Cody Hall is a singer/songwriter from Lethbridge Alberta. The unique songwriter has such a way with
words, and you can trust that all of Cody’s tracks feature ample emotion and authenticity. His lyrics are
thoughtful and relatable, and his voice is jam packed with emotion. The small-town farm boy has
stayed true to his roots mixing rock, folk and country music to create a sound that is his own.
1. How did you get started in music?
I’ve always loved music, especially singing. I’ve got a lot of memories of sitting in old farm trucks listening to my parents country station or cassette tapes and rewinding songs so I could learn all the words. One of my hobbies was writing out the lyrics of songs while I listened to them on repeat in my room. The trouble was I never really had an interest to learn music, I played trombone in band so I could watch the person beside me and never payed attention in piano lessons. Early on I never thought music would be something I wanted to do, I was far too interested in hockey and trying to live out that Canadian dream. When my dream became apparent to fail I decided to go back to school to become a school teacher.
I first played guitar in front of people in a class in university… I think it was an education course in literacy. I had been teaching myself to play and finally had the courage to use music as an expression. I remember being really nervous about the whole thing leading up to, but quickly realized how liberating it was to play live music for people. One thing lead to another and I was playing open mic’s and little gigs here and there with a buddy. The more I played the more I realized how much I had to say and started writing my own songs. In 2017 I took the next big step and recorded my first 4 songs. From there, 9 more songs and a couple music videos! By 2020 I had a 4 piece band we were playing some really cool venues and events and the music world had to stop playing live. During the performance hiatus I met my newest producer and found a “home” studio where I really found my sound! I was so fortunate to release my song The Dark to Canadian radio and had near perfect timing as live shows were coming back. My latest release Firecracker has been the next huge leap, becoming my fastest song to 10k streams across all of the big 3 streaming platforms of Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
To answer the question…it feels like a new start with every project and step I take. Like I said before, I went to school to be a teacher and have been a middle school PE teacher for 15 years. Musically, I’ve been a singer all my life, a songwriter and lyricist since a teen, performing for people since my mid 20’s, recording artist at 30, in a band throughout 30’s (with 3 kids and a full time job), 39 years old…starting to create a brand and understand the business of the music industry, booking shows, pitching to radio and playlists and on and on. Hopefully there are many more big steps and starts to something new!
2. What is the inspiration behind your latest album/song?
My newest songs are really about gratitude for my family and childhood I was fortunate to have. I’ve been writing a lot of songs that are about or paying respect to the farming and ranching community and the western way of life. I’ve been really cognizant of trying to write lyrics about things I remember doing or seeing as a kid. I’ve also been writing a lot with references to my own wife and kids. A way to say thank you for putting up with me being so busy and giving nothing but support!
3. Who are your musical influences?
I listened to a lot of Garth Brooks as a kid, then had a punk rock phase but I was always drawn to the strong voices. I liked Aaron Lewis from Staind, loved Shinedown and really got back into country music when I started playing guitar. Eric Church is one of my favourites as is Chris Stapleton and I’d say they are the representation of what I am trying to be. It’s kinda funny though, everywhere I look there is a new artist that is amazing and I try to learn as much from them as I can.
4. What is your favourite part of the music-making process?
I get downright giddy when I am in the vocal booth during a recording session. It’s like Karaoke with your own songs, the track is there and you just gotta hit the notes and remember the words! That and when I sit down and play through a song that I am writing and know has a glimmer. There are a lot of songs that I leave in the notebooks, the ones that get recorded are really cool to discover as they come out of your mouth for the first time.
5. Can you tell us a memorable or funny moment from your career?
Memorable, maybe funny depending on how you look at it. My band and I were selected in 2019 to play on the small stage at a festival called Country Thunder in Calgary. There were some really awesome acts on the main stage including Jake Owen and Jason Aldean. To get there in the first place we had to get through a talent search competition, we didn’t win 1st prize, which would have put us on the main stage early afternoon of the Saturday. Instead we played at 7pm on the smaller stage nearby. We had such a great set and had so many people passing by and stopping to watch and dance that we kinda got caught up in the moment. The sound tech finally got my attention to signal 1 more song and I called an audible on what would have been a great song to end on and instead had my band finish our set with my song Little man. Our final notes rang out on that stage and 100m away Jason Aldean stated his set. It was pretty surreal.
6. What can fans expect from your upcoming projects?
I think people can expect to hear the same concepts within the lyrics and style but with more maturity. Each song on the new project is unique and different from the others but stays true to the Country, Americana vibe that the last few singles have had. There is a lot more intention behind these songs, writing with the purpose of speaking to listeners as individuals and writing songs that are really relatable. That’s the focus, writing and recording tracks that are going to be saved and played over and over.
