Review Fix Exclusive: Stuart Hollinger Talks ‘Eklectic’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer and guitarist Stuart Hollinger, who discusses his new album “Eklectic,” as well as his origins in music, creative process and more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Stuart Hollinger: Music greeted me at an early age. My Uncle’s would play their ukulele’s and sing at family party get-together’s which exposed me to my first taste of music. I started singing Beatles and Rolling Stones songs in the shower after hearing them on the radio.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Hollinger: I start my creative juices by fooling around on my guitar. Just playing different chord patterns to different beats and letting it flow. When I find something I like I’ll start structuring and crafting it into a potential song. Words are conceived by events which have happened to me or are happening around me or someone sharing their story.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Hollinger: My family inspires me! Mother Nature nurtures and inspires me.  Where I live is like a National Geographic moment 24/7. The sound of nature is deafening and blocks out distorted, negative thought patterns and the everyday rat race. Makes it easy for uninterrupted ideas to pop into my head.

Review Fix: What’s your standout song on this album? Why?

Hollinger: Picking out my most standout song on this album is hard. They all have great qualities!  I guess I would select “Not Once.” This song describes and talks about the rampant drug use invading small town USA and how we need to stop it from spreading. I wanted this song to be the vehicle to bring awareness and hopefully change.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Hollinger: I play and love Rock-n-Roll. Living in the Hawaiian islands has exposed me to all musical styles however I always return to my first love.  My music is a cross section of my musical influences. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Tom Petty to name a few.  Storytelling infused with some killer beats!

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Hollinger: Unlike a studio environment where everything can be pretty much sterile and unforgiving, Live shows enable me to open up and give it away! It allows me to connect with the audience more intimately and I have the option to get more creative and free with my song arrangements.

Review Fix: How do you want people to remember this album?

Hollinger: I want people to remember the eclectic nature of this album and how it touches many genres of music! The beat, rhythms and expressive words that tell each story. Maybe a little curious how someone in the middle of the Pacific ocean can be a rocker.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2018?

Hollinger: 2018 so far has been a lot of Fun!  Playing live with my band and writing new songs for my next album. Just working on improving my craft on all levels.

Review Fix: What’s next?  Anything else you’d like to add?

Hollinger: New album in 2019…….more Fun live playing………..No Regrets.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14320 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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