Haley Dreis

Though 20-year old University of South Carolina student Haley Dreis has studied classical violin since she was 6 years old, her debut album, released this year, is a slick pop record full of her own original tunes that immediately ranks as one of the best local albums of the year. Beautiful to Me has been turning ears all over and garnered her some summertime gigs in New York City as well as a recent spot in a nationwide Gap event that had 700 performers playing in Gap stores the same day. Dreis’ songs are pure pop, but her classical background serves her well in that she’s obviously a leg up on the typical young, impressionable singer-songwriter types. Yes, there is plenty of Sarah Bareilles, Michelle Branch and other hip female music that one can point to as influences, but on songs such as the bouncy “I Believe In Love” she exudes a confident musical swagger way beyond her years.
- K. Oliver - Free-Times Columbia News & Arts

MIND THE GAP: Haley Dreis had on sexy boot jeans. Dreis was modeling a pair of The Gap’s new 1969 line of denim, but she wasn’t walking around the store: She was performing.
Dreis, a folk-pop singer, who counts Sara Bareilles, John Mayer and Sarah McLachlan as influences, won the clothing retailer’s “Born to Play” competition. The live simultaneous acoustic event was held Aug. 20 in Gap stores across the country to celebrate 40 years of the brand’s jeans.
Accompanied on acoustic guitar by Patrick Mitchell, Dreis performed songs from her debut CD, “Beautiful to Me. ” Dreis is a compelling performer, one of the scene’s brightest voices.
She sat down at a keyboard to play “I Believe in Love, ” where her phrasing was more like Michelle Branch than Bareilles, especially when she spelled out love, stringing the letters together with harmonic grace and skill. Besides Hannah Miller, I can’t think of a singer in town who has as much command of their vocal flutters, something Dreis also displayed on “Not Alone. ”
“They should put you in commercials,” someone said during the set.
Dreis would agree. Although she’s new to performing, she understands music licensing is the key to sustaining a music career.
“It’s a great opportunity for independent musicians to get exposure,” she said of The Gap promotion. “It’s sort of a way that we can creep into other people.”
Dreis, who is majoring in violin performance and journalism at USC, turns 20 today. Happy birthday, and we hope to hear more from you soon. - The State - Otis Taylor

Haley Dreis was born to play. Or at least that’s what The Gap thinks: The 19-year-old music and journalism major at the University of South Carolina won the regional competition San Francisco-based clothier’s Born to Play competition, which aims to be the largest simultaneous live acoustic music event in history. Over 700 acts will perform at over 700 Gap stores across the country; Dreis performs at the Columbiana Centre store from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday.

(Aside: Columbia native and R&B songstress Collette Blakeney, whom you’ll remember from the 2007 Free Times Music Crawl, will perform at the Gap store on 57th Street in New York City as part of the same promotion.)

Dreis, a New Jersey native, entered the contest on a whim via the elctronic press kit Sonicbids.com. “I thought I’d give it a shot,” Dreis says. “I just kind of submitted my material hoping they’d give it a listen and enjoy it.”

In addition to the mall gig, Dreis also has a chance to win a recording session with famed producer John Alagia, who has produced albums for artists the likes of Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, David Gray, Ben Folds Five, O.A.R., Edwin McCain, Vertical Horizon, Jason Mraz, Unwritten Law and John Mayer.
“Oh god, that’d be so amazing,” she gushes at the opportunity. “But, of course, I’m one in 700, so we’ll see.”

It’s all part of a big start for someone who didn’t earnestly begin writing songs until last summer. Dreis, who began studying the violin at age 6, moved to North Carolina to attend the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, where she devoted herself full-time to classical music. Inspired by her turn as a reporter for the University of South Carolina’s Daily Gamecock, where she’s interviewed musicians Katy Perry and Gavin DeGraw, she picked up the guitar and started writing songs barely a year ago.

“This is kind of a new pursuit to me,” Dreis admits. “I’ve always listened to pop, folk-rock, all different types of music. I started songwriting last year as sort of a side project. I developed all these songs and then said, ‘Wait, I should record all of these.’”

The result is Beautiful to Me, a balanced, mature and nuanced pop record marked with compelling melodies. Beautiful bridges the gap between Dreis’ love of the classical canon and the pop oeuvre; her training in the former has influenced the latter.

