NKD Mag - Issue #39 (September 2014)

NKD NAKED MAGAZINE 4 - YELLOWCARD 10 - MIKE NARAN 12 - GREGG SULKIN 18 - THE WORD ALIVE 22 - PEYTON LIST 28 - TREVOR JACKSON 32 - BLEACHERS 38 - WONDERFUL HUMANS 40 - THE MADDEN BROTHERS 50 - NICK SANTINO 54 - TYLER HILTON 58 - ALEX FLORES 60 - RIXTON

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YELLOWCARD Words by ALEX LANE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Go big or go home seems to be the motto of the rebirthed Yellowcard.

The band, which had their genesis in Jacksonville, Fla. in 1997, has come a long way in 17 years.

They have experienced the influence of 13 different members — all at different times — created 11 studio albums and performed literally thousands of shows.

Their first record Midget Tossing (1997) was an exhibition of the inspiration various bands in the hardcore punk scene. Where We Stand (1999) brought with it a change in lineup and an inevitable change of sound for the group. Because of the drastic shift in the direction, they also lost a lot of their initial fan base, and following this record they were essentially forced to start from the ground up. Then in 2001, the group released One For The Kids, their third studio album, which built on the sound of their previous release with more NKDMAG.COM

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experimentation into lyrics and melody.

But the group that started out as something fun among friends in the ’90s rose to stardom seemingly overnight with the release of their fourth studio album — and their first record after signing with Capitol Records — Ocean Avenue (2003).

Now, exactly 10 years later, they’re a headlining act on the 2014 Vans Warped Tour. The band realizes how lucky they are to have come so far, and still be doing what they love after all these years. They started this year paying homage to their Ocean Avenue roots by playing the second half of their 10 year anniversary tour to smaller markets that they hadn’t hit on the first round of shows.

“The tour that we did to do the 10 year anniversary thing was super successful and a lot of fun,” says lead guitarist Ryan Mendez.

“We made an acoustic version of the record [Ocean Avenue], and we rerecorded the entire thing acoustic front to back. Then on the tour, we played the whole thing, acoustic, front to back.”

But that’s not all. The guys have also been busy writing and recording a new record, which is due out later this year. Lift a Sail, is set to be released Oct. 7, and Ryan says that it sounds epic. Humbly, he says, if he had to describe it, he would call it ‘anthemic Coldplay,’ which in reality in no small comparison. But he adds that it is noticeably different from previous releases, or what people may expect from the band.

“We said, if we want to do it, let’s just do it no matter what it sounds like,” Ryan says. “So the end result is something that I think is drastically bigger sounding than anything the band has ever done.

The whole thing is much bigger.

I’ve been telling people, ‘it sounds 6

weird, but it is simultaneously the heaviest and most mellow record the band has ever made.’ We tuned down lower for this record … We just wanted to have fun and write stuff that was big and energetic.”

Big and energetic seems to be a major theme for the band since their hiatus a few years back. In 2008, after 10 years of playing together, the band took a break from the road and the group to focus on personal lives, side projects and family. They called it an “indefinite hiatus” at the time, but it only lasted two years before the guys got back together.

When they announced their reunion in 2010, old fans rejoiced, but the guys knew they had their work cut out for them.

Since their return, Ryan says, they really haven’t stopped.

In 2011, they spent 10 months on the road touring 30 different countries. They also released an album, headlined European and American tours and began writing for a new release.

Between 2012 and 2013, they toured, wrote and recorded, without really coming up for air.

“We’ve just been everywhere,” says Ryan. “Because there’s so much music, there’s so many bands, you just have to do it to be recognized. And maybe if we hadn’t taken a break we wouldn’t have to do that, but we are basically starting over. “ But the guys have taken it in stride. In the past four years alone, they will have recorded five (yes, five) full-length studio albums: When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes (2011), an acoustic version of that album, Southern Air (2012), an acoustic version of Ocean Avenue and Lift a Sail.

After so much creative work, and making albums that fit into the expected sound of the group, it makes sense that Yellowcard were NKDMAG.COM

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ready to get out of the box.

Ryan says that when they started the songwriting process for their forthcoming album, they did not hold back. They were thinking, “Lets explore the studio space a little bit,” he says. “The stuff that really interests us musically. Its time for us to just go full-force, and just do what we want to do.

And that’s basically what we did.”

What resulted was an album that has big guitars with bigger drums and sits at the low-end of the register, says Ryan. He says that it should be exciting for new fans and people that have stuck with the band through its many changes, because it feels and sounds so big, but still has some of the string elements that make Yellowcard, Yellowcard.

As for how the band feels about the record, well, the guys are pleased, to say the least. The sound is something different, and they expect that fans will be surprised.

“Honestly I’m excited for them to hear the record,” he says. “I think that it’s different enough that people are going to be taken aback by it.”

If the label’s reaction is any indication, fans are in for a treat. Ryan says that the record executives that work with the band have been having trouble choosing a song to release as the album’s single, which the guys are taking as a good sign that there are just too many contenders.

Over the years, the band has kept upping the ante for what their listeners should expect from their albums. Ryan says that it is the diversity and the consistency that keeps old fans coming back and intrigues new fans. The evolution of sound that is evident from record to record, and the quality of each song on each album makes Yellowcard one group that keeps people coming back.

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He says that now, the guys will look out into the crowd at their shows and see that kids that were listening to their music back in the early 2000s are mostly all grown up. But they are still at their shows alongside new faces of young teens that are discovering the band for the first time. Knowing that their music is reaching a wide demographic demonstrates that they are doing something right, he says.

In most sports, a yellow card is a penalty card shown after a foul or infraction. It can also be a serious warning or indication of something bad. In high school, the guys had adopted the phrase as a joke at parties in high school for a “party foul.”

Although it has its own negative connotations, the name has provided a good life for the band members. While the band has evolved into something that none of the guys could have predicted, the longevity and continued popularity of Yellowcard indicates that their future is bright.

For now though, Ryan says that the guys are focused on performing amazing shows, releasing this “epic” new album and taking a much needed break. But don’t be alarmed, its really just a twomonth rest from constant touring and recording so the guys can relax and reflect on the past few years and grow the Yellowcard family with the addition of violinist Sean Mackin’s baby later this month.

The band will go on a headlining tour this fall, take Christmas off and get back to work in the new year. Expect to see Yellowcard headlining more tours, writing and recording and surprising with the evolution of their sound. With the proven track record of this band, there is truly no telling where the next decade will bring this group.

But one thing is for certain: it is bound to be big. NKD

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mike naran Words by SHINA PATEL Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

By the time he was in eighth grade, Connecticut native Mike Naran knew how to play the bass, drums and guitar. The spark that started the fire happened when he was in fifth grade and his neighbor brought home a drum set. He was immediately enticed and knew he wanted to play. He took drum lessons for a few years and then became 10

interested in bass and then eventually guitar. While in eighth grade, Mike started playing in his first band. It was a three-piece punk rock band that he and his friends modeled after Green Day. It was around this time that Mike realized that he wanted to make music for the rest of his life. He knew that it was more than just a hobby; he wanted it to be

his career. “Once I got a taste of playing live and playing shows and feeling that energy I realized that’s what I wanted to be in life,” Mike says.

In 2010, Mike joined Sparks The Rescue, an alternative rock band that formed in 2005. When original guitarist, Patrick O’Connell left the band, Mike jumped in. During Mike’s time with STR, they released

a full-length album, Worst Thing I’ve Been Cursed With (2011), and a selftitled EP in August of 2012. When he first joined the band, STR was signed to Fearless Records. But in December of 2011, the band was released from their contract with Fearless because of they lost crucial members.

In December of 2012, Mike parted ways with STR in pursuit of something else: a solo career. He had always wanted to do something on his own and realized STR was a stepping-stone for him to get there.

He grew tired of the same old pattern and decided he needed to branch

out. Although he didn’t immediately get to work on his solo album, Mike didn’t stop playing music. He played bass for The Ready Set in the spring of 2013, and it was during his time on the road that Mike was able to write songs for his upcoming EP. After touring with The Ready Set, Mike was finally able to get some momentum going and started recording with the help of his friend Jon Wyman.

Later that fall he joined Breathe Carolina on the Feel This Tour.

“As it Seems,” Mike’s first single as a solo artist was released in February of 2014, and he released the full EP, Here, Now. in April. Although he had a handful of songs recorded, he picked the four that he felt would represent this new chapter in his life the best. “It’s been going pretty well.

It’s getting some good traction,” Mike says about the response to the EP. The music video for “As it Seems” caught the attention of the retail store Journey’s and will be played in their stores nationwide for the entire month of September.

