The Vincent Hayes Project-2011 Blues Music Award Nominee
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The Vincent Hayes Project-2011 Blues Music Award Nominee

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States | INDIE

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States | INDIE
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The best kept secret in music

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"Gary von Tersch"

“Inspired, persuasively pensive guitar work that might even cause Clapton to raise an eyebrow in appreciation. Two thumbs up!”

"Few musicians these days can sustain that inner aura of moodiness that is at the core of the blues for ten minutes on even one album cut-here Hayes does it twice.”

“Brilliant, cliché’ free lyrics”

- Big City Rhythm & Blues


"Gary von Tersch"

“Inspired, persuasively pensive guitar work that might even cause Clapton to raise an eyebrow in appreciation. Two thumbs up!”

"Few musicians these days can sustain that inner aura of moodiness that is at the core of the blues for ten minutes on even one album cut-here Hayes does it twice.”

“Brilliant, cliché’ free lyrics”

- Big City Rhythm & Blues


"John Mitchell"

“He is an excellent guitarist who can cover all parts of the blues repertoire with ease.” - Blues Blast Magazine


"John Mitchell"

“He is an excellent guitarist who can cover all parts of the blues repertoire with ease.” - Blues Blast Magazine


"Graham Clarke"

“Hayes is an excellent guitarist and vocalist and the band is equally impressive in support. Reclamation is an exceptional set of modern blues.” - Blues Bytes


"Graham Clarke"

“Hayes is an excellent guitarist and vocalist and the band is equally impressive in support. Reclamation is an exceptional set of modern blues.” - Blues Bytes


"Vicente’ Zumel"

“Honest, sensitive blues, played with passion from a point of desperation with the huge intensity that should be required of any band to play the blues. GREAT.” - La Hora del Blues


"Vicente’ Zumel"

“Honest, sensitive blues, played with passion from a point of desperation with the huge intensity that should be required of any band to play the blues. GREAT.” - La Hora del Blues


"Review of Reclamation"

"This is a CD that you must have in your collection!" - Review The Blues


"Review of Reclamation"

"This is a CD that you must have in your collection!" - Review The Blues


"Peter Blewzzman Lauro"

"Great bass leads, hot percussion, and zealous organ. Had me holding my breath. Absolutely amazing work." - Mary 4 Music


"Peter Blewzzman Lauro"

"Great bass leads, hot percussion, and zealous organ. Had me holding my breath. Absolutely amazing work." - Mary 4 Music


"Greg Johnson"

“Every year there seems to be at least one great guitar album that comes out and just slaps me full in the face and makes me take notice. This year it’s the Vincent Hayes Project. Reclamation just may be one of the most enjoyable albums I have heard all year long.

What great songwriting and musicianship. Terrific rhythm section, killer keyboard players, superb guitar playing and well-written lyrics. These guys are smokin’ start to finish. Vincent Hayes can work those strings in spades.There is just nothing not to like about this disc. A follow-up cannot come quick enough for me!” - Cascade Blues Association


"Greg Johnson"

“Every year there seems to be at least one great guitar album that comes out and just slaps me full in the face and makes me take notice. This year it’s the Vincent Hayes Project. Reclamation just may be one of the most enjoyable albums I have heard all year long.

What great songwriting and musicianship. Terrific rhythm section, killer keyboard players, superb guitar playing and well-written lyrics. These guys are smokin’ start to finish. Vincent Hayes can work those strings in spades.There is just nothing not to like about this disc. A follow-up cannot come quick enough for me!” - Cascade Blues Association


""Turning Down the Blue Chute...""

From one chord change to another, anything with passion and vision moves Vincent Hayes as he leads his two other band members through the corridors of his creative spirit. The Vincent Hayes Project is a pared down three-piece mercurial blues band, churning with the raw grit of the blues yet nimble enough to follow the most feral of Hayes’ spontaneous improvisations.

