Beyond The Stage Magazine - November 2018 by Beyond the Stage Magazine

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BEYOND THE STAGE

BEYOND the stage

STAFF

ADDIE WHELAN EDITOR IN CHIEF

DELANEY DEANGELIS DEPUTY EDITOR

GINA SCARPINO

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Beyond The Stage is a digital music magazine based in the United States. You can read Beyond The Stage online for free or visit our website to buy a hard copy. Previous issues are always available to read online or order in print.

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WRITERS

Revisit our previous issues at: https://btsmag.co/Issues

Abby Fox Addie Whelan Delaney DeAngelis Kristen Humphries Lauren Klonowski Nicolita Bradley Samantha Aneed

PHOTOGRAPHERS

PHOTO EDITOR

Addie Whelan Alicia Rangel Alyssa Buzzello Bailey Flores Blake Charles Chelsea Gresh Cindy Jean Gina Scarpino Jacklyn Krol Joe Hernandez Mae Krell Nicolita Bradley Renee Dominguez Stone Fenk

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TABLE OF

CONTENTS ON THE COVER

32 HRVY

GALLERIES

FEATURES AND FESTIVALS

08 Jeremy Zucker 50 Morgxn 62 Dounia

14 Bumbershoot Music Festival 20 Morgan Saint 26 JHart 42 Tall Heights 56 Donna Missal

04 All Time Low 05 Sir Sly 06 CHVRCHES 07 In Real Life 12 Fall Out Boy 13 Morgxn 18 YUNGBLUD 19 Milky Chance 24 5 Seconds of Summer 25 Nothing But Thieves 38 Mura Masa 39 Lykke Li 41 Stereophonics 46 Andrew W.K. 47 Nightly 48 Bishop Briggs 49 Chromeo 54 Knocked Loose 55 Alina Baraz 60 FIDLAR 61 RUSSO 66 Amy Shark 67 Angel Olsen 68 Tove Styke 69 Noah Cyrus 70 Lindsey Stirling

HRVY ON THE COVER

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ALL TIME LOW

ALICIA RANGEL - AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 2018

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SIR SLY

GINA SCARPINO - BROOKYLN, NY - OCTOBER 2018

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CHVRCHES

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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IN REAL LIFE

ADDIE WHELAN - CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 2018

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JEREMY ZUCKER WORDS BY SAMANTHA ANEED | PHOTOS BY GINA SCARPINO

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cene: A small town kid from Jersey with a college degree in molecular science, on a 23 city sold-out tour.

Cue: Jeremy Zucker. Beyond the Stage recently had the privilege of sitting down with Zucker to discuss everything from how he got his start in music, the process he goes through when it comes to writing and recording and much more. Finding the type of sound you want to make or who you want to be as an artist is a key element into starting a career, along with learning to use the software or learning to play an instrument. It’s a lot of trial and error, and for Zucker, that was no different. With influences from popular bands, Zucker had the desire to learn to play guitar, so he did just that. “I think the thing that got me into music at first was like being a fan of Blink-182. Because of them I always wanted to play guitar, so I convinced my parents to buy me a guitar, when I was like 8 or 9 years old,” said Zucker. From that moment on, the rest might as well be history. Creating music is something that isn’t easy, it takes a lot of work and sometimes things just don’t work out. You have to be able to push past the downfalls to be able to create something amazing.

and teaching yourself is never easy. Zucker credited YouTube tutorials that helped him along the way with learning, but admits that it was mostly just him messing around with the software and learning tricks on his own. After teaching himself and making this music, he brought it to the band he was in at the time and came to a stunning realization. “It got to the point where I was producing full songs on my computer and playing all the instruments and then bringing it to my band and I’d be like, ‘Yo guys, this is our new song,’ cause we were writing all of our own music and I would try and teach it to them and then actually I just had a realization like, ‘Why am I writing, producing and doing everything and teaching it to them when i could just do it all myself?’” he said. So after graduating from college, Zucker did just that. The result: magic. Finding something you’re passionate enough to pursue a college degree over is something that usually doesn’t come easy for many. Zucker has a degree in molecular biology and loves science. Music and biology are on two different wavelengths so how could one just choose between the two? “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I was like, ‘Okay I am done

“I was in a couple bands in middle school and then around the same time I started making music on GarageBand just for fun,” said Zucker. “And those two worlds collided in high school when I was in an acoustic rock band and I started producing our band’s music on my computer. By that time I graduated from GarageBand and used this software called Logic Pro.” As you continue to teach yourself and learn more, things become clearer and you develop a sense of creativity you thought you never had. Messing around with software

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‘with science and now I’m doing music.’ It was more like I was making music while I was studying and completing my major, and the music was just growing and growing and growing, and it never blew up to the point where I was like, ‘Okay I’m going to stop doing school,’ said Zucker. “It got to the point where it was senior year and stuff was popping off and I was like, ‘I’ve already been through three years of college, so I’m just going to finish off strong,’ and at that point I knew I was going to graduate and i knew that I had to keep making music. So I graduated and put that academic part of my life to rest and went full force with music.” For Zucker, he was influenced by multiple people and other aspects in life. “Musically, some of my biggest inspirations are Jon Bellion, EDEN and Blackbear and those are the people I normally cite because they directly influenced my music,” he said. Not only is he influenced by specific artists, but Zucker said he is influenced by movies, and he loves films. “I just love people that, you know, I respect people who control every aspect of the process,” he said. He mentions how he admires artists like Kanye West who do everything on their own. “He [Kanye] is very much self-made and selfsufficient and I see people who do that and I’m just like, ‘Wow, if this person can do it all themselves, I can do it all myself,’” said Zucker. Having that mindset and that motivation is something that is good to have in the music industry. Zucker mentioned how when it comes to music videos, he has a vision and does what he can to make that vision a reality and only will hire someone he trusts to help make his visual creations come to life.

