NKD Mag - Issue #88 (October 2018)

ISSUE #88 - OCTOBER 2018

DANIELLE PANABAKER

OCT. 2018 20 ERNN WESTBROOK

04 ALEC BENJAMIN

on her role on insatiable + what she loves about playing magnolia

06 MADDIE POPPE

on staying authentic + his latest single, “dear insecurity”

10 BRITT BARON

on building her career + her latest role on new amsterdam

16 PVMNTS

on chasing her musical dreams + her recent collaborations

on working on his songwriting + his love for eminem

on being used to hearing “no” + her time on american idol

on the second season of glow + what she loves about the show

on their musical influences + their goals with the band

44 BRANDON LAY

24 GNASH

on fusing together his influences + touring with kenny chesney

30 JANET MONTGOMERY

on the fifth season of the flash + making her directing debut

34 MATY NOYES

on learning as she goes + her new album, oh, jonathan

38 BISHOP BRIGGS

on keeping the momentum up + his latest single, ‘be alright’

46 DANIELLE PANABAKER 56 EMILY KINNEY 60 DEAN LEWIS

on growing up around the globe + her growing career CATHERINE POWELL

publisher, editor, photographer, designer, writer

SAMANTHA BAMBINO

IAN HAYS

VANESSA SALLES

writer

writer

CARLY BUSH

RACHEL HILL

writer

writer

LEXI SHANNON

ELIZABETH FORREST

NICOLE MOOREFIELD

writer

writer

writer

writer

OLIVIA SINGH writer

alec benjamin Words by RACHEL HILL Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

04

For a budding singer-songwriter who just played his first headlining show in August, Alec Benjamin is still getting used to being the main attraction. His insightful lyrics that rival the likes of today’s conventional pop have caught the eye of industry vets, leading him for open for acts such as Jon Bellion, Hoodie Allen, Camila Cabello and Matisyahu.

The 24-year-old raconteur grew up in Phoenix, Arizona with a ‘desert kid’ mentality which he alludes contributed to his different perspective on life. His first musical memory is watching his dad play the four basic chords on his acoustic guitar. “When I was really little my dad bought me a little guitar and I would sit and strum along while he would play ‘La Bamba’ and I would pretend that I was playing, but I never really took guitar seriously,” Alec reveals.

A few years later, Alec gave in to his parents’ wishes of him participating in piano lessons, which lasted all of three weeks. Standing headstrong, he really didn’t pick it back up until the age of 18 when he alone determined he was up for the challenge and taught himself the millennial way — via YouTube.

What ignited his creative, lyrical spark was none other than Eminem. Alec recalls his second grade self, hunkering down in his room and running through Eminem’s extensive discography until he mastered every track. “I would sit in my bedroom and listen to the song over and over and over again until I made sure that I knew literally every single lyric. I know the track listings of all those albums by heart,” he says, “Eminem is my

favorite lyricist of all time. One hundred percent.”

As a self-proclaimed — and rightfully so — narrator, it’s apparent why Alec connected with Eminem’s work so deeply. Because, of course, he is dubbed as one of the greatest lyricists in generations.

“The cool thing about Eminem to me is that I love the stories that he was telling and it was fascinating that somebody could write a rap song that could make you want to throw up at the end.” Alec gives the example of the infamous song Stan. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know you could do that with words’.”

When Alec graduated high school, his parents took a play out of the traditional parenting handbook and suggested he go to college and attend law or medical school after. Again, a plan he didn’t necessarily select for himself and was hesitant about, yet ended up attending a university in California, pursuing music on the side. That is until he was signed to a record label in 2014. However, he ended up being dropped right after he completed his first album.

It’s in this point in time when Alec really hit the ground running and built up his fan base. Quite literally in fact. He ventured out and performed for fans lining up outside Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan shows, handing out business cards to anyone who would listen.

This past summer Alec and Shawn happened to both be performing at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Canada. He describes it as a full-circle moment. “I got to tell him ‘Hey man, I used to play in front of your concerts’ and he was like, ‘Oh, that’s really cool!’”

He now makes it his mission to upload as much content as he can for his fans on YouTube. Not only is it a way to connect with those who support him, but it also serves as a release of his stream of conscious. Alec’s song “Let Me Down Slowly” has amassed almost 50 million streams on Spotify and has been featured on their highly coveted Today’s Top Hits playlist while “Death of a Hero” and “If We Have Each Other” can be found on Pop Rising. The latter was actually written as a tribute to Alec’s sister, who he shares a special bond with. “The song is about the one person that you can always count on and so I just wrote a song with three separate stories.

Each verse is like a different story about the same thing.”

These three songs are just a drop in the bucket of the over 140 Alec has written in the past year.

He aims to write at least every other day. Of course, many of these don’t see the light of day, but he’ll be showcasing more this fall as he heads out on his first headlining tour in November. Alec admits the process of transitioning his songs from the studio to a live set has been somewhat of a challenge as he’s never played a full set, let alone for his own audience.

“I think the vibe will just be like a bunch of people coming to hang out and listen to stories and it’s going to be pretty much just me and low key.” He cites Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel as vibe guides, looking to their performances as inspiration. “So for my first tour I’d like to keep it relatively stripped, but I’m definitely going to step it up and add some new things that I haven’t done before.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

05

MADDIEPOPPE Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

06

Maddie Poppe, winner of Season 16 of American Idol, remembers exactly what she was thinking when Ryan Seacrest called her name during the season finale. “I had a flashback of everything that happened on the show,” she says. “I went from my audition, to the Hollywood week, to Top 50, to Top 24. I kind of reflected on all the moments I never thought I could do it, and it was unbelievable.” Music had always been a part of Maddie’s life, but she was no stranger to the word “no” going into the show.

Maddie’s musical journey began at 5- years-old when her father recorded the family singing Christmas songs to send on CDs to their relatives. From there, music was a constant throughout her childhood. Her dad was in a band and would sometimes allow her onstage to sing with him. She sang a duet with her sister at the school variety show at 14, and then never looked back.

Auditioning for American Idol was when Maddie’s musical career truly began to flourish. She went from playing gigs in Iowa during the summer and dealing with rejection to singing in front of Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and millions of viewers weekly. At 20, the change was something that took some getting used to. When asked how she stays grounded, Maddie says, “I think about where I was a year ago. This wasn’t something that was just handed to me right away. This was something I really had to work for and I’ve worked for, for a long time.”

To Maddie, the decision to audition for American Idol was an easy one. She grew up watching the

show with her family and admired the track record for its winners and contestants. That might intimidate some, but when it came to auditions, Maddie wasn’t afraid. “I didn’t think I had anything to lose.

I had been told ‘no’ so many times that I wasn’t really scared anymore.

I decided to just go for it,” she says.

Being separated from her family during the show was difficult.

Time with them was limited and she was exposed to an entirely new lifestyle far from her Midwest hometown. She credits the rest of the cast with making the show such a great experience. “I don’t think I would have been able to do it without them,” Maddie admits.

“All of us were experiencing this for the first time together, so we could all relate and we were all going through the same journey.”

Even after the show has ended, Maddie considers some of the people she met on the show her best friends.

Maddie’s favorite performance from American Idol was “Rainbow Connection”. She remembers it fondly not just because she was privileged enough to sing with Kermit the Frog, but also because it was her performance on the night that the winner was announced. “If I messed up the words or forgot a line or wasn’t perfect, it wouldn’t matter because all of the votes were in. I could really relax in that moment,” she remembers.

After her win, Maddie was on the American Idol Live! 2018 tour until mid-September. In addition to being a fun time on the road with other contestants she considers her “little family”, it confirmed to her in a concrete way that she had fans. “You always wondered

on the show, ‘how many people are really watching?’” she explains.

It was hard for her to picture the millions behind the screen. “But after the show when we met people and looked out into the crowd, you saw little girls with ponytails and overalls. They were so excited to meet me and it’s crazy because I still feel like I’m still such a regular, normal person,” Maddie laughs.

Not only did Maddie win the hearts of young girls; Katy Perry and Idina Menzel are fans of the 20-year-old, too. The enormity of that fact still hasn’t sunk in. “It’s definitely cool to have her in my corner because she’s such a pop star and one of the biggest names in music,” Maddie says of Katy Perry. “I’m not playing the music that’s main stream and I’m not playing the music she’s playing, so for her to be in my corner and support me is really awesome.”

Before Maddie had the support of the American Idol judges, she had the support of her father. In 2016, Maddie and her father, the supervisor of an electric company, recorded an album called Songs from the Basement together. That experience helped Maddie prepare for professional song recording. “I feel like I have a leg up because my dad definitely knew what he was doing,” Maddie says. “Now, it’s not much different except for there’s a lot more people involved.”

The first single Maddie released post-Idol was “Going Going Gone”, the coronation song she performed the night she won the competition.

In it, Maddie sings of the fear of leaving home and the need to leave to explore who she is. “The people I met on the shoot and driving that old Mercedes around was a lot of NKDMAG.COM

07

08

fun,” she recounts. The girls that were cast in the video became a few of her actual friends, and Maddie remembers shooting the music video as some of the most fun and busy days she had after the show’s finale.