“When you’re studying music history and music theory, they’re always tied to certain rules,” Dreis says. “And I think it’s enjoyable to break away from that from time to time. But at the same time, I think what you learn is kind of a guide to what you do. I think it’s helped me have a base to build on.”

“I think I try to sort of break away [from classical training], because all I’d been doing was orchestral music,” she continues. “And when I picked up a guitar, it was totally different. But I definitely kind of try to stick with my roots; there are a lot of string arrangements on my record. And all that stuff just makes your music interesting.
“But I don’t know what my composition teachers would think,” she laughs.

Up next for Dreis: Diving headlong into Columbia’s music scene after a fruitful series of summer gigs in New York City. Dreis releases Beautiful to Me at the New Brookland Tavern on Oct. 8, and she’ll be performing in the Free Times Music Crawl on Sept. 12.

- Patrick Wall - Free-Times Columbia News & Arts

Haley Dreis was born to play. Or at least that’s what The Gap thinks: The 19-year-old music and journalism major at the University of South Carolina won the regional competition San Francisco-based clothier’s Born to Play competition, which aims to be the largest simultaneous live acoustic music event in history. Over 700 acts will perform at over 700 Gap stores across the country; Dreis performs at the Columbiana Centre store from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday.

(Aside: Columbia native and R&B songstress Collette Blakeney, whom you’ll remember from the 2007 Free Times Music Crawl, will perform at the Gap store on 57th Street in New York City as part of the same promotion.)

Dreis, a New Jersey native, entered the contest on a whim via the elctronic press kit Sonicbids.com. “I thought I’d give it a shot,” Dreis says. “I just kind of submitted my material hoping they’d give it a listen and enjoy it.”

In addition to the mall gig, Dreis also has a chance to win a recording session with famed producer John Alagia, who has produced albums for artists the likes of Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, David Gray, Ben Folds Five, O.A.R., Edwin McCain, Vertical Horizon, Jason Mraz, Unwritten Law and John Mayer.
“Oh god, that’d be so amazing,” she gushes at the opportunity. “But, of course, I’m one in 700, so we’ll see.”

It’s all part of a big start for someone who didn’t earnestly begin writing songs until last summer. Dreis, who began studying the violin at age 6, moved to North Carolina to attend the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, where she devoted herself full-time to classical music. Inspired by her turn as a reporter for the University of South Carolina’s Daily Gamecock, where she’s interviewed musicians Katy Perry and Gavin DeGraw, she picked up the guitar and started writing songs barely a year ago.

“This is kind of a new pursuit to me,” Dreis admits. “I’ve always listened to pop, folk-rock, all different types of music. I started songwriting last year as sort of a side project. I developed all these songs and then said, ‘Wait, I should record all of these.’”

The result is Beautiful to Me, a balanced, mature and nuanced pop record marked with compelling melodies. Beautiful bridges the gap between Dreis’ love of the classical canon and the pop oeuvre; her training in the former has influenced the latter.

“When you’re studying music history and music theory, they’re always tied to certain rules,” Dreis says. “And I think it’s enjoyable to break away from that from time to time. But at the same time, I think what you learn is kind of a guide to what you do. I think it’s helped me have a base to build on.”

“I think I try to sort of break away [from classical training], because all I’d been doing was orchestral music,” she continues. “And when I picked up a guitar, it was totally different. But I definitely kind of try to stick with my roots; there are a lot of string arrangements on my record. And all that stuff just makes your music interesting.
“But I don’t know what my composition teachers would think,” she laughs.

Up next for Dreis: Diving headlong into Columbia’s music scene after a fruitful series of summer gigs in New York City. Dreis releases Beautiful to Me at the New Brookland Tavern on Oct. 8, and she’ll be performing in the Free Times Music Crawl on Sept. 12.

- Patrick Wall - Free-Times Columbia News & Arts

One of this year’s most pleasant surprises on the local music scene in Columbia has been the emergence of Haley Dreis, whose debut album is turning ears near and far with its sophisticated pop-rock sound. Despite how it might seem, Dreis didn’t just materialize out of nowhere, however. The 20-year-old University of South Carolina student is a classical violin and journalism student, and her byline has appeared in The Daily Gamecock numerous times by album reviews and live music coverage.

“Writing for The Gamecock sparked my interest in the whole music scene,” Dreis says. “I haven’t had any formal training in composition, but I’ve always loved pop music, all different kinds of music: soul, folk, rock, blues.”

