Posted 9/30/2009 by TeamIGA
As a college student, Ryan Tedder would tell anyone who would listen that he wanted to go into songwriting, producing and performing. Now, having written songs for Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce and a host of others, the Colorado-based OneRepublic [ tickets ] lead singer is one of the most sought-after songwriters in music.
But his success with OneRepublic is notable as well. Nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Performance by a Duo of Group with Vocals category, the OneRepublic single "Apologize" has become one of the most downloaded tracks of the digital age, selling more than 10 million copies.
OneRepublic is set to release its next collection of music, "Waking Up," on Nov. 17, with the first single, "All the Right Moves," poised to hit radio on Sept. 22.
Tedder, on a rare break from the studio, spoke to LiveDaily about OneRepublic's forthcoming album, traveling from country to country to produce and write tracks, and why his band's "Stop and Stare" is his favorite single.
Where are you calling from today?
I'm in Aspen, CO. I don't live here, but there's a recording studio here that's amazing. I live in Denver, but I love Aspen. I like to get away to random places that have cool recording studios and do work. You get to do it unencumbered.
Where else have you visited recording studios?
South Africa, Hamburg, Tokyo. Milan had a really cool studio. I book studios all around the world. I've been to most major cities around the world. It's a lot of fun for me to just find different places to do the same thing. I think the dude from Hall and Oates lives here. I think he helps run the studio. John, what's his name? John Oates? The place is amazing.
What are you working on these days?
The last song for the OneRepublic album. But I'm simultaneously working on Rihanna and Kris Allen.
How do you manage to balance all that?
I used to be a waiter for years. I kind of function like that. It's the same as having four four-tops. You have four different tables, 16 different orders. It's kind of a game to see if I can keep them all straight in my head.
How are those projects coming along?
Our record is pretty much done. This last song is a bonus track and I think Timbaland is going to remix it for his album. It's really different. The album sounds nothing like the first album. You can tell it's the same band, but that's about it. We took some huge risks. Huge departure. I have no interest in playing it safe and copying our last record or trying to rewrite 'Apologize' or any of that nonsense. To me, it's like, if you're not growing, you're dying. We're trying to pave new ground. Frankly, we're trying to reset the bar in terms of Top 40 radio and what bands are capable of doing in Top 40 radio, musically. We want to be the first nongenre band out there.
How did you come up with the title "Waking Up"?
We have a song called "Waking Up," which we haven't posted. It just seemed ironic because the last album was called "Dreaming Out Loud." Now we have a song called "Waking Up." It was just kind of like this stupid play on words. So we said, "Hey, that's what the album feels like. It feels like we've woken up to where we are now." Our first album came out about three years after we had made it. It was shelved by Columbia. We actually got dropped by Columbia the same day they dropped Katy Perry and the Jonas Brothers. They dropped all three of us. They had dropped Ne-Yo, like, the year before. By the time our album came out, we had already evolved past a lot of the songs on the album. We made the album in 2004. It came out in 2007. As you can imagine, there's quite a big time gap in terms of what we were doing. It would be like you putting out an article right now that you wrote 3-and-a-half years ago and your opinion on that article has already changed. So we had to live with that and tour that album for a year and a half. With this album, we've kind of woken up; this is where we are now. There's nothing on this album that I can say sounds like anyone else who's out there, whether that was by intention or by luck. We're excited.
For your songwriting process, do you know when you're writing for OneRepublic? Or do you just write songs and figure it out later?
One Republic is a completely different animal for me because I can't sit down and write more obvious, straight-ahead lyrics with OneRepublic. That's kind of the catch. We might do something musically has a vibe of some other influence. Lyrically, I can't sit down and write the same lyrics I would write for Kelly Clarkson or Rihanna. I have to do something that's my own personal take. Our lyrics are little bit more random. I don't want to say esoteric. They're not obvious. It's the best way to put it. They're not written like cookie-cutter, songwriter-for-hire kind of thing, which a lot of songs on the radio sound like. That's how they're written. They're written by two or three people sitting in a room trying to write a pop hit. I approach OneRepublic completely differently. So there's absolutely no songs on this album that were scrapped from other artists, nor are there any songs that didn't make the album that have gone to other artists. I try to keep those two as separate as possible.