Maddie is no newcomer when it comes to writing songs; Songs from the Basement was written on her own. When asked about her writing process, Maddie remains humble. “It’s really hard for me to pretend and imagine something,” she says. “I don’t think I have that great of an imagination, so I really have to write on things that have happened to me in the past.” And then when that doesn’t work, Maddie writes about what has happened to others around her, often her friends.

Maddie cites her biggest musical inspirations as Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Rachael Yamagata.

“They have great voices and do what they love. They do their style of music, and even though it’s not mainstream, they’re doing what they love and their fan bases are so loyal,” Maddie says. This fall, Maddie looks forward to starting up again with some writing sessions to begin working on her new album. She hasn’t had a chance to sit down and write since the tour began.

Maddie has a new single coming out in mid-October, but keeps mum on the details. With so many of her dreams coming true so quickly, Maddie has had trouble believing what her life has become.

Sometimes she fears things are too good to be true and will fall through like before, but she doesn’t let the fear get to her. “I just kind of goes where the tide takes me,” NKD NKDMAG.COM

09

britt baron Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

12

Britt Baron has been on a “whirlwind” adventure since she landed a role as Justine Biagi on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated show GLOW. Britt grew up in Connecticut and recalls “always performing for whoever would give me the time and attention,” whether it was family, friends, or neighbors.

She also remembers begging her mom to let her be a child star and be on the Disney Channel.

“At the same time, my mom worked in casting in advertisement and PR in her twenties, so she was always hyperaware of how difficult the career is, how hard it is to be an actor,” Britt says. “You can be the most talented actress in the whole wide world, and it still cannot happen for you because so much just also comes down to looks. And I don’t even mean conventionally attractive, but if you have a castable look, it’s just luck.”

Acting turned into more than just a hobby when she started participating in community theater productions at a nearby town and went to a public high school with “an unbelievable arts program.”

In high school, she was uncertain if she should pursue acting in college, but credits her director for telling her that she was good enough and should give it a chance.

From there, she was encouraged to pursue a BFA in acting and went to the University of Michigan – where she double majored in communications.

Britt was always her “biggest doubter” and considered working in public relations or casting

if acting didn’t work out. Upon graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for more roles – and luckily, things worked out in her favor.

“I think I’m more on the practical side in terms of the spectrum,” Britt admits. “I was always hyperaware that it couldn’t work out. And actually, I think the week before I booked GLOW, I had called my mom and said, ‘I don’t know, I think it’s time for me to go get a real job with a salary. I’ve done this acting thing now and I’ve been on TV, I’ve had a few lines, but this is too crazy. It’s too hard.’”

Prior to auditioning for GLOW, Britt wasn’t aware that the show was inspired by a real-life variety show titled Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Aside from watching videos from the original series, there were few other factors that made GLOW an appealing project.

For one, the show already had a 10-episode order before it was even released on Netflix.

“So many actors, you book a pilot and then you shoot the pilot and then you wait to see if it maybe gets picked up,” she says.

“There’s so much unknown, and I was really excited to have the opportunity to audition for this.”

Britt was also fascinated by GLOW’s “brilliant” pilot episode.

“I just thought the writing, you could tell right away, was just so on point,” Britt says. “I was auditioning for so many different types of shows and projects at the time that GLOW stood out to me because I felt like even if I don’t get cast in this, this is a show I would watch. I would genuinely

watch this show, which makes it all the more exciting to be a part of, because then you really believe in it, not just because you’re on it.”

Following her first audition and callback, Britt was babysitting on a Saturday night when she found out she booked the role of Justine on GLOW – a punk teenager who showed up to the casting call for a new show directed by Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron), which was hoping to hire unconventional-looking females.

Justine is one of the characters who flew under the radar for the most part in Season 1. She often lurked around Sam and no one understood why she was so obsessed with him.

It all made sense in Episode 9, when Justine revealed to Sam (Marc Maron) that she’s his daughter – the result of his one night stand with a woman named Rosalie in Sacramento. It was one of the most surprising moments – and Marc didn’t even know the two characters were related. None of Britt’s co-stars were aware of the plot twist.

Initially when Britt joined the show, she was only signed on for a few episodes. Prior to filming, she had meetings with the show runners to discuss character arcs.

That’s when she was told about Justine’s true identity and asked to keep it a secret from everyone else.

“I knew that the whole time, which was important for my character, in terms of how I was playing her,” Britt says. “The whole time, I knew why she was there. I got to play that and that NKDMAG.COM

13

motivation for why she was kind of obsessed with him.”

Going into Season 2 – which hit Netflix in June 2018 – Justine had a more prominent role.

Viewers got to see her and Sam navigate their relationship as father and daughter.

“I don’t think you really get to know Justine in Season 1,” Britt says. “She’s hiding herself, so in Season 2 when she moves in with Sam, you get to see her with her guard down. You get to see her be this vulnerable, uncomfortable teen who also is outspoken and thinks she knows everything.

I love playing Justine because I think she walks a delicate line between knowing who she is, knowing everything, having a strong opinion, not taking shit – but at the same time, also not knowing anything at all and just wanting to be accepted and loved and still very much figuring out who she is and finding her own confidence.”

“They’re contrasting characteristics, but that is kind of what it’s like to be a teenager, and that moment where you’re not a kid, but you’re not a full-fledged adult yet,” Britt says. “I love working with Marc and I love the relationship between Sam and Justine. It’s so funny and heartfelt and complicated and strange.”

One of Britt’s favorite parts of Season 2 took place when Justine attended a high school dance with her boyfriend, Billy.

The agreement was that Justine would go back to Sacramento with her mother afterwards – but Billy suggested that she run off to New York with him. When Sam found out about her plan, he told 14

her to stop following others and make her own decisions.

“I think that Sam turning to her and saying, ‘Stop following your boyfriend, stop following me, do you, be your own fucking person,’ I think so many of us sometimes need to hear that,” Britt says. “And I think sometimes, especially the woman, it’s like you struggle to find your own voice and feel like you almost deserve to forge your own path.”

“I think that was a really such a turning point for Justine, because she is so hard to get through to. There’s a lot of eye rolling, there’s a lot of in one ear, out the other. And that I think cuts her to her core in a way and it’s such a wake up moment and I hope that if there is a Season 3 [which thankfully, there is] and if you get to see Justine, I hope you get to see her figure out who she is not in relationship to Sam, not in relationship to Billy, but just her figuring out and finding her own identity.”

With a third season confirmed, Britt hopes that viewers take away important messages from GLOW. Though the show is set in the ’80s, topics like diversity and sexism can resonate with 2018.

“I hope that they take away that women are strong and beautiful and I think are our best when we’re supporting one another,” Britt says. “I think women can sometimes look at each other as competition and there could be so much passive aggressiveness and trying to take one another down. With GLOW and our cast and our show’s sto-

rylines, you see how powerful it is when women support other women.”

“I think in a time with the Me Too movement, you see this kind of cultural shift, where women are standing up together and supporting one another and on a big scale. I see actresses that I look up to and respect and adore – who I’m sure have spent years going out for the same roles – standing beside one another, supporting one another, which is such a great example. I think that GLOW does such a wonderful job of showing women of all different ages, ethnicities, body sizes, working together to literally and figuratively lift one another up. I think it’s helping push the needle forward, and I hope that people who watch GLOW see that and enjoy the ride.”

Next, Britt will star in a comedy series called Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy (available on the streaming platform Crackle) in which she plays one of the teachers at a jet ski academy.

“There’s so many comedy heavyweights in it, it’s very absurd and hilarious and it’s a character that is so far from Justine,” Britt says.

As Britt continues acting, she just wants to expand her repertoire.

“I think as an actor, my real, bare-bones dream is to play different characters and tell different stories,” she says. “I don’t want to play a version, as much as I love Justine, for the rest of my career. Ideally, I would love to get to play transformative, different characters. That’s really my dream.” NKD

NKDMAG.COM

15

PVMNTS

Words by NICOLE MOOREFIELD Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

16

Freddy Ramirez, Tyler Posey and Nick Guzman want you to know that better days are coming.

As pop-punk band PVMNTS, the trio tackles serious issues while remaining lighthearted. “Our songs really reflect who we are,” says Tyler (guitar/vocals). “We have songs that are really funny, songs about getting laid, and then we also have songs that are heavier about addiction and depression and losing loved ones.”

As a kid, Freddy (guitar/vocals) remembers making beats with pots and pans. “I used to make these songs in my head while I was playing with hot wheels,” he recalls. At age 7, he took his first three drum lessons and taught himself the rest.

“I picked up guitar in high school as a freshman, and then everything just kind of followed, like bass. I was in choir senior year, which started my singing,” he adds. Once he started writing, Freddy never stopped, joining his first “real” band at 16, where he met Tyler.

Tyler’s story starts with Blink-182. A child actor known for Maid in Manhattan and Teen Wolf, Tyler found the band at age 8, filming Doc in Toronto, Canada.

“I was the only kid,” he remembers, and spent free moments browsing through Blink-182 CDs and merchandise. After watching their documentary The Urethra Chronicles, Tyler “fell in love with the whole entire image: the scene, their camaraderie, their laughs, their jokes, how deep they would get,” he explains. “Even though I was so young, I still didn’t really feel like I fit in in the acting world,” but the punk scene felt more inclusive. Tyler started his first band at 12 and played his first live show at NKDMAG.COM

17

17 in Freddy’s band. They left that band after a few months to start Lost in Kostko, which disbanded 4 years before PVMNTS was formed.

