NKD Mag - Issue #42 (December 2014)

NKD NAKED MAGAZINE FEATURES: 4 -ALEXZ JOHNSON 6 - LIGHTS 12 -NIGHT TERRORS OF 1927 14 - DANIELLE CAMPBELL 18 -DEREK THELER 22 - KIERSEY CLEMONS 24 - THE MAINE 30 -LAUREN COLLINS 34 -ECHOSMITH 44 - TEAM* 46 - WE ARE THE IN CROWD 52 - HAVE MERCY

DESIGNER: CATHERINE POWELL

WRITERS:

MERISSA BLITZ JOANNA BOURAS EDITORS: TARA DEVINCENZO ALEX LANE JORDAN MELENDREZ CATHERINE POWELL STACY MAGALLON JORDAN MELENDREZ PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRISTINE O’DEA SHINA PATEL CATHERINE POWELL CATHERINE POWELL SAM ROSENTHAL RILEY STENEHJEM JOSEPHINE TSE

ALEXZ JOHNSON Words by SHINA PATEL | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

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Alexz Johnson isn’t afraid of growing a pair. And at 27, she finally feels as though she has done it. Since the release of her debut album, Voodoo, in 2011, she has grown up, seen the world and has been finding her voice in the music world.

A common misconception among rising musicians is that the only way to truly “make it” is by landing a record deal. Canadian singer and songwriter Alexz Johnson has already had two record deals, and both times she has dumped them for independent ventures. “I’ve been signed twice and it didn’t really benefit my career. It just held me back,” she says.

The 27-year-old even made a full-length album with Sony Records that never got released.

She strongly believes that her vision and goals are more likely to come to light if she stays independent.

She recently passed on an opportunity to sign a major record deal because she didn’t want to lose her artistic freedom. She’d rather have control over her career than risk it for the sake of signing with a corporate label.

“I don’t have this huge expectation to be some superstar,” Alexz explains. “I just want to make good music for my fans.”

Her latest album, Let ‘Em Eat Cake, was funded by generous donations from her fan base through a website called Pledgemusic. She believes that platforms like Pledgemusic are perfect for authentic artists who want to be involved with their fans and get to know them on a personal level. Fans who pledged money for the album received a digital download of the record along with other prizes based on how much money they contributed.

She was able to raise enough money to fund the album, and after two years of fine tuning it,

she released the album in October.

She acknowledges that two years was a long time to create the album, but she attributes it to her perfectionist attitude.

“I was really picky about the process and getting the songs where I wanted them to get to,” she says.

Alexz is planning to let this album build slowly and see where it goes. Part of living out the Let ‘Em Eat Cake life cycle is touring and giving fans the chance to listen to their favorite songs live. This past October she embarked on the Let ’Em Eat Cake Tour, where she traveled to multiple states, performing with a full band and bringing her music to life.

“This day in age, one of the sure fire ways of ensuring a long-term career is playing live and building an audience that likes to go to your live shows,” she says.

She says playing live shows is important because she feels as if a lot of other things are fleeting. The power of having a single on the radio is great, but only if there is more to back it up.

She feels that part of the problem is that people don’t want to put in the effort to put together a tour. But she’s willing to do all the nitty gritty because she wants to make music for as long as possible.

“I want people to leave my shows with some strength and they can relate to me,” she says. “I don’t want to be untouchable to people. I want to be a friend. I want to be a woman that women can understand.”

In October, Alexz showcased her new music at the CMJ Music Marathon, an annual event held by CMJ Holdings Corp, where select bands and artists perform at various clubs in New York City. Besides the fact that it provided Alexz with the opportunity to play her music live and give life to her record, the showcase allowed her to meet various people in the music business and make connections that could help her down the road.

The music industry is constantly

changing and has grown tremendously since Alexz was a kid. A major aspect of the industry that has changed is the divide that exists between artist and fan. Nowadays the separation is getting smaller and smaller.

“The mystery is going away. The mystery like when I was young and watched Annie Lennox on stage and Bruce Springsteen,” she says. “They still have kept that mystery, but this industry is different now. It’s one on one.”

She credits this to the Internet and the ever increasing popularity of social media. But while social media may have its perks, it is a double-edged sword. A downside: People say whatever they want to whomever without bearing any real consequences.

“You have to stomach it and grow a pair and not let it affect you,” Alexz says.

In recent years, Alexz has also seen a shift on social media for artists because they market albums and songs not only to existing fans but also to people who may never have heard of them before. In today’s technologydriven world, it’s as important for artists to keep up on their social media as it is to create quality music. Alexz is constantly trying to find unique ways to engage fans through social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

Since her last record, Alexz feels she has grown up a lot and was able to channel it into her music. She is able to channel her feelings about current events and even express her perspective on the mainstream music industry. Let ’Em Eat Cake represents her frame of mind at this day and age, as well and having something to say and not being afraid to say it. “I Will Fall in Love” tells the story of how she’s no longer afraid to fall in love; not only to fall in love but to actually express it, which sometimes can be the hardest part.

“I’m finding my voice,” she says.

“And I think I just grew a pair with this record.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

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S T H IL G If it’s true that a name has the power to shape a person’s identity and personality, then Valerie Poxleitner — also known as the electro-pop star LIGHTS — and her rock star husband, Beau Bokan, are in for one hell of a ride.

Nine months ago, the couple welcomed a daughter that they named Rocket. Rocket Wild.

While that name may be prophetic for some crazy teen years, it is also pretty indicative of life for the Bokan’s these days.

Two and one-half years ago, LIGHTS was preparing for marriage, gearing up to release her second album and figuring out the balance between touring and married life.

A lot has changed since then.

In short, she says: “I got married, toured a ton more after that.

Recorded an acoustic album, put out the acoustic album, toured on the acoustic album, started working on the new record, faced writers block, triumphed writers block, had a baby, finished Little Machines, and now we are starting the tour.”

another album.

So two summers ago, she started work on songs that would eventually become Little Machines.

Little did she know that the months that ensued would be some of the most trying and tedious of her life.

“I was speeding in L.A., listening to this really heavy electronic music trying to decide where I wanted to go with the record,” she says.

“I thought, ‘I do want to make something electronic. I’m going to go in and ELL write about speeding today.’”

E POW N I R E CATH So she wrote the song “Speedtos by o h P | ing.”

Coincidentally she also met E N LA ALEX y b Drew Pearson, who ended up pros Word ducing the record, that same day.

That’s a mouthful. But it’s cer“But after that I just plunged tainly not the whole story. into confusion about where I LIGHTS started her career wanted to go,” LIGHTS explains. almost seven years ago, and for the “It was an interesting journey, better part of the past decade, she but ironically that one came very has illuminated her own niche in quickly.“ the music industry. Not quite pop Unfortunately, that’s when her and not quite electronic, LIGHTS creative juices stopped flowing so may be considered sweetly mefreely. The following year consistlodic with a taste of synthetic ed of continually stopping, startantagonism. ing and searching for inspiration.

When listening to her debut, One of her methods was writing the LIGHTS EP, you can hear the poetry. foundation for the sound that “I was making myself write a has become so uniquely her own. poem every night to try to free Since that release in 2008, she has myself up lyrically,” she recalls. “I recorded her debut full-length, have this book of poems that don’t The Listening (2009), Siberia really make any sense. It was a lot (2011) and Siberia Acoustic (2013). of fun because there is no format While The Listening afforded to poetry, and that’s part of the audiences a glimpse into who she challenge of pop songwriting is is as a singer-songwriter, Siberia being artistically expressive within gained her attention for all the a very rigid format. Doing poetry right reasons; it was the profeskind of freed me of that a little sional struggle of getting through bit.” the logistical red tape. It ended Even though she was writing up debuting at number 3 and every day, she says she still felt achieved gold sales in Canada. Be- uninspired, and when she found tween that and the 100,000 copies herself on a songwriting adventure sold internationally, LIGHTS was to New Mexico, she was surprised in a good spot to take her creative to find that some poems could be liberties to different levels with worked into songs.

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In New Mexico, she stayed in an all-natural home that essentially used renewable resources as energy, an experience that she said was really reinvigorating.

