# Singer-Songwriter Luca Fogale's Inspiring Story: How Music Became His Sanctuary for Emotional Healing and Resilience

An episode of [Music Saved Me Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1703080557), 27 May 2026, 26 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/ee29bc0a-f712-47d6-a49c-b25700f0582e/bf5ed2b8-0a1c-447d-a037-b45300d3109b/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=dfceda02-3624-42c7-b522-b25700f0584c

What if the music you listen to could be the key to unlocking your deepest emotions and guiding you through life's toughest challenges? Join host Lynn Hoffman in this captivating episode of the Music Saved Me Podcast as he welcomes the incredibly talented Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Luca Fogale. Known for his introspective melodies that resonate with millions globally, Luca Fogale takes us on a profound journey through the themes of his latest album, "Challenger. " This album is not just a collection of songs; it's a reflection on personal growth, generational beliefs, and the transformative power of self-exploration with his new music. Luca Fogale shares his compelling story of unpacking inherited patterns, revealing the complexities of navigating masculinity in our ever-evolving world. He emphasizes how music has served as a sanctuary for connection and understanding in his life, showcasing the healing power of music in emotional healing and resilience. As the conversation unfolds, listeners are invited to explore how songwriting has allowed Luca to articulate emotions he often found difficult to express otherwise, reaffirming the idea that music can be a powerful therapy. This episode is not just an interview; it’s an enriching dialogue that highlights the importance of patience and intention in both life and art. Luca's insights into his artistic process reveal his desire to create meaningful connections through his music, making this episode a treasure trove for anyone interested in music and emotional connection. The Music Saved Me Podcast dives deep into the stories of musicians and their journeys, offering listeners a chance to reflect on their own paths of self-discovery through the lens of music. Whether you’re an indie music lover, a fan of musicians and mental health, or simply someone seeking inspiration, this episode will resonate with you. Tune in to uncover the layers of Luca’s artistry and the stories behind his songs, as well as the broader implications of music as a healing device. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to engage with the transformative power of music—because, as Luca demonstrates, it truly can save us in our most challenging moments. Join us for this inspiring conversation on the Music Saved Me Podcast, where each episode brings you closer to the heart of music and its incredible impact on our lives. Support the show: https://musicsavedme.net/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Music Saved Me. I'm Lyn Hoffman and welcome to the
[0:03] Speaker 1: Music Save Me podcast. Now. If you like this show,
[0:06] Speaker 1: you're going to love another show from Buzznight Media Productions
[0:09] Speaker 1: that I happen to host called Comedy Saved Me, and
[0:11] Speaker 1: it's available wherever you get your podcasts. So I hope
[0:14] Speaker 1: you check that out today.
[0:16] Speaker 2: Though.
[0:16] Speaker 1: I am so happy you're here because we have a
[0:18] Speaker 1: guest who is a JUNO nominated singer songwriter from one
[0:22] Speaker 1: of my most favorite places, British Columbia, Vancouver, whose music
[0:27] Speaker 1: has quietly found its way into the hearts of listeners
[0:29] Speaker 1: around the world more than one hundred and eighty million
[0:33] Speaker 1: streams and counting. That's just incredible. He's known for his
[0:36] Speaker 1: warm vocals, his minimalist production, and a rare willingness to
[0:41] Speaker 1: go inward, which we talk about a lot on the show.
[0:44] Speaker 1: Luca Fagale makes music that doesn't rush you. His latest
[0:49] Speaker 1: album is called Challenger and it's on Network and it's
[0:53] Speaker 1: a meditation on who we are and what we've inherited
[0:56] Speaker 1: and what we choose to carry forward with us. Believe me,
[0:59] Speaker 1: you're not and I want to miss this one. Luca
[1:01] Speaker 1: Fagalle is next on Music Save Me, Don't go Anywhere.
[1:07] Speaker 1: Music Saved Me. Well, Luca, welcome to Music Save Me.
[1:12] Speaker 1: It's so nice to have you here, especially after the
[1:14] Speaker 1: morning that I've had. It's almost like I get to
[1:17] Speaker 1: have you all to myself, but I'm sharing you with
[1:19] Speaker 1: the audience at the same time when I really needed
[1:22] Speaker 1: to be brought down from all the challenges of the morning.
[1:25] Speaker 1: So thank you.
[1:26] Speaker 2: Oh sure, it's my pleasure to be here. Then thank
[1:28] Speaker 2: you well.
[1:29] Speaker 1: The album is called Challenger, but it feels less like
[1:32] Speaker 1: a challenge issued sort of outward and more like one
[1:36] Speaker 1: turned inward. And I love this. What were you challenging
[1:40] Speaker 1: in yourself when you made this record?
