#10: Now More Than Ever - on the journey, creating at a ferocity, voltron and big hippie concepts
After spending the past 20 years in the studio, on concert stages all over the world and at the literal top of the charts, All-American Rejects co-founder Tyson Ritter didn’t start Now More Than Ever in 2018 with the expectation it would turn into a real band – but a real band is very much what it has become. In tandem with veteran musicians/songwriters/producers Scott Chesak and Izzy Fontaine, Ritter has begun a meaningful and exciting new chapter in his music career with Now More Than Ever’s debut album Creatrix, released on March 17, 2023, by Thirty Tigers.
To hear Ritter tell it, All-American Rejects’ relationship with the traditional music industry was in many ways the reason he was eager to try something different: simply making music with friends for fun, without any preconceived notions about what would, could or should happen next. In other words, no constraints, no A&Rs, no deadlines and no mandate to sound like anyone or anything other than themselves.
Now More Than Ever is here to help make sure the pillars of pop and rock will never fall, and they’re prepared to go down believing. “This is our little monolith,” Ritter says. “It might be six feet tall amongst giants, but it’s pure. And it’s truth for us. It’s saccharine as fuck, and I love it.”
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Note: This episode was recorded on 9.15.23
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Killah Cortez is a music producer, musician, and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Specializing in alternative/indie/pop, Cortez is richly creative with a remarkable gift of enhancing projects and taking listeners on a journey.
Cortez has also landed reviews from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Lyrical Lemonade, and Paste Magazine with his compositions appearing in commercials and tv shows like "Younger".
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“Songs For The Apocalypse” Playlist On Spotify
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Wet Hot All American Summer Tour
"Heels Up, Head Over" - Now More Than Ever
TRANSCRIPT
Killah Cortez: Welcome back to the Killah Cortez show, officially the tenth episode of the KC show and we have a special one. The following is an interview with the band, Now More Than Ever. After spending the past 20 years in the studio, on concert stages all over the world and at the literal top of the charts, All-American Rejects co-founder Tyson Ritter didn’t start Now More Than Ever in 2018 with the expectation it would turn into a real band – but a real band is very much what it has become. In tandem with veteran musicians/songwriters/producers Scott Chesak and Izzy Fontaine, Ritter has begun a meaningful and exciting new chapter in his music career with Now More Than Ever’s debut album Creatrix. To hear Ritter tell it, All-American Rejects’ relationship with the traditional music industry was in many ways the reason he was eager to try something different: simply making music with friends for fun, without any preconceived notions about what would, could or should happen next. In other words, no constraints, no A&Rs, no deadlines and no mandate to sound like anyone or anything other than themselves. Now More Than Ever is here to help make sure the pillars of pop and rock will never fall, and they’re prepared to go down believing. Now More Than Ever is Scott Chesak, Izzy Fontaine and Tyson Ritter.
I’ve known Scott for many years, first as a collaborator and now a dear friend. I still remember hearing whispers of his new project with Tyson and Izzy back in 2018. Fast forward and Now More Than Ever is officially off the launchpad and is accelerating at a breakneck speed. They sold out the Echo in LA earlier this year, along with a sold out It’s A School Night at Bardot. To now playing the 2023 When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas joining the bill the festival headliners like Green Day and Blink-182. As I was assembling this episode I caught myself many times just soaking in the collective wisdom of these three fine gentlemen. The passion for their art is obvious.
I interviewed Now More Than Ever remotely from their homes and The All American Rejects, Wet Hot All American Summer Tour sound check. You can find the show notes, links and a full transcription of this episode in the description below. You can also find a link to the Killah Cortez discord where we chat all things KC. Sprinkled in between the segments of this episode are songs from my Songs for the Apocalypse playlist, some of which were chosen by Now More Than Ever. You can find the link for this playlist in the description below and lastly you can also find this episode on youtube, however it will be without the music between the segments. If you like what I do please be sure to give me a 5 star rating on Spotify or a follow / comment on YouTube. Enjoy this interview with Now More Than Ever
Killah Cortez: What is something that you believe that other people think is insane?
Isaac Bolivar: What is something that we believe that other people think is insane?
Killah Cortez: It can be a "we". Or it can be an "I".
Scott Chesak: I think just all of us, you know, pursuing music as a living. A lot of people think that's insane. You know?
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Scott Chesak: Like you want to do what, with your life. It's like. Why? That doesn't make any sense.