Born into a musical family, Hayes grew up sitting around campfires, listening to his father singing Bob Dylan songs on the guitar or playing Chuck Berry records in the living room. The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and John Lee Hooker are just a few of the musicians that would accompany Hayes through his upbringing and into college where he played in various garage bands until he could no longer ignore the original sound of the blues, embedded under everything he heard and played, calling out to him.

So...with a host of instruments under his belt (including diatonic harmonica and Japanese shakuhachi flute), Hayes delved into the blues without looking back.

The affable Hayes recalls this daunting decision with humility. "I mean…I’m a white male, 34 years old in 2005," he says. "Some people would say I have no right to play the blues."
While well aware of the pitfalls, he couldn’t help tumbling inevitably down the path. "Music is something I’ve embraced with such a strong bond throughout my life that I got to a point where I needed to devote my life to it."

He was looking for a groove, he says, and the blues was it. "With blues, there was a constant thump that was almost like a trance. The three or four chord changeups were limiting but un-limiting in that they always inspired me to search for some other melody beyond the obvious. That attracted me."

Not that Hayes doesn’t have his politics about the blues. A key element for Hayes is the honesty behind a musician’s art. "What it depends on first is the sincerity with the story they’re telling. I mean, no matter what culture you’re looking at, everyone has a kind of ritual music. That’s where I’m at with the blues."

Frustrated by the numerous, self-proclaimed blues bands who work an office day job and then go out on the weekends to perform their blues songs about hopping box cars and robbing trains, this multi-instrumentalist is more interested in telling his own personal stories to other people.

"As an artist, I’m trying to tell a sincere story; a story that can reach people in a fundamental way across the board, that’s what blues does for me."

For those who have had their fill of raucous blues shuffles, the Vincent Hayes Project brings to the Old Town Blues Festival their own personal blend of blues; a culmination of Hayes’ eclectic tastes, expressively cranked out from fierce guitar licks. Combine that with a veteran bassist (Dave "The Butcher" Alves, who Hayes describes as "indispensable") and a guru of groove on drums (Donny Huigley) and you’ve got an explosive blues experience waiting to be lit.

"This is one of the most solid rhythm sections I’ve ever found in my life," he says. I’ve been workin’ hard to find ‘em and it finally feels right and in the pocket. They’re both very dynamic and very conscious of each other without having to be too conscious. For the first time, I’m so confident.

"But you know, the performance speaks for itself. I want the audience to feel something. A successful performance for me would be if even one person came up after the show and said ‘Hey, I really felt something.’ I’m trying to work towards achieving a balance between entertainer and artist without losing the art. Collective energy —try to feed off it as well as create it."

-Jonas Greenberg - The Lansing City Pulse


""Turning Down the Blue Chute...""

From one chord change to another, anything with passion and vision moves Vincent Hayes as he leads his two other band members through the corridors of his creative spirit. The Vincent Hayes Project is a pared down three-piece mercurial blues band, churning with the raw grit of the blues yet nimble enough to follow the most feral of Hayes’ spontaneous improvisations.

Born into a musical family, Hayes grew up sitting around campfires, listening to his father singing Bob Dylan songs on the guitar or playing Chuck Berry records in the living room. The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and John Lee Hooker are just a few of the musicians that would accompany Hayes through his upbringing and into college where he played in various garage bands until he could no longer ignore the original sound of the blues, embedded under everything he heard and played, calling out to him.

So...with a host of instruments under his belt (including diatonic harmonica and Japanese shakuhachi flute), Hayes delved into the blues without looking back.

The affable Hayes recalls this daunting decision with humility. "I mean…I’m a white male, 34 years old in 2005," he says. "Some people would say I have no right to play the blues."
While well aware of the pitfalls, he couldn’t help tumbling inevitably down the path. "Music is something I’ve embraced with such a strong bond throughout my life that I got to a point where I needed to devote my life to it."

He was looking for a groove, he says, and the blues was it. "With blues, there was a constant thump that was almost like a trance. The three or four chord changeups were limiting but un-limiting in that they always inspired me to search for some other melody beyond the obvious. That attracted me."