Nick (drums) also found music at 8-years-old. Growing up in Hawaii, he ran in the scene and punk circles. In middle school, Nick was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. “Not exclusively because I was diagnosed with those things,” he clarifies, “but I found a way to connect with the music I was listening to.” Because bands like My Chemical Romance meant so much to him, Nick wanted to “play music and try and pay that forward.” After stints in a few Hawaiian punk bands, he moved to California and met Freddy, who introduced him to Tyler. “To get to PVMNTS took a little over 10 years,” Freddy notes.

Their first show as a band was at the Viper Room. “The support was amazing even though people didn’t really know our songs,” which really validated their career decisions, Freddy says. PVMNTS released their debut single, “Jumping Stairsets,” in March and their first EP, Better Days, in August.

The name, pronounced “Pavements,” came naturally. “We’ve always been a fan of bands getting band names from song lyrics,” Tyler explains, and they all felt connected to “Four Years” by The Story So Far “even though we never really went to college, [which is] what the song is about.”

The lyric “time was short on courts and pavements, we knew we had to leave,” stood out, and they liked how “pavements” sounded. The vowels were removed to avoid copyright issues with 90s band 18

Pavement and the slash through the “V” was added to look like an upside-down “A.” “It was our band name and our logo,” Tyler notes.

In addition to The Story So Far, each band member pulls from very different musical influences.

For Freddy, it ranges from Circa Survive and Citizen to Chicago and The Mamas and the Papas.

Nick finds inspiration from Thrice and Underoath. Tyler’s biggest influence besides Blink-182 is Sheryl Crow. When writing as a group, their varied influences add layers to the song. “Freddy’s influence in one of my songs can make it sound totally different but still like PVMNTS,” Tyler notes.

Inspiration always comes from personal experience and is never forced. “The 3 of us have been through a lot of shit separately,” Tyler explains, which comes out in their writing. “It’s a way of therapy for us,” he adds. Tyler can’t quite pinpoint the reason music affects him so much, revealing that it’s almost a spiritual experience for him. “[Music] is an outlet for anything I want to get off my chest,” Freddy explains. “As a band, it just means a lot that we’re allowed to be onstage,” Tyler adds. “We’d be doing it regardless; if there was no stage, we would still be playing it in our garage somewhere.”

Better Days is representative of PVMNTS as people – in just six songs, the EP runs the full range of emotions. “We’re funny dudes who know how to have deep conversations and experience real-life shit with no shame, [and] our songs really represent that,” Tyler explains. The unexpected standout for Freddy and Tyler was “White Walls (Better Days),” a song that

is sentimental for Nick as the first song he ever recorded and released. Other favorites are “Chemical Trails” for Freddy and “Heavy Moon” for Nick.

This is a band with big dreams, one of which came true when they closed out their stage on the last ever Warped Tour date.

“It just felt like fate,” says Freddy.

“It was meant to be, as cheesy as it sounds.” In the future, Tyler hopes to break boundaries with PVMNTS and “collide both worlds — filming and music”. He says that so far, the music/acting balance hasn’t been too difficult to maintain. “It’s going to make me super busy, but that’s what I want,” he adds.

Nick wants to ride the wave as long as possible, “because I love these dudes and I love playing music with them.” Freddy hopes to turn his passion into a steady career “to provide for family in the future.” As a band, “we want to take over the world, in a sense, but do it really sweetly,” Tyler explains.

“The whole concept of punk is [that] if you fall down in the pit, you get picked back up, and we want to just express that.”

They also hope to be good role models for young fans and help them feel less alone. Tyler wrote “Heavy Moon” about his personal experience “blaming depression on something else rather than looking inside,” he explains, but it also resonates with Nick. Tyler hopes fans will have the same response. “We have a lot of songs that are super relatable, but we do it in an uplifting way,” he adds.

Even in heavy songs, “there’s always a message to keep going — better days.” NKD

erinn westbrook Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Erinn Westbrook was born in Long Island, New York and moved to St. Louis, Missouri at 6-yearsold. After graduating high school, Erinn went to Harvard University, where she majored in English and American Literature, received a secondary degree in Dramatic Arts, and got a citation in Spanish.

Going into college, she knew that she wanted to pursue acting at some point, but it was on viewed more as an extracurricular activity. Instead, focusing on English in the hopes of landing a steady, secure job seemed like a realistic choice.

“There’s no controlling how or where you end up in acting,” Erinn explains. “There’s no definitive path there. It’s not a safe choice to make to pursue that as a career.”

Erinn had other interests besides acting, too. She felt like she could apply the writing and analytical skills from her major to a variety of jobs – whether it was being a broadcast journalist or a novelist.

During her senior year, she started to explore activities outside of academics, which included being a VJ for MTV (and the youngest ever to host MTV Spring Break).

In addition to being an on-camera personality, she participated in theater productions. At the time, acting was on the backburner, but

Erinn knew she wanted to dive into it once she earned her degree.

“That’s where my heart really was and being a VJ for MTV was great, but I was like, ‘I really have to figure out a way to be true to myself and be in front of the camera as a character and not as Erinn’,” she says.

After Erinn’s mom introduced her to her now-manager who signed her, things took off.

“It was really a sign from God,” she says. “I’m a spiritual person, so I believe that there’s a plan for every person and if you pray and you’re a good person, things will work out. I just felt like that was a huge moment and indication for me that I was in fact supposed to pursue entertainment and go to L.A. and act. And that’s what I did.”

In 2012, Erinn booked her first role, on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth. She recalls only being in one scene, but taking the job seriously nonetheless.

“I was so prepared and so excited to be part of that world officially,” she says. “And it also instilled confidence within me. It was definitely a step in the right direction and I was like, ‘Alright, I can do this.’”

From there, she went on to appear on shows like Glee, Supernatural, Jane the Virgin, and Awkward. Along the way, Erinn

learned that in order to continue acting, she needed to maintain tenacity, perseverance, optimism and mental strength, “As actors, we experience so much rejection,” she says. “Even though you see all of those roles that I’ve gotten – and they have been so, so, wonderful and I’ve been so lucky – I think that for every role I’ve gotten, there have probably been 20 that I haven’t.

And you have to just be able to keep going and roll up your sleeves and know that if you do the work, something will work out and things will continue to work out.”

Erinn’s attitude has led her to her latest role, as Magnolia Bernard on Netflix’s Insatiable.

When Erinn read the pilot episode, she was struck by its unique comedy and the fact that it came from a female showrunner.

“It seemed like the humor was something I hadn’t seen anywhere else on any sort of project and if you meet our showrunner and our creator Lauren Gussis, you automatically sense that she has a different type of humor than a lot of people,” Erinn says. “And it’s a special type of humor and she’s also super vulnerable and she wants to put her flaws and her truths on display to hopefully make other people feel comfortable about talking about their NKDMAG.COM

21

truths and what they perceive as human flaws.”

Insatiable focuses on a high school girl named Patty Bladell (Debby Ryan) who is first introduced as a person who is “overweight and seemingly unhappy” because her peers treat her cruelly. After an incident occurs, she becomes “what people perceive as thin” – and is treated differently.

“She thinks that’s pretty messed up, so essentially she decides that she wants to enact revenge on any person who was rude to her or mean to her, or treated her differently when she looked a certain way versus now,” Erinn says. “She recognizes that she’s still the same person, and the fact that people are treating her differently based on her appearance is really not OK.” There are several other storylines that are explored over the course of the show, including one regarding Erinn’s character.

At the start of the show, Magnolia is shown as somewhat of a “teen pageant queen.” She has a seemingly perfect family, boyfriend, and life.

“Over the course of the season, you realize that things aren’t as perfect as they seem,” Erinn explains. “She’s human, she’s complicated, and she’s going through things just like everybody else.”

Although Erinn can’t relate to some of Magnolia’s struggles, she can identify with some of her personality traits.

“She is a perfectionist in so many ways,” Erinn admits. “She’s really driven, almost to a fault. She wants everything to go her way, and she’s really hard on herself at times. I would also say that she 22

has a really big heart and I think that some of the viewers have started to recognize that, which is nice.”

Like other characters on the show, Magnolia experiences her fair share of obstacles.

“Every single person has something that they’re going through and every character is insatiable in their own way, for something,” Erinn says. “Something is not going right, some void is not being filled, there’s something that they want more of, and nobody is satisfied.”

Despite the Insatiable’s “overthe-top” nature, Erinn believes that each character brings “something to the table that is very realistic.” She hopes that when people check it out, they watch it in its entirety, find an aspect they can relate to, and realize that “we’re all just human and we’re all going through things and that’s OK.” “You’re not alone and you can talk about these things, and hopefully this show serves as an icebreaker in a lot of important ways,” Erinn adds. “And also, it’s OK to laugh. It’s OK to use laughter as therapy, and I challenge people to do that.”

Insatiable was picked up for a second season just one month after its premiere, and Erinn is expecting to resume filming at the beginning of 2019. But looking ahead to the rest of this year, Erinn is focused on trying to find an ideal, strong film. But she’d also like to revisit her writing roots.

