NKD Mag - Issue #16 (October 2012) by NKD Mag

NKD N A K E D M A G A Z I N E

FEATURING IMAGINE DRAGONS CIRCA SURVIVE ANDY GRAMMER

MAX SCHNEIDER

NKD

30-39

N A K E D M A G A Z I N E

PUBLISHERS

Ariella Mastroianni Catherine Powell

EDITORS

Nicola Pring Ariella Mastroianni

PHOTOGRAPHY Catherine Powell

WRITERS

Isaac Bate Olga Khvan Stacy Magallon Ariella Mastroianni Christine O’Dea Catherine Powell Nicola Pring Tanya Traner Kiki Van Son

MAX SCHNEIDER

DESIGNERS

Ariella Mastroianni Catherine Powell

COURTESY OF » Andy Grammer

Max Schneider

Big Picture Media

Set It Off

Carolina Liar

Socratic

Circa Survive

This Century

Erin Wilhelmi

twenty | one | pilots

Imagine Dragons

Tyler Hilton

MSO PR

Big Picture Media Big Picture Media

Vector Management MLC PR

Interscope Records 2

The Collective

Equal Vision Records Big Picture Media EightyOneTwentyThree Management Atlantic Records AMP3 PR

ALSO FEATURING 4-9

10-13

TYLER HILTON

14-19

THIS CENTURY

24-27

44-45

40-43

BIG PICTURE MEDIA

TWENTY | ONE | PILOTS

SOCRATIC 46-49

50-57

SET IT OFF

ERIN WILHELMI

CIRCA SURVIVE

28-29

CAROLINA LIAR

20-23

58-65

IMAGINE DRAGONS

ANDY GRAMMER NKDMAG.COM

» TYLER HILTON WORDS » STACY MAGALLON | PHOTOS » CATHERINE POWELL

“I don’t know what it is about boats that makeS people want to get wasted,”

Tyler Hilton says to me. After performing for a tipsy audience on a boat around the New York Harbor last night, it’s clear Tyler is suffering the consequences. I see the exhaustion in his eyes and hear the scratchy rasp in his throat, but he’s still smiling. He seems to be deep in thought as he softly strums his acoustic guitar beside me. I notice his puzzled expression – he’s still wondering about the boats. When I ask whether or not he was drunk on stage last night too, Tyler shifts his eyes, smirks innocently and says, “Maybe.” NKDMAG.COM

TYLER HILTON

» ON MUSIC: PAST & PRESENT » The Palm Springs, Calif. native grew up with a musical family and honed his own talent at an early age. Throughout his teenage years, Tyler was infatuated with guitars, and began playing professionally during his sophomore year of high school. Shortly after finishing his senior year, Tyler signed to Warner Brothers Records, a major accomplishment for him as an aspiring musician. Moving on to college was always an option for Tyler up until his record deal. However, this didn’t pose much of a problem much for him – Tyler knew what he wanted, and his approving parents only made the decision easier. “College would always be there, and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he says. “I figured it was worth it to at least try.” Once his dream of becoming a signed artist came true, Tyler, his family and his friends were all caught up in the excitement. When he began planning his move to Los Angeles, his high school friends desperately begged to come along for the ride. “One of my friends actually dropped out of high school to come live in L.A. with me,” Tyler recalls, laughing. “He lived in my closet.” Warner Brothers Records supported Tyler’s indie-rock musical production for nine years, but there came a time where the label kept him at a complete standstill. Tyler was on the verge of becoming a household name up until the eight-year long idle time between album releases. 6

After his second full-length album, The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, dropped in 2004, the label only managed to release two more EPs, and not until 2009 and 2010. “I tried so hard to put out a new record, but it just never worked out. They had to play my record for at least 20 different people to gather their opinions,” Tyler says. As his creative juices kept flowing with new ideas and concepts, the label had yet to provide him with a red or green light. Eventually, Tyler grew impatient at not moving forward, and left the label with one final “fuck this”. “I opened up my own record company,” Tyler says. “I told Warner Brothers to do whatever they wanted with my songs because I wanted to write a new record and start over.” That record ended up being Tyler’s latest release – a full-length called Forget The Storm. Prior to the album’s release, Tyler hit an all time low and was uncertain of where his career was going. For the first time in his life, he spent many days without work, sitting on his couch, and he would pick up his guitar every now and then simply for the hell of it. “For a while, I thought I was done with the industry,” Tyler says, sounding solemn. “I felt like I didn’t know how to write a song anymore.” That period of darkness and uncertainty was the inspiration for his hit song, “Kicking My Heels”. Thankfully, that time in his life is behind him, and Tyler is taking his steps forward.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told Warner Brothers to do whatever they wanted with my songs because I wanted to write a new record and start over.â&#x20AC;? TYLER HILTON

TYLER HILTON

» ON ACTING » A career in the entertainment industry was definitely on the horizon for Tyler, but with only little experience in high school productions, he never expected to become a professional actor. However, the popular teen drama One Tree Hill took Tyler by the wrist and yanked him into the acting world. Tyler played Chris Keller, an arrogant, egotistical man. Though the part was initially written for a 35-year-old singer and songwriter, the role was handed to Tyler, who was only 20 at the time. Chris Keller was set to make an appearance in only two episodes of the show’s second season, but the responses from the One Tree Hill’s viewers were far too controversial to keep him off completely. “I played such a dickhead in so many scenes, but I loved being a jerk,” Tyler says, laughing. “A lot of people hated my character so much, but I guess that’s why the directors kept bringing me back. It was a great reaction from the audience.”

After Tyler’s stint on One Tree Hill, he auditioned to be an extra in the 2005 biographical drama film Walk The Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The movie focused on the early life and career of country music icon, Johnny Cash, and the smaller role of Elvis Presley had yet to be cast. When the casting directors saw a facial similarity between Tyler and The King, the role was given to him. Tyler still considers this to be one of his biggest achievements as an artist. “I was obsessed with Elvis as a kid, so playing his role in this movie was an unreal experience for me,” he says, smiling. “I might have been Elvis seven times for Halloween [as a kid]. I just can’t do his little lip curl.” After Tyler’s current tour wraps up, he hopes to pursue more acting opportunities, whatever they may be. Though his dreams change on a continual basis, he would love to write his next album as a soundtrack to a movie.

» LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD » Half an hour has passed. Tyler’s publicist pops her head in to remind him about sound check, and it’s a reminder for me to wrap up. As our interview concludes, Tyler leaves me with a statement that makes a huge impression on me. “Your success affects your art, and your art affects your success,” he says, picking at his guitar strings one final time. “As I grew older, I realized how important it was for me to stay true to who I am. And even today, I have to

remember being that kid in high school who didn’t know how to write a song.” When Tyler and I go our separate ways, I remember that we never came up with a plausible reason as to why boats and alcohol work hand in hand, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out. And I know that as he’s thinking about that, he’s also thinking about where he came from, and where that kid in high school is heading. NKD NKDMAG.COM

THIS CENTURY When Phoenix-based pop-punk band This Century released their first full length album, Sound of Fire, in 2011, they couldn’t have imagined the response it got. Though the band may have yet to become mainstream in the U.S., their popularity quickly soared in Southeast Asia when songs from Sound of Fire topped the charts in the Philippines. Now, newly split from their record label and headed to Europe to tour with The Maine, singer Joel Kanitz and guitarist Sean Silverman talk about how they got here and where they’re headed.

WORDS » NICOLA PRING PHOTOS » CATHERINE POWELL

DID YOUR PARENTS SUPPORT YOUR CAREER? Yeah, they were very supportive. We all have amazing parents that are very supportive. They said, “As long as you’re passionate about whatever you’re doing, we support you.” we have a big advantage because everyone SEAN I[inthink the band] had this musical element to their family where… they understood why we loved it so much and why we were so passionate about it. I don’t know if we’d necessarily be able to have the same spirit to it if we didn’t have such supportive family members and friends.

JOEL

AT WHAT POINT DID THE BAND START BECOMING A CAREER? SEAN I think that even from day one when we started do-

ing it, in the back of our minds we always felt like it could be something really cool, like it could be something special. [From the beginning] it all made so much sense. I think when something’s that easy you tend to think, like “this could go somewhere.”

WHAt ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW? OK, I’ll summarize that in like three steps. Lived

SEAN in New York, moved to Arizona for college, met

Joel through my brother who went to the same high school, then started performing in Arizona which then led to performing in other states, which then led to performing nationally, when then led to performing internationally, which then led us to our first headlining tour, which now leads us to our second headlining tour where we are right now. For me, it’s born and raised in Arizona up until I met JOEL the band, and then what Sean said from there on out.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH MUSIC? Music was in my family pretty much from day one.