“I wrote all of it when I was home in New Jersey, that summer after graduating college. I basically was just at home the whole time, I spent a lot of time alone in my basement. When I could’ve been outside hanging with friends and stuff, I just felt like I had to work really hard since I was done with school. It was a really introspective process writing it for sure.”

When creating music, most artists tend to stick with what they know, but not Zucker. Over the years, he has released a bunch of EPs, but never a full album. Why? The answer was simple.

Just by listening to Zucker’s music, you can tell he writes his emotions into his music. He leaves it all in the song, and creates a raw and vulnerable sound. It takes a special kind of artist to be able to do that.

“Because I get really bored of styles of music. By the time I will write four, five, six songs that will have similar feel, I will be sick of that feel and I will want to move onto something more experimental and different that keeps me excited about it,” explained Zucker. “It’s just been natural putting out EPs and also, I don’t want to keep people waiting. I just want to keep putting out music and growing as an artist. So that’s why all the EPs, it’s fun, it keeps things exciting.”

“I feel like I always write music based on how I feel in that speck of time. So [when] I finish a project, it’s a bunch of songs from a couple months of my life. I get to look back on those songs and be like ‘That’s how I was feeling in that time,’ and that’s a very passive process.” Putting all your feelings out there into music is scary and sometimes you might not even realize you are doing it. “I didn’t realize that I was actually doing that and I think when I made “summer,” that’s the first time I was conscious of it while I was doing it. I was like, ‘I’m writing about how I feel right now and this project is going to document what I went through this

Zucker talked to us about his most recent EP “summer,” and really gave us a deeper insight into the process from writing to recording. BTS

summer and that’s partly why I called it ‘summer,.’” If you pay attention to detail, you might notice a comma at the end of the title. At first you think nothing of it, but we quickly found out there was a deeper meaning behind it. “It was stylistic at first, but a meaning developed into it once the project was all put together. For me it symbolizes like a sigh, and the title is all lowercase and the comma is there cause it’s like when you think of summer, you think of being outside, freedom from your obligations, at least that’s what it was like being in school my whole life,” Zucker explained. “Yeah, it symbolizes all the expectations that I had for the summer and how I was let down in so many different ways.” Creating raw and honest music comes easy for Zucker but he mentioned the hardest song on his EP to write was “comethru.” He wanted to keep it raw, but change it at the same time. “The song itself, the bare bones is very straightforward and well-written in my opinion. Coming up with the production for it was very difficult cause I wanted to take it somewhere new, but I also wanted it to stay really raw and so I made like a million different versions of that song. I kind of put out the simplest one cause I thought it didn’t need that much in the end.”

Zucker creates raw and honest music that anyone who listens can relate to in some way. So as far as the message he hopes to send? It’s just to know you are not alone. “That a sense of some understanding, that like the way they feel that they’re not alone in the way they feel, cause I write a lot from how I truly feel, like things that I wouldn’t normally sit down and talk to someone about, so I think when someone else has a real connection to the music I feel like it’s the same feeling for them they feel like someone understands them and they cant talk to anyone they feel comforted in knowing that someone feels the same way sort of.” Jeremy Zucker has created music for people to be able to listen and relate to it in some way shape or form. His goal is to remind people that no matter how alone they’re feeling, they aren’t, and that his music is there to comfort them. We know we have not heard the last of Jeremy Zucker and his name is a name you will soon be seeing everywhere. As for what’s next for him, he plans to head home after his tour, relax and recuperate and then jump right back into writing and creating music. We hope he gets the rest he deserves and cannot wait to hear his next project.

Zucker is currently on a sold-out tour, playing 23 cities. “It feels pretty fucking crazy, my first tour, 23 cities. I don’t even want to know how many people total. Every show sold out? It’s been fucking awesome.” With every tour there comes a time where you sit down and just think about what your favorite part is, whether it be crowd interaction, the adrenaline, or a favorite song to perform. For Zucker, it was all that and then some. “My favorite part is the last song before I come off stage because it’s like during my set, it can be really stressful during the set, and when I’m off stage, and there’s always a handful of moments on stage where it’s just like pure bliss and you’re just having such a connection with fans and everyone is just really into the music,” explained Zucker. “And then I feel like when you go off stage knowing that you put on a good show is an amazing feeling because you know all burden of the day and the stress of getting ready for a show and rehearsing and stuff just melts away and y sou’re just left with pure adrenaline and that’s my favorite part.” Before his first major headline tour, Zucker played a few festivals and when asked about the comparison between those festivals and his own shows, he put it as simple as could be: “When I play in front of a big crowd I am relying less on the connection between me and the audience and more on energy on me performing on stage. So it kind of takes on aspect out of the equation to where I can really focus on my singing and overall performance energy which is really cool. Yeah, but I love like interacting with the crowd so the small shows are more fun, bigger shows like are more adrenaline when you sing, but the smaller shows are more intimate for sure.” Being able to build a connection with your fans on and off stage is really the foundation for a good career.

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FALL OUT BOY

JACKLYN KROL - CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 2018

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MORGXN

RENEE DOMINGUEZ - AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 2018

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AJR

ILLENIUM

RL GRIME

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BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL PHOTOS BY JOE HERNANDEZ

ELOHIM

J. COLE

YUNG PINCH

LOVELYTHEBAND

MARIAN HILL

LUDACRIS

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TINASHE

SAWEETIE

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MURA MASA

THE CHAINSMOKERS

T-PAIN

YUNG THUG

LIL WAYNE

OLIVIA Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BRIEN

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YUNGBLUD

ALYSSA BUZZELLO - LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 2018

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MILKY CHANCE

BLAKE CHARLES - EUGENE, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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MORGAN SAINT WORDS BY DELANEY DEANGELIS | PHOTOS BY GINA SCARPINO

