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WEHM All Access - Great South Bay Music Festival - Albert Liu & The Wild Hearts · WEHM All Access

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, today on EHML Max Test, we're spotlighting one of the most exciting young guitar voices coming out of New York City.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Albert Liu blends blues rock with uh indie sound, backed by his amazing band, The Wild Hearts, uh from Berkeley training to praise from Billy Joel himself.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Albert's rise has been uh well earned here on the island as he's gonna perform at the Great South Bay Music Festival coming up uh this weekend.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's a Sunday on the band shell stage at 2 30.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Albert Liu and Wild Hearts.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Albert, how are you?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm good, I'm good.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: My pleasure.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to seeing you perform on Sunday.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Have you uh is this your first time at the Great South Bay Music Festival?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yes, it is.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, very cool.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um welcome back to uh well to Long Island.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you initially from?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're from the city, but you're you're living on the island, right?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yes.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: So well, I I mean I grew up in um in Nassau, and then last year I was in a band and I lived in Brooklyn, but I just moved back.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: So now I'm based in Nassau again.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, very good.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're looking forward to this.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I guess uh let's start.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't we go back to the beginning a little bit?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So when did you first uh I guess become interested in music and first pick up a guitar?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um so my parents put me through like piano school like since I was young, but I didn't like I guess the guitar was like my first what is it, my first actual love for music.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um that was in like the summer of uh eighth grade going to ninth grade.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: I was out of camp and I just remember my RA was putting on Green Day, and I was like, I I gotta play guitar when I get back, and that's how it started.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: So so that you well, it's interesting because you learned how to play the I guess you play piano at an early age.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: How old were you with piano?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I can't even remember.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: I like oh wow, that early, that young.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like six years old, maybe.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So something like that.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: So in a way, it was a good lead-in, so to speak, because you knew how to read music, you had learned a lot about that, I'm sure.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: But then in a way, especially at that age, uh, kind of you wanted to make music your own, I'd imagine.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: What would you listen to growing up?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so okay, so when I I think Green Day sparked my own like musical identity, because before that I was just listening to whatever, like um, I'd say like I was super into like punk rock uh in middle school, like Green Day, Rise Against, Sum 41, stuff like that.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: And then in high school, I had um there weren't that many people that play guitar, but the one guy who did was um he put me onto Metallica, and then I like that, and then I had my whole Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray phase.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: So basically just like everything, like everything guitar-related.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: How'd you learn that because it did you have a teacher?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Did you get to take lessons?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: How did it work?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because you obviously decided that to try this in in a way kind of on your own.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how did it how did it work to to start to learn how to play guitar?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, I think um, well, for me, it was a lot of YouTube, Marty Schwartz, a lot of Marty Schwartz, um, just random tutorials and just like trying to sound things out.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I really got into blues because I just fell in love with the whole concept of like kind of learning by ear, just playing like what like just coming up with melodies on the spot, like stuff like that.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: That um it was a really cool concept to me, and I think I learned a lot from that.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Were you singing at that age or um no?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I didn't start singing um until college um at Berkeley because I I wanted to take um being a musician more seriously, and I just felt like just being guitarist was kind of limiting.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like I could only I couldn't like really make um songs that like moved people with just guitar.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: I mean like you could, but like I I kind of was looking for something more, so that's why I started uh that makes sense.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you went so you went to Berkeley, and and were you doing stuff in high school, I'd imagine, doing shows and kind of performing or actually not really.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: I was kind of like a uh well growing up, I was pretty shy.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I was kind of like a bedroom like guitarist.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: I I was just I was like hungry to like show it show it off, but I was just I don't know, I was kind of shy.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't until like senior year where I just like kind of came out of my shell a little bit.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: What was what was the first show?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because that that's gonna be scary when you haven't done it in front of anyone for the first time.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: What was that like?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you remember what it was?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think it was uh it was like a poetry coffee house at my school.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: I just pulled up with a guitar and I I sang uh slow dancing in a burning room.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: How how long did it take to be comfortable on stage?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because over the years, I'd imagine, and they teach you that in school, I'd imagine, but uh, how long did you did you find yourself uh finally saying, All right, I'm I'm I I want to do this, I'm comfortable.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: I think it took me like until like I'd say like actually up until like last year was when I really started getting like comfortable.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um when I like like the last band that I was in, I think taught me a lot of um just lessons and experiences on just how to perform.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, even my first um what is it performance with them just had an open mic, I was like still a little shaky, but I I learned like so much in the span of like one year, and it just really opened me up.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: How did you um because I I've read that you performed um at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and you impressed some people there.