Not that Hayes doesn’t have his politics about the blues. A key element for Hayes is the honesty behind a musician’s art. "What it depends on first is the sincerity with the story they’re telling. I mean, no matter what culture you’re looking at, everyone has a kind of ritual music. That’s where I’m at with the blues."

Frustrated by the numerous, self-proclaimed blues bands who work an office day job and then go out on the weekends to perform their blues songs about hopping box cars and robbing trains, this multi-instrumentalist is more interested in telling his own personal stories to other people.

"As an artist, I’m trying to tell a sincere story; a story that can reach people in a fundamental way across the board, that’s what blues does for me."

For those who have had their fill of raucous blues shuffles, the Vincent Hayes Project brings to the Old Town Blues Festival their own personal blend of blues; a culmination of Hayes’ eclectic tastes, expressively cranked out from fierce guitar licks. Combine that with a veteran bassist (Dave "The Butcher" Alves, who Hayes describes as "indispensable") and a guru of groove on drums (Donny Huigley) and you’ve got an explosive blues experience waiting to be lit.

"This is one of the most solid rhythm sections I’ve ever found in my life," he says. I’ve been workin’ hard to find ‘em and it finally feels right and in the pocket. They’re both very dynamic and very conscious of each other without having to be too conscious. For the first time, I’m so confident.

"But you know, the performance speaks for itself. I want the audience to feel something. A successful performance for me would be if even one person came up after the show and said ‘Hey, I really felt something.’ I’m trying to work towards achieving a balance between entertainer and artist without losing the art. Collective energy —try to feed off it as well as create it."

-Jonas Greenberg - The Lansing City Pulse


"Vincent Hayes Project wins nomination for Blues Music Award"

WEST MICHIGAN — It's one thing to release a great album that is received positively by the blues community. It's quite another when that album helps you win a nomination for the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Award, recognized as the highest honor blues artists can receive.

“It feels amazing, almost surreal,” said Hayes of being nominated. “This is something I've wanted to accomplish for 20 years, so I have to pinch myself sometimes.”

When The Chronicle last covered Grand Haven resident Vincent Hayes and his band, Vincent Hayes Project, it was to report the release of “Reclamation,” an album that was five years in the making. Listen to clips.

“Reclamation” was formally released at Muskegon's Alley Door Club last March, and was, in turn, well received across the blues board.

“The ballot is balanced between familiar names ... and more than a dozen first-ever nominees,” said Jay Sieleman, executive director of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tenn. The Vincent Hayes Project is one of those, being nominated for Best New Artist Debut.

Recognized in both Living Blues and Big City Blues magazines, “Reclamation” snagged the No. 6 spot on XM Radio’s “B.B. King's Bluesville” channel just a few weeks ago.

“We were on the charts for about five weeks,” said Hayes. “We're still in rotation on that station as well. Now it's time to take Memphis by storm.”

The Blues Foundation’s annual awards ceremony will be held at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis on May 5, 2011.

Winners will be decided by user vote. Hayes fans can go to blues.org to register and vote.

In addition to the Blues Foundation nomination, Vincent Hayes Project has been nominated four times by West Michigan radio station WYCE 88.1 FM for this year's state Jammie Awards. The nominations include Best Album, Best Blues Album, Best Group and Song of the Year for “Hit Me High, Hit Me Low” from “Reclamation.”

The Jammie nominations include two categories where listeners can vote in support of the Vincent Hayes Project. Go to wyce.org to register and vote.

“We're trying to encourage our friends and supporters to sign up and vote for us, so we can bring this glory home to West Michigan,” said Hayes.

The band includes Hayes, lead vocals and guitar; former Muskegon Heights Fire Chief David Alves on bass; and Donny Hugley, also of Muskegon Heights, on drums. Keyboardists Steve “Doc” Yankee of Lansing and Christian Van Antwerpen of Ferrysburg joined the group during production of “Reclamation.”

“Reclamation” producer Glenn Brown has been nominated for a Jammie Award as Best Producer of the Year.