[1:43] Speaker 2: You know a whole lot of things. I think as
[1:46] Speaker 2: I get older, I've started to really sort of look
[1:49] Speaker 2: at the things that have shaped me, not the people
[1:51] Speaker 2: and the experiences who have made me who I've become,
[1:53] Speaker 2: and wonder a lot about what to carry forward, you know,
[1:58] Speaker 2: Like you said in the intro, I am making a
[2:00] Speaker 2: lot about what comes in the next step and who
[2:04] Speaker 2: do I want to become in every different chapter of
[2:06] Speaker 2: my life. And I feel like I have the time
[2:09] Speaker 2: and the space, especially in this beautiful, bizarre career that
[2:11] Speaker 2: I've been lucky enough to continue on with I have
[2:15] Speaker 2: the time in the space to consider a lot of
[2:17] Speaker 2: things about myself and who I am, and the time
[2:21] Speaker 2: and space in my relationships and friendships, and the trust
[2:25] Speaker 2: in that to be able to sort of look at
[2:27] Speaker 2: myself honestly and wonder about how to carry forward the
[2:32] Speaker 2: best parts of myself and leave behind a whole lot.
[2:38] Speaker 1: You've talked a lot about unpacking generational beliefs from what
[2:41] Speaker 1: I've read and inherited sort of patterns, Which generational beliefs
[2:45] Speaker 1: inherited patterns we all. I mean, it's coming at us
[2:49] Speaker 1: heavy and hard every single day and from so many angles.
[2:53] Speaker 1: Was there a moment or a song or a conversation
[2:58] Speaker 1: where you realize you were care something that wasn't actually yours?
[3:02] Speaker 2: Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes it makes sense
[3:04] Speaker 2: for sure. You know, I don't know if there was
[3:07] Speaker 2: one specific moment, just sort of a just a just
[3:10] Speaker 2: a general feeling of especially as this world changes so much,
[3:13] Speaker 2: and as our sort of understandings of who we are
[3:17] Speaker 2: and sort of our place in this world. I think
[3:19] Speaker 2: I share this with with a lot of people, where
[3:22] Speaker 2: it's it's sort of a new era of self exploration
[3:25] Speaker 2: and sort of understanding our own you know, challenges with
[3:29] Speaker 2: whether it's mental health or you know, any of the
[3:31] Speaker 2: things that we we've been recognizing in this modern world
[3:34] Speaker 2: that no one is perfectly saying, you know, no one
[3:37] Speaker 2: is perfectly happy or peaceful in any moment. And so
[3:41] Speaker 2: I think there's a there seems to be a new
[3:45] Speaker 2: and deeper understanding of our own humanity in this in
[3:48] Speaker 2: this sort of era of where we are, and I
[3:50] Speaker 2: think it's challenging but a really special thing. And so
[3:54] Speaker 2: I think in that just starting to again trust myself
[3:59] Speaker 2: to be honest with myself in how I'm how I'm
[4:03] Speaker 2: doing day to day, how I you know, how things fluctuate,
[4:06] Speaker 2: and if that's if the the swings are getting, you know,
[4:10] Speaker 2: further away from each other or closer together. And I
[4:13] Speaker 2: think it's just been sort of a steady hum of
[4:16] Speaker 2: wanting to wanting to find more peace, wanting to find
[4:19] Speaker 2: more trust and joy and happiness and courage, you know,
[4:24] Speaker 2: all all the beautiful things that humans are capable of.
[4:27] Speaker 2: I think it's it's just it's been a steady sort
[4:29] Speaker 2: of hum in my life for as long as I
[4:32] Speaker 2: can remember. It feels like quite an opportunity to have
[4:35] Speaker 2: the time to explore that. I know that as life
[4:37] Speaker 2: gets busy or not, everyone does, and so trying to
[4:40] Speaker 2: sort of honor that time in my own way.
[4:42] Speaker 1: Ain't that the truth? That is? Yeah, you know a
[4:46] Speaker 1: lot of men are raised with this strong and silent script.
[4:51] Speaker 1: You know it. You seem to have consciously stepped away
[4:55] Speaker 1: from that. What did that cost you and what did
[4:58] Speaker 1: it also give you at the same time?
[5:02] Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, working on it for sure.
[5:04] Speaker 1: I haven't work in progress.
