Ken Block, the lead singer of the alternative rock group Sister Hazel, chatted about their new single “Love You More.”
Aside from Block, Sister Hazel is made up of Andrew Copeland, Ryan Newell, Mark Trojanowski, and Jett Beres.
‘Love You More’
On their latest single “Love You More,” Block said, “Drew wrote that with an outside writer, and we got our hands on it musically, and we put our own spin on it. The song got to a place where everyone was super excited about the groove. It felt like a Sister Hazel song.”
“I think people will be able to see themselves in this song somewhere, and it won’t take them more than one listen to find it,” he added.
Future plans
Regarding their future plans, Block said, “We are constantly recording and writing new songs. We are touring as hard as ever, and we will do about 100 shows again this year. We also have our sold-out ‘Rock Boat’ cruise, and our ‘Lyrics for Life’ event, which raises money for cancer research. We are excited about a bunch of new things this year.”
Music and songwriting inspirations
On his music and songwriting inspirations, Block said, “It is always about our personal life experiences, things we read about, or our interpersonal relationships we have with our friends. We always try to write ambiguously enough so that people can write their own stories in our songs.”
“We try to find substance so that we can stay poetically different, and do it in a way that resonates with a whole lot of people,” he added.
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, Block said, “It’s a whole different world, isn’t it? There is a lot of instant gratification that comes with it since some people can get their music quickly, and we can get it out quickly.”
Block continued, “Certainly, they need to fix the financial structure. We focus on making music that will help put bodies in seats at our live shows. If you put on a powerful live show, people will acknowledge that it is time and money well spent.”
“We try to control things that are within our control,” he admitted. “We try to write music that we are proud of, and take care of the fans that come out on the road and support us, whether it is 12, 1,200 or 1,200 people.”
“Make sure that you are putting live shows that are worthwhile for the fans to give their time and money to see you. That way, the next time that you are back in town, the fans can look forward to it,” he added.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Block disclosed, “One Day at a Time.”
Regarding his superpower of choice, he shared, “The power to heal.” “I would love to be able to take away people’s difficulties, whether it is injury or disease or loneliness or emotional pain,” he said.
Favorite song from the Sister Hazel catalog
While it was a touch call to select a personal favorite song from the Sister Hazel catalog, one that stands out to him is “Champagne High.” “That song has a lot of layers to it, lyrically, conceptually, and musically, it has a lot of interesting components,” he said.
“Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls sang harmonies on the chorus with us, and the bridge, and it turned out just awesome,” he revealed.
Success
On his definition of the word success, Block said, “Success to me now is waking up and being excited about what I do, enjoying the people that I work with, and connecting with people through my work. Also, when my family (my wife, my mom and my children) is doing well.”
“Love You More” is available for pre-order on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Sister Hazel, check out their official website, and follow them on Instagram.