Killah Cortez: Oh, my god, I resonate with that. I have an aunt that still asks me, like, every year at Thanksgiving, she'll be like, oh, you're still doing your little music? It happens.
Tyson Ritter: Yeah. That That's cute.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. It's cute.
Scott Chesak: Yeah. It takes a long time for people to recognize that it's a real thing. You know, you could be years into a career and. Yeah, your aunt or your mom or whoever is just like. So when are you going to get a real job?
Killah Cortez: Yeah. So let's talk about Now More Than Ever. How did the project get its start?
Tyson Ritter: Oh, you know what? It's kind of just born out of this desire to just start creating without any expectations. And there was no idea for a band. It was just what happens if music is just created and it's not? You know, this industry or the business is like gone into this kind of homogenized direction in general. Um,
Killah Cortez: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: Where everybody gets together with this destination in mind. Um, let's write a song for this. Let's write a song for this person. Let's, you know, being in this industry and coming up with the bands, like with Izzy coming up, playing for and with so many great bands and Scotty and I just meeting through playing with the Rejects, like there's there was something that was kind of lost along the way, which was, you know, you you begin, you start serving this machine instead of yourself and your own growth. So now more than ever, was kind of born out of this, like pure desire to create without expectation. And as songs started collecting themselves. You know, we found Izzy along the way, and it was just really natural where he came in and and we wrote probably one of our collective favorite songs on the record, "Heels Up, Head Over". And it happened in an afternoon, and then it was done. And I remember when I first started writing music and I think maybe I speak for everybody, but. That feeling in the room or that feeling in, in your in your stomach where you know you're doing something that is magic. And going back to your question about what you think is insane, I think. I think writing music. I think the feeling that you summon being pure magic, I believe it is magic. And I think that word is so fucking vague. But it's like when you write a great song, it's like. The closest thing to having an audience with God is. Or whatever the universe, the creator, whatever you want to call it, whatever deity you put up there to identify something bigger than yourself. You know what I mean? Like it's and this was and this. Well, and I know that's like putting a lot of gravitas on this, but but Now More Than Ever.
Isaac Bolivar: No, for real.
Tyson Ritter: Basically, we wanted to all find our purpose again.
Killah Cortez: That's that's really cool because you kind of skipped ahead to a question I was going to ask, and I'm just going to bump it up to now. So independently, each of you have been part of the creation process for some really big records, whether it's Izzy with Banks, Scott with Weezer and Tyson with All-American Rejects. Is there a feeling or a tingle or something that you guys get, like, what does that feel like? What's something that when when you listen back, you know, you're like, oh damn, this, this is going to pop off.
Scott Chesak: Well, I can say one specific instance of what Tyson was talking about, like one of our favorite songs on our record, "Heels Up, Head Over", was the first one where all three of us were in the room, and that was like a super magical moment. I just remember, like, getting the groove down of the chorus, because when you're like working on a song, it's kind of like you're chipping away a little bit. You don't really know. It's not fully formed yet. It's kind of like if you were making a sculpture and it's just it's just a piece of marble at first and you're just chipping away and it just looks like a mangled up piece of marble, and then all of a sudden you see a face and it just pops out. That was the fucking. That was the moment when we were in the chorus and it just started clicking, and Izzy was laying down his parts, you know, everybody was just clicking and it was amazing.
Killah Cortez: Yeah, I saw you guys at Bardot and that one especially went super hard. Um love that.
Killah Cortez: So I'll ask this question to Izzy. In a time where bands are less and less a thing, where like, it might look like a band, it might smell like a band, but it's not a band. It's like a person who is surrounded by people. Like you guys are actually a band you create together, you riff off of each other's ideas. How do you guys how do you feel you complement each other to make this artistic equilibrium?
Tyson Ritter: Yeah. Great question.
Isaac Bolivar: I feel like we are so different as human beings and so on the same page as artists. That it creates this really interesting perspective shift where for me personally, seeing something through Tyson's eyes. What just in life like just as somebody who's really. Um, as Tyson observes the world and creates art. He's going to pick up on different things that I wouldn't. And same thing with Scott. They both pick up on things that I'm not tuned into. So being able to play off of that is really special because me by myself, I won't follow something. I might hear something that I'm playing and think like, okay, cool. But when Tyson hears it, he goes, wait, hang on. Okay, keep going on that section right there. Scott comes. Oh, wait, wait. This is really special moment. And then all of a sudden they've created something out of something that I kind of was just playing around with. Then once that happens, I'm able to react from that and to add in my different flair and then watching everybody react in those moments, there's something that just happens. It's. That's the magic. That's the thing. So I think everyone being exactly who they are and reacting with each other is a very. Yeah, I keep coming back to magic. But that's the. That's the thing. That's the magic.