“Writing has been really important and I have written things in the past, but they have sort of taken a backseat,” Erinn says. “I’d love to continue writing and put myself in a project that I’ve created.” NKD

NKDMAG.COM

23

gnash Words by LEXI SHANNON Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

26

Self-proclaimed nap enthusiast and king of Twitter feels, gnash is one of the recent years’ biggest breakthrough artists.

The California born rapper, Garrett Nash – who goes by his stage name gnash – made his appearance back in 2016 after topping the radio charts with “i hate u, I love u” with pop vocalist Olivia O’Brien. He followed up the 3x RIAA Certified Platinum song with collaborations with artists MAX, EDEN, and Goody Grace.

Since “i hate u, i love u”, gnash has expanded his arsenal of mellow rap ballads with new singles “imagine if ”, “the broken hearts club” and most recently, “dear insecurity”, which features Ben Abraham).

This past summer, gnash joined pop punk legends All Time Low and Dashboard Confessional on the road for the Summer Ever After tour. “This summer has been life changing. I’ve learned so much about touring with these dudes, and I’m excited to take all that good energy back into my world,” gnash reflects.

For gnash, his world of heartfelt rap differs from his colleagues All Time Low and Dashboard Confessional, who have both made names for themselves over the past ten years in the punk rock scene. They both performed on Warped Tour multiple times, and are both set to perform at Australia’s Good Things festival this December. Despite their musical differences, the crowd, in typical punk scene fashion, always welcomed gnash on stage with open arms.

“The response [to being on NKDMAG.COM

27

the tour] has been great. All Time Low and Dashboard draw open-minded dedicated listeners,” gnash says.

For the 25-year-old, the tour isn’t just about gaining new fans.

The music industry is a whirlwind of education, with new information to be learned from everyone you meet, and gnash is no stranger to the desire to learn.

“The most important thing I never want to forget when it comes to my career in music is that I always want to be a student because there’s always something to learn,” gnash says, “From little things, like getting out of the green room in the mornings, taking a walk or seeing the town with Jack [Barakat], to big things, like how Alex [Gaskarth] is so good at empowering an audience of thousands of people.”

Now, if gnash is known for anything, it’s using his personal lyrics to break and mend the hearts of millions worldwide. His August release “dear insecurity” does just that. A sincere serenade dedicated to each of our insecurities, the song discusses mental health in a way that breaks down the barrier of stigma and helps shows the world that they’re not alone.

Gnash touched on the emotional inspiration for the tracking, coming from his own battle with mental health and the fight to overcome.

“I like to set personal goals based around songs and messages I want to deliver to people,” he says, “I think we all have things we’re insecure about and I wanted to give people a way to start a conversation for anybody going through something like I dealt

with, or let the song speak for them.”

“Dear insecurity” has been the result of months of hard work.

Gnash spent a long eight months working on crafting the masterpiece. He describes the process as a “long process of growing through things until I was finally happy with the song. I rewrote the verses three times and the bridge twice, but I’m really happy with how everything turned out because the song is helping so many people.”

With a topic as heavy as mental health being tackled in “dear insecurity”, gnash uses the song to connect with fans in a way he never has before. If there is any message he wants the fans and world to take away from the song, it’s this: “Embrace your flaws and love who you are.”

Collaborating with fellow musicians and creatives has always been a part of who gnash is. From his debut EP in 2015, he has collaborated with talents like EDEN, Goody Grace, MAX, and Mod Sun. In “dear insecurity”, gnash worked alongside singer-songwriter Ben Abraham to write and record the song.

How do some of the best collaborations come to life? Gnash credits that to the natural, organic nature of simply sitting down with someone and deciding “let’s write”.

“Sometimes I get setup for sessions – like with Ben – and we get “dear insecurity”, or like with other collaborations I’ve done, it’s more me directly reaching out,” gnash says, “What matters to me is that this song means something to someone beyond me.”

The response to his 2018 releas-

es have been positive. Gnash mentions how the songs “are taking off quicker than anything I’ve ever released”. After not having released anything for a few months, gnash took the time to give his brain a break to “heal, rest and then come back to the table and make new ideas.”

Despite the recent success of “dear insecurity”, which was a trending hashtag on Twitter, gnash still battles the anxiety and nerves prior to releasing his work to the world. For a man who does social media posting and promotion for his songs on his own, the day a song, album, or video is released is always huge.

“Most recently we dropped the “dear insecurity” music video and I was up way late the night before getting all the clips and things together. It’s more of an excited nervous now,” he says.

So, what comes next for gnash?

At 25-years-old, he has his entire musical career ahead of him. In the past two years since gnash first made his name known, his music continues to grow into more organic melodies of life’s troublesome moments. What can fans cross their fingers and hope for in the future with gnash’s music?

Authenticity.

“The only goal I have musically is to always be 616% myself no matter what. I think lately I’ve been tapping into even more music I loved growing up and I think that will inevitable shape what’s to come in a positive way,” he says.

When asked to give advice to fellow artists, he says this: “Be yourself because nobody likes you more than when you’re being yourself.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

29

janet montgomery Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

British actress Janet Montgomery found herself in a unique position during this year’s television pilot season: she had to choose between multiple show offers. “That doesn’t happen very often in one’s career, so I definitely felt like it was a moment for me,” she remembers.

Janet’s interest in acting originated with storytelling.

She came from a dance background and only realized she wanted to act while studying dance professionally. Once a week, a teacher came to the dance class for an additional acting lesson. After working with Janet, the teacher looked at her and said, “I think actually, maybe you’re an actor.” That confirmation and nudge in the right direction helped her find her way. Acting allowed her to continue to tell stories in the way that she could with dance.

“I think unless you have a showbiz family, which I don’t have, you don’t know the way in or exactly what you want to do,” Janet remarks. Breaking into the industry was difficult in the beginning. The opportunity for her first major role came while working in the same building the show Skins was being cast. After she spotted a director outside, Janet approached him and asked if

she could be considered for a part. Although she didn’t have an agent at the time, she was given the opportunity to audition and booked the role.

“I got lucky. I was in the right place at the right time and professionally, that was a defining moment for me,” Janet says. “I put myself out there. I took a gamble and went for it.”

Janet has come a long way since Skins. After debating between multiple offers this pilot season, she joined the cast of New Amsterdam, an NBC medical drama that premiered on September 26th. What initially drew her to the show was the strength of the script, but even with that, since all she knew was the pilot episode, she was a bit dubious. That changed when she met with David Schulner, Pete Horton and Kate Dennis. “I just thought ‘I really love these people and I want to work with them’,” Janet says. “They’re really nice people, which is a big part of when you’re taking a TV show. It’s not just the script; making sure you’re working with people you like is really important.”

New Amsterdam takes inspiration from New York’s City’s Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in the United States. As New Amsterdam is a

medical show, Janet promises drama; but what really makes it stand out from other shows, medical or not, is the emotion that comes with the show’s strong writing. “Some things will really pull at your heart strings,” Janet says. “When it’s authentic, it feels really special.”

In addition to raving about the show’s writing, Janet also has great things to say about her part on New Amsterdam as Dr. Laura Bloom. She found Laura appealing from the start because she went against the grain wasn’t a typical female part. She is the aggressor in her sexual relationships, incredibly intelligent and someone who puts her patients’ lives before her own. “There was something about her that made me think, ‘This is someone that I’d like in my life,’” Janet says. That thought was what convinced her that she needed to play the part.

New Amsterdam isn’t Janet’s only new show. She will also play Michelle Westbrook in The Romanoffs, an Amazon series written and directed

by Matthew Weiner of Mad Men. The show, premiering on October 12th, centers around different families that believe they are descendants NKDMAG.COM

31

32

of the Russian royal family. “I feel really lucky that I get to work with him,” Janet says of Matthew Weiner. And Janet promises that The Romanoffs will have just as rich of relationships and as complicated characters as fans of Mad Men have come to expect.

Both of these new roles come as a result of the hard work Janet has put into her craft. She has a lengthy history on IMDB. New Amsterdam actually airs directly after This Is Us, the widely-watched show in which Janet played Olivia. From the beginning of her involvement with This Is Us, Janet knew it would be life-changing for all involved because it felt special. “I’m still friends with all of the cast and they’re some of the loveliest people. They deserve all of their success,” Janet says.

With additional credits in Salem, Merlin and Black Swan, Janet has an impressive history in both television and film, though she doesn’t have a strong preference for one medium over another. “I like working in TV for the obvious reason of job security, but for me it’s all stories,” she says. “I’ve never had a chance to work on a massive studio blockbuster movie, but when you’re doing Indie movies, it’s just like TV but with an end date. You’re working on a similar schedule trying to shoot as many pages as you do in TV. I’m a little ADHD myself, so having to shoot quite a lot in one day suits me so I don’t get bored.”

Not only does she transcend mediums, but she also transcends different genres. That isn’t an accident. “I never want to pigeonholed,” she explains.

“It’s a fear you should have as an actor that if someone likes you in a certain type of role and people only see you as that, then you’ve shut yourself off to all these other incredible genres.” New, fresh roles are what excite her the most, so she’s always tried to keep her roles as varied as possible.