SEAN My dad was a musician, he had been in many bands

and he had toured before, and my mom was a piano player. I started playing guitar when I was in third grade or so. So I think it’s in the blood. I also have a pretty musical family. Everyone’s done JOEL something. My mom is a piano teacher, so I took piano on and off. I probably attempted about five times, so I had music from a pretty early age and then choir in high school, then I started playing guitar because I wanted to do something a little cooler than choir because choir’s not that cool.

[We’re] going to Europe with our good friends The Maine on their Pioneer world tour. We’ll be over there for awhile, we’ll get back home and then we’re going to put all our efforts into getting everything all ready for this new record that we’ve been working for a year on, and getting that out.

JOEL

What makes your new record different from your first full length, Sound of Fire? Well, when we made Sound of Fire we were on a record label. All the songs on that were kind of label-influenced with some of the decisions that we made. With these new songs, we’re not on a record label, we’re just doing everything ourselves. So I would say it’s a little truer to where we’re at and where we want to be as a band.

JOEL

WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR LABEL? SEAN We got caught in a situation where we were with a

team that we really cared about and supported and supported us, and were really excited about the record. A couple months before the record came out we lost a lot of our team and it was a lot of new faces we unfortunately got caught in that trap of being the baby band on a very, very large roster of very talented bands…Now that we have control and we’ve been able to do things we were never able to do at the label. NKDMAG.COM

THIS CENTURY

WOULD YOU EVER GO BACK TO BEING ON A LABEL? SEAN [It’s] not our goal to be this DIY band that never

signs to a label. I think there’s still value in labels in the right way, it’s just you need to make sure you’re watching your back and make sure that the people around you are actually supporting you and aren’t just going to drop you at the blink of an eye if something new comes along.

What are you expecting or hoping for on your tour with The Maine? SEAN I think the cool thing that we’ve found as a band

with some of the other ventures that we’ve done is that the international side of things has actually been more accepting of us I’d say than sometimes in the U.S. And not to say that we don’t have awesome, amazing fans in the U.S. it’s just that there are so many bands out there, and I think sometimes things can get lost in the shuffle. 12

This Century had a great response in the Philippines. What was your experience there like? It was absolutely wild. It’s surreal. It’s all because of the Internet and where technology is at right now, that kids can access our music. It’s snowballed. I don’t exactly know how it got on the radio. found out about it through my mom. She loves SEAN Iher YouTube and she saw that somebody was saying stuff about how some of our songs were played on an independent radio station over there and that they started playing it and the song went to number one, then a top 40 station picked it up. I think if the Philippines is indicative of what other places can offer we would love the opportunity to be a global band that gets to do this stuff all the time.

JOEL

THIS CENTURY

This Century and other pop-punk and rock bands from the Arizona scene, like The Maine, The Summer Set and Anarbor are really close. What is that like? SEAN It’s incredibly tight-knit. All of the bands from a

four or five year period are very close. At the time the pop punk rock music scene that existed flourished at the right time, and sometimes it just kind of happens that way. Those five or six bands would play every show together, and I think there’s camaraderie in the fact that you have the same goal and you want accomplish the same things….It’s really cool because after five plus years now we’re all still really close and we all still support each other. If you have that support, it pushes you. When you have good people around you, you trust in it. NKD

CONNECT WITH

THIS CENTURY TWITTER » @THISCENTURY FACEBOOK » FACEBOOK.COM/THISCENTURYBAND NKDMAG.COM

circa survive Terminal 5 might as well be in China because it is that far a walk from the nearest Subway station. My New York legs are not used to walking more than a few blocks from point A to point B, and they’re starting to ache as I walk the avenues. The breeze picks up as I get closer to the Hudson River and I find myself wondering if this is worth it. Circa Survive has never been one of my favorite bands, despite their immense talent and creativity. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy their music, but I’ve never gone out of my way to see them live. And then I saw them play a sold out show in New York City.

Now that million-mile walk is worth it. Before the show, I am walked on to Circa Survive’s tour bus parked around the corner from the massive line at Terminal 5’s front entrance. I am lead through the neatly kept front lounge, past the bunk area and into the back lounge where a few stray guitars sit on the couch next to bassist Nick Beard and drummer Steve Clifford. Still on a high from their tour opener in New Haven, Conn. the night before, the two open up about their departure from Atlantic Records, their line-up and growing up.

words & photos: catherine powell

CIRCA SURVIVE

ON BEING UNSIGNED

“We’ve been talking about self-releasing ever since the start,” Nick explains. The band signed to Equal Vision Records for their first album because of their close friendship with the label, and then eventually inked a deal with Atlantic. About mid-cycle with Atlantic they started throwing around the idea of being independent. The band’s departure from Atlantic sprung from the label wanting to renegotiate the band’s contract, which gives the band the power to leave without any backlash. So they did

just that. “I remember the day when we decided to do that,” Nick recalls. “It felt so freeing.” Circa then felt that anything was possible. When it came to writing their new record, Violent Waves, there were only minor differences. With Atlantic, the only pressure came from the band themselves, but with Violent Waves, they were more relaxed and took their time. They were able to focus on making a good record as opposed to focusing on writing hit singles.

ON THE

EVER-CHANGING MUSIC INDUSTRY In Nick’s opinion, major labels won’t even exist a few years from now. The music industry is changing constantly and many major labels are still “stuck in the ‘90s,” as Nick puts it. Having seen every level of the label industry the band feel like they’ve figured it out and are now able to release on their own. “Like I said, we’ve wanted to self-release from the start, we just didn’t have the fanbase or the 62

tools to eight years ago,” Nick says. He believes that fans are really what keep the industry moving and he recognizes that Circa Survive’s fans are extremely powerful and plentiful. Violent Waves charted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts thanks to their dedicated fanbase and the band is now even more confident that they made the right decision in parting with Atlantic Records.

CIRCA SURVIVE

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CIRCA SURVIVE

ON their LINE-UP

“We’re all really passionate about [Circa Survive] and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon,” Nick says of the band’s steadfast line-up. It’s rare for a band to keep the same members its entire career, but Circa have managed to stay strong for eight years. “At this point it’s so far in that I just don’t think we would do [the band] anymore if one person left,” Steve says. Having been together so long and knowing only how to work with each other, they all agree that a serious talk would be

in order if one member walked away. “It’s been long enough that this is the band,” Nick says. “If a part changes out it’s just going to be… not right.” Having another person to teach songs to and write music with is another challenge they would not want to face. “We’d have to find someone really good who could just make up their own thing,” Nick says. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like they have to worry about replacing anyone or hanging up their instruments any time soon.

GROWING UP With the members of Circa Survive growing older and starting families, the band itself has definitely been impacted. They find themselves touring a lot less than when they first started, but Nick feels that may also have something to do with how the band has grown over the last few years. “When you’re just starting out and you’re just supporting a bunch of tours, you can just keep doing that because you’re going to keep seeing new audiences,” he explains. “But now we’re at this point where we headline most of the time and we can’t just headline tours back to back. People are going to stop coming to the show….” “That hasn’t been proven yet!” Steve interrupts, earning some laughs. “We 64

should try it!” Before Nick responds his wife, Danessa, speaks up. “You can’t tour all year!” she says. Nick laughs and shrugs. “See! We have families,” he says. Danessa joins in the laughter, claiming that if he was gone no one would change their cat’s litter box. As I walk off the tour bus after our conversation I’m surprised to see it’s dark already. I look at my phone to check the time and see that nearly 45 minutes have passed. After learning how hard this band works and how passionate they are about their craft I think I get it. I think Circa Survive just became one of those bands for me. NKD

CIRCA SURVIVE

Circa Survive @ Terminal 5 » New York, NY » September 14, 2012

NICK BEARD ON THE STORY BEHIND “BIRD SOUNDS” BEHIND THE MUSIC

“We’ve had that song on tap for a while…” Nick jokes. The ninth track on Violent Waves, “Bird Sounds,” was a demo originally written for Circa Survive’s 2007 release, On Letting Go. As much as they loved the song, it didn’t fit with the record. They tried to add it to their 2010 release, Blue Sky Noise, but it didn’t fit there either. Finally, after over five years, the song made its way onto a record.

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Erin Wilhelmi

WORDS: OLGA KHVAN | PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL

IT’S BEEN YEARS, BUT ERIN WILHELMI STILL VIVDLY REMEMBERS THE FIRST LINE SHE EVER UTTERED ON STAGE AS A 7TH GRADER IN LOUISVILLE, KY. “I played a grandma that comes on stage and her only line was, ‘How about Grace?’ That’s all I had to say and I was the first one there every night to get ready for it and I would have to run to the bathroom because I felt like I was going to vomit all the time. I was so nervous,” Erin says with a chuckle. “And then I guess it went well because I was like, ‘OK, that wasn’t so bad’ and then I kept doing it.” Now, sitting at a patio table in Bryant Park in New York City on a balmy August afternoon about a month before the premiere of her first movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Erin shows not a hint of nerves anywhere on her petite frame. Her look is simple — a black top, cropped jeans, black ballet flats, pin-straight blonde hair, minimal makeup — and so is her attitude. She exhibits the charming naiveté of an industry newcomer being thrust into the spotlight, asking her publicist how to pronounce names and how to use Twitter (“You have to let me know what you think about the movie. Twitter me.