With the help of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, artists like Mike are able to spread the word about their music more easily. It allows him to connect with people around the country and share his music on a level that wouldn’t be possible without streaming sites such as SoundCloud or Spotify. On Twitter he has seen many fans make requests for him to come back and play in their city, and it’s reassuring for him because he hasn’t had the chance to tour with his solo work yet. But he now knows people want to come out and see him play his own music — not just play guitar for whoever needs a fill-in. Social networking sites allow him to market himself in an attempt to spread the word about his new music and get more people interested in what he’s doing. Over the summer he would go out to the Warped Tour line and try to get people to buy his EP. “Even if

they don’t buy the CD but they take my name down that’s still really cool.

They’re going to go home and look me up and find my music,” he says.

When making new music, Mike first handles the notes and chord progressions. He states that he always starts out alone with his acoustic guitar. He gets a few notes going and then starts playing a chord progression all while humming different melodies over it. As for the lyrics, which many people assume are usually written first, Mike plays around with different words that go with the melodies and somehow in all of this he is able to find lyrics that can work for possible songs.

“I’d like to say it’s a pretty natural way of doing it,” Mike says. “I know a lot of people write lyrics first and then apply music to it, but I grew up playing guitar, so that’s just kind of the way I know how to do it.”

For many musicians, writing lyrics is a way of expressing their emotions or what they are going through at the time. The same thing happens for Mike, but he doesn’t even realize it. He’ll write down whatever comes to mind as he’s making music, and it isn’t until he puts it all together that he realizes that the song and the lyrics he sporadically wrote were helping him deal with whatever he was going through at the time. “It all comes from stuff I am dealing with that I guess I’m not fully aware of,” he says.

This fall, Mike has some time off and will be using it make more music. He plans to play a few solo shows on the East Coast and release some songs for his fans. Mike hopes to build this solo career to its full potential and center his career on it.

He is very grateful for the opportunities he has been given to play with other bands, but now he wants to see where he can go with his own music.

“I just want to get it to the point where I can do it full time,” Mike says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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GREGG SULKIN Words by STACY MAGALLON Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Actor Gregg Sulkin never dreamed about being in front of a camera. He wanted to be a football player, but I think he is content with how his life panned out.

On the bottom floor of a Starbucks located beneath the Empire State Building, Gregg is dressed to impress: He wears a baby blue button-down shirt and a black suit — but I’m distracted by him cheekily eyeing my pastry bag from across the table. “What’ve you got in there?” he asks me, smirking. His fingers creep through the opening of the wax paper before he grins at a muffin.

After a photo-op 90 stories above

ground to promote his new MTV show, Faking It, and new film, Affluenza, Gregg might be a little hungry. But I think he wants a pastry of his own.

Gregg was born in London and attended the Highgate School in North London. His mom lured him into his first acting audition.

“She told me that if I went to the audition, she would never tell me to do anything ever again,” Gregg says, laughing. To his surprise, he landed the lead role in British comedy-drama, Sixty Six. He was only 10 years old at the time. But did his mom continue to tell him what to do? Gregg exhales quietly before answering, “Yup.”

By the time he was 13 Gregg made a choice. “I really wanted to play football, but I ended up sticking with the acting industry,” he says. “I was no good in school, so that was the only other option I had.”

Gregg moved to California with his mother when he was 17 to star in Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place. She left him to fend for himself a year later, when she was certain he wouldn’t cause much mischief. “You have no fear of anything when you’re young,” Gregg says, though settling down in Los Angeles alone was initially intimidating. He had been working in the entertainment indusNKDMAG.COM

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try for three years, but acting in another country was a whole other realm he had never dipped his feet into. Gregg was working in a different market with different people and didn’t know if the industries were similar. But he pushed on anyway. “I think throwing yourself in the deep end and learning from experience is a huge part of growing up,” he says.

With a hit show on MTV and Affluenza debuting this summer, it’s safe to say Gregg has done his fair share of growing up.

Affluenza was filmed two years ago in Great Neck, N.Y. The film focuses on the lives of young, privileged teenagers during the summer of 2008. Gregg plays Dylan Carson, a character similar to that of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

“Dylan throws amazing parties, lives in a mansion and has everything at the tip of his fingers, except love,” Gregg says. Though Dylan is witty and playful, he discovers secrets about himself that are much darker than most thought. After a financial crisis hits, the teenagers are forced to realize that their lives are an illusion, not a reality.

Gregg has been fortunate enough to play a variety of characters — a werewolf, a robot and even a guy intrigued by lesbians.

“Even in the projects I tackle, I love comedies and I love dramas,” he says. “I’m a Gemini, so I like change.”

Faking It premiered in April of 2014. The comedy focuses on best friends Karma Ashcroft (Katie Stevens) and Amy Raudenfeld (Rita Volk). After the pair are invited to Shane Harvey’s (Michael Willett) party, they are accidentally outed as Hester High’s first openly lesbian couple. The best friends gain popularity, and KarNKDMAG.COM

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ma finds herself earning the attention of Gregg Sulkin’s character, Liam Booker. With MTV making a transition from a network solely based on music to a network with scripted shows, Gregg finds his current involvement to be great timing. “MTV is more open than more channels. They like to take risks,” Gregg says. “No other network would have picked up a show about two lesbians.”

Faking It writer Carter Covington and Gregg have a similar goal: to create an enjoyable show with relatable characters. Fans have reacted well on social media, especially towards the message of the show. “It’s not our place to tell our audience to accept the gay community,” Gregg says. “But it’s cool to be tolerant, especially in high school, and that’s what I want them to take from the show.”

Gregg has noticed a trend in our generation. As of recently, it’s become trendy to be open-minded, though it shouldn’t be. He believes it should be seen as a more common thing. “Our society is ignorant,” Gregg says. “I think it’s important for kids to see that it’s okay to be different and to accept people for who they are.”

As an actor, you should like your character, especially when you’re on television. Gregg portrays Liam, a popular aspiring artist at Hester High School. And he likes it. “I can be creative with a character like Liam,” he says. “I can also bring a lot of myself into this character. I probably have the most depth among the rest of the characters on the show.” Gregg is specifically eager to watch Liam’s friendship with Shane grow. His character and Shane have opposing sexual orientations — a dynamic rarely seen on television.

Gregg wants his viewers to realize two opposites can still be best 16

friends and have their relationship be completely normal. “You’re also going to see a more comedic sign of Liam,” he says. “There’s potential in him to move and change and grow as humans do.”

The eight-episode first season was a success. Their second season is set to premiere on September 23, 2014.

With his most recent acting endeavor screening on a major network, Gregg can’t deny how imperative social media is. “I love interacting with fans daily, and I love receiving instant feedback,” Gregg says. “But if you’re tweeting while you’re watching the show, you’re missing something crucial or hilarious on screen that helps develop the story.” There are pros and cons to the digital age, but Gregg likes to appreciate the moments without it. “Enjoying life is all about being present and accepting people in that moment,” Gregg says. He brings me back to a time in Peru two years ago. He didn’t have a phone on him the entire time. He still reflects on it as the best time in his life.

Gregg most recently wrapped up an upcoming British thriller titled Don’t Hang Up, which stars Garrett Clayton, Sienna Guillory and Bella Dayne. Don’t Hang Up follows the evening of Sam Fuller (Gregg) and Brady Manion (Garrett) and the drunken prank calls they make, which have deadly results. “It’s pretty scary,” Gregg says, grinning. “Lots of blood.” He laughs when I tell him I’ll be too afraid to watch it.

At only 22, Gregg keeps his goal simple. He wants to accomplish things that fulfill and challenge him. “I want to look back and not regret anything I’ve done in my career,” he says then pauses. “But I also want to be a superhero. And a villain.” NKD

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the word 18

Since forming in 2008, The Word Alive has consistently delivered only the very best to their fans. Their latest release, Real., is no exception.

Those who attended this year’s Vans Warped Tour were able to experience the new songs in a live setting, and those who missed it can catch the band on tour in the United States this November/December. 2014 will end up being one of The Word Alive’s busiest, but they’re used to going non-stop at this point.

We’re going to start with a brief history of the band, from when you started to this point.

Tyler “Telle” Smith: The Word Alive formed in 2008. We have since released one EP and we just released our third full-length, Real. We’ve been touring eight to 10 months out of the year, every year, since 2008.

Had a few member changes along the way, but we’ve had the same lineup now for almost two and a half years.

We’re on our third Warped Tour and trying to make this record our biggest and best one.

alive

Words by SHINA PATEL // Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

What was it like working with John Feldmann, someone who has a lot of experience with the hardcore scene but more recently has been praised for his pop work?

TS: We did two songs with Feldmann.

I think it’s probably even the other way around. With the exception of probably that first The Used record, I think most of the stuff he’s done has been in the rock radio world up until recently, where he’s started to work with bands like D.R.U.G.S., Attack Attack!, We Came As Romans. I think he’s starting to branch into this world and it was awesome working with him. He knows so much about what makes a great song, and I think he brings that, whether you want to call it pop, rock, radio whatever. I think that mentality of something bigger — he brings it in and uses the underNKDMAG.COM

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ground emotion that is in the genre, and he blends them really well. We recorded the majority of the record with Cameron Mizell in Phoenix, Ariz. He’s done Sleeping with Sirens, Memphis May Fire, I See Stars, and we had a great time with him as well.

