Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with brother sundance

Pop disruptor brother sundance a.k.a. Rylan Talerico is a fast-rising artist who has quickly caught the attention of the industry with his innate ability to pen brutally honest lyrics and memorable, emotional hooks. His music has connected with millions of listeners around the world, and established him as an artist to keep your eye on.

His latest single, “Text You Back“, is an angsty summer anthem that you’ll have on repeat.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Rylan about getting his start, collaborating with multi-platinum artist Bryce Vine on “Text You Back“, and stepping into his own.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Rylan: I was in punk bands all through high school. That was the start of me realizing I wanted to do music long-term. My dad played the drums for me growing up—there were always drums in the house. I was always playing his drums. Then, when high school rolled around, I started playing in punk bands. That’s how it started.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career, either personally or professionally?
Rylan: That’s a good question. I think it’s been artists who are really, really good at being themselves, feeling comfortable in their own skin, and being confident in their position and their beliefs. It’d be people like Kurt Cobain. I’m a big Jack White fan, too. It’s people who stood out as unique and surefooted.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Rylan: This moment, maybe. It’s hard to say because we’re not really looking back, but this is the first time I’ve started to feel comfortable doing this job and sharing with the world in this way. It’s really cool to finally feel okay doing this, because it’s a really intense thing. I’m really excited about the music, excited about every aspect of this, excited about my own mental health and growth. This is the moment I’m really excited about.

PC: You recently released “Text You Back”. Can you tell us about the song and the inspiration behind it?
Rylan: I was sitting behind a microphone and I couldn’t think of anything to write. I was having writer’s block and didn’t know what to say. My manager texted me, and it popped up right in front of my face. I don’t know why I was in such a bad mood, but I was like, “I’m not texting this dude back.” Then, I thought about it, and I was like, “Oh, I never text anybody back.” [laughs] I have 800 unread texts on my phone. I am a crappy texter. I don’t know where it came from, but I just went, “If I don’t text you back…” and that started it all. It was that one text from my manager. He knows that. It’s so funny.

PC: How did that collaboration with Bryce [Vine] come about?
Rylan: It was really cool. Bryce heard the song and was really into it. He wanted to jump on. He did such a good job. I was a big fan of his, and I knew he was going to bring something really cool to the song, but I feel he was able to find such an interesting pocket. It’s sort of beachy, but it’s still cool. He did a really great job. I feel really honored.

PC: What’s your creative process like when you’re working on a song and has that changed throughout the years?
Rylan: It’s changed drastically. It used to be that I used to make songs only with my computer, so it was a lot of synths and programming stuff. One day, sometime in the last year, I was like, “That isn’t what I want to be doing.” Now, it’s about making records with as much soul as possible, keeping things a little messy. It’s really waiting for things in my life to trigger something to say and getting it down on paper as quickly as I can. I keep it pretty simple.

PC: Your music’s connected with audiences around the world. Is there a moment, either in the writing process or in the studio, when you realize you’ve created something special?
Rylan: I still don’t know if I’ve ever created [that]. I really have to come to believe that, at least for me personally, I have to totally detach from the world. The fulfilling part has to be the song and completing the song. After that, it’s not going to change if it’s the biggest song in the world or the smallest song in the world. I already did the thing that I wanted to do, which was to make something. To successfully translate something from my head into the world has been challenging, so that’s my victory. That’s my W, and outside of that, I’ve really tried to detach from the idea of things being special or special to the world or anything, because I don’t think any of us really know.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Rylan: I’m not even sure how many fans are going to know who this is, but I’m a massive Meat Loaf fan. He’s all crazy ’80s hair and eight-minute songs. I listen to Meat Loaf all the time.

PC: First album you bought?
Rylan: You’re not going to believe this, but it was Meat Loaf. [laughs] My first concert ever was Meat Loaf. My dad got us tickets and was like, “We’re going to the show.” The first thing he did was download a couple of Meat Loaf records on my iPod, and they were the only records I had on my iPod for a while. I just listened to those on repeat. They really were some of the first records I ever listened to.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Rylan: That’s a good question. There have been a lot. Jack White’s Lazaretto absolutely changed my life. That was a record that made me want to be a musician. I saw him front row on that tour when I was in high school…I lost my mind. That was one of the most special nights in my life.

Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface was the record that made me realize that I could make records with more productions.

Nowadays, it’s a lot of stoner rock, desert rock from the ’70s. I’m really into Steely Dan, The Cars, Tom Petty, and stuff like that—that Laurel Canyon scene. That is changing my life as we speak. Oh, and that big Oasis album.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Rylan: Every venue. All of them. I told my agent, I was like, “I want to be on the road as close to year-round as possible.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Rylan: Some good people around me, so I don’t feel alone. I’ve done tours before with basically a crew full of strangers—that’s really heavy, and I feel very isolated. So, I try to keep friends around and keep good people and good souls because this stuff is draining sometimes.

To keep up with Rylan, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Stream “Text You Back” today.