Poptized Magazine / Issue 1 (Allie X)

f eatur ing young rising sons

aidan ochre

babyblu

the unlikely candidates

treis alexander

faze wave

coin

panic! at the disco

POPTIZED MAGAZINE WITH.

ALLIE X

SUMMER 2 018

01

poptized is a digital and print publication established by a group of people who are unafraid and willing to talk about the state of music and culture today. we are a community filled with the utmost desire to share our passion for the arts, regardless of our experience within any of the industries. we aspire to grow as makers and believers and poptized, to us, will be the creative space for that.

contents miz biz, 1 young rising sons, 3 summer rewind mix, 7 the unlikely candidates, 9 the new schematics, 13 power, prowess and passion, 19 agenda fest, 21 tips to study, 23 allie x, 25 treis alexander, 31 faze wave, 37 coin, 39 florence and the machine, 43 beach goth, 45 babyblu, 47 dear warped tour, 49 panic! at the disco, 53 top covers, 55 aidan ochre, 57

i was foreign and untouchable.

despite feeling so isolated, music gave me a sense of some sort of inclusion. it made me feel like an equal.

miz biz

by belen castillo

i never knew what it was like to be a performer, to see all these people cheering you on as you dance, twirl, and act so carefree. maybe it was because i had never gone up onstage and done that before. paramore was always in my life from my earliest recollection to present time. their music helped me cope with different situations going on in my life. as a latinx person, the community expects you to like only a certain type of music and act a specific way. my parents, immigrants from el salvador, stressed the importance of my culture and to be proud. but, music was something of my own, and i always love to discover different types of music, because no matter who you are, anyone can relate to it in some way.

hayley yelled, “you! you with the pink sign!” stunned and shocked, i ran to the front and got escorted onstage. suddenly, all my anxieties and fears drifted away for me. i was onstage with hayley williams from paramore! her smile was ever so radiant and her personality was so warm to me. i was so nervous, i was letting people hear my out of breath voice as i sang a butchered chorus of misery business. my voice was strong, but my body was worn out. nonetheless, i danced with hayley. my headbangs were in tune with hayley and taylor’s as the stage was mine for two minutes. i finally told these people, hayley and taylor, what they meant to me and thanked them. specifically taylor, since he held the band together for so long. taylor doesn’t really get credit, and i just wanted to tell him a simple thank you. when hayley asked my name, i proudly yelled it. for all my life i had been so nervous to say my name in fear of people butchering it. all my life, it had been the same. people would say it wrong and i just accepted whatever version of my name that they gave me.

when the day was near, i drove from nebraska to kansas city, singing along to my favorite songs, so free and in the comfort of my best friend, mylan. we got ready and met up with some friends to pass out hearts to hold up during 26. a paramore concert is always so comforting to me. there is a sense of familiarity for me. usually, i’m a very shy person, but when “grudges” came on, i was dancing like no one was watching. the people around me were watching me, but i felt liberated. my hair was flying all over the place, makeup slightly ruined from the crying, but i had a big smile plastered over my face. when hayley was choosing a person for misery business, i got nervous. the couple behind me started waving my windbreakers to get hayley’s attention while i held the pink poster with all my strength. i thought about giving up but suddenly

as a person of color, if you like a different style of music than what your race should listen to, people look at you weirdly. you see so many people of a lighter complexion and you can’t help yourself but compare. when i was younger, i wished i had blonde hair and blue eyes. i wished i was skinny and tall with two parents who made tons of money. i thought i would be more accepted and loved if i wasn’t me, especially in the paramore community. on that stage though, i didn’t care who i was. i was so proud of myself, and suddenly all of these comparisons and desires of being someone who i wasn’t faded away. i’m no different, i’m the same as everybody else. we bleed the same blood. we definitely as a whole aren’t fully accepting of poc. this goes for everything. not just the music industry, but also in the film industry. we often don’t see poc being lead roles and seeing them act as normal characters. we’re usually downgraded to being a quirky side character or a submissive friend to the white character. people are starting to realize that poc are the same as anyone else. we all share similar interests. that’s why it meant so much to be picked. i finally felt represented in this community, and i didn’t care about color anymore because in the end, we’re just voices singing the same song.

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hopeful fans are constantly dreaming of being picked to sing on stage with paramore, and twitter and instagram are usually flooded with posts before concerts. i, too was one of those hopeful people in the crowd. tweeting misery business into existence was a joke for me, and i really didn’t think much of it. as the time to go to the concert grew closer, i made a sign, which was fluorescent pink and decorated with lights, so that i could catch hayley’s attention.

onstage, i said my name loud and clearly. hayley politely asked me what my name was and she pronounced it perfectly. i felt proud of who i was. for the longest time, i felt different. living in a predominantly white community, i always looked different. english wasn’t my first language, so when i entered school, i was different. i was foreign and untouchable. despite feeling so isolated, music gave me a sense of some sort of inclusion. it made me feel like an equal.

young rising sons by abby stanford photography by abby stanford

don’t call it a comeback the road for young rising sons has been an interesting one to follow throughout the years. after releasing their single “high� in 2014, which received an incredible response and sent the band into a whirlwind of exciting events - from signing to interscope to booking their first tour as a supporting act for the 1975. that tour, as many do, opened up some incredible doors for them and they went on to tour with acts such as halsey and night riots in the following years.

things seemed to be going pretty well for the guys until they hit an unexpected wall in the spring of 2016 when former member dylan scott decided to pursue other projects. the rest of the guys, andy tongren, julian dimagiba, and steve patrick, reacted as any band would. they took time off to figure out their new sound and reevaluate their dynamic as a trio. while coming back from a hiatus can be a struggle for any band, i believe they have done an incredible job of staying loyal and consistent with their fans.

i was given the incredible opportunity to spend a few days with them in texas on their most recent headline tour. while i have been following their journey since that original tour in 2014, i had never seen them this up close and personal. the atmosphere they create with their crew and with their fans is so welcoming. i walked in to some of the last dates of the tour to photograph their shows and was engulfed into their tour family like i had

energy at each show was electric.

been there the whole time. the same can be said of how they interact with their fans. after their break, i knew sons had a fear that the fans may have lost interest, but that was far from the case. while the numbers on this tour may not have been record breaking, the crowds were so invested and excited about their return, the

content the audience was and you could hear the joy in their voices as they sang back to the band. It was my favorite moment to capture and experience, both as a photographer and a fan. In contrast to these sentimental moments, the show was also full of sheer power and exhilaration. Songs like “Whiskey” and “Undefeatable”

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each night the guys would perform their song “someday” completely acoustic, andy would even ditch his mic, and they would fully embrace the crowd in this pure moment of unadulterated community. it felt like a campfire moment that you see in slow motion on instagram. during this song, you could see how visibly

brought out the wild side in people as they thrashed around to the beat. i thoroughly enjoyed watching every person in the crowd head bang and completely forget there were other people around them. this is one of those bands that puts on a show that keeps you coming back over and over and over again. one thing i really appreciated about my time with them is how positive the environment was the whole time. you can tell that they all genuinely love each other and

what they’re doing. it was small moments like goofing around during soundcheck, the need for christmas music in the green room, or their ridiculous pre-show group huddle that truly explain young rising sons for who they are. their music was a huge part of my young adult soundtrack and i am so happy to see them succeeding and continuing to build the young rising sons family.

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embrace the crowd

s

ummer rewind mix

july is in the rearview and now its august, the month where pandemonium is unleashed. perhaps you’re cursing under your breath about summer deadlines that have crept up on you at last or worrying about the semester that looms ominously in the distance. regardless of what the future holds, music is the one solace amid the madness. this summer saw five noteworthy artists release bodies of work that brilliantly encapsulate love, pain, and joy in a way that only they can, with tracks for the highest of highs and lowest of lows. by stephen whiting

1. mitski – “nobody” fresh off of her tour with lorde, indie rock songstress mitski miyawaki has returned with an upbeat melody of loneliness from her upcoming album “be the cowboy”. inspired by her time in malaysia away from family and friends, mitski paints a picture of estrangement as she aches for a presence near her singing “and i don't want your pity i just want somebody near me” before the song devolves into a chorus of “nobody, nobody”.

2. wallows – “these days” already swelling with recognition, wallows has taken full advantage of the momentum releasing the summery track “these days” from their ep “spring”. lead singer clay jensen asks the question everyone has asked in a relationship crooning “i need to know if you're feeling it or i'm wasting my time”. backed by retro sounding instruments and a husky delivery this track establishes wallows as a band capable of creating their own sound while remaining true to their inspirations.

3. twenty one pilots – “nico and the niners” the eagerly awaited installment in the twenty one pilots further adds to their mythos in “nico and the niners”. bandmates josh dun and tyler joseph are on the front lines of a war within as the song ebbs and flows with the lyrics “start a mob and you can be quite certain we’ll win but not everyone will get out”. unfettered by the confines of genre, twenty one pilots once again delivers by tackling mental issues and experimenting with their sound to make an unforgettable track.

4. charli xcx – “no angel” never one to slow down, charli xcx is back with her latest avant-pop track “no angel”. glitched out bubbly production by sophie prefaces the song as charli sings unrepentantly “i just wanna let you know that i'm no angel, but i can learn”. the appeal of the bright lights of fame or one night stands isn’t lost on charli but she takes it all in stride showing that she’s comfortable becoming the bad girl or the angel.