What’s it like working with different producers for one record? Is it weird?

TS: No, I mean they’re in different locations, so it’s not like one guy is leaving out the door and the other one is coming in. But I think what was awesome about working with these guys was that they were just stoked to be a part of our record. For a band I think it’s smart to potentially step outside the box and work with multiple people because I think that’s how you can have a really diverse record. It was cool.

Going into this record, what did you want to get out of it?

Did you have any specific goals for what you wanted it sound like?

TS: I just wanted it to sound diverse. I wanted it to be a record that whether you liked Empire, Deceiver, Life Cycles or all of them, that you would like this record as well. We also wanted to gain some new fans by maybe reaching further outside the box that some people are trying to put us in. We don’t like being labeled very much. We’re not a metal-core band. We’re not a rock band. We’re not a pop band. We’re not a hardcore band. It’s like we have mixtures of so many things, and I think that’s what makes our band unique.

How does having all those different things mixed in benefit you guys when it comes to touring?

TS: I think a couple ways. I think one, it opens up the door to do different kinds of tours instead of touring with the same bands over and over 20

again. I also think it makes for a more refreshing show. When you see us, every song isn’t about jumping or moshing. There are songs where you just put your hands in the air, clap, sing along and crowd surf with your friends. I think having a diverse list of songs in our catalog has made us have more entertaining and memorable sets.

How did you push yourselves when creating this new record?

TS: I mean, we know what we’re capable of, and we know the standard we want to be known for having. We just made sure that all the songs were songs that we were really actually content with on every level. We’ve had to rush in times in the past, and we might have been content in the moment, but afterwards we’re like, ‘Oh man, I wish we would have done that.’ With this record, there really wasn’t any of that. We spent our time with each song and made sure it was good for the long haul.

So, you were able to sit with the songs after for a while?

TS: Yeah, we started recording August of 2013 and the record was not done until February or March. And we had started writing the record in December of 2012. From December 2012 until February 2014 is when we had most of the songs in the record.

It was a long time to develop things.

How did some of the songs change over time?

TS: Sometimes it was as simple as making a drum part different, which changes the guitars and what you’re playing. Sometimes it would be adding in more auxiliary instruments, different programming or different background noise. Sometimes I would change a whole vocal part. You know maybe it was screaming before and now it’s singing. We were able to just produce songs a little bit more.

And since you are on tour eight to 10 months of the year, how does your creative process work? Are you constantly writing on the road, or do you have to wait until you get home to put things together?

TS: We wrote most of the record on the road. For us, it’s just become how we write. We know that we don’t want to spend the few months after tour writing and being locked in a room.

So we utilize the time on the road as best as we can.

When you are home do you feel it takes you a while to get back in the swing of being home?

TS: No, the moment I step off that plane and get into my car, my girlfriend picks me up from the airport, I am in home mode. It’s a split second. It’s the same for everyone in the band. We’re normal dudes. It’s not like we’re on tour and living like we’re these big rock stars and then we get home and become normal dudes.

We’re the same way on and off tour. I think that probably helps ,too.

You said this was your third Warped Tour. What do you think it is about Warped Tour that really pushes a band either to be better or pushes them into new fans and things like that?

TS: Well, it’s definitely a harder tour.

It’s really grueling. The schedule is long, especially for someone like me.

I do press, our band does signings every day, teach a Band Happy class, guest vocals with Breathe Carolina, play our set, and leave in time for catering and all the other things that come about from Warped Tour.

It can be a really exhausting day. I think it just builds up your endurance for what you do. At the same time, Warped is very diverse. You never know when your favorite band is going to play so you have to show up

in the morning as if they might play first. And then throughout the day you can check out new bands, and as artists we understand there are a lot of kids who might be walking by or maybe they’re waiting for the band after us so we just try and put on the best show we can. That’s how you gain new fans.

Let’s talk about Band Happy.

What was appealing to you about this organization?

TS: I’ve been doing Band Happy for about a year now. Luke, our drummer, was one of the first people involved in it. He’s really good friends with Matt Halpern ,who started it. It’s cool because it’s just a way for us to give back. People ask me all the time online and on Twitter. I can’t explain how to sing and scream in 140 characters or less. A lot of it has to be hands on and it takes time. There’s no magic formula that you can read online and become a great front man or guitarist. It doesn’t work like that.

Music is a very hands on thing. It was appealing to me because it was a way for me to interact with those fans who really do want to learn and appreciate what I do. And then hopefully I give something to them that they can use to be the next generation that does this.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of this process?

TS: Just what I said of hopefully I’m helping the next generation who wants to do this as well.

What are some of your specific goals for this new record?

TS: I want this record to connect with the most people it possibly can.

I want to play to more people and hopefully when I go out on the stage and sing those new songs hopefully more and more people are singing along to them. That’s just what I want — for everyone to come and have a good time and enjoy it. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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PEYTON LIST Words by TARA DEVINCENZO Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Talking to Peyton, you can tell that she’s anything but wimpy. The young Disney starlet has a budding IMDB page already, and although she is just a 16, when she’s off camera it seems as though her age is just an act.

She is very aware of where she has been, who she is and where she wants to go - even if that path is not clearly cut.

Currently known for role as Emma on Disney Channel’s Jessie, Peyton started off as many of the ambitious Disney Channel kids have. She had been in front of the camera since age 2 as a model, and when she moved to New York at 4, she added acting into the mix. While she was still in the single digits, Peyton appeared in various commercials and ads. She was then confronted with the question from her mother: “Do you really want to do this?”

“It was fun for a little bit, and she didn’t want to be one of those moms who forced me to do what I didn’t want to do,” says Peyton, “But I loved it. I NKDMAG.COM

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wanted to keep going with it.”

Peyton’s plunged into her career right away. She became familiar with movie sets, having had small roles in blockbusters as big as Spider-Man 2 and 27 Dresses, but her name gained attention when she was brought on the set of the sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. At age 11, Peyton packed up and headed to Vancouver, Canada. She walked into a new city and onto a new set feeling nervous about working herself into an already existing cast family.

“The first time I met them we were doing roller skating rehearsals, which was actually one of the best ways to meet people,” Peyton says.

As she was literally falling down and having the other members of the cast help her back up, she began building a solid relationships with co-stars as well as cementing the foundation to her acting career.

After Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was released, Peyton left the movie set and brief home in Vancouver for Los Angeles once again to start filming Jessie. She had achieved a major role in a big-screen film, but she also created a friendship that she would take with her not only for the next few years, but on her next set. Her and Diary of a Wimpy Kid co-star Karan Brar both signed on to play adopted siblings for the next four years as Emma and Ravi on Jessie.

Physically back where she started, Peyton had returned to L.A. as a much more refined and recognizable actress.

After the first season on Jessie, Peyton learned just how much she underestimated her recognition. “You really have no idea until it happens,” she says. The show’s popularity and multi-cultural cast has caused it to spread to countries, from France to Brazil, all dubbing over her voice but leaving her to always be recognized as Emma. “It’s so cool that people all around the world watch the show, it’s crazy.”

Just as Peyton is talking about growing up while on the show, she’s 24

informed that there are young fans waiting to meet her. Peyton is so accustomed to being one of the oldest people in the room that its easy to forget she doesn’t even have her license yet. She has done a lot of growing up while shooting three seasons on the set of Jessie. Like her character Emma, she goes through a lot of stages in those short couple of years and becomes a much deeper character than what’s seen on the surface.

Peyton had her eyes set on Disney Channel as a young fan but wasn’t sure she’d end up there. She worked on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit before becoming Emma and thought that a more serious path might be the one she would follow. On her upcoming movie The Outskirts, she finds a middle ground between the family-friendly Jessie and the hard-hitting Law & Order.

In the film, which brought her back to New York, Peyton switches from the older, nice girl Emma to the younger mean girl Mackenzie. Though she wasn’t a stranger to the movie set anymore, she found it a different to work on a set where she was the youngest of the cast. Working alongside Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice and The Middle star Eden Sher, Peyton gained a whole new experience of her career and set a few goals for herself. “I tried so hard to remember everyone’s names,” she says.

“It’s so important to know everyone and what they do. There’s so much that goes into it, like the lighting and camera, so it was sort of just treating everyone with respect, which I think is really important.”

Peyton did a lot of growing up on Jessie, and finds the high school setting of The Outskirts is just as relatable to this step in her life as Jessie was while she was just breaking into her teenage years. “We can all connect to the movie somehow,” she says.

The Outskirts is in post-production, and Jessie just began filming its fourth and final season, leaving Peyton with a wide open road of opportunities in

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front of her.

