 "Photo: Photo by Clayton Bozard")
The world of music is one full of different genres, sounds and styles, unique unto themselves and all too often restricted in description by their differences. The victor of Carolina Productions’ annual Battle of the Bands, Haley Dreis, a third-year music and journalism student, sets herself apart with a breath-taking blend of mainstream accessibility, soulful sound and classical talent.
Dreis, who credits artists like John Mayer, Sara Bareilles and Damien Rice for her style, draws inspiration from many genres to create her signature sound.
“As a musician, it is important to have a wide variety of influences,” said Dreis. “I listen to a lot of Top 40 radio, jazz, classical and blues. I’m kind of all over the place.”
The biggest contrast to the songstress’ pop image, however, comes with her talent on classical violin. With 14 years of classical music training under her belt, including attending the North Carolina School of the Arts for high school, Dreis just last year stepped out into Columbia’s local music scene as a pop artist.
“One of my classmates and I used to jam out on the guitar just for fun,” Dreis said. “We loved pop music and used to do a lot of songs together. It wasn’t until I recorded one of the songs that we wrote that I realized that I really enjoyed writing pop music and that side of things.”
Dreis, who has played her fair share of sets throughout Columbia, was featured at Gap’s nation-wide promotion for a new jean line in August at Columbiana Mall, as well as this fall’s Free Times Music Crawl.
“That was a lot of fun, and it gave me a lot of exposure in the local scene to people who hadn’t heard my music yet,” said Dreis.
All of her success as a performer, however, came after the recording of her first self-released album, “Beautiful to Me,” which was officially released in July.
“I wrote all my songs last summer on this intense writing binge, and I had this epiphany over Christmas break that I just need to record these songs,” said Dreis. “It was one of those things where you almost have to have a recording if you’re going to perform live.”
The album, which was recorded, mixed and mastered at the USC School of Music, took about seven months to perfect with one big deadline that sped up production.
“It was in May when I was about to leave for an internship in New York with Island Records, and I really wanted to have something to take with me,” said Dreis. “I wanted to perform a little bit while I was there, but I also just wanted to get some advice and feedback.”
A taste of life working with a big city label, along with a little bit of background with the world of journalism, are two of the driving forces behind Dreis’ blossoming career.
“One side of journalism that inspired my start in music was just physically writing the articles. Having the experience of writing on a constant basis really shapes the way I write my lyrics, and writing in a concise and meaningful manner,” said Dreis. “Being able to talk to musicians and artists that I’ve admired for years when they toured through Columbia, and knowing that they have come from a similar background and similar experiences and were able to become so successful, is really inspiring.”
For now Dreis, with all of her musical influences coming together to inspire songs such as “Dancing to a Symphony,” which incorporates the beautiful yet unexpected classical violin, is more than happy letting all of her music just fall into place.
“It’s kind of funny how there are these two worlds that people talk about. There is the elitist classical environment and then there’s the accessible pop environment,” said Dreis. “I haven’t really made a conscious decision about what I’m going to do in the future, but I do enjoy having strings in my music. I am considering buying an electric guitar for Christmas, so we’ll see where it all goes. I’m still trying to figure out if I want more of a rock influence or to stick with folk.”
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