It was there that she wrote “Portal,” a standout track from the album that is actually the first song on the record. But even with her book of poems, LIGHTS was still struggling to envision the album.

She explains that she kept getting caught up in what it was supposed to be, and a certain sound, and whether or not the little things were all in place.

With so many ideas floating around and so many different directions she could take, she felt lost; the writing, tracking and compilation of this seemingly onerous album weighing heavily on her mind.

Then she received some exciting, life-changing news.

“Realizing I was pregnant made me look at everything from the big picture, and made me look at things sort of as an ultimatum,” she says. “Do I want to keep doing music? If I do, it’s going to be a lot of work. Or do I take a break and be a mother?”

LIGHTS says that while she was in the middle of writing this record, she really wasn’t sure which way it was going to go.

“In the moments that I felt like I might not do music anymore, I realized how much I love doing music, and how much I love touring, and singing to the fans and the fans singing back to me and creating something out of nothing,” she recalls. “It’s just selfafflicted expectations that start to create writers block. So I made the decision that I do love music.”

“And if it doesn’t become this amazing thing it doesn’t matter,” she adds. “You still have a family. I was freed, and I just wrote it because I loved it.”

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This frame of mind shows on the record, as each track is an exploration of a different and unique part of who LIGHTS is. She said that looking back, each album is a snippet of her life at the time of creation, and listening to those songs makes her think of all she experienced.

Little Machines, though, is definitely a happy one. She relearned her love for her career. She felt the support of her team. She had a baby.

“Ultimately I look at the record, and it’s all about enjoying life and just living in the moment and just taking in the things around you and not looking too far ahead because you skip the best parts,” she says. “Something that will take you out of your life, out of the troubles, for a little bit.”

She says that she looks at motherhood the same way: day by day, and some days, hour by hour.

She pauses and says, “You look at all these tour dates coming, all these expectations, you know you’re going to have to take her with you everyday. And it just becomes overwhelming.”

“But just hitting every few hours is not only better, but it’s my recommendation for everyone everyday. Every few hours just sit down and enjoy where you’re at, because if you don’t life goes by too fast,” she adds. “And it’s the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes. “ It’s that down-to-earth, doesn’ttake-herself-too-seriously attitude — along with her tunes, of course — that has attracted her fan base, which reaches over 560,000 followers on Twitter, 1.3 million on Facebook and 346,000 on Instagram.

Like most artists, LIGHTS seems to enjoy social interactions because of the instant feedback, even if it’s not positive.

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“It keeps you in it. And I think that’s very important to not let yourself feel separated like you’re on some type of pedestal or any other kind of level,” she explains.

“I think that’s so important just in terms of staying grounded.”

LIGHTS says that social media has remained a huge part of who she is as an artist, even with her young child. She’s not afraid to post pictures of life on the road, and she certainly doesn’t shy away from sharing an adorable videos of her daughter.

“It comes down to what you feel comfortable with at that time,” she says. “At a certain point we are like ‘this is a part of our lives, and we are proud of her and this is our world.’ I’m not Kanye, and I don’t need to hide my baby,” she jokes.

In terms of popularity though, she is on the trajectory to be a bright light on the big stage.

With tour dates already scheduled through February that will take her around the globe, she is already excited about announcing the dates and places for the Little Machines Tour, which she says will take her through the Europe, and back the states next year.

But with keeping her day-byday lifestyle in mind, she says that her goals right now are pretty simple: “To reach as many people as possible with something good, that moves people for the better not the worse.”

“It’s a vague goal, but it’s the reason every single one of my songs has a resolution,” she adds.

“It has a resolve and a purpose. It’s the reason I write the way that I do.”

At the end of the day, LIGHTS seems happy touring, learning about motherhood and taking life one day — or hour — at a time.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” she says. “And that’s good. I like that.“NKD

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NIGHT TERRORS Words by ALYSSA GIRDWAIN | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

OF 1927

Friends-turned-bandmates Jarrod Gorbel and Blake Sennett are talking about skeleton costumes, Teletubbies and, naturally, Blue’s Clues.

Sennett says Steve Burns of Blue’s Clues left the show to become “a weird indie rocker” and released a record with the help of psychedelic rock group The Flaming Lips. So, maybe it’s not a scary topic of conversation, as would be expected from a band with a moniker revolving around terror. But Night Terrors of 1927 is at the crossroads of unexpected extremes.

Jarrod and Blake are an unlikely pair. Both of previous bands — Jarrod sang and played the guitar for The Honorary Title while Blake was a guitarist for Rilo Kiley — Night Terrors of 1927 had an unintentional conception.

After Jarrod moved to Los Angeles in 2011 and connected with his friend Blake, the two started casually playing and writing music together. Neither wanted to be in another band and both had pursued solo ventures. Their 12

chemistry was promising.

“He’s [Jarrod] very slow and relaxed, and I’m kind of hypey and intense. We have this strange symbiosis,” Blake said. One song led to another, and as they shared the tunes with friends in the music business, one thing became apparent: something clicked, and the next step would be to make it official and call it a project.

“We were sort of like, ‘Surely that’s not possible. I don’t want to be in a band,’” Blake says, “but we just realized making music together was pretty sweet and pretty effortless.” Around half a year later, despite doubts stemming from past band relationships, they put their first song as Night Terrors of 1927 online. “Watch the World Go Dark” caught the eye of British newspaper The Guardian, and “Dust and Bones” earned them spins on Sirius XM’s AltNation station.

At this time, the duo was still unsigned. But the reach and exposure of the Internet instigated buzz. “We

almost had to catch up to the speed of the Internet,” Jarrod explains. “We didn’t know it was going to have such a positive reaction so fast.”

Naturally, labels took notice. Now the duo is signed to Atlantic Records, which boasts a roster filled with sub labels with acts like Alt-J, Young the Giant, and Fitz and the Tantrums.

Jarrod and Blake say the people at Atlantic are true music fans with an extensive knowledge of the art.

Above all, Night Terrors of 1927 also searched for stability.

“My biggest fear going into any label is that you’re going to be be loved one day and forgotten the next, and it felt like that wasn’t the case,” Blake says about Atlantic.

Guilty Pleas, their EP that was released in 2013, established a sound ridden with dark, dizzying synths with a splash of hip-hop energy; a sort of goth pop. After a successful release it was time to make a full-length record — even if it took more than a year.

Enter Andrew Dawson, the Grammy-award winning producer, mixer and engineer who shifts the studio paradigm. He has the stamp of approval from Kanye West — after working on five of the rap giant’s albums — as well as a résumé including the likes of fun., Tyler the Creator and the Rolling Stones, among others.

Night Terrors of 1927 also worked with producer Ben H. Allen. Making the album highlighted a dedication to crafting each detail and ensuring the tunes were, in retrospect, free from error — even if it meant starting from scratch multiple times and recording until they found their perfect sound.

“Every time I’ve made a record at the end I’m like, ‘Man, I wish I could change that thing,’ and I don’t know if this was curse or a blessing, I think it was a blessing, that in this case we could,” Blake says. Jarrod and Blake went so far as to continue recording and sending in songs after they submitted the record.

“Technology has created such a freedom for the artist,” Blake says.

This November, Night Terrors of 1927 was on the road with Capital Cities, the electro-indie outfit behind the peppy hit “Safe and Sound.” Being an opening act has its difficulties, they said the reception was positive, especially with the added push of their cover of The Romantics’ hit “Talking in Your Sleep.”

“If someone doesn’t know your music, they know that song. It forces them to listen, and that’s a good trigger for new fans,” Jarrod explains.

Uptempo tunes conducive for dancing, like their new single “When You Were Mine” featuring Tegan and Sara, also get the crowd moving. Although the band’s music tends to be angsty and emotional, they are also creating an evolving pop sound that resonates well with Capital Cities’ crowd.

While Blake remains enthusiastic about the ease that growing technology offers the music industry, Jarrod

points out a potential snag — the obsession and demand for content.

With the high quantity of remixes and the ability to upload any extra music onto streaming sites and other outlets, accessibility is prime.

