Influenced by both the soulful roots of classic R&B and the spontaneity of the modern singer/songwriter, Dustin Hatzenbuhler’s debut album captures the passion and commitment of a young musician dedicated to the craft. Born a natural instrumentalist, Dustin taught himself piano, guitar, and ukulele, all while fostering his innate gift of vocal range and melody, drawing comparisons to artists like John Legend, Gavin DeGraw, and Jason Mraz.
The Minnesota native has been playing shows in his hometown of Minneapolis for years, and has acquired a devoted following while transitioning swiftly from energetic opener to established headlining performer. The 2012 release of “Fall” marks the beginning of what is sure to be an exhilarating musical career.
In this interview, we speak with Dustin about influences, challenges, his new project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of Original Things below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I’ve always been a big fan of R&B, Soul, and dance music. I remember being in middle school and spending hours using this program called “Dance eJay”, where you basically just selected tracks from a massive library of loops and made a techno song. I think at one point I had a 30min mix going, and I got so mad because it wouldn’t fit to be burned on a CD at that time. I was very much into Boys II Men, Ginuwine, Jagged Edge, Blackstreet, and then as I got older I became familiar with Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Al Green, etc.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
I remember the exact moment I decided I wanted to make music for the rest of my life and share it with everyone. I was at my first John Mayer show back when he was doing the trio with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan, and it was during the guitar solo in “Gravity” and I just remember getting goosebumps to the point of becoming numb. I felt like I was floating, like I had achieved an extremely high level of pure, child like happiness (you can trust I was NOT under any other influence), and I left that night with the intention of bringing that same feeling to other people. I thought, “If someone else can feel what I just felt from something I create, I will have made it”…On a not so deep note, I also just enjoy making things from which people can feel some sense of excitement on what might otherwise be a mundane Monday type of day.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I was definitely trying to tap into my “fun” side with this more than I had with past endeavors. We sort of accidentally made the vocal break right before the chorus sound like a commercial jingle, but we went with it because it actually worked and was a little goofy. This was also my firs time collaborating with anyone on a writing level, which turned out to be the most fun I’ve had making music thus far.
What was the last song you listened to?
When We Get By – D’Angelo
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I have to imagine anyone would prefer the sound of vinyl over anything, but it’s also convenient to be able to carry all of the music in the world in your pocket.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I have a love/hate relationship with pretty much all streaming services, but I’m definitely a big Spotify person. Mainly just because I downloaded it early on and just haven’t bothered to try anything else.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
It’s interesting because it’s easier than ever to get your music in position for it to be heard by millions of people, but to get them to actually listen to it is incredibly difficult. Luckily, I’ve had some great success with the app, Vine. So that’s helped a lot with introducing my music to new ears, especially through my more “comedic” videos there. I sort of wish more and more people sought out new music the same way they might look for new restaurants to try or for new products to use, but I just don’t see that happening unfortunately. I’ll probably get some backlash from saying this but I feel like the majority of music listeners depend heavily on the radio to find new music, and that’s scary because trying to get a track into rotation on a major station is like trying to bath a cat…I’m actually allergic to cats and I have no idea if they’re difficult to bath…Just strictly going off of the cat+water stereotype there.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
My handle for pretty much every social media site is “DustyHatz” except for my Snapchat…
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
I really hope everyone enjoys the new tune “Original Things”, and I’m currently finishing up a second single which will be followed by an EP! Thanks so much for having me. Peace, love, and weird stuff.
