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\u201cTime Machine,\u201d released this year, a project he produced mostly on his own when \u201cI didn\u2019t have a budget, so I just decided, \u2018I\u2019m just going to have fun with it\u2019.\u201d The result, he said, is \u201cthe most fun I\u2019ve ever had making a record,\u201d a collection that leans on the pop sensibilities of the 1990s, the rock of the 1980s and the funk of the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Hamm, who wrote the winning song for \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d when David Cook triumphed in 2008, said he approached \u201cTime Machine\u201d as a return to the creative freedom of childhood. He used a photo of himself \u201cwhen I\u2019m two years old playing a little drum\u201d as the album cover to underscore that mindset. \u201cI really just made an effort to kind of stay in that mindset, just like be a kid,\u201d he said. \u201cPlay in the sandbox, do it the way you would do it when you were a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work on the album began after a listener repeatedly urged Hamm to record one specific song \u201cBeautiful Tragedy\u201d that he had posted online. The persistent fan ended up becoming a really good friend of his. That springboarded into a whiteboard full of ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I knew it, I had a whiteboard of 15, maybe 17 songs, and so I just started, I just kept recording,\u201d he said. He ultimately pared the collection down to a tight sequence \u201cto create a really good top to bottom listening experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamm recorded and mixed most of the record himself in a home studio, playing many of the instruments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played it all, I sang it all, mixed it all, and not really because I wanted to, but I just didn\u2019t have a budget,\u201d he said. The self-contained process allowed him to experiment\u2014mandolin, banjo, accordion and keyboards appear across the album, sometimes from instruments with sentimental value.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got my mother\u2019s old accordion from the 1950s,\u201d he said. \u201cI love playing it. For no, I just felt like I was like to smell it, because it reminds me when I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamm framed the album as a deliberate reaction to an industry that has shifted under artists\u2019 feet. \u201cThere\u2019s no real formula anymore for quote unquote success,\u201d he said, noting that streaming has fundamentally altered how songwriters are compensated. \u201cIf I had a song on a record that sold a million copies, I would make $90,000 on that song. If I had a song today that was streamed a million times, I would make about 34 cents,\u201d he said, using the striking contrast to illustrate the challenge facing many creators.<\/p>\n
The album also marks a creative restitching of identity for a songwriter who has worked across the commercial and faith-based music worlds. Hamm traced the arc from his early band days to writing for national acts and maintaining a solo artistic life on his own terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave myself permission every month,\u201d he added. \u201cI can write a song that I just want to write, and I don\u2019t even want it to get recorded, and I don\u2019t want it to get on the radio. I just want to do it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamm said he values intimate performance settings in theaters, clubs and churches and has embraced house concerts and living-room broadcasts as a way to sustain connection with listeners. He described a 2017 \u201cPass the Hat Tour,\u201d offering house shows in exchange for donations from audiences, an experiment that grew beyond its initial plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love them because it\u2019s real intimate. It\u2019s like you\u2019re playing songs for somebody in their house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among Hamm\u2019s well-known catalog is a song that altered his family\u2019s fortunes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad I wrote \u2018Time of My Life,\u2019\u201d he said, reflecting on the song\u2019s financial and professional impact. \u201cIt provided a stable income for my family while my kids were young,\u201d he said, even as he noted the song is not necessarily his personal favorite composition. \u201cIt is the most important song for me. It\u2019s that solid \u2018C student song\u2019 that I just love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTime Machine,\u201d Hamm said, is less about chasing commercial success and more about artistic truth.<\/p>\n
Since the rules are kind of being thrown out anyway, why don\u2019t we just have fun,\u201d he said. The album\u2019s sonic nostalgia and personal honesty aim to capture the joy of making music without overthinking outcomes. It\u2019s a reminder that, for some artists, creative renewal arrives when constraints fall away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf nothing happens, well, we\u2019ve had a good time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve said our piece the way we want to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTime Machine\u201d by Regie Hamm is now available on digital outlets<\/a>. Regie also has a Patreon site<\/a> where he frequently shares commentary on his career and current events. Watch Regie and DeWayne Hamby discuss the record on the \u201cReel Faith\u201d podcast below.<\/p>\n