Hope Vista, Rowan alumni, has embarked on a successful musical career post-graduation. As lead vocalist of the anthem rock bandĀ VISTA, sheās found herself writingĀ new singles, performing at different venues and even opening for well known pop bandĀ Against The Current.
I got to speak with Hope via an email interview, covering topics from her personal life to the band. Check out her responses!
Q: Have you always wanted to be a singer?
A: Oh yeah, Iāve been singing since I was two or three. Iād just run around the house singing, my grandparents would film me on a video camera giving āconcerts.ā I honestly canāt think of anything else Iāve ever wanted to do.
Q: Do you also write lyrics or play instruments?
A: I write most of VISTAās lyrics, and I play guitar too! I used to be pretty solid at they keys but Iāve lost touch over the past few years because I havenāt played. I play guitar pretty much every day, I think I got my first one when I was seven or eight.
Q: What genre of music influences you most?
A: Mine are all super opposite of each other. Iāve always been really inspired by 90ās pop because thatās the generation I grew up in. That music is obviously very different than ours, but I was always really invested in the performance quality of that era instead. 70ās classic rock and the modern Warped scene are two of mine as well, I try to find inspiration in many areas instead of staying within one niche and getting stuck.
Q: Are there any particular adversities that youāve experienced along your journey as a musician, either personal or professional?
A: Oh yeah. Losing my dad was the worst, that was hands down the most difficult adversity to push through. Losing band mates is always hard, losing anything in general is hard. But things donāt go as planned in this industry. I think you kind of always have to prepare for disaster or for something just to not go as you planned it. Backup plans and being able to think on your toes is how you overcome any hardship in the music industry.
Q: How do you think your experience at Rowan helped you get this far in your music career?
A: I graduated in 2015, so Iāve been out for a while. Being atĀ RowanĀ for all fourĀ years straight taught me a lot about the quality of work and patience. I was a Writing Arts major, so I was consistently writing papers, I was always working on multiple papers at a time, so my work always had to be correct. It had to be correct grammatically, I had deadlines. But more importantly I had to make sure I was getting my thoughts out effectively, and that crosses over directly into music, writing lyrics, being a publicist, and also just communicating properly with industry professionals. If I didnāt know how to talk to people, I wouldnāt be in a band at all, Iād be curled up in a bed somewhere. And I can definitely credit a lot of those communication skills to my education at Rowan. Granted I skipped class a ton because I wanted to write music in my apartment, but I still learned a lot.
Q: When and how did the band get together?
A: This isnāt the original lineup of VISTA, the first one was put together about a year and a half ago. I knew our current guitarist Greg through other people, we have many mutual friends. I was looking for a new guitarist last summer, and he just messaged me out of the blue asking me about what I was looking for, we noticed we had the same goals in mind and a similar work ethic, and it just fit from that point on!
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Hope Vista with VISTAās guitarist, Greg Almeida.
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Q: What exactly is anthem rock, and what made you choose this genre? (Itās definitely one that interested in listening to!)
A: We originally wanted to build a sub genre from the ground up instead of sticking ourselves in one tight bubble. So weāre just basically exploring what the word āanthemā means. What elements does that include? What type of guitar tones? We have heavy use of the bass drum, thick bass lines, pulsing guitar strumming patterns. Itās really just a combination of what we feel resonates with the word āanthem.ā
Q: What are your goals as VISTA?
A: Greg and I both have the same goals, which is great because that means weāre both consistently on the same page.Ā Warped Tour, break into the European/Asian touring markets, record deal, Billboard charting album. Those are the main ones right now, long way to go, but I like to see consistent momentum. It keeps me alive.
(Photo credit for both images: Holly Turner)
Originally posted on Pop-Punkadelphia.