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: How did that come about?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that gig come about.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: So um so I met my current manager Ernie Canadeo at um it was uh I was playing an acoustic show at this place called Lounge X in Great Neck, and um he was there too.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then after that, like we kind of talked a little bit and things just like he said, like, I want to help you.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like we were chatting like over was it like December break, and we kind of just like felt the the the work in chemistry, and then we just we just decided to see where it went, and he has these connections and I don't know, it was just like a beautiful what is it, partnership, and like things just took off, I guess.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: What was it like performing?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this was uh I guess June of this year uh at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame when uh where Billy Joel praised the bands and said he was very impressed.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean to you for someone who hasn't necessarily been doing how long have you been doing music as far as because I how long have you when I guess when did you leave Berkeley?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: How many years ago?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's been uh it's been three years.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so not that long.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so what was that like to perform in front of Billy Joel to know that he's there?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that was surreal.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, I was so nervous because we did a we uh we did a medley of Dennis Arfa's songs, and one of them was still rock and roll.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: When that song like came up, I was like, oh my gosh, I can't mess up the lyrics.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like, he's right there, he's like six feet away from me.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was it was nerve-wracking, but um, it was just such a surreal experience.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, I'm so grateful.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was it was awesome.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is cool.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: This has really kind of happened, I was like quickly, but in a way, it has.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how do you put your band together?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, with uh when where did you kind of figure out how to uh to get them uh as far as uh the wild hearts?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, where do these guys come from?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so they're all from Sayville.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I met them through um one of Bernie's friends is um Jack Lesitra.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: He's a uh he's a music teacher, um absolute legend.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but he has a couple of students, and I just met up with them um this one day, and I think it was it was May.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like all this just came up like so fast.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: But we uh we met each other.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um we kind of had that, we just felt like we had the band chemistry, and we kind of just stuck with it.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, that's how it happened.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is interesting because you guys are performing um Sunday at the Great South Bay Music Festival.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Albert Albert Lewin The Wild Hearts, and you can go to great southbay musicfestival.com for the full schedule.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but how many gigs have you done?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Have you done more, I'd imagine, over the past six months since since the Long Island Music Hall of Fame with this band?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how many uh gigs together?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: So with this band, actually, like it was the Billy Joel, and then we have one this Wednesday um on Bond Street at Great Neck.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like a summer fest thing.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um but it's it's literally just been these these two, and then this this upcoming one, and then it was kind of like a ragtag team, like just put together, but like I don't know, it's the the chemistry's there, and we're just kind of riding, riding out, seeing how many and you're you're having fun with it.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: That that's great.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so tell me a little bit about your process as far as writing music and writing lyrics and uh of course the the guitar and and the melody.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: How does that start for you?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: I'd say it starts, it always starts with a guitar progression, and uh voice memos is like a huge thing for me.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like I kind of um I kind of I pick a guitar uh progression or kind of like a riff that I like, repeat a couple times, and I just start mumbling, I guess, just like kind of just kind of fit working a little bit.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't have it can be nonsense at first, yeah.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like a mixture of melodies and just nonsense, and then slowly something takes shape, and then I guess I I don't even necessarily have like things that I start out wanting to write about at first, but like I guess like just sitting on it for a couple minutes, like things just like start popping up.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's very interesting.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: How does it work with the uh the collaborating with the band?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I'd imagine you want to bring them in on that process.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: So how uh currently how it works is like I bring in songs that I've already written, uh just because for the upcoming gigs, we were just trying to like put it together as fast as possible.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: But I could totally see in the future like maybe like having these songwriting sessions where we're just like bouncing ideas off of each other.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, that that that's perfect.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I that's the thing, you really are literally just starting, especially with this band, um, and as you perform.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: What's it like been like to put together the set for uh for Sunday at the festival?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: How how has that been?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and what's kind of going through your head for for that uh to create that set list.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's it's been really fun.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um we've got it's like a it's a set of um like half covers, half originals.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, it's been um we we we've just been well we we discussed like what we wanted to put, like me and Ernie.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um we just uh we finalized a set list and then introduced it to the band and yeah, we're we're just excited to play a couple of my originals.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: I think they're gonna be exciting, and uh I think I think you guys will like it.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're we're looking forward to this.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is great.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, you're really literally at the at the start of something, and you're getting rave reviews for your guitar playing, and uh you're putting this whole thing together right on the right in Shorefront Park in Patch Uck uh this coming Sunday.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking forward to to hearing you guys.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what I'm curious uh as you quit the piano and took up the guitar, what do your parents think of all this?
