The War On Drugs' Charlie Hall: Taking Your Passion Full Time & The Magic of Mentoring

“To have the opportunity to play music for people and spread some
joy… I’ve been going to shows my whole life and felt feelings of
euphoria and all those emotions that music can convey. To be a
little part of that on the other side of things is an absolute
privilege.”  My guest this episode is Charlie Hall, who is the
drummer for the Grammy-Award winning band, The War on Drugs.
Growing up, music was always what Charlie loved most. He received
his first drum kit aged four from his Grandma. Various instruments
lay around his house and he taught himself how to play these
without lessons.  At university in Virginia, Charlie brought
together two interests, studying both Music and Psychology. After
college, he moved to San Francisco with his now-wife, taking up
various jobs in the service industry, before becoming a teacher at
a high school similar to the one he attended. In the evenings, he
continued pursuing his passion for music, playing in an array of
bands. In 2003, he moved to Philadelphia to be closer to his family
and took up a role at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He
quickly became a part of the music scene in Philly where he met
AdamGranduciel, who was putting together the band that would evolve
into The War on Drugs.  After playing on and off with The War
on Drugs, he became the band’s resident drummer in 2013 and has
since toured the world, released two critically acclaimed albums,
the second of which, A Deeper Understanding, won a Grammy in 2018
for Best Rock Album. Today, he considers his role in life to be
rooted in his family, as a mentor and as a musician.  I’ve
loved the War on Drugs since I first heard Lost in the Dream. There
is something so epic about their music. The soundscapes. It’s music
designed for a stadium. I’ve never interviewed a musician on the
podcast before, despite being an avid music fan. So this was an
all-round dream in many ways. I travelled to Charlie’s lovely
neighbourhood in Philadelphia and we talked about: growing up and
how music first came into his life, the importance of mentors and
teachers in his life, balancing full-time work alongside his
passion for music, making the decision to make music full-time with
The War on Drugs and the advice he wants his children to carry with
him always.  Follow me: Twitter: @katiephilo
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(https://katiephilo.com/) The War on Drugs:
https://www.thewarondrugs.net/ Listen to The War on Drugs on
Spotify
(https://open.spotify.com/artist/6g0mn3tzAds6aVeUYRsryU?si=UNxDZB2qSnekQzjFJcDVIw)
(https://katiephilo.com/)