“The content never ends, or the way you distribute music. There are so many options that it’s not just a record anymore. But that’s 2014,” Jarrod states. While the demand for fresh content increases, Jarrod says he understand, even if he has to catch up on the supply side.

“I’m a consumer who sits on my phone like everyone else, so I get the psychology behind it,” Jarrod says.

“But being on the other side of it, having to produce all of that content, it doesn’t come naturally to me, but I feel like I’m getting good at it.”

You might not be able to count on them for selfies on social media. But for apocalyptic pop rooted in emotional triggers, Night Terrors of 1927 provides ample material. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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DANIELLE CAMPBELL Words by JORDAN MELENDREZ | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Many actors and actresses can recall that one serendipitous moment when they were discovered. For Danielle Campbell, that moment occurred at age 10 when she was sitting in a hair salon.

Someone asked her mom if she would have her daughter meet with an agency, and Danielle has been working ever since.

“I thought I was going to be a spy or an astronaut,” she says. “So I fell into it, and I love it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Danielle was born in Portland, Oregon, moved throughout Asia and lived in Singapore for a while before growing up just outside of Chicago. But after that fateful day in the Chicago hair salon, she estimates that she spends about five months a year in Los Angeles each year doing what she loves.

“L.A. I basically consider a second home,” she says. “Chicago is pretty much home base for our

family.”

Her first breakout role was in 2006 as Gracey Hollander in Fox’s television series Prison Break.

From there, she went on to star in the 2010 Disney Channel movie StarStruck, and then in Prom. Despite all of her time on set, Danielle still managed to coordinate with her high school to complete her homework.

“I finished public high school and kind of wouldn’t work while doing school at the same time,” she explains. “Every time we weren’t filming I was immediately put into the school room to do school work, and keep up.”

“I got through it so well, and I’m really lucky,” she adds. “It’s nice to just be able to focus in on work right now rather than try and balance both of them.”

Now, the 19-year-old is starring as Davina Claire in The CW’s science-fiction show The Originals, NKDMAG.COM

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a spinoff of The CW’s other popular supernatural show The Vampire Diaries. Danielle’s character is a witch, and she says compared to the first season, her character is much stronger rather than being tossed around.

“She was the pawn in everyone’s game, and she was kind of told what she had to do. She was kind of just being used by everyone,” Danielle says. “This year you really get to see her step up, really just not let anyone push her around.

She is going to do anything to protect the people that she loves.”

Since booking the show last summer, most of Danielle’s time is spent in Atlanta, which she says is a growing city for film and television sets.

“I think even in the last year I’ve kind of noticed how it’s transformed,” Danielle says. “You see the yellow signs everywhere, like we know where the location is.”

Not only does she enjoy the location — and the “phenomenal” restaurants there — but Danielle says she genuinely loves going to work every day.

“We set people on fire, we’re throwing them into walls. There’s so many stunts happening, it’s always really exciting,” she says enthusiastically.

Danielle explains that one of the best parts of a supernatural show is how the audience uses their imaginations while watching. Even though many of the stories revolving around the show’s mystical characters — vampires, witches and werewolves — Danielle says the stories are all different. And for season two, which began airing on Oct. 6, new characters are introduced that bring old secrets to the forefront, haunting the lives of those who thought they could escape the past.

“I think that adds quite a good element to the show,” Danielle 16

says. “And the new characters that are coming up, too, are fantastic and really help people indulge in it.”

After last season’s 22-episodes wrapped – and after filming the first few episodes of this season — Danielle was able to do some press with the show and then enjoyed her time off: one month. For this brief period of relaxation, Danielle was able to spend time with her mom and dad and brother, whom she refers to as her best friend, and her dog. When she isn’t filming on weekends, she enjoys cooking for friends, biking, hiking or surfing.

Even though traveling is one of her favorite hobbies, there isn’t much time to do that right now. While she is accustomed to constant movement, Danielle has adjusted to focusing all of her energy on one things. Right now, that is her character.

“When you do a movie after movie, you’re constantly changing characters really quickly,” she explains. “But it’s also been great to be on a TV show where you’re really developing the character, and you’re watching it over a period of time rather than just two hours. So I’ve learned a lot, personally.”

Danielle also shares that she learns a lot while on set, whether it’s tidbits from guest stars or it’s practicing stunts, which she has performed herself, and exclaims that she is highly anticipating the upcoming fight scenes. When asked how she prepares for these exploits, she laughs and responds “you kind of don’t.”

“You practice with the stunt crew, and they kind of walk you through the movements and stuff because obviously they want to do everything they can to help you from getting hurt or hurting yourself,” she explains. But she adds that there is something even more difficult than learning the stunts:

saying lines while also performing all of the action movements.

“Sometimes it actually helps you get the words down because you’re physically doing the action that it’s talking about,” she says. “It’s kind of just repetition and practice just like you would for a sport or anything else.”

Danielle is happy with how far Davina has come this season, but she also expresses a desire to see her head in a different direction.

“I’d like to see her turn bad,” Danielle says. “I think that’s a lot of fun to play and I think it’d be a cool twist because you wouldn’t expect it from her.”

But Danielle also admires the show’s writers for their ability to weave in character arcs.

“It’s been interesting to watch her go from a really sweet girl and then they start to make her edgier,” Danielle says. “Now she’s kind of becoming the strong character.

Kind of watching her go through her different arcs has been really cool.”

After playing a character from a different reality, Danielle mentions that she aspires to portray a character with a dark upbringing or ominous obstacle to overcome.

“Even a difficult subject matter, like something that really drags me out of reality for myself,” she explains.

No matter what role she lands next, Danielle doesn’t plan on slowing down with her career any time soon; she still has her eyes set on other possibilities, like comedy, drama and theater.

“Eventually I’d love to kind of dive into a bunch of different types of roles,” she says. “But I think big goals for me are I would like to play a character who is completely not like myself, that really challenges me. As an actor, for me at least, it’s something I really, really want to do.” NKD

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DEREK THELER Words by JOANNA BOURAS | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Derek Theler never imagined his acting career would take him within inches of bloodthirsty sharks in the open ocean off the coast of South Africa.

“I love action movies, I eat them up, I see all of the summer blockbusters, it is my favorite thing in the world,” the 28-year-old says..

The son of two Air Force parents who met in Alaska while fleeing previous marriages, Derek was born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado on an Air Force base. There he attended Colorado State University where he studied medicine and nutrition, the schools pre-med track.

As a Type-I diabetic, Derek studied endocrinology and hormone research in hopes of finding a cure. But he quickly realized that he “didn’t want to spend the rest of [his] life in school and paying off student loans.”

During spring break of his junior year in college, he and his friends took a trip to Los Angeles. This is where he realized he wanted to pursue acting and become a superhero.

“I was put on earth to fight bad guys and shoot guns and drive cars and get the girl,” he laughs.

Derek moved to L.A. four and a half years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Now, the Hollywood heartthrob is dating Spanish actress Christina Ochoa and filming his fourth season of Baby Daddy.

“It’s a great job because everyone on the crew is so close, going to work is fun where everyone is smiling and making jokes,” he says.

Derek plays Danny Wheeler, the 18

brother of the protagonist and baby daddy, Ben. They live together in New York. Ben finds himself with a baby after a one-night stand and Danny assists his brother in raising her.

His character is a professional hockey player with a heart of gold. Derek describes him as a lovable jock and the moral compass of the group, who always yearns to make the best decision.

“He’s slower than the others. He is the last one to get the jokes and never fully understands what’s going on,” Derek says.

But, he has progressed throughout the seasons, raising a child and learning what it takes to be an uncle.

Derek finds the show realistic but with heightened dramatization, which includes him taking off his shirt at every moment possible.

But his character is caught in a love triangle with his best friend Riley, who happens to be dating his brother. It is a tough scenario where he has to swallow his heart and listen while she asks questions about his brother.

“As we enter the fourth season, things couldn’t be better, everyone really understands their character and the dynamic of the show.”

He says it wasn’t difficult to shift from being a superhero to raising an infant because his past experience with children.

All of his previous jobs included kids, such as working at a daycare center and helping out at basketball camps.

At one point the stud even considered teaching because he is captivated by the way their brains work.