Her own songwriting stimulus was from a classmate, she says.
“I randomly wrote a song with a friend in my dorm and recorded it for fun,” Dreis says. “I enjoyed the process so much I decided to write more and ended up writing a song a day for several weeks.”

The end result of that writing binge, Beautiful to Me, gets an official release with this week’s show at the White Mule, though it has been available at CD Baby, Itunes and Dreis’ shows since mid-July.

Awash in crisp pop production values and songs that mirror the slickly packaged hits of Sarah Bareilles or Colbie Caillat, what stands out most is the layered arrangements, something Dreis says is a direct result of her musical background and training.

“Having classical training has definitely influenced how I have written my songs,” she says. “It set a good foundation for knowing what chords come next; having a theory background helped me develop an ear over time to pay attention to those close details of how something should sound.”

The positive reception to the album has given Dreis some pleasant surprises of her own, from winning a chance to play for a Gap-sponsored music promotion to a slot in this year’s recent Free Times Music Crawl, an event that she was covering as a reporter just one year ago. As Dreis tells it, even her professors at the USC music school have been supportive.

“I was unsure of how they would react, since I predominantly have done classical,” Dreis admits. “[School of Music assistant professor] Craig Butterfield took an early interest: he’s a coach for the jazz string quartet and has a really open mind, musically. I told my violin teacher, too, and he’s appreciative but I think he doesn’t really know how to react.”

Her professors ought to take a listen to “Dancing to a Symphony,” the composition that most obviously puts Dreis’ classical background to use in a song-length metaphor.
“I think the great thing about that song is that I do namecheck classical composers, but in a way that relates to people in everyday life,” Dreis says. “They were real people who shared emotional experiences that people like us do, too. It’s a way to take these composers that I’ve studied for so long and show my new listeners how they are relatable as individuals.”
Dreis herself is a pretty relatable individual, and even she realizes just how unusual her musical situation is.

“Even though this album is something out of my element, I’ve had a grasp on music for a long time,” Dreis says. “I’m just happy for the positive reaction, it’s really nice when you’re performing and interacting with an audience.”

- Kevin Oliver - Free-Times Columbia News & Arts

One of this year’s most pleasant surprises on the local music scene in Columbia has been the emergence of Haley Dreis, whose debut album is turning ears near and far with its sophisticated pop-rock sound. Despite how it might seem, Dreis didn’t just materialize out of nowhere, however. The 20-year-old University of South Carolina student is a classical violin and journalism student, and her byline has appeared in The Daily Gamecock numerous times by album reviews and live music coverage.

“Writing for The Gamecock sparked my interest in the whole music scene,” Dreis says. “I haven’t had any formal training in composition, but I’ve always loved pop music, all different kinds of music: soul, folk, rock, blues.”

Her own songwriting stimulus was from a classmate, she says.
“I randomly wrote a song with a friend in my dorm and recorded it for fun,” Dreis says. “I enjoyed the process so much I decided to write more and ended up writing a song a day for several weeks.”

The end result of that writing binge, Beautiful to Me, gets an official release with this week’s show at the White Mule, though it has been available at CD Baby, Itunes and Dreis’ shows since mid-July.

Awash in crisp pop production values and songs that mirror the slickly packaged hits of Sarah Bareilles or Colbie Caillat, what stands out most is the layered arrangements, something Dreis says is a direct result of her musical background and training.

“Having classical training has definitely influenced how I have written my songs,” she says. “It set a good foundation for knowing what chords come next; having a theory background helped me develop an ear over time to pay attention to those close details of how something should sound.”

The positive reception to the album has given Dreis some pleasant surprises of her own, from winning a chance to play for a Gap-sponsored music promotion to a slot in this year’s recent Free Times Music Crawl, an event that she was covering as a reporter just one year ago. As Dreis tells it, even her professors at the USC music school have been supportive.

“I was unsure of how they would react, since I predominantly have done classical,” Dreis admits. “[School of Music assistant professor] Craig Butterfield took an early interest: he’s a coach for the jazz string quartet and has a really open mind, musically. I told my violin teacher, too, and he’s appreciative but I think he doesn’t really know how to react.”