But with so many different types of roles comes discipline. Janet works with the same acting coach for all of her roles, but describes their process as varied, with trial and error between different methods. “A lot of the work we do together is finding the similarities between the character and me in whatever way we can, so I have something I can sympathize with for the character,” Janet explains. “I like to work with someone else so I have a different perspective on the character. You find so many things you wouldn’t have found before and you build a character from the ground up.”

With two shows in the works, Janet has stayed busy and has lots to look forward to in the future. But even with all of her success, she hasn’t stopped dreaming. When asked who she’d most like to work with in the future, Janet answers Jessica Lange. “I would be very afraid to work with her, but I’d love to work with her,” Janet laughs. NKD NKDMAG.COM

33

34

MATY NOYES Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Creating art is never a simple task. But, too often it is conflated with the idea that, no matter the subject matter, brooding is always part of the mix.

While somber reflections are necessary, shouldn’t the process of making your art fill you with joy, too? 21-year-old Maty Noyes is a seasoned vocalist and songwriter filled with an enthusiasm for making music, knowing there’s a chance it will speak to someone, anyone.

Maty was born and lived her early childhood in small-town Mississippi. The early years were spent listening to The Beatles, loving all the harmonies. She got a schooling in classic rock from her father but branched out to a menagerie of genres as she started getting more serious about music.

“There was a weird mix of stuff. I went through a screamo phase, to loving indie bands like Arcade Fire and Edward Sharpe.

My first love was Elvis and he really inspired me a lot. Just a mix of everything,” she says.

As Maty began taking music more seriously, she looked to her aunt for inspiration. When Maty was a child, her aunt sang and

wrote in Nashville. She was the one who encouraged her to be different, to be open and see what you can offer through your art.

Maty took piano lessons for a bit, but like many before her, rebelled against the institutionalized process. This led to her learning guitar at twelve.

“I did all the sports and cheer and stuff. But, once I found the guitar, it was just like, ‘Okay, this is what I’m doing,’” she recalls, “I wrote all those first songs on acoustic guitar by myself. And I was still in Mississippi, parents all confused and asking how I learned to write songs. And I’m just like, ‘I don’t know? It just happened!’”

With the support of her parents, Maty started gigging at open mics around town. As her writing and performing became more serious, Maty and her mom would drive up to Nashville on the weekends. She played anywhere and everywhere she could.

A love for writing and performing music blossomed. Maty was hooked. At 16, Maty persuaded her parents to let her drop out of school, move to Nashville, and pursue music as a career.

The music industry is not

known for its kindness and young Maty dove in head first.

She babysat for consistent cash.

She took online classes to appease the parents. But while most would feel anxiety under the weight of so much potential opportunity, there was none of that for her.

“That time was really beautiful because I didn’t have any fear. At that time, it was just full belief, full steam ahead, somehow its going to happen. I always try to remember back to that time and be like that. The older you get – you know, you move to L.A. – it’s easy to get sick of it all, so you have to hold on to that part of yourself,” she says.

Music is infinIte, that’s why there are so many styles. An artist shouldn’t be chained to one sound. That leaves no room for finding that ‘something more’.

And that’s often found in those moments of joyous clarity as art is brought into the physical universe.

The more writing Maty did in Nashville, the more she felt like something else was missing. So, she started attending writing trips out in L.A. She soon found herself missing L.A. when she NKDMAG.COM

35

36

would go back home to Nashville. She knew what she experienced on those trips was just a whisper in the deep well she was needing to explore. So, she packed up and moved to L.A. for the next phase and evolution of her sound: Maty Noyes, modern pop star.

In L.A., she began working with the same producer as The Weeknd. He was looking for a new artist to feature on the closing track of Beauty Behind the Madness.

“One night we were in the studio and he was finishing work on the album and he was like, ‘Should we just lay some stuff down on it and see what happens?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, let’s do that!’” she recalls, “It was just a one-take thing we did. We didn’t know if it would be an official vocal, but Abel liked it.

And the Kygo people found me through that.”

These features have led to Maty being asked to write for and with other artists while she works on her own songs. Working on music with these other artists is part job, part exercise in empathy for Maty. She wants to help complete their story. Everyone is unique, so she is always viewing the world through different lenses. It’s an untethered trust which has allowed her personally to grow as an artist and fully embrace the art she is making in the moment.

Her single, ‘Spiraling Down’, was released with a dedication to the LGBTQIA community.

Even as a child in small-town South, she never understood this unwarranted disdain over love.

With this song, she wanted to send a message to those in her hometown – and all hometowns like hers – to keep an open mind.

And for those who are marginalized, that they are being seen and heard, even if its from afar.

“I wrote ‘Spiraling Down’ with Alex Chapman, who is part of the LGBTQIA community. It would be the same if I wrote a song about ‘wig’. That was a phrase that came from that community.

It’s okay to be inspired by something; but if you’re going to use something that’s already made up, you need to pay credit where it’s due,” she says, “‘Spiraling Down’ is a phrase like that. I wanted pay proper credit and reach the hearts of people, you know?”

Maty’s unbridled joy when it comes to making music is enhanced by the knowledge that if you have reach, use it for good.

It’s not about preaching but taking the hands of others and engaging through sounds, beats, and words. Her art is one way she carries out her responsibilities in being a good person. She knows the more honest she is, the more chance someone will hear her words and realize they aren’t alone, even if just for a single song.

Maty Noyes is ready for the next step. She has more music she is eager to release as a fulllength album. In the meantime, she is on tour with Noah Cyrus through October. She’s eager to connect with fans and build up a community. She’s witnessed the happiness music can bring and she wants to do that for others.

She’s inviting you to explore right beside her. NKD NKDMAG.COM

37

bishop briggs Words by SAMANTHA BAMBINO Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Bishop Briggs knows the struggle. The heartbreaking, seemingly endless struggle of performing in miniscule coffee shops and venues, holding out hope that maybe tonight’s show is finally “the one”. Maybe tonight, one of those customers sipping a latte has connections in the cutthroat Los Angeles music scene. Maybe tonight, the life envisioned since the age of 4 can begin to come true.

For five years, Bishop performed on small Los Angeles stages, pouring her heart and soul onto each. Though some audiences were more receptive than others, she never lost her air of grit and determination.

Even as she watched close friends give up on their dreams and head home, her self-belief never wavered. In 2015, that drive paid off when an A&R rep at a songwriters’ showcase recognized something truly unique in Bishop.

Ever since, things have been nothing short of a whirlwind for the pigtail bun rocking 26-year-old, who has been slaying 2018 in the best way possible. From the release of her debut album Church of Scars which features the widely popular hit “River”, to a sold out nationwide tour and appearance on American Idol, this year has brought Bishop everything she’s wanted and more.

But even in the midst of her success, which continues to skyrocket as we speak, Bishop is staying humble, never losing sight of that bright eyed little girl whose love for the stage happened at first sight.

40

Born on July 18, 1992 in Barking, a small town near London, Bishop quickly became a well-cultured toddler after her family moved from the U.K. to Tokyo a few years later.

Even before acclimating to her new surroundings, Bishop had something else figured out - her life’s calling. She just didn’t realize it yet.

“It seemed like the minute we landed there, we went to a karaoke bar as a family, I think it was a bonding experience type of thing,” she reflects.

Little did her parents know, this spur of the moment trip would be the thing that set their daughter on the path to eventual stardom. As Bishop watched her father take the stage and sing Frank Sinatra, Bishop was mesmerized.

“I was obsessed with my dad as it was, and then when I saw how he was onstage and the joy that he brought others, that spark was completely triggered,” she says.

Though her father wasn’t a professional musician, the Briggs household was always chock full of albums. As a kid, Bishop remembers sifting through her parents’ Motown-heavy collection, and Otis Redding, The Supremes and Aretha Franklin became the soundtrack of her childhood.

The family remained in Japan for six years before moving to Hong Kong for eight, but the passage of time and change in location didn’t sway Bishop’s passion for performance in the slightest.

“In Hong Kong was where

I really tried to do music every single day in any capacity I could,” she says. “I was lucky that I had a supportive high school and I basically just applied myself to anything I could that had music in it.”

Just a few days after graduating from high school, Bishop jetted off to Los Angeles to give her dreams a fair shot. Though she was the first in her family to take such a massive risk, she had their blessing.

“Back in the day, it really wasn’t something that people saw as a potential career,” she says. “And so I think I was really lucky that my parents both had such a passion for music that they wanted me to really have no boundaries on what my future looked like.”

After getting settled in her new city, Bishop quickly learned success wasn’t going to be an overnight thing. Her first several years in California saw a lot of stress and hustling, and while many in similar situations would’ve given up, Bishop maintained a mindset that helped her move forward.

“I think the best advice I could give – and that I tried to follow when I was living in L.A. at that time – is to have standards. The dream is so sparkly and beautiful and amazing, but there are people out there who will take advantage of that and also tell you everything you want to hear and it sounds so great,” Bishop says. “But working with good people and having longevity in that mental state is so important.”

In an attempt to get her name

NKDMAG.COM

41

42

out there, Bishop played as many gigs as she could land, whether it was a small bar or coffee shop.

“I would have a few people come up to me and tell me to keep going and be encouraging.