“Before they get embarrassed for

things and realize social norms they are totally free,” he explains. “I really love seeing the dynamic.”

Although going to a show that works with children has been easy for him, it was the last thing he expected to be doing.

He enjoys playing the role of comic relief and the nice guy. However, he sees his career going toward an action route. His goal is to become a Marvel superhero, which is taking longer than he anticipated. But he is still having fun.

Prior to moving to L.A., he had zero acting experience. Colorado State only offered plays, and he was more of a sports man.

Derek was in his early 20s when he transitioned from the medical field to acting. Although he felt behind because many people begin acting at a young age, he was comforted through his belief that he was wise and mature from his life experiences.

“I knew what it was going to take to move forward and achieve my goals quickly, I still have a long way to go.

He took a giant step toward his goal recently.

Derek spent half of this past summer in South Africa shooting Shark Killer.

Here he loved playing the lead role of shark killer Chase Walker. Chase’s brother Jake is the head of a South African crime ring. When one of the world’s largest sharks swallows one of the world’s most valuable diamond rings, Chase is called in to retrieve it.

“I had the time of my life. It was like a Crocodile Dundee mixed with Bad Boys with sharks,” Derek says. “It was my job to

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hunt the shark, kill the shark and get the diamond back for the bad guy.”

As with every movie, towards the end is a plot twist. The bad guys capture Chase’s girlfriend and he must divert his mission to saving her instead of the diamond.

Derek says he loved that he used real guns with blanks and had at least six fight scenes. He also spent most of his days in the water, which he says was very cold.

He recalls one of his favorite moments, spending an entire day holding onto a shark fin that was pulled by a boat.

“I was just holding on and stabbing the water while getting blood sprayed all over me,” he says. “It was amazing.”

Although no real sharks were used on set, Derek couldn’t help but go cage diving right after filming ended. He dove only a few miles from where the movie was shot and could see the beach where his set took place, which he says was eerie After spending so much time with fake sharks, he says the real ones were unbelievable.

“Some sharks were 15-feet long and came up to the cage out of nowhere,” Derek exclaims. “If there was blood in the water they would probably eat you.”

When he isn’t on set, the actor enjoys updating his social media platforms to interact on a more personal level with his fans. He says there is a huge difference when posting to social media for a few of your friends compared to posting for a fan base.

“It’s fun to put things out into the world that we want, instead of words full of paparazzi and rumors about things that happen when you actually have access to your own page and put it out into the world. “ Derek says he enjoys spreading positivity and raise awareness about diabetes on Twitter, and he says he loves that he is able to engage with his fans and share his adventures with them.

One of his recent posts is a picture of a little boy holding a stuffed lion with one hand and part of his insulin pump in the other. The caption reads: “Tough guy & his lion wants you to #showmeyourpump,” part of Derek’s call for people to donate to the American Diabetes Association.

“It’s a great tool to reach the fans and bring them into our world,” Derek says about Twitter.

While Derek enjoys using Twitter, he says his favorite social media platform is Instagram. Fans can peruse pictures of him on-set, lounging around, goofing off and just being himself. He aims to post positive thoughts and witticisms.

“Posting for friends is one thing,” Derek explains, “posting for people who don’t know you but are interested in your life makes it more fun. Posting photos of your life with captions and comments that signify you and what’s important to you.”

Derek is well aware that his audience has increased rapidly and that it is important to be mindful and conscious of everything posted on social media.

Censorship is vital especially when it comes to cursing and negativity, he mentions. He understands that there are many controversial topics and doesn’t want to lose fans or step on anyone’s toes.

“I try and stay away from really hot topics and go for the jokes and more uplifting things.”

To avoid controversy, Derek is always second-guessing himself. If he thinks that somebody may interpret something the wrong way, he won’t post it. His image is very important to him.

“I don’t want to lose fans because I didn’t think twice about putting something really dumb up that could offend someone.”

He says it’s about thinking about the big picture and making sure that something is safe and kind to everyone.

For now, Derek is working on the fourth season of Baby Daddy through February, and he plans to travel through Spain and Paris over the holidays.

He hopes Marvel is his next stop,where he can “be your superman. His dream role would be following up Hugh Jackman as the next Wolverine. “[Jackman] can have one or two more [movies]. I get them after that,” he says while giggling. “Derek says the movie was so famous that it is only a matter of time before it is filmed again.

As for right now: “diabetes, shark movie and Baby Daddy are my life.”

Which is still not what he ever imagined he would be doing. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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kiersey clemons

Words by MERISSA BLITZ | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

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Though Kiersey Clemons is relatively new to the entertainment world, she already has established a reputation because of her dedication to acting, passion for writing poetic music and motivation to succeed.

“I kind of have a cool story, a little bit,” Kiersey says with a laugh.

Born in Pensacola, Florida, Kiersey grew up a country girl, riding tractors in a town where deer is hunted for sport.

After her mother remarried her stepdad, who was in the Navy, Kiersey and her family began moving around more.

They lived in Virginia and Alabama, all places, Kiersey says, that have nothing to do involving music and acting.

Eventually Kiersey and her family ended up in Redondo Beach, California, where she spent her middle and high school years. It is also the place where she first became involved in theater.

Kiersey always wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but no one in her family was in it, so it was difficult for her to get her family — primarily, her mom — to realize that she was meant to entertain. “When I was 16 I was like, ‘OK, Mom, I’m serious,’ because she thought it was a hobby,” Kiersey explains.

“She called it an itch I needed to scratch.”

While everyone in her high school was talking about college and what major they would study when they got there, Kiersey already knew what she wanted to do: entertain people. “[My mom] was never against it. She was afraid of it because you hear so many bad things,” Kiersey says, as she recounts a story about her great grandmother, who had been approached by a man in the industry looking to make her famous. The man even flew her great grandmother to California only to have her realize she’d been played. “My mom had a bad taste in her mouth about [the entertainment industry], but I changed that,” Kiersey says. “Now she’s seen the good side of it, so she’s my number-one fan.”

Kiersey joined an agency called Progressive Artists when she was 16. She was the first youth that they signed and started their youth division.

In 2010, Kiersey booked her first role on a television show, playing a girl

named Danielle on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up!. “When you’re a kid [in the industry], Disney Channel and Nickelodeon were like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Kiersey says.

Her following two projects were a few steps above the Disney or Nickelodeon age group, and they dealt with sensitive subjects such as ‘white-washed’ kids that live in poor neighborhoods, dealing drugs and the lives of transgender people.

Just before moving to New York City this year, Kiersey finished an independent dramedy titled DOPE. In the film, produced by Forest Whitaker, she plays a lesbian named Diggy. “It’s about these three kids, and we’re kind of geeky, and we’re into video games and punk music.

But we live in the ’hood,” Kiersey explains. Diggy and her friends are labeled the “white-washed” kids in high school, a name Kiersey remembers being called a lot when she was their age. The group gets caught up with a gang that puts drugs in their backpack, and they need to find a way to get rid of them. They end up using their white fan base and go to frat parties to sell the Molly, or ecstasy, that they acquired. “We filmed one of the more serious scenes on the last day, so all the tears were real,” Kiersey says. “I was super emotional.”

On Amazon Studio’s new show Transparent, Kiersey plays Bianca, a character she describes as a wild child who knows what she wants. Transparent follows the life of a transgender man who comes out to his family when he is middle-aged. On set, there was a group of transgender people, and the actors were able to talk to about their life experience to get a better grasp on what it was like to live like they did. “They’re such open accepting people not only of others but of themselves; they don’t try to deny their past.” Kiersey said. “As a human, that’s a really great quality to have.”

Through these past two projects, Kiersey has been able to shed light on issues that not everyone may understand. “It’s been such a great experience for me to be able to have this platform as a straight person to give a new perspective and see it from someone else’s point

of view,” Kiersey said. “To be a part of breaking stereotypes — that’s what’s impacted me the most.”

Recently, Kiersey moved to New York City to work on her newest project, MTV’s Eye Candy. In this who-done-it series, Kiersey plays a sassy character named Sophia, who is reminiscent of Samantha from Sex in the City. Sophia’s roommate Lindy (Victoria Justice) is being stalked by her online romancer.