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ince debuting in 2017, Morgan Saint has been up to a lot. As 2018 comes to a close, Saint has two EPs under belt, as well as a major label deal and touring with bands like lovelytheband. Her most recent release, “ALIEN” features eight songs, which Saint sees as an extension to her 2017 EP, “17 HERO.” “When I got signed to Epic Records, I came to them with five songs done. A lot of those songs ended up on my initial EP, and they were like, ‘We love what you’re doing, just make a lot more of that,’” recalled Saint. “So, I did that. I kind of just recorded for a year. The first EP was the first half of that bunch of songs and the second EP was the second half of that bunch of songs. In my head, my initial goal was to put them together as an album, and a little too much time passed so my label wanted me to put out another EP. It’s an extension of the first EP because I was writing about what I was going through that year.” Saint is truly an artist. She went to college for visual art, but then decided to focus on her music after she graduated. “I was going through a tough time, and it was really for my own self, and I ended up here. It’s not exactly what I expected, but it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me and it feels super right,” said Saint. “It feels super cool to be able to use my visual art and pair it with the music and not feel like I’m losing any part of expressing myself. It just brings it all together instead of separating them.” Saint comes from a musical family on her mom’s side, and she took piano lessons and learned how to play guitar. “I was the worst piano student ever,” Saint claimed. “I would sit down to practice and I’d be super frustrated because I’d be like, ‘Ah, I want to be good at this immediately.’ I’m an Aries and a super perfectionist, so instead of practicing what I was given, I would just start making up things on the piano. I think that’s what lead me to songwriting before I even knew I was songwriting. As time went on, I just started pairing words with what I was wiring on instruments. I just kind of kept going with that.”

Saint can’t say the age she was when she wrote her first song. Saint remembers writing partial songs while sitting down at the piano in high school. Once she hit college, she began to study song structure, how other artists wrote their songs and writing her own completed songs. As a visual artist, Saint combines her passions into one art form. “Like I was saying, they kind of go together for me and I feel like if I was just doing music and someone else was going all the visuals, I wouldn’t feel fulfilled as a creative person,” said Saint. “I’m grateful to be able to combine the two and tell a story with them working together.” Being highly involved with different aspects of her art is important to Saint. From creative concepts to graphics and more, Saint likes to have some control in the process. “I do everything pretty much myself, which is pretty much by choice. It’s important to me, I’m sort of a complete creative control freak and so I don’t know how easily I could give that up to somebody,” shared Saint. “I do seek out friends and people that I know to help bring that vision to life. But even if someone else takes a photo of me, like my EP artwork for instance, I’m coming up with the concept, picking the backdrop, framing it, lighting it, and retouching the photo, coloring the photo...so I’m really in control the whole way. That’s just how I like to work. It’s a little abnormal. My label’s always like, ‘Are you going to get too busy to do that?’ And I’m always like, ‘No, I will make time!’” Saint isn’t just highly involved with the visual aspect of her art, but with the production as well. Collaborating with producer Cass Dillon, Saint likes it because it makes the music more personal without multiple people being involved with the creation of her songs. “I feel like it allowed me to tell those stories that I had written in the most intimate way. I feel like in the music industry, sometimes that in order to create a hit, that gets taken away because there are so many other people involved in the song,” Saint said. “Not to say that my songs are hit worthy, but what’s important to me is that I can look at a body of work and think, ‘Wow all those songs mean so much to me and are so

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personal to me.’ So I think working with a really small team allowed me to be super in control of every little sound I make, and making sure it all correlated with the emotion behind the story that I’m trying to communicate. Saint’s song are hit worthy, with infectious alt-pop and angelic singing that leaves the listener wanting more. Reminiscent of Lorde and Banks, Saint’s music is still uniquely her own. Saint embraces her own uniqueness, which played a role in the naming of her EP, “ALIEN.”

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“Growing up in high school was kind of a weird time for me. I never got bullied or anything and my peers were fine. I just remember always feeling what I was going through and who I was as a person was such a contrast compared to my peers,” said Saint. “So, I would just feel like an alien. I felt like I didn’t relate to the people around me. So I remember joking about that in high school.” As Saint got into performing live shows, she continued to joke about feeling like an alien, and became the shout out prior to her song, “New Regime.”

“I would joke around saying, ‘If you feel like an alien, this song’s for you!’ Then people started picking up on that and it became a theme without me even meaning for it to become a theme. When I wrote this music, it was a lot about coming to terms with myself and facing the demons I tried to ignore in high school and through college. So I was just kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s all about feeling like an outsider and needing to accept that and find power in it, so I should call it ALIEN!’ It make perfect sense with the body of work and the context in which I wrote it.” When writing her music, Saint finds inspiration all across the board. From Kendrick Lamar to Pale Waves to genres like Reggae, Saint loves a variety. But, everything comes back to being a visual artist. “I actually feel like I turn more to visual art to inspire my music, more than other people’s music, just because I feel like that allows me to separate myself from what other people are doing and still be inspired, but not by the same form of art,” explained Saint. “For me, I feel like music and visual art come so succinctly together in my head, so it’s cool to be like, ‘Oh, that person’s photography work really inspires me.’ So it’s kind of cool when the two words can collide like that.” As for the later part of 2018, Saint has been opening

up for lovelytheband, opening herself to new fans and playing her new music. “It’s always an interesting position because you know that a small percentage of people are there to see you, and a lot of them are there for the main act. It’s always an interesting feeling being on stage, because I want to put on my best show but you don’t want to be too much, and you don’t want to feel like you’re trying too hard to gain their attention” said Saint. “But, you also want them to connect with yout. I want them to take away what I was feeling when I wrote those songs and hopefully in all make people feel a little less alone in what they might be feeling, because when I was growing up I turned to music so much because I felt like it was the one thing where people understood me and helped me feel less alone. So, I just want people to feel that in my music and feel empowered to be themselves. I’m weird and it’s taken me awhile to be OK with that and to hopefully spread that energy to people watching.” As for the rest of 2018, it’s filled with the unknown for Saint. She’s working on new music already and want to play as many shows as she possibly can. While there may be a lot of unknown for Saint, we know that 2019 will be bigger and better for Saint.