Are you looking forward to your tour with Rob Thomas?
I am. I love opening because there's no pressure. I'm not stressed out about ticket sales. Rob's nice as hell. His audience is older than our audience. So we're excited to play for a different type of crowd. Our goal each night is, by the end of our set, to have won over all 6,000 or 5,000 that are in the crowd. Our goal is to win everybody over by the time we get off the stage. I take it as a challenge. It's also going to be a lot of fun.
Are you going to play songs from "Dreaming Out Loud" or are you going to focus on "Waking Up"?
Oh yeah. It's probably going to be 50/50. Because the thing is, our new album isn't out until Nov. 17. So we're like, "You know what guys? We can't get away with playing a bunch of new songs no one's heard." I try to kind of mix it up. I try to write the set list to keep everyone's attention in the audience. I try to be very aware of, like, if I paid money and I was sitting in those seats, what's going to keep my attention? What's going to entertain me? So. when you're an opening act, I think your goal is to really capture the audience, keep them entertained. I walk into each show assuming that no one in the crowd knows who we are, even though a lot of them probably do. I assume that they don't. I put "Stop and Stare" earlier in the set. People are like, "Who are these guys?" Then they hear "Stop and Stare" and they're like, "Oh, they're those guys." We kind of go on from there.
Which single are you most proud of?
I'm proud of "Stop and Stare," at least for OneRepublic. When "Apologize" came out, it became so big so fast that everyone wrote us off as a one-hit wonder. Then "Stop and Stare" came out and was actually bigger in a lot of countries than "Apologize" was. In the UK, it was bigger than "Apologize" was, which is hard to imagine. If "Apologize" had never come out, "Stop and Stare" would be looked at as a shining hit of a new band. It was exciting to me. It didn't have anything to do with Timbaland. It was just a band being a band and trying to write real songs. We try to avoid gimmicks as much as possible and "Stop and Stare" has no gimmicks. The new songs, none of them were produced by Timbaland. That was his wish as well as ours. I'm sure we're going to work with him again in the future. Of course, I think it's important for us to stand on our own two feet.
[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]
OneRepublic w/ Rob Thomas:
September 2009
23 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
25 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
26 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
28 - Raleigh, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park
29 - Charlotte, NC - Uptown Amphitheatre at The Music Factory
30 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
October 2009
4 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
5 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre
7 - Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center
9 - Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cover at Harrah's Casino
10 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre
11 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
14 - Vancouver, British Columbia - The Centre for Performing Arts
15 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theatre
17 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
18 - San Jose, CA - Event Center at San Jose State University
20 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre at City Walk
21 - San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre
23 - Temecula, CA - Pechanga Resort and Casino
24 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms
27 - Denver, CO - Magness Arena
29 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
30 - Hammond, IN - Horseshoe Casino
31 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
November 2009
2 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
4 - Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
6 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata
7 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun
9 - Boston, MA - Citi Performing Arts Center
10 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center
12, 13 - New York City, NY - Beacon Theatre
» www.livedaily.com
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Posted 9/15/2009 by TeamIGA
The details
Who: One Republic opening for Rob Thomas
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25
Where: Hard Rock Live, 6050 Universal Blvd., Orlando
Admission: $40 to $110
Information: 407-351-LIVE (5483)
New single: "All The Right Moves"
On the Web: www.onerepublic.net
Seven years into their existence, Interscope Records' recording artists One Republic caught on fire with their debut CD "Dreaming Out Loud." That CD included the smash first single "Apologize" with Timbaland, which shattered digital sales and airplay records worldwide. The second single from that record, "Stop and Stare," catapulted the record to platinum sales status. Now, with a new CD "Waking Up" due out in November, and a new single "All the Right Moves," One Republic is set to embark on a nationwide tour opening for Rob Thomas. The tour includes a stop at the nearby Hard Rock Live, 6050 Universal Blvd., Orlando, on Sept. 25.
The band consists of Ryan Tedder (songwriter/vocals/keyboard) Zach Filkins (guitar), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle (bass/cello) and Eddie Fisher (drums). After previewing tracks for the upcoming CD, I can attest that the band is destined to repeat the success of their debut release.
