In some respects, time hasn't been on Hozier's side recently. He was only in town for three or four hours while performing at Lollapalooza, preventing him from checking out the Chicago blues that influenced him or seeing sights from "The Blues Brothers," which he'd watch on repeat as a kid. Despite a willingness to participate in pretty much any skit while in studio to perform at "Saturday Night Live" (where he says Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Steven Spielberg were in attendance), there wasn't time to make that happen.
On the other hand, now is a great time for the 24-year-old Irish singer/guitarist (full name: Andrew Hozier-Byrne). He just released his full-length, self-titled debut (which arrived at No. 2 on the Billboard 200) and his February show at the Riviera, which follows Sunday's sold-out show at Metro, also is sold out. The video for the record's lead single, "Take Me to Church," has more than 15 million views, partially because it's a striking depiction of the track's outrage over institutional intolerance and partially because it's a great song.
Worth noting: When the haunting track first came on the radio in Hozier's native country, people assumed the artist, who told RedEye by phone from L.A. that "the first musical language I learned was the blues," wasn't an Irish act.
Hozier, 9 p.m. Sun. at Metro; Feb. 25 at Riviera. Sold out.
You used to struggle more with nerves on stage. How much do big appearances like Lollapalooza make the stress level go down during something like "SNL"?
It's a big help, I gotta say. It may not feel good at the time, just dealing with those nerves and having to plow through it but it does help. It helps to know how to deal with your anxiety and calm down on stage. But I do remember freaking out a little bit at Lollapalooza. I always know because my voice kind of just chokes up, I completely choke. You ever have that, not stage fright but that freak-out moment when you're looking out at thousands of people. But it does really help because I figure if you can do that you can move on and do anything.
Does that more frequently happen during the show than before it?
Usually during a show. It's not something I really consider a huge issue anymore. When I was starting out, I played a couple of shows, I used to perform on my own quite a bit, playing [guitar], smaller stuff in Ireland. When I was doing big shows for the first time I remember, it is [stressful]. It's something that happens during the show I guess. You lose concentration or your head, something spooks you like a horse. You've gotta deal with that very quickly.
On Twitter Taylor Swift recommended people play invisible instruments during your shows. Do you also recommend that, and have you ever seen someone play air cello?
[Laughs.] Air cello only when I'm talking to my cello player or making fun of my cello player. But yeah, I suppose enjoy a Hozier show anyway that you feel you need to. Air instruments or no instruments. But actually I'd rather people play air instruments than actual instruments at a Hozier concert.
So they shouldn't bring a tambourine and just play along.
Not yet, no. We might look into that in the live budget [for the venue], but for the moment no.
Even though you bring what you called a bright point of view to heavy material, do you ever get the sense people think you are more serious than you are because the songs have that intensity to them?
Sometimes, yeah. That can oftentimes be the case. But it wouldn't take long to figure out that it's not always the case in a live show; if I get a chance [I like] chatting with the audience. A lot of the songs reflect on heavy subjects but it is how it is. That's [being] in the arts: You're being interpreted by people, and people interpret you as different things.
How can you tell that that's happening?
It's more a thing when you meet people. I don't know; I'm not used to people freaking out meeting me and stuff like that. It's more every now and then with interviews or when you meet people, people being really concerned with dealing with heavy subjects and so on. Or it's YouTube comments. Or Twitter things. We joke--I laugh a lot with some of the band members about what they offer I'm concerned with. Some interesting ones: "This guy is a broken man." Or "This guy is so depressed." People are commenting on your mental health and start making decisions based on appearances or whether they think you're super-serious. In one case, "Oh my god, this guy is going to be dead in three years." Stuff like that. "He's really, really depressed" or whatever. So it's worth a laugh.
You've made an impact by addressing human rights. Can you think of the first time or a significant time when you remember human rights issues sticking out to you?
Yeah. I can't remember the first time. I was probably always trying to pick things to be annoyed about, to be upset about growing up. Probably when I was a teenager I started getting more into it and looking at equality and stuff like that. I had a lot of years to think and reflect upon it. My mother was very political. I don't know, man; I think it's just a decision that you make at some stage and you weigh up your values and you put them down in front of you and you go, "OK, well, this is what I care about and this is what is important to me."
Have you ever thought about a future female presence in your life hearing "Someone New" and saying, "I really like you, but in that song you say you fall in love with someone new every day; should I be worried?"
[Laughs.] I mean, I'm not all too worried. I'm not making plans for things that don't exist right now. With anything there's always the case where you gotta be careful with your songs, or anything you do becomes a matter of public record, especially if you're writing songs. What's interesting about that song-sometimes I look at the songs as characters, and it's easier to do that, it's easier to deal with the songs as if you're talking about characters and you're singing about characters or singing as a character. But what's interesting about "Someone New" is that's the only co-write on the album. And that was written with somebody who is now my [ex]. We wrote that song when we were together. It's a song about falling in love with a different person every day. We're no longer together, but that's a nice bit of trivia for you.
Plus:
If there was anywhere he demanded to go as a kid (in light of "Take Me to Church"):"I wasn't a very demanding child, I don't think. When I was a young, young child I didn't demand to be taken anywhere, I don't think. I ended up getting to Disneyland as a child at some stage. I think for a lot of kids my age that was the big one."
Watch Matt review the week's big new movies Fridays at 11:30 a.m. on NBC.
mpais@tribune.com
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