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5 SECONDS OF SUMMER ALICIA RANGEL - SUGAR LAND, TX - SEPTEMBER, 2018

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LECRAE

BAILEY FLORES - MIDLAND, TX - OCTOBER 2018

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JHART

WORDS BY ADDIE WHELAN | PHOTOS BY GINA SCARPINO

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ith writing credits that span multiple genres, multiple top 10 hits and more, JHart is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. James “JHart” Abrahart, has not only written music for dozens of artists, but also created and paved a name for himself. With tracks that have topped the charts in multiple different genres, including country, pop and urban, JHart has grown a steady following, an incredible discography and even a collaboration with Kygo. “Stylistically I’m kind of a amalgamation of grew up listening to a lot of European, meet pop music. Then, move to Atlanta, Georgia where I immersed myself in R&B and urban music. Then I got into Gospel music because I went to Christian school. And I feel like that’s where I learned to do riffs and stuff. And then I moved to LA to write pop music and it really helped in both my writing and my singing,” JHart said in a conversation with Beyond The Stage.

If you listen to the song, the verses don’t have a time signature for that reason, because I really didn’t want to change the way I wrote them down. It’s a really personal song for me, It’s about my inability to let my ego get out of the way when it comes to relationships. Kind of when you get broken up with and you’re like, ‘I shouldn’t have been in this relationship, but I’m hurt because I’m broken up with and I didn’t get the opportunity to break up with you first.’” JHart not only pulls personal emotions and stories into his songs, but strives to make sure his listeners know how important it is for him to share his own thoughts and stories.

Highly influenced by Freddie Mercury, JHart’s music has created a fresh, new sound in music that fills a genreless gap. As he writes for himself, his releases are more personal than ever. As he writes music, JHart pulls an extremely personal connection into each track he’s written. As he embarks on his solo career, “Why Does It Hurt” has already peaked the interest of fans around the world, with relatable lyrics and incredible production. “[The song is about], when I was with an ex and we had broken up and gotten back together. I kind of knew it wasn’t going to work, but I was hoping, it was a slow burn. We went away for the weekend on Valentine’s Day to try and make things work. But I knew by the end of the weekend it wasn’t going to work. At three in the morning, I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the bathroom and locked myself in and wrote down the verses in kind of poetry style. I wrote them like stream of consciousness.

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“My first EP is called Volume 1: Songs From Therapy and when I went in to make it, I wanted it to be personal. I started going to therapy a couple months before I started working on the project. And when I started going to therapy, I realized that if I went to the studio after a therapy session, I was getting a really good song. So I asked my therapist if I could record all of my sessions together and bring them into the studio to help me write the record. All of the songs that I’ve written for this EP are based off of conversations that I had in personal therapy. And most of them have corresponding audio clips of therapy sessions that kind of queue up the songs. So we’ve been working on incorporating those into the visuals, like in every trailer that I’ve done for every song, it has a therapy bit in it. And, I think that’s really cool and something that I put a lot of work into. It’s personal because it literally happened,” he said. Although it seems like JHart’s music is too purposeful and personal, tracks that he’s written for other artists have topped the charts and continued to impress listeners around the world. His writing credits include Betty Who, Little Mix, LANY, The Vamps and more. “I think that writing for other people is very collaborative, in my experience in the past eight years of doing it, it’s been sort of different writer collaborators, different artist collaborators. And you’re just trying to understand what the artist needs are and to create or aid in their vision basically. For writing for myself, it’s very sort of, I put a lot of thought into it in the way that I didn’t for others because I wanted it to feel personal and I wanted it to feel different. I didn’t want it to feel like songs that I just wrote for other people that I liked that I thought, ‘I’m going to keep them for myself.’ Because I just want it to be purposeful and have intention and be a real artist project, not just ‘I guess I’ll do this now.’ I put a lot of thought into it and it was just me, maybe me with one other collaborator like a producer or something.” On the horizon for JHart includes a lot more music, from his own singles and EPs to plenty of tracks he’s written for other people. He continue to share his personal growth, stories and more with his listeners, who are already deeply invested in the artist’s future.

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YEARS & YEARS

ADDIE WHELAN - CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 2018

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NOTHING BUT THIEVES CHELSEA GRESH- COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 2018

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HRVY Y V HR PHOTOS BY ADDIE WHELAN | WORDS BY KRISTEN HUMPHRIES

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HRVY BTS

aybe it’s the pearly white teeth and perfect quiff hair. Maybe it’s the synchronized dance moves and vocal riffs. More likely, it’s all the above. Call him the King of Fan Appreciation or falsetto legend — either way, you’re right. Harvey Cantwell, known by his stage name HRVY, is a 19-year-old pop singer from London. And there’s no denying the Beatlemania-type reaction: fan accounts on Twitter, selfie lines at the airport and the ability to track him down anywhere as if they were FBI agents. Not to mention Though HRVY racks up millions of views and followers across social platforms, music took a backseat for a while. “There were things I couldn’t do because I was so young,” HRVY explains. He couldn’t drop everything and start his career, but he could put himself on the map. At 13, HRVY started uploading covers to YouTube, most notably of Justin Timberlake and Trey Songz. Immediately, fans pined over the very things that brought fame to other teen heartthrobs like Justin Bieber, Austin Mahone and Cody Simpson: singing, dancing, and a little bit of acting. Admittedly, HRVY dreams of being a triple-threat. “I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m prepared to work as hard as it takes.” And it’s that hard work that brought him to Chicago’s The Vic Theater, where Beyond the Stage got to chat with him about his music, his fans and his feelings on this newfound musical fame. “I’m just loving life,” the English sensation gushes — and it’s written all over his face and perfectlysynced dance moves. HRVY acknowledges how his fans are the reason he’s here and how performing for them is unlike anything else. “My song ‘Holiday’ usually goes over pretty well and same with the Bazzi cover.” Bazzi is a current favorite of HRVY’s, alongside Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran and other Top 40 names. “I’d love to do a song with Ed Sheeran,” he claims. We think his worldwide fans would appreciate that one. As for American versus UK fans, he loves them all the same. And how could he not when Twitter fans gathered and created their own street

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team for him? “It’s incredible that many people even like me,” he laughs. “I feel like [at shows] fans react mostly the same, except for maybe somewhere random because people don’t usually tour there.” He admits that, despite the insane pyrotechnics and heavy dance numbers, sometimes smaller venues have the highest energy. Though his absolute dream venue is anything but small. As if it was an innate reflex, HRVY splurged his number one goal, “I want to sell out Madison Square Garden.” He shares this desire with past and present artists alike — some he grew up admiring. Michael Jackson, U2, Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake are just a few of his many influences. “I was raised on pop mixed with a little R&B, but my music is always changing,” he admits. “Kinda just goes how I feel that day.” Some days he feels a slow acoustic “Phobia” and others an upbeat “I Wish You Were Here.”