“It’s really well written because you think that everyone around her is a possible suspect,” Kiersey said. “Like even me, I do things sometimes where I’m like, why am I saying or doing this? Am I the murderer?”

Sophia owns a club called IRL and, Kiersey says, “a lot of really crazy shit goes down there.” Lucky for her, Kiersey currently lives only two blocks away from Eye Candy’s sound stage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “I’ve always wanted to move to N.Y.,” Kiersey said.

“It’s been a dream being here, and the shopping is really awesome, and there are cafes everywhere, which is so convenient because I’m always hungry.”

While she’s been in New York City, Kiersey has been busy focusing on Eye Candy, but she has also been dipping into other hobbies. “I’ve been writing a lot of poetry. Not so much songs, but they’ll probably transition into song,” Kiersey said. “That happens a lot.”

To ease the strain of her parents’ divorce, Kiersey’s mom gave her a notebook. Kiersey began writing poems in it, which sparked her interest to write music. Not only is she getting in touch with her feelings as she writes lyrics, but she also writes about things that happen to her friends or family. “As an actor you have to put yourself into other people’s positions and sometimes relate to things that have never happened in your life, and I try to use that with my music, too,” Kiersey explains. “So I take things my friends have gone through and try to see it from their perspective and write about it.”

As for what she’s going to do with the rest of her free time in the city: “It’s going to get cold here, so I’m probably going to go shopping and get some coats. Any reason to go shopping. Why not?” NKD NKDMAG.COM

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Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

THE MAINE

I guess it’s true what they say: you’ll always find your way back home. For The Maine, home is the Vans Warped Tour, where they are surrounded by old friends and old fans in parking lots across the country. But this year was a little different for the Arizona natives; this year they were the underdogs.

The last time The Maine — comprised of John O’Callaghan (vocals), Kennedy Brock (guitar), Garrett Nickelson (bass), Jared Monaco (guitar) and Pat Kirch (drums) — traveled with the punk rock summer camp known as Warped Tour was in 2009. They were supporting their debut record Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop (2008) while sporting neon clothing. Since then, their touring decisions and musical direction has been less safe.

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I meet with John and Kennedy in a cramped dressing room at the Long Island stop of Warped Tour. Around us are various members of other bands with odd piercings, multicolored hair and outfits that should only exist inside a Hot Topic catalog. John and Kennedy stand out for not standing out; John wears a plain black T-shirt while Kennedy ops for white. Maybe it’s because they’re a little older and know they don’t need gimmicks, or maybe it’s simply because they know their musical vision speaks louder than their personal appearances.

The Maine’s latest record, Forever Halloween (2013) was a straight-up rock ‘n’ roll record and not exactly what veteran fans would have expected, but no one seemed to complain. Forever Halloween got them in front of new, older audiences while still keeping the kids that grew up with them interested. They spent their record cycle on tour with bands like Deaf Havana and Anberlin before spending their summer on Warped Tour. “It’s refreshing to learn we’re still received decently in the Warped Tour world,” John says. “Now that we’re older, well I think it’s inevitable that [people] tend to take a younger band less seriously, and I think people are starting to take us more seriously.”

Those who have stuck around and grown up with The Maine hold a special place in their hearts. The kids that began following the band when they were 14 are now old enough to drink at their shows. “It’s strange, but in a 26

really great way,” Kennedy says. They recall specific fans who have been supporting them for what feels like forever: two sisters who hit 90 shows this summer, some girls from the U.K. who flew over for their 50th show, another girl who just saw them for the 78th. What means the most to them is hearing stories about kids who met at their shows and have stayed friends for years. “To know that music can do something like that is really special,” John says.

The Maine has spent the last five years building up their “8123 Family,” which is a reference to the band’s management company that also houses artists like Nick Santino, This Century, Lydia and more. Fans have latched on to the company and all the artists involved. “We used to want grandiose, huge, mainstream success and to play for thousands, but I think in retrospect, that not happening is a really great thing for us,” John says. “Not only career-wise, but I think for our psyche and our mindset.” Seeing people crowd surfing during sets or getting a hard look at the faces in the crowd when a band is performing reminds John why they started The Maine in the first place.

Compared to Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Forever Halloween is quite the jump. But in terms of progression, it made total sense coming off of Pioneer (2011). “I’m confident that I’m not going to write something so far off base that people stick their noses up at it,” John says.

“It’s empowering to know that people will allow us to try new

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things.” They never go into a record thinking, “let’s be different.” It just sort of happens.

Now that The Maine is not associated with a record label, the possibilities are endless in terms of what they want their upcoming fifth record to sound like. “It’s a great feeling to be able to do exactly what we desire,” Kennedy says.

“More and more bands are starting to do it on their own,” John observes. Coming off the tail end of the MySpace generation, The Maine have always had a D.I.Y. ethic, and have also watched the changes happen in terms of social media and home production.

“It gave us this whole different perspective on how we wanted to do things on our own,” Kennedy says. Part of their D.I.Y. mentality involves being as accessible as possible to fans, which has always been an important aspect of The Maine’s success. They were some of the first to join Twitter, and though they’ve grown in popularity since 2008, they still make a point to stay involved on social media, but more so in-person. “I’m not a huge fan of the Internet, like I have a phone but I wish I didn’t,” John says. “But being on the road and talking to people and seeing them smile, that’s what I like.”

Two months after Warped Tour ends I meet with the band again in an equally cramped dressing room in New York City. In a few hours the band will play a sold out show at The Gramercy Theater as part of their four-date Farewell Forever Halloween tour.

When they conclude the tour

a week later, they’ll black out their social media accounts and head to the studio for a month to record their new record.

It was an extremely successful summer for The Maine; they sold over 7,000 copies of Forever Halloween on the tour and crowds were amped every day. “We were really overwhelmed with just the shows in general,” John says. “Our expectations were kind of nil, and we were nervous no one was going to show up.” But people did show up, and The Maine felt extremely welcome all summer. “We’ll have to wait until our next tour to see how many of those kids come back, but I’m hopeful,” Jared says.

Hope seems appropriate given how these four end-ofthe-year shows sold out in minutes. Fans were eager to hear some Forever Halloween songs live for potentially the last time, given that 2015 will be all about LP5. “We’ve been around the world a bunch with this record, and played in front of as many people as we could, and we just all kind of have the itch to start working on the next record,” Pat explains.

At the time of our interview, the band was still only in the demoing process, but they spent the better part of November recording. The Maine rented a secluded house in Joshua Tree, California, and built a home studio inside to record. “It’ll be nice to be enveloped in the whole record,” John says.

While a traditional studio was definitely an option, The Maine want to enjoy their freedom as independent artists

and do things that not every artist has the luxury of doing. They’ll be working with Colby Wedgeworth again, who co-produced Pioneer. “Pioneer was kind of just a scatterbrained project, to be honest,” John says. “Not that we’re not pleased with how it turned out, but we just had so many songs to choose from.” For this record they have more of a focus on what they want and are excited to explore Colby’s “pop sensibility.”

“I think we’re kind of outof-tune with what’s going on in modern music right now,” John says. “[Colby] will be the tether that brings us back down to reality.”

The specific idea going into Forever Halloween was to record everything live and create something unique and complete with flaws. For this new record, the only specific goal The Maine have is to make a positive and optimistic record.

“I think we caught some sort of infection over the summer that was screaming positivity, and that’s what we would like to promote,” John says.

Being independent, The Maine can release this record really whenever they want to.

While there’s no definite date in their heads just yet, they’re aiming for early 2015 so they can get back on the road as soon as possible. Other than recording, The Maine are taking it easy the rest of 2014 before coming back full swing in 2015. “We’re at the point now where we’ve been doing this for almost eight years, and this is our fifth record,” John says. “We’re so fortunate to be in this position.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

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LAUREN COLLINS Words by CHRISTINE O’DEA | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

“I don’t even remember what life was like before being an actor, but it’s not the only thing that defines me,” says 28-year-old Canadian actress Lauren Collins.

Since the age of 10, Lauren has lived life on a stage, on a screen and as the subject of many camera lenses. But the glamorous lifestyle that most people would expect from actresses and famous TV stars is misplaced when it comes to Lauren.

