NKD Mag - Issue #76 (October 2017)

OCT. 2017 04 OLIVIA O’BRIEN

20 ECHOSMITH

36 CAITY LOTZ

on her upcoming ep and developing her identity

on learning to write as a threepiece and their sophomore album

on women empowerment and using her position to inspire others

06 JACK & JACK

26 PEARL LION

46 LAUV

on taking their time and finding their sound

on bringing his passion project to life and snl

on making music and falling in love with new york city

12 NEW HOPE CLUB

28 DYLAN SPRAYBERRY

50 JAMES MASLOW

on coming together as a band and touring the world

on his journey to success and saying goodbye to teen wolf

on his solo endeavors and experiences post-big time rush

16 DECLAN MCKENNA

34 LIZ HUETT

56 RACHEL CROW

on putting out authentic work and being a voice

on stepping out of her comfort zone and finding herself

on taking a break and rediscovering her voice

CATHERINE POWELL

publisher, editor, photographer, designer, writer

SAMANTHA BAMBINO writer

SHELBY CHARGIN writer

ELIZABETH FORREST writer

AUTUMN HALLE

OLIVIA SINGH

IAN HAYS

RILEY STENEHJEM

writer writer

writer writer

LIZ ZAVOYSKIY writer

04

O’BRIEN

Words by SHELBY CHARGIN Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

OLIVIA

Olivia O’Brien stormed Top 40 radio as the top liner of the gnash’s biggest hit to date “i hate u, i love u.” But the 1- year-old has no plans of stopping there. Growing up writing songs for herself and stumbling into one of the quickest rises into music in 2017, she’s determined to showcase how quickly one young woman can grow. We caught up with her at her first show ever last month to pick her brain apart about Gnash, her new EP, and what her future in music might look like. How’d you get into music? I’ve been writing songs since I was like out of the womb. I have little songbook from when I was in kindergarten so I’ve always been writing songs. I just didn’t think anything would happen with it. That’s like the last thing I would think ever would happen in my life. When I was like in middle school I taught myself to play piano and guitar. And then when I was like freshman I started actually writing songs with chords and stuff and showing them to my friends and they were like ‘Oh hey these are kind of good.’ I started making covers on Soundcloud because I saw this girl make them and I thought ‘Oh that’s easy I could do that.’ What made you go with the Soundcloud approach versus YouTube? I just don’t like photos or videos. I don’t like to record myself. I mean, you wouldn’t really get that idea from my Instagram, but I have control over photos that I post there. I can edit them, I can get good lighting, I take like 100 photos and pick one that I like kind of thing. But yeah. I just didn’t want to have to worry about the way that I looked and the way that I sounded because I feel like it’s just easier to

get the sound than the look. When did you start putting out original music? My first original songs that I put out like I had them out for maybe two days because it was just a track with the piano and I remember I was on a field trip and we were on the school bus on the way back home and these two boys were listening to my songs and making fun of me so I deleted them immediately. And then “hate u love u” was the first original song I put out since then. How did you end up working with gnash? I was a fan of Blackbear and ModSun and they were going on tour and Gnash was opening for them and so I looked up all the openers and he had one song out and I thought it was good so I did a cover of it, and he heard it. He invited me to the show and put me on the list, which at the time I thought was so cool. He asked me if I had any original songs so I sent him “hate u love u” and he wanted to work with me so I went to L.A., made the song, put it on Woundcloud. I don’t know how it got on the radio, seriously. What was it liking watching that song take off last year? It was crazy, it kind of didn’t really feel real. It was weird because it was my song but it wasn’t my song. It was gnash featuring me technically so I didn’t go to all the radio promo, I didn’t do all the stuff for it that you know people usually do for songs that they sing on write or whatever. What’s it been like to watch people become a fan of you through that? It’s been cool. I feel like I still have a

lot of growing to do, and I don’t really like a lot of my old songs that I put out. Just ‘cause I wrote them a long time ago. Like I always say I hate ‘i hate u i love you’ because I wrote it when I was 15. Like when you’re young, you’re a teenager, you grow faster and mature faster than at any other time in your life. So two years ago me is so different than who I am now, so I feel like songs I wrote then don’t really match up to who I am now. I’m excited to put out new music and see my fans grow from there because they’re going to know who I am now. Like get a better sense of who I’m going to be throughout my life. How has your sound and songwriting developed? I’m definitely not afraid to actually say stuff. Like before I was like ‘Can I say this? I’m 17. Can I talk about drinking?’ just stuff that 17-year-olds shouldn’t be doing but I do anyway because we all do it. I just don’t want to be one of those people who pretends that I’m some little perfect angel and role model. I’m becoming more honest. Any songs on the upcoming EP you’re excited for your fans to hear? All of them. I had so many songs written but I could only put three on this. “Empty” is already out and “R.I.P” is already out and then there’s two possibly three more that are going to be on it. What are some of your goals over the course of the next year? People always ask me that and I don’t know. I just like writing songs. I never thought of this as a career so I’m just happy with whatever happens. NKD NKDMAG.COM

05

26

jack & jack Words by AUTUMN HALLE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

NKDMAG.COM

27

Not many of us get to chase our dreams with our best friend by our side. But for musicians and social media sensations, Jack & Jack, that’s reality. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, the duo rose to fame via their harmonic six-second Vine 08

clips, eventually turning those few seconds into an addictive mix of pop and urban music that garnered an immediate fan base. But long before their rise to social media fame brought them a record deal and national presence on the Billboard charts, they

were just two tots playing nice in kindergarten. They both grew up in families where music was a constant. “My parents really inspired me to get into music initially, they were always playing rock music like Van Halen and AC/DC around

the house,” Jack Johnson says of his early years. “They took me to my first concert, The Who, which really inspired me.” For Jack Gilinsky it was a combination of his parents musical influences and his sister’s love for their high school choir. “My

sister’s forced me into show choir, which is not really something a lot of boys at my school did. But I ended up being really happy that I did it because it got me way more involved in music and used to getting up in front of people and performing. So, my family in general was big push for me, musically,” he says, Early on both boys spent a lot of time banging on pots and pants and testing the limits of the sounds they could make with various instruments. But, it wasn’t until Johnson discovered artists like Eminem and 50 Cent via his local radio station that he started experimenting with rapping. “All those mainstream artists really made me fall in love with the hip hop genre. So it was around first or second grade that I started writing raps,” he says. The duo began creating their own sounds by rewriting current hits in the style of funny man, Weird Al, crafting hilarious parodies. Inspired by the pop and urban tracks they heard on their local radio stations, they first performed in their living room before taking the act to the social media platform, Vine. “Initially we were really into parodies. We’d make parodies of popular Top 40 hits like ‘Sexy Can I’ by Ray J and ‘Apologize’ by One Republic. That was the moment when we realized we loved making music and making people laugh.” Gilinsky says. From there they started experimenting with their own harmonies and songwriting, throwing together quick mini-hits that built them a dedicated fan base. When the call for full length

songs continued to come from their fans, they buckled down and started developing their sound. “We started getting notoriety online and people were asking us to make full length originals,” Johnson reflects. “But we didn’t know how to do that, as far as professionally recording a song and releasing it.” That was when they met the Eakins Brothers, a local production team making tracks out of their closet in Omaha. “They got in touch with us and wanted to produce tracks for free,” Johnson says. “We met up with them and produced our first four tracks.” They tinkered around with a more bubbly pop aesthetic with a hint of their hip hop flavor, one that jived with the One Direction and Justin Bieber sound popular at the time. The tracks that came out of their initial studio time would change the course of their careers. “We’re so grateful to the Eakins Brothers, because without them, we probably wouldn’t be where we are right now.” Their single “Wild Life” debuted on Billboard’s Hot R&B/ Hip Hop Songs in 2014, entering the chart at an incredible No. 16 position. It was a debut that was almost entirely driven by track sales in a world where fans didn’t often buy digital tracks, let alone from independent artists. The success of “Wild Life” and the singles that followed, made it possible for them to hop on the 2014 DigiTour, their first experience taking their act from the mobile screen to the stage. With labels after them and the chance for real success on the horizon, NKDMAG.COM