“I don’t know if I’m going to go into more TV or more film,” she says. Between season one and two of Jessie she filmed Wimpy Kid, before season three she filmed a Lifetime movie called A Sister’s Nightmare, and after finishing The Outskirts, she’s due for another movie when Jessie wraps up with the series finale.

However, she’s not giving up on Emma until it’s all over. On Aug. 4, she ended filming the The Outskirts, and on Aug. 11, she was on the set of Jessie ready to fully dive back into Emma.

With the writers of Jessie open to ideas, Peyton has high hopes for Emma. “I kind of want her to get an internship at a magazine or be working in the fashion industry a little more,” she says.

As Emma braces for more mature decisions, the show as a whole is gearing toward its fans understanding the process of growing up and accepting change. With Jessie moving on to getting married, the entire dynamics of the show have shifted and Disney is taking all the precautions for the audience to mature with them.

“We’re sort of dealing with our own problems,” Peyton says. “The kids are getting older, they’re able to care for themselves more.” The show as a whole is working on winding down as it heads toward the 100-episode mark and Jessie’s big wedding. “It’s kind of cool that we have been on for so long and we’ve grown up with some of the kids.”

Just as the show is maturing, so is Peyton. Her career has gone from roles that didn’t show up on credit reels to the top-billed cast with an army of fans that calls themselves “Peytonators.”

After the finale of Jessie, Peyton will continue to keep reaching for the next stage in her life, and keeping an eye on what she has learned and where she has been since. The next phase in her life will be on screen, but whether that be another series or another movie, she can’t say definitively. “Wherever it takes me, whatever script I read that I’m really attached to,” she says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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trevor jackson Words by JOSEPHINE TSE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

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“Do you ever find time to be a normal, 18-year-old boy?”

He pauses. “Yeah. When I’m sleeping,” he says, laughing.

Right off the bat, Trevor Jackson is not your average 18-year-old.

Born in Indianapolis, he has been playing basketball and tap dancing since he was 3. In his early teen years, he started to incorporate acting with his dance routines and joined a local show called Beef and Boards Christmas Show for two months before moving on to The Lion King on Broadway for three years. “In general, entertainment is what I love to do. So many people were smiling at me as I moved on stage, smiling at what I love to do... what better way to be happy, you know?”

After a taste of Broadway, Trevor moved to the small screen. He appeared in popular shows like Cold Case, Harry’s Law and Syfy’s Eureka.

However, he still felt like something was missing, so he met with labels and signed with Atlantic Records. “Music is

a part of who I am. I will never be able to let it go,” Trevor says. He recently released an EP called “#NewThang” and continues to promote his single “Drop It” featuring B.0.B. His newest single, “Me Likey,” has hit the Internet just in time for his Who Else But Us tour. But of course, this is just the beginning of his music career.

When asked why he decided to sign with Atlantic Records, he stresses the importance of common goals. “I signed with Atlantic because we share the same vision. My mother and I created it: ‘World domination for admiration, with admiration comes inspiration, with inspiration comes a whole new nation,’” he says. “When people start to recognize you, they will start to admire you, too. Then they become inspired by you. And then whatever you do, when someone is inspired, they change their ways for the better. My goal is to do the best and influence as many lives as I can by being a good role model and making the right decisions.”

At only 18, Trevor already has a NKDMAG.COM

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grasp on his creative process and works.

“Creativity is the greatest gift. It’s never planned, it just comes and those are the most special moments,” he says. For the past few years, Trevor has been drawing inspiration from Hunter Hayes, Rascal Flatts, Michael Jackson, Tank and Usher. He enjoys all genres but is very passionate about country music.

Trevor’s interest in country music is very interesting, as a lot of R&B artists are collaborating with country stars now. He describes his love for good music is what bought his love for country music. He views country and R&B as the same. “They’ve got the same amount of soul and they’re both lyrically beautiful genres. It’s incredibly good music.” Although Trevor has not collaborated with any country artists yet, he hopes to work with Hunter Hayes in the future. “I respect Hunter because he’s so musically talented. It was the first time I listened to an album without skipping any songs because he sings with so much soul and the lyrical content was amazing.”

In regards to his writing process, Trevor believes he has the gift of putting himself in other people’s shoes.

“I’m one of those people who, even if I don’t go through anything personally, can relate easily to others,” he says. During his writing sessions, he tries figuring out the tone of his song first. He believes that having an acting background can really help a person immerse themselves in different characters and aid the writing process.

Working with B.o.B. was an incredibly rewarding experience for Trevor, and he was inspired by how confident he was. “It was dope, man. He’s a super talented guy,” he says. “B.o.B. was so laidback, chill and comfortable with himself. I respect that a lot. A lot of people do what everyone else wants them to do, but he knows he has to live his life the way he wants it to be.”

However, not every artist finds it easy to fight off the peer pressure. Trevor agrees that it is quite difficult but still believes that it is important to stay 30

away from it. “If you’re going to fall, you rather fall on your own terms and not have someone to blame”, he says.

“It’s important to fight until the end.”

After years of hard work and writing, Trevor will release his debut album later this year. “They’ve been saying that the album will be out next year for the last four years, but, finally, it’s actually coming out,” he exclaims excitedly.

He describes the songs as timeless and songs that all ages can relate to. Fans can also expect some surprise collaborations and truly “feel-good” melodies that bring different elements to the table.

Outside of his own music, Trevor is really looking forward to meeting new artists and eventually being able to sign them to a record label of his own. “I feel like it’s about what music can do for everyone else, not just myself. But right now, I want to do me, and if that helps anybody, then great. But I still have a lot to learn and eventually, I want to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation and help them achieve their goals,” he says.

Although music is still his top priority, he plans to continue pursuing an acting career. “As long as it fits into my schedule and I can express myself through musically related performances, then I’m down,” he says.

After his album release, Trevor still won’t be taking a break. Following his current tour and starting work on his second album, Trevor still has more touring plans for the upcoming months.

“I want to open up for a country artist or vice versa, that way I don’t disown the crowd. I don’t want fans to feel left out at concerts and mixing genres will leave fans with the best of both worlds.

I’m really trying to end the whole ‘genre divide’ and focus on making good music,” he says, adding that he would like to open for Drake or Lil Wayne at some point. “I know rock fans that think hiphop sucks, or pop fans that don’t give country a chance,” he explains. “I’m just a fan of good music, regardless of the genre.” NKD

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BLEACHERS

Words and Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

“I see it as having two kids or something,” Jack Antonoff says of his recent musical endeavors. After a highly successful album cycle with Some Nights, Jack and his fun. band mates took a much needed break. But for Jack, a break from fun. meant pursuing Bleachers — a project that started brewing about two years ago. Now, a few weeks after Bleachers’ debut album Strange Desire was released via RCA Records, I sit with Jack in his greenroom about an hour before the band plays their first show in Philadelphia. His hands are covered in fresh Sharpie doodles and as a result avoids shaking my hand — going straight for a hug. His attire is perfectly Brook-

lyn, though there’s no trace of a pompous, hipster attitude when he speaks. Jack is quite delightful, much like Bleachers’ songs.

To the world, Bleachers has only been on the radar since March when their first single “I Wanna Get Better” took over the blog world and climbed the iTunes charts. But to Jack, the songs started forming two summers ago in the back of fun.’s tour bus.

“We were on our world tour and I just started writing a lot, which is weird because when I’m on tour that part of my brain usually dies,” Jack says. He continued writing when he got home and eventually the songs began to morph into an

album. “Writing to write songs is one thing, but an album is a whole moment you’re defining in your life,” he says.

Jack knew instantly that these songs were not fun. songs. “I have three folders on my computer — fun., Bleachers and Other,” he says, “Whenever I work on something, whether it’s just a drum beat or a lyric, I just know what it is.” After about six months of writing for Bleachers, Jack knew he was creating a full album and decided he was going to release these songs to the world. “You don’t make albums to listen to alone in your room. You make albums to share with people and NKDMAG.COM

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to have some sort of emotional impact,” he says.

Once Jack had his mind set on releasing a record, the songs were coming out regardless of any outside party involvement. “Deciding that you’re going to put out an album, and figuring out who’s going to put out that album are very separate thoughts,” Jack says. “The primal need to share music and the channel in which you share it are separate.” RCA Records signed Bleachers after hearing only three of the original demos and, artistically, had the same vision as Jack.

The shift from making Strange Desire to putting it out was an exciting process for Jack. “When you make an album, you have all the control in the world. When you put out an album, you lose all of the control. It just exists and everyone has the control of how they’re interpreting it,” he says. “I Wanna Get Better” had a huge impression on people and was quickly being shared all over social media. “Seeing it have an impact meant a lot to me, because if I didn’t want anyone to hear [these songs] I would have pressed five vinyl and given them to my friends,” he says.

When “I Wanna Get Better” was released, the rest of Strange Desire was already complete. In Jack’s mind, it had to be. “I see the first single as the front door to an album. It needed to be done,” he says. He says he would never put a single out before a record was finished, and it confuses him when people do. “I see that as like inviting someone to your wedding and not knowing who you’re marrying,” Jack says. For Jack, “I Wanna Get Better” was an obvious choice for the first single because it touches on all the things that are important about Strange Desire.

