Meet Nate Hawley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Hawley.

Hi Nate, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So Old 40 started in Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Zach Conradson (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), and Jackson Rohlf (lead guitar/vocals), played out there for a few years influenced by a lot of southern rock, country music, and The Grateful Dead they eventually decided they would move elsewhere to work on their sound. Once they arrived in Denver they met myself, Nate Hawley, on drums. A lot of my influence has been classic rock and modern alt rock, so a lot of John Bonham, Taylor Hawkins style drumming which added a sort of punch to the music. To really round out the band we met Stephen Schmidt on bass who came from the east coast where he played in jazz fusion, prog rock projects and helped add an avant-garde element to the sound, as well as a very funk-based rhythm section. We slowly built our following from there and even toured around the US a few times. After COVID and the shutting down of multiple venues, we reevaluated our strategy and moved out to Southern California to get closer to the industry and reach for the opportunities that provides but we still very much consider ourselves a Denver-based band and we can’t wait to stop back through our home town and see those friendly faces.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s always a struggle as an up-and-coming artist. Lots of times you build the lineup for a show at a local venue and get kicked down to the opening slot or even get stiffed on your payment at the end of the night and there’s really not much you can do in those situations but you learn to roll with the punches. We’ve learned that for every setback there’s also opportunities and it makes those nights playing to a packed venue all the sweeter.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We make music and we try to get it out to everybody we can. Of course, you want to push some limits and create a new sound but you also want to get out what you’re feeling, and sometimes you can thread that needle and do both and that’s really sweet. When somebody in the audience is singing your song and dancing that’s when you know you’ve done a good job. We’re always proud of that. Our recent EP, Y’all Come Eat, is definitely our favorite accomplishment but there’s more new music coming soon.

What set’s us apart is probably just how the four of us approach music. We all have different backgrounds in what music we love and when we come together it’s going to be a collaboration that bounces around a bit before we land on the final product and that process is such a unique experience.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Write music with people who also inspire you. I’ve been in countless failed projects because I never got along with the other artists or we may as well have been collaborating in different languages. No matter how hard you try to force that into a cohesive writing force, it never works.

Pricing:

• T-shirts $20
• Stickers $2
• Kisses are free 😉

Contact Info:

• Website: Old40band.com
• Instagram: Old_40_band
• Facebook: Facebook.com/old40band
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHKpK-YctbuB0zYv-gWcqUA
• SoundCloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/old40band 

Image Credits
Tommy Christie