Neon Hitch Is A Wild Child

How have your been coping with COVID-19 and what changes have been made for you to adapt? Well, I managed to catch the very last flight out to the UK from Miami under mum’s orders. I really hadn’t grasped onto the severity of the pandemic at the time but she sounded so panicked I had to listen.

Four months later, I’m still stuck in the UK in my new house out in Wales. Life is very different here so I’ve had to adapt to a more natural, countryside lifestyle for a while where it’s safe. I think a lot of people will come out of this better than before if we use this time to get grounded and reset ourselves. It’s a time where the hamster wheel gives you a break.

A lot of people ask about your name! Tell me the story behind that and your parents. My dad has been doing lighting and projections my whole life, I would always go and see him on tour when he would be working with the likes of Duran Duran, Annie Lennox, David Bowie.. being around that world just sucked me in from a young age. 

My mum is an artist and only now is getting recognition for her work. I’m super proud of her work it’s like nothing else. You can tell she used to do acid. It was my dad who named me if you couldn’t Guess.. And Hitch was also his last surname before he changed it back to Oldknow (he was adopted).

Neon was a difficult name to feel comfortable with as a kid, but i grew to become really proud of my name, even with not having the same surname as my mum, dad or siblings! 

Who are your earliest musical influences? Hands down the Spice Girls. I feel like I’m five all in one. My dad put me onto Madonna and Michael Jackson and said that’s all the pop I need to know. Then my mum would play Blondie, KLF, Chumbawumba… lots of punk and folk so my influence has always been very eclectic.

You often talk about your identity as a gypsy. Can you elaborate more on what exactly that is and why you relate to this identity? The day I was born, my house burned down so that was almost the universe deciding my path on the road. I spend my whole upbringing traveling, whether on a tour bus with my dad, or at home in the bus with my mum. We traveled Europe with circus convoys from festival to festival to make a living. The traveler/gypsy community is massive. Although it’s become illegal to live the way we used to we are all still a collective around the world

Your most recent album Reincarnation is a beautiful compilation of tracks that, I feel, show us a bit of who Neon Hitch is. Where do you get inspiration for writing? Thank you! Reincarnation is a collection of songs I had been fighting to use for a while, hence the name i brought them back to life. The inspiration for it is about a time in my life where things fell apart for me in LA and it felt like a life or death matter.

It taps a lot into my journey of sobriety and i opened up about some of the really dark times I pushed through. I think i really show the vulnerable side of me in that album. I think it’s important to be HUMAN in your lyrics.

Tell me about your recent single Colors? ‘Colors’ is also a song i had made a while back but it’s never been allowed to surface. The song lyrically stands for many reasons. As the world was in the middle of a pandemic, racial injustice and also LGBTQ month, I just thought ‘Colors’ would be the perfect contribution of hope and inspiration that i could provide. So i presented the idea to the production company DSign and finally got clearance to be able to release it. 

Can you tell me about your lowest point and how you overcame? I’ve honestly had a lot of really low points but each time I essentially just build up more strength. One of the toughest times was the most recent and that was when i was coming off meds that I had been prescribed. I was having deathly side effects and was in hospital 4 times a week having seizures. no doctor actually pointed out the fact it was the dose of meds I was on that was destroying me.

Only when I decided to come off everything did I see improvement. It’s really scary that so many people are on medication and don’t really think about how destructive they are. I’m now happy to say I’m off everything. And even my anxiety has gone naturally. THAT takes strength, the the reward of feeling healthy is worth it.

Do you believe in magic? ABSOLUTELY! Half of the things I’ve accomplished wouldn’t have happened otherwise. [winks]

There are many levels of magic, even the average person can benefit from some of the methods like visualization and vision boards, the spark for magic is belief.

I only practice good magic though! I’ve seen some of the dark side when i was living in New Orleans and that stuff is not to be messed with, I’ll just say that.

What’s next for you? I’ve been working on my Biography with a collaborator in NY. We’re making great progress and I’m revealing all the deepest parts of my journey. It’s been quite therapeutic and i think it will be not only an amazing read but also quite educational for anyone aspiring to get into the music industry. Although my life has been far from the norm, the way i am so open in the book makes it quite relatable.

So, yeah that’s been my main focus! I’m not sure how long it will take but it’s in the making.

I also have some awesome new music lined up to release later this summer. They are feel good tunes, something we all need right now!

The definition of Contrast is “to be strikingly different.” What makes you strikingly different? Being different is just being myself. We are all so beautifully unique, all we have to do is tap into who we are, love who we are, and bravely express it!