Killah Cortez: Yeah, totally. Scott, Tyson, anything else to add to that?
Tyson Ritter: I think it's like Voltron, you know. That's a good.
Isaac Bolivar: That's a great way to put it.
Tyson Ritter: Somebody is an arm. Somebody a leg, somebodies a head. And I'm not going to place anybody as to which they are. It's more just about the sum of all parts. And, you know, there are bands you hear about all the time. You know, some bands, you got two heads, some bands you got two left legs and it fucking trips itself up, or it doesn't walk or it thinks too much. Um, and it gets in its own way. And, you know, maybe that band is just a moment that lasts for a second and then dissolves. But I feel like where we complement each other, sort of piggybacking on what Izzy says, we all have a functionality that is. Compensating for what may be the other person or people in the band aren't necessarily. Strongest set. Yeah. Or or just bolstering the confidence that what the other person thinks that, you know, we're a bunch of insecure artists. So like when Izzy, you know, laid, laid down. No, that's a great example. Like, is he laid down a bunch of guitar lines and he was like, I just put all my ideas down. And I was like, I'll listen to them all. I was like, they all complimented each other. They all belonged. They were all correct. And I was like, well, it's not about picking one. Izzy was like, you literally just orchestrated the entire thing. And he was like, oh, really? I was like, yeah, dude. Like literally you just you you naturally you have this incredible ability. He's like, oh, tight. But I think not only did doing this record, like, make us realize where we kind of all belong together, but it also like. You know, working, just collaborating with other musicians. You realize what your strengths are and and it and it bolsters your confidence into the next song.
Killah Cortez: Awesome. Well, it definitely shows. And and I will say that the the sound of the record, it's it's distinctly you guys. Um, and you can definitely tell. You can definitely tell like there's, there's influences but it's, it is one certain sound which, which I think is more and more rare these days. Um.
Killah Cortez: What do you guys think of the state of the music industry for bands in 2023? Is there any advice or wisdom you'd you'd dispense to people in bands coming up?
Scott Chesak: Oh, that's a tough one. That is a tough one. It's such a crazy landscape that has changed so much. Uh,
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Scott Chesak: And I mean, I guess like a band coming up, like, these days, you have to be on socials. You just, like, have to kill it at socials. It's the necessary evil.
Killah Cortez: Mhm.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Killah Cortez: What about like, on the creative side. What would you tell them. Like who are feeling, who are feeling the pressure of like say they're feeling the pressure of doing the socials but they're still trying to be true to themselves.
Scott Chesak: I think one thing that I've learned over the years is like. Don't take all the advice. So, you know, including mine, that I might give right now. There's there's a lot of people that are like, you should do this. You should do that. You need to be focusing here and think like it's very, very important for everyone to find their own path just in life in general. Find out what matters to you. And go for it and have have the courage to just be like, okay, I know that that piece of advice worked for you, but I'm I'm very passionate about this and I just want to make this type of music. And I think that's really important because if you're just like following trends or whatever, it's it's a losing game.
Killah Cortez: Yeah, either you guys? Or go for it Tyson.
Tyson Ritter: I think I think more most people. And this is probably like byproduct of this connectivity and social media and the fact that everybody's watching everybody else. It. Success. The destination has been the most important thing now. It's not about it's not about the travel to get wherever you're going, which is really what it's all about. But now everyone's comes up to you and says, how do you make it? Well, it's like well you make it, you got to, you got to, you have to. You actually like you're asking a question that's telling you the answer. There's like, you have to you can't just expect to arrive at the destination. You know, there's no teleportation in music. It's you have to create and create at a ferocity that is nowadays superhuman. You can't look forward. You know, the future is always going to arrive as the present. So quit fucking asking yourself how you're making it, you know? Quit considering it. Just continue. Continue the pursuit, man. And it's the hardest thing. It's the fucking hardest thing, right? The it's it's like I started painting recently and it's a conversation with yourself in a visual way as opposed to just playing and. You're every piece you make, just like a song. It's self-effacing, and if you just stop after writing one song and be like, cool, now I got my song, I'm going to put it up on SoundCloud and start asking people how I'm going to make it now. Well, you haven't even made enough to make it, make, create.
