Meet Hero Magnus | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hero Magnus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hero, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
A lot of my friends in creative fields find it difficult to maintain a work-life balance. Since creative work is often self-directed, you can do it outside of regular work hours — which means it’s easy to work a lot but sometimes hard to make sure you’re getting the really focused time required for good art. For me, designating on and off hours is important. That way the ‘on’ hours are more intentional. I think it’s also essential to do something that Joni Mitchell called “crop rotation.” When she feels “dried up as a poet,” she’ll work on something else for a little, like painting. Staying regular in a creative practice is super necessary, but if I’ve been doing a lot of songwriting for months and feeling “dried up,” I’ll try writing little stories instead for a few days to defamiliarize myself and tread some new territory.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember, but started writing songs and making music in earnest when I was fifteen. Most of the steps I’ve taken to become a better musician were in order to develop greater flexibility, grace, and instinct in songwriting: I improved my range when I realized my melodies needed to go higher; I learned guitar and music theory first as songwriting tools. Recently I’ve enjoyed digging deeper into guitar and voice for their own sake.

I grew up in DC, which has a huge punk scene, and used to work at Inner Ear Studios where Fugazi and Minor Threat recorded their first albums, so I was very influenced by punk music in high school. I was also reading Anais Nin and Susan Sontag (diarists!) and listening to a lot of Sara Bareilles. There’s a sketch in Portlandia where Carrie’s looking at a statue, and Fred says – “well, you know the statue is a woman, because she’s singing a sad song about her own life.” When I was in high school I listened to a lot of music by women singing sad songs about their own lives.

The combination of the two influences was great for me, and eventually I started developing my own style — literary, but still in good humor; pretty-sounding but dynamic, with lots of rock elements. I went to college and released an EP called Make Me A Man, based on the queer history I was reading about and lots of yearning, longing, layering.

This year I’m experimenting more with new sounds (like a retro synth called the stylophone!). My songs have gotten sillier, with some twangy country influence. My next song is called Scruff, and it’s coming out on April 12. It’s a song from the perspective of a cat. I think it’ll be my favorite I’ve ever put out.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I lived in LA during summer of 2021, and my favorite thing to do was hike up to the Griffith Observatory. I’d start the hike right before sunset, and then flop on the lawn in front of the observatory right when it got dark as I reached the top. I ran Runyon Canyon with a friend every weekend. There’s a lot of good hiking around LA – I only hit the tip of the iceberg. Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park has a great vibe. On Sundays I’d often go to the Melrose Trading Post (never actually bought anything but always had a fabulous time looking at the tchotchkes). I’d also hang out around Melrose Avenue in general since there’s a lot of good vintage stores around there. I lived in a cool building in Larchmont Village near Koreatown, and there were a lot of lovely people who lived in my building, so often at night I’d just grab a drink on the rooftop with whoever was up there. Talking about this is really making me miss Los Angeles! It’s definitely one of the most physically stunning places I’ve ever lived. The plants near Echo Park are shockingly large. I rented a car while I lived there and kept a small cactus in the cupholder. When I go back to LA I want to explore the Silver Lake area more and see a lot of movies.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am grateful, first and foremost, for my wonderful family: my mom (and her family in Berkeley!) and my dad (and his family in LA!). Biggest shoutout ever for my little brother Gryphon, who is a talented high school filmmaker and all-around cool person. He also has great music taste, and is always introducing me to new bands. I’d also like to shout out Jason Altshuler, a good friend of mine who has been involved in almost every song release I’ve ever done. It’s impossible to credit him enough. Jason is a talented producer, accomplished multi-instrumentalist, and always game to experiment. Most importantly, he loves music and is a trustworthy collaborator. Working on my songs with Jason is such a joy and I feel very grateful to get to do it.

Website: heromagnus.com

Instagram: instagram.com/hero.magnus

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_HeroMagnus

Facebook: facebook.com/hero.magnus.music

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRaidgjByV80fac58JkHTBg

Image Credits
Dominique Richard Anya Tucker Aliya Quinlan