beginning was to make my listeners connect with my music, in the way I connected with his. Tom Delonge is also another major hero of mine. I love the way he lays out his verses; he writes a specific melody and lyrics with a set pentameter, and then has some variation here and there to keep things interesting. It’s simple and it works. Also, very honestly, I have wet dreams about Max Bemis from Say Anything. Everything he touches becomes a complete eargasm. He’s a fellow member of the Jewish tribe, and is just another imperfect soul who’s been through more than most, kind of like me. I’d like to be Max Bemis one day when I grow up. It’s impossible to not be impacted by the angst and bitterness he stabs into all of his songs.
HARDcharlie
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
HARDcharlie: The biggest highlight of my career was unquestionably meeting my producer Alex Bork. I had done recording before I met him, but all of the engineers I worked with didn’t really care about how I sounded. Bork has this knack for making everything I write sound ten times better than I expect it to. He gives excellent guidance, is extremely patient, and has million-dollar ears. He’s the back-bone of this entire project.
The lowest point of my career was probably a show I played at a bar in Kansas. I was a little tipsy, I was forgetting words, my guitar was out of tune, I stepped on my guitar cable in the middle of a song and unplugged myself; I basically made every mistake in the book. Thankfully no one I knew was there.
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
HARDcharlie: My mom made me play a million different instruments as a kid, but the only one I was ever really into was the drums. Drumming gave me rhythm, which helped me as I developed into a rapper, dancer, and eventually a singer. When I was 15, I was listening to a hip hop song by Aaliyah and DMX called “Back in One Piece,” and I wrote my first rap over it. I bought a beat online for 30 bucks, and my song was recorded on a CD that was distributed to the student population of my high-school. After receiving positive feedback about my music, I decided that I wanted to have the sex appeal of being a guitarist. I sat down and learned how to play the song “Grow Old With You” from “The Wedding Singer” movie with Adam Sandler. I seduced many-a-fine-young-lady with late night telephone serenades, and the rest was history.
I’m especially unique because I write both hip hop and emo music. Emo music appeals to me because it’s real. People, I’ve noticed specifically in America, are too bent on being happy. Happiness is too fleeting to really enjoy or hold onto; it’s not as great as everyone makes it out to be. What I really value is honest emotion. I like people who can open up about their failures as well as their triumphs, who are able to express something more than a smiling facade. I think it’s better and more valuable to be a strong person than a happy one, and emo music beautifully encompasses that ideal. Good hip hop music, past the bling, cars, and half-naked “hoes,” is just as raw and heart wrenching as some emo music. In my circle of peers, an individual’s overall persona is greatly defined by the music one listens to. My friends were either punks wearing leather cuffs and tight jeans, or G’s wearing big chains and oversized sunglasses. I wanted to be both.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?
HARDcharlie
HARDcharlie: These days, it’s not been too difficult for me to get gigs, I just haven’t been playing too many because I have other priorities. My heart is set on finishing my album completely and then playing shows so people have something to listen to when one of my songs get stuck in their heads. I just moved to Delaware, far away from my bandmates in Kansas, which is frustrating, but I have played some pretty kick-ass acoustic shows here. Delaware is nice because you’re smack dab in the middle of everything; D.C., Philly, New Jersey, and Manhattan are all a short car or train ride away. The live music scene in Delaware, however, is as small as the state itself.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
HARDcharlie: I think the state of Indie music is growing especially due to the Internet. It pisses me off when people bitch and moan about how downloading music hurts artists, because it’s just not true. In fact, there have been numerous studies proving just the opposite. CD sales generally go into the pockets of everyone else before the artist; artists actually make the majority of their salary from live shows. Now, because of the Internet, any individual with a recording can find a way to popularize their music.
I don’t mind the radio, nor do I mind sell out bands, as long as their material is worth being famous. When I listen to a song, I ask myself, “Could I have done this better?” and if the answer is “No,” I’ll love the song. The state of hip hop music is horrendous because people with no talent are becoming famous. I mean let’s be honest, Rihanna has a bangin’ body and beautiful voice, but why would any girl want a “rude boy?” What the hell is a “rude boy” anyway, and why would any dude want to be with a girl who has a blond Mohawk?
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
HARDcharlie: I’d have Travis Barker drumming, Max Bemis and Chris Carraba singing and playin guitar, I’d have Flea from The Chili Peppers playing bass, and I’d have a midget skipping around the stage throwing glitter at everyone because that would be so much cooler than pyrotechnics.
HARDcharlie
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
HARDcharlie: My CD “to forgive myself…” will be available on iTunes at the end of the summer. You can download some songs for free off my site, www.HARDcharlie.net
Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?
HARDcharlie: It’s ok to be flawed, you’re allowed stray from the crowd. You’re not alone. Sometimes it’s good to make bad choices because they make great songs and also serve as important learning experiences. Most importantly, if it has nothing to do with elephants than it's completely irrelephant to me..
