From the field to frets

In front of a sold-out crowd of people standing shoulder to shoulder at The Nectar Lounge in Fremont, former Washington soccer player Brett Hite calmly and casually ascended the stage with a coffee cup in one hand and a guitar in the other, ready to start his show.

Had he not been on center stage with the spotlight focused on him, Hite, wearing nothing but a pale green T-shirt with jeans and a red baseball cap, could have easily been mistaken for just another member of the crowd, the majority of which were college students.

He began with a few anecdotes dotted with some dry humor and sarcasm regarding the crowd, but then he delved into his first song.

Though the majority of the audience may have been in attendance for the show’s headliner, Tyrone Wells, or even Well’s tour opener, Jason Reeves, the crowd’s reaction to Hite’s deep voice and the comforting tone of his song was clear – it was a pleaser.

Continuing with what was to be a pattern for the evening, after the song, Hite got into a story-telling mode. Even if his stories were rehearsed, they had a natural flow that made the crowd laugh with ease. He was even successful in getting the audience to sing “Happy Birthday” to a friend.

It may be hard to imagine that not too long ago, Hite was playing for a different kind of audience.

In 2005, when Hite was a sophomore, he scored the tying goal with just six minutes to go in a dramatic game against Air Force, which ultimately resulted in a 3-2 Washington victory.

Unfortunately, the forward’s career came to an end early in the following season, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The injury, along with other events, finally led to the end of his soccer campaign at Washington.

However, the end of college athletics made time for the emergence of a new talent – music – that Hite hopes to someday make his main focus.

“Eventually I would like to be able to make a living from it,” Hite said. “It’d be great to get to the point where you don’t have to do all the work, and you can pay other people to do it. There’s a lot of contacting venues and trying to get people to show up involved, but that’s just how it works.”

Hite’s hard work paid off last Monday night when he received hearty applause from the audience. The ladies in the crowd were gushing almost as if they were in middle school again, throwing their arms out to the latest teenage heartthrob.

Hite hasn’t quite gotten used to the vast amount of attention.

“That was new,” he said. “There were a lot of girls. I’ve never had that many. It was fun. It’s cool to feel popular.”

Hite said he even had a girl come up to him after his set and invite him to a hookah bar, although he politely declined.

“I’ve never smoked hookah so that was my excuse,” he said.

It’s hard to blame the girl, though, as Hite effortlessly hooked the audience with his soothing, yet catchy, chords on the guitar and incredibly pensive lyrics.

One song in particular, titled “Shayla’s Song,” had especially haunting lyrics.

The song tells the true story of a young, talented local volleyball player who was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. One verse in “Shayla’s Song” goes, ‘Why is she the one fighting for her life when I can’t even bring a tear to my eyes?’

“The story blew my mind,” Hite said. “It makes me realize that I’m lucky to have the gift I have to even walk or do whatever. Just things we take for granted. It makes me ask why, like, ‘Why am I so lucky?’”

Although the song is melancholy, it was clear that he got his message through when the crowd gave Brett the loudest applause at the end of this song than any other song throughout the night.

“I’m trying to become a better writer in, like, fun, happy songs,” he said. “But I don’t usually write about those times, I just kind of enjoy them. If something happens or I’m trying to figure something out, then I’ll write about it and it kind of helps. That’s why they always end up being kind of sad songs.”

Hite might also be conflicted, as he is fully recovered from his torn ACL and is currently training with the Seattle Sounders, as well as finding concert venues to play in.

Music and soccer has always manifested two different sides of Hite.

“Growing up, music has always been kind of different from soccer,” he said. “It’s helped me get out my frustrations. I always wrote what I was feeling.”

Although he started playing at a young age, it hasn’t always been easy for Hite.

“I picked up a guitar around eighth grade, and I played the drums before that,” he said. “I was pretty terrible up until college where people were like, ‘It sounds pretty OK.’”

With a significantly better grasp on his music skills, Hite has been able to pursue soccer at the next level.

“I’m trying to sign with the Sounders,” he said. “I’m kind of trying it out since I’m not sold on what I want to do yet.”

He said he is in a transition period at this point in his life.

“It’s kind of an awkward time in life when you’re trying to figure it all out,” Hite said.

Although he hasn’t settled on which path to take, Hite is determined to succeed either way, regardless of what obstacles may lie ahead of him.

“You kind of have to get used to hearing the word ‘no,’” he said. “They say that when you’re touring, for every 10 venues you contact, you’ll get one. It’s tough to get your name out there, and you may be the best musician in the world, but if they don’t know you, they don’t know you. The best thing to do is, when you hear ‘no,’ just keep going.”