Copies of “Reclamation” can be purchased through the band’s website, www.vincenthayes.com. - The Muskegon Chronicle


"Fire chief, band mates ready for national blues contest"


Monday, November 07, 2005
By Clayton Hardiman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

None of them is looking to quit his day job.
In a year or two, Vincent Hayes most likely will still be a freelance photographer, lining up shots of wedding-day couples and graduating seniors. Donnie Hugley may still be toiling away in his current work, cleaning out factories and foundries.
And Dave Alves will probably still be occupying the fire chief's office, managing the staff that routinely stands between the citizens of Muskegon Heights and catastrophe. But make no mistake: If the three are still breathing, they'll be making music.
"We play music because we have to play music," said lead vocalist/guitarist Hayes. Mark that down -- their shared passion -- as one of the primary reasons for their impending date with destiny. Come the dog days of late January, the three -- members of a blues ensemble called the Vincent Hayes Project -- will head south for Memphis, Tenn., to compete in the International Blues Challenge, the Blues Foundation's annual search for the world's best unsigned band.
The band already has attracted attention. Their work at Lansing's Old Town Blues Festival prompted a Lansing State Journal review calling them "innovative and all-encompassing."
And performances on WGVU-FM radio drew a similar response. "This is just amazing stuff," said host Storm Roger.
But on Sept. 25, the ante went up. The band walked out of Streeters tavern in Traverse City with a first place in the Mid North Michigan Blues Society's regional competition, qualifying them for the International Blues Challenge.
For some people, that translates to an invitation to stardom. The Blues Challenge has been the launching pad for such luminaries as Zac Harmon, Tommy Castro and Susan Tedeschi. In the blues universe, it's "American Idol," "Talent Search" and "The Apollo Showcase" wrapped in one.
But don't expect bassist Alves, drummer Hugley or guitar/vocalist Hayes to get all garage-band giddy. In a sense, they're already living the dream.
"I always try to remain optimistic," Hayes said, "but I'm also realistic. Blues is not a mainstream market like rock. We do what we do because we love it."
"I would like to see some success, but for right now I see music as therapy," Alves said. "It's a good outlet."
If this were a movie script, it would probably be one of those stories where persistence, talent and integrity pay off with wealth and fame. There would probably be a major recording contract in the offing, with an arena full of cheering fans behind the rolling credits. But this isn't Hollywood. It's real life. And for members of the Hayes Project, that's more than enough.
Not that it's a bull market for blues musicians these days. The arc of popularity for esoteric forms like the blues falls as much as rises, Hayes said.
But if a band is dedicated enough and talented enough, there are chances to tell your story, Hayes said. And the opportunity to tell musical stories was what drew Hayes to the blues in the first place.
At 34, Hayes, a Muskgon native, is the youngster of the group. Nearly two years ago, he teamed with Alves, a 48-year-old Detroit transplant. Later Hugley, born 47 years ago in Columbus, Ohio, came on board.
The individual paths that brought them together tell a fascinating tale. Hugley, who came to Muskegon at age 6, began playing drums when he was 17. "I was sitting there watching 'Soul Train' with my grandmother, and she said, 'They look pretty nice. That's what I want y'all to do,' " he recalled.
As for Alves, he grew up in the shadow of Motown, with music on virtually every street corner. Early on, Alves cut his teeth on bass violin, studying classical music and even attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in northern Muskegon County as a teenager.
"I always had that affection for music. I always wanted to be around it. Whereas a lot of kids were playing baseball, that's just about all I did." In Alves, Hayes recognized a kindred spirit.
Hayes grew up schooled in guitar by his rock music-playing father. The first song he learned to play was Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good." Later in college, he began to listen seriously to the likes of bluesmen Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
He became addicted, hitting any jam session he could reach. He recalled hopping a train to Chicago, guitar on his back, to spend a memorable 36 hours at Buddy Guy's Legends club. For five or six years, he played mostly solo. Then he caught Alves playing with Big Daddy Fox, one of the Muskegon area's seminal blues figures.
Alves, who had come to the Muskegon area in 1993, had gone through an uncharacteristic musical silence. His bass guitar languished unused. But one of his neighbors was Fox.
"I used to hear these guys rehearsing," he said. "Then one day I saw him at the store and asked if I could come listen to them. He said, sure."
Alves thought his visit would be strictly that of an observer. But he said Fox discovered he - The muskegon Chronicle, Grand Rapids Press, AP News