5. wet – “you’re not wrong” new skies are ahead for singer kelly zutrau in the single “you’re not wrong”, taken from wet’s second lp “still run”. a cheerful drumline moves in tandem with a frantic piano as zutrau sings bittersweetly “you said i'm too far gone, but when i think about it baby you’re not wrong”. capturing positive feeling with tones of ambivalence is no easy task but wet does so with grace and offers a fresh perspective on finding answers to love.

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the

unlikely candidates the unlikely candidates are a five piece rock band from fort worth, tx consisting of kyle morris (vocals), jared hornbeek (bass), kevin goddard (drums), cole male (guitar), and brent carney (guitar). they have released 3 eps and are in the studio again. ky got to sit down with jared, cole, and kyle to discuss new music, their summer tour, and more.

so you just finished up your cross country tour with brick and mortar - how was that experience? jared: it was really cool. going to those markets that we haven’t been to in a while and playing a headlining show has been really awesome because we saw growth in our crowd which was really cool. being able to connect with old fans and connect with new fans is always an awesome thing. cole: and just being on the road with brick and mortar was amazing, those guys are wild and their show is amazing. they’re just funny and great dudes. what was your favorite stop on tour? c: mine was denver. it was my birthday and it was a huge show, it was amazing. j: he got a delicious creme pie in the face. it was coconut creme pie. c: i wish they had just given it to me to eat because it was delicious. but that was fun. what is your favorite song that you guys have? j: i’ve been really into “oh my dear lord” lately, playing that live is always a blast. always a great thing. c: i really like “violence” live. everyone seems to get into it. i definitely like all the songs better live.

do you guys have any rituals or traditions before performing? j: cole likes to drink about twelve beers, throw up, drink twelve more, and then pass out as soon as he gets off stage. c: that’s the ritual. and it’s beautiful. j: ha, but really there’s not any ritual. we just kinda are like “don’t fuck up.” and then cole fucks up. c: 1, 2, 3, go, don’t fuck up! have there been any live shows that stand out in your years of performing? j: we played fiddlers green in denver, co. and that was a surreal show, that was my birthday. c: and i think that was our biggest show. j: yeah we walked out on stage to 10,000 people and we were like alright, really don’t fuck up now. c: another big one for me was the first time we played with sublime on that little run. just because i grew up listening to the offspring and sublime and we were opening up for both of them. i never thought that would happen, like we’re not even the same genre so that was just really cool.

how would you describe your progression as musicians from your first ep to your latest release? j: i think the writing has changed a lot. it used to be just kyle and cole on the first ep, they wrote the songs together acoustic and vocals and had it all produced out. and now, we’re writing as a band, kyle’s writing with brent for better liars mostly. kyle’s working with different producers here and there. pretty much shaping new sounds. i wanna talk a little bit about your collaboration with dirty heads, how did that come about?

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kyle: i wrote this song with these two producers in new york and we just thought it was a smash. just this sad, jaded, rockstar thing, being really far away from home and the life that you know. and we did the song, and just said let’s see what comes of it. well, those guys went on to write with dirty heads on their new album, and i guess they were showing dirty heads stuff they’d been working on, and dirty heads were like “wow, this song ‘celebrate’ is amazing” and these guys somehow brokered some sort of deal… c: they [dirty heads] were like, “can we jump on that song?” basically. k: they rapped verses to the song and their label went nuts and had to to talk to our label. there was a lot of labeling and manager wars and we eventually ended up with two of the same songs: our version and then their version. so you guys have been in the studio recently, yes? tuc: yeah! what can we expect from this new music? k: it’s going to be more live for sure. c: more rock-sounding. j: trying to kinda hone in on more raw sound and tones. c: trying to get that live set feel on a record. any clues as to when we can expect the new release/s? j: very soon actually. we’re releasing a single coming up. soon enough. k: probably august. if you had to pick one word to describe the overall vibe or theme of the new music, what would it be? k: dynamic. c: i like that. j: dynamic. k: it’s a good word that says almost nothing.

“i wrote this song with these two producers in new york and we just thought it was a smash. just this sad, jaded, rockstar thing, being really far away from home and the life that you know...�

by ky kasselman photography by ky kasselman

the new

schematics Coming off their release of “Small Talk�, we got to sit down with The New Schematics before their first ever Miami show. The Nashville alt-pop duo, consisting of Cory Bishop and Michael Bare, have plans to take over the scene with their series of singles. Poptized had the honor of talking with them and discussing shows, their old past of wearing suits, and their goal of giving back to their supporters.

first off, how’d you two meet? cory: we met on a fateful night in december of 2013 at a christmas party. my friend was hosting it, and her roommate invited michael. she invited me. we just started chatting and decided we wanted to get together and write. michael: yeah, and nashville seems like a lot of times when you want to get to know somebody better, the excuse to hang out is that you want to write together. that’s kind of what happened. we just had a really great conversation. neither of us wanted to overplay our hands, and so we said we should write together sometime. so we did, and we became good friends very quickly and started to do music together pretty quickly after that. so, you talk about being in nashville and how the excuse is to write together. do you think growing up there or living there has influenced both yourself and how your music sounds? c: absolutely. i’m kind of the principal songwriter for the band. my songwriting has really shifted since moving to nashville 10 years ago. it’s a lot more focused on telling stories, and i feel like in nashville, it’s all about the lyrics. in other cities, maybe like the vibe or the melody or the rhythm comes in first, but nashville it’s like there’s the song we’ve got on the page, do you know what it’s about after you listen

by amanda elman photography by christian nixon

to it to some extent. it’s kind of shaped me in that way. m: i totally agree. cory’s been writing songs since he was like 10 years old. even since i’ve known him for about four years, i’ve seen his son writing change a lot based on kind of... it started off to be very much like nashville, like the kind of folk, almost country kind of sound when we first met. as the city has kind of changed to be more inclusive and outspoken about pop music, about alternative music, our song writing has definitely kind of shifted along with that to a large degree. did you always want to do music? m: yeah. i always have. i started playing bass when i was 10 years old for my church, because they didn’t have a bass player, and they had an old, terrible bass in the back. they gave it to me. ever since then, i just fell in love with it. i’d been wanting to play it for forever and always, pretty much. c: yeah, i never really knew it was an actual career path. i’m still not sure. i think you guys are doing pretty well. thanks. just don’t look at our bank accounts. you recently released “small talk”. what was the process of making the song?

c: that was one that i started writing last june, so a year ago now. i only had some scraps. usually, the song either comes all at once or it comes in scraps that you put together over time. i think i wrote what became the second verse, was the first verse originally and brought it to michael. we started messing with it. he got up to use the restroom while we were writing, and he’s like, “write a chorus while i’m gone.” he came out of the bathroom like 45 seconds later. i was like, “hey, i think i got the chorus.” m: that’s my secret. whenever we’re writing, i’m like, “i’m going to go in the bathroom.” then as soon as i come out, he’s like, “i got it.” i feel like that, it puts pressure on you. i do that to my friends just making plans. i’m like, “one, two, three, pick something.” that’s great. c: then it still wasn’t done, so we brought it to kyle dreaden who ended up producing it. he helped us kind of organize the lyrics a little bit more. then we recorded it once, and i couldn’t handle it. i didn’t like it. we recorded it a second time though.

c: we loved it. no one will ever hear the first version. second one is what people need to hear.

m: i was so nervous about that. we got together for like three hours the night before we left, and we had nothing. we put this choreography together in just a couple hours.

with this song came your music video where you went to a bunch of different locations. you partnered with spirit airlines. do you want to tell us about that?

c: then flew out six hours later. yeah, we were sweating in my living room coming up with the stupidest dance.

c: yeah. that music video was so fun to make.

there’s obviously been a big difference of the three new singles and your older eps such as your year and the self-titles. how do you think your sound and even your branding has grown and evolved, and what caused that?

m: and you liked it a lot better that time.

m: it was a lot, but it was great. it was probably the single most like ridiculous plan we’ve ever put together in such a short period of time, but we came here ... we flew here to ft. lauderdale, miami and we flew to puerto rico. it was just like a whirlwind of craziness, but it was super, super fun. cory and i got to be goofy in ways that we have never really done before together, like in a good way for the video to be put together well. it was so much fun to kind of feel like we were charting new territory with this video. it’s so good. it’s genuinely ... it’s so unique, and the choreography...so good.

c: it’s kind of like a product of what we’ve been listening to, and in other ways, going back to the roots of what we’ve always listened to. i think i got in the habit as a writer of just writing a certain way and also feeling limited by my voice and believing that my melody that my vocal range was far smaller than it actually is.

i think that i’ve seen a big shift in music from kind of rebelling against typically pop sounds or stuff like that, and now it’s just kind of being embraced. that

c: we’re definitely aware of that. we also try to tread carefully because there are some artists that you can tell they’re kind of chasing trends. everyone can kind of feel out what the zeitgeist is with the music, and you start to see the same sounds popping up here and there. we’re not going to try to reinvent the wheel, but we also don’t want to just do what everyone’s doing just ‘cause they’re doing it. it’s a balance that we’re trying to find. what do y’all think of our old stuff versus our new stuff? a lot of people that i talk to, i was like, “did you know they used to wear suits?” everyone’s like, “what are you talking about?” i was like, “yeah, they used to wear suits!” m: “for an entire year, they used to dress up in suits.” i was like, “that’s how i knew them, because i had mutuals on twitter, and i would see pictures of you guys.” i still like your old music, but it’s definitely different. c: there is change. i think it was just a few days ago, i said to michael, “remember when we used to wear suits to every show?” i said, “i think that was one of the worst decisions i ever made.” we would get so sweaty. we felt like big dorks, especially if you’re playing to like 15 people some nights. you’re like, “why am i wearing a suit?” m: that was always kind of rough when you would play the small crowd, and it’s like, “why are we doing this?” you’ve talked about releasing a series of singles, which is an interesting structure rather than releasing an ep. do you want to do that in the future, are you just focusing on the singles? c: well, i guess i’ll shoot straight and say i cannot wait to put out an album. it’s not something that we have recorded, but it’s something that we’re writing right now. it’s a cohesive album. for now, yeah, it’s just singles.