[5:06] Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, as we all are, which is you
[5:09] Speaker 2: know again, something that feels feels very new. It's confusing,
[5:14] Speaker 2: you know, it's a confusing thing. I grew up, you know,
[5:17] Speaker 2: as as competitive as anyone else in this wanting to
[5:20] Speaker 2: be strong and assertive and powerful and you know all
[5:24] Speaker 2: the things that I think of that young young men
[5:27] Speaker 2: grow up kind of aspiring to be the I think
[5:30] Speaker 2: the male. The male figures in my life as I
[5:32] Speaker 2: was growing up were oh yeah, quite silent. And if
[5:36] Speaker 2: there was something you're dealing with, you swallow it and
[5:38] Speaker 2: you deal with it yourself. And I work on that
[5:41] Speaker 2: every day now. There's always something that comes up where
[5:44] Speaker 2: I'm trying to sort of not even unlearned, but just
[5:48] Speaker 2: sort of just just learn, you know, learn what serves
[5:51] Speaker 2: me in this time now, and also you know, learn
[5:54] Speaker 2: what sort of what version of masculinity I want to embody,
[5:59] Speaker 2: because I think it can be a lot of things.
[6:01] Speaker 2: What gets lost, I don't know. I think maybe just
[6:04] Speaker 2: the the default mechanism gets lost. It gets a little
[6:07] Speaker 2: less easy to fall into patterns, which you know can
[6:11] Speaker 2: be comforting sometimes, you know, the thought of I know
[6:14] Speaker 2: who I am, I know how I react in this way,
[6:17] Speaker 2: it feels a bit more difficult to sort of have
[6:20] Speaker 2: to have to sort of monitor oneself in that way
[6:23] Speaker 2: and you know, be sort of the best version of
[6:26] Speaker 2: a friend to yourself, which is someone who says it
[6:30] Speaker 2: is that really the way that you want to be,
[6:33] Speaker 2: and sort of being again the sort of closest version
[6:36] Speaker 2: of a friend or a family member who can be
[6:39] Speaker 2: really honest with oneself, and so trying to move towards
[6:42] Speaker 2: that while also having a lot of patience for myself,
[6:44] Speaker 2: which both things are tough. And I feel like, yeah,
[6:47] Speaker 2: I navigate through every day. I know that so many
[6:50] Speaker 2: of us do, especially you know, I don't really count
[6:53] Speaker 2: myself as a young man anymore, but I feel like
[6:54] Speaker 2: young men especially now are dealing with so much, so
[6:59] Speaker 2: much in the meat and social media, and you know,
[7:02] Speaker 2: all of a sudden, everyone knows the answer to everything,
[7:04] Speaker 2: and it sort of seems to be broadcast that there
[7:07] Speaker 2: is only one way to be a man these days,
[7:09] Speaker 2: and I think that that's less true than ever, and
[7:12] Speaker 2: I think that so much needs to be you know,
[7:15] Speaker 2: the ven diagram is getting sort of closer together about
[7:17] Speaker 2: just sort of what it means to be a human being.
[7:20] Speaker 1: And that's a great way of putting in You're right, well.
[7:25] Speaker 2: Sure, I mean, you know, I think that we're all
[7:27] Speaker 2: we're all just trying to understand ourselves and understand each other.
[7:30] Speaker 2: And I think that wherever there's patients, I think there
[7:33] Speaker 2: will be learning and trying to be patient. I guess
[7:36] Speaker 2: that's the thesis to all that.
[7:38] Speaker 1: Wow, that's beautifully said. And you touched on so many
[7:42] Speaker 1: things there, and I was going to go there with
[7:44] Speaker 1: you as the social media aspect of it, And I mean,
[7:48] Speaker 1: how do you find that place in yourself when you
[7:50] Speaker 1: need it? For example, I told you when you first
[7:52] Speaker 1: called in, and I had never met you before, but
[7:54] Speaker 1: I had a morning where there was one hundred million
[7:57] Speaker 1: things that came at me that were clearly unexpected, and
[8:01] Speaker 1: I'm trying to, you know, get myself into a space
[8:05] Speaker 1: where I can actually slow down. And your music has
[8:08] Speaker 1: this quality of slowing things down, Luca, almost forcing the
[8:13] Speaker 1: listener to be present. And I got to tell you,
[8:16] Speaker 1: I've been listening to your music leading up to this interview,
[8:20] Speaker 1: but this morning I needed your music and it actually
[8:24] Speaker 1: pulled me right to a place where I needed to
[8:26] Speaker 1: be to talk to you, of all people, which was
[8:28] Speaker 1: really kind of cool too. On the other side of.
[8:30] Speaker 2: What beautiful thing is that?
[8:31] Speaker 1: Is that a philosophy? Sure? I mean it's true. Is
[8:35] Speaker 1: it a philosophy you live by or something that you
[8:37] Speaker 1: discovered through the creative process of being slowing down and
[8:41] Speaker 1: you know, just really taking stock of yourself on an
[8:44] Speaker 1: inward trajectory.