Tweet me? Twitter me,” she says with a smile), but also the humility of someone who appreciates all the advice being given to her. “On set, I definitely learned a lot from them,” she says of the cast of Perks, who lived in the same hotel for the duration of the entire shoot in Pittsburgh. “I’d have to ask Logan [Lerman, who plays the lead character Charlie] all the time, ‘What does this mean? What does that mean?’ about film lingo and they were all so supportive of me and helped me out.” The film, based on a popular novel by Stephen Chbosky, features a young ensemble cast, which includes, alongside Erin and Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Nina Dobrev, Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons. Even the smallest supporting roles in the film are played by big names such as Paul Rudd, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott and Joan Cusack, which Erin regards as a testament of how special the project is. NKDMAG.COM 25

ERIN WILHELMI “Joan flew in for her role. She was there just for a day, I believe, but it was worth it to her,” she says. As a newcomer surrounded by industry veterans, Erin made sure to learn as much as she could from her co-stars, feeding off the energy of Miller’s impromptu jam sessions, learning how to handle the pressure of a life in the spotlight from Watson, getting into yoga with Dobrev and exchanging stories with Walsh. “I did yoga with Kate Walsh. What’s cool about her is she started in theater like me and she, as far as I know, didn’t have a family that was involved in the theater and like me, started on her own,” says Erin, who majored in theater at the University of Evansville in Indiana and moved to New York just four years ago to pursue a professional acting career. “She was doing a play at Atlantic Theater a couple years ago and she was telling me about that and it was just really inspiring to hear her story since it’s so similar to mine. I had such a different story than Emma and Ezra.” On set, Erin found a mentor in Perks author Stephen Chbosky, who in a rare move in the film industry not only wrote the screenplay for the movie, but also directed it. “It was great because being my first movie and his first movie, it helped us bond. I think we have that connection even today,” Erin says. “He’s really been such a mentor to me and he’s also an excellent director. He was exceptional and I can’t imagine the pressure that he had, but I think it’s amazing that he waited until he was allowed to direct his film. He could’ve easily sold it someone else.” Erin hadn’t read the book until after she landed the role, but knowing how important it was for the fans, dedicated herself to portraying her character, Alice, as honestly and accurately as possible. “There was one day that [Chbosky] and I went to Outback Steakhouse and had dinner and just talked about Alice the whole time, which was great because she doesn’t have a lot of back story in the script, so I wanted to make sure that what I was creating matched what he was thinking of the character,” Erin says. “We talked about all of that and laid out how she should be in the film and that helped me, to have that one-on-one time with him. You know he’s right because he wrote it.” In some aspects, Erin found that she could relate to Alice. “I could relate to her timid side. I was really quiet in middle school and the beginning of high school. It took me a while to come out of my shell and she’s 26

definitely very quiet,” she says. “She’s very academic, very focused on what she wants to do after college. She wants to go to NYU film school and I could definitely relate to that side of her, her drive and her passion for her art.” Just as Alice finds herself part of a close-knit group in the film, Erin developed a close friendship with her cast mates. “A lot of times we would shoot till four in the morning, so we would stay up and just watch

ERIN WILHELMI

the sunrise. I didn’t have a car and Emma did, so she would drive us around. We were contained in that space and I think it actually served the movie to have us in that space together,” she says. “We were stuck. We had to be friends,” she says sarcastically with a chuckle. Erin is already gearing up for her next project — starting rehearsals in October for her off-Broadway debut, The Great God Pan by Amy Herzog, with the

Playwright Horizons. She remains eager, however, for the premiere of Perks and especially the responses from fans of the novel. “I remember thinking that I almost liked the screenplay better. It’s that good. [Chbosky] was so true to his book and to his fans,” she says. “I just think it’s amazing how it’s touched so many people and I do think people will be satisfied and embrace it like they did the book.” NKD NKDMAG.COM 27

CAROLINA LIAR WORDS: KIKI VAN SON PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL

was unsure of how this interview would translate over the phone without the aid of body language to hint at jest and consequently, how it would be received by lead vocalist Chad Wolf of Carolina Liar. I hoped his response to this first statement: “Instruments as toys,” would be directing. And it was. “Interpret what?” he questions, but readdresses himself, “Instruments as toys?” Then as if he’s recalled some founding first principle, Chad says, “I agree 100 percent, instruments are just fantastic toys.” His energy streams through the line as he elaborates with, “Yeah, that’s the whole fun of it. They’re just grownup toys, and they get more expensive and cooler and they have fantastic buttons and colors and make noises...” I wonder if Southern hospitality is responsible for the open eagerness in his voice. By now Chad has run off with the thought to a world of his own, laughing as he references the cymbal-banging monkey. This is definitely more than manners, I conclude, and my uncertainty ceases. Chad is having as much fun as I plan to have. Our conversation turns to how the band got it’s name. Chad explains that Tim James, co-founder of Rock Mafia Records, wouldn’t sign him until he had a project name. Chad is originally from South Carolina, which explains the “Carolina” part. As for “Liar,” Chad reveals, “One morning when I 24

was talking to [James] about some stuff that had happened where I grew up, he called me the biggest liar. He just couldn’t believe half the stuff I was telling him.” Eventually, James insisted that Chad allow the name to be “Carolina Liar.” After leaving South Carolina, Chad moved to California, where his music career started. He explains, however, that Carolina Liar really took off in Sweden, where his band mates are from. “When (original drummer) Max Grahn heard a demo of “Coming to Terms” and “Show Me What I’m Looking For” (what would become the second and fourth tracks off their first album), he said I had to come out to where he had his studio in Sweden, and basically everything just kind of worked out there,” Chad said. “I had no obligations in California at all, so the opportunity to move to Sweden was just amazing. It was one of those, ‘Oh God, this is a gift. I actually get to live abroad for a while.’ And it was rad.” Carolina Liar began to take off in Sweden, and in 2008, the alternative rock group released their debut album, Coming to Terms. In 2009, Max Grahn was forced to leave the band due to an illness in his family. Currently, band members include guitarist Rickard Göransson, drummer Peter Carlsson, and keyboardist Johan Carolsson. Carolina Liar’s beginnings established, Chad and I decide to have some fun.

CAROLINA LIAR

NKDMAG.COM

CAROLINA LIAR Was the song “Show Me What I’m Looking For” an allegory for what you were looking for at the time? “Well we’d been getting into the California thing of people always looking for some sort of new answer. Everything is a new solution, there’s some new religion, new yoga class, some work out phenomenon that’s going to change the world or new drug that’s going to open up something fantastic. And that’s all we really did, shot all that down really quick, and that became the song.”

What role does “Daddy’s Little Girl” (eighth track on second album, Wild Blessed Freedom) have on the identity of “Miss America” (opening track)? “The idea of ‘Miss America’ was originally just about the country itself falling apart. But the idea of ‘Miss America’ actually being a physical person and being tied to ‘Daddy’s Little Girl,’ you can see the connection...” Then, as the phrase “daddy’s little girl” more often than not implies something inappropriately sexual and Oedipus Complex-influenced, Chad delivers the anecdote I was more expecting: “The true story behind that lyric itself is a bit dirty… My friends and I were out one night, and there was this young lady who had these amazing knee high boots on. Fantastic rider boots, like Chanel, something really expensive and worthy of appreciation, and so I just complimented her. I honestly wasn’t trying to hit on her. I was like, “My God, you have some amazing boots on.” She looked at me like she was about to slap me in the face, and I was like, “No! I didn’t say you have amazing boobs, I said you have amazing boots on.” So that night kind of just kept going on from one thing to another. We were laughing, hanging out, and at some point she was like, “You look a lot like my father did at your age,” and I was like, “That’s cool... That’s a very, that’s a nice thing to say.” But it’s kind of a strange thing to say too, because she started holding my hand and getting physical with me, and I was thinking this is really weird, and then she said, “Think of me as daddy’s little girl.” From that moment on, I’ll always see that phrase coming from this woman who was

kind of attractive to me, and then she thought I looked like her father, and I just was like, this is odd.”

How often do you take words from other peoples sentences and make them lyrics in your head? “All the time. That’s one of the best things about hanging out with Swedes, they use the language in such a different way. They’ll say things that aren’t necessarily normal English things to say [like] ‘Peel me off the hook,’ (a lyrics in the song “That’s Something to Die For”). What does that mean, dude? I like it. What can we make that mean?”