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, so they were kind of um they were definitely iffy about it.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like going into college, like I think they were like, well, I mean, obviously every parent like uh wants like the the safest route for their kids, but um I think they trusted how seriously I was taking uh taking music and also I got like a slight scholarship into Berkeley, so I think after seeing that they got like a little bit of reassurance, like, oh, this guy's not just like no uh I don't know.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: It's really kind of legit.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah, no, you well, that's really interesting.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm curious because there are so many you hear a lot of talented people uh going to Berkeley.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um and what was that like for you?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh to obviously that they wanted you, you got a scholarship, but uh from your perspective, with limited performance, uh you know, uh I guess just experience overall.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: What was that like going to to Berkeley when you started there?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um well it certainly was humbling because it's like you're known as like talented in your hometown, and you go there, and it's like everybody's like crazy talented.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's like it's so humbling, but at the same time, it's just like really exciting too, because it's like you're learning so much.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I don't know, it's just it's it's just really inspiring.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's just like to have so many talented musicians there.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: When you were looked at where you kind of look back at the whole experience, uh what what's the big difference you find in in yourself uh from starting and and when you finished Berkeley?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: Just uh like technically from like how much uh I learned about the guitar and just like producing songwriting, I I learned like so much there.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: I think I also just I opened up a lot more like in terms of performance too, just like going from like shy kids to like a little bit less shy.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like I no, that's that that's a great story because I think that's it's it inspires, you know, it it's interesting.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: You are one of many people uh who came from doing music at home in in their bedroom.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'd imagine probably during the pandemic, uh and and all sorts of things over the past decade.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been interesting to see what would you say to the to the kids out there that would hear this and they're trying to figure out how do they kind of get out of uh and get more experience when they're just kind of messing around at home.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Check out uh open mics.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: They're like open mics are like the community is always like super welcoming, and it's just like a great place to like try something new, like try out a song you've been working on, or even just like even if you do cover, it's like it's great to just like try and come out of your shell a little bit.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I imagine too, you meet people and you you can collaborate with people.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're all on some level, everyone's at different levels, but they're all figuring it out, and that's really helpful to know that there are people kind of there to to help you in this journey.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And amazing.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't imagine uh the amount you've learned over the past uh few years um for this.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Sunday at the Great South Bay Music Festival.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, this is uh the career that you you want to do.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what's that like to be able to uh to say, hey, I'm gonna give this a shot?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: It has to be pretty rewarding.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yeah, it's super rewarding.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's um it could be like like I guess like a little like mentally stressful sometimes, but at the same time, it's like I I'm just I'm just glad.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like I just I just want to see how far I could take it.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like sometimes I'm like trying to just like make sure things go right, but like I don't know.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, you can just like you just see see where uh where life takes you and it's taking to the showfront park and Patch Ug this Sunday uh for the Great South Bay Music Festival.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Albert, it's cool to kind of see the beginnings of this.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um you're very talented, and I can't wait to see you live and uh looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: You impressed Billy Joel at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, and I'm pretty sure you were probably not the only person he you impressed that night.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: So congrats on that.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And can't wait to see you guys with uh with the band The Wild Hearts coming up this uh Sunday afternoon on the band still uh band shell stage, excuse me, at the Great South A Music Festival.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to it.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Our thank you for taking the time.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's I appreciate it.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you so much.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: My pleasure.