Music Is the Universal Language: Nick Hames on Why We Dance
Music is a universal language to Nick Hames, and he says it has never steered him wrong. Nick, a Boston-raised, Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and guitarist who fronts the band HAMES, explains why there's a song for every emotion, why a crowd kept dancing straight from a Stevie Wonder cover into a deep, traumatic song he wrote, and why his new album, West Coast Wannabe, is the closure he needed four years after leaving Boston.He watched Jimmy Page play guitar at three, started lessons at six, and still calls himself a bedroom guitar player playing to his mirror. He talks about why small-town crowds get up and dance while Los Angeles crowds watch, how Prince became his number one hero, what a jar of peanut butter he broke at six has to do with his first EP, the THEN and the NOW, and why a song can store a memory you revisit any time you hit play.🎵 West Coast Wannabe, the new album from Nick Hames, out November 6: https://too.fm/8xwzr3k▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0XOhlNgBK94CHAPTERS00:00 The song that opens somebody else00:18 Welcome to The Wellness Driven Life Show01:00 Meet Nick Hames01:39 Music is the bridge to the soul02:05 Growing up north of Boston03:06 Watching Jimmy Page at three03:56 A song for every emotion04:32 Music is a universal language05:24 Moving a crowd from a big stage05:51 A bedroom guitar player in the mirror07:12 Make people feel the way his heroes do09:23 His dream guitar09:49 The Hollywood Bowl, one day10:33 Why audiences dance11:13 How he builds a set list11:50 Superstition, then a traumatic song12:21 Why small towns dance more13:03 A mountain bar in a town of 3,00014:29 A word from Driven Livin'15:34 The musicians who shaped him16:06 Classic rock in his veins16:53 Goo Goo Dolls and John Mayer17:19 Prince, his number one hero17:48 Inspired by songs, not bands18:21 Giving the crowd what they came for19:07 Pop songs with guitar solos19:47 You sound like an artist I've never heard of20:59 His first EP, the THEN and the NOW21:25 A jar of peanut butter at six22:10 West Coast Wannabe, out November 623:06 Missing home in LA23:44 Closure for that chapter24:10 A song as a time capsule24:49 What therapy pieces together25:37 Son, you'd be crazy not to26:20 Where to see Nick liveWHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAYWhy a crowd will keep dancing through a slow, heavy song once the energy is in the roomHow a songwriter uses an album to close a chapter of his life and still keep it within reachHow one small moment from childhood, like a broken jar in a grocery aisle, can shape who you are as an adultABOUT NICK HAMESNick Hames is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, raised in Boston and based in Los Angeles. He fronts the band HAMES and writes his own music. His first EP, the THEN and the NOW, came out in 2024, and his new album, West Coast Wannabe, comes out November 6, 2026.West Coast Wannabe · Instagram @nickhames · YouTube @NickHamesSTAY CONNECTEDEvery episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-showNewsletter: drivenlivin.substack.com/subscribeThe Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/communityPRODUCTION CREDITSHosted and executive produced by April Chavez.Video production by Manlee J. Chavez.Music by Steve Stuntz.Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements
