Jackie Hayes Rips the ”Bandaid” off in New Single
Photo by Gabriella Hughes
[UNPUBLISHED]: Hi Jackie! Congrats on releasing “Bandaid!” Can you tell me about the inspiration behind the name ”Bandaid?”
[JACKIE HAYES]: Thank you so much! Yeah, I just wanted to name it after the most prominent line in the song, “rip off the bandaid.” How I got that phrase was just me thinking about an experience that I had recently - how sometimes someone not being in your life anymore may initially sting, but that it ultimately will be for the better. Obviously, it’s a cliche that’s been around forever and I wanted to include it in the song.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the process like for creating this single?
[JACKIE HAYES]: I wrote the first part in my head at my old job. I had picked up a few shifts for a week to save up before going on tour. It was a quiet fall afternoon and not many people were coming in so I was alone with my thoughts. Sometimes I’ll just be doing a random task and a bunch of lyrics will pop up into my brain. So I kept singing it to myself until I was able to get home and write it all down. I approached writing this new batch of songs with lyrics first and instrumental last, which is the opposite of how I worked before. I like the idea of a singer repeating one line over and over to emphasize its meaning. I also thought it would be interesting to say a bunch of things back to myself that I didn’t really believe at the time, in the hopes that they would become true. I wanted to use my words to capture this sort of balance between pure desperation and catharsis, which is exactly what I was experiencing at the time. And I wanted the instrumental to kind of have this wistfulness to it, like a bittersweet feeling.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I know it was your first single that you’ve written on an acoustic guitar, what was that process like?
[JACKIE HAYES]: It was the first song I’d written on an acoustic guitar in quite some time. When I was way younger I’d play the acoustic guitar almost exclusively, busking during different events in the town I grew up in. It felt interesting to return back to that part of me ten years later. I find myself alone more often than not these days and I try to pick up the acoustic guitar as much as possible to stop myself from doing other stuff.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How do you think you’ve evolved as an artist since your first couple of releases?
[JACKIE HAYES]: Well, I’ve been making music for years now and it feels like so much has changed because it has. I believe you have to make hundreds of songs before you start getting to the really really good stuff, or what you’re ultimately aiming for. And it’s a very cool thing to have something like music as a time capsule or a marker of your growth/personality throughout the years. I started journaling and it’s helped me to get over some of that writer’s block I used to struggle with. I think it’s an amazing thing to be able to channel whatever bad feelings I have into a song because I truly do walk away after a writing session feeling better.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Where did you find inspiration for this song?
[JACKIE HAYES]: I find inspiration for my songs when I’m taking a walk, at work, doing chores, thinking to myself, hanging out with friends, reading a good book or an article, and looking at pretty pictures.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you currently listening to?
[JACKIE HAYES]: I just saw King Krule play last month and it was everything I could’ve asked for… I’ve been listening to The Cardigans, hemlocke springs, a lot of older jazz instrumentals, and random stuff that I find on my Discover Weekly. Also a lot of podcasts and YouTube videos.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Who are some artists that inspire you?
[JACKIE HAYES]: I love to hang out with people and listen to whatever it is that they’ve had on repeat. It usually exposes me to new stuff, helps me learn something from it, and also allows me to get to know my friends more. When I used to tour my crew would take turns on the aux, they’d play a lot of different music during those long drives and I would try to soak in as much as possible, trying to identify what made each song special and maybe different techniques I could apply to my own songwriting and instrumentals.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know!
[JACKIE HAYES]: I work at an ice cream shop right now and you know what, I’m not sure if it’s because of the sheer multitude of terrible jobs I’ve had in the past, but compared to everything else it’s the most chill situation I’ve had so far. And you get free ice cream. I’m kind of worried about my wrist these days because believe it or not scooping those tubs can really put a strain on you, but I also wonder that about our generation’s constant usage of our phones…either way, I must accept my reality.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What’s coming next for you?
[JACKIE HAYES]: I have so many songs coming out. Once I moved last year it felt like something in me was unplugged and I haven’t been able to stop writing. I don’t really know what happened. It’s a blessing and a curse, but mostly a blessing. I have two EP’s fully written and I’m starting to explore concepts for future releases. I’m in the beginning of planning a headliner tour - I’ve only ever done one-offs before so this is very nerve-wracking and exciting. Not music related, but I also want to go on a trip to somewhere I’ve never been before. Travelling is my favorite thing about life and I’m hoping to do some more in 2024. I want to be able to just take everything in and feel thankful for the little things.
Photo by Gabriella Hughes