[8:46] Speaker 2: Yeah, and another beautiful question. And I think you're right.
[8:49] Speaker 2: I think I discovered it through the creative process. I
[8:52] Speaker 2: think that I think a lot of things in my life.
[8:55] Speaker 2: I are quite intentional, quite meticulous, you know, which I
[8:59] Speaker 2: frustrate myself sometimes with the how slow things can go.
[9:02] Speaker 2: But you know, it comes down to things. Everything matters
[9:07] Speaker 2: to me a lot, everything, and especially in music, you know,
[9:10] Speaker 2: in my life. There are a few things that matter
[9:12] Speaker 2: to me so much, and there's a lot that that
[9:13] Speaker 2: that I that I you know, a lot of a
[9:15] Speaker 2: lot of things that I try not to pay it,
[9:17] Speaker 2: you know, give attention to, but there you know, anything
[9:20] Speaker 2: anything in regarding human beings. I everything matters to me
[9:23] Speaker 2: so much, and so especially now to know that my
[9:26] Speaker 2: you know that there is an audience for my music,
[9:28] Speaker 2: that there will be someone who listens to everything I do.
[9:31] Speaker 2: The meticulousness that I kind of approach music with and
[9:34] Speaker 2: the intentionality is is sort of a way to honor
[9:36] Speaker 2: that that knowledge of that attention, that I know that
[9:39] Speaker 2: there's there's a zero a zero percent chance that no
[9:42] Speaker 2: one will listen to what I create. At this point,
[9:45] Speaker 2: I try to keep that in mind when I'm making something,
[9:47] Speaker 2: and I I also understand that can swing too far
[9:51] Speaker 2: in a direction of thinking too much about the audience
[9:53] Speaker 2: while you're creating something. I'm trying to find the balance
[9:55] Speaker 2: between really being uh and intentional with what I make
[10:01] Speaker 2: and in order to only create something that provides something
[10:06] Speaker 2: of value to this world. I never want to just
[10:09] Speaker 2: add to the noise of everything, because there's so much,
[10:12] Speaker 2: so much of that and so I feel as though
[10:15] Speaker 2: if I have something that I want to say, that
[10:18] Speaker 2: I take the time to sort of get that right
[10:20] Speaker 2: and to say it in a way that's going to
[10:22] Speaker 2: serve something in this world. So I think that's where
[10:26] Speaker 2: it all comes from.
[10:27] Speaker 1: What made you this way?
[10:28] Speaker 2: Luca?
[10:29] Speaker 1: You're such an anomaly. You're so thoughtful, You're so you know,
[10:34] Speaker 1: when you were just describing like water on a duck's back,
[10:37] Speaker 1: like letting things go. We have a hard time letting
[10:39] Speaker 1: things go, even the minute show of things that is
[10:42] Speaker 1: so unimportant in the grand scheme of life. Was that
[10:46] Speaker 1: intentional later in life or did you grow up that way?
[10:50] Speaker 2: That's a good question. I think it's come out of necessity.
[10:55] Speaker 2: I think I realize how finite all this is, you know,
[11:01] Speaker 2: I recognize just how valuable our time here is. There's
[11:05] Speaker 2: such a desire in me to not spend my time
[11:09] Speaker 2: or my energy in a way that doesn't give something
[11:12] Speaker 2: to this world or give something back to myself, you know,
[11:16] Speaker 2: trying further, might like to stay away from, you know,
[11:18] Speaker 2: social media in a way that very hard time describing it.
[11:23] Speaker 2: I say, it's a goodquestion. Don't think I've ever been
[11:24] Speaker 2: asked before.
[11:25] Speaker 1: But sorry, no, it's great.
[11:29] Speaker 2: No no, no, no, no, it's this is what this
[11:30] Speaker 2: is what interviews are for. I think, I think it's
[11:35] Speaker 2: just just wanting to reflect something of value into this world.
[11:40] Speaker 2: And I think that my my own way of doing
[11:41] Speaker 2: that is not is not sort of like a the
[11:44] Speaker 2: rapid creativity that I see a lot of people have
[11:46] Speaker 2: and and that I envy sometimes because I again, I
[11:51] Speaker 2: get frustrated with myself. I get you know, I get impatient,
[11:53] Speaker 2: but trying to to to start to really understand myself
[11:57] Speaker 2: as a creative and really understand the best way that
[12:03] Speaker 2: I could show up each day to do some sort
[12:05] Speaker 2: of creative or you know, some kind of spiritual work
[12:09] Speaker 2: or something in order to to find a deeper truth
[12:12] Speaker 2: inside myself for and so I think at this point
[12:16] Speaker 2: it's the only way I know. Now. I would love
[12:19] Speaker 2: to make an album five times faster than I usually do,
[12:21] Speaker 2: but it doesn't really seem to work that way.