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i had this weird thing against pop music for most of my life. i feel like it’s like pop music is now en vogue, and it was not the case when i was in high school. it was your responsibility to hate anything that sounded remotely poppy. i think that was somehow ingrained in me, and then i realized the last few years, it’s like we’re listening to stuff that was catchy and pop and sounds colorful. why am i resisting that?

whole image. even using 80s pop as inspiration, now that’s cool and in.

i think that’s cool. i think that’s a way to keep everyone interested, and it’s something different. c: we kind of said once enough people are paying attention, then we’ll put out an album. it’s been three years as a band, and we still don’t feel like it’s time. we also feel like any real band has an album under their belt, so someday we’ll be a real band, you know? overall, you’re giving back to your community of fans and also finding really creative ways to promote your music. is this a collective thing? have you always wanted to do this? m: literally before we even were ever existed on the internet, we said that we wanted to be a band that gives first and doesn’t expect things first. we want to make sure that we’re always giving to the people who listen to our music. we’ve kind of been trying to do that the whole time that we’ve been a band. c: before the band put out it’s first song, we wrote letters to our friends and family and sent them the new schematics stickers. m: anyone who we thought would be supportive or even potentially interested, we wrote them a letter and said, “hey, would you please keep your eyes open and support us during this thing we’re about to do.” stuff like that has always been in our mind. we’ve definitely done it way more this year, and it’s been a really cool thing to tie into all these new singles.

c: it’s kind of funny when people who aren’t following the band will just want a sticker for a band that they don’t listen to which is so funny to me, but then they get a sticker and they’re like, “better listen to this band if i’m going to wear this sticker around.” it’s cool. a lot of bands are doing that. they’re maybe using street teams to send out stickers and flyers and stuff. it’s kind of going back to old school. c: you hear plenty of stories of bands that get off the ground completely because of obviously the classic cases like lany. they put out two songs on soundcloud, and they blow up instantly. that’s like a very dramatic version of what social media can do. also, it could deepen relationships in ways with each other and create friendships that you would never meet each other. when you have different fans strengthening a bond with each other because of a band that they both love, then they’re going to love the band even more too which is cool. a common theme between your lyrics and graphics is technology and the balance between that and love and dating. is that your main thing that inspires your writing? is that from personal experience? what’s your process of getting ideas for songs? c: i got married last year, so that obviously has been at the front of my mind. love songs have come a little more easily than before. the stuff with technology has been bubbling under the surface for me for over a year. i think it’s going to appear more and more in different ways as we move forward with other songs and other bodies of work. i’m intentionally trying to broaden what i write about right now beyond love songs. you’ve been touring a lot, obviously, the past few years. you’re not new to playing shows, as we talked about with the suits. do you have a favorite memory from a show or something that made you say, “this is what i want to do. this is worth it?”

m: we recently played one of our best shows ever ... at least for me, it was really super special in durham, north carolina because that’s where i’m from. it was actually at a venue, it’s a great venue in town. it’s where i played my first show ever. we played it and had an amazing night. it was one of the first times we played out certain new songs that we’re really excited about putting out soon. overall, it was just an amazing experience for me. i had tons of family and friends come out for that show. c: we’re so used to playing to small crowds ... i don’t know if crowd is the right word ... to large spaces. m: small groups of people in large spaces. c: that when there’s any substantial number of people who are engaged in what we’re doing and interested, it’s exciting to us. that happened in durham for sure.

c: probably obsessive. i just consume artists by the discography. at the end of the day, what do you hope that fans take away from your music?

m: i say we open up for the killers and then bruce springsteen or something like that. that’s probably the dream.

m: i think that our older music particularly, there’s an aspect of it that was very... kind of driven by a desire to tell people that we know it’s hard and it’s okay... i can’t think of how i’m trying to say this. it’s very much like this expository of like good vibes to them, you know?

c: bleachers, yeah. i mean, the list ... yeah. that’s a good bill right there. i think that sells the place out at that point.

c: just that we’re addressing the human condition in some place in the spectrum, good or bad or self-expository or self-discovery.

i would hope so. what are you guys listening to right now?

m: thinking a little more deeply about yourself and your relationships and your surroundings, i think is kind of a big part of it.

with that, what’s your dream show or line up?

m: we were just listening to in the car like a pop playlist that a friend in nashville curates, and they have a lot of our friends on it. we were just going through and picking out some fun songs we hadn’t checked out yet for the locals, the town that we know.

c: we just want them to think we’re cool. it’s working. c: is that a better answer. is that better?

c: i’ve been imbibing all of elvis costello.

m: if there’s one message we can get across.

m: yeah, he has, that’s very true. i think i said meticulous, driven, something else?

we’re cool. m: super cool.

how young women’s power, prowess and passion for music could save the world by chelsea holecek

it’s been a little over a month since superstar harry styles ended his sold-out world tour—a feat many artists would swoon over. there have been plenty of pieces covering the many perspectives of styles’ showmanship—of course, he’s charming, witty and charismatic. it’s everything you could ever ask for when it comes to evolving into a full-blown rock star. despite his talent, styles wouldn’t be crossing over into mega-stardom if it wasn’t for the magnitude of his faithful fanbase. but i’m not here to reminisce on the onstage antics, the outrageous suits and unexpected song covers. instead of focusing on the enigmatic aura that surrounds the former one direction member, i’m here to capitalize on the power, bravado and influence of the young women who sang, danced and celebrated in those packed arenas for a soon-to-be music legend. girls are passionate about many things—we delve

deep into our obsessions because it makes us feel less alone, accepted in ways we never knew possible—whether it’s a highly popular television show, relatable celebrity or world famous boyband. sometimes that passion is mocked, we’re made to feel this passion is “crazy,” “insane” or “delusional.” it’s the price you pay when you’re a young woman trying to make sense of yourself—your opinion is invalidated by the misogynistic point of view. you step into a concert venue for someone like styles and the support for the singer can be overwhelming especially if you’re nothing more than a casual fan but it’s something you have to admire. a group of dedicated girls is unlike anything else and it’s not just for a handsome boyband member—it’s for the love of live music.

music is unifying. it can cause the stranger standing next to you at a local concert to be your new lifelong friend. you’re both there for the same reason—your deep infatuation for the singer on stage. with musicians like styles, their fame and popularity is on another level that it’s almost unthinkable. you see it with popstars like shawn mendes, ariana grande, taylor swift and lorde—for an average listener, the intensity of the experience isn’t ideal. but throw in a dedicated fan into the mix and they’re in the thick of it, screaming their hearts out. these crowds are mostly female, quite a surprise considering the music industry is predominantly male—a tough obstacle to tackle for many women in order to be taken seriously when it comes to the appreciation of music.

the truth is, men can raise hell on the streets after a huge win from their favored sports team but when it comes to the proclaimed fondness for an artist, women are knocked down. so what if we know their favorite color or their childhood pet? it’s no different than memorizing a baseball player’s batting average. witnessing the potency of the young girls in the audience at styles’ concerts is something that can’t even be described, it’s just one gigantic unification of love that only a group of women could uphold. women love music just as much and at times even more than men. that’s what keeps music alive—the passion, love and determination to connect com-

plete strangers to each other. it’s a tenderness that only a primarily female fanbase can achieve and that shouldn’t be downplayed. it should be normalized, the idea that a young girl can openly and unabashedly love her favorite singer without the thought niggling at the back of her mind that she’s obnoxious. women, young and old, are the backbone of what devotion means— from the beatles to hanson to nsync to the jonas brothers to one direction—their frenzied loyalty gives us hope that an affection this indestructible could save the world.

twenty. issue one. summer 2018

for a fanbase full of zealous ladies, music is the one unchanging subject of our lives—the lyrics hitting close to home, the energy synonymous with our feelings of nostalgia and longing. we overstep the boundaries of the male dominated musical world, our ever-growing love outshining the judgmental gaze of a typical elitist. we deliver a fresh perspective when it boils down to the nitty gritty of song lyrics—most tracks focusing on the male gaze. whether it’s pop, rock, r&b or hip-hop, the idea that women can’t boisterously support their best-loved artist without running the risk of being labeled a little “too much” is absurd. styles says it perfectly in his interview with rolling stone last year: “who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? that’s not up to you to say. music is something that’s always changing. there’s no goal posts. young girls like the beatles. you gonna tell me they’re not serious? how can you say young girls don’t get it? they’re our future. our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. teenage-girl fans – they don’t lie. if they like you, they’re there. they don’t act ‘too cool.’ they like you, and they tell you. which is sick.”

agenda fest

... something about how the energy transmitted from the artists to the crowns made the whole experience complete.

live performances, panels, exclusive collections, art, and skate contests. fans had the opportunity to see new and exclusive releases from brands like converse, dickies, babylon, levi’s, chinatown and many others. by emma sophia valles photography by emma sophia valles

twenty-two. issue one. summer 2018

music for studying:

tips for making an effective study playlist with school starting soon, that brings nights of endless homework and studying for upcoming tests. for some, studying in silence works best, but for others music helps with focus and concentration. to make those late nights a bit more bearable, here are some tips to create a great study playlist, that is also effective without distractions. not to mention, blasting this playlist will keep you awake for a night of studying and great payoff! playlist recommendations everyone but you - the front bottoms stone - jaymes young vibes - chase atlantic growing pains - coin hands down - the greeting committee make you feel pretty - lovelytheband good news - ocean park standoff machine - misterwives waking up the giants - grizfolk good morning - grouplove off she goes - bad suns where do you go - flor cecilia and the satellite - andrew mcmahon in the wilderness cigarette daydreams - cage the elephant

scan the spotify code for more!

by piper rosas

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choose music that motivates you! choose music that won’t put you to sleep. better yet, choose songs that are motivating and help you to finish that big assignment, without pulling an allnighter.