Selfies sans makeup on Instagram and tweets about salad dressing recipes don’t exactly scream celebrity.

Lauren describes her childhood self as “shy but excited to try anything new.” For Lauren, acting began when a teacher of hers suggested that she try a community theater program in her hometown of Thornhill, a suburb of Toronto.

“I wanted to be everything from a figure skater to a hairdresser,” she explains. Growing up, she followed her brother’s footsteps into karate and other activities. But she only truly fell in love when she started acting.

After playing a part in a production of Annie, Lauren says that her career “just spiraled from there.”

An agent approached her, asking to work on additional professional projects, and after coaxing and convincing her parents to let her move on to auditions and accept other roles, things simply took off.

“I think I have a VHS copy at my parents’ house of the first thing I did … which was a Campbell’s soup commercial,” Lauren says, laughing at the thought of the clip. The late ’90s in Toronto was a busy time with many TV shows filming in the area. Lauren recalls working consistently but also feeling devastated at not getting some of the roles she really wanted.

“My parents wanted it to affect me so much that I would want to stop [auditioning],” she begins, “but I just loved it so much, and I stuck with it.” Eventually, as a teenager, Lauren landed the role of Paige Michalchuk on Degrassi: The Next Generation, a teen drama that is currently in its 14th season and has won over 50 awards so far.

For most people, the formative years of life are spent in the halls of a high school. But for Lauren, they were spent in the halls of a high school TV show set. While Lauren attended school as a regular student

while working on this series, she is also grateful to have had this opportunity in Toronto and “outside of the Hollywood bubble.”

“It was a very normal existence,” Lauren says of her years on Degrassi. “In the friendly Canadian bubble, no one really cares that you’re an actor. And you’re not making millions of dollars like some U.S. stars are. For the first couple of years, it felt more like a summer job.”

Balancing the schoolwork with her job was difficult and much different from what Lauren can only assume is much more chaotic for Disney stars in today’s young Hollywood environment. “I think [everyone on Degrassi] thought, ‘Let’s have really boring personal lives because we don’t want to end up like [our] characters on the show,’” she laughs. The action on Degrassi far exceeded any drama Lauren had in real life as a teenager, partly because social media did not exist back then.

One of Lauren’s passions and hobbies today is social media, which she loves (and sometimes hates) for making our world so much smaller. Twitter and Insta-

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gram have become parts of her daily life, and with those tools she’s able to see that her character on Degrassi is still relevant. In retrospect, however, Lauren can confidently say that she’s happy to have missed the rise of Twitter and Instagram while starring on Degrassi because she wouldn’t want to see all the animosity.

“People can be mean sitting behind a computer,” she explains.

“But it’s so nice to be able to engage with the fans and have people reach out because they’re watching older episodes.” While Lauren was on Degrassi, mall tours and signings were the only way to interact with fans.

Now, Lauren gets to feel the love her fans — from now and from the early beginning of the show.

A glimpse into Lauren’s social media profiles makes her even more relatable. For Halloween this year, she posted a picture of herself wearing a bee costume with the nametag “YONCE” around her neck and the caption, “Get it?” One Instagram post is of Taylor Swift, and the caption reads, “So who is throwing me a backyard bday party next week where we listen to #shakeitoff on repeat all day?” An earlier tweet asks followers if she should attend her high school reunion. Lauren loves social media as an outlet and clearly knows how to have fun with it.

These days, fun is an important component in Lauren’s daily activities and her long-term endeavors.

With her latest project, a satirical short film called Zero Recognition, viewers get to see her intellectual work through with her acting adn writing. It is Lauren’s first exploration of the entertainment world through pen and paper; she wrote and produced the film alongside friend and fellow Degrassi actor, Ben Lewis. “The best work to find as an actor is to make your own,” Lauren explains.

For her first attempt at writing 32

and producing, Lauren says that she had fun and is proud of the production, which only had about 15 people working from start to finish. “I want to do more of it, and I’m nervous because it will be on a bigger scale next time,” Lauren explains. “But I can’t imagine doing it alone.” For Lauren, working with Ben, a close friend and former roommate, was one of the most rewarding parts of producing and creating this film. Her respect for him as a producer, and trust in him as a business partner, is undeniable.

Lauren shared that she and Ben have ideas for more short films and features for the future, and that they have plans to pursue them.

She has even considered moving to Los Angeles to begin working on these projects on a larger scale.

Transitioning from an acting role to a producer role, where decisionmaking is at an entirely different level, is a challenge that Lauren is learning to embrace.

While acting remains the number one goal of her career, Lauren’s newly discovered passion for writing and creating her own films is a blossoming passion. Lauren’s respect for others earns her respect from others as well. She looks up to women like Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey, who created roles and opportunities for themselves via script writing. Through Lauren’s understanding of the way that success comes in Hollywood, she has kept a real grasp on what it means to be a hard worker and opportunity-taker.

Lauren admits that “the dream” would be to go to L.A. for an audition, and book a show that shoots in New York. For now, Lauren plans to go to L.A. and write another feature, which she and Ben hope to begin shooting in Toronto next spring. “I think [writing and acting] are going to go hand in hand,” she says. NKD

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ECHOS Words by STACY MAGALLON | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

SMITH

Less than five years ago, Echosmith were begging their friends to come to their gigs.

Lately, they haven’t had to resort to that.

The Sierotas — Jamie (guitarist), Noah (bassist), Sydney (vocals) and Graham (drummer) — have been a band for seven years. The four siblings have been around each other since birth, but now, they don’t have much of an option.

The Sierotas were raised in a musical atmosphere in Los Angeles, California. They have their father, producer and songwriter Jeffery David, to thank for that. In addition to instruments lying around their house in Toluca Lake, they 36

built a studio built in their garage.

The quartet watched their father create music with other artists, which led them to create music of their own. At first, they’d come home from school and rock out together.

They just didn’t intend to start a band. But when their father needed a band to play at a community fundraiser, Echosmith was born.

“There aren’t a lot of familybased bands out there,” Sydney says to me on the phone a few days after their sold out show in New York City.

I recall the Sierotas siblings walking on stage around 9 p.m. Jamie, Graham and

Noah approach the spotlight in clean cut blazers and slacks then their sister follows behind them. Sydney appears in a silver sequined dress, positioning herself at center stage.

Even in a packed space of over 500 people, Echosmith commanded The Marlin Room at Webster Hall, eliciting a powerful roar from the crowd. I scout the audience quickly.

The room is filled with young men and women — some with their friends, some with their parents — all of whom are pushing to get some front row action.

Sydney is calling in from Chicago to speak with me, and they’re scheduled to perform

at the city’s Lincoln Hall that night. She tells me she’s beat from an early flight, but her perky tone convinces me otherwise. Much like her enthusiasm on the phone, Echosmith aspire to be as passionate on stage.

If you haven’t seen the family perform live, I doubt you’d know how young they are. Echosmith, whose ages range from 15 to 22, have a sound beyond their years.

“We’re a younger band but we don’t necessarily play music for younger kids,” 17-year old Sydney continues. “We just try to make the music we want to make.”

Echosmith’s debut album,

Talking Dreams (2013) was released on Warner Bros. Records. The album takes listeners on long-winded trip, but the experience really begins on the third track with the hit teenage alienation anthem, “Cool Kids” before bringing you to space with the acoustic fan-favorite “Bright.” Talking Dreams is for hopeful souls who like easy, uplifting listening. But prior to Echosmith’s first real record, the band was struggling with identity issues.

“It took years for us to find a genre we would fit into,” Sydney says. She and her brothers fell into different phases, unsure whether their band was more pop, more

rock or maybe more experimental. Their early creations were very eccentric and “all over the place.” While recording Talking Dreams, the tracks started to sound like they belonged to the same family. Almost all of the songs on the album were written in the same period of time.

Nowadays they like to label their sound as alternative pop, but they’re a little bit of everything. Echosmith are not straight pop or straight alternative. They have a very distinct taste to their tune that can’t be justified in words.

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have released a completely different record. “We’re happy to have that differentiation about our band,” Sydney continues.