[12:23] Speaker 1: Never does does it. Yeah, you know, it comes fast
[12:26] Speaker 1: and you got to get it out. But you know,
[12:29] Speaker 1: when I was little growing up, I want it like you.
[12:31] Speaker 1: I just I felt this inherent thing that I wanted
[12:34] Speaker 1: to fix everybody's problems and save everybody and help everybody.
[12:38] Speaker 1: And I remember my mom told me, you know, if
[12:41] Speaker 1: you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,
[12:43] Speaker 1: you'll never get anywhere. You'll just get bogged down right
[12:45] Speaker 1: where you are and you'll never fly. So take some
[12:49] Speaker 1: of that off of you. And I feel like that's
[12:52] Speaker 1: what you're describing to me, Like you know, in some sense, well,
[12:57] Speaker 1: when you just have it within you, you don't know
[12:59] Speaker 1: where comes from, but you found a way to channel
[13:02] Speaker 1: it in such an incredible way where it gives to yourself,
[13:06] Speaker 1: but it also gives it at least that's what I'm
[13:09] Speaker 1: understanding from you, is that you know you don't want
[13:11] Speaker 1: to do something that's selfish for you only you want
[13:14] Speaker 1: to make sure that without thinking too much about what
[13:17] Speaker 1: other people want, more just sharing the things that you
[13:20] Speaker 1: need for yourself that you think might be helpful to them.
[13:23] Speaker 2: I think so, I mean, I think that's what you know.
[13:25] Speaker 2: I don't ever want to pander to anyone or come
[13:29] Speaker 2: from a place of self interest. I think that I
[13:32] Speaker 2: firmly believe that the most valuable thing that we have
[13:36] Speaker 2: and create any kind of creativity is our individual voice.
[13:39] Speaker 2: I think that that's the most interesting thing that we
[13:41] Speaker 2: we have and also one of the most valuable that
[13:43] Speaker 2: it's the reason we find the friends that we find,
[13:45] Speaker 2: is the reason that we connect with a partner. It's,
[13:48] Speaker 2: you know, because someone sees the world in a way
[13:50] Speaker 2: that's complimentary to ours. Oftentimes, I think of the opportunity
[13:55] Speaker 2: that I have is you know, a chance to say
[13:56] Speaker 2: something that perhaps someone needed to hear, as you know,
[13:59] Speaker 2: if they haven't heard it from a friend or you know,
[14:03] Speaker 2: someone they love, and maybe a song could be that
[14:06] Speaker 2: for them. Maybe the song could could be the first
[14:08] Speaker 2: thing to say it. And so whether that's you know,
[14:11] Speaker 2: giving someone a break, or or trying to empower them
[14:15] Speaker 2: in a small way, or helping them feel understood and
[14:18] Speaker 2: you know, in a lyric, or just connected to something.
[14:22] Speaker 2: You know, I've been able to see, especially just having
[14:26] Speaker 2: gotten off a tour for a month where I get
[14:29] Speaker 2: to meet you know, a lot of the people at
[14:31] Speaker 2: the shows that we are also we are all so
[14:35] Speaker 2: ready for connection. We always have been. But I think
[14:39] Speaker 2: as this world becomes sort of more and more digital,
[14:43] Speaker 2: there's a reason why people are looking more for for
[14:46] Speaker 2: for religion or spirituality or whatever they're looking for. I
[14:50] Speaker 2: feel it in the in the shows now it's things are,
[14:52] Speaker 2: things are a bit different. There's a bit more of
[14:54] Speaker 2: an emphasis placed on wanting and craving that connection and
[15:00] Speaker 2: and people feel really feel ready for it, ready for
[15:03] Speaker 2: this sort of to become as human as we can.
[15:07] Speaker 2: I think of my shows more now is almost a
[15:10] Speaker 2: gathering place, less of a concert, you know, I think
[15:13] Speaker 2: the music seems to be a bit of a bonus. Rather,
[15:15] Speaker 2: it's just a place for human beings to gather together
[15:18] Speaker 2: and spend time and celebrate something, you know, art and community.
[15:24] Speaker 2: And yeah, I really feel that, I feel that more
[15:27] Speaker 2: than ever.
[15:27] Speaker 3: Now we'll be right back with more of the Music
[15:30] Speaker 3: Saved Me podcast. Welcome back to the Music Saved Me Podcast.