Killah Cortez: Tyson. You, of course, have been the longtime front man for The All-American Rejects. How does it feel to have all these firsts again with Now More Than Ever? Um, are you enjoying the ride up the elevator in a different way from the first time with The Rejects?
Tyson Ritter: I'm enjoying it through the eyes of Izzy and Scotty. You know? We're making music videos for the first time, and I'm watching these guys who have never done that before and, like, have this childlike wonder into it, going, wow. It's like. You mean, it's like sort of guys that are finding their identity for the first time in a visual format, as opposed to just being just the magicians off in the In the shadows. You know, I think it's cool seeing them stand out in the light, and I'm having that first through the reflection of them, which is even more of a gift, you know, taking hanging out with your friends and watching them do something that. You know, maybe it was a dream at one point and then they were like, hey, man, get to be adjacent to it, or I get to I get to party along with it. So it's cool. But then now it's like, now they're the thing. And it's really funny watching the discomfort and excitement now
Scott Chesak: a lot of discomfort. Yeah. Yeah.
Killah Cortez: I was gonna say for for Scott and Izzy. Is it, is it different having more skin on the line?
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah for sure.
Scott Chesak: It's we're going from an "A" to "The".
Killah Cortez: Yeah.
Scott Chesak: So you know and other and other things other projects I'm a producer, I'm a songwriter, I'm a keyboard player. But in this project I'm THE keyboard player. I'm THE songwriter, you know? Yeah, the band member. So it's it's a way different perspective. And it's completely like. Changed how I think about music and how music is presented. Because, you know, I write a lot of songs kind of in a vacuum and pitch it to other artists, and then they release it and present it to the world. But I'm discovering how important that presentation is and how the audience can't just receive a song in a vacuum. That has to be there needs to be a messenger and the message the messenger needs to be right and the message needs to align. And it's really fun discovering that.
Killah Cortez: That's cool. Would have been like your, let's call it first day at school moments would have been the moments where you're just like, oh my God, that's I didn't know it was going to be this rad until I got here. But this is crazy.
Isaac Bolivar: Honestly, it was it was playing that show. And in a moment, realizing that I wasn't just a side member, that this was something that we helped build from the ground up, from nothing to here at this moment. And to be in that kind of situation was something I really hadn't felt in that capacity before. You know, I'd been in bands before, but hadn't taken it all the way from beginning to the the performance side of it with the record and everything. That's what my roles were. So that was a huge piece.
Tyson Ritter: I think for me, even like to me, this whole thing was building up to just playing the echo. Right?
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: Like I thought, like it probably could have stopped. And for all intents and purposes, I think we kind of expected it would. Like, at least like because we're all insecure artists. So it's like, cool. We played the echo. It was we we sold out the echo. The show was like a dream. Like, honestly, for as little as we prepared as as as as as sort of as much as we just walked into it kind of kind of just guessing our way through pissing in the wind a little bit. It went off like, like a fucking family reunion or something like it just it just felt like the room. And this is LA Mind you, it was just a room filled with love.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: And and it could have stopped right there. Um, so, like, every step after this, the fact that we're going going to play two shows in Vegas. We texted the other day, we were like, we're playing. "When We Were Young" Festival. And it's like.
Isaac Bolivar: What?!
Killah Cortez: Yeah,
Tyson Ritter: Like like like we skipped a lot of. We jumped the line a bit. You know, a lot of bands don't get to jump the line like this. So, you know, those people that might be listening and saying, "fuck these guys". Well it's like, yeah, you have every right to say that. Like we but but also know that we are humbled by the opportunity to jump the line. And, you know, we're going to scoop some extra mashed potatoes for everybody behind us, man. Like like we're not we're not taking it for granted. We're very yeah. We're constantly humbled by this. Um, yeah.
Killah Cortez: Well that's I mean, that's a great point too. And also just a good lesson for anyone who's young listening. It's just like, all right, maybe they get to jump the line. But also collectively, you all have put in so much work that tangentially, this project can benefit from. So it's not like you guys are starting exactly from the beginning. But but there's still that. There's still that new car smell.