When writing music, which of your senses inspires you most? “I’m a big nature dude, I love that sense of freedom. Even being in Stockholm and thinking about the little apartment I lived in, the cracks on the floor, the texture of the apartment, that kind of thing. The smell of that place, like when the rain would hit the wood, that old, old place was build in the 1500s so you just kind of get the sense of all the lives that had been there. It kind of overwhelms you, and it puts you in a different sense of travel. Your mind is open to travel and space, and you know, just trying to keep track of time. I love to eat too so that’s an inspiration. A bit of wine is a wonderful thing to write on, you put your feelings down pretty well.”

What’s your favorite alcoholic drink? “I’m a red wine guy. The first time Peter and I had written together, he cooked this crazy dinner and brought out this crazy wine and we stayed up all night eating, drinking and writing. He had his wife and family, one kid at the time, but she was out of the house. The song, “When You Are Near,” came from the idea what when she wasn’t home, her essence was still in the room. I don’t think any of that would have opened up, we wouldn’t have explored a world like that if we weren’t comfortable.” Chad stops, and then, perhaps the best part of the interview, continues. “I had a phase where it was all tequila for a while, but I ended up one evening just kind of losing

CAROLINA LIAR

“A bit of wine is a wonderful thing to write on, you put your feelings down pretty well.” CHAD WOLF

my mind in a blind rush and rage, being in my underwear screaming at people about how cocaine is just one of the worst things ever. I was trying to be a preacher in my underwear, so from that moment on there was no more tequila allowed in my life. It’s sneaky like that. It’s a friend for a while and then all the sudden...”

replaces my own violent rendering of the world’s end with a graceful image like the drawing of a theatre curtain. I’m reminded that he’s a songwriter and has this noted ability to transfer emotion, so we finish the interview speaking about the band’s present undertakings. Carolina Liar are currently on the road touring while working toward a third album.

Which historical war would you write the anthem for?

How is the process of making a third album unfolding?

“There are so many pointless wars, what could be a good anthem for a war that mattered... I guess World War II, in the sense that, what our grandparents did for all of us. My grandpa was in the last cavalry there, he got so messed up from that war, lost his brother, they were so young, only 19 and 20. If it was a cause where it was something where you had to stop some sort of violence, that would be the only thing I could write the anthem for.”

What song should be playing as the world ends? “There’s so many you could hear at that moment. I always kind of go back to “Imagine” by John Lennon. If you heard that song when the lights were going out, you’d be like, ‘Yyou know what, we did the best we could. It’s all going to be OK, I know it’s scary, whatever’s on the other side, but we all had a good time, so let’s sing ‘Imagine’ and then I think maybe pull in the gang celebration.’” As cliché “Imagine” to end the world might sound, I can’t argue with Chad’s explanation. For a minute he

“The drives are long between venues so I keep a laptop near my bunk. You sleep really strangely out here, subconsciously you’re always in that protection mode. When the bus is moving your body is kind of aware of what’s going on, you wake up in this subconscious place where you just work from it for a little while. You’re not really thinking, you’re still writing out of a dream. You get really neat lines, there’s a lot of inspiration out here on the road. All these people, the bus drivers and other bands always have good stories that you would never hear unless you’re out here just hanging out and getting to talk to people. You hear things you would never know, get an inside look to people’s lives.” Chad ends the interview with a piece of advice directed at me as much as anyone else. “If you got a gypsy part of your soul, any part of that gypsy restlessness that you need to explore, just jump on a bus. Be like the camera person for a band for like 3 or 4 months and try it out, it’s kind of amazing.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

SOCRATIC Before their show at The Bitter End in New York City, we sit down with Socratic at a restaurant across the street from Madison Square Park. The members of Socratic, Mike Neglia, Duane Okun, Louis Pancio, Greg Scalera and Thomas Stratton, come from Linden, N.J. They’ve played a couple of shows recently, but due to the end of their relationship with Drive-Thru Records, there has been a lack of traditional touring. Despite this, the band are still completely dedicated to fans. To prove their love, they are recording a live album based on fan feedback. We asked front man Duane what the band have to say about their relationship with Drive-Thru, the upcoming record and their future plans.

WORDS: CHRISTINE O’DEA PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL WHY DID YOU RELEASE LUNCH FOR THE SKY ON VINYL? DUANE The guy who did the vinyls for us, Larry from

Broken Heart Records, he emailed me. He contacted us and said he would do it for free, give us our profit and keep what he makes.

WHY LUNCH FOR THE SKY OVER YOUR OTHER RECORDS? DUANE Instead of doing a new record, we wanted to do it more for the novelty aspect of it. We thought it’d be a cool thing to give back to anyone who wanted to keep up with us.

WHAT HAS THE BAND BEEN UP TO LATELY? DUANE Lately we’ve been trying to play as much as we

can, more within New York City. We’re promoting within the interweb. And we actually just started recording a free live movie [last week] since we haven’t been touring for a couple of years. We thought it’d be a good idea for people who have never seen us or for those who used to see us play…a live CD instead of just listening to the tracks on the record.

ARE YOU GOING TO START TOURING AGAIN? DUANE We’re definitely trying to tour but we lost our van and trailer when our contract (with Drive-Thru Records) ended. Crappy, but I would love to tour again. We just haven’t had the means to do it. And the last couple of tours we didn’t weren’t that great so we lost a lot of money doing it, so we took a break.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH DRIVE-THRU RECORDS? DUANE We didn’t really want to get off of that label, but

after we did (2008 album) Spread the Rumors, there were a couple of months after that with promotion and they kind of told us that there wasn’t much they could do for us and the record so that’s when we stopped touring. If no one’s really helping us then it’s just difficult to do it. We didn’t get off the label until after that though, about 5 years. It was a weird time, like a limbo.

DID YOU TRY TO SIGN WITH ANOTHER LABEL? DUANE No, we all were just sour about having people own our music because it’s strange. It felt like I worked at Target and they fired me, and I wanted to work at Walmart but I couldn’t because Target still had my soul. It’s like your old job is saying you can’t get a new job. It’s very weird. We toured ourselves for about a year or two after Spread The Rumors and then we just got to the point where it wasn’t working. So we stopped and started writing the new record and during that we realized that we had the art and everything done, but we still weren’t officially released. So we contacted them and we still had the van and trailer. And we said if you give us the van and trailer, we’ll call it even so we decided to do that.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS NOW THAT YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR MUSIC? DUANE I guess playing in New York City as much as we

can, promoting online and trying to build our area fan base by ourselves and not worry about someone else owning our music.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PROMOTE YOUR FANBASE ONLINE? DUANE : Everything. We had no online presence before

except our own Facebook, but these last few years we weren’t really doing anything. We just want to keep putting out more music. NKD

NKDMAG.COM 29

MAX SCHNEIDER WORDS: STACY MAGALLON » PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL

MAX SCHNEIDER

“IT’S GOOD EXERCISE, I PROMISE,” Nickelodeon star Max Schneider assures me as we climb up the steep staircase to the fifth floor of his apartment in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan. We have yet to reach the third flight of stairs, but I’m already feeling the tension in my legs. I can’t make a fool of myself in front of this perfect stranger — well, not yet at least. After walking through a vibrant red door, the first thing I see is a large framed photo of Max in a suit and tie — a graduation picture, I’m guessing. As I turn away from the hanging frame, my jaw drops at the sight in front of me. The undersized exterior of this five-floor walk-up does not at all compare to its massive interior. The lighting is natural; sun shines through enormous windows adorned with cream-colored curtains. The scratched, wooden floor is dark, complimenting the various shades of deep red and gold throughout the apartment. But the attraction that catches my eye most is the black wall depicting an ancient Chinese setting in gold. I’m amazed by the vast living area — a work of art itself. As my eyes wander in every direction, Max sets his ukulele case down in a chair and makes himself comfortable on a burgundy-

colored couch in a corner of the room. He pulls his arms out of the sleeves of his checkered flannel shirt, exposing a white tank top with blue, green and red stripes underneath. Max gestures for me to come over and sit next to him, and with a smile, I do. Max caught the singing and acting bug before he knew how to multiply. After seeing Beauty and the Beast on Broadway at age four, he came home and reenacted the entire show for his parents. “I performed for them on that table over there,” Max says, pointing to a coffee table on the other side of the spacious living room. The following year, at age five, Max starred as King of the Oompa-Loompas in a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

were in New York City. He was accepted to New York University where he studied for a brief period of time until fate decided Max was better off pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. “I went to NYU for half a semester until I got a role in this independent film called The Last Keepers,” Max says. The university permitted him to miss two weeks of classes, but missing any more than that would become a huge concern. When he left NYU to shoot the film, it took the overall experience for Max to make his final decision about his academics. “This is what I’ve worked for. Although I’d love to go back, school can wait for me,” he says. If it wasn’t for leaving NYU, perhaps Max, now 20, wouldn’t be who he is, or where he is today.

