DAVID HECHIM - MY HEAVY MEMORY

#interview

DAVID HECHIM - MY HEAVY MEMORY (https://www.facebook.com/MyHeavyMemory/)

💿 Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have you on Hardrockheavymetal, David Hechim, Lead Vocals from MY HEAVY MEMORY. Welcome!

Thank you! It’s a pleasure for us to be here on Hardrockheavymetal!

💿 On July 17th will be out your new full length album entitiled CLARITY, positively recieved on our pages. Can you tell us something about it’s composition process and style?

Yes! Our album will finally be out on July 17th! And for anyone who is interested, it is available for pre-order on July 3rd at www.puresteel-shop.com . It seems we have been made to wait for a very long time to share our music with the masses. Initially, this album was done over a year ago, but we ran into some technical issues with some of the hard drives at the studio and we lost a good part of what we had done. At first we were devestated and we went into panic mode. But it’s not how you get knocked down, it’s how you get back up. After salvaging what we could, we took what we had and just built on it. We used that anger and disappointment to fuel the creative fires and made these songs even better. For all intents and purposes, it may have been a mistake to release this over a year ago. It wouldn’t have sounded nearly as good as it does now! As for what “style” we write in... that’s never an easy question to answer. Todd and Eddie, the guitar guys, always come havey with the riffs. There’s so much material to choose from, sometimes it’s difficult to make a decision as to which one we work on next. This is a welcomed problem to have! At rehearsals I’ll start humming or screeching, or doing whatever to try and find a melody or some kind of complimentary sounds to the guitars, and I’ll try to record it. I’ll take that home and lisnten back and think, “this song sounds angry”, or “this song sounds hopeful”, or “this song sounds like we should be breaking stuff”, and I’ll start putting lyrics to that kind of vibe.

💿 In your early times as a musician which artists or bands influenced you the most?

If you asked any of us when we were kids, you know when we were anywhere from like 7 to 12 years old, we would have probably just told you which guy from KISS we wanted to be. EVERYONE in this band was influenced by KISS in one way or another. That’s probably true for most bands of our era. There might even be a card carrying member of the KISS Army in our ranks to this day. Also, being from the Bay Area, what some might call it the birthplace of Thrash Metal, we would be lying if we said bands like Metallica or Vio-Lence or Exodus, didn’t have some kind of influence on what we do. Just the guitar sound and tone and attitude, but mostly the attitude. But the list of our influences are endless, really. I mean the obvious choices: Van Halen, AC/DC, Rush, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, DIO, Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, all these bands and so many that aren’t even listed have all influenced us in one way or another, usually by accient. We never set out to try and make a song sound like this or like that.

💿 How is difficult promote a new work after the lockdown drama? Do you believe can you return soon on stage?

Since we all have to stay “socially distant” right now, social media has been a necessary tool to keep in touch with fans and try to reach potential new fans. Some bands are really good at it! We see their stuff every day! They’re out there making sure people see their faces and hear their tunes as much as possible. My Heavy Memory has a few videos up on our YouTube Channel, and we try to stay plugged into our fans through Facebook and Instagram. Since we had to cancel several shows and now that any upcoming gigs are in a holding pattern as far as getting rescheduled, we’ve had to readjust our approach, just like everyone else. The hope is to return to the stage as soon as it’s possible!

💿 Here at HARDROCKHEAVYMETAL we are strong defender of classic format. Love for vintage or isn’t there a future outside digital?

Physical music seems to be so personal. What seems to be even more personal is the way we like to listen to our music, and more personal STILL is the way we might like to have our music collections organized. If I decide that for me, 45s (anyone remember those?) are collectable and that’s what I like best, I’m going to have a whole cabinet full of 45 records. CDs are smaller than 45s (and some might argue better sounding) so therefore, I don’t need as much space to organize my CD collection. A few shoebox sized bins should be fine for that. Digital files are even smaller (physically) than that! I can organize my entire “record” collection on a laptop, or even smaller still – the phone that I have in my pocket. That being said, if I have a thing for vinyl, I’ll need to go furniture shopping.

I remember when CDs came out, people started getting rid of their turntables, then their vinyl. I’m (David) guilty of that myself. Not the smartest move. NOW vinyl is making a comeback. It’s considered “vintage”. I can appreciate that. There’s something very soothing about that hiss when the needle hits the record, especially if you grew up with a record player. Now I have a record player in my house again. There’s even a market for old cassette tapes – even the 8 Track tapes! THEN there's the vinyl versus digital debate. Some will argue that vinyl is just so much more “pure” in that it sounds so much warmer and natural. Some will argue that digital is just so much more clean sounding, and then THAT opens an entire discussion as to WHICH digital format is best! No one is wrong. It’s all just personal preference. Even though it’s just easier for everyone to download a file to a device that I carry in my pocket or subscribe to a streaming service and have everything at my beckoned call, I miss the days of going into a MUSIC STORE where I could pick up and hold a record, or a cassette or a CD in my hands and feel like I HAD something… that physical connection – even if only literal – to the music I bought. I think that made us more discerning buyers. Nowadays, it’s just like having ice cream. We can just scoop up a bunch of it, and whatever we don’t like we can just toss it out – even before it melts!

💿 Can you tell us something about the great cover of new album?

The cover art is basically a presentation of the band name and the name of the album combined. CLARITY can take on many meanings in different circles, but the idea is that all those synapses you see firing inside the brain are memories… heavy memories. What if we could SEE those memories? Like if we were transparent. Like if we were clear. We then have CLARITY (the name of the album) from My Heavy Memory (the name of the band).

💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal, hoping to see you also on the stage as soon as possible.

Thank you for letting us be on Hardrockheavymetal. Our album “CLARITY” is out July 17th, and is available for pre order at www.puresteel-shop.com on July 3rd. Everyone stay safe, rock on, wash your hands, and we WILL see you on stage very soon!

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​​​www.myheavymemory.com

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