“You can tell our music is different whether you like it or not.” Since the initial release, Talking Dreams has been revamped and re-released with new mixes and bonus tracks.

After performing on the Vans Warped Tour for two years in a row, Echosmith pride themselves on being more experienced performers.

The nationwide summer tour kept the Sierotas on their toes.

“We learned how to interact with the audience,” Sydney says. “And we weren’t afraid to try something new on stage 38

just because we had to play 40 shows after that.”

With two consecutive years of performance training, Echosmith stepped it up a bit.

Or a lot. The band performed their certified platinum single “Cool Kids” on national television outlets, namely the Today show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

“Those experiences only made us appreciate what we're doing,” Sydney says. And even with national success under their belts, Echosmith is still humbled by the number of people who attend their shows every night.

“We still wonder how many people are going to show up,” Sydney says. Fortunately for them, many of their shows sold out in advance. For a band that has been so accustomed to opening for larger acts, the weird transition to headlining is understandable. But Rolling Stone didn't name Echosmith as one of the 10 New Artists You Need to Know unless they had some serious talent and potential.

Part of Echosmith's success can be contributed to their familial bond. Being together 24/7 has only taught them how to work together, which makes every aspect of their job more enjoyable. If it weren’t for the

band, the Sierotas would still be as friends, but no where near as close-knit. “Of course we still have our moments,” Sydney says. “But this band has brought us closer as family and as friends.”

In the past seven years, the Sierota siblings have watched one another blossom — that includes witnessing one another's initial awkward stage phases. Their stage presence has improved over the years, to the point where they can't imagine a life off a stage. Sydney promises me that the band will never break up, though there might be a time when she or her brothers might consider pursuing a side project.

But ultimately, it all comes down to their love and passion of what they do as a team. “We know of the magic that happens when the four of us perform together,” Sydney says.

I recall a moment from Echosmith’s show at The Marlin Room. During their ’80s dance rock performance of “Let’s Love,” Sydney looked over at Jamie and smiled.

There was that sibling love.

Could they be friends without Echosmith? Sure. But they agree that this scenario is much better. The Sierotas want to be that band that grow old and still play music together. “I hope we can do this forever,” Sydney says,

laughing. “The only thing that could stop us is our physical health.”

With Echosmith taking off, the band has been busier than ever. Their schedules often involve multiple meet and greets, interviews and performances every day. That lifestyle has taught them the concept of balance. They may be exhausted, but they're appreciative. “It makes getting on stage extremely worth it,” Sydney says. Echosmith are thrilled by their success thus far. “We have big dreams,” she says. “But we're also thankful for where we are right now.”

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to Echosmith’s shows. They don't need to beg their friends to come out to their concerts anymore. The siblings charged through that disheartening phase, much like most musicians do, and the results are showing. “There were times when I wouldn’t want to do a show because I’d have to text everyone in my phone book at least three times,” Sydney laughs. “And then maybe 10 people would show up.”

The Sierotas are fueled by their ability to connect with their fans. Though they’ve been on the road promoting their debut record, Sydney wants their second album to reach an even wider audience of listeners. More importantly, they want their fans to know they are loved. “People listen to music to feel something whether it's love or happiness,” Sydney explains. “And we love being able to provide that for people.” Whether they're selling out an arena or a hole-in-the-wall room, Echosmith care more about the people filling that space and how well they can make a connection with them.

Playing a sold out show or even booking a tour is only one of the few dreams Echosmith have been able to cross of their to-do list. For now, they just want to grow as a band, as a family and as humans. “We’re still not used to selling out shows,” Sydney says. I hear her let out a small chuckle on the other end of the line. Well, Echosmith just announced yet another headlining tour that will start in the winter. They better get used to it. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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* TEAM Words by TARA DEVINCENZO | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

On a Monday night phone call with Caleb Turman and Rico Garcia, you can learn several different sides to their personas. They’re both (basically) from Dallas, both worked together on their first album (maybe it’s technically an EP?) and are both members of (a band called) TEAM*.

Truth of the matter is, Caleb and Rico would rather not be definitive just yet.

Caleb is originally from Dallas, whereas Rico ended up moving just before his teenage years. They lived down the street from each other without even knowing so until meeting years later. When they started touring with each other, they ended up writing together and realizing the potential they had as a team. “One song turned into two, two turned into four, and we just started recording them,” Rico says.

When their songs started leading them to the idea of the band, the ideas for a band name started flowing. “You have to think of something you want everyone to associate your band with,” says Rico. They went through a handful of names that didn’t make the cut, like Leopard Messiah or The Wolves, before they were struck with inspiration. “We shared a vision and there was a flaming pie in the sky that said, ‘Let there

be TEAM*’... with an asterisk,” Rico explains. To shorten the story they may revert to a much less involved reason: “Caleb didn’t hate it.”

The two had been working together, writing and recording, for so long that the way TEAM* formed was a gradual process. They are somewhere around the year mark, but they don’t have an absolute time frame of their existence as TEAM*. “I kind of gauge it by when we decided to announce we were really a band,” Rico says. They released their single “Am I Alive” on May 14, 2013, and shortly after that, they unveiled the other bandmates that would be on tour with them.

Caleb acts as the primary songwriter as Rico was in charge of “slappin’ the skin,” though the writing process is still very much a joint effort.

When asked if they plan to release an album in the future, they say they’re really just in an “EP mentality.” “I’m always thinking about getting music out as quickly as possible,” Caleb says. “We’re just very hungry to throw music out there.”

The first EP was released in December 2013, and only 5 months later they released the next. “The reason we like the EP mentality is that we can do as many as we want of them, there’s no ceiling,” Rico. “It’s a com-

pilation of how we’re writing at the moment.”

After getting signed by South X Sea, they scrubbed their second EP from the internet and the shelves and had it re-released in October.

Originally, Good Morning Bad Day contained seven songs, but after months of songwriting between the original release and the re-release, two more tracks were added. “We say EP because we want to keep putting out more music all the time,” Caleb says. “It’s almost like an EP, but it’s a record for sure.”

Though the time between the EPs was so short, they consider the two projects very different in terms of sound. They like the versatility that they’re building under their brand because it allows them to adapt and change the way they sound without changing their entire image.

“I wouldn’t put it past us to do a slow jams record or something like that,” Caleb says. “That’s honestly the kind of band we are. Every time we get together to write it’s different.”

Rico shares Caleb’s feelings about the band and says, “Nothing is ever really ignored. If Caleb comes up with something that’s like a slow jam or like The Beach Boys, I don’t think anyone in the room would think that’s too out there.”

“A good writer expands and taps into other things instead of staying in that comfort zone,” he adds.

The duo showcased their versatility on the road for 40 days and 32 shows along with three other bands: Colony House, Knox Hamilton and Barcelona. Rico and Caleb toured with other bandmates, but not necessarily TEAM*mates. “Since the very beginning, Caleb and I have been very ride or die,” Rico says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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WE ARE THE

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E IN CROWD Words by SAM ROSENTHAL Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

After non-stop touring and releasing their newest single “Manners,” We Are The In Crowd — comprised of Tay Jardine (vocals), Jordan Eckes (vocals/guitar), Mike Ferri (bass), Cameron Hurley (guitar) and Rob Chianelli (drums) — is ready to expand their horizons.

It’s been eight months since the band’s latest album Weird Kids was released and the impact has been monstrous. “It was really hard for us to gauge if anybody had listened to it,” Tay says of their first tour of 2014.

On the Glamour Kills Tour, which they completed last month, the band was finally able to see the impact of the record. Ahead of the tour, they released a remixed version of their song “Manners” with the help of the iTunes Single of the Week platform. While this may have seemed like a strange decision, it was in the band’s plan the whole time. “It was just timing, scheduling wise, we shot that video in May,” Tay says.

The music video for “Manners” follows the story of a relationship gone wrong, and that darker decision was thanks to their director, Kyle Thrash.

“He was like, ‘I listened to this song and this is kind of what I felt,’” Tay says. Kyle asked them what kind of things they would do in a relationship and pulled ideas from there to incorporate into the storyline of the video. “It was a mix between personal experience and what he had in mind,” NKDMAG.COM

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Tay explains. They were huge fans of the creative direction that the video took, stating that it was similar to a “weird, dark, indie movie.”