And I would have some days that wouldn’t happen. But I really had to hold to my self-belief that for me, I don’t feel fully fulfilled as a human if I’m not doing music,” Bishop says. “So I was going to continue regardless, but it really is a creative hub in L.A. where you’re all searching for the same dreams and the same fulfillment of those dreams. It can be discouraging and encouraging at the same time because a lot of your friends are going back to their hometowns.”

But after five years of persevering, Bishop’s entire life shifted in an instant when an A&R rep approached her at a songwriters’ showcase. From there, everything began to fall into place as Bishop signed with Island Records.

“That was when things changed,” she says. “It definitely felt like a whirlwind for sure.”

In April of this year, Bishop was catapulted into the spotlight when her album Church of Scars debuted in the Top 10 worldwide. For Bishop, having listeners latch onto her music, which chronicles her journey in a deeply personal way, has been an honor.

“I felt so proud and excited to release something that was truly representative of that time in my life,” she says. “The title of the album Church of

Scars, it was derived from one of the tracks called ‘Hallowed Ground’ and the line ‘my heart is a church of scars’. It felt like the perfect descriptor of how every single time I recorded and wrote, and really diving into those parts of my memory and psyche and allowing those scars to be there.”

Though each track on Church of Scars holds a special place in her heart, Bishop names “Water” as a personal favorite.

The song, which she worked on with producer John Hill, was written a month before the album was released, but she knew it had to be included.

“I just felt in working with him, I wasn’t hiding. I wasn’t hiding behind myself. I wasn’t hiding behind my own poetry, my own metaphors. I found he really brought out a side of me that was more direct,” Bishop says. “So I think that song will always have a soft spot for me because it came with a lot of revelation.”

That same month, Bishop became a household name when she served as a mentor on American Idol. Millions of viewers tuned in to see the rising star perform duets with contestants Cade Foehner and Trevor McBane.

“It was so surreal. I was there technically to mentor but I don’t think I was a good mentor. I was more nervous than all of the contestants combined and I think a few contestants corrected me,” Bishop says with a laugh. “But I will always feel so happy when thinking of that experience.”

As a follow up to Church of Scars, Bishop released “Baby” in September, which she also worked on with John. Boasting a different, poppier vibe, the track is fun and infectiously catchy as Bishop sings about her infatuation with a leather-clad lover.

“It felt disingenuous to only have Church of Scars out when I did have this other side of my life that was a new thing, that felt good and happy and very light, that it felt important to put that out there,” she says.

The unleashing of “Baby” on the world strategically coincided with Bishop’s sold out North American tour, which has a handful of dates remaining.

Not only did the new, upbeat track cause the energy levels of fans to reach an all-time high, it gave Bishop a fresh perspective.

“This run has felt so much more intimate, which I really like,” she says. “It’s funny, I think with the release of ‘Baby’ kind of came this excitement about just being myself and being unfiltered and being transparent.”

As Bishop prepares to wrap up her tour, she’s looking back on 2018 with a sense of pride.

Everything she has done, every late night and small gig played, is finally paying off. But the year is still far from over, and Bishop doesn’t have plans to rest anytime soon.

“I am always writing and I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the studio in October writing,” she says. “I’m excited for what’s to come.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

43

44

LAY

Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

BRANDON

Brandon Lay was born in Jackson, Tenn. – a town smack in the middle of Nashville and Memphis, and basketball was his first love. He played the sport all throughout his childhood and played for three years in college – but music was always around. “My mom had really good taste,” Brandon reflects.

Growing up in Jackson, Brandon fielded influences from both directions: soul from Memphis and country from Nashville. “I remember watching CMT when I was really young and just trying to emulate the Class of ’89 – Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson,” he says. As he got older, his interests expanded to nearly all other genres – especially hip-hop.

“We’d go from Hank Williams Jr. to Juicy J,’ he reflects.

In college, Brandon started learning guitar and was writing lyrics before he even learned three chords.

At the encouragement of his teacher, he went and played an open mic night and got hooked. He quit the basketball team, put a band together, and moved to Nashville after graduation and started playing locally, and eventually regionally. “I made my living on frat parties for a few years,” he laughs.

In Nashville, he lived in his sister’s guest room for a few years while he grew his name. He would write songs during the day and play songwriter nights at night, and then hit the road on the weekends.

Eventually, he landed a publishing deal, which then led to a record deal.

He’s been on Universal Music Group for three years now. “They told me it was a ten-year town when I moved to Nashville and I didn’t believe them, but I’m coming right up on

ten years,” he says.

While Brandon has been grinding away for years, it wasn’t until last year that he released his first official single via Universal: “Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers”. Since then, he’s released four more tracks and a full-length album is completed and on the way. “The oldest song on that body of work is five years old, and the newest one at the time was six months, so it really covers a broad spectrum of songwriting,” he says, “I just tried to hold onto what was the most me.” Brandon co-produced the album as well, which is fairly unheard of for a debut artist.

He worked with Paul Digiovanni, who most recently produced Jordan Davis’ debut album.

Brandon is aware of how music is consumed now, which is why songs have been coming out slowly.

“I’ve been in a spot of frustration just because I feel like I am more of an album-based artist than a single-based artist, but the formats kind of lend themselves more to one at a time, or two at a time,” he says.

Currently, he’s pushing “Yada Yada Yada” at Country Radio, and the success of that will determine when the full record comes out.

When Brandon pieced together his album, he tried to do so as honestly as he could. “Being an A.D.D. music fan and liking stuff from all over, we cover a pretty broad spectrum – especially for a new artist,” he says. “Yada Yada Yada” is more contemporary country with its R&B influences, but a song called “Starting Young” falls more traditional.

He didn’t think much about singles, and instead opted to put the best package of songs together – hoping that a few of them would then be deemed radio worthy. “Luckily I’m

at a label where they let me do that.

We picked the singles after we made the album,” he says.

With Brandon’s biggest musical influences being country and hiphop, the recent fuse of the two in contemporary country is exciting for him. “Arguably, those are the two most authentic genres of music,” he says. He acknowledges that people have strong feelings about “keeping things traditional”, but he knows that any time something changes people react strongly. “It’s letting people really be who they are,” he says, “I think authenticity is what the genre is about more than anything.”

Brandon spent his summer on the road with Kenny Chesney, Thomas Rhett and Old Dominion – playing stadiums all across America.

Getting to watch some of the genre’s biggest names every night has proved to be an invaluable learning experience for Brandon. “One thing I learned from Kenny is just how much he gives to his audience. He lives in the moment,” he says, “As a new guy, my temptation is to think about hitting the right note or not missing a guitar lick, and standing cool and looking cool, when really it’s all about giving all of your energy to whoever is there and paid a lot of money to see you.” As the first one on stage each night, he took his job of warming up the crowd very seriously. “It’s our job to get everybody hyped off,” he says.

Looking forward at the rest of the year, Brandon will be playing shows around the country and spending time with the latest addition to the Lay family: baby Ryder Knox, who was born at the end of September.

“I’m a very blessed man,” he says, “As long as we can keep the wheels rolling I’ll be happy.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

45

DANIELLE PANABAKER Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Make-Up by HELENA TINT Hair by EMILY DAWN Styling by AUDREY BRIANNE

LOOK 1: Sweater by WILDFOX; Skirt by VESTIRE; Rings by MR. KATE LOOK 2: Shirt by VESTIRE LOOK 3: Shirt by WILDFOX; Jeans by UNPUBLISHED LOOK 4: Romper by FOREVER 21 LOOK 5: Shirt by THREE FLOOR; Pants by TRUE RELIGION LOOK 6: Shirt by FOREVER 21; Pants by I <3 TYLER MADISON; Heels by STUART WEITZMAN ON THE COVER: Sweater by HAUTE ROGUE; Bra by AMERICAN APPAREL; Jeans by TRUE RELIGION; Shoes by BETSEY JOHNSON

Danielle Panabaker is as easy going as they get – even her coffee order is simple. (An iced almond milk latte, if you were wondering.) She shows up to our early morning photo shoot ready to go, and immediately after, hops on a plane back to Vancouver, where she spends nearly ten months out of the year filming The Flash.

The stress of a long day may get to some, but Danielle is used to it – she’s been living this hectic life since she was 15-years-old.

Now 31, she’s a seasoned pro – but still isn’t fully convinced that she’ll get to do this forever.

Danielle grew up switching cities every two years to accommodate her father’s sales job, and while living the homeschool life in the suburbs of Atlanta, her Mom enrolled Danielle and her little sister (actress Kay Panabaker) in a community theatre program so they could be around children their own age. The two worked a bit in Atlanta before the Panabaker clan moved North to Chicago, where both sisters kept working. Eventually, it was suggested that the girls try out pilot season in Los Angeles, so they moved again when Danielle was 15. Fifteen years later, that’s still where Danielle calls home.

Both Danielle and Kay were lucky and started working right away, which was difficult for the family at first, but they made it work. Their mom would travel with whomever was filming out of town, and their dad would stay home in Los Angeles with the other. But once Danielle turned 18, she didn’t need a 48

chaperone.

Danielle found it comforting to have someone around who understood what she was going through, but admits the two had very different experiences. “She’s much more of an extrovert than I am, and a lot of things came easier to her than to me,” Danielle admits, “It was nice to have her, but everyone’s experience is different.”

