Rock music artist, Cody Hyde!
Let's start from the beginning, where did you grow up? I was born in Coon Rapids, MN, lived in a trailer house in Elk river with my mom and sister until I was four, then we moved to a house in the country of Dalbo, MN, with my stepdad where one of my brothers was also born. We lived there for eight years, then moved to Princeton, MN, when I was twelve, then to Milaca, MN, for most of the rest of my high school years. I move a lot. Since then I've been several other places and states, and now I'm back in Milaca, MN.
What inspired you to get into music? I played a game when I was younger called Hot Wheels: Turbo Racing for PS1 and it had songs in there like "Fuel" by Metallica and "Dragula" by Rob Zombie, and I loved it. Then one day I told my mom I liked those bands and she brought me home my first couple of rock CDs, Metallica's Black Album, and Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe, and I listened to them over and over and also started listening to one of our local rock radio stations here, 93X, so I could discover more rock music that way and started a huge collection of CDs back in the day. Then from there, honestly, I originally wanted a drum set, just for fun, but my parents couldn't afford one, so instead for my thirteenth birthday, they got me my first electric guitar, and once I knew how to read tabs, I started looking up how to play songs I wanted to jam out to and eventually started being able to come up with my own riffs and songs.
Did you take guitar lessons or are you self taught? My mom set me up with lessons until she was unable to afford them, after maybe 6 months or so, then I did get a couple people to show me a few other things within the next couple years, but other than that I've been playing without lessons for about sixteen years now.
What is a songwriting session like for you? When it comes to working on music like on my album, usually it starts with the drum track, which is designed using some software with real drum sounds, like the snare, and the hi-hat and everything, and either I build the drum track myself or I buy the license to one of several made by drum midi artists who design their tracks for guitar players. Then I build a song with it instrumentally by first jamming to them and testing it out to see if it's one that I can work with or sparks any cool riffs or melodies. If it is, then I eventually start recording my riffs, and then once one layer of guitars are done, I write another layer of guitars over it, as if acting like the lead guitarist, and then the bass, which I use a bass tone effect with a standard electric guitar. It's like putting together a puzzle. Then finally I hire the best fit vocalist for the track through a few sites I go through and connections. I make sure while I'm making the track I structure it in a way for vocal-fitting. I also then mix and master most of the music on my own, as it gets pretty expensive after all that to hire someone else to mix and master it all. But I'm getting better at it I think.
Have you toured a lot in your career? I haven't toured at all. But I would love to. With my solo project I do not see it happening, because since all of the other artists wouldn't be present, I'd have to jam out to the songs solo and that wouldn't be very fun. With a band I would, but then I'd rather start fresh with a name for the band and everything.
What is your local rock music scene like right now in Milaca? As far as I know, I don't really know of any bands here in Milaca, but a few years ago there were some high school bands and I'm sure there still are.
Do you enjoy working with other artists? Yes, on my special edition of my debut album I have just released, I have four new vocal versions of my tracks that were instrumental on the standard edition, now featuring four new guest vocalists who laid down their vocals and lyrics on the tracks, and I'm really proud of how they turned out. I also have another song planned with a vocalist that I'm going to try to save for the next album.
Where do you record? I record all my parts right from my laptop where I am at the time, and then I pass my files to the other artists I collaborate with on my projects, who record their parts from their studios, which are in several different states and countries.
Tell us about your latest project. My latest project would be the special edition of my debut album. The CD comes with brand new vocal versions of some of the tracks, as well as an instrumental I recorded last year, and also comes with a lyric booklet which wasn't in the standard edition, and an included DVD featuring lyric videos, a couple videos I made using stock footage, but actually turned out somewhat legit, and visualizers I put together for each track with it's own individual artwork. I also designed the casing and everything with the CD. I'm my own manager pretty much.
What can we expect from you in the future? Well, I've got potentially enough songs started on or finished instrumentally for a new album, but it'll take some time before I find all of the artists I'd like to collaborate with on these tracks, but when I do, you can expect another album in the near future. And that's a fact.