When Heartfelt Hinges first got in touch with us we blasted their single “Heavy Heart” through my living room, and I said guess how old these guys are to my musician friends in the room. It’s a slick single produced by Josh Kaler at Hello Telescope studio in Charleston by a young group of friends who’ve only been together about a year now. “Heavy Heart” is a catchy synth-burst of energy with strong repetitive hooks, but it’s not really my thing. The demo for their song “Paper Lamps” is more up my alley, with sharp guitar leads, up and down dynamics, and jaunty drumming. Oh, I mentioned their age in the opening line here, but forget that shit, the guys have got talent.
1) Describe your music for those who aren’t familiar.
Heartfelt Hinges is a young four-piece band fronted by singer/bassist Patrick Burns. Burns drives the performances with his energetic attitude and moving rock songs. His melodic vocals compliment the striking lyrics that Burns writes about, “anything with a life of its own”. The song, “Heavy Heart”, kicks off with a bouncing and memorable guitar riff in combination with a cutting synthesizer. The restless drums of Ben Sewell blend with a thick bass line and then lead into a soaring chorus. It’s a jam.
2) Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Some of our biggest musical influences include bands such as The Wombats, Phoenix, Mutemath, A Silent Film, Grouplove, Manchester Orchestra, and Radiohead
3) What are some of your favorite parts about the music scene that you come out of? What are some things that you wish you could change about the music scene?
As far as Charleston goes, the music scene has been nothing but great to us. We’ve received a lot of opportunities since our formation in Fall 2012 and we feel that those opportunities wouldn’t be as frequent in other areas. There’s a lot of local undiscovered talent lingering in the area for sure. The only thing we would change about the scene is maybe just more venues for progressive music.
4) How did your band get started?
Burns and drummer Ben Sewell had been jamming for years prior to the band’s first rehearsal. Soon the duo added on a third member, guitarist Pierce Maheu. The three of them began their jam sessions covering artists such as The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, and Manchester Orchestra. Shortly after, the development of original songs began and it was then that the group realized that they were in need of a fourth member to achieve the sound they wanted. Seeking out other members at their schools, they ran across Matt Calonius (keys and synthesizers). After only one rehearsal, the band had successfully written their first well-orchestrated song Paper Lamps and Calonius became a major additive to the band’s sound.
5) What are you most excited about for the future of your band?
I think the band has really been involved in a lot of cool local shows and events and I just can’t wait to get back out there with new songs and play on new stages. We loved the recording experience for Heavy Heart and can’t wait until we get to record our upcoming EP.
6) If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be?
Communication has probably been our biggest issue we’ve come across. It’s really hard to reach a lot of people in the music industry because most reputable people that are involved with music get hundreds of emails and phone calls a day.
7) Who are some of your favorite South Carolina or Regional bands to play with? What band do you think your fans should check out?
We recently played a show with our friends Heyrocco and would love to play with them again any time. Some other local bands we like include Tom Swift and his Electric Cohorts, and the Cole Collins Band.
8) What is your bands Spirit Animal?
An orangutan no doubt
Patrick Burns is 15 for 2 more days.