BELLO IT GUY - James Maslow

exclusive conversation with JAMES MASLOW

Imagine a rocket that’s going full-tilt and just about to reach orbit. It’s the perfect metaphor for the career of singer and actor JAMES MASLOW. Having just wrapped up filming in Atlanta on his latest movie. So who could possibly be more perfect to be BELLO‘s IT GUY! We sat down with James during his BELLO photo shoot in Los Angeles for a quick check-in.

If you were cast away to a deserted island and could only bring one musician’s catolog of music with you, who would it be?

My first instinct was, I just love Bruno Mars’ current album, but even though he’s been a songwriter for so many years, he’s only been an artist for so many albums at this point. And for the rest of my life if I had to bring someone’s entire collection, I’m going with Michael Jackson. He just has a plethora of amazing music. I think that would be a good one.

Of all the musicians you’ve ever met in person, who left you the most starstruck?

I will probably say John Mayer because we had such a long and interesting conversation. It was when I first joined Sony Columbia’s team and I was backstage with him at one of his shows at the Staples Center, and we chatted for about 20 minutes. And of all the many things we talked about, from the bright topics to the dark topics, one of the things that he said that stuck with me was when he said, ‘Alright man, so tonight I’m playin’ for you.’ And I responded in a tone, like, ‘Yeah, ya know, like me and 17,000 other people.’ Not trying to be rude, but I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, I get it.’ But he was like, ‘No, dude, think about it. If I came to one of your concerts, wouldn’t you be thinking, holy shit, John Mayer is in the crowd! Let me make sure I do a good show for him.’ And my response was, ‘Of course.’ And even though I’m sure he’s used that on a lot of girls, I was thinking, ‘This feels pretty good! [laughing] This is pretty dope.’ And after that I respected him in more than just a musicianship kind of way.

What was your best memory of summer 2017?

I’ve got a photo from this past weekend that’s pretty funny. I’ve been working most of the summer, shooting a really cool movie in Atlanta this past month, but I came back to LA and we had to go all out. And this is a photo of me and one of my really good friends, Marcus at a party in a house up in the Hills. So if you zoom in, this memory right now is of us surrounded by these beautiful girls, with a bottle of Casamigos up in the air. It was awesome to come home and see a bunch of my best friends.

Best concert experience of your life?

I think Depeche Mode. It was one of my first concerts ever. I was with my dad and my bro, and I was probably ten or twelve. They just put on such a hell of a show. I knew a good amount of the music, but even the songs I didn’t know I was singing along by the end of them. They’re just such great performers. And funny enough I saw Garth Brooks recently at the Forum. I’m not a big country fan, but he knows how to work a crowd. I was pretty impressed, and it was a lot of fun.

Have you always known that you would build a solo career?

Yeah, I mean, as much as the guys and I had a huge amount of input on the look of the band, the band itself was essentially created by Sony. And there’s always a shelf life to something like that. And I never wanted to play to a smaller crowd. So, building that band up to be one of the biggest in the world, and now starting to build my own brand, is exactly what I always planned on doing. And when I own the brand I can do this for the rest of my life. That’s far more exciting.

Number one secret tip for staying in shape?

I’d say it all about consistency. Don’t diet, just eat healthy. And if you’re going to exercise only one class, that’s not going to do it, so be sure to find something you enjoy doing. Also, it’s important to understand when to eat your carbohydrates. Carbs are good — our muscles are made with water, protein, and carbs. Also, there’s the difference between white rice and brown rice. If you’re going to work out right away, then eat something high-glycemic like white rice because it metabolizes more quickly; whereas if you’re not going to work out you don’t want it to metabolize quickly and turn into fat right away, so you’ll eat brown rice with is low-glycemic and slower.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?

Besides tequila [laughing]? There’s the burritos which is my favorite thing in the world, and burgers, fries, chips, salsa — those are my guilty pleasures. There’s a place called Blue Dog in Sherman Oaks, it’s just a little hole in the wall place, but it’s just f@ckin’ good! It’s one of my favorite burger places in LA.

Jacket LABORATOIRE Sweater SOULSTAR

Photography Arthur Galvao Styling Luke Funcheta

Grooming Carissa Ferreri Art Direction Stephane Marquet

Interview Brent Lambert Production MAISON PRIVEE X BELLO MEDIA GROUP