“The bombastic feel mixed with 34

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very dark lyrics is a big theme.

There’s the theme of all that darkness being wrapped into a message of hope. The chorus is for everyone but the verses read like a diary,” he says of the song.

The release of Strange Desire has brought a sense of relief to Jack. “It’s an end and a beginning,” he says. The record has been done for a while and Jack has consistently been working since, but whether or not he’s working on a new Bleachers album yet isn’t a question he knows the answer to.

“Those pieces are going to fall into place eventually,” he says.

Jack is a big fan of letting things happen naturally, which is why Bleachers came to life when it did. After an incredibly hectic few years with fun., a vacation would not have been looked down upon.

But it didn’t work out like that for Jack. “You can’t decide when you’re going to be inspired, you have to just follow it,” he says, “When you’re laying in bed and you have an idea you get up and sing it into your phone – you don’t go to sleep and hope you’ll remember it in the morning because you won’t. That’s a smaller version of what the past two years have been like.” He doesn’t consider himself a workaholic, but is rather just “obsessed with not losing inspiration when it comes.”

A reoccurring inspiration for Jack is reflection and moving on — both are key themes in Strange Desire. “I experienced a lot of loss when I was like 18, and I’m 30 now, so I feel like I’m constantly writing about that from this lens,” he says. Musically, he’s drawing inspiration from the ’80s-early-’90s as well as the future. “I wanted the push and pull of that; the nostalgic anchors from the ’80s and ’90s — almost like drawing a line and getting people to cross it because

they feel safe — but then when they cross it have all the really futuristic, odd things happen,” he explains.

People are being drawn in — and on a mainstream level, no less.

Bleachers have already performed at various radio station events and on a handful of late night television shows. “These are the things you can’t control, so I didn’t expect this,” Jack says. Since the record is out and he can’t control how it is digested, Jack is switching his focus to the live show so fans get something special out of the upcoming fall tour. “Worrying and wondering what people are going to think is just time I could have spent making the show better or making better records,” he says.

This will be Bleachers’ first official tour, as they’ve only done one-offs and festival appearances so far, and that excites Jack. “The live show is not about recreating the album,” Jack says. He says songs are constantly changing and adapting to a stage setting, and he is using the album as a “jumping board” for how the songs come to life outside of the studio. Songs like “Reckless Love” are a little less upbeat on the record, but are extremely well received in the live shows.

Bleachers have only existed outside Jack’s world for about six months now, and Strange Desire has only been out for a few months, but the band has seamlessly found a place to exist in the music world. All Jack hopes for with this record is that it continues to reach new people and affect those who listen to it. “A record needs to have a whole life and exist for a while, so I just want it to have a full life. And all I can really do to make that happen is keep touring and stay focused on it,” Jack says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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wonderful hum Words by JORDAN MELENDREZ Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

What started as a classic boy-meets-girl, girl-meets-boy story has become a beautiful musical collaboration known as Wonderful Humans. Not only did the boy and girl both start in New Jersey, but they both grew up knowing music was their passion.

For Brian Cag, it started with gifts from his parents: a snare drum and an acoustic guitar. During his adolescence, Brian forgot about music, but when he was 13 years old, he fell in love all over again.

“I always wanted to be a guitarist in a band and I always want to play music and just kind of create and just kind of make 38

art,” the 24-year-old says.

For Amanda Carl, life was always about music from the time she could talk. She was in every high school plays, always singing and always songwriting. The 25-year-old says a friend from high school was a massive influence, and when she got to college she would write songs for other people. “But I never really focused on my own music at that time,” she admits.

“I just always felt like I belonged on stage, in a way,” Amanda says. “I always knew I wanted to pursue music. I just didn’t know which way to go.”

And then the two met in the fall of 2011.

After dating for a while, the two decided to take the next step: working on music together.

“I always knew she was a songwriter, and she knew I was as well, so it was kind of a big and scary step toward our relationship to start writing together,” Brian says. “Then we wrote the song ‘Edge of the Night,’ and that kind of sparked an interest in having an artistic side of the project and having sort of a sound.

“I think that is what drew us in closer, kind of like ‘Woah, maybe we can actually

mans do this,’” Brian continues.

“Edge of the Night” sounds like the background music for a movie like Nightrider or Drive, with a cinematic, ’80s vibe, and Brian says when he listens to the song, he pictures a guy and a girl driving in a convertible on a little road on a cliff in California. The stars are out, and the world is at their fingertips. “I want to take you to the edge of the night,” the song says, which Brian explains as slightly sexual, but also very freeing.

“I love when music makes you feel something as opposed to just you listening

to it and appreciating it for what it is. I love having visuals along with it,” Brian says, citing imagery as a major influence on his songwriting.

Even with concerns about the possible slippery slope of working together, both Brian and Amanda agree that there are more advantages than disadvantages to writing songs together. “It’s wonderfully freeing to work with somebody and not have to worry about hurting their feelings,” Brian says. “The honesty factor is good, and sometimes it sucks because you have to deal with the fact of someone telling you, ‘Yeah, that shit sucks. You can do better.’ And it’s so nice to hear that.”

It helps that Amanda is just as invested in the project, and she feels the same way about being honest when working with someone you know on an intimate level. “I know all the bands he listens to, he knows all the bands I listen to. He knows what my ear goes towards, I know what his ear goes towards,” she says, explaining how the two complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We do also have to balance it out, like when we are doing too much work or arguing over an idea that we have, or we just have to kind of take a step back and be like, ‘ok, well you’re my boyfriend, I’m your girlfriend first so I love you,” she adds, “which is good because you know, nothing is ever going to be perfect, so you have to just make it the best it is. And I think we have a good handle on that.”

Others seem to agree, given the positive feedback. The two released the song to friends, like Dylan Scott from the band Young Rising Suns, to see what kind of response they would receive before releasing music online.

When Dylan thought it was great, the two decided to pursue the project deeper and share the music they love with people that, hopefully, love it as well.

Amanda and Brian decided to reach out to some artists known for remixes, which yielded three completely different takes on “Edge of the Night.”

One version by T&A Brigade has a reggae-tropical feel. The second, which was released Aug. 5, was mixed by Daktyl, who took sounds from the song

to create his own take. And just a week after Daktyl’s remix, Wonderful Humans released another version by Clans, which Brian describes as having a more “ambient” sound. “I think remixes are such a cool idea,” Brian says. “It’s also a personal thing, too. I just love hearing someone else’s spin on my work.”

Amanda shares his love of hearing how the remix alters their voices and produces a disparate sound from the original version.

“What I love about remixes is that they just totally do exactly what they say they are going to do, and they make it their own,” she says.

“Collaboration is just something that I think is just so underrated,” Amanda adds. “It’s just a beautiful thing to get other people’s perspective and spin on everything.” And she hopes Wonderful Humans will continue working with other artists on future endeavors.

“I think it opens a whole new world of all new perspectives on what you’re working on,” she explains. “When you collaborate with somebody, you open up your soul to them. You just show them exactly what you have to offer and what you’re good at and what they’re good at.” While the two are discussing some possible live performances in September or October, Brian says, “We want to make sure everything is great before we even decide to do that or try that.”

“We’re just trying to see where the songs will go first,” he adds.

And so far, Brian and Amanda seem to be happy with where they are at and the trajectory of Wonderful Humans. “We, for so long, wanted to do our own thing and release something that we really like to listen to,” Amanda says. “I think this is exactly it, and we are very excited to put something into the world that we’re this proud of.”

Brian shares this sentiment, adding that sometimes people can get lost while they are working on a musical project. “People in general lose sight of the actual songwriting and the vision,” he explains, saying that occasionally people fall in love with the people behind a project rather than the music, art and vision. “I just hope that people identify with it as much as I do.”

“I’m in a very happy place right now, and just kind of creating stuff that I really want to,” he adds. “And I’m doing it with the person that I love.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

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THE MADDEN BROTHERS Words and Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

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Benji and Joel Madden have been creating music together for what feels like forever, most recognized for their band Good Charlotte, which has been active since 1996. But soon after Good Charlotte’s last record cycle for Cardiology (2010) came to a close, the twin brothers felt they needed to make a change musically. They began working on new songs and quickly realized these were not Good Charlotte songs.

So their new project — appropriately titled The Madden Brothers — was born.

I sit with the brothers in the Capitol Records lobby in New York about a month before The Madden Brothers’ debut record, Greetings From California, hits shelves on Sept. 16. The two are both sporting black vests and facial hair, but otherwise their individuality is obvious.

Joel is calm, leaning back in his chair and taking a few seconds before answering questions; Benji is excited, sitting on the edge of his seat and continually interrupting his brother. But when it comes to their new music they both agree: this feels right.