“LOOKING OUT INTO A FULL HOUSE WAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE FEELING. THAT’S WHEN I KNEW I WANTED TO EXPERIENCE THAT FEELING FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.” MAX SCHNEIDER His first major job came at 16 when he was cast as a swing understudy in the Broadway musical, 13. When a fellow cast member lost his voice during a number one night, Max took his place with only a few minutes to spare. He remembers that moment vividly. “Looking out into a full house was the most incredible feeling,” Max says, grinning. “That’s when I knew I wanted to experience that feeling for the rest of my life.” However, when Max graduated high school, he and his parents both agreed that college was the next step in his future. He applied to various schools, most of which

After his leave of absence, Max spent time modeling and going to open auditions in the city. Three months later, he heard about a particular Nickelodeon audition for a potential straight-to-television movie. “I auditioned for it, and the casting directors kept calling me back. Eventually, I was told I had a final callback coming up. I was so pumped,” Max says. That same weekend, he received another call about an audition for an upcoming Nickelodeon television show. He auditioned for the show hoping to try his luck, and within four days, Max’s future on Nickelodeon began to fall into place.

MAX SCHNEIDER

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MAX SCHNEIDER

“THEY FLEW ME TO LOS ANGELES where I met the producers and the heads of the network,” Max says. “A week later, I found out that I got a part in the Nickelodeon show I auditioned for.” That Nickelodeon show evolved into what is now How To Rock, a musical, comedic sitcom that revolves around Kacey Simon — a once popular “Perf” who loses her status when she temporarily has to wear glasses and braces. In an attempt to express herself through music, Kacey joins Gravity 4 (later renamed Gravity 5), an initially unknown band at Brewster High School, that is, until Kacey comes along. Max plays Zander Robbins, the confident keyboardist and guitarist in Gravity 5. Though he is slightly vain, he is a bright thinker and the glue that keeps the band together. Shortly after landing the role on How to Rock, Max tested for the Nickelodeon movie one last time, and was given the role of the lead character, Charlie Prince. That Nickelodeon movie soon developed into Rags, a musical-based Cinderella-esque rags-to-riches film co-starring Keke Palmer and Avan

MAX SCHNEIDER Jogia. Rags was released on the network earlier this year. “It was one of those things that you wait for, for a really long time, and it feels so good when it all finally just comes together,” Max says, gleaming about his big break. “You know how they say, ‘it happened overnight’? That’s what happened to me.” Though the memory is about four years old, Max’s drive for performance is still motivated by the moment he experienced while working on 13. His talents have been showcased for eyes and ears everywhere, and now, the country has witnessed that passion in person on his summer tour with Victoria Justice. When Max recorded and filmed two medleys on YouTube with the Nickelodeon starlet earlier this summer, who knew

when his microphone pack fell out of his back pocket. “I couldn’t hear myself singing. I ended up taking out my in-ears and kept on doing my thing,” Max says, recalling the memory. He starts wiggling his hips and holding up an invisible microphone to his mouth. “But while I was doing that, some monitor guy ran out on stage and tried to put my microphone pack back in my pocket while I was dancing. It was so random, but so funny.” No matter the circumstance, Max is sure about one thing: being on tour makes for some pretty great stories. “I want to tour for the rest of my life until I’m too old to be dancing around, which I hope is never. But if that really happens, I can just bring my walker or my wheelchair on stage,” he continues, laughing.

“I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER. I LOVE EVERYONE ON THE TOUR, BUT EVEN MORE SO, I JUST LOVE PERFORMING.” MAX SCHNEIDER they’d spend the following two months on tour together? While life on the road is a completely fresh experience for him, Max is learning how to roll with the punches on the “Make It In America” tour. “I couldn’t be happier. I love everybody on the tour, but even more so, I just love performing,” Max says. He mentions a performance in front of a crowd of 13,000 people. Not only was this the first show of the tour, but also the largest audience Max had ever sung for. “It was insane,” he says. Almost anything can happen while you’re on stage, and Max is more than happy to contribute to the unexpected with a “just go with it” mentality. He tells me about a particular show in Philadelphia

Although Nickelodeon recently announced that How to Rock will not be picked up for another season, Max expresses his disappointment with a thankful and positive attitude. “The network is doing what they’re doing. I respect it,” Max says. “I’m sad we won’t be continuing the show, but I’m happy it happened.” With one chapter of Max’s life coming to a close, new chapters are soon to be written. When asked about the future, Max tells me about his upcoming schedule for his return to Los Angeles — a combination of songwriting and filming a second season of the network’s revived ’90s sensation, Figure It Out. “I would love if they NKDMAG.COM

MAX SCHNEIDER

“YOU KNOW HOW THEY SAY, ‘IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT’? WELL THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.” MAX SCHNEIDER

MAX SCHNEIDER

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MAX SCHNEIDER brought back Legends of the Hidden Temple too, but as long as there’s slime around, I’m happy,” Max says, smiling. “It’s cold and sticky, but I love it.” I bring up the idea of a possible full-length album, which Max admits to have been working on for over a year. After tour, he hopes to continue working with great songwriters who he manages to keep a secret — whatever it takes to produce his best. “As an actor, you can’t control anything. You either get the job or you don’t,” he says, with a tone of gravity in his voice. “When you’re songwriting, you can write every day with different people and it’s something you have total power over.” Over the course of the tour, Max has been giving away free three-song CD samplers. “I really want people to hear what I can do, and what I want to put out there,” he says. It’s safe to say that Max is extremely proud of his accomplishments thus far, but he nearly knocks me out of my seat when he says, “I’m 20, and I still don’t have my driver’s license.” We take a second to high-five one another when I realize that I can’t legally drive yet either. As a New York City native, public transportation and walking were so second nature to Max that driving wasn’t much of a priority. “The best thing about Manhattan is how easy it is to call up all of your friends and meet somewhere. I love this city because hanging out is so impromptu,” Max says, like a true New Yorker. “Let’s go to The High Line, or play some Frisbee in Central Park. We can even grab some coffee after. I’m obsessed with coffee.” Better yet, why not hang out on

Max’s own rooftop? We have easy access, and it’s located directly above our heads. He leads me up a flight of stairs and opens the door for me. As I step out of the stairwell and onto the flat, gray surface of his roof, I’m blown away by the view of the majestic New York City skyline. With clear blue skies on this late afternoon, the scene of apartments and buildings aligning 10th Avenue is to die for. “It’s a great view, isn’t it?” Max asks me, casually. I’m too intrigued to respond, but in my head, I’m thinking, ‘Great is an understatement’. As our interview and photoshoot wrap up, I find myself standing in Max’s kitchen. From a chair on his kitchen counter, he offers me a freshly baked blueberry muffin, but I politely decline. While my eyes wander yet again, I spot an unopened box of Kashi cereal standing by his sink, and soon enough, Max catches me staring. “Do you want some? Come on, have some!” Max exclaims, encouraging me to eat something. Again, I decline, but this time, he’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer. “Shut up,” Max says, jokingly. “Hand me the box.” He rips the cereal box open and pours a handful of golden brown flakes into my hands. Max walks me to the vibrant red door I stepped through earlier this evening. He leaves me with a goodbye hug and a hope to meet again when he’s back in town. For the second time today, I meet that dreaded, steep stairwell. I descend the familiar five flights, and this time, I almost trip. I laugh to myself. I’m just thankful that didn’t happen in front of Max — an old stranger, now a new friend. NKD

THE MAX SCHNEIDER SHOW MAX TELLS NAKED WHO HE WOULD LOVE TO ACT BESIDE IF HE WERE GIVEN HIS OWN TELEVISION SHOW

OLDER BROTHER JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT

ADOPTED BROTHER CEE-LO GREEN

DAD BRYAN CRANSTON

PARTNER(S) IN CRIME NOAH CRAWFORD & CHRISTOPHER O’NEAL

LOVE INTEREST EMMA WATSON

FOXY TEACHER MILA KUNIS

MUSICAL GUEST STARS ED SHEERAN BRUNO MARS JASON MRAZ

CONNECT TWITTER FACEBOOK YOUTUBE WITH MAX SCHNEIDER @MAXGSCHNEIDER

FACEBOOK.COM/MAXSCHNEIDEROFFICIAL

YOUTUBE.COM/MAXSCHNEIDER1

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TWENTY | ON

NE | PILOTS

WORDS: ISAAC BATE | PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL NKDMAG.COM