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keep the volume not too high but not too low! keep your music at a moderate level that isn’t too loud. your main focus is to study and have the music in the background. loud music can be distracting so keep it at a level enough to keep you awake and motivated but not falling asleep.

don’t listen to music on the radio! the commercials and ads can be annoying and distracting when your studying. a playlist is much better and effecting for studying playlists. pay for spotify premium or make a playlist on apple music with all of your songs so there’s no distractions!

make playlists that are forty to fifty minutes long! keep your playlist under an hour so that when it ends you know to take a break. make sure your study sessions aren’t too long so you have time to refresh on breaks. you want to prevent studying burnout as much as possible, especially in the beginning of the year.

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choose songs that you don’t know as well! choose songs you don’t know to prevent you from getting distracted and having a karaoke party instead of studying. while singing along is fun, studying is the main focus. instrumental music also works great for this!

allie x

canadian singer, allie x is a force to be reckoned with. this talented pop queen has made her mark writing and releasing her own music. now with her latest singles “focus” and “not so bad in la,” penning tracks for the ever-so lovely troye sivan, and even performing at lolla palooza this past weekend, she does not plan to stop. i got the honor to ask her a few questions, exclusively for poptized to discuss her success over the year and her future plans for music.

twenty-six. issue one. summer 2018

by sara salamat photography by maria jose govea

twenty-seven. issue one. summer 2018

your music is so mellow and calming to listen to. what drove you to this genre of music? who are your influences? it is? ha! good to know. i thought i had a few chill songs, but wouldn’t have described my music as chill. my influences are strong emotional ups and downs, great singers of the 90s like mariah carey and celine dion, strong female artists- bjork, kate bush, pj harvey and a desire to find my own truth. has there been a time where you had to put your foot down and say what was on your mind for music? always hahaha. my team is really patient with me, i’m a total control freak. can we expect your third album anytime soon? any collabs you can tell poptized about just yet? i have just announced my next record. it’s called super sunset. no collabs i can announce yet. you’re playing lollapalooza for the first this fall, this might sound weird to ask but…are you nervous? that’s a huge festival! yeah, kinda. i think i’m mostly nervous that there’ll be something technical that goes wrong. yeah, you don’t want to fuck lolla up. what’s a ritual that you always do before a show? try not to get a stomach ache. i’ve been really enjoying taking like 1.5 hrs to do my hair and makeup myself, it’s a calming and empowering ritual.

what would you tell your high school self about “2018 allie”? girl, i know you feel like a total fucking misfit, but you’re special. you’ve got a lot of growing to do, just let it happen and know that you’re a late bloomer in most ways. even though it’s hard for you to connect now, you’re gonna get better at it. describe the songwriting process to someone who has never written a song in their lives?

twenty-nine. issue one. summer 2018

it’s one of the most abstract things. pulling ideas from the air. hoping that your energy melds with the other people in the room. sometimes it’s stupidly easy, sometimes it’s like pulling teeth. makes you feel like a badass when you nail it, makes you feel like a talent less piece of shit when you don’t. you have penned songs for some major artists such as ‘the good side’ troye sivan. how does it feel to see another artist sing your song? it feels really cool. troye especially. he’s a good one. everything we’ve written together hasn’t been tainted with the top 40 radio pitch writing vibe you find a lot of the time in la. you have a day off tomorrow: what’s the first ting you want to do? find the nearest lake or ocean and go swimming. massage. maybe like paint something? roasted brussel sprouts and carrots with a grass fed burger and a side of avocado for dinner. cuddles and drag race. and if i had a dog (which i will!) i would be cuddling and hanging out with her to. i guess that’s a whole day...not just the first thing i would want to do. what was the last song you listened to on spotify/apple music? is it different than the music you’re making?

the last song i listened to was the carpettes. not cause i wanted to but cause someone else was playing it haha. but ya i listen to stuff that’s different from the kind of music i make when i can avoid it. it just makes me think of work listening to my contemporaries. if there was one person you could collaborate with dead/alive who would it be and why? i always blank on this question... i think like maybe a fantastic producer like rick rubin. my biggest interest artisically is going deep into my potential, so someone that could assist with that.

rapid-fire questions 1. we finish the interview and you step outside and find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $47.8 million dollars. what’s the first thing you want to do? put it in the bank and hire a financial advisor! well i’d probably go shopping then do that....

2. if i were to tell you i work with la county zoo and were to give you an elephant. you can’t give it away or sell it. what would you do with the elephant?

i’d try to give it an amazing quality of life as close to what it deserves as possible. elephants are intelligent compassionate creatures and should never be at the will of human beings, let alone trapped in zoos or circuses... i saw a doc about it. made me very sad.

3. a penguin walks through the door and is wearing a sombrero. what does he say and why is he here? man, i wish i was good at stuff like this.

thirty. issue one. summer 2018

alexander

T R E I S

as an alternative artist treis finds a way to pave a path and make a name for himself in the local music scene. with his album release of homesick, his smooth sax to his electronic funk draw in anyone from any age and any background. poptized magazine sat down with him weeks before the release to discuss his past bands, inspirations and the concept of home. how would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before? varied, because the first album was really eclectic. because the first album was really acoustic, now it’s a little more electronic and based out of funk. normally we tell people that we’re just bedroom producers, so alternative music.

we’ve been listening to a lot of classic ‘80s funk and r&b, so obviously the greats like michael jackson and a lot of the other big names like rick james. but we were kind of looking into some more obscure people. people who haven’t lasted the test of time, and listening to some of their songs. so, one of the big ones was a guy named curtis, curtis, curtis ... oh, man, i can’t even remember his name now that i have to actually say it. i’ll find you the name. what’s your strongest memory of you wanting to make music? i’ve been playing instruments now for over 10 years… man, this guy. there he goes. i’ve been playing instruments now since i was about six years old. i took lessons for piano and saxophone, and then i taught myself guitar. probably in, like, early high school me and alex had formed this band called postal collective, which is, like, ancient now. so, he and i were really talking about doing a band as early as 13 or 14 years old, and now it’s kind of coming to fruition. you’ve obviously been doing a lot with alex [canon, treis’ bassist], you’ve been under different names, you’ve done different things, so how do you think your music has changed?

has the process of making music changed? have you and alex taken on different roles? yeah, 100%. at its core, i’ve been the lyricist and alex has done production. that’s kind of always been the basis when we were “postal collective”. he would send me guitar tracks and i would write lyrics to them, and now i kind of send him half baked songs and he closes it off with his own little flare. we record all the live bass, he records all the live bass and sends it to me after listening to the track. we don’t normally sit down and write something together. we normally just kind of pancake and build on top. and especially now in these past couple months that the album has been taking shape and hold, he and i have really been layering tracks separately but simultaneously. do you think it’s a benefit working with someone else, or do you have some struggles sometimes? me and alex are really cohesive because of how long we’ve known each other. we’ve been friends since the third grade, and we’ve been doing this on and off for seven years. normally alex and i like the same thing so when we do disagree, we kind of try to find compromise.

thirty-twow. issue one. summer 2018

going off your varied sound, you have a very unique range of songs from the new stuff to the older stuff. who are your base inspirations when it comes to making music?

gosh, if it’s changed between the two albums drastically then i don’t know what a good word would be to describe how much it’s changed in the seven years that me and alex have been playing. funnily enough, i was actually just listening to one of the songs that me and alex did way, way back in the day last night, when he was still here. not only is our work now sonically better and more varied, but i would say the biggest change would probably be lyrical. i mean, you’re going to write better songs the more that you write them, and definitely in comparison to being 14 years old and being 21.they’ve changed more than drastically.

one of the tracks that we’re working on right now has gone through about 20 different iterations of “i liked it more than he did!” or “he liked it more than i did!” and just trying to get it to be concise. and i think that was actually really good, because it’s made sure that this album is going to come together and be as pristine and well thought out as possible, as opposed to just me looking at it for two and a half years and then me liking it, but maybe not anybody else liking it so much. we record all the live bass, he records all the live bass and sends it to me after listening to the track. we don’t normally sit down and write something together. we normally just kind of pancake and build on top. and especially now in these past couple months that the album has been taking shape and hold, he and i have really been layering tracks separately but simultaneously. would you say your concept of home from each album has differed from when you wrote houses. and from when you wrote homesick? oh, yeah. i wrote houses. when i was in my first year of college when i was really missing home. it was kind of my form of personal therapy, and just getting in touch with the past, especially because i had lived in the same place for almost 20 years at that point and there was a lot going on in my personal life and everything. so, i was trying to really regain a grip of things, and i was feeling really nostalgic, which is kind of the interpretation that i tried to give on houses. and now, as i’m writing homesick, i’m reflecting on that first year, and the events that occurred, and just understanding what was good and what was bad at that time. i would definitely say that this album’s relationship to home is a little more angry than houses. was. let’s talk about your recent singles, what made you gravitate towards “deja vu” being the last one? i never thought that anybody was really going to like that song all that much. that one got published a long, long time ago as a remix track and i just kind of wrote a verse over it. and then we played it at a couple shows and people loved it. they loved the demo version of the johnny hates jazz sample, that was, like, one of the first ... that was one of the first songs that people knew the words to the song actively at shows that weren’t either already fans... like, there was a whole new wave of people who got into me, and one of the key songs was “deja vu”.

