We recently connected with Chuck Hailes and have shared our conversation below.

Chuck, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

After 12 years establishing a brand, building a base of patrons and friends, then managing to survive a global pandemic, a founding member received an opportunity that would make him unavailable for the foreseeable future. The situation was existential to the project. There was a short list of people we could even imagine filling the role and we reached out to all of them. In the end there was one clear choice and thankfully they were interested in working with us. About a year later and many explanations made we managed to find a through line from where we had been to an unlocked potential to be discovered down the road.

Chuck, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Nobody knew it at the time, but The Salty Suites began in early June 2009 when Chelsea Williams, Chuck Hailes, & Scott Gates played together for the first time one magical night at Castoro Cellars in San Luis Obispo, CA. Gods colluded, stars aligned & somehow serendipitously we all found ourselves backstage at a John McEuen concert. Scott & Chuck were playing with Nathen McEuen, the opening act. While Chelsea was there as the opener for the opening act. As luck would have it, we all arrived way too early with far too little alcohol on hand. So, we did the only thing we could think of to pass the time. We jammed. We jammed so hard that the moon had to avert her eyes.The rest is sordid history.

The Salty Suites played our first official show together in a high security prison for the criminally insane. Thirteen years, four independently released albums, & a global pandemic later, we are happy to report that we have managed to remain a close-knit dysfunctional family of misfits. We have had the pleasure of performing countless shows at many incredible venues up and down the California coast, & have built a loyal following of adoring fans that we are proud to call friends.

Speaking of friends, our mamas always told us to make new friends and keep the old. We are pleased to report that Scott has been on tour with AJ Lee and Blue Summit. In his stead we have appointed a longtime friend of the band. The tremendously talented banjo player Mark Cassidy has agreed to join our ranks. Mark comes with a long list of accolades. Not the least of which is his leading role in The Hillbenders, whose recent engagements include playing with Keller Williams & touring the US performing their original act “Who Grass” (a chronological journey of The Who’s legendary catalog, highlighted by bluegrass instrumentation). The Salty Suites are excited to continue exploring our brand of acoustic music that includes heartfelt originals & select covers that try to make some sense of the human condition.”

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Attending shows and purchasing art from the people who make it is the most straightforward way to support artists.. Telling people you know about the artists you like and taking people to see their work is huge. Word of mouth is still really effective. ,

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Connecting with people. Everything that we do is about people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesaltysuites.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesaltysuites/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesaltysuites
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thesaltysuites
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7D9nkkHdyw3mqtJzIVm2Rj?si=n0rtg04MR1m98nwkym44GQ