TWENTY | ONE | PILOTS

wenty One Pilots have a show to play in 3 hours. Their label has given them a tight schedule of media commitments, and their tour manager is bordering on the deeply stressed. Parking around Webster Hall is never the easiest, and while he is confident that even New York’s Finest can’t tow a tour van, there’s a strain to his voice that suggests he isn’t certain that they won’t try. In short, this would be the perfect time for anxiety, quick glances at wristwatches and short, generic quotes. But Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, who together make Twenty One Pilots, are positively serene – impossibly friendly, polite and effusive in their eagerness to talk in depth about why mental health features so large in their music, the influence of hip-hop and what it means to be from Columbus, Ohio. On that first point: it’s never overbearing, but even a cursory listen to Twenty One Pilot’s songs unearths enough references to mental health issues to make it a theme. “Every night playing the same songs is so much easier when the lyrics mean something to you,” says Tyler. “The lyrical content has a lot to do with my own personal struggles, but also wanting to be aware of the people around me and what they are going through.” Talking to Tyler, you quickly get the sense that it is the awareness of other people’s experiences that means the most to him. “Every night those songs get us into conversations with people about what they are going through,” he tells me. “It doesn’t really make sense to me to write lyrics that are at one place in time, like about a girl or how much money you have. It just leaves so quickly.” Twenty One Pilot’s willingness to talk, rap and sing openly about the universal struggle to be happy has won them a passionate and fast growing fan base. It is also one with an endearingly cheerful vibe – their Facebook page is full of positive notes and rallying cries. Perhaps worryingly, it’s hard to imagine that there are too many people out there who can’t relate to Twenty One Pilot’s songs. “Whether we like it or not, it’s something that’s happening,” Tyler says. “It’s an epidemic: kids struggling, with suicidal tendencies and thoughts and everything else.” He isn’t at all sure whether his music can have an impact at all, but, he tells me; “If music is capable of saving lives, that’s the business we want to be in.” Who knows what effect Twenty One Pilots will ultimately have? If any live act is going to save the world though, it is going to be them. “Hopefully at our shows you get the sense that there is a community of people having 42

their own struggle with painful things that they are going through. But let’s either lose our mind tonight, or walk away knowing that you just experienced a show with a bunch of people who aren’t perfect either,” Tyler says. “We aren’t proclaiming that if you listen to our songs you will be saved… what we are saying is that we want to make a movement, towards this positive yet very understanding worldview.” Given how much they have to say, it isn’t necessarily surprising that Twenty One Pilots have drawn occasionally on hip-hop in their music. “It’s really how the whole rapping thing came about; it’s poetry,” Tyler explains. “When there’s too many freaking words to put into the song, just say it instead of singing it.” Josh stresses that hip-hop has no more hold on them than any other genre. “I think both of us have always just listened to stuff all across the board, and today if you go and find some random high school kid’s iPod it’s going to have everything on there,” he says. “So it’s really just taking a lot of different things and then pushing them together and making it our own.” Josh and Tyler have definitely made the genres that they blend their own, and hip-hop is just a small part of that. It does have one more useful purpose though: “Not only is the art form effective in communicating what you want to say,” Tyler says. “But it also gets people’s attention.” Though this interview takes place in the ever-so-heady musical heights of Webster Hall in NY, Twenty One Pilots are from Columbus, Ohio, so just being heard has always been key for them. “When you come from where we come from, having zero connections and trying just to make it out of our local scene, you have to grab peoples attention,” Tyler says. “Our sound was formed in a live setting, playing in front of almost nobody sometimes,” he recalls. “I think what we draw from that the most is making sure that we’re not going to be background music. Whether you like [our live set] or freak out, whether or not you can stand it, you are going to remember it.” Once heard, their sound is hard to forget. Solo piano riffs blend seamlessly into electronic chords, while Tyler’s voice varies between rapping, and an almost classical tone. “The sound that we are trying to go for doesn’t sound like it came from small, live music scenes. It doesn’t sound like it came from small clubs. It doesn’t sound like we were thrown on to a hardcore bill or an all hip-hop bill, or whatever,” he says, and he’s absolutely right. The only thing you can pin down about Twenty One Pilots’s music is the undeniable talent that lies behind their music. NKD

TWENTY | ONE | PILOTS

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NAKED INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT »

BIG PICTURE MEDIA NAME »

DAYNA GHIRALDI-TRAVERS POSITION »

OWNER/PUBLICIST COMPANY SINCE »

2007 CONNECT WITH DAYNA » TWITTER

@BIGPICTURENYC

INSTAGRAM @BIGPICTUREMEDIA FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK.COM/BIGPICTUREMEDIA

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN MUSIC?

WHERE DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE AND WHAT DID YOU STUDY?

I have been interested in music for as long as I can remember. When I was 12 years old my Brother, who creates music under the name Velapene Screen, took me to see Green Day at Nassau Coliseum. They were my favorite band so naturally I wanted to get as close as possible. When the lights went off I rushed out of my seat, over the ice rink gate and to the front row. It was the time of my life. My parents also took us to concerts as kids and as much as I like to sing, I knew I wanted to be behind the scenes and it wasn’t until my second year in college that I decided what career path I was going to take.

I got my associates degree from Suffolk County Community College. I was the only person chosen from my school to participate for the college program at Walt Disney World in Orlando in 1999 and was invited back as [alumnus] in 2000. I went to college at Disney University for both summers and received my “Mousters” and “Ducktorate” in entertainment management. (I am not joking). After Disney I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Entertainment Public Relations at C. W. Post University. During my time at C. W. Post, I interned at Nettwerk Management and in the A&R Department of Island Records.

BIG PICTURE MEDIA

WHEN AND HOW DID BIG PICTURE MEDIA FORM?

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS TO WORK WITH?

I have always had an interest in being an entrepreneur and working in music. After graduating I got a job at a small entertainment and tech PR firm, but ultimately wasn’t too happy there so I moved on to spend a few years at Press Here Publicity where I honed my abilities and cultivated long lasting relationships within the music business and specifically the alternative genre that I was (and still am) so passionate about. After working several high profile campaigns for them I knew in my heart that I wanted to work with bands that I personally listened to and decided it was time to branch out on my own. I started out solo with one freelancer and worked from home for one year to save money and build the brand. From there I got an office space in the Flatiron District and hired our first full-time employee. After six months in that office space we out grew it and moved to a larger space on 25th street and hired our next three employees over the course of two years. We now have a much bigger office with thirteen hard working people who are just as passionate about music as I am and I couldn’t be happier. Early in 2012 we launched a digital marketing division of the company that has proved to be very successful.

Ohh, tough one. I hate playing favorites but I have some clear winners here. Backtracking to why I chose to intern at Island Records, it was because my love of the band THRICE. Fast forward two years and Dustin Kensrue released a solo album I did press for called “Please Come Home.” I had a lot of fun with that and got him on Leno and Letterman in the same month! That campaign led to Circa Survive, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter and eventually, THRICE. The Used have also been a major career highlight for me. I have been a fan since the first note I ever heard and followed their career every step of the way. When the opportunity came along to work on “Vulnerable” I was honest and passionate in the interview and I think that helped me get them as a client for Big Picture Media. Getting to know the band personally has been very special. They’re all super sweet guys. We are currently working with All Time Low and I have loved getting to know them. They are another group of really hard working guys who love their fans and love to work. We are also representing Peter Gabriel, Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas as well as Never Shout Never and Cartel on their new albums and I am looking forward to working with them.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A PUBLICIST? Besides getting to meet Jim Carey on Leno when THRICE performed and getting to meet Paul Rudd at Sundance, it has to be how far Big Picture Media has come since 2007. Expanding into all areas of entertainment was always a goal and having succeeded has made me very proud. I couldn’t do it without the help of my amazing team here at BPM. I love each and every one of them and am so lucky to have them by my side. Shout out to Paul Travers, Rachel Miller, Amber Crisci, Becky Sahm and Lisa Garelick! Outside of music we represent the non profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms, The CMJ Music Marathon, event production and press for The NY Film Commissioner’s NY Loves Film Party at the Sundance Film Festival, many events for The Village Voice and our presence at SXSW has grown each year as has our roster of amazing bands. My most recent endeavor is being a producer on a fulllength feature horror film called OLD 37 that is shooting in NY within the next few months. The movie stars Kane Hodder, Brandi Cyrus, Max Ehrich and Ben Schnieder. More of the actors will be announced in the next few weeks, so be sure to follow us on twitter at @old37movie.

ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PURSUING MUSIC PR? Do your best to start early and work in the industry of the genre of music you enjoy listening to. Research the places you would like to work and try to intern for them. Intern at as many companies as you can within the industry you chose because real world experience is paramount when it comes time to get hired after graduation. Be passionate because there is not a ton of money in music in the beginning. Also, music journalists can smell insincerity a mile away, so if you come at them with a pitch you are not passionate about, they will dismiss you and the client. Don’t be a fan girl. Publicists have it hard enough in the music industry, try to rise above and be professional. Be appreciative and respectful to clients, writers and other employees. Every day that passes I am thankful for my career, my company, my clients and the relationships I have built. NKD

CHECK OUT SOME BPM ARTISTS IN THIS ISSUE » CAROLINA LIAR 24-27 SOCRATIC 28-29 NKDMAG.COM

SET IT OFF

WORDS & PHOTOS: CATHERINE POWELL

“W

hat’s your band group thing’s name?” a man asks Cody Carson, lead singer of Set It Off, as we conduct our photo shoot on the infamous High Line in New York City. “We’re called Set It Off,” Cody answers with a smile. The man says he’s never heard of them, to which Cody smiles and replies, “Maybe one day.” The man returns the smile and wishes the guys good luck. As if luck has had anything to do with Set It Off’s success so far. After we wrap up the shoot we find a table under a small, shaded area of the aboveground park. To our right is the Hudson River and below us are the busy streets of Chelsea. A few feet away a man is playing the flute with an open case at his feet. “That’s awesome,” Cody says, “Got to start somewhere.” For Set It Off, the journey began in 2008 in Clearwater, a small town just outside of Tampa, Fla. Cody had been at a music school playing clarinet and wasn’t into it. He was also playing in a band in the Clearwater area and met guitarist Zach DeWall and bassist Austin Kerr from playing shows together. The two agreed to be in Cody’s new band and right before their first show they added second guitarist, Dan Clermont, to the mix. The band went through a few drummers before finding Maxx Danziger in 2010. After being a band for six months, they started touring. “We were like, ‘screw this, we want to tour!’ so we just did,” Dan explains. The first few tours were rough, but they kept at it and eventually learned from their mistakes. Up until the band signed to Equal Vision Records, Austin would book every tour himself. In total, he booked 18 tours. Their signing to Equal Vision last spring was unexpected and quite hilarious to the band. For a band to submit themselves to a label, it usually takes press kits, bios, music samples and more. Dan sent Equal Vision a link to their “@Reply” music video — that’s it. According

SET IT OFF to Dan, when Francesca, the band’s A&R representative at the label, saw the message her first thought was “who the hell do they think they are?” Reluctantly, she clicked the link and was impressed that the band made the video themselves. The label began to pursue Set It Off right away. Having been DIY for their entire career, getting a full team behind them was “weird,” but they’ve learned to love it. “I think it’s made us a stronger entity,” Dan explains. “We have all these ideas, and we work well together, and now we have this team behind us that can help us with those ideas.” Signing was never something Set It Off felt like they needed to do to be considered successful, but always agreed that if the right deal came along they wouldn’t blow it off. “Equal Vision is the perfect fit for us because we wanted a label that would be like a family to us, and that’s exactly what they are,” Austin says. The guys all nod in agreement. Since signing, the band feel like they carry a lot more weight. “People are more inclined to listen to a band that’s signed because they think that because a company is behind them, someone thinks they’re good,” Dan says. The guys feel that signing has been a reality check for them. A lot of people think that when a band signs, the label does everything for them, but Set If Off claim they’ve never worked harder in their lives. “We always knew that once the ball got rolling it would get more and more exciting and there would be more and more hard work,” Cody explains. “And they somehow make us look cool,” Maxx chimes in, earning some laughs from around the table. Prior to signing, the band relied on social media to promote themselves. Cody had his own YouTube channel where he generated a lot of personal fans, who eventually transformed into Set It Off fans. They used MySpace to grow their initial fan base and communicate with other bands to set up tours. Now, according to Maxx, peoples’ attention spans are becoming shorter, and band have to rely on Twitter and Facebook, as well as shorter YouTube videos to get their messages across, though they admit NKDMAG.COM

SET IT OFF it’s not the same as when they first started off. “A few years ago you could make a video that’s eight minutes long, and now it has to be no more than five minutes long,” Cody says, “No one wants to watch an eight minute video anymore.” As we wrap up our conversation I ask what the rest of 2012 looks like for them. Following their three days off on the East Coast, they will head up to Canada for a tour, come back down to the States for a U.S. run with There For Tomorrow, spend about five minutes at home and then go out on a full U.S. tour with Sparks The Rescue — all to promote their new album, Cinematics. I think back to that man’s “good luck” wish earlier and realize that Set It Off doesn’t need it. If they keep up the pace they’re at now, I don’t see why every item on their bucket list can’t be crossed off in the next few years. Except playing on the moon, and only because their non-stop work ethic doesn’t leave much time for astronaut training. NKD

SET IT OFF’S BUCKET LIST 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

HAVE MUSIC BE THEIR MAIN SOURCE OF INCOME PERFORM ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PLAY A FOOTBALL HALFTIME SHOW SELL OUT AN ARENA SHOW SELL OUT AN ENTIRE HEADLINING SHOW IN ADVANCED HAVE SOUTH PARK MAKE FUN OF THEM TOUR OVERSEAS BE ON THE COVER OF ALTERNATIVE PRESS PLAY OVER THE SPEAKERS IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT PLAY ON THE MOON HIT #1 ON THE BILLBOARD HEATSEAKERS CHART

SET IT OFF

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IMAGINE DRA 50

AGONS

WORDS » ISAAC BATE PHOTOS » CATHERINE POWELL

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THERE’S A GREAT VIBE AT IRVING PLAZA. The New York City crowd has been thoroughly warmed up by the supporting act, Ghost Beach, and the appetite for the main act is obvious. An enthusiastic cheer goes up every time a band member appears for a moment behind the projector screen that mostly hides the stage. The room grows gradually more packed as new arrivals try and edge their way forward from the last spaces at the back. The roar that finally erupts when the lights go down and Imagine Dragons launch into their opening number is only eclipsed by the intense, almost jungle flavored drumming that fills the room. Imagine Dragons have always had a love for heavy drum sounds. Frontman Dan Reynolds’ role is predominately that of singer, but on stage he also pounds various pieces of percussion like a man possessed. They were his first instrument, and although he developed into a singer, he says that he “did not want to let go of it completely.” Daniel Platzman, whose abilities Reynolds claims put his own “to shame,” takes care of the majority of the drums but the richness of sound that is lent to the songs when the secondary drums kick in is extraordinary. So although it might seem strange that Imagine Dragons’ newest album, Night Visions, was produced by Alex Grant, who goes by Alex Da Kid, a superstar producer best known for working with hip-hop acts like Eminem, it’s really a match made in heaven. “The big huge beats that [Alex] put on our tracks 52

is something that’s a good marriage between us as a rock band with some synthetic elements, and his big drum sounds,” says lead guitarist Wayne Sermon. Wayne tells me that Alex had them come in for a writing session, and it all went from there. “It just clicked,” Wayne says. “Sometimes you know, creatively, when you work with somebody if it’s going to work or not. It’s pretty instantaneous if you’re on the same page or not, and we were on the same page with him.” For three years, Imagine Dragons had produced their own music and they were, they say, “used to doing it that way.” What could have been a difficult transition to working with a professional accustomed to a very different genre was in fact remarkably easy. “The really cool thing about Alex is he knows when to be hands on and when to be hands off,” Wayne says. “That’s why when you look through the album credits you will see some songs produced by Alex and some produced by the band.” Shortly after their initial meeting, the band signed with Alex’s own boutique label, KIDinaKORNER, which is attached to Interscope Records. As Imagine Dragons would have it, Alex’s discovery of them was nothing but a happy coincidence. “It was pretty crazy,” Wayne says. “His assistant just popped our CD in his car as they were driving, and Alex seemed to like what he heard.” With a client list featuring acts like 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Rihanna, Eminem, T.I. and Nicki Minaj, clearly he really liked what he heard.