09

the group had a lot of decisions to make. “‘Wild Life’ charted very high and beat out some of the label artists we were on the charts next to,” Gilinsky elaborates. “So, labels were taking heavy interest in us at that time because we were a completely independent act making music that was selling the same amount, if not more, than the label acts.” After much deliberation about where to go next, the group landed in Los Angeles, where they integrated themselves into the pop and urban music scenes. “It seemed like the spot for Jack and I, we already knew people and had some buddies,” Johnson says. “We felt like it would be a comfortable transition. We started linking up with producers and making music right away.” The two years that followed was a time of self-discovery and musical experimentation. They got together their ideal management team and buckled down to make music that reflected who they were as artists. Of the time, Johnson says, “We didn’t know who we were musically, exactly. If we signed with a label we didn’t want it to become a machine-type thing that wasn’t authentic. Where they might push us in a certain direction.” Gilinsky adds, “We didn’t want anyone taking creative control and making us into something we’re not. We didn’t want to become an industry product.” The wait paid off. At the beginning of summer 2017, the duo signed with Island Records – a label that had watched them closely and supported their desire 10

for artistic discovery. “They know what we want, because we made sure we knew what we wanted before we went to them. That’s why I’m glad we waited,” says Gilinsky. Not only did the process land them a record deal, but of the 70 tracks they worked on at that time, five ended up comprising their latest EP Gone, which was released in May of 2017. Their sound, now a solid mix of their hip hop chops and harmonic elements, was uniquely them. “I think people gravitate towards authenticity. We came out to Los Angeles and we really just started to experience life, and I think that was a big thing for us. It was about finding ourselves and what our passion is,” Johnson reflects. “We’re still working on that, we’re only 21, but I think we have a good idea of who we are creatively because of this experience.” As for Gone, it became clear to them that each track was like its own chapter in a tumultuous relationship. From there, the conceptual idea of creating an EP based on a relationship arch was born. “It was an extremely natural progression. When we realized, ‘Wow, this really feels like it’s telling a story.’ We asked ourselves if we should add a beginning and end song to make it come together as a real story,” Gilinsky says. “We did not start the project at all with the intention of it being conceptual,” Johnson adds. “We had three songs, the middle ones ‘Fallen,’ ‘Last Thing’ and ‘Hurt People’. We felt like those connected to each other, they were all about a relationship

going from a good place to a bad place. We thought that was cool. Then we just filled it in with the intro song (‘Distraction’) and the conclusion song, ‘2 Cigarettes’.” The video, directed by Emil Nava, is a 19-minute mini-movie that follows the course of the relationship, bringing to life the melodic storyline in a purely cinematic, visual format. “I think we felt how strong the concept of the song was and we’re both visual guys, so we always want our videos to be just as cool as the music and make fans love it even more,” Johnson muses. “We thought, ‘Why not just make a long form that also tells the story of the video?’” Not surprisingly, the video found popularity with their loyal fanb ase. Fans that are about to hear a whole lot more of the group as they get set to release their Island Records debut on October 15th. The first hint of their Island sound will come in the form of their new single, “Beg”, which dropped in September. From there, the group plans to hit the road, taking their songs across the pond for an International tour for the very first time. But with all the life changes over the past few years, one thing remains the same. Jack & Jack know they wouldn’t have taken this wild ride without the support of their fans, who have been there since their first six-second debut. “We really just want our fans to know that we love them and everything they’ve done for us. We would be here without them,” Johnson says. “We want to continue to make music that they connect to.” NKD

new hope club

Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

12

It’s a warm afternoon in early August and the boys of New Hope Club, Blake Richardson, 18, Reece Bibby, 19, and George Smith, 18, approach a rooftop that overlooks New York City. Front and center is the Empire State Building and in the distance, the Freedom Tower stands out against the pale blue sky and puffy white clouds that are scattered across the skyline. It’s New Hope Club’s first time visiting the Big Apple, and they eagerly run toward the railing, captivated by a view they’ve only seen come to life in movies and TV shows – until this moment. In true millennial fashion, they take out their phones, ready to document the experience and snap photos that will inevitably appear on their social media accounts. New Hope Club might be a relatively new name to music fans, but with their talent and ambition, they will undoubtedly visit new cities for many years to come. Prior to forming the band, Blake, Reece and George were pursuing music individually in separate parts of England. Blake, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, learned to play the guitar at the age of 6. George, NHC’s vocalist and guitarist, was inspired to pick up the guitar at 11-years-old after watching a Beatles program and later became proficient in piano and bass. As for NHC’s drummer, bassist and vocalist, Reece, the interest in music began because of his father. Coming from a musical family, he picked up his first drum kit at 3 years old and

learned to play guitar around the age of 9. Though all three guys discovered music at varying ages, one thing they had in common is that singing came as naturally as playing instruments. Beginning in 2013, George started posting covers and original songs on YouTube, including covers of Oasis and The Beatles. Around the same time, Reece was uploading covers of Bob Marley and Ed Sheeran tracks, while Blake posted a cover of McFly’s “That Girl.” The early stages of the band started when George found Blake’s cover on YouTube. The idea of shifting from a solo musician performing at local pubs to being a member in a band appealed to George. “I got spotted by a potential manager who put me in touch with a few people,” George recalls. “But then I met Blake singing some McFly in his front room in his kitchen, just by himself, counting himself in with loads of energy and we met up at his house for a weekend.” That weekend turned out to be a productive one, spent watching movies, writing music and testing the waters as potential bandmates. Not too long after, George and Blake discovered Reece through his time on The X Factor. Reece had parted ways with his band at the time, but found a new place with George and Blake. “Me and George were writing for a few months and kept writing and kept being open, just gaining a really

strong friendship,” Blake explains. After meeting Reece, the three guys knew they would work well as a band. “We instantly connected because we had a similar interest in music and everything, and it just fell together.” “It was pretty much instant,” Reece adds. “We never met up and thought, ‘This has to work. You have to be a band. You’ve got no choice.’ It was a trial and error thing. As soon as we met up, we all just kind of watched films, we had the same humor – we’re really similar boys. It was just really easy. Straight away, we went home after that weekend and were like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what I want to do. These are the boys that I want to be in a band with.’” In November 2015, New Hope Club got signed to fellow U.K.based band The Vamps’ record label, Steady Records, and toured across England with them. NHC performed their first official show at Birmingham Arena while on tour with The Vamps. “We had never performed for a crowd before,” Blake recalls. “Obviously we performed to our families, but it was to 15,000 people and we were very nervous that day. We just supported each other as we went out and I’d like to say we smashed it.” Performing for a crowd of that magnitude isn’t easy for a rising band, but NHC prepared with help from The Vamps. “They’re very talented writers and we’ve done

NKDMAG.COM

13

some writing with them, which was amazing,” Blake says. “But on the first show, like we said, it was a big show and we were nervous, but The Vamps actually took us out on stage and showed us not only how to perform, but gave us advice on how to get the crowd captured and Brad [Simpson] took me around the stage.” Blake, Reece and George brainstormed potential band names (including some admittedly “terrible ones, like ‘The Trees’”) before agreeing on ‘New Hope Club.’ “We liked the idea of a club, with people being able to join the club,” Reece says. “And our first ever tweet as a band was ‘Welcome to the club.’” Coincidentally, their first tweet is also the title of their debut EP, which was released on May 2nd. Welcome to the Club is the result of songwriting sessions spent in the U.K. and L.A., and includes “Fixed,” “Friend Of A Friend,” “Water” and “Perfume.” “The songs on the EP are some of the first songs that we ever wrote,” Reece says. “‘Perfume’ was pretty much the first song that we wrote as a band, so we felt like that was really important to put it on there, especially because we’ve played it a few times at shows in the U.K. and around Europe.” “It’s become a fan favorite, just because it’s the first thing we ever released as a band,” Blake adds. Ultimately, those four tracks were chosen for the EP because NHC

14

loves playing those songs live as much as fans enjoy hearing them. “We love bands that have a great live performance,” Reece says. “We love playing live, so we like to write music that we’d want to go see live. We write our own music and we like bands that write their own music.” Musical inspiration varies from song to song, but one of the most helpful things about getting to tour the world together is being able to share similar experiences. “It can just be anything; I think usually small things that can trigger a thought, lyric or idea, and if there’s been something playing on your mind that you really want to write about, then it’s usually something like that,” Reece says. “We’re also on the same wavelength because we’re pretty much together 24/7, so we experience pretty much all the same things,” George adds. “When we’re on a certain topic, we all know the general aspect of it.” “So we don’t have to write a song about imagining the first time being in New York, because we’re all here for the first time in New York,” Reece says, gesturing to the scenic view behind him. Over the summer, NHC had the chance to travel across America for the first time ever as part of Sabrina Carpenter’s The De-Tour. “It’s cool because we go on and people are like, ‘I don’t really know who these guys are’ and then by the end of the show, we’ve hopefully

changed some minds and we’ve hopefully won some people over,” Reece says. “And it’s been amazing to just visit loads of different states that we’ve never even been to before, that we’ve seen on films – like here, for example,” Blake adds. “That is one of the best views I’ve ever seen, so just to see loads of places that we’ve seen on films and actually experience that at the age we’re at is incredible.” For the remainder of the year, Blake, Reece and George will continue to travel across the globe as part of The Vamps’ world tour, adding more members to their fan base. “If you’re a supporter and you come to watch us live and you talk to us on social media and stuff like that, then you’re in the club,” Reece says. NHC hopes to eventually reach a point where they can put on their own shows for fans. “I think the main goal as a band, the goal that’s closest, is to do our own headlining show,” Blake says. “That’s what we really want to do.” “We’ve never played a show that’s our own or that we’ve headlined,” Reece adds. “We’ve been supporting, which we love of course, but it’s a dream to have our own show and people coming to see us.” For now, Blake, Reece and George are happily touring the world as teenagers, playing shows in new destinations and adding new members to their rapidly growing club. NKD