[15:41] Speaker 1: Hapathy is one of the themes on Challenger, your new album,
[15:45] Speaker 1: and that feeling of being stuck between caring or shutting down.
[15:50] Speaker 1: What do you think drives people there and how did
[15:52] Speaker 1: music help you find a way through it?
[15:55] Speaker 2: You know, I think again the feeling of being understood
[15:59] Speaker 2: helped a lot that. Yeah, it's a it's a it's
[16:02] Speaker 2: a feeling I've struggled with a lot of my life
[16:03] Speaker 2: is not feeling as as anything inside myself worth caring about.
[16:11] Speaker 1: Why was there something going on?
[16:13] Speaker 3: You know?
[16:14] Speaker 2: I've had some things kind of transpire my life and
[16:16] Speaker 2: in the ways that we all have in different challenges,
[16:18] Speaker 2: and I think just a certain sort of difficulty in understanding, well,
[16:25] Speaker 2: what this is all for? You know, what what am
[16:28] Speaker 2: I here for?
[16:28] Speaker 3: You know?
[16:29] Speaker 2: What is my purpose on this planet? And I had
[16:31] Speaker 2: a long a lot of trouble sort of understanding what
[16:35] Speaker 2: that reason was. And I think looking outside of myself
[16:39] Speaker 2: for you know, some inherent meaning in this life. And
[16:42] Speaker 2: and so I think that that's where that came from,
[16:44] Speaker 2: is that everything feeling a bit too far away. I
[16:48] Speaker 2: think what music did for me in that moment was,
[16:50] Speaker 2: you know, when I started to really develop and a
[16:53] Speaker 2: love and understanding for music when I was in my
[16:55] Speaker 2: early twenties. Before that, I didn't really understand what music
[16:58] Speaker 2: was was for what it did for me was allowed
[17:02] Speaker 2: me to feel connected to some to something in a
[17:04] Speaker 2: way where there was no there was no weight on it.
[17:07] Speaker 2: It wasn't the friends I had that knew me so well,
[17:11] Speaker 2: it wasn't the family that I've spent my life with.
[17:13] Speaker 2: It was just it was a stranger and they were
[17:15] Speaker 2: singing a song and it made me feel something that
[17:17] Speaker 2: I had felt before in my life. You know, a
[17:20] Speaker 2: placelessness or a sadness or a melancholy or a heartbreak
[17:24] Speaker 2: or something feeling understood by someone who I had never met,
[17:28] Speaker 2: was a very powerful feeling. And so that was sort
[17:31] Speaker 2: of the outset of my songwriting is that I thought, well,
[17:34] Speaker 2: if these songs can do that for me, how much
[17:37] Speaker 2: can I find myself inside of a song? The best
[17:40] Speaker 2: case scenario now is that that I've been able to
[17:43] Speaker 2: be that for you know, someone else, be that sort
[17:46] Speaker 2: of point of connection for you know, I say, a stranger,
[17:49] Speaker 2: but of course we're not strangers if we're if we're connected.
[17:51] Speaker 2: And so finding a lot of a lot of purpose
[17:54] Speaker 2: through that, which has really been a beautiful cycle of
[17:59] Speaker 2: what feels very a symbiotic.
[18:02] Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, you're very thought. You think a
[18:06] Speaker 1: lot those listening right now can't see. But I'm looking
[18:09] Speaker 1: at Luca and he thinks he's thinking a lot about
[18:12] Speaker 1: his words. He's choosing how to express his feelings, and
[18:17] Speaker 1: you're taking your time and you're not feeling rushed. And
[18:21] Speaker 1: that's hard for a lot of us to do, myself included,
[18:25] Speaker 1: but it's just so wonderful and it's such a great
[18:27] Speaker 1: feeling and You're making me feel so calm and sort
[18:32] Speaker 1: of very present right now just having a conversation with you.
[18:35] Speaker 1: So I can imagine what it's like when you have,
[18:38] Speaker 1: you know, thousands of people and you haven't even played
[18:40] Speaker 1: songs yet and you're just talking with them and they
[18:43] Speaker 1: all feel very disarmed and comfortable. So that's quite a
[18:46] Speaker 1: gift that you have. But you also self produce your work,
[18:50] Speaker 1: which I find really incredible. How much of that is
[18:52] Speaker 1: creative control and how much of it that is about
[18:55] Speaker 1: protecting sort of the emotional truth of what you're making.
[18:59] Speaker 1: Really it's powerful.
