Kris Hayes

Of his time on tour, Kris says, “That was my time for checking out mentally. Some kids went home to their folks. I lived in a van after graduating. Tour is not real life. A very select lucky few go out on tour and bring home dough to the family.”

Kris Hayes was offered a full scholarship to attend college in Vermont, but turned it down to attend SUNY Purchase to study audio engineering and production. After graduating a semester early, Kris went on tour with his bands, Nightmare River Band and Candy Hearts, and later formed his own production company, Easy Plateau Productions.

After deciding to move on from performing and realizing he couldn’t make a living from gigs and tours, Kris took matters into his own hands and became a teacher and music producer. Listen to the interview to hear why Kris only applied to two schools, what it’s like to be a professional musician, how he balances teaching and playing music, and the process of starting your own music production business.

Highlights

On Graduating Early: “I think I missed out on some partying. I was getting psyched to graduate and I was invited to walk with my class, but they told me I had to pay $150 just to walk. No way. How many thousands of dollars have I given you? I wasn’t going to pay more than I already did. I didn’t end up walking.”

Life on the Road: “There’s nothing quite like it being on stage. The 25 or 30 minutes you’re up there, nothing in the world feels like it. It’s sort of like a drug–it’s hard to hang it up.”

Advice for Graduates: “Just because your degree says one thing doesn’t mean you have to do it. If you aren’t passionate about it, you should figure something else out.”