I spoke with Filkins about the new CD, their evolution and the changing music industry. So let’s “Shake, Rattle & Know”: One Republic.
SRK: How will "Waking Up" differ in style and sound from your debut CD "Dreaming Out Loud"?
Filkins: That's a great question because they are so different. I think the main difference is in the amount of years we had in between to write this CD. "Dreaming Out Loud" was actually written before we even moved to Los Angeles and really had a full band. It was done almost a year before we were "officially" formed. That CD was a beginning place for us and was reflective of the things we listened to at the time and basically who we were at the time six years ago. Now after two years of touring, the new CD reflects where we are in our lives and who we are now, and how we've grown. I would say it's an updated version of us on and off the stage. We incorporated a lot more influences, hip-hop tracks and backbeats. We made this record with a self-imposed rule of only putting the very best of what we were writing on the record and re-invent what we can without losing site of the type of artists we are.
SRK: With such a successful debut CD, did you feel pressure from the business to be conservative and stick with a formula that worked?
Filkins: Yes. We did feel that pressure to be conservative and not change too much, but we are always going to stay true to ourselves. This new CD isn't a 180-degree switch for us, it's just an evolution like every band goes through. We didn't give into the pressure, in fact, we stepped up our game. We wanted to keep the fan base we had built with "Dreaming Out Loud," but add a new dimension that would also attract new fans as well.
SRK: Which do you prefer, the magic of the whole recording process or the thrill of performing live?
Filkins: Man that's a tough one because artistically they are so different. The whole process of getting in a studio and banging out a song is incredible. You go through peaks and valleys with a song and when you reach a high point, you get excited for the result of your hard work. It feels like a real accomplishment. With all that said, though, there is nothing like the energy of playing live. There's nothing that compares to it. Connecting with any audience, whether 50 or 5,000 people, is really special. The studio can be a somewhat stale environment, and lacks the energy of performing live.
SRK: Comparisons are inevitable and people are always comparing you to the likes of Coldplay. What are your thoughts on those comparisons?
Filkins: You know, we have gotten that one (Coldplay) from the very beginning. It's something that just happens. I see why it happens. People want something to compare music to. I do it myself. If I like something, I want to know what else might be similar so I can check it out, too. People will always ask, "Who do they sound like?" "Will I like this?" People will always say, "if you like band X, I think you will like band Y." It doesn't bother us at all. It causes us to be careful in the studio because if we find that we are starting to sound too much like someone else, we change it to avoid a direct correlation. We're going to keep making music we want to make and not worry too much about that sort of thing.
SRK: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you personally?
Filkins: Oh, gee, that's a good question (laughing). I guess if I wasn't a musician I would be an author, a marriage therapist or study theology. Those are all things that really interest me and probably what I would have done with my life if music hadn't worked out for me.
SRK: A lot of people think you guys basically came out of nowhere not knowing how hard you really worked to get where you are today. How hard was it to actually "get discovered"?
Filkins: It was really hard. You could say that it was a little easier for us than most would have it because we didn't go to L.A. with nothing. Ryan was already working as a songwriter with Timbaland and others. We were dropped by our first label, and we had to work hard. In L.A., there were so many bands playing that our audiences were sometimes sparse, and we practically had to beg people to come see us. It wasn't uncommon that we had to pay a club for the honor of playing there. You would play these clubs and hope for some kind of movement of ground swell behind the band; it was all very humbling. We went through over four years of the grind before we finally got a break.
SRK: The music business has changed so much with illegal downloading and such. Has that forced bands like yourself to change their approach to their product?
Filkins: You know, we are all still trying to figure out where the industry is going now. There isn't one solid direction. The business used to move unilaterally from "make a record, sell a record, tour from record." Now, music has this huge fork in the road and things aren't so streamlined. It's sort of all over the place, and you can't predict what it's going to do next. We just have to focus on making songs that can make it on radio, but stay true to us and be balanced. We don't set out to write a Top-40 song, but we don't get disillusioned into thinking we are something more than we are. We just want to be straightforward and express ourselves artistically and hope that people are on board with that.
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