NKDMAG.COM

15

declan mckenna

Words by LIZ ZAVOYSKIY Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

For lack of a better word to describe him, Declan McKenna is different. I meet with the rising star hours before his show at the infamous Webster Hall and energy is high. He’s wearing a white t-shirt gifted to him by a fan that says “Make Me Your Queen” outlined in silver glitter, dark polish on his fingernails, hair displaced just enough to teeter the line of constructed image and nonchalance. The 18-year-old is scaling the walls of the almost vacant concert hall (Webster Hall was recently bought by AEG and is clearing the venue out for renovations shortly), mounting himself on vintage looking radiators and jumping dramatically into the sky. After every leap, he pauses enough to catch his breath and then asks, “Did you get the shot?” He keeps going 16

until it’s perfect. For a thus far relatively short span of celebrity, Declan’s name has been met with some controversy, but more importantly, a lot of expectation. In the eyes of an ever socially conscious public, being dubbed the voice of a generation is a heavy burden to carry, and one that Declan hasn’t expressly asked for. “It’s never not been real. I think there’s more so been a time that I’ve come to realize what I want from what I’m doing. Though so much of what’s happened to me has been sensationalized, I think that it’s all actually been rather gradual. It’s been three years, or something like that, just building what I’m doing and understanding who I am as an artist. It’s definitely been surreal starting out and I guess involving

myself with industry types, going into weird meetings and building a team around myself. It’s all developed quite nicely. I’ve kept touring, kept creating, kept performing in a way that I’m happy. In that way it’s kind of stayed real with me, even if I’ve gotten to a point where things are very great in terms of what we’re doing. I’m very fortunate to have had a smooth-ish couple of years.” ‘Smooth’ is an understatement. Signed to Columbia Records, a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment and managed by Q Factory whose other clients include Metallica and Snow Patrol, Declan’s name is one that’s caused a rift of excitement in the industry for the past couple of years and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. In person, Declan is thankful and ever appreciative

NKDMAG.COM

17

18

for both his ascent and for those that surround him and help guide him to the right decisions. “A lot has happened and it’s been an interesting period of time. So much has changed. Growing up between the ages of 15 and 18 I think is when you realize who you are and sort of develop yourself as a person. Trying to tour and figure yourself out as an artist, and figure this out as a career gives you a different perspective on who you are. It’s strange, but I’ve got myself in a good position. I put Brazil out on my own. I expected to go to university and just do what kids my age in the UK were doing,” he admits, “The reaction wasn’t anything that I expected, but I was very lucky that that sort of hype existed in the industry and that people knew who I was. I was lucky that I was given the ability to spend months making decisions on who I got to work with. And then spend another two years working on an album, as opposed to rushing into something. It took all sorts of development, I wanted to develop my songs, develop myself in terms of creativity which took a lot of energy. Dealing with this so young was challenging, but I have a lot of creativity and liberty to do that and focus on it andIi’m enjoying it.” This good position was a driving force in Declan’s 11-song release What Do You Think About The Car, a debut album that was met with mixed, but rather good reviews, all of which echoed this sentiment of promise. With a knack for mixing music, politics and spoken word, interestingly

enough some of the standout moments come from the overlap of spoken word on the album, like the moment where Declan’s sister ask a 4-year-old Declan what he thinks about the car, to which he responds “I like it, it’s really good and now I’m going to sing my new album now.” Artistic choices like this reflect both his creative approach to music making, and a resonance and focus on youth, adulthood and development. “I don’t really talk to anyone about songwriting other than friends. I wouldn’t sign to a label who’d tell me how to write songs. I don’t do it to be or appear a certain way, it’s just what I do and who I am,” Declan says, “Although my ideas and stuff will change as I go into writing my second album, I listen to people who I think are worth listening to. You listen to a lot of advice when you’re 16 and you think it’s all legit, but you need to learn to take good advice which is a skill that takes time.” With a massive audience of mainly younger fans, Declan’s message has always been one that’s youth driven. “I can’t really ask for anything other than happiness from my fans [when they listen to the album]. If the album makes them happy or makes them want to dance. With an album, it’s hard to tell. People are going to interpret it different, some are just going to listen to the lyrics, some will just listen for fun. I don’t want to expect anything else from anyone. Just to enjoy it, to have fun,” he says while slightly adjusting the tucking on his white shirt. His fans

are the type to make him t-shirts emblazoned with lyrics from his songs. On what makes him happiest as a musician, Declan says, “Creating something really great is very satisfying for me. I love touring, it’s great, but it can really take it out of you. Definitely has its ups and downs. When you’re touring, you have to be happy, you have to be chatty. You have to have a certain, not necessarily persona, but you have to carry yourself a certain way. It’s all part of the job and what you’re doing. When you’re writing you can allow yourself to feel whatever, and write a song that people will like when you’re happy or sad. When you’re touring, you have to maintain being nice and happy. But at the same time, touring can bring about some of the more fun and special moments of being a musician. Like on this tour, getting this was kind of cute *(he points at shirt)*. It looks great, looks very professional. Most of my fans are super friendly, super kind and really appreciative of what I’m doing which is a bit odd for me because I don’t expect that kind of reaction. But it’s just so nice to have that, people you can just have a chat with.” Declan carries himself as someone extremely driven and wise for his age, and while that works to his benefit, it’s also something that has afforded him much public responsibility. The word promise has been thrown around quite frequently when describing his career, because that’s what you’d expect of someone who’s been dubbed ‘the voice of their generation’. NKD NKDMAG.COM

19

echosmith Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Echosmith has been a group for 11 years now and they have no plans of slowing down any time soon. The members/siblings, Sydney, 20, Noah, 21, and Graham, 18, have been working together for so long that things seem second-nature to them. They’re seasoned professionals and with their latest album, Inside A Dream, Echosmith continues to spread hope, love and positivity to listeners. The earliest form of Echosmith began in Los Angeles, at the Sierota’s Toluca Lake home. Growing up with a music producer as a father, Sydney, Noah and Graham naturally became interested in music. Noah, the band’s bassist, recalls learning to play the instrument at 6-years-old, while Graham, the band’s drummer, began playing around the age of 5. The Sierotas joke that Sydney started singing as soon as she came out of the womb, but on a serious note, Sydney estimates that her earliest memories of singing occurred at 2-years-old. “I think we all wanted to do [music] professionally forever, at it wasn’t really until we were a bit older that we actually wanted to do it together as a formed group,” Noah recalls. “But even just on our own, we all just loved playing instruments and music and creating and writing songs. It was such a big part of our lives from so early on, so doing it together just made a lot of sense.” Sydney, Noah and Graham’s first show together happened 11 years ago when they played a benefit concert in their neighborhood, but they weren’t known as Echosmith at the time. The group was initially called The Water Bottles, went through a series of other names and settled on ‘Echosmith’ after being signed to Warner Bros. in early 2012. They considered countless names, but when their mom suggested 22

‘Echosmith,’ it clicked right away for everyone. “We had the idea of shaping sounds, so we created this word ‘Echosmith’ and it’s kind of cool because obviously that’s what a band does, but it also just had this little ring to it,” Sydney says. “It was the first name after going through hundreds of names, the first name that we all felt good about and excited about.” Echosmith gained national attention with their track “Cool Kids,” off their 2013 debut album. It went platinum and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 – but it almost didn’t appear on Talking Dreams. “We weren’t totally sure if we knew what we wanted to do with the song when we were writing it,” Sydney recalls. “We wrote the song and had a bunch of different versions of it with different lyrics in the verse especially.” Constantly working on the song was frustrating and Echosmith considered excluding it from their album, but seeing crowd reactions at Warped Tour in 2013 made all the difference. “We noticed while we were on tour, people started to sing along to that song specifically, and we were like, ‘What is going on?’ because we didn’t really have fans yet,” Sydney says. “We were just building from the beginning and it was cool because the fans chose the single. It’s not like we had a big talk with the label and said, ‘OK, what song’s going work at radio?’ It was literally the people deciding, and I think that’s honestly the best opinion that you can get, because all that matters is that our fans and our fan base love the music. For Echosmith, the success of “Cool Kids” was surprising, but it gave them encouragement to make another album that is just as honest and appealing as their first.