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And you can always expect a little — or maybe a lot — of dancing at his shows. “I always enjoyed watching [artists who dance and sing]. I wanted to try it and my label said I should, so I jumped into the deep end.” It’s no wonder HRVY’s studying the greats like MJ, though he admits he has a lot to learn. “I want people who hear my name to think: he’s a triple-threat.” With the progress his career is already showing, he’s on his way there. While he’s achieved what most haven’t by the age of 19, he doesn’t forget where it all began. “I was 12 or 13 when I was doing covers in my kitchen and people started to like it and now I’m here!” As a teen who’s growing out of the musical.ly scene and into a career in the music industry with hopeful longevity, he’s becoming the person he wants to be. It shows through his music and his determination with each release. “The video’s out for ‘I Wish You Were Here’ and it was my idea for a prison theme!” HRVY details, “A lot of dancing and a bit of acting — I’m really happy with it.” He goes on to discuss the recording process

of the song and how it happened out of thin air. “It was last minute because we were throwing around so many ideas, needed something to happen and it was one afternoon the song came along and we were like ‘THIS IS IT!’” HRVY doesn’t shy from admitting more songs came out of the writer’s room that day and how there’s potential to keep collaborating with friends, like musical.ly star Loren Gray’s feature on HRVY’s track “Personal.” Unlike other musicians who started on YouTube, HRVY’s “Personal” nears the 200 million mark — something he doesn’t take for granted in the least. In fact, he labels it as one of his career highlights thus far and he plans on continuing the trend. Fans can expect to hear new HRVY tracks before the end of 2018 and in 2019. He shares the album features artists like Meghan Trainor and The Vamps. And in the words of HRVY himself, his new songs are all “certified bops.” Move over Justin Bieber, there’s a new triple-threat taking the lead.

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MURA MASA

BLAKE CHARLES - EUGENE, OR - AUGUST 2018

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LYKKE LI

BLAKE CHARLES - EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 2018

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THE VAMPS

ADDIE WHELAN - CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 2018

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STEREOPHONICS CINDI JEAN - CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 2018

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TALL HEIGHTS PHOTOS BY MAE KRELL | WORDS BY LAUREN KLONOWSKI

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he Boston electro-folk duo Tall Heights have come a long way since their 2009 inception. The name Tall Heights comes from a mix of the band members’ (Paul Wright and Tim Harrington) first and last names together, but the idea of blending doesn’t just apply to their name. It’s also the key idea for the entire project. “We were originally street performers in Faneuil Hall marketplace, which is a tourist center in Boston. We would perform out there for two to four hours a day for a few years and that’s sort of where we discovered our sound and what we wanted to be,” says Harrington. “The band name is Tall Heights because that’s a combination of our names. Actually, we thought that was a pretty good band name because our sound is the combination of our voices, so we wanted the sound and the name all to be working together towards to creating something that is the fusion of two individual voices and two individual perspectives into one.” After nearly a decade of work, the two guys have really grown into their own distinct sound. “The real identifier for us is the sound of our voices together. Harmony in unison. I play cello, Tim plays guitar-- our recordings have reflected a variety of instrumentations, but the unifying thing is the sound of our voices together,” explains Wright. “You can call it electro-folk, you can call it, indie-pop, you can call it what you will, but I think what makes us distinct is our voices, combined.” Tall Heights is clearly a team effort in both members’ eyes and it’s the key ingredient for their success. Their unique sound and individualistic approach to writing offers a unique process in the industry today. “Tim and I draft ideas in isolation and then we share them with each other. That’s how we’ve always done it, even before we had an audience to share our songs with,” Wright remembers. “We were just doing that and when we’re sitting down together and working through ideas, it’s really the songs where we can find a shared voice where we can sort of fuse our ideas into something that’s greater than the sum of its parts and greater than the original kernel of its song. Those are the ideas that float to the top.” In terms of influences, Tall Heights looks more to environmental factors than musicians.

Harrington shares, “I think we are always reacting to the people and the places around us. We both love our families very much and those people are very influential to us. Plus, we have an amazing group friends around us. Up in Boston, we have tons of musicians who are friends of ours and we’ve been on the road with, like Judah + The Lion, Ben Folds, Colony House, Darlingside and The Ballroom Thieves and all these people we are traveling around with and spending our days with, those are our biggest influences. Then of course, when we’re tired of being on the road and we’re missing the loving touch of our friends, loved ones, partners and families, we turn to those people and they support us, too.” The duo recently released two well-received singles, “The Deep End” and “Midnight Oil.” Wright talks about how one of the tracks was written in a way so that it could appeal to everyone, even if they didn’t go through exactly what he did. “‘The Deep End’” is about a lot of things -- I mean, for me it’s about something specific, but we want this song to sort of mean a lot of things for a lot of people. We purposefully wanted it to appeal to a lot of people because we wanted the song to feel inviting and welcoming on the first listen, which I think it is why it’s a single. We purposefully wanted it to be a Trojan Horse of sorts, where somebody might welcome it into their home and into their hearts,” says Wright. “Then later on further inspection, confronted with the specter of their own betrayal in one way or another, like in that we all have our lofty ideals of what we want to be in our life, whether that’s a responsible role; such as a steward to our planet or eating healthy, counterbalanced to your significant other, or whatever it is. We all have those ideals, but I think also when we look at it for what it is, we compromise a lot and over time we become something that we never meant to become and so that’s what ‘The Deep End’ is. It’s kind of the realization that you actually are the monster you promised yourself you wouldn’t become.” “‘Midnight Oil’” is a song from the perspective of someone who is in love and he’s trying to get his lover to commit,” Harrington explains. “What he’s offering, what he’s presenting are pretty colors, which in one sense is valueless and small and in another sense is all of his emotion that he