Tyson Ritter: Totally.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Killah Cortez: Question. Question kind of for for all of you. And it doesn't necessarily have to be band related. One thing that I like to kind of talk about, how has failure or apparent failure set you up for later success, and do you have a favorite failure of yours that kind of ended up it like sucked at the time, but turned into this thing that you would have never expected that really benefited your life.
Tyson Ritter: I mean, it's funny, like I think I heard some I mean, there's a lot of quotes out there like this, but it's like, you know, the, the failures. You have to fail because if all you had was success, then you you wouldn't you would just be conditioned to that as a normal way. So yeah, I don't know. Failing sucks. Um, everybody knows that, um, you always just want to win. But I think the expectations that we put on this, you know, it's hard to tamper them. You know, it's hard to. It's hard to tell them to like. It's hard to not want to just fully succeed in every pursuit. But it's like, I think failure, you know, everybody says it. Failure molds you. Failure shapes you to be, um, you know, to be grateful in the moments of triumph. Um, and yeah, that's that rings true. But I mean, like, failure also pisses you off and totally makes you doubt yourself twice as much as you ever have. And, um, you know, failure does a lot of shitty things as well. So, I mean, fuck, you're asking like a question that says, hey, are you human? It's like, yes, we are very much. And more so because we're empathic artists that hate themselves more often than not and fight that beast inside our brains that says you're not good enough, maybe twice as much as the average person. So yeah, man, when you do something new and you're naked and you're presenting yourself like we did with this, I mean, all I had was doubt, you know, and hope and those are really two. Opposing forces to carry in two different hands. You know, hope is pulling you up and doubt is pushing you down. It's truly a manic depressive experience for manic depressive people.
Isaac Bolivar: And it also depends. On what your measure of success is, because if the measure of success is like, we're just some friends making some music and it's saved on our hard drive and we get to listen to it together and we're happy. Wow. Then you do that. Great. If it's to release music at all, that's huge. If it's to play a show. Oh my God, we did it! We won. We? We did it all the way like that. When? When we didn't have any expectation of success being anything other than what we've achieved. So it's like everything from here out is like extra bonus features.
Scott Chesak: Yeah. There's just a lot of times in. life where you think you've failed. But maybe your expectations were a little incorrect. Maybe an expectations. Are you just trying to control the future? You're expecting it to sell this many you were expecting to play this venue instead of that venue you wanted this show to sell out, but like, yeah, at the end of the day, you know, sometimes I'll look back and be like, no, the creation of of those songs, the creation of that music, that was the success. And I don't need anything else on that.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. To Tyson's point earlier, I think trying to put your head down and get get the work done and just for the sake of creation and letting go of the outcome, seems like seems like the right path and doing it for the right reasons.
Tyson Ritter: But also just to interject. To anybody who might be listening to this. Like it's also the bullshit we feed ourselves to fuck it just the same way. Like, not bullshit, but it's like it's a great idea, right? It's like a meditation, like, oh, you know, like, this is.
Scott Chesak: Easier said than done.
Tyson Ritter: To be the abso fucking lutely. I'm going to be the best me I am today. Well, it's a guide, but there's a human element that's missing. There's a huge human element that's missing from all the good intentions in the world, right? It's like almost good intentions were written by robots that have no sort of doubt about themselves. And so, you know, for anybody who's listening, it's like, oh, these assholes are just saying create just for the sake of and don't put expectations. Hey, man, that's the idea. It's so fucking hard. Did I have expectations for this? Oh, absolutely. Did I want this thing to come out of the box and just fucking blow the whole hair, everybody's hair back and like, people say, Holy shit, Now More Than Ever. Absolutely. Because that's what you do. You do. It's the sleeping giant. It lives inside of your brain that goes, "but what if?", "what if,
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah,
Tyson Ritter: What if, what if the magic we felt was exploded like a puddle beneath us and we wet the bed of America? Um, yeah. Like. Yeah, but I just want. I'm not saying it as a moment of self-doubt, but just to impress upon people that, like you are absolutely allowed to crack and to. Yeah, to. But if you shatter, that is that's where you that's where you lose, man. But if you have people around you to, to keep the shards of you together to be a reflection of, of strength even by collective.
Isaac Bolivar: Honestly, that's our text thread. That's our text thread for real. Like I feel like we I don't know, everyone's seen me cracking maybe once or twice like there's, there's some real there's some real self doubt and things that come in and like hey.You know.