“Naturally, there’s a little bit of pressure and nervousness going into a new album in general, but especially when you’re lucky enough to have success with the first album,” Sydney says. “There is a little bit of ‘OK, how do we make something just as powerful or meaningful?’ And you kind of just have to mentally tell yourself to stop thinking like that, because ‘Cool Kids’ didn’t come because we were trying to write a cool song. We were trying to write a song that was just our story and our feelings into a song.” With their latest album, Inside A Dream, Echosmith had to find a way to follow the buzz surrounding Talking Dreams – but they also had to do so with one less band member. In November 2016, Jamie announced that he would be leaving the group to dedicate more time to his wife and son. The absence of Jamie meant that Sydney, Noah and Graham had to reassess the band and their sound. “It’s still Echosmith at the core, but of course we’re going to evolve naturally,” Sydney says. “But ever since Jamie, our brother – the guitar player – left, of course that left a hole in the group, so we had to kind of figure out how we wanted to fill that hole and who Echosmith is outside of Jamie.” Without a lead guitarist, Echosmith explored other instruments and sounds in order to create Inside A Dream. Whereas the first album was driven by the guitar, the second album incorporates more keyboard melodies. The result is a “dreamy pop” vibe, which inspired the album’s title. “I think sonically, it does kind of resemble that, being within a dream – like a cool, ethereal vision that we wanted to create with our music videos, with the music, with everything,” Noah says. “But also just kind of a continuation of our last record, Talking

24

Dreams and it’s kind of a momentous point, a pinnacle of just telling the world that we’ve actually gone to do some really amazing things. Those things we dreamed of, we’re actually getting to live in now, and that’s really, really exciting for us.” Inside A Dream is largely inspired by themes of life, love and self-actualization – and Echosmith doesn’t shy away from songs that discuss the less positive, difficult aspects of life. “I think it’s a bit of a coming-of-age album as well, just about learning who you are in the young adult period of life when you’re transitioning into all these different phases and you’re learning more about who you are and experiencing more things in life,” Noah says. “It’s fun to write about, because it feels so real and personal.” “With ‘Goodbye,’ musically, we kind of wanted to create a subtle, fun, almost danceable kind of song and that one was really fun to make, because it was the first song I’d actually ever played guitar in,” Noah says of the first song of the new album. “I’m a bass player and keyboard player, so playing guitar is a little bit different for me.” “And lyrically, it’s about letting go of someone when it’s important to, so they can find themselves, rather than them trying to find themselves relative to who you are. And to have just a healthy relationship, to be able to step back at times when it’s necessary,” he adds. “Future Me” is a high energy track and reassuring letter to your future self. “It serves as a reminder of, ‘Hey, it’s OK that times are hard right now, but it will get better,’ because it’s so easy to forget, even if you’ve gone through the most amazing transformation two years ago. If you’re going through something now, it’s so easy to forget that it can get better,” Sydney explains.

“It’s kind of a fun little letter to yourself and I think everyone could use that. And also just deciding who you want to be ahead of time is the privilege that we have. It’s cool that we don’t have to wait until tomorrow to go try to live our dream or be a good person.” With the release of Inside A Dream, Echosmith is looking forward to touring across America again in 2018. “We love getting to connect with our fans, and Twitter and Instagram and all those are awesome; it’s great that you can message somebody all the way in Egypt, but we love the human, face-to-face interaction, and honestly, I feel like a live show is the best way to get that face-to-face experience,” Sydney says. “Even if you’re not getting to meet every single one, you’re getting to make eye contact on stage and that’s a really beautiful moment when you make eye contact with somebody, even if they’re all the way in the back. I think that’s definitely one of our favorite parts of it.” When Echosmith last appeared in NKD Mag in 2014, Sydney said, “I hope we can do this forever.” Three years later, her hope for the band remains the same. “I just want to keep doing this,” she says. “It’s such a great privilege that we get to tour around the world and do awesome things, like go on TV and all these milestone moments. But even just getting to do music full time and nothing else is amazing, and I just want to be able to do that forever.” “We just want to reach people and bring hope to people,” Sydney adds. “I think especially right now – and always – everybody always needs more hope and love. But especially right now, we hope that our new music can just bring some love to people who need it and let them know that they’re not alone in their experiences.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

25

pearl lion Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

26

For the past ten years, Jared Scharff has been booked most Saturday nights. Tucked away on the famed 8H stage, Jared serves as the lead guitarist for Saturday Night Live, which kicked off its 43rd season – Jared’s 11th – on September 30th. But lately, Jared has been bringing his guitar front and center with his passion project, Pearl Lion. Music came into Jared’s life in the third grade when he started piano lessons, but he hated it. He switched over to the drums in the fourth grade and loved it immediately. He continued with the drums, but also picked up the guitar in fifth grade. “I sucked really early on. I’m not sure why I stuck with it, but I did,” Jared admits. During the school year, he would continue to play drums in the concert band and marching band, but over the summer he attended the infamous Frenchwoods performing arts camp, where he played in rock bands alongside now-Maroon 5 members, Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael. Come high school, Jared was playing in a jam band cover band, and he started to feel like he was getting good at guitar. He started going to see Phish and The Allman Brothers play in New York City, and had the moment of realization where he knew he wanted to do this for the rest of his life. “It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, I want to be in a rock band”. I wanted to be in a band that was playing live and truly creating and being exploratory,” Jared says. After high school, Jared attended the Hartt School of Music and studied jazz, but realized he wanted to be in the city and transferred to New York University. He was still playing in his jam band from high school, but also joined a pop band, Carbondale, comprised of other NYU students. After graduation, the group signed to RCA Records and made a $500,000 record, but due to the collapse of the music industry in the 2000’s, things didn’t work out per-

fectly, and the band ended up getting dropped. Jared began working on a new project, Jared Scharff and the Royals, where he was playing guitar, singing and writing all the music. The band was gaining some traction on sites like PureVolume, but without a record label assisting him, Jared began to feel the strains of trying to build a band up from the ground level, and started to dislike the process. “It was 2007 and I was starting to feel disheartened by everything,” Jared says, “And then I ended up getting recommended for SNL.” Before he was even allowed to formally audition, Jared had to send videos of himself playing to Lenny Pickett, the band’s co-musical director. Once approved, Jared went in and met Lenny, and ended up speaking with him for over three hours. “I’ll always remember that. It was such an incredible experience for me,” he says. He then played through a few songs in the SNL band repertoire, but says he struggled a bit because he “was not the best sight reader at that time”. “I definitely bombed the first song hardcore,” Jared admits. Following the audition, he made a point to practice reading music at least an hour a day, just in case he got called back. He did, and sat in with the entire rhythm section. A few weeks later, he got the call that he got the job. During his first season in 2007, a writer’s strike happened and Jared found himself with a lot of free time – despite finally getting a great job playing music. He started spending time in Los Angeles and working with Ross Golan, who in recent years has penned Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love” and Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman”, among others. The two began writing and learning pop music together, and when he was in New York, Jared would do the same with NY-based production teams. His life was compartmentalized: 4-5

days doing pop music, 1-3 days doing SNL, and one day off. “That was my life for a couple years, and at one point I just wasn’t happy,” Jared says. He left his production team and Jared started working with another friend, before eventually parting ways once again. And then Pearl Lion was born. “My whole life I always wanted to make this super modern, instrumental album. It was always a dream,” Jared says. He was starting to miss being an artist and doing his own creative expression, and decided it was time to “start fucking around”. Within a year, he had a buddy of his mix a song called “Sunshower” – which is Pearl Lion’s latest single – and upon hearing the mix, Jared realized this is what he’d been wanting to do for a long time. Jared started working on a double EP titled Light and Dark, that will encompass two very different vibes. It’s been a long time coming for Jared, but Pearl Lion is finally on its feet and thriving. There are currently three songs and three videos out (“Sunshower”, “NYC” and “Big Sky”) with more music on the way. In addition, Jared recently signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell. “A lot of things are going really well and in the right direction,” Jared says. Jared has a lot of people in the industry on his side and rooting for him, and he knows that putting out music that isn’t pop music – especially without vocals – is not the easiest approach. “I’m taking on the hardest thing I could do, but my feeling is I have a great job, I’m making a living doing that, I’m going to just make the music that inspires me,” he says, “And I have to believe that somewhere, deep in my heart for that kid that grew up loving music, that when you do something from the soul and the depth of your heart, that regardless of how different it is, it’s going to do something and it’s going to affect people.”NKD NKDMAG.COM