[19:00] Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, thank you so much. You know. I think
[19:05] Speaker 2: a bit of both for sure. I've started to let
[19:08] Speaker 2: some friends into my music, into writing it and making it,
[19:11] Speaker 2: and so each album is sort of a bit more collaboration,
[19:15] Speaker 2: which feels really really fantastic to sort of get these
[19:20] Speaker 2: ideas out of my own head and also get out
[19:22] Speaker 2: of my own way a little bit. I think it's
[19:25] Speaker 2: born out of the song to me being the real cornerstone.
[19:30] Speaker 2: And when I think about music, I think about it
[19:33] Speaker 2: as sort of a vehicle for the idea, the music
[19:37] Speaker 2: and the production of it and the recording. While I
[19:39] Speaker 2: love it so much, is not always as critical to
[19:42] Speaker 2: me as the song. I'm often trying to just match
[19:45] Speaker 2: the music to what I feel the idea to be
[19:49] Speaker 2: in my mind. The challenge there is that, of course,
[19:52] Speaker 2: nothing is ever perfect or write which is not what
[19:54] Speaker 2: I wanted to be, but getting it to feel congruent
[19:57] Speaker 2: with the idea can be a tough thing, and which
[20:00] Speaker 2: is why I'm starting to let more people in, and
[20:03] Speaker 2: also to build a bit more of a community around
[20:05] Speaker 2: my songs and not feel as though they are only
[20:10] Speaker 2: mine and that I'm keeping them so precious I don't think.
[20:12] Speaker 2: I don't think I want that anymore, especially touring with
[20:17] Speaker 2: my band in the past few years, it feels so
[20:19] Speaker 2: good to think of these songs as with the word hours,
[20:23] Speaker 2: as opposed to mine. I think in future records there'll
[20:25] Speaker 2: be a lot more people involved, and it's a yeah,
[20:29] Speaker 2: it's a beautiful thing for so many reasons.
[20:31] Speaker 1: It's nice that you have some help too, I mean
[20:33] Speaker 1: it's a lot of course an album. Of course, the
[20:36] Speaker 1: show is called music Save Me, so we have to ask,
[20:39] Speaker 1: of course, what is the moment or the song, or
[20:42] Speaker 1: maybe the era where music genuinely pulled you through something
[20:46] Speaker 1: that you were going through.
[20:48] Speaker 2: You know, it was right when I started trying to
[20:50] Speaker 2: be a songwriter and trying to be a musician up
[20:54] Speaker 2: until you know, for the first nineteen twenty years of
[20:57] Speaker 2: my life, I never expected this to be my career. Ever. Really,
[21:01] Speaker 2: I never really knew that it was even a career
[21:03] Speaker 2: to be a sort of in the working class of music.
[21:07] Speaker 2: The only show I had been to until I was
[21:09] Speaker 2: maybe eighteen was going to see the Rolling Stones at
[21:12] Speaker 2: the Arena in town, and so I didn't know that
[21:16] Speaker 2: this job existed. And yet I bought an acoustic guitar
[21:20] Speaker 2: when I was maybe eighteen or nineteen, and I was
[21:23] Speaker 2: sort of playing in bands with friends and just sort
[21:26] Speaker 2: of something to do. And then after I left high school,
[21:29] Speaker 2: I was by myself for the first time in a
[21:32] Speaker 2: way that I'd never been before, where you know, I
[21:35] Speaker 2: had never I had made any new friends at my school,
[21:38] Speaker 2: and I wasn't doing any of the extra extracurriculars that
[21:41] Speaker 2: you know, kids do, and all I was doing was
[21:44] Speaker 2: going to you know, taking the bus a couple hours
[21:48] Speaker 2: a day to a new place where I didn't know
[21:49] Speaker 2: anybody yet and trying to you know, understand who I
[21:53] Speaker 2: was as a person, you know, on my own for
[21:56] Speaker 2: the first time in my life and was really really
[22:01] Speaker 2: lost in a lot of ways. I was lost, very lost,
[22:03] Speaker 2: you know, having left behind Catholicism that I was, you know,
[22:09] Speaker 2: I had always been a Catholic when I was growing up,
[22:10] Speaker 2: and leaving behind you know, everyone I almost everyone I
[22:14] Speaker 2: knew for most of the day. And so after that,
[22:16] Speaker 2: I started to write, and I kept writing and writing,
[22:19] Speaker 2: and I was listening to more music, and I started
[22:21] Speaker 2: to find Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone
[22:26] Speaker 2: and and started to feel what music was for again.
[22:31] Speaker 2: I think I mentioned that I said that earlier, that
[22:33] Speaker 2: it started to click with me, why people do this,
[22:37] Speaker 2: why people love this, why people need this? In that way,
[22:40] Speaker 2: I started to see myself in these songs, and I
[22:43] Speaker 2: started to try at something new, which was trying to
[22:46] Speaker 2: express myself through music, which I'd never done before. I
[22:50] Speaker 2: remember hearing I remember hearing which Will by Nick Drake.