you have started playing more shows recently. i’ve seen you actually book more shows, especially july and august being pretty busy. so, out of any shows that you’ve played, do you have a favorite memory in mind? well, alex and i always say that each show we’ve been trying to get better and better, so of course i’m going to say that the most recent show was the strongest. our show on the 1st of july was easily my favorite that we’ve done based on quality and fan engagement. but if i really had to do a favorite show that i’ve ever done, it was probably ... gosh, i would say it was probably the second show that we did, the baby blue young something show at st. pete music factory, because that was one of the biggest audiences that i had played to at that point, and any stage fright that i had was killed at that night. so, that one is a very, very crucial one for me. and that was also where me and alex had finally developed the sense of what the band was going to be about. so from your older shows to these, and even the shows you played with dylan (of babyblu), do you think it’s a different dynamic when you play with alex? oh, yeah. alex ... i mean, you know, even though alex is playing bass for songs that i wrote the lyrics to, it in no way comes off as a boss employee relationship. alex is one of my closest friends, and because

“the most important thing is giving a good show, and not about of that we have a really, really good rapport. when we get falling into onstage we’re on the same wavelength. we move just ranks.” straightforward, and we really try to make sure if there’s an issue we communicate it and there’s no problem, because the most important thing is giving a good show, and not about falling into ranks.

i’m not saying that’s what happened in babyblu at all, just, you know, dylan was the front man and everybody else was supporting, whereas, you know, when alex is on stage with me he’s just as much crucial to the operation as i feel like i am. the theme of romanticizing toxic relationships is something that you stated both on twitter and to me for the upcoming album homesick. what inspired this? was it personal experience or just something that you see in media? no, all the songs that i write are almost entirely based on actual experiences. i always have to explain to people that it’s a lot easier for me to write about something sad happening to somebody else before i would write a love song, so, like ... you know, i’ve had people ask me before if any of these songs are about me, and cosette they’re absolutely not.

i remember on twitter, you were like, i have to explain! yeah, no, no, no. cosette and i had been together for four, almost five years, and we have fought maybe once, max. we don’t have any issues, i’m the kind of person where i have a very, very good inner circle and if one of those people is messed up i want to fix that. and so this whole album is about watching the people in my life for almost two years just have bad relationships and romanticizing those toxic relationships and how much it hurt them, and then my kind of response to them. what would you say your favorite song off the album is?

thirty-five. issue one. summer 2018

you know, i’ve always really loved “rewind”, which is why i wanted it to be the first single. when i wrote the instrumental for that it completely shaped the way that album was going to sound, because that album’s been through so many facelifts. but when “rewind”, the instrumental and the lyrics were all put together... i’ve just loved that song since i wrote it. that is easily one of my favorite songs that i’ve ever written, and what i would probably do as promotional for if i were to ever try to get to a bigger level or something like that. on houses. you have a song called may 23rd, and on homesick it’s may 24th, what’s the significance behind that? so, may 23rd was one of the last parties that i hosted in high school, because as crazy as this probably is now, back in the day i was a party animal. wow. wow, crazy. the guy who sits with his dog. yeah, i sit with my dog every night now and, you know, i go to bed by midnight and i’m clean and stuff like that. no, we used to have a bunch of parties over at my house, because we had a really good space, and we had a lot of friends because, you know, of course, you’re in high school. so, that was the last party that i had of my youth, i guess. and then the significance is on the 24th, i woke up and it was kind of like the next stage of my life had started right there at that morning. as you’ve grown, both as a person, also as an artist, and in size, did you expect, when writing the songs, that you would gain an audience? is that a newer concept? yeah, it’s ... i mean, houses. was a vanity project. i mean, we’re talking about five minute songs with no chorus, you know, kind of sleepy little tracks that were ... you know, they were for me and, like, maybe 30 people tops to ever enjoy, most of those people being friends and family. homesick has been almost entirely written under the lens of people, you know, subscribing to want to hear more, and listening, and being fans, and knowing the words, and that’s insane. that is absolutely insane.

when i played for dylan, you know, those weren’t my fans, those were his fans and i was just there as part of, you know, part of the experience. but the fact that i get up on stage now, and people are cheering and singing along to the songs that i wrote almost two years ago now, that’s literally insane to me. it’s very new. what are your long term goals? well, you know, i don’t want to promise something that isn’t there quite just yet, but, i mean, after homesick comes out i would like to write a third album.

the fact that I get up on stage now, and people are cheering and singing along to the songs that I wrote almost two years ago now, that’s literally insane to me. by amanda elman photography by alex canon

i would hope so. yeah, i mean, i’ve kind of put some things on the table to really think about it. if there was a third album there would be a out-ofstate process, playing a couple shows out of state. i don’t want to say the t (tour) word, because it’s not going to be the t word, but a run of shows. yeah, it would be a circuit at best, yeah. we don’t use the t word. yeah, we definitely don’t use the t word. yeah, as much as i would love to do that and be a full-time musician, it’s kind of hard when you have a life with that; me and cosette are together, i have family here, i’m going to

school for something entirely unrelated to music. like, i could never do something so massive, but to go out of state and have a fan base arrive to a venue that i’ve never played before and know the words, that would be the long term goal. that would be insane. i think it’s definitely foreseeable. i would be very thrilled if that happened. not happy, just thrilled. no, just thrilled. blank emotion thrilled.

by anissa dimilta photography by anissa dimilta

faze wave “shoe-gazey, pop rock,” is the answer you’ll get when you ask jacksonville band, faze wave, to describe their sound style. “i don’t know if i want to call it that, but that’s the most honest answer,” adds lead vocalist and guitarist, matt flynn. this question drew much laughter out of the band - composed of matt flynn (vocals/ guitar), zach stickler (guitar), hunter hileman (bass), and michael urbizu (drums) - who had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to most accurately describe their sound. the chemistry between these guys is undeniable, pure, and only adds to the quality of their music. faze wave started their music journey nearly the same way every other band does - a jam sesh with a few friends - and no one knew they would grow to become the successful band they are today. here’s what matt had to say about everyone meeting each other, “in high school, i just wanted to start a band. there were these two kids that used to be in the band that were already jamming and so i just came over one day. i only knew one of them and i met the other that day and we needed another person so we invited zach over [who

one of the old members knew] and we all just kind of started it that day. as we got more serious they did school and stuff like that and then everyone else [hunter and michael] joined.” the guys began playing their instruments pretty early on either being influenced by the friends and family around them or just the music itself. they knew this was something they wanted to pursue and have worked for it, telling poptized that they have never had the feeling to put their instruments away and try something else. melt, their debut album was released in 2016, followed by the release of one single in 2017 and four singles in 2018. their most recent single, “bad/now” was inspired by an experience that matt had with a friend of his; here’s what he had to say, “i met someone, who i really liked, and we were friends for a long time and we still are friends, but she had a boyfriend... [at this point the other guys started giving matt funny looks as if he had done something he shouldn’t have done] i didn’t do anything and that was kind of the point - sexual frustration. it was just like that kid’s lame and the chorus is ‘i want you bad / i want it now’.”

along with a fall tour the guys talked about some of their other goals for 2018. with 350,000 plays on spotify bassist, hunter, would like to see them hit one million plays. they are also hoping to make it over to the west coast to play for their national fans. though they are a florida based band, according to spotify they have the most monthly listeners in los angeles, california with over 600 fans listening monthly. although having chart topping numbers is a plus, that is not how the guys measure if they “made it.” “regardless of how well you do, you can always end as a band before you really make a bunch of money - not that it’s about the money at all - but [talking about coldplay] they’re huge and they tour and sell out arenas around the world, so they’ve really made it. they’ve had such a long, twenty year career and if they end now they pretty much had a full and successful career. there are some bands that get really big and in two years they fade out, i wouldn’t even know if you made it at that point.. you did well, but faded out in two years,” says matt. michael added, “ even if you think you made it, you can make it bigger. there’s always ways to go up.” the agreed sign that will show faze wave they’ve “made it” is when they announce a tour and it completely sells out. faze wave will be beginning their 2018 fall tour and longest tour on august 10th with bands quiet, please and sleephouse. if you get a chance to see one of their energetic, crowd pleasing performances live do not pass it up, you won’t regret it!

what’s one thing that annoys you the most? zach: losing in fortnight! hunter: reggae. matt: chewing with your mouth open. it’s my biggest pet peeve. michael: headphone wires getting tangled up, that’s not fun. if you could be anyone for a day who would you be? zach: i’d be diplo for a day because he has so much money and he goes to like four places around the world a day. hunter: i’d be bono and i’d watch tv all day long. matt: i want to be chris martin from coldplay and play a show in an arena! michael: will smith. will smith is number one, dude. you can’t talk smack about will smith. what’s the last band or artist you listened to? zach: i listened to “apeshit” by the carters. hunter: still woozy. he’s only got five songs and every single one of them is amazing. it’s very bed-

room-pop-y. matt: i listened to “in one ear” by cage the elephant, but i finished by listening to an interview for coldplay. (no, coldplay is not matt’s favorite band, but they did make his second all time favorite album!) michael: i listened to a rapper that hunter showed me named duckworth. i was listening to one of his mixtapes. what’s your favorite memory? zach: i went skydiving and that’s my best memory! it’s the best thing i’ve ever done, probably. hunter: seeing phoenix live! matt: [as a band] going around the birds in austin for sure - birds are scooters that you can rent and then just drive around the city - it’s intense! in march, i went to this underground jazz club in florence, italy and it was the coolest time i’ve ever had in my life! michael: seeing the foo fighters live!