"Fire chief, band mates ready for national blues contest"


Monday, November 07, 2005
By Clayton Hardiman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

None of them is looking to quit his day job.
In a year or two, Vincent Hayes most likely will still be a freelance photographer, lining up shots of wedding-day couples and graduating seniors. Donnie Hugley may still be toiling away in his current work, cleaning out factories and foundries.
And Dave Alves will probably still be occupying the fire chief's office, managing the staff that routinely stands between the citizens of Muskegon Heights and catastrophe. But make no mistake: If the three are still breathing, they'll be making music.
"We play music because we have to play music," said lead vocalist/guitarist Hayes. Mark that down -- their shared passion -- as one of the primary reasons for their impending date with destiny. Come the dog days of late January, the three -- members of a blues ensemble called the Vincent Hayes Project -- will head south for Memphis, Tenn., to compete in the International Blues Challenge, the Blues Foundation's annual search for the world's best unsigned band.
The band already has attracted attention. Their work at Lansing's Old Town Blues Festival prompted a Lansing State Journal review calling them "innovative and all-encompassing."
And performances on WGVU-FM radio drew a similar response. "This is just amazing stuff," said host Storm Roger.
But on Sept. 25, the ante went up. The band walked out of Streeters tavern in Traverse City with a first place in the Mid North Michigan Blues Society's regional competition, qualifying them for the International Blues Challenge.
For some people, that translates to an invitation to stardom. The Blues Challenge has been the launching pad for such luminaries as Zac Harmon, Tommy Castro and Susan Tedeschi. In the blues universe, it's "American Idol," "Talent Search" and "The Apollo Showcase" wrapped in one.
But don't expect bassist Alves, drummer Hugley or guitar/vocalist Hayes to get all garage-band giddy. In a sense, they're already living the dream.
"I always try to remain optimistic," Hayes said, "but I'm also realistic. Blues is not a mainstream market like rock. We do what we do because we love it."
"I would like to see some success, but for right now I see music as therapy," Alves said. "It's a good outlet."
If this were a movie script, it would probably be one of those stories where persistence, talent and integrity pay off with wealth and fame. There would probably be a major recording contract in the offing, with an arena full of cheering fans behind the rolling credits. But this isn't Hollywood. It's real life. And for members of the Hayes Project, that's more than enough.
Not that it's a bull market for blues musicians these days. The arc of popularity for esoteric forms like the blues falls as much as rises, Hayes said.
But if a band is dedicated enough and talented enough, there are chances to tell your story, Hayes said. And the opportunity to tell musical stories was what drew Hayes to the blues in the first place.
At 34, Hayes, a Muskgon native, is the youngster of the group. Nearly two years ago, he teamed with Alves, a 48-year-old Detroit transplant. Later Hugley, born 47 years ago in Columbus, Ohio, came on board.
The individual paths that brought them together tell a fascinating tale. Hugley, who came to Muskegon at age 6, began playing drums when he was 17. "I was sitting there watching 'Soul Train' with my grandmother, and she said, 'They look pretty nice. That's what I want y'all to do,' " he recalled.
As for Alves, he grew up in the shadow of Motown, with music on virtually every street corner. Early on, Alves cut his teeth on bass violin, studying classical music and even attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in northern Muskegon County as a teenager.
"I always had that affection for music. I always wanted to be around it. Whereas a lot of kids were playing baseball, that's just about all I did." In Alves, Hayes recognized a kindred spirit.
Hayes grew up schooled in guitar by his rock music-playing father. The first song he learned to play was Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good." Later in college, he began to listen seriously to the likes of bluesmen Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
He became addicted, hitting any jam session he could reach. He recalled hopping a train to Chicago, guitar on his back, to spend a memorable 36 hours at Buddy Guy's Legends club. For five or six years, he played mostly solo. Then he caught Alves playing with Big Daddy Fox, one of the Muskegon area's seminal blues figures.
Alves, who had come to the Muskegon area in 1993, had gone through an uncharacteristic musical silence. His bass guitar languished unused. But one of his neighbors was Fox.
"I used to hear these guys rehearsing," he said. "Then one day I saw him at the store and asked if I could come listen to them. He said, sure."
Alves thought his visit would be strictly that of an observer. But he said Fox discovered he - The muskegon Chronicle, Grand Rapids Press, AP News