Tyson Ritter: And that's and that's like the and that's the take home. Right. Is he like having been in this shit as long as we have this doubt is has been fostered through this process. Yeah. So yeah. So if you come up through this, this is what it's like on the other side, man. It's a fucking self-effacing siege of doubt that is navigated by the keel of moments of discovery and realization that you are doing something good and it's all you know how to do.
Isaac Bolivar: You just keep sustaining those little moments.
Tyson Ritter: Yeah, totally.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. I love the the raw honesty of that of that answer from all you guys. So Scott, Scott and I know each other really well, probably the most. But you know, I, I is more of a producer engineer as well. And I started my own project recently and I really relate to this because there is soul crushing doubt that does come into you when it is your skin on the line. And so a lot of this is actually me, just like hearing other creatives hearing their methods and what and what they do, and hopefully trying to share that with other people. And so thank you for sharing all that. Because because it's something that definitely enters my mind as I'm creating stuff like the minute I hit, hit send on something, I'm just like, it's terrible. But then the other voice in the back of my head has to kick in and be like, nah, dude, keep going, keep going. It's cool.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah, yeah.
Tyson Ritter: If anything, I'd love to. Like, I think navigating the conversation towards, you know, how how do you approach when doubt has always been a passenger? Like how do you approach the next idea? And to me it's like the biggest. Thing I can fucking impress upon anybody is the moment you consider what you're doing. If you're doing it in that moment, is the moment it starts to die in your hands so quick. So just do your best to quit considering what you're doing. Like it's funny. It's like such a it's a very it's a very like Confucius kind of sense. Like it's just never consider yourself. Never consider the music in your hands until you think you're just done adding to it. And then you can consider it because it's done. But the death of creativity has been consideration in the moment ofm because then you'll stop and turn around, or you'll let go and you'll lose it, and the muse will fly out the window as fast as she came in.
Killah Cortez: You guys are going to be playing When We Were Young, how stoked are you guys be hitting that? And and this is the first time for this band, right?
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah for sure. We we've only played a couple of shows. The interesting idea for us to do it because we also, you know, the team is just real close friends like. We're not we're not a whole huge, you know, production that's been doing this on the road for years. It's a new project for all of us. And so we're all just just figuring out how to make this happen with with ourselves. And it's been a really fun to step into those roles as well. So it's been it's been exciting and learning a lot. But.
Killah Cortez: What's the worst advice you guys see being dispensed to young creatives these days?
Tyson Ritter: It's not really what advice I've seen, it's what I think has evolved again as a byproduct of the the adjacency of self-promotion via social media. And. And music, and it's turning people into objects. People are now brands. Kids are brands. Get your brands straight. If I hear fucking people say, what is your brand? What's your story? I don't know, man. Imagine if they asked bands what their story was or what their brand was. I feel like that's like, you know, it used to just be presented and everybody. That dug it wanted to put on the drip that looked like it, and instead it's like the worst advice I'm seeing distilled is. Who? What are you before? What do you sound like? Used to just be. What do you sound like? Because everybody's looking for labels, right? Like, you know, when alternative music came out, it's like alternative to what it was like, you know, just another silly label like pop music. Well Nirvana was pop because they were fucking popular. But, you know, it's. Pop music is just a label for things that everybody likes.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: So yeah.
Isaac Bolivar: Shifting.
Tyson Ritter: I think. Yeah, I think identity being associated with music before the, the anybody's press play. People getting kids, kids having to have having to look at themselves and consider who they are before they've written about who they are, or before they've written a record that maybe explains to themselves who they are. You know, for me, music told me something about myself after it. I didn't I didn't know who I was and then wrote. Some people do, but I wrote to. I wrote to find myself. I still do. Man.
Killah Cortez: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: Like so I think I think the saddest thing that's happening right now is kids are, are trying to answer questions like, who am I when you don't answer those questions till you're fucking 60? And it's because you've lived a life that has given you a all the salt on your back to shake off into a fucking your hands and stare into it. It's a yeah.
Killah Cortez: Yeah, yeah 60 or if ever. And you know, one thing that I'll add is I think like it kind of goes against what the original intention of a record was like a record used to actually be like a recording of this moment in time. And and to your point, it's like, how how can you record a moment in time if you're so worried about crafting the moment, curating this thing instead of just being a thing and then recording that moment?