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COIN COIN COIN COIN COIN COIN photography by bella peterson

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the beautiful poetics of

florence + the machine’s “high as hope” by ainsley martinez

florence + the machine have continuously used their distinctive, yet captivating energy to top charts while still maintaining their unique alternative rock sound. with classics such as “dog days are over” and other songs since the first album achieving international success, it is no surprise that new songs such as “hunger” and “patricia” have exploded in popularity. florence welch, lead vocalist and songwriter, takes her classic sound and strips it down to create the raw and minimalistic album “high as hope”. in previous works, notably “how big, how blue, how beautiful”, welch creates a powerful narrative that she cautiously places herself in. however, her latest album shows a different approach—instead of trailing behind the elaborate metaphors and fictional storyline, she portrays a more intimate description of her life. even as “high as hope” lacks the upbeat tempo from other works, its genuine manner and candidness make up for it. the album starts with slow entry of “june”, which sets the tone for the album as a whole. the opening lines transition into a new period of welches life, as the lyrics “the show was ending and i had started to crack. woke up in chicago and the sky turned black” allude to a concert during the previous album’s tour and troubles that followed. welch’s obstacles being presented without much detail allows her to elaborate on conflicts individually throughout the album. climax of “june” gives an empowering welcome—while still staying true to its serene attitude. as the song closes it leaves much room for exploration, and the single “hunger” tells its story first. the seamless transition into “hunger” perfectly showcases welch’s vulnerabilities, and introduces an eating disorder she had as a teenager. discussing it on the album was a bold move, she says, as she only told her

mom fairly recently. the opening line blatantly states “at seventeen i started to starve myself”, and from there welch leaves no time to wait. she takes the already established physical hunger and transforms it into desires she has as an adult. blending these two physical and emotional drives into the lyrics while casting a light on her life growing up is what gives the song its unique symbolic substance. however, the upbeat instrumentals and repetitive chorus, along with the powerful pang in welch’s voice is what makes “hunger” what it is- the leading single for “high as hope”. “south london forever” follows “hunger” in its retrospective theme, but this time welch gives insight to the birthplace of her childhood in south london, while continuing to draw a metaphoric meaning. the recollection doesn’t stop as welch devastatingly reminisces on her regrets, but wonderfully adds a trace of beliefs and religion behind her in “grace”- making it as charming as it is heartbreaking. right behind it is “patricia”, the “dogs days are over” of the new album. although the memorable hit doesn’t stray far from the laid back style of the album, welch’s bursting emotion and powerful instrumentals make it similar to other leading songs by the band. and finally the ending note plays, and “no choir” truly speaks for itself: she did this for her. without a need for a crowd or artificial happiness, welch creates art for her own satisfaction. perhaps, “high as hope” lacks the energy that other albums from florence + the machine possess—however it would be ignorant to throw it out all together. florence welch gives a beautifully tragic perspective that overflows with transparency— and hope.

courtesy of universal music

fourty-five. issue one. summer 2018

on sunday, august 5th, the growlers put on the 7th annual beach goth festival. happening inside the newly re-done los angeles statehistoric park, the 2018 f estival was host to headliners like the drums, doug e. fresh, gwar, the voidz, and of course the growlers.

by thania garcia photography by thania garcia

beach goth 2018: a festival review

composed of three separate stages, the carnivalesque event was highly anticipated for many reasons. it promised a fulfilling concert experience in one day, rather than two as it had done in the past. the growlers celebrate singularity in the most diverse of manners, and their event would match that same enthusiasm. they invited guests to come dressed in costumes and encouraged guests to “release their weird.” most famously, the celebration would perfectly align with the comeback of the voidz. since the 2014 release of tyranny, the band had seemingly halted any live performances. the cancellation of their north american tour in 2015 left an empty void (haha) for the band’s loyal following. the 2018 release of virtue meant they would get to experience the voidz in its entirety once more. headlining a summer festival only months after virtue’s release couldn’t have been better timing. the main stage deemed the “beach goth” stage was decorated in the growlers classic skeleton head graphics, a giant neon painted car spat out colorful smoke before an artist would grace the stage. at around 3, the crowds began to spill into the grassy lawn. gwar went on stage wearing their classic alien-viking outfits. they pumped up the crowd with their playful dynamic take on metallic fantasies. the australian band hatchie took the main stage at 4. hatchie, created by harriette pilbeam, is very nostalgic of the 90’s dream-pop sound. the song “sure” is comparable to the rawness of mazzy

star’s 1993 release of so tonight i might see. shortly after hatchie, doug e. fresh joined the madness. known as the human beat box, fresh gave what seemed like motivational speeches about family and good music before actually performing any of his original discographies. this wasn’t the least bit of an issue to the crowd of hundreds as people gladly joined his infectious positivity. the drums and the voidz took on the stage shortly after fresh. the drums played 6 songs from their latest full-length album, abysmal thoughts. the rest of their hour-long set was dedicated to classics like “days” and “let’s go surfing.” the voidz played a soulful set following the drums. the crowd went in full fan-girl mode. julian casablancas played to his moodiest of tones, with post-punk pieces like “qyurryus” and “leave it in my dreams.” last, but not least the growlers took the stage in white overalls and black and white face paint. the two-hour long set was blissfully loaded with brooke neilson’s scrappy folk voice and excellent psychedelic instrumentals. beach goth is home to a wildly diverse demographic of people, and this might be what really makes up its popularity. there were people of all ages partying it up in beautifully designed costumes, with the best of killer sounds in the background. as this was my first time attending beach goth, i would happily go again and recommend it to anyone with a liking for good music and good setting.

babyblu: an internet sensation

“a lot of people aren’t honest and I think that’s the most important thing in life.”

with the rise of social media comes the rise of talented musicians from all around the world. it’s no secret that having the world at your fingertips makes it that much easier for anyone anywhere to create their own art and put it out there. the challenge is gaining a following, people that actually care about your passion and those who share your creative vision. that was certainly not the challenge for twenty-one year old dylan mcbrayer of tampa, florida. with nearly eight thousand monthly spotify listeners, babyblu is easily one of florida’s hottest new internet bands. dylan began his journey as a musician just about the same way everyone else does, with practice and determination. “i got a guitar for christmas and pretended like i was good at it. then, i tried to write songs and they were really bad,” dylan tells me. i think i can speak for everyone when i say that we are glad that dylan had the willpower to push through those bad songwriting sessions and get to where he is today. by far, he is one of the hardest working musicians i have ever met. from writing to producing and everything in between, dylan turns his creative thoughts into lyrical masterpieces solo in his bedroom. he wasn’t always by himself, however, as he first started out as a guitarist for other bands while working with other local creatives on multiple different projects. “it used to be a project between me and this girl - she used to sing, i didn’t sing. i only started singing like a year ago when we stopped working on it. i did a rebranding, all new me kind of thing, and i stuck with the name (babyblu).” after going solo, dylan has had ever-changing drummers depending on who was available until recently when he and khristian hedrick paired up. “khristian is going to be our regular drummer from now on,” dylan asserts. khristian has been drumming ever since he was about three years old and is a complete natural. the pairing of dylan and khristian was a match made in heaven with chemistry weaving both on and off the stage. the two recently took a road trip to nashville to get away, clear their heads and draw some inspiration for their upcoming ep. dylan plans to release two more ep’s by the end of 2018, totalling at four eps for the entire year. earlier this year, 2786 was released on february 2nd, followed by 3171 a month or so later. dylan has a unique strategy to releasing so many ep’s in one year.

check out “i hope i’ve been the same for you”, babyblu’s latest single available now on all streaming platforms.