Writing for Greetings From California started in 2011 and “all felt very natural,” according to Benji. The two had been noticing that when they were writing the

past few Good Charlotte records, their favorite songs were songs that just didn’t fit the rest of the sound. They pushed a few to fit the vibe fans were used to, but most never made it past the demo stage. “There were some songs that we were trying to make fit the specificness of what Good Charlotte was, and that’s when we started wishing we could go all the way out there with it,” Joel says. People questioned why a new name was necessary, and the two feel that once people hear the record, they’ll get it. “As much as The Madden Brothers grew out of Good Charlotte, it’s important that everyone understands it’s also going to have to grow,” Joel says. “It’s going to take a while.”

While it is important to Benji and Joel that fans enjoy Greetings From California, they truly made this record for themselves.

The goal was always to release these songs, but they were going to write them even if no one else was going to hear them. “We didn’t know that Capital would sign us.

We didn’t know what it would become. It was a really organic thing that kept growing,” Joel says. “When you’re putting in that much time and you’re spending that much money, you’re willing to risk it just

for artistic reasons,” Benji adds, “but you also hope that you can get it out there and take it on the road.”

The Madden Brothers will be taking the songs off Greetings From California on the road soon enough. Right now they have an Australian tour scheduled and will be doing special appearance across the United States throughout the rest of 2014.

A full world tour will kick off in 2015.

Benji and Joel are eager to get in front of fans again – especially because they’ve been feeling a more positive reaction to The Madden Brothers songs than they did with Cardiology. While Twitter was around in 2010, it was not nearly as popular. So now, for the first time ever really, Benji and Joel are getting instant reactions to their music.

“There are bands that don’t know what it’s like to tour without tweeting or iPhones,” Benji says. “We used to go to the mall and pass out flyers for our shows.”

He notes how easy it is for bands to find a place to [sleep] or book a gig simply by tweeting. “Good Charlotte went to a global level around 2002, and imagine how many people would have known about us if social media was a part of that,” Benji says.

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When I ask what it would have been like to have social media at the highest point in their careers, they laugh. “We wouldn’t have been able to handle it,” Joel admits.

“It’s crazy to me how well these young bands handle it all,” Benji says.

“All these young artists have to keep this inhuman, ‘everything’s great’ mentality,” Joel adds. They both try to keep a line between what they’re sharing and what they’re keeping personal, because they think oversharing can take away from the magic. “If I meet someone in a coffee shop and we talk music or something, I think that’s a much better experience than being with me every day because I’m tweeting and Instagramming everything,” Benji says. Benji is the less active on social media platforms than Joel.

“I would love to see [social media] go to a more positive place, because I think it’s pretty mean,” Joel says. He says in general, the majority of things that people read and share on the Internet are negative, and the way people react to things online and in-person are drastically different. “Last night my wife and I saw a girl fall down and we were like ‘Yo, are you okay?’, but on social media people 44

would be like ‘Fuck you, you fell down’. No one is empathetic,” Joel says. He’s hoping that sooner rather than later there will be a trend of being nice to people on social media, much like what is starting to happen with music shows on television. “With shows like The Voice, people don’t want to see people get made fun of anymore,” he says.

While both brothers make a point to be positive on social media, how much they’re sharing differs from day-to-day.

“Sometimes I just need to share things, and other times I think I’m over sharing,” Benji says.

Joel’s goal is to share his “vibe,” but he also tries not to share photos of his family on platforms like Instagram or Twitter. “Whatever you don’t want people to take a shot at, don’t share,” Joel says. “But sometimes I’ll feel really in love and want to share it, because I think it’s important to put good vibes out there.”

Especially with Greetings From California, Benji and Joel feel as though they’re getting good vibes sent back to them via social media. “We definitely feel like people are really supportive of what we’re doing right now,” Benji says, and Joel

adds, “I think people are really hungry to hear real music again.” Computers and programs create the majority of pop music right now, but real humans play the songs on Greetings From California. “The songs are unique, we left imperfections in there because it just sounded right,” Joel says.

“Pop records used to be made in that way, in regards to The Beach Boys or The Beatles. They made records the way we made this record,” Benji adds.

The Madden Brothers didn’t know if their approach to this record would work or if it was too different than everything else. “We really do feel like we made a record that doesn’t sound like anything else that’s out right now,” Joel says. They know they didn’t make the “safe business choice,” necessarily, but they made the choice that felt right for them as artists.

They’re hopeful that pop music is on its way back to its roots, but at the moment they’re fighting the current a bit. “I feel like we’ve always tried to go left,” Benji admits.

They note that there are plenty of people trying to do what they’re doing right now, in the sense that big artists are beginning to make artistic decisions rather than business decisions.

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While the sound of The Madden Brothers is much different than Good Charlotte, Benji and Joel do not feel as though they’re completely starting from scratch. “I feel like we’re starting over in a sense, but we definitely have a really strong foundation,” Joel says. A lot of Good Charlotte fans have stuck with them from the beginning and are continuing to support them now, whereas some Good Charlotte fans who maybe walked away for a little while are coming back and enjoying this new project as just that: a new project. “It definitely feels like we’re starting a new chapter,” Joel says. “It’s not a lay-up, we’re definitely a little alien to some people,” Benji interrupts.

Greetings From California has been complete for months, and The Madden Brothers are getting more eager to release it as they enter the final weeks leading up to release day. They’re proud of this record and how it’s made, and are hopeful that fans will enjoy it. “It’s so real. We didn’t take any shortcuts, and I love just the actual record,” Benji says, “Which makes promoting it and going out into the world with it so much easier, because even if some people like it or don’t like it, I just like it so much.” The vinyl record is twosided; the first side was produced by Eric Valentine and the second side was produced by Joe Chiccarelli. They co-wrote with a handful of friends as well, such as Pharrell, who helped pen two songs on the record.

Getting back into the studio with Eric, who produced Good Charlotte’s The Young and The Hopeless (2002) and Chronicles of Life and Death (2004), was “a dream.”

“We had been looking to work with him again for years, and we were so excited about it,” Joel says. The two feel they have an amazing connection with him and work incredibly well together that even after 10 years, being in the studio with Eric was exciting and natural.

“Natural” is a word that came up quite a bit in my 25-minute conversation with The Madden Brothers. Everything about their latest musical endeavor excites them and they’re counting down the days until the world hears the songs they’ve created.

The rest of the year is filled with promotion and “letting people get familiar with [them] again.” Despite what their single title, “We Are Done” suggests, Benji and Joel are far from finished. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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NICK SANTINO Words by KATELYN THOMPSON Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Nick Santino & the Northern Wind, an independent solo project by Nick Santino, is a project that started after the breakup of A Rocket to the Moon, though he has since decided to simply go by Nick Santino. “Last year I finished playing with A Rocket To The Moon, and we all kind of went off and did our own thing,” he stated, “I released an EP on my own called Going Home and then a few months later I released another EP independently called The Ones You Meet Along the Way: A Collection of Stories From the Road.” After a busy year of touring with various bands including shows with Never Shout Never, a tour of the Philippines with The Maine and This Century and a tour of Brazil with The Maine, he followed with the release of his first complete album as a solo artist titled Big Skies. Reflecting on his year, he laughs, “it was pretty crazy.”

It was the first time in a long time that Nick made a record without a label in his ear. “I did the record in Phoenix in a studio we built,” he says. “Pat [Kirch], from The Maine, and I did the record in two weeks. We just recorded the record on our own time and our own clock. We didn’t have any pressure from management or any label, because there was no label, to get things done. We did everything the

way we thought they should be done and probably the ways that big-time producers would frown upon if they saw us using certain techniques, but they worked for us.” He invited his friends in The Maine and This Century to play on the record to “give it some flare.” They plugged microphones into guitar pedals and snare drums and other obscure things to give it a unique sound. Throughout the record there are glockenspiels and other random trinkets scattered to add to the one-of-a-kind sound they were creating. “A lot of producers do everything so cookie cutter,” Nick says. “We would add anything we could think of.”

Nick and Pat didn’t go into Big Skies with specific expectations and approached each song with fresh ears and open minds. They never sat down and decided they were going to do all ballads or all rock ‘n’ roll, Tom Petty-sounding songs; they just let the music happen.

“We’d spend a whole day on one song, then we’d go through it in the morning, and then we’d move on,” Nick says. He believes this is why every song on the record sounds completely different than the one before it. “It kept the recording process interesting and kept us going with it,” Nick says.

The team behind Big Skies was very small. Alex Silverman of This

Century, with whom Nick shares a manager, mixed and mastered the record. When it came to album art, Nick stumbled upon an artist on Instagram and loved her style. “I had this weird idea after we decided that we were going to call the album Big Skies, and being inspired by that I asked this girl to paint me three different pictures of three different times of day: morning, middle of the day and nighttime,” Nick recalls.

From there, the two worked together to create the final result.