Her professors ought to take a listen to “Dancing to a Symphony,” the composition that most obviously puts Dreis’ classical background to use in a song-length metaphor.
“I think the great thing about that song is that I do namecheck classical composers, but in a way that relates to people in everyday life,” Dreis says. “They were real people who shared emotional experiences that people like us do, too. It’s a way to take these composers that I’ve studied for so long and show my new listeners how they are relatable as individuals.”
Dreis herself is a pretty relatable individual, and even she realizes just how unusual her musical situation is.

“Even though this album is something out of my element, I’ve had a grasp on music for a long time,” Dreis says. “I’m just happy for the positive reaction, it’s really nice when you’re performing and interacting with an audience.”

- Kevin Oliver - Free-Times Columbia News & Arts

When Haley Dreis sings about "Dancing to a Symphony" on the second track of her debut album Beautiful to Me, she isn't just throwing out fancy terms. The track, which namechecks Mozart and Beethoven, was written and performed by someone who has studied classical violin since she was six.
The twist is, Beautiful to Me is a pop record. Looking back on her background, Dreis isn't sure how she got to the current point, except that, at its essence, all music is related.

"Crossing over to the pop world is difficult as a classical musician," she said in a recent interview. "I'm not really crossing over because I think that music is just the base and it extends into different genres and whatever your interests are. Just because I do pop music doesn't mean I'm not going to do classical ever again."

She won't deny, though, that her singer-songwriter approach marks a distinct shift of gears for someone who's been in the classical world.

"I've been immersed in the classical music realm, which is a very different feel. I think it's more cutthroat, fierce, competitive," Dreis said. "But at the same time, you get a lot of background in theory and history. I feel like I'm well versed enough to write a song. I'm comfortable with melody. Playing the violin has helped me with melody lines."

The base classical violin has provided Dreis is evident in a record more refined and musically complex than one might expect from a 19-year-old college student who has been writing songs for less than two years. Songs like the title track, "Crying Out for You," "Take Away the Pain" and "I Will Heal You" sound as though they have to have been written by someone much more experienced.

But what Dreis may lack in age and experience, she makes up for in drive. She is a double major in music and journalism at the University of South Carolina and is spending the summer promoting the album and looking for a label. When asked when she sleeps, Dreis could only laugh.

"That's actually a big problem for me. Multi-tasking has always been a real discipline that I've been trying to get down myself," Dreis said. "I tend to over extend myself in general, but I have always been able to focus as a musician. I think that's always been a core focus in my life."

With her journalism major, Dreis is a writer for USC's Daily Gamecock, which has given her the chance to interview artists like Gavin DeGraw and Katy Perry. The experience has not only given her the chance to learn from these artists, but also served as a sort of inspiration.

"It's really interesting because I started songwriting a year ago, and this was all after I started writing for the Daily Gamecock. I guess it must have sparked my interest," Dreis said. "I would always ask, 'How do you write a song?' I craved that kind of information. It's kind of inspirational because most people's stories are 'I started at the bottom, rising to the top.' That kind of gave me a little bit of hope when I decided to pursue it."

And once the songwriting started, Dreis went at it the only way she knows how: all out. She taught herself to play guitar over winter break more than a year ago and also wrote her first song. After recording the song with some friends, she had to have more.

"I was like, 'Wait a minute; this is awesome. This is so much fun,'" she said. I decided maybe I should continue writing songs for fun. Over that summer I wrote a song a day. I really pushed myself to focus on that."

The record shows the fruits of all the work. Dreis has a knack for writing accessible pop without being formulaic or mimicking someone else. One doesn't coming out of listening to this record thinking it sounds like this artist or that artist.

It sounds like a Haley Dreis record. For a debut, that may be the most important quality to possess.

My spin: B+

With Beautiful to Me, Dreis proves herself to be a young artist to be heard. The songs are well written lyrically and musically, showing the artist's background as a writer and musician. She also shows herself to be adept on the violin, guitar and piano as needed.

The album also changes speeds well, moving seamlessly between ballads like "Dancing to a Symphony" and "Crying Out For You" and upbeat numbers like "I Believe In Love" and "Other Side."

The album's high point comes late in the running, with three straight gems in "I Will Heal You," "Beautiful to Me" and "Take Away the Pain." The three show a depth of emotion and a range of style and tempo.

For anyone wanting to hear a new voice in pop music with a maturity and knowledge beyond her years, Beautiful to Me should be checked out.

The album can be purchased here and should be available on iTunes later this month.