by anissa dimilta photography by anissa dimilta

fourty-eight. issue one. summer 2018

“i told myself that this year i wanted to be as obnoxious on the internet as i can be because apparently that works. i’ve heard people know who babyblu is without even hearing my music, which is cool! the whole idea was that if i can engrain the ideas of these four numbered ep’s into peoples minds’ enough for them to just associate four numbers with me then i think we can get somewhere. i figured if i put out ep’s throughout the year and just worked my ass off on them then maybe people will give a shit.” there’s no doubt that social media is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to promote your band and babyblu uses it to the full extent. by releasing four ep’s in one year, there is no possible way for any band to fall off the grid. as such, the two are currently working on the third ep, 4209. no release date has been set, but a song off the ep has been played both live and on an instagram live. being a musician and sharing your life with the world through lyrics isn’t always sunshines and rainbows. i asked dylan what the hardest thing about being a musician is and he mentions the crisis of “having people hear what you have to say. someone could be like, ‘your opinion doesn’t matter’ and you have to deal with that, which sucks. or having to say things that you don’t necessarily want to say, but you should. i’ve said stuff where i’m like ‘i don’t want my mom to hear this,’ because i don’t want her to question what i’m saying and that’s a little stressful. making music is fun for me, so i don’t find that stressful at all or playing, but it’s

actually having to present the ideas to people that is stressful.” one of the most important ideas that dylan wants to portray through his music is honesty. “i feel like a lot of people aren’t honest and i think that’s the most important thing in life.” dylan then went on to quote mac demarco, “sometimes it’s better to be happy on the journey then to be happy at the end goal, so if you can just focus on being happy in the present moment then that’s what it’s all about.” as a band, babyblu’s goal is to have their listeners connect with their music and they hope to have their music interpreted in the way that is needed by the listener in that moment. “i think it’s subjective, where it can mean something different to everyone else who is listening to it. it can apply to someone in a certain situation at a certain time and it can apply to someone completely different at a different time in a different situation.” after talking to babyblu, it became very obvious that both dylan and khristian are extraordinarily hard working and want their music to be the very best in can be. we talked about how songs are chosen for the ep’s and dylan had one stand out response, “feeling. as a product, if it doesn’t sound like what it should be then i don’t put it out. there is a song called “a million pieces” that was written before any of the ep’s that has still not come out. i’m stressed about it because we are working on it, and we leave for nashville tomorrow in the morning and we are working on some of the songs, and that song has been sitting there forever.” it is impossible for these guys to not hit it big one day so be sure to listen to their latest eps, follow them on social media, and make it out to see them live so you can one day say, “i knew them when…”

fourty-nine. issue one. summer 2018

dear WARPED TOUR, i want to thank you

i know that it will always live on. warped tour, thank you for building something that has touched so many lives.

these bands grow and succeed gave us hope for a better future. it allowed us to believe that things might get better, and we can be successful if we just keep working at it. warped tour has also worked with hundreds of non-profits over the years dealing with issues like suicide awareness and prevention, food for the less fortunate, and environmental protection. the arms of the vans warped tour reach so much further than the individual people they have touched, it has made the world a better place in a time where it seems like things are only going downhill.

as the last vans warped tour has come to a close and the wheels on the tour buses have come to a halt, emo kids everywhere have one last thing left to say. thank you.

i got to attend this summer’s final warped tour and, while i’m sad to see it go, i know that it will always live on. it will live on in the bands we listen to, the mosh pits we will never forget, the photos we’ve taken, and the community that has been built.

since its debut in 1995, warped tour has been a vessel by which music lovers everywhere could come together and jam. from irish rockers like dropkick murphys and flogging molly, to the rise of pop punk artists, to the birth of emo, warped tour has witnessed the evolution of them all.

from every photographer or musician who got a career boost, from every charity that went on tour, from every emo kid that needed a good cry, from every maniac dancing in the mosh pit, from every crowd surfer, from every music lover, and from every fan, thank you for 24 amazing years.

growing up can be hard, and some of us have to grow up a little too fast. the musicians and bands on warped helped not only me, but also many of my friends through some of the biggest challenges in our lives. it was because of warped tour that bands like sleeping with sirens, motion city soundtrack, and all time low were able to grow their fan base and reach so many of us.

thank you for bringing us together to celebrate something bigger than ourselves. thank you for giving back. thank you for the music. thank you for the fun, and the smiles, and the blown out vocal chords. we will never forget you.

we got to see our favorite bands start on small stages and work up to headlining tours. even more than the diverse music that helped us through, seeing

by erin alzapiedi photography by erin alzapiedi

fifty-one. issue one. summer 2018

panic! at the disco by abby stanford

fifty-three. issue one. summer 2018

pray for the wicked

top covers during the brooklyn, ny stop of her 2018 melodrama tour at barclays center, lorde devoted a portion of her time on stage to covering st. vincent’s “new york” alongside bleachers’ jack antonoff, a moment that had the entire sold out arena entranced. this was one of numerous nights that lorde took on the reins of another artist’s song (having covered kanye west’s “runaway” in chicago and drake’s “shot for me” in toronto.) these special moments lorde carves into her shows are reflective of a veteran music industry practice that dates back to the mid 1900s with artists like jimi hendrix covering bob dylan, with some covers becoming more popular than the original; ask any number of people who the artist responsible for “i will always love you” is and most will likely say whitney houston, rather than dolly parton who originally wrote and recorded the track. many artists seem hesitant to release studio recordings

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by larisha paul

of their covers, whether that be for purposes of allowing concertgoers in attendance to be able to solidify that moment as their own rather than having to share it with others, or due to royalty payments that would have to be made to the original recording artist in most circumstances. while this benefits the artist in a way, listeners end up having to deal with the low quality audio of these covers that have been uploaded to youtube by those who attended the show. some artists, however, love and respect us enough to release studio versions of their covers despite whatever reasons other artists may have not to, including covers they have recorded on their own accord, or for promotional media such as bbc radio 1’s live lounge. here are seven times our favorite artists got in the studio and covered tracks originally by some of our other favorite artists:

foxes takes on ed sheeran’s “photograph” despite having won a grammy for her performance on zedd’s 2013 hit “clarity,” in addition to releasing two full length albums full of iconic pop tracks, foxes is one of the most underrated musicians to rise out of the uk music scene, never receiving quite enough recognition for how she molds lyrics, both her own and others, into her signature sound. when she stepped into the studio for bbc radio 1’s live lounge to cover ed sheeran’s heartbreakingly loving “photgraph,” the pop singer added slight changes to certain notes throughout the song, but otherwise stuck to the script–that is before introducing a break in the track, singing “it’s shaking the sky, and i’m following lightning. i’ll recover if you keep me alive,” intertwining years & years’ “shine” with “photograph” for an unforgettable performance. bastille takes on city high’s “what would you do?” “boys and girls wanna hear a true story?” questions city high in the opening verse of their 2001 hit “what would you do?” a subject heavy song about the hidden struggles underneath the initial persona of a stripper at a party. relatable to some, and eye opening for others, the song reached number 2 on billboard’s mainstream top 40 chart. in 2012, after having covered the track on tour as a way to bolster their setlist, bastille released an official studio version of “what would you do?” on their mixtape of covers, other people’s heartache. rather than waterdown the severity of the subject at hand in the song, as would be expected, the band managed to use a bass heavy line of production to convey the weight of the lyrics, and by doing so allowed the song to also reach audiences who aren’t typical consumers of early 2000s r&b and hip-hop music.

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the 1975 takes on sade’s “by your side” in the offtime following the release of their 2016 album, i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, the 1975 slipped back into the studio to lay down vocals for their soulful rendition of “by your side” by sade. the band, lead by matty healy, stripped away the lighter r&b production of the original track and opted instead for an electro-jazz driven sound. sonically, the cover is reminiscent of the 1975’s “anobrain,” seeming to build into something larger but ultimately keeping with the expected pace of a track so atmospherically calming. the track was recorded as a charity single for war child, a british organization that provides aid for children in war torn locations. twenty one pilots takes on my chemical romance’s “cancer” my chemical romance’s “cancer” was originally composed of two verses and an outro due to gerard way wanting to be as bleak and direct as possible in his emotionally heavy piano ballad about the tragic nature of losing a loved one to cancer. the track is already unexplainably heartbreaking, especially for those who have experienced such a loss at some point in their life, and twenty one pilots somehow managed to make this depressingly sad song even sadder. twenty one pilots decided that their rendition would include the same lyrical content, but rearranged the format to make up two verses, a chorus, and a bridge, woven between a dark-electro production track. the new sound presents “cancer” to listeners in an emotionally transformative state that conveys the same hurt and perhaps anger of the original track, except with an added ambience of having someone slip away from you. glass animals takes on kanye west’s “love lockdown” problematics of recent months aside, kanye west has managed to rise to his position in hip-hop and stay there for as long as he has because of his early track record of being a consistent artist. many of his most popular tracks come from his earlier albums, such as late registration and graduation, but his most underrated come from 808s & heartbreak, a step out of line from his normal releases.

808s & heartbreak featured “love lockdown,” a bass heavy, pop reminiscent track about honesty and love in relationships. when glass animals got ready to record their own take on the song, they veered away from the pop influences and created an alluring blues driven track. the group’s vocals alternate between deep whispers and high pitched declarations, adding an aura of darkness and mystery throughout the track. years & years takes on joni mitchell’s “both sides now” similar to the 1975, synth-pop band years & years made the most of their musical talents in the name of activism. wanting to show his support for mental health awareness, lead singer olly alexander recorded a heartbreaking cover of joni mitchell’s 1969 hit “both sides now” as part of torch songs, a branch of the campaign against living miserably that allow artists to record takes on songs that have inspired them during hard times with the goal of providing others with hope. “so many things i could have done,” alexander sings over the blissful notes of a piano, “but clouds got in my way.” anyone listening can hear the intensity of the passion in his soul being channeled directly into his vocal output, teetering on the edge of painful memories of past struggles and rising optimism for a better, stronger future. listeners are provided with an important reminder to look on the bright side occasionally, alexander singing, “well something’s lost and something’s gained, in living every day,” x ambassadors takes on rihanna’s “american oxygen” rather than adhering to wishes that they simple sing their songs and leave politics out of the equation, we’ve witnessed many artists speaking out about the rapidly changing social and political climates in recent years. this hasn’t always been the norm of the music industry, but it has certainly been refreshing to see artists using their platforms to evoke positive change and awareness. one notable example of this has been x ambassadors releasing a stripped down, alternative version of rihanna’s “american oxygen,” a 2015 track written in part by the band’s own sam harris. there are few lyrical disparities between the two versions, except that in his take, harris begins the second verse with, “bright lights glistening, looking at the world from a distance,” providing another perspective for listeners grappling with the american dream to relate to.