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has to share. We took the opening line of that song as the title of our record, Pretty Colors For Your Actions, because we felt like it spoke to the work we created. On the one hand, what we’re creating is just emotion, just color and on the other hand, human emotion has incredible power to connect us and is maybe the most important thing in life. We share it with our audience for their actions which may be small; but actions can also be profound so we present our music as something small or hugely significant to the listener, to use it for something small or hugely significant.” With successful music came the opportunity to tour and naturally the band jumped at it, but they said striking the balance of touring and writing can be difficult. “It’s honestly really tough, going straight from tour to the studio, which is a huge mental shift from that outward performance to the turning inwards of the band to create something lasting. Mostly we do it by not going home,” says Harrington. “Writing, traditionally for us, is something we’ve always typically done off the road when we have time to reflect and as we have less and less of that time, it’s something we’re trying to do more of in our daily motions as we’re soundchecking and as we’re waiting in the green room.” He adds that the best part of touring is seeing the super-dedicated fans and connecting with them every night on the road. “It’s really about that human connection and the

experience of putting yourself on the line and really giving it your all and seeing how much that matters to people. Plus, we get to spend time with our best friends. Paul and I have known each other since the first grade. So the trust that we have for each other grows deeper, even when we’re sick of each other,” says Harrington. “It’s still a really meaningful pursuit that we’ve taken together and I think there is a lot pride associated and wrapped up in that. It’s a beautiful process on the road and it’s a lot of work, but in the end it really gives us a lot of meaning.” With all this talk of tour, BTS had to ask what opener Tall Heights would want if they could book anyone. “We really like Leif Vollebekk. He’s beautiful,” says Harrington. “We’re also really excited about the two acts we have coming out with us on this tour to start. We haven’t headlined in a long time, so we’re so honored to have two amazing bands. We have Frances Cone and Old Sea Brigade. To get to have them along with us for this journey is so exciting,” adds Wright. After dropping their latest album, Pretty Colors For Your Actions, the guys have been keeping busy. But, that doesn’t stop them from looking forward to the rest of the year and the start of 2019. “The record is the singular focus and that tour has got us whizzing through the end of the year all over the US. After that, we will be looking to get back to some creative time in the new year and think about the next chapter, but for now, we’re just so excited to get out there and play for our crowds, which is something we haven’t gotten to do in a long, long time,” says Wright.

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ANDREW W.K.

ALYSSA BUZZELLO - HOLLYWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 2018

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NIGHTLY

GINA SCARPINO - NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 2018

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BISHOP BRIGGS

ALICIA RANGEL - AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 2018

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CHROMEO

BLAKE CHARLES - EUGENE, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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MORGXN PHOTOS AND WORDS BY ADDIE WHELAN

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nfluenced by Stevie Wonder, Phantogram and James Blake, Morgxn is a fresh perspective in the music industry. Creating what he describes as soulful, electronic music, Morgxn has created not only a name for himself, but a different path that brings more than just catchy melodies and relatable lyrics. His music is honest, emotional and relatable, while bringing true meaning to each song he shares. We sat down with Morgxn to discuss his songwriting process, how he understands his own thoughts and more. Read on for our conversation with Morgxn. BTS: How did you get your start in music? M: I was just a singer, I wasn’t a songwriter. For so long, I listened to so many voices tell me that this is what you’re supposed to do and this is how you’re supposed to do it. I moved to LA to escape my life and escape and to give myself room to explore who I was and maybe by exploring, I thought I was quitting. Then even with moving to LA, I said, “I’m running out of money, I’m running out of time” and it’s because I wasn’t being honest. I wasn’t being honest with myself and that’s what made me hit this huge wall. And then it was like, “you’re going to quit and give up and move home, or you’re going to write for the sake of writing for the sake of creating.” And then it was “xx,” the song on my record. When that song happened, I couldn’t stop listening to it. I left the studio that night just lost in this song and for the first time, I thought, “this feels good.” This isn’t anyone else. This is something that I wanted to say, this is who I am. This isn’t anyone telling me what it is. It was “xx,” that was the beginning. And that’s where the x in my name comes from, x marks the spot. Not you got it, because you never got it, because you’re always evolving. But “x” like you can retrace the step. X is the start and X is the transition and X is at least the place to begin from. BTS: Can you tell us what music means to you personally?

Morgxn: I believe that music is the unifying force in my life and has healed me from a shy kid who faced with bullying on the daily to an adult who still carries all of the hurt with him, but has made a choice to heal through that. [...] Songs are like messengers to me, they carry emotion, they carry memories and I just hope to create moments for people to live their life by and that’s what I do. BTS: What’s your typical songwriting process? M: Every song is an absolutely different songwriting process. The minute that I think that I have one process for finding a song, it completely changes for me. I remember someone saying, “write what you know” and I think that’s the worst advice that anyone has ever given to me. I think that you write what you don’t know, in hopes of finding out about it or discovering something about yourself. With a song like “Carry The Weight,” that song has continually evolved with me. There was a moment inspired by the women’s march. And the second verse, which says, “let them hear the break in your voices, you’ll never know how much you can take.” I was thinking about the person who was screaming so loud in the march and her voice was just breaking, but you can take it and you can just go so much further. But that song is also about making mistakes and it’s also about standing up for yourself and evolve over time. I never go into a session and say, “I’m now going to write about my third grade heartache.” To me, you kill a song by trying to tell it what it’s about. A song will tell you what it’s about, and it’s your job to move with it. BTS: Do you think that songwriting is a healing process for you? M: I think it’s an exploration. I don’t think every song can heal. I think that there is real healing to be done as an artist and as a human being. There’s a real trauma that has to be healed through talking about life and being vulnerable and working on yourself. So I can’t say that every song is healing or one song

