Thanks to recurring roles on television series such as V and The Tudors, Vancouver-born actor Mark Hildreth will likely be a familiar face to many readers. However, its the slightly more anonymous efforts on his résumé that Hildreth credits with giving him the confidence required to pursue his other passion: singing.
At the age of 10, he was cast as the voice of Beany in the revamped Beany and Cecil cartoon series. This opened dozens of doors for Hildreth, who has lent his vocal talents to scores of animated projects in the ensuing two-and-a-half decades. And while there wouldnt necessarily seem to be a strong correlation between voicing the villainous Lotor on Voltron Force and crooning Earth is a Place for Love on his sophomore record, Signs of Life, Hildreth insists that this is in fact the case.
There are not a lot of singers who have been in the studio since they were 10 years old, insists Hildreth, who now spends much of his time in Los Angeles. Now, when I go and record, it just feels like home when I put those headphones on. It feels so familiar and has a sort of magic for me. I think thats because I had the opportunity to do that so long ago.
Its perhaps due to this familiarity that Signs of Life managed to escape the dreaded difficult second album designation. I felt the second record was easier than the first. You get a lot under your belt with your first record. And, I had a great producer whos sold 15 million records, he adds, referring to Warne Livesey, whos previously collaborated with 54-40, Midnight Oil and Matthew Good. He and I work together very well. It felt like it was meant to be.
It was a series of profound changes involving those closest to him that inspired the 10 songs on the vocal-heavy, heartfelt record. I had a lot of stuff happen with family in the years that I was writing it. I had some people born... I had some people die... he shares. That really puts whats important in perspective. All of the songs came very naturally out of that.
Hildreth also credits his family with molding him into the pursuer of joy (and) agent of peace that he identifies himself as on his Twitter profile. Growing up with maternal grandparents who were both born deaf, Hildreth not only learned the value of physical expressiveness (which hes since applied to his stage and screen appearances) but also resilience of spirit. My grandparents were joyful, grounded and had the best sense of humour of anyone Ive ever known, he says. I think I learned a lot of strength from that.
In turn, hes discovered how to apply the skills demanded of an actor to his songwriting. Just as preparing for a role requires viewing a character from different perspectives, penning personal lyrics requires some rigorous self-examination. I feel that everything I do in my life is all about that. Its all about self-discovery, he says. The only thing you ever really know in your life is yourself. Its the only true relationship you have. So, every time I explore a character, Im finding different parts of myself that Ive never seen before.
If Im experiencing a part of me that Ive never experienced before and you capture that in a song or in a performance... you give someone else an opportunity to experience a part of themselves that theyve never experienced before.
He concludes, It seems like thats the most noble thing you can do as an artist.
Signs of Life is available now on .