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah,
Scott Chesak: Exactly. And that's why like, oh, sorry Izzy
Isaac Bolivar: Oh, I was just going to say like the, the landscape is so different too, that everything that it was, was from the past doesn't necessarily apply anymore. So the if the goal for some like a creative is to just be famous, it's like fame doesn't mean the same thing that it meant ten, 20, 30, 40 years ago. So some of the worst advice you can give is to try to get famous, because that can kill your creativity so quickly.
Tyson Ritter: Yeah, it's again, it's destination .Yeah, it's all about the destination now. It's all about arriving somewhere before the journey is on.
Isaac Bolivar: The journey is the whole thing. Yeah.
Killah Cortez: What about you, Scott? You have you have any thoughts on that question?
Scott Chesak: Um, just. Well, to piggyback on Izzy, I do see, like, a lot of artists that, yes, their goal is to be famous. And they're not they're not musicians first. They're, uh, attention seeking first, and then music is just a vessel for that. And I just want to emphasize that music is not. Meant to just be a vessel for fame. And if you're just trying to capitalize off of, well, do makeup videos on TikTok. And I have 3 million followers and this label is offering me. And an 18 Wheeler truck of money to sign with them. It's like. It's just kind of shitting on the whole craft because they don't really care.
Killah Cortez: Yeah,
Scott Chesak: But yeah, if you're in it, like you should be in it. You should love it. You should have no other choice. It's not like you shouldn't even have to like, question like, should I? It should just be like, no, this is me no matter what.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah. That's the only way to have the resilience to deal with how terrible it is. But those magic moments are so worth it. But only if you like have to do it.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. You know, it's something that I see that's it's kind of a dichotomy is that I think on the, on the higher end of the music spectrum when it comes to the, the labels, there's this massive pressure to appeal to this attention economy. But then I also noticed on like the more indie side of like Spotify, there is a lot of basement artists who who are just being themselves and they're able to make like a very fine middle class living and nobody knows who they are. You know, they're just they're just getting a ton of like, Spotify algorithm stuff. And so, I mean, I kind of do think that if people can get over the idea that they need to give in to this tick tock thing, attention thing, that there is a world that can happen where, you know, you put out music and it just grows just kind of like how it how it did before.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Tyson Ritter: Absolutely.
Killah Cortez: If you could put a message in a song that would get guaranteed 24/7 top 40 radio rotation, what message would you send to the masses?
Tyson Ritter: I mean, it's very tropey, but I think it's also where the reason music has been this unifier and it's like, and it's funny, maybe when I was younger, I used to think it was cheesy when I heard All You Need Is Love, but it's like, I still like it's not even that anymore. It's just don't be. Maybe just a message that just says, don't be hateful. Like our whole society is now fostered on hate, like the great. It's not about unity anymore. It's just about division. And hate is the medicine for division and. It's getting worse every day. Um, because it's keeping us all in place, like in our. You know, the craziest thing is. And, you know, maybe this is a little bit too. It's not politicized at all. It's just me saying, like. The world doesn't want us all to connect because the world wants to control us. And so hatred is the greatest thing to keep us under control. So I think, yeah, if I were to be able to, like, have a song just fucking completely transcend and, and have an impact and do you know, do heal the world kind of Michael Jackson kind of status? Yeah. It would just be fucking. You don't need hate, you know. It's. And it's funny, man. It's so cheesy to say I feel stupid saying it. Isn't that funny? How like how how love is how universal love is so. Like even I've been conditioned to think it's kind of dumb. Yeah. Sucks.
Killah Cortez: Well, that's. I was going to add to that. I was going to say that it's it could be social conditioning that we're so kind of like, I don't know. I know for myself coming up to, like, high school and whatnot, it was so lame to give in to those concepts and ideas and, and now, like when I see it as a genuine message, then you can tell. And it really connects. Yeah. Um, what about you guys, Izzy and Scott? Yeah.
