By Ericka Kastner
Some say Howard resident Bruce Hayes is the hardest working musician in Central Colorado. He sees himself as more of an opportunist, performing his rhythm and Celtgrass harmonies for a live audience whenever he gets the chance.
Hayes has proven himself to be both hardworking and opportunistic. Songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Hayes has been on the live music scene since his college days in the late 1970s. He produced both of his own albums and has recorded collections and singles for more than a dozen artists, including the first recorded single for the internationally known band String Cheese Incident.
Although his mother was a dancer on Broadway, Pennsylvania-born Hayes discovered his passion for music around the age of four with the release of the Beatles’ first album. His older sister brought the record into the house, and Hayes was drawn to it instantly.
His musical curiosity continued when at age seven, he snuck out of bed in the morning to watch The Monkees on television. “That was during a time when it wasn’t okay to listen to that kind of music,” he reflects.
The Partridge Family television series played a role as well. “Danny Partridge was this freckle-faced kid on a bass who made me wish I could live in California and be on TV.”
Hayes’ mother believed piano was foundational to other musical instruction; subsequently, his earliest instrument was the piano. He received his first guitar at age seven, but it was not until he was nine that he was allowed to switch his lessons to the steel strings.
At that time tablature was nonexistent, and guitarists were still reading black notes. “My first lessons were from the local band teacher. He taught out of a Mel Bay primer and pointed at my fingers to show me what to do.”
In college in New Hampshire, Hayes majored in classical guitar but eventually grew to dislike the structure and sterility of the genre. After attending his first bluegrass festival in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he went back home and traded in his guitar for a mandolin. Hayes never took a lesson but instead transferred his guitar knowledge to the instrument and entered the East Coast après ski live music scene.
Initially, Hayes learned and performed songs at audience request, returning to gigs each week to play music from Bob Dylan and Don McLean.
Hayes’ later influences include The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, paving the way for him to form his own musical identity. He finds it rewarding and thrilling to be able to imitate a style of music that’s had an influence on him.
Hayes first came to Colorado during his sophomore year in high school to catch a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains he’d seen only in photos. Years later, he returned to finish his college education at Colorado Mountain College; but it wasn’t until he first “starved for a bunch of years,” pursuing music in California and returning for a short stint to the Berkshires in the late 1980s, that he eventually came to Colorado to stay.
“I was nonplussed by the California music scene and found myself on a path to get back to Colorado to play in ski towns.”
In 1993, Bruce (on the mandolin) and his bassist, Dave Lyons were selected from 800 other entries as the band that best embodied the Colorado music scene. As a result of the honor, the two performed before the headlining act at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival that same year.
He became central to the Boulder music arena; opportunities continued as he played with Leftover Salmon and toured with Acoustic Junction, selling out the Fox Theatre with that band in Boulder in 1994.
Years of piano, guitar and mandolin laid the foundation for left-handed, righty-playing Hayes to learn numerous other instruments, including the lap steel, Dobro, bass, ukulele and Peruvian charango. In high school, while working at a “very slow gas station,” he taught himself to play the harmonica to pass the time.
He says his claim to fame lies in the creation of the Stratobassto. He modified the neck of a baritone guitar to work on a Fender Stratocaster body, allowing him to play an octave below a standard guitar.
Instrument dealer by hobby and self-described “eBay addict,” Hayes currently owns 100 instruments. Many of the instruments came to him unplayable, and he mostly buys them “to see how they work.” He laughs as he admits that his wife of six years, Trina, secretly wishes she had the walk-in closet for her clothes.
Of wearing so many musical hats, Hayes says, “I have a lot of irons in the fire. I like to do them all.”
He doesn’t know anyone else who plays the variety of instruments to the extent that he does, calling it his “bane and novelty at the same time.”
Nearly 50 years since he first fell in love with music, Hayes continues to perform live, but concerts have taken a back seat to his latest project, his three-year-old son Henry.
Inspired by his son, Hayes has begun writing songs for kids and is considering producing an album for children. “I used to be inspired by loneliness. A lot of my songs were written in that state of mind. Now the number of gigs I book each year has changed. I just want to be here as much as possible.” Henry, too, seems to have music in his bones. The youngster has his very own Les Paul peewee guitar; he was recently spotted in Salida strumming away alongside his father and bassist William Boddy for two sets on Benson’s back patio stage at a benefit for mountain bike accident survivor Ramsey Lama.
Hayes credits Salida’s Clark Roberts and the former Salida Café live music series with bringing him to Central Colorado. Hayes performed at the café for five years, frequently living in the parking lot behind the café while traveling through the region.
He moved to Howard 10 years ago for the real estate values and the mountain views and embraces a pace of life that affords him the opportunity to pursue his hobbies of motocross riding and trials biking.
Recently, Hayes read a quote engraved on the back of a ukulele that resonated with him: “Music self-played is happiness self-made.”
If four decades of self-played music is any indication, Bruce Hayes has a lot to be happy about.
For more information, a list of upcoming shows and a catalog of gear for sale, visit www.brucehayes.com.
It sure was great meeting Ericka and doing this interview. Great job Mike. Thanks!