27

dylan sprayberry Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

30

Everything began for Dylan in his hometown of Houston, Texas, born on the cusp of the new millennium. He grew up in West University- a clean, family friendly environment. Dylan is one member a large southern family that knows how to have a good time. By all accounts, he was an average kid before crossing into the world of acting. “I played soccer for like a season. I was awful. I would give the kids on the other team the ball because I didn’t really understand sports. I was the classic ‘chase-after-the-butterfly’ kid,” he says. While organized sports were off the table, Dylan still saw plenty of action hanging out on relatives’ properties in the back woods of Texas; sprawling open land that you can really only find in the Lone Star State. Dylan and his cousins would spend their days exploring, shooting BB guns, lighting fire crackers and doing pretty much anything they could get away with. Dylan moved to Los Angeles when he was 7 to pursue acting. But even in that short time before L.A., and in those formative years as he learned the ropes, he also learned guitar, would paint, and got into costume design. He was sewing his own clothes at one point. “I did a lot of those, ‘stay your room and do weird stuff ’ activities, if that doesn’t sound too weird. When I moved to LA, I started to do things that required more straight mental thought and patience – less sports and more the creative arts,” he says. Dylan’s acting career kicked off by chance. He was 4-years-old and a woman who worked in the industry had a child in Dylan’s class. She informed his parents that he had

“the look” for print ads. (He was a blonde, blue-eyed charmer who could sell a scooter with his smile.) This eventually led to taking acting lessons. Because he was so young, the focus was getting used to being on camera. “It’s funny because my sister was the one who vocalized wanting to be an actress. We have a home video of us and she looks at the camera and says, ‘I really want to be an actress, Dad.’ She was the vocal one and I was down to go along for the ride,” Dylan recalls. So, Dylan began the process of being discovered. He has vivid memories of casting calls at movie and TV studios. All the children and their parents are wrangled up like cattle and processed one audition at a time. It’s hot, crowded, and the wait is an eternity. But the hope that this audition will be the final open casting call drives each potential candidate from the range to the stalls, time and time again. Around age 12, he was given the chance to audition for an untitled Warner Bros. project. Over the course of several auditions, he began to suspect what the movie was. When he finally received lines from the real script, he could tell by the subject matter this was about Superman. At long last, after months of call backs and test screenings, he booked Man of Steel. “Every kid’s dream is to play Superman, to play a super hero. I mean, I was 13 and getting to travel in the US and Canada to film my parts and it’s just great,” he says, “Within the scale of a year I went to Illinois twice for about a month in total and Canada twice for three weeks in total.” As Dylan puts it, your hope is the NKDMAG.COM

31

clout from one movie will carry you into the next project. And that will launch you to the next big thing, and so on. It’s all about gaining traction. “It took about year after filming for the movie to come out because of all the editing. So, I went from a really high, high, to booking nothing for a few years. Those gap years were tough because it was occurring as I was old enough to really start taking it seriously as a job,” Dylan says. Dylan had his first sour taste of the industry at 14, when he was being told he “looked too old” because he had just hit puberty. These doubts hung with Dylan for some time. But, when one avenue was strengthening its fences, he found a new path by way of music. “I got in this head space, where I said ‘fuck it.’ Wasting time isn’t the right choice of words- because if you’re going after your dreams, you’re not wasting time. I can’t keep auditioning and not getting roles; this isn’t making me feel good about myself. I decided that while I’ll still audition, my main focus will be starting a band,” Dylan says. So, he picked up his guitar again and started a garage rock band. They were called, The Dead Toms. As soon as the songs “started getting good”, he got an audition for Teen Wolf. He was originally brought in as a potential young Derek Hale. But, while the production staff loved him, they felt he was just too young for the part. Time passed and he is invited back for a different, single audition. “I walk in and Dylan O’Brien and Tyler Posey are there. They gave me a scene in a locker room that was actually then reshot for that first ep32

isode I was in as Liam. I heard back the next day that I booked it,” Dylan recalls, “If I would’ve been a little older and booked the other character, I don’t think I would have had the same success that I have now.” This led Dylan’s character from being a reoccurring character to a series regular. The attention that came from being on a show with such a devoted following was eye opening for Dylan. When he was brought in as a regular, there was no big announcement. Fans discovered it organically through the show. When his character, Liam, was introduced on the show, he was portrayed as a potential villain. He was the asshole jock who the fans loved to hate. But, as the character developed his storyline became more complex. But as with any show with a die-hard fan base, some would take it to extremes. “You just never know what’s going to happen. In the span of twenty minutes I gained a hundred thousand followers. I had only done one other thing so people didn’t know ‘me’ as a person, they just were getting to know Liam, the character,” Dylan says, “So, people would get mad at me for things my character did like I was actually responsible. And I would think, ‘I’m not the writer, this is just a show, I’m just acting out my part! If I could help you, I would.’” But, in retrospect, Dylan wouldn’t trade any of that. It was a reflection not just of the show, but of him as an actor. They fall in in love with him not just as Liam, but as Dylan Sprayberry the actor. He has garnered fans in places of the world he still can only dream of visiting. He has fans that start listening to particular bands because he en-

joys them. And this in turn makes Dylan happy because when he finds something that makes him happy, he wants to share it with everyone possible. He’s able to keep a dialogue going and prove himself outside of the show. He now has people that aren’t just fans of Teen Wolf and Liam, he has fans of Dylan Sprayberry, the precocious kid from Texas. “I have a whole network of people who support and love what I do. They make it possible for me to do other things. And that is so epic,” Dylan gushes, “That support gets me more work and it makes it a hundred times better. You can’t ever thank the fans enough because they don’t always know what they’re doing and how much they’re helping me out.” Dylan isn’t taking any of this for granted. He is now in a spot where everything doesn’t always revolve around acting. Teen Wolf has ended and he is ready to use that momentum to propel into his next work. It helps that the final season was Dylan’s favorite and the whole Teen Wolf team brought the show to a spectacular end. As of now, Dylan is working on making his next move. He is currently filming a movie while working on a five song EP. While the titles of those projects are being kept under wraps, Dylan Sprayberry gracing your screen once again in the near future. He is also branching into screen writing. The dedication to his creative pursuits will ensure that Dylan keeps growing and rounding out those edges. He knows what it will take for him to reach the next level. The question is, will everyone else be ready for whatever it is that comes next. NKD

liz huett Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Liz Huett was born and raised in Riverside, Cali., and was the youngest of five children and caught the arts bug early on. She dabbled in everything from acting, to dancing (short-lived, as she admits she has “two left feet”), to singing. “Music was my instinctive, go-to vice,” she says. Her mom started taking her to open casting calls, where she’d book commercials or 34

television. guest spot gigs, and really thought acting was what she was going to do with her life. But come high school, she decided to abandon acting in an attempt to have a normal teenage life. While auditions or filming would pull her out of class, music was something she could do in her bedroom after school. “Music took the front seat,” Liz says. Fast forward a few years and

Liz decided to move to Nashville to seriously pursue music and quickly realized that artists there were doing it all: singing and writing. “They feel every word. It’s about so much more than just being a singer,” she says. She was intimidated, but eager, and hit the ground running. Just as she felt she was ready to start figuring out her sound as an artist, she got a last minute phone call to audition to sing

background for Taylor Swift. Liz ended up booking the gig and hit the road soon after. It wasn’t the route she thought she was going to take, but she was fully on board for the ride. “It was supposed to be just one tour, but I quickly got put on salary and worked with her for 3.5 years,” Liz says, “It was some of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had.” She looks at that time as her “music industry

school”, because she learned so much while getting true, handson experience. But despite the fun she was having and the security of the job, Liz still wanted to be an artist herself. “After a while I had to come to terms with myself,” she admits, “I enjoyed it so much I could have wanted to stay forever.” But during her last year on the road with Taylor, Liz started to realize that there was more she wanted to do with music. So she and Taylor had the hard talk, and while Taylor said she didn’t expect Liz to come back, there was always a place in her band for her. “It really meant so much to me,” Liz says. Now, five years later, Liz had officially launched her career as an artist with her debut single “STFU & Hold Me”, which was released via Interscope Records this past August. But while listeners are loving the song (it just hit 1 million streams on Spotify), it took years for Liz to reach a point in her songwriting where she felt she was saying what she wanted to say. “I had a lot of self doubt, a lot of crippling insecurity,” she admits, “It took me a long time to even write a good song, in my opinion.” It wasn’t until her personal life “went to complete shit” that she felt her career started to pick up again. Within one month she called off her engagement, totaled her car and was forced to leave her apartment because she hadn’t resigned her lease. She put all her time and energy into writing and sent a batch of songs to her friend at Inter-