The record has been out since May, and Nick is extremely satisfied with the response so far. “I think that a lot of people were questioning what I was doing after A Rocket To The Moon, and maybe they weren’t really on board,” Nick says.

“But I feel like with the release of [Big Skies], I got a lot of those kids back on my team.”

He thinks the success of Big Skies shows where A Rocket To The Moon could have gone, but all in all he’s more passionate about these songs and this project. “I think these songs are more meaningful and more honest,” Nick says. “It’s hard to write a personal story when there are three people writing the song.” For A Rocket To The Moon, Nick co-wrote with the band’s guitarist, Justin Richards, and random writers that the label would NKDMAG.COM

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hire. Nick feels he’s able to tap into places he hasn’t been able to before because he doesn’t have to get the approval from other people. “I have to be my own editor, in a way, but it’s a good thing,” he says. He knows that his new songs may not be as catchy as some A Rocket To The Moon songs, but forcing himself to be honest within his music has made him a better songwriter in his mind.

Nick is eager to release new songs as soon as possible. He’s constantly writing and challenging himself to grow within his writing. “I want to mature musically, and I want people to think ‘I like where he’s going, and I can’t wait to see where he goes next,’” Nick says. He was able to get some fans of A Rocket To The Moon back in his corner after spending the summer on the Vans Warped Tour, and noticed that crowds were getting bigger as the tour progressed. “I felt like some sort of buzz was happening,” he says. “It’s an exciting feeling, having a project catch on.”

Later this fall, Nick will head out on his first solo headlining tour and hopefully release a few more songs.

It’s been over a year since A Rocket To The Moon played their last show, and at this point Nick is ready to be just Nick Santino. “There’s a lot of guys that go solo from bands, and I think they use the fact that they were in a decently successful band to their advantage, when that’s the cheap way to go,” Nick says. He’s excited to be sharing something fresh and different with people, and even more excited to be maturing musically. Before Big Skies, he felt that people might have doubted his new endeavors, thinking it would never be as good as A Rocket To The Moon. “Maybe it’s not as good as A Rocket To The Moon, maybe it’s better,” he says. “But I don’t want it to even be compared to A Rocket To The Moon. It’s Nick Santino.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

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tyler hilton Words by CHRISTINE O’DEA Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Tyler Hilton, often linked by fans to poppy love songs and One Tree Hill drama, is about to expose the world to an even greater array of his talents. With his eccentric role as Charlie Arthurs in CBS’ Extant opposite Halle Berry, and his upcoming plans to release a country album, Tyler is one the right track to be labeled a modern “renaissance man.”

In 2012, Tyler released Forget The Storm. “The last record I was so angry and so bummed and so into making trouble,” Tyler says. “And it didn’t feel good to be in that headspace at the time, but it was fun to be free and get that out of my system.” The first song, “Kicking My Heels,” features an electric guitar, loud drums and Tyler’s naturally raspy voice singing the lyrics, “The more I drink, the less I feel sorrow.”

Lately, however, Tyler feels more connected to his musical creativity and love for country music. The push toward this transition came from a phone call Tyler received a few years ago.

“Why don’t you come to Nashville and finally make a country record NKDMAG.COM

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again?” asked the voice on the other end of the line. Upon hanging up, Tyler was pulled back into the musical roots he grew up in: the world of country.

Growing up, Tyler listened to old and underground country music, and it has “always been his vibe.” Tyler compared his shift to making country music to agreeing to a blind date that “someone’s been trying to set you up with thinking they would go really well together.” Tyler does not necessarily expect that his debut country record will garner him new fans, but he strongly senses that it is where he belongs.

While Tyler is in Los Angeles, he feels productive. However, in Nashville, he feels very much in his musically creative and songwriting element.

“All my hangs and relationships there are so music-based,” he explains. “So when I’m there, everything is focused on music.”

Tyler finds himself at the point in both his career and his life where he is trying to find out more about himself by discovering his own interests and determining what truly makes him happy. Tyler seems to have always been drawn to country, and after 10 years on a label, he feels the need to use his music-producing freedom to go in any direction.

“More centered and grounded” is how Tyler describes his country music.

The songs are very story-driven and often about mature love, or what it is like to look back on young love, and other traditional concepts. Tyler says he believes that his new endeavors in the world of country will be successful because everyone can relate to these subjects. And Tyler is already well known for making music that touches a broad range of people.

As different genres cause people to experience different moods, Tyler believes that bluegrass and old folk tunes from the Civil War are intriguing to hear. “I love that kind of music,” he says, clearly revealing a long-time pas56

sion for the music style. “It’s so upbeat and cool and happy, but it doesn’t have drums. That does something different to the brain and your thoughts.”

Tyler’s strength as a pop singersongwriter has turned him into every girl’s sweetheart and heartthrob. Taking new elements out of the pop tunes he writes, and creating this country record for a different space has played an important role in reminding Tyler of his flexibility in writing as well as his range in interests.

“Now I’ve got this record that I’ll drive around in my car and listen to,” he says. “It’s just different, and you rock out to it in a different way. This is the space I want to live in for the rest of my life.”

Part of the reason that Tyler is destined to succeed in country music is the sureness he radiates while talking about being a late bloomer in the country scene. “I know this is where I belong, and I know that this is where I will end up,” he explains. Lately, Tyler says he feels as though pop music doesn’t move him as much, and rock music comes and goes depending on his mood. Country, however, has always been an underlying theme in his career, and somehow an obvious but hidden talent in his songwriting skills.

Before graduating from high school, Tyler had already signed to Warner Bros. Records. While he admits that he is not the biggest fan of the “business side” of the music industry, he can appreciate the resources that labels can bring to artists, like radio connections and creative outlets. “The more people I would hire to do that [business] stuff for me, the more creative I was, and the more fun I had,” he explains.

With no delay or hesitation, Tyler says, “Yes,” when asked if he wants to go full force into the country music scene right now. Some fans might be surprised to hear that his list of idols and favorite musicians include Keith Urban.

Part of what Tyler loves about country music is that it is descriptive of

how he feels inside. “My feelings sound like mandolins and banjos and acoustic guitars and pianos,” he says. The solo acoustic pop songs he’s known for is no longer as exciting to him because he wants a new musical feel, and his vision involves a band.

In addition to new music, Tyler’s love for acting and passion for meaningful scripts and stories has led him to land a role in Extant. The show takes place in the future, and Tyler plays an “introverted, eccentric guy.”

In this future world, astronaut Molly Woods (Halle Berry) and her husband have been unsuccessful in having kids, but after a 13-month solo mission in outer space, she returns pregnant. “It’s about aliens trying to take purchase in the world through people,” explains Tyler, who was originally attracted to the script’s storyline and realistic sci-fi feel. “All of these people are scared of the robots my character is helping to build … but it’s kind of also about these three species [humans, aliens and robots] trying to survive in the world.”

Tyler particularly enjoys the space element of Extant, and he describes the storyline as unbelievable but not too melodramatic. Additionally, both the crew and cast have made positive contributions to Tyler’s experience on the show. “Halle Berry is so good in it,” he says. “The actors are unbelievable.

You really understand everyone, and the script is so smart.”

Compared to his role on One Tree Hill, Tyler feels mature in his new role.

Both the people on this show, as well as its audience, are much different than those of One Tree Hill, which he jumped in and out of for nine seasons.

“TV changed so much, and of course my taste changed so much,” Tyler explains. While he is constantly auditioning for roles and reading scripts, he focuses on pursuing ones that are meaningful to him.

“Usually I play ‘cooler’ roles with musical skills, but this time I thought if they knew I was a musician that

it would hurt my chances of getting the role,” he says. Tyler admits to still feeling surprised that he got the role.

“I hope it lasts for a long time because I can’t wait to see what happens,” he says.

Between balancing a recurring role on a major TV series, constantly touring, writing and recording a country album in Nashville and Los Angeles, Tyler is anything but bored.

Last November, the artist got engaged to Canadian actress Megan Park. The two met on the set of the 2007 film Charlie Bartlett, and have been in love since. Fans swooned each time he dedicated the love song “Prince of Nothing Charming” to Megan during live shows.

“I’ve just been trying to get as much sleep as I can,” Tyler laughs. But he remains grateful for what he knows is a very fortunate time in his life. Tyler and Megan have recently moved into a new house, set a date for their wedding and selected their rings, but have “decided not to talk about it anymore” and wait until the holidays to continue planning the big day.

“I always think about all the people who are way busier than me. Like Beyoncé and Obama,” he says, eyes widening. “Those dudes are doing a lot, and you’re hoping that they’re doing what they wanted, and that, that is part of what’s driving it. This is what I want so it’s something I just did.” Balancing roles as an actor, writer, musician and fiancé has been a challenge, but Tyler describes it as a “dream come true.”

The past few years have been a quest to find what he is passionate about; what he likes or doesn’t like.