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is healing, but I do think, I just go back to the original statement, you don’t tell a song what it’s about, you let the song tell you what it’s about. BTS: Will you tell us a little bit more about your album, “vital”? M: I think I wrote about 100 songs. I wasn’t going to make a record unless I wanted to make a record. I wasn’t going to just say, “I’m putting out an album because that’s what you’re supposed to do. The world is falling apart, what are you really saying and why are you saying it? To be able to open your mouth is a gift, but if you don’t have something to say, then you don’t need to say it. “vital” was a song that came out of nowhere that was born out of thin air, out of nothing, but about everything that is vital. My mind is kind of like an explorer when it comes to creating. And that word kind of just latched onto myself and I said, “huh, vital.” “vital” was going to be actually a few songs and call it “vital,” but that was right when my dad passed. I couldn’t do anything for a while, it was sudden and it kind of ripped me apart, so I kind of let it all go and I laid it down. The songs were still collecting themselves and by collecting, I mean writing, but collecting themselves in the universe. I sometimes imagine my songs as friends at a party, they’re not all the same person but they share space together. I wasn’t trying to write an album of all of the same people. But, I was stewing on these other words and thinking about it. BTS: Where do you see yourself going towards in your live performances? M: My world feels like soulful electronic. Is that bad to say out loud? Does that limit myself as an artist? There was a point in my life where I had to ask myself, “Do you just want to play piano and sing songs in coffee shops” and I didn’t. I wanted to find that bigger stage. I know what it’s like to sit behind a piano, but I also want to step in front of it and be the frontman for myself. And also, I want to do it for my younger self. There’s a part of it for myself that was made fun of and didn’t fit in and me as an adult is like “You didn’t fit in because you were never meant to fit in. You were meant to create your own home. You were meant to create your own world.” There are sometimes when me as a performer on stage, “What if young me could see me now, what if young me could have me as a voice to say you are not like anyone else and you were never supposed to be.” BTS: At the time of this interview, it’s World Mental Health Day. What advice to you have for a reader or fan who may be struggling? M: I’m going to read what I wrote, “Mental Illness is not BTS 52

personal failure.” I got some responses, one of which, “If it’s not failure, what is it?” And I said, “It’s just an overacting mind, it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of feelings, which is human.” And I said, “It’s a good question and a reminder that it’s okay, even if you don’t feel okay.” Because that’s what we call human. To destigmatize that there’s something wrong with you is the way you’re feeling is important to both hear and

say as much as possible. Because the more the world becomes a sensitive, feeling, hearing place the more we grow. And that’s also what, “carry the weight” has constantly reminded me. We won’t break. Sometimes, we feel like we’re going to break, but the truth is we won’t. And I know first hand, I’ve felt like I am breaking on a daily basis, but I’m not. I’m broken, but I’m okay.

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KNOCKED LOOSE

STONE FENK - PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 2018

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ALINA BARAZ

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 2018

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DONNA MISSAL WORDS BY NICOLITA BRADLEY | PHOTOS BY GINA SCARPINO

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An artist like Donna Missal is rare. Her energy is fierce, raw and magnetic. Missal has been recording music since she was four years old.

“My dad had a studio in New York in the 80s. He and my mom moved to the suburbs of New Jersey once they started having kids,” shared Missal. “He kept a lot of his recording equipment in our basement, so from the time I was four we were recording with my dad.” Missal points to being influenced by powerful female vocalists growing up. “I really gravitated towards girl group music. When I was buying my first albums it was from artists like Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill,” said Missal. “So there was a super heavy R&B influence. Everything that still inspires me comes from that wheelhouse of music.” If you’ve ever experienced Donna Missal perform live then you’ve felt that palpable power from her strong vocals. It comes from the depths of her being. Amidst festival performances, and hopping on

multiple tours, Missal found time to release her debut album, This Time. Putting out a debut album is no small feat. Donna recalls, “It was a really long, complicated, laborious process. I loved it. I discovered so much about myself, my message, and what I really wanted this record to feel like.” Donna reaches a level of intimate vulnerability that goes unmatched. Each track hits you differently; you feel every emotion. Her time recording led her to the title of the album. “The title is meant to encapsulate figuring out what you’re about; allowing yourself to take the time to get there, respecting that process, and then when you feel like you’re there, claiming that space,” Missal notes. There is an element to her style that is indescribable. Although she describes her sound as “feminist stripper music,” Missal’s music doesn’t fit perfectly in to the old-school genre labels. “My music seems to live in between genres. I think a lot of recent music is because it’s being made by kids, like me, who grew up in a culture where

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being interested in different styles of music is no longer uncool.” You see the crowd Donna connects with and it clicks. People connect with her. She goes out of her way to make you feel comfortable. Constantly touring has enabled Donna to connect with fans on a deeper level. So far she’s been out with King Princess, Bishop Briggs, and joined Sir Sly and Joywave. She was able to learn different things from each artist. Donna speaks highly of King Princess, “… she has a really personal relationship with her fans. To see the reaction that comes from engaging that way with fans was a big takeaway from that tour. Show them that you really care that they are there.” She describes Bishop Briggs similarly, “She is extremely personable with her fans. Her set is so physical. Seeing her give so much physical energy while staying vocally powerful was really inspiring to me - you can do both. It let me know that the energy that you bring up there is what will fuel the audience so it’s important that you go out there every night pouring as much as you can”.