scope. A week later she played her songs for the president of A&R and signed her deal shortly after. Liz wanted “STFU & Hold Me” to be her introductory song because it is as unapologetically bold as she is. She’s fine with people writing her off because she took a risk with her first single, because she knows that there will still be people who appreciate the risk. “I’m not a polished person,” she laughs, “In relationships and in life, I mostly learn from doing the wrong thing first.” She feels that this song is an accurate representation of the “messy” side of her personality; the side that doesn’t always say the right thing and makes mistakes. “Might as well let people know with the first look what they’re going to get,” she jokes, “I’m a Gemini, and a female and a creative type so I feel like that’s just a rollercoaster.” While “STFU & Hold Me” is still fresh in listeners’ eardrums, Liz is eager to get more music out sooner than later. She’s been working diligently on finishing up her record and plans to release it sometime next year, but anticipates that a second song will hit streaming platforms before the holidays. Looking ahead at the year, Liz’s biggest goal is to have her full-length record released and well-received, and to take it on tour as she’s eager to get back out and playing consistently again. But she’s taking things one step at a time – which is how she’s always done it. “I took the long way,” she says. NKD NKDMAG.COM

35

CAITY LOTZ Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Hair & Make-Up by EMILY DAWN Assisted by JENNA WILSON Styling by LAUREN BROWN Assisted by SHANA ANDERSON

Caity Lotz walks into our cover shoot with a fluffy dog named Pablo and a six pack of beer, and I instantly want to be her friend. Despite being deep into production for Season 3 of her hit show, Legends of Tomorrow, Caity has found herself a few days off this week and is spending them in Los Angeles. A few days prior, she was in New York for the Heroes and Villains convention – one of many on her schedule for the year. But before she was the White Canary on The CW’s expansive Arrowverse, Caity lived a very different life. Growing up in San Diego, Caity started dancing at age 7 and quickly fell in love with it. Dance became her entire life: she practiced before, during and after school and even taught it for a while. When she was 17, she started dancing professionally. She would drive three 38

hours up to Los Angeles for auditions – sometimes not even getting to dance because of typecasting. “That lead me to being in a singing group… really random,” she recalls. She was 19 and preparing to go to college and UCLA when her best friend convinced her to go to an audition for a girl band – even though Caity never considered herself a singer. Caity and her best friend both landed the gig and the two moved to Berlin for two years. When she eventually returned to L.A., Caity went back to dance and started touring with Avril Lavigne – but quickly realized she didn’t have the same passion for dance as she once did. “I was in an arena full of people and I wasn’t getting excited anymore,” she admits. So when she got home she started taking acting classes. “I wanted to feel more, and acting is a safe place where you can

feel all these emotions and things,” she says. At the time, she had appeared in tow of Lady Gaga’s music videos – “Paparazzi” and “LoveGame”, but turned down an offer to go on tour with her in order to pursue acting. She ended up getting an agent and booked her first role on MadMen shortly after. Following MadMen, Caity worked on a couple independent films and felt her acting career was going in a very different direction when she booked the role of Sara Lance on Arrow. “I didn’t know what it was going to be,” she says, “I remember in the beginning doing interviews and people were like ‘Has your life changed?’ and I’m like, ‘No, it hasn’t changed.’ And now I look back and I’m like, wow, it really did. That was a turning point.” When joining Season 2 of Arrow,

Caity thought she was committing to Sara for three episodes. Five years and a spinoff show later, that clearly didn’t end up being the case. “The whole time I was on the show it was never like, ‘Hey, you’re on’,” Caity says, “It was just like more episodes, more episodes, more episodes until I did like, 21 episodes on the second season and never really knowing the fate.” At the beginning of Season 3, Sara was killed and Caity thought that was the end of her time in the DC universe. But alas, halfway through the third season Sara was brought back to life and the idea for Legends of Tomorrow started brewing behind-the-scenes. While it took some time to find its footing, the third season of Legends will build off of what worked in Season 2 – mainly the comedic aspect that was absent in Season 1. “We’re like a straight comedy now,”

Caity says, “Now the show is a little more self aware.” Caity often finds herself genuinely laughing at the scripts for this season, which are crazier and more absurd than last year. Season 3 will pick up with the Legends all living normal life – Sara herself is working at a Bed, Bath & Beyond-type store. “It’s really funny. We’ll see who these people would be if they weren’t doing what they’re doing,” Caity says. But the main goal for the team once they reunite is to fix the timeline that they so badly damaged at the end of Season 2. Sara will once again be captaining The Waverider and the team of misfits inside of it, while their original captain, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) will be fighting against them with the newly formed Time Bureau. “They’re always kind of at odds with each other, even when

they’re on the same team,” Caity says of the relationship, “There’s definitely going to be a lot more butting heads.” It was announced at this year’s San Diego Comic Con that Sara would be getting a love interest in Season 3, and while Caity can’t give away too many details, but as of now she really likes the direction its going and admits that the potential relationship is going to be a bit of a “slow burn”. “I’m excited for her to have something a little more meaningful,” Caity says. Sara’s bisexuality was established early on after she popped up on Arrow, and has remained a small part of her story, not a defining part – which has been met with warm reception given the “Bury Your Gays” trope that is so often used in television. Playing a character who is so unapologetic about her sexuality has NKDMAG.COM

41

“I’ve had so many girls that are bi, or lesbian or just not sure say how much it means to them to be able to see a character on TV that’s like them, and to see that and go, ‘Oh look, OK, I’m not weird, I’m not messed up, this is normal’. And to have that representation on TV and what it means to them has been the best thing about this character.”

been the most rewarding aspects of playing Sara, for Caity. “I’ve had so many girls that are bi, or lesbian or just not sure say how much it means to them to be able to see a character on TV that’s like them, and to see that and go, ‘Oh look, OK, I’m not weird, I’m not messed 44

up, this is normal’,” Caity says, “And to have that representation on TV and what it means to them has been the best thing about this character.” She thinks its important for queer people to see themselves represented, but also for straight people who don’t know any queer people to see

it and understand it. “If you don’t understand it, that’s what makes you afraid,” Caity says, “And the fact that we don’t make it this big thing about who she is – it’s not like, ‘Oh, the bi girl’. It’s just one thing about her, and that’s the way it should be handled.” Playing Sara has also given Caity the opportunity to play a truly powerful female – something extremely important to her. “I get a lot of families or parents saying how happy they are just to have a strong, female character for their little girls to watch,” Caity says. This has encouraged Caity to found “SheThority” – an Instagram page she will be launching this month that will be all about women empowerment. “It’s just something to follow to hopefully inspire women to step into their ‘shethority’,” Caity tells me over text a few days after our shoot, “We’re trying to make fetch happen.” To start, SheThority will feature videos from all the girls in the DCTV universe talking about their trials and tribulations as a woman with advice on how to step into your own “shethority”. She will eventually be taking submissions from followers as well. “I’m hoping one day to turn this into a website,” Caity says. When she does conventions all over the world, she wants to be able to talk more about the things that SheThority will be representing. While conventions give Caity the opportunity to meet her fans face-to-face, things often move quickly there and she isn’t always able to connect with people as much as she’d like to. “A lot of girls come to me for advice and I don’t have time to get into it with everyone,” she admits. She wants SheThority to be a place where girls

can go and hopefully find the advice they’re looking for – whether it’s directly from her or from someone featured on the page. “We want to do a lot of LGBTQ and Women of Color stuff as well,” she says. While Legends takes up eight months of her year, Caity is eager to get back into the indie film world. Recently, she filmed a movie called Small Town Crime that will be out sometime early next year that’s she’s anxious for people to see. But outside of acting, Caity has been stretching her producer muscles. “I can do it remotely, even when I’m on the show,” she says. While she can’t spill on any of the projects she’s working on just yet, she does admit that they all are female centric. “I’ve always wanted to [produce],” Caity says, “I always have a lot of ideas and to be able to think of something in your head and then have it be materialized into something is pretty magical.” By stepping behind the scenes, Caity is also able to craft roles that she wants to play – as opposed to waiting for someone else to write a part she finds interesting. If this year’s Emmy Awards were any indication, the interest in women’s stories as told by women is high, which Caity finds encouraging. “Everybody who does it before you are just clearing the path so that it’s easier for you to do it,” Caity says. She admits that she notices sexism a lot more now than ever before, and finds it infuriating. “Maybe I just wasn’t as confident in myself and now that I am I see it a lot more,” she says, “So much of it as a woman in the industry is there’s this game you have to play.” When asked if she’d like to step behind the camera on the set of Legends at all, Caity admits that

she has an interest in directing an episode. She also wants to shadow directors in an effort to understand all sides of the production. “There’s so much work that goes on before the episode starts, and I’m curious to understand that,” Caity says. However, she’s more interested

in directing film, and hopes to go down that path eventually. But for the foreseeable future, Caity will be up in Vancouver filming Legends and working on various production projects remotely, and continuing to use her positon to give women a powerful voice. NKD NKDMAG.COM

