Exclusive Interview: CAL Chats “Roll the Credits,” Embarking on His Own, and His Upcoming EP

Starting over is never easy—just ask Timeflies former frontman CAL. As one-half of the iconic duo, Timeflies sold over 150,000 albums, accumulated over 400 million Spotify streams worldwide, and toured the nation. In 2019, the band went on a hiatus to focus on their own endeavors.

For CAL, he engulfed himself in the artist/producer/songwriter scene, and released his highly-acclaimed debut EP The Identity Crisis.

Since then, he’s continued to build on that success with singles including “In the Water,” “Dressed Up In White,” and “Roll the Credits.”

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with CAL about embarking on his solo project, “Roll the Credits,” and his upcoming EP.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
CAL: My parents were big classic rock fans. I was raised on a lot of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I would fall asleep to Cat Stevens and James Taylor every night. I love the band Yes. So from an early age, I was addicted to harmonies. It was almost like vocals alone weren’t enough. I needed more harmonies. Then I fell in love with hip-hop.

I was freestyling at a party in college and this kid was like, “Yo, I have a band with no singer. Do you want to sing?” I was kind of nervous in front of people, but it was important to get those reps. Once the crowd gave me that adrenaline, it was over. I was like, “This is what I want to do.” I started to marry those classic rock styles and harmonies with hip-hop influences. My music has been a combo of all of those things.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
CAL: I would say my mom. I know that’s not the coolest answer ever, but she’s an entrepreneur. I was raised under her desk. She had a hustle mentality and was always like, “I’m going to work for myself. I’m going to create.” I feel like that has been my focus every day of my life. It’s like, how can I create or how can I keep evolving? As I was growing up, that mentality had a huge influence on me.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
CAL: Probably the first time that I heard a huge room of thousands of people singing lyrics back to me. Every singer experiences this at some point, but you feel like you’re behind the wheel and you have control. As you get older, you learn that 99% of it is out of your control. It just happens around you. When you have moments like that, it’s almost like validation—especially when a lot of what you’re doing is behind closed doors. Then you get together in a crowd and everyone’s like, “Oh my God. I listen to this song all the time. You know it too?” Then we all sing the chorus together, and it’s this out-of-body connection. That hits me hard. The first moment that it happened, I was like, “I need more.”

PC: Speaking of success, fans will recognize you as one-half of Timeflies. How scary was that decision to embark on your own artist project?
CAL: It was scary. I feel like I had already introduced myself to the world, and now I had this other creative outlet where I would get to say what’s on my mind and show off more of the hip-hoppy and less dancey groove rhythms that I wanted to hear. I consider that a creative outlet for me, but I also work with a lot of artists who are starting up. A blank page is terrifying. Starting is really hard. It was scary and daunting, but it was also exciting because I’ve been out there and toured the world, so I got to bring that experience into what I was creating.

PC: What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned being a part of that duo that you’ve now applied to this next chapter in your career?
CAL: I feel like it’s impossible to boil down because it’s a great question. Rob [Resnick] is still one of my closest friends. I learned everything from Timeflies. It’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. The hardest part is when a passion becomes a job. The thing that I learned in Timeflies, because there were times when it really became a job, is to keep it fun and remember that passion.

That’s something that I was lucky that I learned early on. Otherwise, it’s a series of getting your ass kicked and getting knocked down and being told no. If you get rid of the results-based side of the industry and love the process, which is what I’m passionate about, then you can never be let down or ever get too low or high. It’s about enjoying the process. That was my biggest takeaway.

PC: During those more challenging times, how were you able to persevere?
CAL: That’s been due to a certain perspective that I, unfortunately, adopted early on in my life. Everyone has their own experiences. I had some tragedy early on in my life, so whatever was going to happen was never going to be as bad as things were in my mind (as messed up as that sounds). I’m blessed to have that perspective because even when things look bad, I have a bar for how bad things can be. I’m like, “We’re not even close to that. This is great.” I have had a lot of mentors and other people in the entertainment or entrepreneurial space whose work I have read and studied. The best advice I ever got that I try to live by is to never get too high on great news and never get too low on bad news. If you stay in the middle, those things will happen and you’ll be able to sustain longer. Because if you’re like, “We did it!” or “We lost,” that’s draining.

PC: Tell us about “Roll the Credits” and the inspiration behind the song.
CAL: I was with a friend who was telling me about a relationship. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this, but I feel like everyone probably has. But it’s when you have a friend who is talking to you about their relationship and you know it’s over. You want to tell them, “You’ve got to get out of this.” But you’re scared to say that as a friend because if they break up for two days and they get back together then you’re the person who they think, “Oh yeah, I remember, you hate my significant other.” [laughs]

But I was watching this conversation, and I had this spark. I recorded a voice note about how it’s like rolling the credits. It’s over. All the things we did, every message, I’m getting the indicator that this is over and done. It’s the advice that I would have given my friend. I turned it into a song. I love when songs might have a sad message, but it’s over happy sonics. I wanted to be like, “Roll the credits because I’m done.” It’s bouncy. “I’m so done, done, done.” It’s the heaviest thing in his life, but I wanted to deliver it as, “Hey, move on.”

PC: Of all the music that you’ve released, if you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
CAL: I’d have to say “Dressed Up In White” because it’s not a club banger song. What we love about artists is honesty. I’ve had a tough time where I’m like, “How many songs can I write about myself?” As I mentioned, “Roll the Credits” was inspired by a friend. I love that. I wrote “Dressed Up In White” as a speech to sing to my wife at our wedding. Every weekend, I get tons of videos of people who used it as their first dance. I actually just sang it at someone’s wedding as their first dance. There’s so much truth in that song. If you want to know who I am, put that song on.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2021 leading into 2022, what can fans expect from you?
CAL: As we speak, I’m working on finishing an EP. The next song that I’m working on right now is a very honest story about a cab ride in New York City. This guy got in the cab, and it turned out that he only had a couple of weeks to live. It was the craziest day, and I finally wrote a song about it. It’s called “Glen.” I’m really excited for fans to hear that one. They’re going to hear me continue to evolve and build out my sound and style. I’ve spent so much time trying to better my craft as a producer and a songwriter. I think that’ll translate to the EP.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
CAL: I’ll say it would probably be surprising that I love “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. I love that song.

PC: First album you bought?
CAL: It was a Weezer album that my brother bought that became mine. But the first one I ever bought myself was when my parents took me to get one of Eminem’s early albums.

PC: First concert you attended?
CAL: Bruce Springsteen.

PC: Someone you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
CAL: There are so many people. Kanye? I know Daft Punk is done, but I love their stuff. Crosby’s still doing their thing. They’re timeless. Taylor Swift. There are a million people.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
CAL: Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP. There was so much controversy surrounding it but it’s the first time that I really noticed someone’s artistry and saw them living a hundred percent inside their craft. It felt like an album that was a full story. I definitely connected a lot to that. But also, more recently, I will say the Twenty One Pilots’ album, Blurryface.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
CAL: Red Rocks.

PC: A must-have on the road?
CAL: A good pillow.

To keep up with CAL, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Pick up or stream “Roll the Credits” today.