aidan ochre first off, how’d you get into the music? so musically, i have been playing the guitar and singing in my bedroom since seventh grade. i’m a self-taught guitarist. so yeah, it doesn’t really take any classes or anything. i just kind of picked up, because my older brother had one. and i started playing and singing and like i never really shared anything. i never really wrote anything either. like i would just make up songs around some time. i learned a lot of song covers, but i didn’t actually start recording music until beginning of last year. that kind of started because i got really into the internet and steve lacey and i heard all about how steve lacey was like making music with garageband on his iphone. so i was like, oh, i have garageband and i have a laptop so i could do that. so then i just started making music i posted posted one song on soundcloud and just kept going from there and people will begin to be receptive of it, which is cool. so that’s kind of how it started. that’s really cool. i think everyone’s gotten into like lately, but it’s like having the support from your friends because i see it like i followed you for awhile and i’ve realized that like we have so many mutual friends and it’s like they’re all like, oh my god, eight. and i think that’s really cool. yeah. honestly, getting really involved with people on twitter definitely helps a lot because yeah, i have a ton of support from my friends which actually helped my music to reach a lot of people i don’t know, which is cool. obviously i don’t have like a ton of fans or anything like that, it’s a very small following, but the fact that i have not followng is pretty amazing for me.

yeah. how would you describe your style of music and how you developed into it? this is a hard question for me because people always ask what my style of music is, and i don’t know. i mean it seems to kind of be a popular style among a lot of artists now. i mean we all kind of have our different variations of it but it takes a lot of influences from like indie rock but for me it’ll be like rap and r&b. i have definitely been more indie rock, but then other songs i’ve made have been described as like alternative r&b and i’m not sure, i guess that’s an appropriate label at times. i fell into that because those are the primary form of the music i listen to. i listen to a lot of rap so i kind of like rap -styled drums, and then i love a lot of indie rock, like mac demarco, which is like a huge influence and steve lacey, another big influence. then, kind of new soul/alternative r&b. is there like style or like their music has affected the way you write or produce your own stuff? like could you articulate that? for me, my running process involves me just sitting down with my guitar and coming up with a chord progression and then potential melodies. then i’ll record it on the voice memos on my phone and then if i’m really feeling it i’ll go grab my computer and just started to like actually put a song together and i’ll record, like a drum beat with a midi controller and then a leg on the guitar covered and then, i mean it’s definitely changed a lot from the original voice memo to what actually ended up on my computer.

“the fact that I have a following is pretty amazing for me.” but yeah, it’s starts as a voice memo and then i add the drum bass, extra vocals, all that stuff. i’m trying to think as far as like my writing process – i felt like omar apollo said something one time about how like when he writes his phone he doesn’t like all at once. like if it doesn’t fit the song in one day, he probably will never finish it, which i can definitely relate to. i like to try to get everything done at once because i feel like that’s when i have the most creative energy, but at the same time i can definitely. there have definitely been songs where i let it sit for awhile and been like a different idea, came to it for me and then i added that in the song a lot better. so like that’s what happened with “gemini”. the second part of the song was not originally in there, but then it ended up being in like, i don’t know, people seem to pick up part of that.

by emma sophia valles photography by jackson fabiyi

“a lot of my stories in my songs are hypothetical, but there’s still genuine emotion that I have experienced.”

do you produce everything you put out? yeah, everything i’ve done has been like on my own, like on artwork and every history and everything like that. i did have my friend jordan, he, mastered “gemini” for me, he just added some plugins and stuff and did some that. it’s very, which is cool. other than that, like i’ve done everything. that’s pretty cool because if you can do it on your own then you can literally do anything. yeah. that’s kind of people like amine and tyler the creator who just do everything on their own, like music videos, their production, their vocals, all that, stuff like that. those are huge inspirations to me because i was like, oh! it’s very cool how like we have the tools to be like context theaters across multiple platforms.

yeah, i’m also open to collaboration. of course. i really enjoy working with other artists, which is cool. is there anyone like you would want to work with now if you could? i would love to work with tyler the creator. definitely. he’s so creative and he’s kind of always changing up but still preventing shooters and stuff which is relating to me and i love his music videos and him as a director. i would too. it’d be really cool. so far in this whole process, you have your following. but i imagine that it’s been a struggle. so what do you think been your biggest one so far? definitely “gemini”. i don’t really know how that ended up blowing up. it’s literally just hit 100,000 listens on soundcloud. like it hasn’t really replicated that on spotify or apple music but it’s still doing well. but the fact that it has about 100,000 on soundcloud is crazy to me. that was pretty exciting for sure. just the way that’s kind of grown because that definitely opened a lot of doors for me to other artists are going to take me a little more seriously and things like that. that’s so cool! i didn’t know that. oh thank you. yeah, i just, i didn’t realize it until i

has there been like any like big obstacles you’ve had to overcome so far? i think my biggest obstacle there, is definitely finding time, like during the school year i kind of wasn’t making as much music and this summer i’ve been working a lot more. i still i would like to spend more time working on music that i have been, but you know, i try not to force creativity or like something like that. it comes when it comes. yeah. and then also where i live it’s kind of hard because i live very far from any major city, so i’ve never really done any live shows or anything like that to get me more exposure, which i would love to do. so i’m hoping once i move then that’s going to help out a lot too to start meeting other artists because right now i’m like the already in my area. what’s the main message you try to get to people through your songs? like do you write like a certain style for like certain people or is it just like all over the place? yeah, i don’t know. i mean, everything i’ve written so far has been like sappy love songs, there’s not like any powerful message i’m trying to get out. i kind of just write and try not to be corny or anything with anything i write because it’s kind of try to be genuine feelings and i have like, a lot of my stories in my songs are hypothetical, but there’s still genuine emotion that i have experienced. i just kind of write to be relatable and a hope that people here and they’re “yeah, i know this” because i think that’s something that we can all appreciate about music is like how relatable it is to us. recently i feel like that’s what more people see, but obviously if you’re doing something and you’re writing from experience and not trying too hard, that’s what people notice. yeah. is there anything else you want people to know? music is on the way and it’s definitely some of the best music i’ve written, so i hope it reaches a greater audience than i ever had before because that’d be cool. so expect some new tracks.

sixty. issue one. summer 2018

yeah, if you can do something, you can do everything and you were like fully in control, which is i think the best part of it.

checked the other day. it’s like at 101 right now. it’s like, oh wow!

letter from the editor Starting Poptized has really been a journey from the get go. I envisioned this to be a community filled with like-minded and passionate enthusiasts for music, and it brings me so much joy to say that we have really done that from the get go. I’ll be frank - I didn’t have much experience going into an editorial position as demanding as this. The main takeaway from the entire journey, however, is how passion really dictates your motivation and that it is completely okay to make mistakes sometimes but trust your instincts. It sets you up for something better and you learn, which is something I’ve certainly done with Poptized.

On behalf of the heads and the team, I am so proud to say that we have accomplished a feat with this first issue. Allie X, among others, is an artist that I have adored for such a long time, and having such a pop figurine head our first release is empowering to our publication. We have an array of artists that we all personally love as well and I am so excited to show you what we have to offer as a whole.

Before that I’d like to give my thanks to a couple of people that would not have made this possible for me: my heads - Ash, the other Ash, Sara, Emma, Hope, Emily - thanks for coming together to create something wonderful. We all come from different places and backgrounds yet here we are. The wonderful contributors, you know who you are. Thanks for making our Slack so lovely. Here’s to more rants and future memes. To my dad and my brother for being chill with me pursuing my passion. To Jack, for inspiring me to take new risks and start something as big as this.

Thanks for sticking by, and I hope you enjoy our first issue. Hopefully this is the beginning of what would be an amazing journey through pop music and culture.

kariann tan founder/editor-in-chief

dedications from the heads to the journey of my summer. in the midst of excruciating boredom, pure bliss, restless stress, and peaked excitement, I can say I lived and learned and accomplished in this two month hiatus and for that I am eternally grateful.

- ashleigh tain, head of production & graphic design i want to dedicate my work on this issue to mom, dad, abby, and anna. thank you for making me laugh everyday and for supporting me in everything i do.

- emily richardson, head of writing & submissions

founder/editor in chief kariann tan writers & interviewers ainsley martinez amanda elman anissa dimilta belen castillo chelsea holecek emma sophia valles erin alzapiedi ky kasselman larisha paul piper rosas sara salamat stephen whiting special thanks to alex canon jackson fabiyi jennie nguyen juan poggioli maria jose govea taylor priola online poptizedmagazine.com contact press@poptizedmagazine.com

heads ashleigh haddock, social media ashleigh tain, production & graphic design emily richardson, writing & submissions emma sophia valles, photography & digital media sara salamat, public relations photographers abby stanford anissa dimilta bella peterson christian nixon emma sophia valles erin alzapiedi ky kasselman graphic design ashleigh tain emma sophia valles front & back cover maria jose govea contents image abby stanford connect twitter.com/poptizedmag instagram.com/poptizedmag

i’d like to thank everyone who took a part to help make this magazine a reality, this magazine you’re reading would be nowhere without each other and i am very happy that this magazine came to life. everyone had a part that fulfilled this issue and that’s what makes this more special.

- sara salamat, head of public relations to everyone on poptized for being so welcoming and giving me a chance and everyone who’s ever believed in me.

- emma sophia valles, head of photography & digital media to poptized magazine for continuing my love for music and inspiring me each and every day. cheers to issue 1! i am so proud.

- ashleigh haddock, head of social media