45

LAUV Words by RILEY STENHEJEM Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Ari Staprans Leff, known by his stage name LAUV, first started playing music when he learned the piano at age 3. From there, he picked up the viola, and later settled on the guitar. “My older sisters, one played violin and one played cello, and I’m the youngest of the family, the baby, so I was like, ‘okay, I guess I’ll be cute and play the viola, we can be a trio’,” he says. But it was the guitar which really solidified his passion for music. “It was really once I picked up guitar—that’s when music started to become my life,” he explains, before adding, “Well, once I realized I wasn’t going to become a professional skateboarder, then music became my life—I didn’t have the balls for that.” 46

LAUV started writing his own songs as a teenager. “From there it just became an obsession. All I ever wanted to do was make music,” he says. It was the midst of the MySpace era, so, once he got his own computer, it was natural that he used that as a platform for his own projects and bands. Following high school, LAUV moved to New York to study music technology at New York University. “I was sure I wasn’t going to want to live in New York, because the city is just so crazy, but that ended up being the reason that I decided to move there,” he remarks. After moving around a lot as a child, LAUV decided to push himself out of his comfort zone again,

and see what New York had to offer. “It ended up being the best decision I’ve ever made,” he says. “A huge piece of my heart is in New York. If I had to go back to where I was from, the place I connected the most is probably New York.” During his time at university, he strayed a bit from writing and creating personal projects. “I was a little lost in the sense that I stepped away from the idea of being an artist and lost a little faith in myself, and I decided that maybe the better path was just to be a songwriter and producer for other artists,” he explains. For a couple of years, he focused on writing for other artists, making connections, and getting into

studios. “There was really no goal of me being on the forefront,” he says. There is something about writing your own music that is more genuine, more natural. “Every song I put out has just been about my life,” LAUV says. “When writing for another artist, I’m more there to support what their vision is. If I’m writing something that is real to me, but there’s other people I’m working with, but for whatever reason the song doesn’t end up going in that direction, it’s okay, because I don’t have to sing that song at the end of the day.” Halfway through school, LAUV wrote a song that brought him back to that former songwriting style. “It just felt like reconnecting with the way I used to write songs, like when I was a kid. It wasn’t like I was trying to write anything in particular, it was just a really organic and real song to me, about something I was feeling, which I hadn’t done in a long time,” he says. That song, titled ‘The Other’, became his first single as LAUV. It was then that he decided to focus on being an artist again. “It’s been absolutely incredible,” he says. The name “LAUV” comes from the Latvian word for lion. “Latvia is where my mom’s side of the family is from, and it’s the place I would go every summer when I was growing up, and I have a lot of really amazing memories there,” LAUV

explains. His real name, Ari, also happens to mean lion, and his star sign is Leo, whose constellation resembles a lion. When he was trying to decide what to call himself, everything just added up. “It all kind of clicked: the Latvian word for lion,” he says. “The Other” became one of five songs on LAVU’s debut EP, Lost in the Light. LAUV was working on the EP while spending a semester abroad in the Czech Republic, so it ended up being written during his travels there. “I actually wrote, and recorded it, in various places across Europe, in hostels and Airbnbs and coffee shops in different cities, so it was just really special,” he says.” Since then, LAUV released a single, “I Like Me Better”, last May. “That song was really, really special. Just the process of writing it [made it] probably the most natural, in-the-moment song I’ve made, ever,” he says. “You can spend so much time overthinking things, and that song, I just sat down one day and started playing some chords, and a bunch of the song just came all at once.” The track has had amazing reception. “I don’t think [it] could have been better,” LAUV remarks. “I’m hearing that it’s been charting all over the world— in places I’ve never been— which is obviously a new experience for me.” Last summer, LAUV did his first ever headlining tour,

making eight stops in cities across the country. “I went from opening for other artists and playing to rooms of a couple hundred people, to selling out my own rooms of four, five, six hundred people, and them knowing all the words, so it was incredible,” he says. The experience left him wanting more—and as it turns out, he’s in luck. LAUV will be supporting Ed Sheeran this fall on his Asian tour. “When I found out, I was actually on a run. My manager called me, and he was like, ‘So, Ed Sheeran tour, and I just freaked out,” LAUV says. He and his team are in the midst of making travel plans in anticipation of the first show in Taipei. Playing for arenas will be a change of pace, and LAUV is preparing to perform a show that will include the entire audience. “I’ve heard a lot of different artists talking about playing different sized shows in different ways,” he says, “You have a responsibility to connect with the people up front, while also putting on a show for the people in the very back, and I think that takes some special something there to be able to really do that. It’s different when you’re playing in a small club and everyone’s really packed in.” Fans can expect a lot of new releases from LAUV coming soon. Most recently, he’s been featured on DJ Snake’s latest single, which was released in September. NKD NKDMAG.COM

49

JAMES MASLOW

Words by SAMANTHA BAMBINO Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

52

There’s just something special about James Maslow. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a triple threat singer, actor and dancer. Or maybe it’s those captivating eyes... Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure - the teen star fans fell in love with on Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush is all grown up. With his debut solo album How I Like It and upcoming movie The Border, James is evolving into his own, authentic artist who’s ready to start doing things his way. Growing up, James was every bit as multi-talented as he is today. Though he was technically born in New York City, his early childhood was spent in a multitude of places including Chicago, St. Louis and finally, San Diego. It was during these years in Southern California that he explored a diverse group of interests. While trying his hand at almost every sport available, from basketball and baseball to skateboarding and surfing, James was also singing with the San Diego Children’s Choir. For him, it was all about having the best of both worlds. “I don’t know, I just never thought twice about it. That was my existence,” he says. “It kind of seems weird to most people, they have one or the other. I always did both.” By the time James reached the seventh grade, he was beginning to realize this dual life was not cutting it. He hated how cliquey his peers were becoming and felt he wasn’t being challenged by the staff to reach his full potential. After being fed up with

the class of one Spanish teacher who breezed over the material, James took matters into his own hands and sought help from an outside tutor. As fate would have it, James’s new tutor worked at the San Diego School for Creative and Performing Arts. After learning he had an interest in singing, she convinced him to go see one of the school’s musicals. Despite his years in choir, musicals weren’t necessarily something middle-school James thought was “cool”. But by the end of the night, he was blown away. Immediately after, he applied to the school, had a successful audition and finished out the remainder of his education at performing arts schools. By the age of 17, James had fallen in love with entertainment and knew he was destined for the spotlight. Taking a chance, he packed up and moved to a tiny Los Angeles apartment to give his dreams a shot. James got his feet wet with some independent work and guest starring before he got the opportunity of a lifetime - an audition for Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush. Things were certainly looking up, but landing the role of suave heartthrob James Diamond was no easy feat. It was a lengthy two-year audition process, and James was there from the very first round. “I saw every bit of it,” he says. Reflecting on the experience, James calls these early days of the show borderline “absurd”. The creators knew they wanted some sort of show based

around a band... and that was it. They even considered doing an unscripted series at one point. In the end, they decided on a comedy series very much like the ‘60s show, The Monkees. Over that two-year span, James saw countless teen boys get their dreams crushed in a heartbeat. Over 40 actors from across the country were trained in acting, singing and dancing and then filmed on camera in a series of screen tests. Many were unceremoniously cut during filming while the rest, including James, were told to go back to their hotel rooms to await the producers’ final decisions. For three hours, James and his father waited in their room, anxious for some news and a bite to eat. Throwing all caution to the wind, James called one of the producers for an update and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He was in. Though the audition process was grueling, James is glad he stuck it out to become part of Nickelodeon’s biggest live-action show with a Columbia record deal to boot. “We hit the ground running. It was such a success,” he says. “It was an amazing learning experience.” With his bandmates/co-stars Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena and Logan Henderson, James celebrated four seasons of Big Time Rush, three original albums and the love of millions of fans worldwide. Before entering this whirlwind experience, James heard boy band horror stories and though the four squabbled like any other friends, they had an undeniable NKDMAG.COM