Despite Danielle’s dreams and goals, she’s always looked at acting from a very realistic standpoint – which is that every job could be her last. Even at 15, she understood that so much of this career is out of her control. “The fact that I can make a living doing what I love? I’m lucky,” she says, “But when we came to L.A., it was with the understanding that this acting thing probably wasn’t going to work out and I was going to go back to Chicago in a year.”

However, things moved steadily for her as a teen, so the family stayed in California. But even with her early success, Danielle and her parents still valued education, and Danielle went to UCLA and graduated at 19 with a major in English. “At that time, I was working fulltime on Shark, so I would go to work Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, and go to school of Tuesday and Thursdays,” Danielle recalls, “That’s my backup plan. I would like to think that I don’t need a backup plan, but the reality is, this industry is changing very rapidly.”

Danielle worked on Shark for nearly three years and afterwards, made a conscious deci-

sion to not work in television for a bit. But after a few years of doing low-budget films, Danielle actively went searching for a new television role. Enter The Flash.

Immediately interested in the show because of producer Greg Berlanti’s involvement, Danielle booked the role of Caitlin Snow and has been on the show since its first episode. Now, three months into filming the fifth season, the show is approaching its 100th episode. “There’s not that many shows out there that do that,” she says, “Sometimes it feels like it’s been 40 years and sometimes it feels like its been four minutes.”

The Flash was the second installment of The CW’s now-dominating “Arrowverse” (followed by Arrow, obviously), and with that came an expected amount of success. Arrow had mustered up a tight following, and there was at the very least a strong hope that those viewers would tune into another superhero show within the same universe. Expectations were so high that some of Danielle’s cast mates and many of the show’s crew members started looking for housing in Vancouver while filming the pilot – before the show got the official greenlight.

But ever the realist, Danielle waited until things were official before uplifting her life and moving to Canada. “That’s counting your chickens before they hatch,” she says, “I’d been doing this for so long, I was like, ‘I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’”

In addition to Greg’s name

being attached to the show, Danielle was also immediately drawn to Caitlin because of how multi-layered she is. “She has a job that’s she incredibly good at, and she’s very smart and being smart is celebrated,” Danielle says, “I was always good at math growing up, and I was teased insistently about it, so I like that her intelligence and her passion for her work are focused on, rather than just who she’s dating.”

Comic book fans immediately recognized Caitlin’s name as the alter ego of Killer Frost, and were waiting for the day she turned icy on screen.

That moment came in Season 3, following “Flashpoint” – a timeline-altering occurrence that was a result of Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) running back in time to save his family, and then undoing the whole thing again.

(Don’t mess with time travel, kids.) But as we learned in the Season 4 finale, Caitlin’s powers were not a result of Barry’s impulsiveness or the particle accelerator explosion that gave Barry his powers, and rather something that has been embedded in her DNA since childhood.

Danielle was exciting to tackle more of the Killer Frost storyline in Season 4, but is completely candid when admitting that she feels that it got lost in the shuffle of all the other plot points. But Season 5 will explore both Killer Frost’s and Caitlin’s stories with more depth than ever. “They promised me that this year they would do a better job of explaining where she came from and who she is, 50

and I’m excited to learn more about that,” Danielle says of Killer Frost, “Halfway through Season 4, I felt like she was just showing up.”

Part of that understanding will come in the introduction of Caitlin’s father, played by Kyle Secor. “I’ve met Kyle and he’s a dream,” Danielle gushes.

For the past three years, Caitlin has been operating under the assumption that her father is dead, so his introduction is sure to cause a stir. As she delves into her family history to learn more about her powers, it leads her to ask more questions about her family. With the relationship with her mother already strained, it’s bound to be revealing.

Caitlin’s new knowledge does shake up her dynamic with Team Flash – but in a good way. As the only main character whose family hasn’t been truly explored, the new revelations will lead to support from her teammates. Danielle teases that “great scenes with Carlos [Valdes]” are coming, and even a team-up with the newest Team Flash member, Ralph (Hartley Sawyer).

While Danielle has become accustomed to playing Caitlin, this season she’ll be taking on a new role: director. Danielle will make her directing debut with Episode 18 of this season, and while shooting for that episode is still months away, she’s already preparing. “I’ve been extremely focused on it.

I’m extremely excited,” she says, “I want to learn as much as I can.” To prepare, Danielle has

NKDMAG.COM

51

52

NKDMAG.COM

53

been spending as much time as she can in the post-production room, and took a directing workshop this past summer. In her spare time between filming, she’s taking Ron Howard’s masterclass on directing and she recently sat down with Tara Nicole Weyr, who directed The Flash last season, who gave her great advice on how to manage the show. “She was so generous with me and gave me great advice,” Danielle says.

Danielle was always fascinated by the process of creating film and television because its “150+ artists coming together, doing what they do best, to create something.” She always thought she’d like to produce at some point in her career, but directing just happened to become an opportunity first.

“I was really inspired by Tom Cavanagh [who plays Harrison Wells on The Flash], who directed in Season 3,” Danielle says, “I was a little bit terrified when they offered me the job, but I think I do have to lean in and say ‘yes’ and take the opportunity.” Danielle’s co-stars have been extremely supportive of her directing endeavor already.

Particularly Danielle Nicolet (who plays Cecile), who joined the show in 2015, and Tom. “I don’t think I would be doing this without Tom’s support and guidance,” she says, “And I do think Grant and Carlos will really show up for me in a special way.”

Support is something that rings through the entire DCTV universe – especially among the women, who have created 54

a haven of sorts by the name of SheThority – which offers a platform for women to give advice to one another and share their stories. “I have to give a lot of credit to Caity Lotz, because she was the one who presented this idea to us last fall around the crossovers, and I don’t think we’d be here if not for her,” Danielle says, “In the era of Times Up, looking at the pay discrepancy between men and women on these shows… To have these other women I can go to – both Caity Lotz and Katie Cassidy in particular – it’s empowering.”

The women have eliminated the idea that “there’s only room for one” and have established a community where they know other women will go to bat for them. “There have been people in my life who are a little bit annoyed that we’ve decided to ban together, but knowledge is power in my opinion, and I’m grateful to those women,” she says.

SheThority has given the women an even deeper connection with the shows’ fans, and on top of the online interaction, Danielle makes a point to attend conventions and meet fans all over the world when her schedule allows it. “I’m always blown away when young women say to me, ‘I want to be a doctor’ or ‘I want to be a scientist like Caitlin’, that to be is incredible,” Danielle says, “Those are the interactions that mean the most to me - knowing that young women are watching the show and are impacted by it in a positive way.”

With The Flash still going

strong with no signs of going away anytime soon, Danielle isn’t sure what’s next for her falling the eventual end of the series. “I don’t know what’s next. Things are changing – there’s so many more platforms for content now,” she says, “I think the dream would be to be in something like The Handmaid’s Tale or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” She hopes directing will open a door for to step behind the scenes more, whether it’d be producing something or directing other television shows. “I feel very comfortable directing Flash first,” she says, “When new directors come in I feel a lot of empathy for them.”

As far as the immediate future, Danielle will be starring in the upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie, Christmas Joy, which airs November 3rd – an opportunity which immediately excited Danielle because of how “generous Hallmark Channel is to their women”. The script was written by a woman, as well as directed by a woman – and obviously, stars a woman. In addition, there was a plethora of females in the crew. “It was nice to do something a little different,” Danielle says.

Prior to The Flash, Caitlin Snow and Killer Frost existed, and once the show inevitably ends, they will continue to exist – whether it’d be in the comics or in new screen adaptations.

As far as legacy goes, Danielle doesn’t think much on it – but she’s incredibly grateful to be on this ride. “It’s pretty crazy that they made a Funko Pop of me,” she says, “It’s pretty cool.” NKD

emily kinney Words by CARLY BUSH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Emily Kinney is best known as Beth Greene on AMC’s post-apocalyptic take on the zombie genre, The Walking Dead. What horror fans might not know is that the actress known for her iconic portrayal of the resilient teenage zombie outbreak survivor is also a prolific songwriter—of unexpectedly sweet, sugary pop melodies.

Born in Wayne, Nebraska, to high school sweethearts, Emily grew up in small farming communities throughout the American heartland, but nevertheless aspired to achieve success in the entertainment industry. How does someone from blue-collar Nebraska end up in Hollywood?

In short, her parents provided outlets for her burgeoning talents.

They never discouraged it, but incorporated music and Broadway culture into the familial lifestyle from the beginning, which inspired Emily to begin performing herself.

“Music was a big part of my parents’ social life,” she says, reminiscing about their vinyl collection, including records by classic acts like The Carpenters. When she was 7, Emily began performing in local Lion’s Club talent shows and leading worship services at church.

For Emily, performing was never really about ego or attention; it was about storytelling. (“I always wrote little poems,” she recalls.) Being on stage was a way to tell stories, to slip into the role of a character.

As you might expect, it wasn’t long before Emily’s interest in music developed into a separate but equal fascination with acting. She began taking roles in local community theatre productions. She gravitated towards child stars, purposely gathering neighborhood kids together to act out famous scenes.

The girlish dream of being a “pop singer” evaporated as soon as Emily realized that songwriting was “a job that you could have.” She focused her attention on lyrics and composition, and after high school rode a full scholarship to Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she initially declared music as her major.