Haley Dreis

Beautiful to Me

The Players: Haley Dreis-vocals, acoustic guitar, violin, piano; Hayden Aaron-vocals, acoustic guitar; Patrick Mitchell-acoustic and electric guitars, bass; Grace Wetzel-piano; Jonathan Palance-drums

Learn more: www.ha - By Jared Jernagan

When Haley Dreis sings about "Dancing to a Symphony" on the second track of her debut album Beautiful to Me, she isn't just throwing out fancy terms. The track, which namechecks Mozart and Beethoven, was written and performed by someone who has studied classical violin since she was six.
The twist is, Beautiful to Me is a pop record. Looking back on her background, Dreis isn't sure how she got to the current point, except that, at its essence, all music is related.

"Crossing over to the pop world is difficult as a classical musician," she said in a recent interview. "I'm not really crossing over because I think that music is just the base and it extends into different genres and whatever your interests are. Just because I do pop music doesn't mean I'm not going to do classical ever again."

She won't deny, though, that her singer-songwriter approach marks a distinct shift of gears for someone who's been in the classical world.

"I've been immersed in the classical music realm, which is a very different feel. I think it's more cutthroat, fierce, competitive," Dreis said. "But at the same time, you get a lot of background in theory and history. I feel like I'm well versed enough to write a song. I'm comfortable with melody. Playing the violin has helped me with melody lines."

The base classical violin has provided Dreis is evident in a record more refined and musically complex than one might expect from a 19-year-old college student who has been writing songs for less than two years. Songs like the title track, "Crying Out for You," "Take Away the Pain" and "I Will Heal You" sound as though they have to have been written by someone much more experienced.

But what Dreis may lack in age and experience, she makes up for in drive. She is a double major in music and journalism at the University of South Carolina and is spending the summer promoting the album and looking for a label. When asked when she sleeps, Dreis could only laugh.

"That's actually a big problem for me. Multi-tasking has always been a real discipline that I've been trying to get down myself," Dreis said. "I tend to over extend myself in general, but I have always been able to focus as a musician. I think that's always been a core focus in my life."

With her journalism major, Dreis is a writer for USC's Daily Gamecock, which has given her the chance to interview artists like Gavin DeGraw and Katy Perry. The experience has not only given her the chance to learn from these artists, but also served as a sort of inspiration.

"It's really interesting because I started songwriting a year ago, and this was all after I started writing for the Daily Gamecock. I guess it must have sparked my interest," Dreis said. "I would always ask, 'How do you write a song?' I craved that kind of information. It's kind of inspirational because most people's stories are 'I started at the bottom, rising to the top.' That kind of gave me a little bit of hope when I decided to pursue it."

And once the songwriting started, Dreis went at it the only way she knows how: all out. She taught herself to play guitar over winter break more than a year ago and also wrote her first song. After recording the song with some friends, she had to have more.

"I was like, 'Wait a minute; this is awesome. This is so much fun,'" she said. I decided maybe I should continue writing songs for fun. Over that summer I wrote a song a day. I really pushed myself to focus on that."

The record shows the fruits of all the work. Dreis has a knack for writing accessible pop without being formulaic or mimicking someone else. One doesn't coming out of listening to this record thinking it sounds like this artist or that artist.

It sounds like a Haley Dreis record. For a debut, that may be the most important quality to possess.

My spin: B+

With Beautiful to Me, Dreis proves herself to be a young artist to be heard. The songs are well written lyrically and musically, showing the artist's background as a writer and musician. She also shows herself to be adept on the violin, guitar and piano as needed.

The album also changes speeds well, moving seamlessly between ballads like "Dancing to a Symphony" and "Crying Out For You" and upbeat numbers like "I Believe In Love" and "Other Side."

The album's high point comes late in the running, with three straight gems in "I Will Heal You," "Beautiful to Me" and "Take Away the Pain." The three show a depth of emotion and a range of style and tempo.

For anyone wanting to hear a new voice in pop music with a maturity and knowledge beyond her years, Beautiful to Me should be checked out.

The album can be purchased here and should be available on iTunes later this month.

Haley Dreis

Beautiful to Me

The Players: Haley Dreis-vocals, acoustic guitar, violin, piano; Hayden Aaron-vocals, acoustic guitar; Patrick Mitchell-acoustic and electric guitars, bass; Grace Wetzel-piano; Jonathan Palance-drums

Learn more: www.ha - By Jared Jernagan