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IMAGINE DRAGONS @ IRVING PLAZA » NEW YORK, NY » SEPTEMBER, 2012

IMAGINE DRAGONS

IMAGINE DRAGONS He isn’t the only one. The VMAs are universally However, while it’s impossible to believe that there regarded as being a fairly big deal — just being wasn’t at least one involuntary fist pump on the nominated is as sure a sign as any for a musician tour bus when the news broke, the overall reaction that big things, huge things even, lay ahead. from the band has been quiet astonishment. This year, Imagine Dragons were nominated in Reynolds told MTV.com that they were “baffled,” the category of Best Rock Video, for their single Billboard Magazine that it was “ridiculous.” Given “It’s Time.” The competition was fierce — Imagine their nomination, upcoming tour with Awolnation Dragons were nominated among Coldplay, The and ever increasing chart success, there must come Black Keys, Jack White and Linkin Park. The moment a point where accolades are no longer treated with in which you have a legitimate reason to mention such a humble attitude — and yet the band remain yourself in the same breath as those four has to be convinced that anything else is unbecoming of an exciting, overwhelming one for anyone who has those serious about their work. ever dreamed of making it as a musician. “I think anything less than modesty is wrong,” Reynolds and the rest of the band have certainly Wayne says. “The bands that we were up against been dreaming. “We’ve been musicians since we are icons. Jack White is one of my idols, as a guitar were 12 or 13,” he says. “It’s the only thing all of player, as a songwriter and as a singer, so just to us have really loved to do.” Reynolds aside, the be clumped in that same circle as them even for other three were at Berklee a moment was pretty College of Music together, amazing.” and had even played in Reynolds especially is what bassist Ben McKee clear that it will never be describes as “a crazy fusion acceptable to take success jazz guitar ensemble.” as anything less than a gift. Ben was in the midst of “A lot of the artists that we his degree when he was have appreciated in our » WAYNE SERMON « asked to join the band. lifetime and look up to “Wayne gave me a call are artists who don’t take out in Boston and I was things for granted.” you know, eight units shy On the balcony tables of getting my degree at are flyers advertising the Berklee,” he remembers. “He asked me if I wanted to opportunity to meet the band for those who buy move out to Vegas and start doing this new music albums. The band ask jokingly, “did we agree to project with them. I just said yes and dropped out that?” But the gesture is sincere. “There are some and started moving.” artists that treat their fans like family and are With hindsight, it was obviously a smart move, grateful for every day,” Reynolds says. “There are so but at the time the change from Boston to Las many brilliant musicians out there and any time I Vegas must have seemed quite the leap of faith. see a musician who thinks that they are deserving Platzman was similarly persuaded by a phone call of something I think, that isn’t art to me, that is ego and joined the rest in Vegas. Having graduated or something that doesn’t have a place in art, and from Berklee already, the stakes were perhaps not I think can really ruin it.” Fans are more than just quite as high for him — the band joke that “he was family to Imagine Dragons, they are a critical part of just selling drugs on the streets at that time, so we the product. “[As artists] you are creating something felt it would be a better use of his time and talents,” that hopefully people will connect with and it takes to which Platzman adds, “they kept saying, ‘think two to connect – the listener and the speaker. That’s of your future!’” Apparently they were all thinking an important thing for us,” Reynolds says. of the future, as it’s obvious they were willing to At Irving Plaza, the fans are certainly connected, make life-altering decisions to pursue their musical and Imagine Dragons thrive on the energy. It’s the ambitions. beginning of the tour, and as the interview closes, With this in mind, their reaction to their VMA before they venture on to the stage Reynolds says, nomination was startling. A casual observer might “I don’t feel like we could have started it in a better have expected vindication or at least celebration. place. I just love this venue. The energy feels good.” NKD

“I THINK ANYTHING LESS THAN MODESTY IS WRONG.”

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ANDY GRAMMER

In a time when seemingly every new artist is an overnight YouTube sensation, we tend to forget that there are musicians who actually still work for it, who spend long hours singing on street corners, sending out demos, traveling the country hoping the right person might like their songs. Singer/songwriter Andy Grammer is one of these artists.

WORDS ÂťTANYA TRANER PHOTOS Âť CATHERINE POWELL

it's a beautiful summer day in new york city, the perfect day for a walk in central park. Street vendors and performers, wedding photography with blushing brides and grooms, beautiful landscaping and sculptures are an everyday occurrence here. Central Park is also host to the summer concert series “SummerStage.” The event lasts all summer and into early fall and hosts many free shows as well as larger touring artists at Rumsey Playfield. I head into the green room at SummerStage to meet Andy before his performance. While some artists seem rushed and stressed, running through their pre-show rituals, Andy is in high spirits. He smiles as he offers me a Red Bull and takes one for himself. He’s wearing a black leather jacket, jeans and boots, not quite the attire I would have chosen for such warm weather, but hey, he’s a rockstar. And as it turns out, Andy was born into this lifestyle. His father was Grammy nominated children’s musician Red Grammer though he lost the Grammy to a children’s compilation of Mr. Roger’s songs done the year Mr. Rogers died. Andy laughs as he remembers his family’s reaction sitting at the Grammys after the results. “What!? This is bullshit!” Andy grew up around music, watching his mother and father writing together. “There’s something about being around people who write that demystifies it,” he says. “You’ve said the word as many times as you can and chewed it around in your mouth. It’s a slow arduous process.” This is how Andy’s writing style has evolved. He started writing songs in high school when his father got him a guitar. He doesn’t merely strum chords thinking they sound great, Andy studies musicians that he loves like John Mayer, Adele, Billy Joel and Bob Dylan. He breaks down their songs by chords and bars and lyrics. “I don’t want to copy these songs,” he says. “But I do want to recreate the way they make me feel.” Andy was living in upstate New York when he began writing songs, and he had to work hard to maintain a musical presence in an area not well known for its music scene. “If you love it, and you wanna do it, then you’re gonna do it,” he says. Andy went to every open mic 60

he could find at local coffee shops and other small venues. He says these days were a valuable learning experience. “You learn how to be in front of a mic, and feel what it’s like to be in front of a crowd.” This was his time to get over any stage fright that he may have felt as an inexperienced musician. Ultimately though, his dreams were bigger than a small town. When he decided to move, it was a choice between New York City, or his birthplace in Los Angeles. He decided on California and received a music degree from California State University. This is when the real work began. For three long years, Andy wrote music and took it to the streets, playing for complete strangers in the hopes that someone might buy his songs. “There is nothing guaranteed,” he says. “You walk out there and hope that you are starting the process, you’re putting your heart out there.” He had to become a salesman in order to sell himself and his music. “You don’t know me, how do I get you to spend 10 dollars on this CD?” he says, noting that a lot of the time it wasn’t easy and people didn’t always respond, especially in a city saturated with entertainers trying to do the same thing. It was this experience that led to the writing of one of his biggest singles “Keep Your Head Up.” After putting in an eight-hour day on the streets, not one person responded or even left any money. As he was walking home, he threw his head up in the air and vowed that he wouldn’t give up even after a day like this. “If I work hard enough and give it everything I’ve got, aren’t you supposed to give it back, World?” He wrote the song that same day. His hard work paid off, slowly. Andy’s manager Ben Singer discovered Andy on the streets and got him signed to S-Curve records. His journey continued when the independent label put Andy on the road with a radio team. “One piece of the music industry that I didn’t know was that I would be driving around the country in a car with a radio guy trying to sell myself to radio.” Andy would have three minutes to sell his songs to radio stations and essentially beg them to play his music on their station. He used the skills he learned as a street performer to woo program

ANDY GRAMMER

"IF YOU LOVE IT AND YOU WANNA DO IT THEN YOU'RE GONNA DO IT. " ANDY GRAMMER

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ANDY GRAMMER

"MAKING IT IN THIS INDUSTRY IS LIKE ASTRONAUT GOING TO THE MOON.

directors, saying he would even beat box in his performance, anything to stand out. Andy, now a successful musician, spends most of his year touring. He’s toured with Natasha Bedingfield, Colbie Caillat, Kate Voegele and more. Of tour life and maintaining relationships, Andy says it’s hard to be a friend, but notes that he wasn’t the best of friends before this lifestyle. “I missed everybody’s birthdays even before I was on tour,” he says, chuckling. But he says he’s been put in this world for music. “It would be like, who is Michael Phelps if he doesn’t swim.” There just isn’t any other way. Andy says that he does try to maintain aspects of his life he needs 64

to remain whole, like calling home, bringing friends to run his merch table and working out, but as a whole his life was meant to be this way. And he doesn’t plan on stopping. Andy says he might be doing a headlining tour in October, and hopefully next year as well. “I don’t know about anybody else, but a headlining tour is why you do music,” he says. “It’s why you get up early for morning television, why you create songs, deal with studios and managers and all that. You eat all those vegetables so you can have your cake.” He says a headlining tour is loving music so much that you get to share it in a room full of people who love it equally as much as you.

E AN ."

ANDY GRAMMER

andy grammar playing a show in central park (above).

“Making it in this industry is like an astronaut going to the moon, rare,” he says. “I feel really lucky and blessed.” Andy is not confined to one passion however. He loves playing basketball. He played on the varsity team in high school and now has an app on his phone allowing him to locate courts near wherever he is so he can take some time to play. He says he loves stand-up comedy and all art too. Being well rounded is an important aspect of touring life. Currently, Andy is attempting to write while touring, though he notes that it is slow going. “I’m all in on whatever is that I am doing,” he says. Because he is touring he says he is distracted by

performing, signings and interviews. And his slow, meticulous writing process isn’t exactly conducive to such conditions but he says that it is coming and he will be writing and recording on his short break in November. As Andy performs tonight, one thing’s for sure, he has found his passion and taken it to the next level. He is a shining example for anyone struggling with how to make it in the music industry that hard work and perseverance can still pay off, and you can be really happy doing it. You don’t have to sell yourself, your ideals, your style. Just “keep your head up,” and the world will give back what you put in.

NKD

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