“Eventually I switched my major to theatre,” she remembers, but felt restless in Northeast Nebraska, where opportunities in the entertainment industry were admittedly slim. Wanting to get closer to the action, she applied—and was accepted—to the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. While studying at Tisch, she began to hit the streets and learned how to search for open calls around New York. Eventually, she quietly left the Tisch program, partially due to financial struggles, and partially because her career was genuinely starting to take off: a few weeks in, she landed a role in a play, which ended up being a fulltime commitment.

“As soon as [the play] closed, I moved back to Nebraska for

a while, because I didn’t have an agent and was really broke. I worked in a coffee shop in Nebraska to make money, and moved back to New York again—that time for good.”

Once settled in the big city, she focused her attention on securing a commercial agent. While working as a barista at a coffeehouse on the edge of Williamsburg to make ends meet, she had her finger directly on the pulse of the vibrant nascent Brooklyn music scene.

“This was around 2005, 2006,” she remembers, when her coffee shop was one of the only ones in the neighborhood, and thus frequented by many likeminded bohemians. “I started singing backup for bands, and eventually, around the time I started working on Spring Awakening on Broadway, I started to develop my own music.”

After Spring Awakening, gigs began rolling in at a steady pace, and for the first time in her life, Emily was able to support herself entirely as a musician and actress. She quit her coffee shop job and began speaking with casting directors who provided her with tips on how to navigate her admittedly competitive and occasionally ruthless industry: “Nobody in my family was in the entertainment industry.

I really didn’t know how to get an agent or anything.”

In the mid-2000s, Backstage— now an online hub of casting calls NKDMAG.COM

57

and resources for professional actors—was printed in a simple newsletter format and released every Thursday. Emily grabbed a copy every week and circled all of the auditions that were right for her, attending as many as she could.

Fast forward a few years later to The Walking Dead, which introduced Emily to an international audience and “led a lot more people to my music. I started putting out more albums, and then eventually, after Walking Dead, I went on tour.”

By the end of her first major tour, Emily found herself at an impasse. It’s not exactly unusual for New Yorkers to decide they need a change of pace after a while, and Emily was no exception: she realized she “needed a change,” and headed west to Los Angeles. What was initially intended to be a temporary relocation (“I figured, oh, I’d sublet my place in New York!”) ended up being permanent.

It might appear that Emily is focusing more of her attention on music than acting at the moment, and while she is currently heavily promoting her indie pop album Oh, Jonathan, she is adamant that she doesn’t prioritize one medium over another.

She simply focuses on “projects,” and prefers to do so one at a time: “If I’m working on a TV show, that’s the project I’m working on at the moment. If I’m working on an album, that’s the project.

I wouldn’t say that one is more important to me. It just depends on what I’m working on that day.”

She also emphasizes the importance of finding “some other creative outlet.” She found that many 58

of the actors who worked alongside her on The Walking Dead had passions besides acting. “I think with acting, you have to sit with someone else’s vision, and it’s important to have another outlet.”

“With music, I can hire myself… I’m not the type of person who likes to sit by the phone. I think having a music career as well allows me to have some kind of control over my creative career, you know?”

Oh, Jonathan was self-funded and promoted through Pledge Music. Emily has had distribution deals in the past, but is currently an independent artist; she thoroughly valued the process of creating this piece of art that is all her own, despite the financial risk.

The resulting album is a nostalgic, sentimental whirlwind, detailing the course of a back-andforth relationship with an aloof Los Angeles bad boy who drives a Porsche and has a “million-dollar record deal.” It’s also deeply personal to Emily, whose earnest songwriting begs the question: who inspired this story?

“It is based on a real relationship. There is an adolescent feel to it, even though it was based on a relationship that happened in my late twenties, the feeling of the relationship was very… well, it wasn’t a more mature love. It was one-sided, fill-in-the-gaps—you’re never really sure what’s going on.”

The two most powerful songs bookend the album, with “Same Mistakes” introducing the “boy on the west side of town” who Emily fell for despite her better judgment as a thirty-something career woman, and “Boy Band Hero” allowing her to finally admit to herself:

“Maybe it was all just a daydream.”

“No matter what age you’re at, you can get swept up in that,” she muses. “You’re like, ‘How old am I? Am I 15?’ It can be very painful, you know?”

The album is an intricately crafted work of pop excellence.

It’s also painfully relevant to those facing the brutal lasting scars of hookup culture, which Emily alludes to strongly in “Boy Band Hero”.

Once she had some time to reflect on the relationship she acknowledged that a great deal of it existed in her own daydream universe, rather than concrete reality.

“Did I make up this relationship?

Was it real? A lot of it was one-sided,” she reflects.

In the era of online dating, “ghosting,” and commitment-phobia, the pain of losing a love you never really had is a uniquely millennial experience that Emily explores with maturity and sincerity.

Another element of Emily’s personal history—her Midwestern upbringing—had been subtly woven into her lyrics, with intentional references to dirt under her nails reminding listeners that in spite of her glamorous Hollywood success, she is still just a kid from Nebraska.

“I was relating to people who are sort of, like, hustling—not relating to people who were so successful in this Hollywood world.

As my career’s gone on, I’ve met all kinds of people, and dated all kinds of people.” But Emily’s roots run deep. “The type of people I want to date are, like, struggling musicians, broke… I think that’s why this whole thing happened.” NKD

NKDMAG.COM

59

dean lewis Words by VANESSA SALLES Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

A true artist on the rise, Dean Lewis is a name you want to get familiar with. The Australian singer/songwriter has had an unforgettable year and if the recent success of his latest single is any indication, the ‘Be Alright’ singer is on the fast-track to the top.

“I haven’t really experienced anything quite like this before,” Dean reveals. “I’ve gotten heaps of people commenting and sending messages on Instagram telling me how they connect to the song and it’s great. I feel so fortunate to have a song that’s resonating with people the way that ‘Be Alright’ has.”

As for the way the popular track was created, Dean cites inspiration from his friends and his own personal experiences. “I combined a bunch of stories that friends had told me over the years,” he explains. “I took some weird and sad things that’s happened to them in relationships along with things that’s happened to me. Mostly, the song is centered around me seeing a message on my ex-girlfriend’s phone.”

Dean’s creative process stems from finding his love for music at such a young age. “Music was always a huge part of my life,” he says. “I was very, very inspired by Oasis and Noel Gallagher’s melodic songwriting. I had this crazy thought that if Noel could write five albums of amazing songs, then I could write one as good as his worst.

That’s what kept me motivated when I first started writing songs.”

Describing his personal sound, Dean tends to stay in the acoustic lane. “I like to keep things quite raw,” he says. “I love acoustic guitar and I

always aim to get the production to feel like guys playing in the room, or at least get a little of that feeling across.

When I’m writing, it’s always just me on my acoustic guitar or piano just riffing ideas until something sticks.

Lately, because I’ve been on the road so much, I’ve found myself creating in rehearsal rooms. I’ll set up the mic, put some reverb on my voice, and just start mucking around while recording on my phone. I just let a bunch of ideas fly out and listen back the next day to see if anything jumps out at me. Lyrically, I’m very into describing scenes in first person; it’s the best way I know how to put the listener into the world of the song.”

With the whirlwind success of “Be Alright,” Dean recognizes his good fortune and is using his newfound momentum as a way to propel himself to higher grounds. “It’s this incredible opportunity that could stop at any moment,” he says. “So, I’m throwing myself forward into everything I can.

Being so new to it all, I feel like I’m always rushing to get things finished and done on time; it’s hard to even think about anything else going on.

I think, next year, I’ll have more of a grasp on how this all works.”

On the road, Dean’s found a routine that’s kept him sane when things get a bit too hectic. “I feel so lucky that people actually want to talk to me about my music,” he says. “It does of course get overwhelming sometimes. I have a notebook that I write in every morning and plan things out in; I’ve found that it helps me think ahead and even helps me be able to relax.” Dean’s also found a newfound love for the simple

things in life that make things easy. “I recently bought a new suitcase and it came with this dirty clothes bag that I can just put all the worn clothes in,” he recalls. “It makes things really easy when it comes to identifying which clean clothes I have left. It sounds boring, I know, but it just makes my life so much easier when I have to live out of a suitcase. I appreciate things like that.”

With an audience that performs the lyrics right along with him, Dean has learned to dominate the stage the way the greats have done before him.

Though inspired by many artists’ stage presence, the star-in-the-making reveals the secret to a great performance is finding (and perfecting) the art of losing yourself in the music. “I think I just get on stage and try to be in the moment,” he says. “I read in Springsteen’s book that the worst thing you can do on stage is think about yourself.

Trying to let go has worked for me and getting out of my head and feeling the music is what keeps me living in the moment.”

As for what’s up next, Dean’s only mission is to continue to grow and continue to be the best version of himself that he can be. “There have been so many highlights this year,” he says.

“If I had to pick one, it would probably be selling out 3 Metro Theatres all within minutes in Sydney. We ended up doing two more of those but it just blew my mind how quickly those sold out. It put everything into perspective of how fast everything is growing and where I want things to be. My goal is to keep building towards doing the same size shows that I’m doing in Australia everywhere around the world.” NKD

NKDMAG.COM