Being on the road so often can get rough but Donna insists she loves it. “… to be able to look out into a crowd and see all the different kinds of people that your music drew there - it’s very, very special. I don’t take it for granted at all.” Performing frequently can be physically and emotionally exhausting. A great routine and preparation are key. Donna says, “ I do everything I can to stay healthy. I don’t drink [alcohol] on the road and I don’t smoke. I drink so much water I feel like I’m going to explode. It feels like a bit of a sacrifice, but so worth it. The opportunity to get to do this is so incredible and I know there are so many people who would love to be able to tour. I’m really grateful and super humbled every time we get out there.”

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So what does 2019 have in store for Donna Missal? This Time is her debut album, so most of her time will be spent promoting and performing the record. More music is on the way. She briefly mentions getting back to the studio to record more, a desire that never really goes away. Donna Missal is paving the way for a lasting career in the music industry. Her voice will leave you searching for your breath.

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FIDLAR

CHELSEA GRESH - COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 2018

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RUSSO

GINA SCARPINO - BROOKYLN, NY - SEPTEMBER 2018

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DOUNIA

WORDS BY ABBY FOX | PHOTOS BY NICOLITA BRADLEY

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ising singer-songwriter, activist and social media star Dounia has had quite the whirlwind past few years. After gaining a large following on Instagram, she decided to finally pursue music professionally instead of just as a fun hobby. The Queensborn and Morocco-raised singer released her debut single, “East Coast Hiding,” in January of last year, which has generated over 4 million plays on Spotify. Since then, Dounia has dropped her eight-track debut album, toured through venues in North America, released a handful of new singles and somehow still finds the time to stay politically active and use her platform for positive social change. For those who might be unfamiliar with her music, Dounia describes her sound as “eclectic R&B or mellow hip hop,” if she has to pick a genre. Even though it’s only been a year since the release of her EP, Intro To, Dounia definitely sees her career as a “constant evolution” with every new era of music she creates. She remembers writing her whole EP in one week with the same team of producers, but as she continues to make music since then, she has had the chance to gain more resources and meet new people, both of which she thinks really translate to a more eclectic sound. Her most recent single, “Everything’s A Joke” is a smooth R&B track with lyrics about not taking anything too seriously and feeling empowered in being yourself. The music video, directed and edited by Dounia herself, flaunts that same body positivity message as she sings in a hotel room and hot tub. Ironically, though, the video was shot during Ramadan, and Dounia remembers bringing her Muslim mother and group of friends along to record it. Dounia’s songwriting process is also anything but traditional. When she wants to write a song to be therapeutic, she usually works alone in her room, but her studio routine is a little bit different. She describes her process as “freestyling, but on paper,” and often lays down an idea and just keeps on building onto it until it’s complete. Although songwriting

typically takes about 30 minutes in the studio, it can actually take Dounia anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours to write a song. Although her favorite song is constantly changing, she was unwavering on her musical influences: Eminem and Drake. Another top pick is Noname’s verse on “Lost” by Chance the Rapper, as well as Jaden Smith’s mixtape. Dounia explained that his 2014 release, “Let it Breathe” was “so poetic” and a major inspiration to her to be “very free form” in her music. Dounia also recently hit the road on a series of tour dates across North America with French pop star Christine and the Queens, and she couldn’t have been more excited. Dounia might be used to smaller stages and interacting with people more, but she thinks this opportunity will help her learn how to “transcend the barriers of bigger venues” to connect with her fans. Playing two sold-out shows at Brooklyn Steel in her home city of New York is also something really exciting for Dounia. Not to mention, she is a huge fan of Christine and the Queens herself,and she loves getting to hang out with her team all the time. Even before she began her music career, Dounia already had thousands of fans on social media who were obsessed with her brand of social awareness and outspokenness, and her following has only grown since. Despite the seemingly endless amount of negativity happening in the world right now, Dounia remains undeterred. She recognizes that young people are often jaded and cynical about current events, so she thinks it’s her “obligation to be a refreshing voice” and continually offer new points of conversation. She also sees herself as less generic than she once was; when discussing political topics now, she always has strong intentions and motives in order to “actually make moves and progress conversations,” rather than complaining about “how everything sucks.” Ultimately, she stresses the importance of being yourself, and she thinks that part of herself

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is “being politically involved.” However, right now, her main focus is actually outside of social media. Just in September, Dounia launched a mental health initiative to create a community of like-minded individuals interested in self-development. The community has already grown now to about 150 people, and she has made it her mission to mentor youth with mental health problems and issues with drug addiction. This initiative also offers education on various topics like social justice and history, and how it applies to modern times. In her original Instagram post about the community, she ended with the quote, “We must have light within ourselves if we with to spread it.” So far, this has been extremely fulfilling for Dounia, and she looks forward to continuing to expand

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the community and “help breed powerful minds.” Dounia’s ultimate message for all her fans is to “do you - because nobody knows what they’re doing regardless.” She thinks that it is a waste of time to try to get other people’s approval, and she proudly recited her all-time favorite quote from Oprah, which she thinks we should all live by: “Our only job is to be full of ourselves until our cup runneth over.” As for the rest of the year, Dounia is taking no time off. After her tour dates with Christine and the Queens, she has a number of festival performances lined up, as well as a new music video collaboration with Kehlani. She is in the process of gearing up to release a new project, and until then, she will just be “hustling and grinding.”

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AMY SHARK

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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ANGEL OLSEN

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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TOVE STYRKE

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 2018

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NOAH CYRUS

BLAKE CHARLES - PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 2018

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LINDSEY STIRLING

JOE HERNANDEZ - PORTLAND, OR - SEPTEMBER 2018

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PLAYLIST In Case I Don’t Feel - Kevin Garrett Linda (ft. Dylan Matthew) - Skela Let Me Know - LANY Joyride - RUSSO Desire - Jeremy Zucker idontwannabeyouanymore - Billie Eilish Your Shirt - Chelsea Cutler Best Friend - Rex Orange County Get Well Soon - Ariana Grande Light On - Maggie Rogers Upper West Side - King Princess Tokyo - Joan When You’re Ready - Shawn Mendes Still Clean - Soccer Mommy Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves

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HRVY | PHOTO BY ADDIE WHELAN BTS