[22:53] Speaker 2: I think it's on Pink Moon, and I didn't really
[22:56] Speaker 2: understand what the song was, which is you know, usually
[22:59] Speaker 2: the case in the first few times. But I felt
[23:02] Speaker 2: such a reflection of the very slow melancholy that I
[23:06] Speaker 2: started to understand in my life again. This is music
[23:09] Speaker 2: that was recorded fifty years or maybe sorry, maybe forty
[23:13] Speaker 2: years before I was born. And I felt so far
[23:16] Speaker 2: inside of that song and I still maybe don't even
[23:19] Speaker 2: know what it's about, and I probably couldn't even tell
[23:21] Speaker 2: you that the lyrics, but I remember feeling that was
[23:26] Speaker 2: what I wanted to try for and try to find
[23:28] Speaker 2: that finds that version, that part of myself to reflect
[23:33] Speaker 2: something and to make it in a way that I
[23:35] Speaker 2: couldn't stay in a conversation, you know, especially again, especially
[23:38] Speaker 2: as a young man, as a teenager, I'm trying to
[23:41] Speaker 2: express myself. So I think music saved me that in
[23:45] Speaker 2: that moment where I didn't have anywhere to put myself.
[23:49] Speaker 2: I didn't know what to do with my time, or
[23:52] Speaker 2: my energy, or my any of my you know, placelessness,
[23:57] Speaker 2: or my anger or my frustration about who I was
[24:01] Speaker 2: and where I was, And so I started to just
[24:03] Speaker 2: write music. And I know how much I've I've learned
[24:07] Speaker 2: about myself in the last fourteen years of trying to
[24:11] Speaker 2: write songs. I am such a I am so much
[24:15] Speaker 2: of a different person that I know I would be
[24:17] Speaker 2: without having all the time in the space and the
[24:21] Speaker 2: sort of like effort to try to connect with myself,
[24:25] Speaker 2: and so I often wonder who I'd be if I
[24:27] Speaker 2: if I didn't find music, But I know that I
[24:30] Speaker 2: would be quite different, maybe for better or for worse,
[24:33] Speaker 2: you know, who knows, but I know it would be different.
[24:36] Speaker 2: And so I'm very grateful for the opportunity that I've
[24:41] Speaker 2: been given to keep trying and over and over and
[24:43] Speaker 2: over and to be supported in this, in this sort
[24:46] Speaker 2: of search to be you know, I don't know, trying,
[24:50] Speaker 2: you know, trying to again, trying to find a truth
[24:51] Speaker 2: within myself that maybe reflects a truth within someone else.
[24:56] Speaker 2: But yeah, it was those first few years especially where
[24:58] Speaker 2: I really started to understand and that's what this is for.
[25:01] Speaker 2: It's for a human being to connect with themselves and
[25:05] Speaker 2: someone else in a way that I never felt before.
[25:08] Speaker 1: So well, keep trying, because we'll come along for the ride.
[25:13] Speaker 1: So this is your fourth, fourth album or fifth.
[25:17] Speaker 2: That sounds right.
[25:17] Speaker 1: I think it's you can't even remember. That's good because
[25:20] Speaker 1: you're you're not paying attention. That's great. The album is
[25:23] Speaker 1: called Challenger. The artist Luca Fogale just wonderful being able
[25:28] Speaker 1: to spend some time with you and talk to you.
[25:30] Speaker 1: You've really helped me through my day. I hope we've
[25:34] Speaker 1: helped many through their day just hearing you speak. But
[25:37] Speaker 1: believe me, if you think that his voice is calming
[25:40] Speaker 1: and his demeanor, wait till you listen to his music.
[25:42] Speaker 1: If you need this, it is there for you and Lucas.
[25:46] Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
[25:48] Speaker 2: Thank you, lind You're so generous. I really appreciate it
[25:50] Speaker 2: time today.
[25:51] Speaker 1: Well takes one to know one. Thank you.
[25:56] Speaker 3: I'm buzz Night and thanks for listening to Lynn Hoffmann
[26:00] Speaker 3: and the music. Save Me podcasts produced by Buzznight Media Productions.
[26:05] Speaker 1: Please check out our other shows, Taken a Walk Nashville
[26:09] Speaker 1: hosted by Sarah Harrelson, Comedy Save Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman,
[26:13] Speaker 1: and Taken a Walk hosted by Yours Truly.
[26:17] Speaker 3: All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and are
[26:21] Speaker 3: part of the iHeart podcast Network

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