"From "The Saturday Night Blues""

“You know how they say this music can move you? Well if you don’t move in one way or three others, then you gotta be dead! I’m not kidding-this is just amazing stuff! Keep an eye out for him!”

-Storm Roger, WGVU-FM 88.5/95.3 Grand Rapids - WGVU


"From "The Saturday Night Blues""

“You know how they say this music can move you? Well if you don’t move in one way or three others, then you gotta be dead! I’m not kidding-this is just amazing stuff! Keep an eye out for him!”

-Storm Roger, WGVU-FM 88.5/95.3 Grand Rapids - WGVU


"Review of "Things Just Got Worse""

This album features three original songs and 6 cover songs. You can sure tell who Hayes' mentors are: Peter Green, Elmore James, and B.B. King. Two of my favorites on this disc are The Sun is Shinin' and Shake Your Money Maker, because I'm a big-time Elmore James fan. The first of the original cuts, Making Peace with the Demons is a great song and I'm glad to see that Hayes has had the tune copywritten. Hayes' fantastic slide work and his song-writing abilities are both featured on Things Just Got Worse. This CD is a definite local talent pick in my book. Hayes, from the Muskegon area, not only plays with the big dogs - he keeps up!
-Ed Markosky, President WMBS - Western Michigan Blues Society


"Review of "Things Just Got Worse""

This album features three original songs and 6 cover songs. You can sure tell who Hayes' mentors are: Peter Green, Elmore James, and B.B. King. Two of my favorites on this disc are The Sun is Shinin' and Shake Your Money Maker, because I'm a big-time Elmore James fan. The first of the original cuts, Making Peace with the Demons is a great song and I'm glad to see that Hayes has had the tune copywritten. Hayes' fantastic slide work and his song-writing abilities are both featured on Things Just Got Worse. This CD is a definite local talent pick in my book. Hayes, from the Muskegon area, not only plays with the big dogs - he keeps up!
-Ed Markosky, President WMBS - Western Michigan Blues Society


Discography

"Reclamation"-North 61 Records
Released March, 2010

*Nominated for 2010 Blues Music Award in category of "Best New Artist Debut"

*Recipient of 4 WYCE Jammie Awards in the categories of "Best Album, Best Blues Album, Best Group, and Song of the Year"

*Reached #4 as a "Pick to Click" on BB King's Bluesville on Sirius/XM Channel 74. Remains in active daily rotation.

*Spent two consecutive months on the National Living Blues Radio Chart June/July 2010

*Added to July 4 playlist on Blues Deluxe program, syndicated nationally to over 100 stations in the US

*Airplay on over 200 terrestrial radio stations in 10 different countries (including US, Frand, UK, Autralia, New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Canada, more)

*Top 10 Seller on CDbaby.com in the genre of Blues

* Number #1 Selling CD on CDbaby.com for entire genre of Electric Blues

*Now on Pandora Radio! get your own VHP Station now!

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

2011 Blues Music Award Nominee for "Best New Artist Debut"

2011 Blues Blast Award Nominee for "Best New Artist Debut" and "Rising Star Award" (Voting ends Aug 31, 2011)

2011 WYCE Jammie Award Recipient for "Best Album, Best Blues Album, Best Group, and Song of The Year!"