Isaac Bolivar: I mean, I'd fully believe that, and. To take it even further, I guess. I mean, yeah, if I'm if I have a message to give to the world that the top 40 song, it would be like forgiveness. You know, these are big concepts. And so I would, you know, try to wrap it up into something people might be able to dance to. But yeah, love and forgiveness love real big hippie concepts. Um, but things that I need to be reminded of constantly. So I would try to share that with others in a way that they could relate to.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. Mr.. Mr.. Chesak
Scott Chesak: it's so tough. Because. You know, when I'm when I'm writing, personally, I like to just turn off my brain and let the. Subconscious, take over and find messages, discover things about myself through that. So it's like. I've never really gone into a song with like a pre-planned like, there's definitely concept ideas that sometimes I'll. Going with, but it's more a discovery of myself and. You're, you're just you're kind of digging and and the, the meaning presents itself to you. And a lot of times it can be a meaning that is interpreted in many ways. So just the concept of, of like getting a message out there. I love the question though, and I think I would just probably piggyback on these other tips and, and say love is a pretty good message to have and kumbayah. Yeah, and stop hate because think.
Tyson Ritter: No but but but no answer the question. Well said.
Scott Chesak: I think I agree with you guys because.
Tyson Ritter: No no no but but push want you to push harder. I'm curious. If you could if you could get a message out to the top 40, what would it be? Just any message just now. Ask. Spit from your subconscious. Freudian slip it out.
Scott Chesak: Well, I think in order to attain the Kumbaya and the big earthly group hug, you first have to start with self-love. And I think that would be a more specific message that that would like to get across to people. Because I think a lot of this hate, a lot of this division is because of that. And you're just seeing like the the outward trappings of like a self hatred when they impose their hate on other people.
Tyson Ritter: Love it because see, I think that's because see, I think that's also I wanted you to ask the answer that question personally, because I was I was picking up on the fact that. We all hate ourselves. Like, isn't that funny? Like, it's just really funny, man. How artists are all birds of a feather, man. Most, most artists I know. You know, you dig through the the ego and the facade. And in there is just someone who just really fucking hates themselves and and lives for the moments that they don't. It's really bleak, but it's like, if that's your truth, which it is for me most more often than not, like music is the only vessel that gets me out of my own way.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah.
Scott Chesak: Agreed.
Isaac Bolivar: Yeah,
Scott Chesak: Yeah. I mean, this whole podcast we've been talking about, like, doubt and and all that kind of internal struggle and we're, we just all if you're in the arts in any capacity or just people in general, even if you you're an accountant, you have self doubt all day every day.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. Well and it also comes from like I personally just hate the facade. Like I hate the thing that a lot of artists will throw out that it's like it's all it all just magically happens. And it's like, no, dude, that's not the reality. Let's talk about reality a little bit. And so that's kind of why I like to dig into these topics because because like you were saying, Tyson, like everyone has these stories, everyone has these doubts. And I think it's important for other creatives to know that. Where can the people find you guys and what what can you guys plug that's coming up?
Isaac Bolivar: We have all of the socials, the Instagrams, the TikToks, the YouTubes, the Spotify, you know, all all of the all of the current hit spots. Just search Now More Than Ever.
Tyson Ritter: at Now More Than Ever Band and. Yeah.
Isaac Bolivar: Yep.
Tyson Ritter: Um.
Isaac Bolivar: When the When We Were Young Festival.
Tyson Ritter: October 21st and 22nd. Yep.
Isaac Bolivar: And, uh, just just out here on the internet.
Scott Chesak: And we got a new music video coming soon.
Tyson Ritter: true that
Scott Chesak: a little song called candle in the editing process right now, that'll be on YouTube soon, and we have a bunch of other amazing music videos that were like.
Tyson Ritter: And check out the record Creatrix, which has all of them in one convenient location.
Killah Cortez: awesome.
Scott Chesak: You can get it on vinyl. You can stream it.
Isaac Bolivar: That's true. Yeah. We have we have stuff that you can purchase now also on our website.
Killah Cortez: Yeah. Plug the swag. Um.
Isaac Bolivar: Be a part of the gang
Killah Cortez: I can't wait to hear what else you guys put out. And thank you guys so much for taking the time to come on, and we'll see you soon.
Isaac Bolivar: Thanks.
Tyson Ritter: Cheers.
Scott Chesak: Thanks, man.
Once again, thank you to Now More Than Ever for coming on the KC show! Go check out their Spotify to hear their debut LP, “Creatrix”!
You can find other episodes of the Killah Cortez show, my socials, show notes, links and a full transcription of this episode at TheKillahCortezShow.com . You can listen to my music, buy some merch or show your support over at KillahCortez.com. You can also show support for the show by giving us 5 stars on Spotify, or a like / comment on YouTube. Thank you for listening and until next time. Adios.