“I know this is where I belong, and I know this is where I will end up. It just feels good to finally be here, you know?” he says, clearly feeling a sense of gratitude and relief in the moment.

Surrounded by opportunities, Tyler is open to taking all of them, and surely his talents and new endeavors will pleasantly surprise us in the coming years. NKD

58 Words by RILEY STENEHJEM Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

The upcoming film The Maze Runner has gathered a lot of attention from the media and fans in the months prior to its September release. The film is based on James Dashner’s young adult novel of the same name. The popularity it has already received is sure to make it a blockbuster film, something especially exciting for Alex Flores, an up-and-coming actor who plays Winston in the dystopian world of The Maze Runner.

Alex is a native of the Bronx, New York, where he grew up with his mother, grandmother and sister. He started performing in his Catholic elementary school’s choir. “I used to talk a lot, and the nuns didn’t like that so much. But what they did do was make me sing in the choir, so I would take advantage of that and be the loudest singer,” Alex says of the experience. By the time he transferred to a public school in the third grade, he had a few school plays under his belt. When there was an open casting call for The Lion King in 1997, Alex’s principal told his mother that he was a talented actor.

“I didn’t do it, I was too nervous,” he says about the opportunity, “But it piqued my interest, and then my mother put me in acting classes.”

From there, his acting career progressed to work at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, HB Studio and the Labyrinth Theater Company — all based in New York. At age 11, he began working with an agent and a manager, and their work helped him begin the transition into TV and film roles. “I did a lot of plays,” Alex recalls, “and then there was this little turning point where I started getting TV guest spots here and there, and commercials, and that’s when I focused my attention on film and TV.” The Maze Runner, directed by Wes Ball, premieres Sept. 19. In Alex’s words, the film is “a story about these young boys who are dropped into this place that they call the Glade. It’s an open field surrounded by four cement walls, and each day the doors open up and reveal a maze.

They don’t know much, if anything, about their pasts. They know their names. They don’t know who put them there or why.”

The boys who live in the Glade have formed a sort of organized society, with different jobs for every member of their community. However, when Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) joins the group he begins to question their life there and searches for answers things begin to shift. Later, Theresa (Kaya Scodelario) becomes the first girl to ever enter the Glade, and life for those who live there is turned upside down.

Alex’s character is the Keeper of the Slicers, or the butchers. “I didn’t know much about the series when I first auditioned, actually,” he says, “Once I got the first audition I looked into the story and got as much information as possible about the story. I got to read the script and paid more attention to that at the time. Once I got the part, I think I read the book in maybe two or three days. I just flew threw it.”

Reading the novel was in part a way for Alex to prepare for his role as Winston. “I wanted to understand the character from the book series to see if there was anything the fans were looking forward to. It’s hard to play a character that people know,” he says.

Other than that, preparing for his role was largely on a day-to-day basis as he and the rest of the cast joined pre-production. “We all got dropped into pre-production in the same way the characters get dropped into the story,” Alex explains. He and the other actors would work through their scripts together in between scenes. “We would all talk about our characters and our development … we would work together for prep for the next day. I’ve never had that experience before [with a cast],” Alex says.

Alex says that he considers Winston to be his favorite role thus far in his career. “I love everything I’ve done so far, but playing Winston in The Maze Runner has been a dream come true,” he says. This is in part due to the connections the cast and crew made while spending three months filming in Louisiana. “We just got to have a good time working, [as well as] off set,” Alex says.

Reflecting back on his start in theater in comparison to his current work in films, Alex describes the two as “different art forms.” “When I’m playing a character on stage, if I’m not in the lead … I’ll watch the show. You get to see what’s happening, and it helps with the story. People say things about your character, and you hear them, and then you get to go up and you’re on,” he says. With TV or film, Alex says, the actors take a break from filming, and are laughing and joking with friends, but then the director calls action and everyone has to be right back “on.” Both are “difficult in their own right,” Alex concludes, “I can’t pick one over the other — I couldn’t pick. I just love acting.”

When considering his goals, Alex says he’s working hard to see what the future holds. He hopes to continue working on films and maybe break into television.

“It would be wonderful to book another big movie, or just a film in general,” he remarks, “An indie film would be great, too.” Upcoming on his agenda is a guest spot on season three of the critically acclaimed Netflix original Orange Is the New Black. “It’s so good,” he said of the show, “I’m so excited.”

As an actor, Alex remarks with a laugh that sometimes the biggest challenge is simply finding work. “Sometimes you’re working on something great, and then there are dry spells,” he says. During these dry spells, Alex will keep up with acting classes and write films with his friends.

“You can be really hard on yourself … [but] if you really want to do this, you have to just do it. You can’t let anything hold you back. If it’s really what you love, no one is going to stop you. You just have to push through it all, even the bad, whatever gets thrown at you. Just have fun and embrace it … if you’re going to be an actor, it’s going to be hard, but if you love it, then go for it,” he says.

The Maze Runner film is sure to be a breakthrough for Alex’s career. His drive and determination have allowed him to get this far, but most importantly, his true passion — acting — is what guides him through his work. “I stick with [acting] because it’s what I love doing,” he says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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RIXTON Words by JOSEPHINE TSE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Meet Charley Bagnall, Lewi Morgan, Jake Roche and Danny Wilkin. Together, they’re known as Rixton, an English pop-R&B group that is climbing its way up the music ladder. Signed in a joint deal with Scooter Braun’s Schoolboy Records and Interscope Records, they have just the right support to catapult them into becoming the next Maroon 5. Their single “Me and My Broken Heart” was just certified platinum, and it’s only going up from here.

How did you guys get together?

JR: We met 6 years ago through mutual friends. Danny and I met first, then Charley came along two years later. I met Lewi actually through a girl that I was dating and Lewi was trying to get with.

Who are your main musical influences? Is there a style of music you’ve adapted/learned from them?

JR: It’s very different for all of us.

That’s what I love about it. But the main backbone for all of us is R&B 60

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and I think you can hear that in our early covers when we were discovering our sound.

What is your writing process like?

JR: It can either happen in minutes, or it can happen in days or weeks. It usually just stems from an idea that gets passed around. Usually from myself or Danny, and we just sit and figure out different parts and then all of a sudden it just clicks like a jigsaw.

What was it like working with Benny Blanco?

JR: The guy is a genius. No denying. And he gets us. He understands where we want this to go, and we’re all on the same page. He’s like the fifth member, and he just gets the best out of all of us. He’s also crazy as well, which fits in with us perfectly.

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If you could only pick one artist to collaborate with, who would it be and why?

DW: I’d love to collaborate with Stevie Wonder, as he has always been a huge inspiration to me since I was a kid.

CB: If I could pick anyone to collaborate with it would be Elvis Presley.

What a lad. He influences me to keep the feeling in music.

How do you feel about “Me and My Broken Heart” going platinum? Where were you when you got the news?

DW: It was such an incredible feeling finding out about “Me and My Broken Heart” going platinum. It’s so humbling to know that a million copies of our song have been sold.

We were on stage in New York City when we found out. Scooter Braun

came on stage to surprise us.

Tell us a little bit about your new single “Wait On Me.” DW: It’s a great song with a good energy. We think it shows a different side to Rixton, a little bit more mature.

You just finished your first U.S. headlining tour. How did that go? How was it like working with T.Mills?

LM: The tour was a lot of fun and brought us all together as a band and musically improved our live shows.

T.Mills is a really cool guy, and he really knows how to get the crowd riled up before we go out.

Any memorable stories from the road you’d want to share?

LM: The most memorable part of

the tour for us is the response from the fans. They have shown incredible amounts of support at every show, without fail. We would not be able to be on this incredible journey without them.

Did you guys have a favorite show or favorite place you’ve visited on tour?

LM: This was our first time traveling across The States, so we visited a lot of new places we’ve never seen before, and I think we fell in love with every state we arrived in.

NYC will always have a spot in our hearts, as it was where we recorded the album. So it was crazy to see all the fans that camped outside the studio everyday finally see all the music we had been recording performed live.

DW: The performance that really

stands out to me is back at home in Manchester. We had our own headline show, and all of our families came to support us. And finally giving them the opportunity to see how far we have come was my favorite performance.

How do American crowds compare to crowds back home?

DW: To be honest, the crowds are always great for us, both back at home and in the U.S. But in the U.S. after the performances, the crowd is much more willing to come over to you and talk with you. They want full conversations.

Do you have advice for any budding artists?

CB: You have to always do it for the music. When you stop creating

something you love and you start creating something you force out, you will never get the same satisfaction.

DW: I think it’s important to always be yourself. Think about what it is that you want, and don’t stop until you get it. Prepare to be knocked back hundreds of times, just as we were, and climb back onto your feet and keep pushing.

What’s next for Rixton?

CB: We just finished the Me and My Broken Heart Tour and we are going to continue to promote our second single “Wait On Me.” LM: We are touring Australia in September then the U.K. in October and November. Then we are looking to release the album early next year, possibly January. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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