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 (https://twitter.com/katiephilo) Instagram: @katiephilo (https://www.instagram.com/katiephilo/) www.katiephilo.com (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/)