On August 12, Hayward will be performing at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and on August 16 to 17, he will be playing two concerts at City Winery in New York City. “I am looking forward to them. We are having a great tour already,” he said. “I am very pleased with the City Winery since they always ask me back. They treat us well and a nice time is had by all.”
Hayward revealed that in his solo shows, he will be doing several of the deep cuts from the first seven Moody Blues albums. “These shows are about the way I recorded these songs,” he said. “It is about how these songs originally started. I do hope there is something for everyone.”
This past April, Hayward was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in its “Performers” category as a band member of The Moody Blues. “I am very proud that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame validated The Moody Blues,” he said. “I am grateful for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for producing that kind of temple of all those things that turned me on since I was a little kid.”
The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Ann Wilson of Heart. “Ann was charming. Nervous, but charming. I had never met her before. She did a lovely performance on that show too. It was a real pleasure to meet her. She was utterly delightful and charming,” Hayward said.
On the key to longevity in the music business, Hayward said, “You need to find what is in your own heart, and divert your own style and your own sound. If you do that and stay true to it, failure or success are different faces of the same coin really. You must do what is in your heart, and stick to your own judgment.”
For aspiring singer-songwriters, Hayward said, “Late at night, take your guitar. Inspiration has to find you working. You can’t walk around the streets and expect it to suddenly land on your hand. Just put the effort in, and go into your little room, and stay quiet, and start working at things on your instrument and inspiration will come.”
In 2019, Hayward shared that he will be headlining the “On the Blue” Cruise, with other noteworthy rock acts including The Zombies. “That’s a good chance to be with the fans and to get their input and feedback,” he said.
Speaking of fans, he said, “I owe the fans everything, really. They have given me the opportunity. I promise to always do my best and deliver what’s in my heart without any reservations.”
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, Hayward said, “Technology has been wonderful to me. I have been working with a partner named Alberto Parodi for the last 15 to 20 years, and he was right at the forefront of that. He has enabled me to do so many things that I would have never been able to do before. We both have done remixes of The Moody Blues albums, and we have compiled things. I have always embraced these movements, even if I put it through an analog processor in the end. I have been fortunate to record at home, so that makes things easier and quicker for me.”
On his use of technology in his daily routine as a musician, he said, “I use technology in simple ways. I put the basic track down on my own home computer, and then, I use guitars, bass, and keyboards. That is the way it has always been since the ’70s. I have a friend with a studio around the corner from me, who gets a beautiful vocal sound, and I put my vocal on it, in this atmospheric little studio that he’s got. That is the vocal I have used on all of The Moody Blues songs and all of the solo songs over the last few years.”
In his spare time, Hayward enjoys going walking in the hills, and reading. “I am never short of things to do. Music will always be my hobby though,” he said.
Hayward defined the word success as “Being able to do what I want to do and making a living.”
To learn more about Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Justin Hayward and his tour dates, check out his official website.