53

54

chemistry. “You need to be good enough at anything, but beyond that it’s something extra,” James says. Though Big Time Rush stopped touring and filming a little over three years ago, James hasn’t paused for a single moment, exploring his own sound and writing more songs than he can keep track of. During his years with the band, he contributed to many of their songs, but he was limited to tween-friendly pop. “It was very much pop/rock. That’s not my vibe,” he says. “I grew up listening to Donny Hathaway and Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye. I think that is much more reflected in my music.” With his debut solo album How I Like It, which was released earlier this year, James is showing fans a more authentic side as he blends pop with his preferred R&B, soulful sound. For him, it’s all about staying true to himself and what he’s passionate about. Though he wouldn’t trade his years with Big Time Rush for anything, a certain persona had to be portrayed. Now, he’s free to create and evolve his own unique image. “All of it has been, ‘I’m just going to be me’, which is pretty cool,” he says of his solo career. “Doing interviews, press, live performances, I don’t have to fake any of it. It’s so much easier.” When it came time to create How I Like It, James had written so many songs that an EP wasn’t enough, so he released an LP

instead. Though it’s almost impossible for him to choose one favorite song off the record, he names “So Bad, So Bad” as one of the most unique. “It taps into an honest but much darker side of me,” he says. “Addicted” is another held close to his heart, which he describes as upbeat, bright and sexy. The message behind the track is also easy to grasp. While it does have its metaphors, James explains the song isn’t about a substance but rather being drawn to a girl. “In general, it can be something for anybody, whatever somebody’s addicted to, whether it’s the evening, the person, alcohol or just having fun,” he says. How I Like It charted in the Top 40 on Billboard and received a warm welcome from old Big Time Rush fans as well as new listeners from around the world. As part of a jampacked summer, James promoted the record on countless media outlets in New York City before spending a month in Atlanta filming his upcoming movie, The Border. To the joy of his international fans, James was also featured on the cover of Men’s Health Mexico, an accomplishment with a deep meaning for him. Throughout his teen years, James relied on the gym as his physical outlet since his performing arts school didn’t have any sports teams. This continued until he joined Big Time Rush, until he woke one morning unable to lift his arm.

“A huge part of my right side atrophied and I couldn’t access it because my neurological system just shut off,” he reflects. James was diagnosed with Parsonage Turner Syndrome, something he never spoke indepth about at the time. For a while, he was unsure if he’d ever be in the same type of shape. But fast forward a few years and he’s about 90 percent back to his old self after a lot of hard work. “That gave me such motivation and inspiration to just keep going. Having gone through that experience, it humbled me for sure and also made me realize life is fragile and short and yet another reminder to keep pursuing my dreams,” he says. Though he admits he’ll continue to eat burritos and burgers and have a few beers every now and then, he will stay healthy for the most part. Determined to be in even better shape than before, he wants to look the part for when his dream role comes around. “Little kid me still wants to play a superhero,” he laughs. So far, James’s fall season is shaping up to be just as exciting as his summer. Named Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star, James performed in Las Vegas last month at the iHeartRadio Music Festival alongside industry giants like Harry Styles and P!nk. “Things are coming together in such a cool way. This year is what I’ve been working toward for most of my life,” James says. “It’s so damn cool having already done so much of this, but now getting to do it over and do it my way.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

55

rachel crow Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

At just age 19, X-Factor alumnus Rachel Crow has the world at her feet. A singer and an actress, Rachel began preparing for her inevitable future as a performer since she was 18 months old and belting out songs by Faith Hill. With parents and grandparents that supported her dreams, Rachel is the first to admit she has a wonderful family and couldn’t have asked for better. However, it wasn’t always easy. At six months old, Rachel was adopted. She lived in a tiny town in Colorado, and her classmates began bullying her when she was 10-years-old. “I told my mom, ‘I need to get out of here. I can’t breathe. People don’t understand why I’m a different color than my family or understand what that means,’” she remembers. From there, her mom asked what Rachel needed to change and what she could do to help. Rachel’s heart gravitated towards entertaining others, so she wanted to do television in California. Rachel’s mom took her to California for six weeks that summer. It was a bit of a culture shock, but Rachel fell in love with the city. Soon, it would become her home. Around her 13th birthday, she moved to California and her mom convinced her to audition for the X-Factor. She was hesitant at first because she didn’t feel she was

good enough to be an artist and do music. “I was like, ‘Sure I write little songs here and there and I like to sing, but that’s not enough,’” Rachel laughs. And although she didn’t win the season, she was a crowd favorite. That was six years ago. Since then, Rachel has grown up and matured. She’s thankful for her experience, even if it wasn’t always the easiest to navigate at her age. “When you’re young and everyone’s telling you how great you are, it’s really easy to start believing that,” Rachel explains. “When you’re 13-years-old, you take every word and soak it in like a sponge, whether it’s good or bad.” Rachel surrounded herself with great people telling her good things, but she still needed to take a break from it all. “I took a break because I was ready to figure out who I was without everyone telling me who I was,” she says. She was able to spend time with herself alone and to figure out who she was without any outside influences. And although she took an extended break and went through a tremendous amount of personal growth, she doesn’t consider herself a new person – just a new artist. Rachel is excited for her new music because she’s coming at it from a new point of view. Her new music deals with ex-

periences that are new to her and to her fans. “We’ve kind of grown up together in these last six years, so that’s been really cool for me,” Rachel says. She writes about personal experiences, but since many of her fans are similar in age, she understands that the feelings associated with events she’s experienced are universal. She hopes to be a voice for others that may not feel like anyone else is going through what they are. Her return to the music scene was highly anticipated by fans, but not something Rachel ever expected. “I went into this not negatively, but with no expectation because you never really know,” she says. Her newest single “Dime” served as a ”fun, returning to music” comeback. The first day it was released, even after her extended break, the music video received over 200,000 views on YouTube. “It’s already doing so well. I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Rachel gushes. The goal is to release her EP by the end of 2017. In addition to singing, Rachel loves to act. Her newest project is an exciting role in the latest addition to the Transformers franchise: Bumblebee. This production is new to her not just because of the huge size of it, but also because the audition process was so quick. It’s Rachel’s belief that she received NKDMAG.COM

57

58

her role because she took the character in a different direction than was asked. “There’s a very specific way a person of her type is supposed to be. I made her awkward and really weird and I pulled a bit of myself into this,” Rachel explains. Hailee Steinfeld stars as the movie’s lead. Rachel met her years before filming began and always remembered how sweet and kind she was. When they reunited and began filming together, it became clear they would get along well as friends. They began laughing on the first day and seamlessly eased into working together. “She’s just a really stand up person,” Rachel says of Hailee. “I really enjoyed her company.” The two share more than just lines on the Transformers set. – they both come from musical backgrounds, but juggle a singing career in combination with an acting career. The two industries are completely different and only collide when composing or shooting a musical, so they connect over the difficulty of working both careers at once. “It’s nice to work with somebody who knows that struggle, because it’s definitely a lot,” Rachel admits. Filming for the overall production is about three months long, but Rachel is in specific parts of the movie and able to work on her music while she’s not filming. One thing Rachel has learned is that when the director calls cut, she can switch it off instantly and be herself again. “There are two different types of people on set – me, who’s taking pictures or talking, and then there’s the other type of person that’s very focused,”

she says. Although she jokes that she should be more like person No. 2, both get the job done. She gets song ideas constantly, so between takes she can be seen on her phone writing lyrics if she’s not texting or snapchatting. Sometimes she even records things she’s heard in her head in quiet corners when she’s on location. However, once the film is rolling, she’s all in. In addition to film, television is a new avenue Rachel has explored. She filmed a television pilot for Schooled, a spinoff of The Goldbergs, but ABC didn’t pick it up. From it, she learned that although she’s open to television in the future, right now she’s focused completely on film. “It’s a piece of art,” Rachel says. “I feel I’m best at movies because I get to really adapt to this character and play someone different.” Rachel likes to switch it up; with television, it’s possible to get stuck playing the same character, so film is more her style. Because she loves to try out new things, Rachel has expanded her presence into the fashion world. She’s a fall ambassador for Forever 21. Between her acting and singing career, she was excited to squeeze in a partnership performance at the Forever 21 Times Square location in September. With so much going on, her schedule is busier than the average teenager’s. It can be difficult to keep track of everything on her agenda. “Maybe I should look at my Google calendar that everyone works so hard to make,” Rachel laughs. She may not get much sleep, but she’s ready to work and do everything she can for all aspects of her career. NKD NKDMAG.COM

59

NKDMAG.COM