Because of the long gap between their records, many would think it would be difficult to win fans back.

Fortunately, that was not the case for We Are The In Crowd. Their goal was to try and reach new people rather than winning people back. “I think the fans who really love your band will always be there, as long as you don’t ignore them. We always try to do a really good job at keeping them occupied. Whether we were putting 48

out covers or doing weird Q&A’s on Twitter or anything like that where you keep them in the loop,” Tay says, “The new record was more of just, ‘Let’s reach new people because we’ve grown.’”

Though it’s been less than a year since Weird Kids was released, the idea of a new record is still in their minds. “We’re not one of those bands that write when we’re on tour. We need a set time to be aside and write.

So, we’re in the middle of figuring that out,” Tay says. The band is waiting to see where “Manners” takes them, and then follow that up with another

single and music video this winter. “If it seems like people are getting bored and they want something new, we’re ready for that,” Tay says. “It’s such a strange industry. You have to constantly pick people’s brains and be like … tell me what you want me to do.”

Prior to their current record cycle, We Are The In Crowd was touring almost exclusively with bands that leaned closer to the pop side of poppunk. But since releasing Weird Kids, they’ve been hitting the stage with heavier bands like New Found Glory and State Champs. But this was not an obvious decision or a way to establish

credibility. “We know that we dance that line, so we might as well reach those fans, too,” Tay says. “We had been on the opposite side of the spectrum for so long and we were getting offers and thought it was a great idea.

That’s kind of where we are coming from with that, just widening our fan base and seeing what it’s about.”

“These tours have been so much fun for us. I feel like they’re been totally different,” she adds. “You see the crowd react differently and it’s so weird because we’re playing the same music.”

In recent years, pop-punk has

skyrocketed in popularity thanks to bands like The Wonder Years and Man Overboard. And We Are The In Crowd have danced the line of poppunk, so they have attracted a similar fan base. “It’s been difficult and then it’s been really easy, too. It sucks when there are the really hardcore poppunk kids and they’re just like ‘What is this band?’ And you have to try and win them over,” Tay says, “But then there are also the kind of people who are like ‘Hell yeah.’”

On the Glamour Kills Tour, Tay and the rest of the band have mostly seen positive reactions from New

Found Glory fans. “Last night, I went out and signed at the end of the night, and I was talking to some kids outside and these dudes came up to me and said, ‘We’ve never seen you before, like we’ve heard your name, but we never checked you out and we feel bad that we haven’t done that yet.’ And that was really cool to hear that, it was a great compliment,” Tay says.

Regardless of the decisions they make, one of the band’s rules is to always stay true to themselves. When joining tours with more prominent bands, they thought they would need to play their heavier songs. They NKDMAG.COM

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quickly realized this wasn’t the case.

“We want these people to like us for who we are,” Tay says. And while radio play is important for the band, winning over people at punk shows is definitely a priority. “We’ve always been one of those bands that says, ‘Hey, if this works then let’s go for it.’

We don’t chase the radio track, and we don’t write songs to be in the Top 40.”

With the help of Fall Out Boy and Paramore, rock bands are once again making an impact on Top 40 radio, and We Are The In Crowd recognize this as an opportunity to reach more people. “I see a lot younger kids coming up after shows that want to play guitar and want to be in a band,” Tay says.

More recently, 5 Seconds of Summer has come along and are helping to put pop-punk music back on the airwaves. “It’s great, it’s working, and I’m definitely fans of the songs every now and then,” Tay admits. “If kids start to think if that type of thing is cool again then of course that’s going to help all of us.”

She believes that people are looking at them in a different light than One Direction and that it’s a positive thing for them. “I do respect it and totally respect their band,” Tay says. She is a firm believer that anything can help as long as you’re in charge of the way you’re being presented. When We Are The In Crowd first started out, they were compared to bands like Hey Monday and Paramore solely because they had female singers. “We were like, ‘Well, those bands are great, but we’re doing it this way. We’re writing this song.’ You can use all those things as an asset,” Tay says.

Now that the tables have turned and We Are The In Crowd has made their mark in the music industry, other bands are now getting compared to them. “It all comes full circle,” Tay says. “You start to feel more respected, and it feels like I’ve learned my ways.

And that’s the biggest compliment there is.” NKD 50

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HAVE MERCY Words by RILEY STENEHJEM | Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Have Mercy, an indie-rock fourpiece hailing from Baltimore are finding their musical stride with their second full-length record, A Place of Our Own — aptly named, as the band is finding their place in the music world.

Their musical growth has come mostly from time. Not the passage of time, but rather the amount of time they had in the studio.

“For our last record, we only had four days to record,” guitarist/vocalist Andrew Johnson explains. “And then we had to shoot a music video, and then immediately leave for a tour.

Like, literally got out of the studio, next day shot a video and left for tour in four days. [With] this one, I was expecting something to happen immediately after the studio, and then I was just like, ‘Oh, wait, we have a whole month.’”

The process of creating A Place of Our Own began almost a year ago, as the guys started writing in November and December of 2013. Recording at their own pace allowed the band to explore all of the possibilities for each song. “We thought we had a good batch of songs, and then we went to the studio and realized they’re not a good batch of songs,” says Todd Wallace, the band’s drummer. “We went in with 10 ideas, and then came out with 10 songs. It’s more of a product that you’re going to sell, and you want it to be perfect front to back,” Andrew says.

“I know that with all of my favorite records I don’t skip a track,” Andrew says. “I think that’s what we wanted to do, be proud of every song.” As for their personal favorites off the album,

Brian and Nick both love “The Place You Love,” Andrew’s favorite is “Plastic Covered Furniture,” and Todd’s is “Lean.”

But with producer Paul Leavitt’s aid, the band reworked the tracks to perfection. Bassist Nick Woolford says the first time in the studio was quick, but not when Paul was added to the process. “He was really on us about, like, ‘Hey, I don’t like this part. We should do this instead,’” Nick remarks.

“He definitely had an idea from the beginning, more so than we had an idea.”

Paul was actually a fan of Have Mercy before they began recording the LP. The band explains that he reached out to them about a year ago to gauge their interest in collaborating. “I think he knew what he wanted to do,” Andrew says. “He definitely changed the sound of the band.”

Reactions to the new album have been excellent thus far. “My mom loved it.” Andrew shares with a laugh.

“I think everyone likes it, and I think they knew it was the direction we wanted to go,” Todd adds.

Have Mercy, in its current form, came together only just this year, with the recent addition of Todd. “I just joined, like, two months ago,” he laughs. “I got kicked out of a band.

I didn’t promote it on Facebook enough.”

When guitarist Andrew joined the band, they “had a completely different lineup. “I got drunk at a party at [Brian] Swindle’s house and their guitar player just left, and I heard.”

Andrew recalls. “I hadn’t been in a band for like a year and a half. And I

was just itching to play music again. I was just completely hammered, and I was like, ‘You should let me play guitar in your band.’ And then I got a call the next day saying, ‘Hey, you want to come over and jam?’”

Nick joined the band after the former bassist left. “I’ve known the guys that are in the band forever,” he explains. “I was at their show, and the bass player walked off stage and said, ‘I’m quitting. You’re the new bass player.’ That was kind of it.”

Vocalist Brian Swindle started the band back in 2011, and is the only original member remaining.

The band has a lot to look forward to, with several big announcements coming out soon. They couldn’t tell us specific details, but they guys hinted at what fans can expect.

“We have a split coming out at the beginning of next year, but we can’t say who with.”

The guys are currently opening up for Real Friends, Neck Deep and Cruel Hands from now through the end of December. Their live sound is similar to what you can hear on the album. “We’ve tinkered with things a little bit, because you always want to keep things fresh,” Nick says. “Each tour we add something a little different to each one of the songs to keep it fun. Not 15 minute guitar solos or anything, but just playing stuff differently ,” Andrew adds, “There’s only so many times you can play the four chords to the song.”

As for their goals for the future, it’s pretty simple: “[We] want Fox to bring back The O.C. and have us record the soundtrack for it,” Andrew says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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