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Courtesy of Uvee Hayes
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Courtesy of Uvee Hayes
Vocalist Uvee Hayes’ most-recent R&B/soul/blues album is In the Mood. A couple of the album’s tracks can be found and sampled on her website, uveehayes.com.
According to that website, “Uvee understands that the blues have many meanings, and some blues songs often grasp the theme of love or the relationship between a man and a woman and Uvee interprets and delivers them elegantly, with a superb and delicate sense of melody, blending effortlessly and combining with her creative energy. It establishes a very sunny and warm atmosphere for the listener that is concentrated in a positive way.”
Every two weeks, we ask the same seven questions of a member of the St. Louis music community and we visited with Hayes, digitally, for this week’s edition.
Music school? Self-taught? Some variety of both? Or none of the above?
I was a member of my high school choir (Noxubee County High School in Macon, Mississippi) and I was asked to enter the annual talent show. I entered and won, and that was my introduction to the business.
Regarding your creative habits, are you a night owl or an early bird?
Always an early bird. You are not raised on a farm and have the luxury of being a late sleeper.
What are the elements that make for an ideal studio/recording experience?
A studio with up-to-date digital equipment, an engineer who can operate the equipment, and most of all, an experienced writer and producer.
Is it more rewarding to play a technically-solid gig to a moderately-engaged audience, or to play a loosey-goosey set to a crowd that's clearly "there" with you?
Always a crowd that you can feel: loosey-goosey.
You're able to wake up tomorrow, magically gifted proficiency on the instrument of your choice, one that you currently don't play. What instrument would that be?
Lead guitar. I would create all of the licks that I have in my head on MY GUITAR...if I could play.
From childhood on, what's the very first song that you played to a point of real, true satisfaction?
I SANG “The Man is Down on Me.” My voice was my instrument.
Do you believe there are musical "guilty pleasures," or is this an unfair and misused term?
There are many "guilty pleasures" and I have experienced several, usually every time I perform.
We’d invite you to watch this short video from the St. Louis American, which also features her husband, the St. Louis radio legend Bernie Hayes.
