Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Gunnar Gehl

Singer-songwriter Gunner Gehl is one to watch in 2020. This past February, he released his debut single, “For Your Love,” which has quickly racked up over a million streams on Spotify alone! More importantly, though, it was the perfect introduction to Gunnar’s abilities to connect with listeners through his craft. Pop Culturalist caught up with Gunnar for a fun conversation with this rising star.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Gunnar: It’s a crazy story. When I was seven, I was with my grandparents in Idaho. We were on some Christmas vacation and there was a piano. I was playing “Chopsticks” with my mom, who’s the one who taught me how to play it. She claims I learned it really fast, which, like, it’s “Chopsticks,” so who knows? She was like, “Oh, I’ll get him a guitar for his birthday.” So, for my seventh or eighth birthday, my mom got me a guitar. Basically, that’s been my thing. I started playing and taking lessons.

Then, a couple of buddies of mine and I, we created a literal garage band out of my garage. We played music at bars at twelve thirty in the afternoon. We covered songs all the time. Then, when we got to high school, everybody was like, “Cool. That was really fun. We’re all done with it.” I was like, “Well, I don’t know if I’m necessarily done yet.”

In high school, I was going to a new school. I was worried kids were going to be mean or whatnot. I was scared to let people know that this is what I was doing. Basically, for the first two years of high school, I was finishing homework at lunch. I was going to the studio right after school and nobody knew about it. I was writing tons of songs. I would spend hours and hours and hours at the studio.

It was after my second year of high school that I was like, “You know what? Screw it. It’s summertime. If people hate what I’m about to do, I don’t have to see them for three months. It’s all good.” I posted a cover up on Instagram of me doing a John Mayer song. It did really well—it got good feedback and really good reactions. I was like, “Wait. Is this right?” I posted another one the next day and it was the same thing. It was weird. It was like that confirmation made a switch in my head turn and I haven’t looked back since.

PC: When you look at your career as a whole, who or what has had the biggest influence either personally or professionally?
Gunnar: I would definitely say John Mayer was a huge influence for me growing up. Honestly, the biggest influence and the reason that I do [what I do] is that I want to put on a very live, energetic show. That’s what I want to be remembered as. Obviously, the music, the personality, and all those things, but I want people to say, “You can’t miss a Gunnar show.” That’s what I wanted to go by. The fact that music can help somebody or change somebody’s [mood] is amazing. When I’m in a horrible mood or I’m having a rough day, I can put on different music that’ll change that mood. It’s crazy. That’s why I really do it.

PC: You released your debut single back in February. Tell us about “For Your Love” and the inspiration behind that track.
Gunnar: “For Your Love” is a desperate hopelessness type of love song, where you’re so infatuated and you’re so in love with this person who doesn’t necessarily have the same strength of emotion towards you as you do for them. It’s like this helplessness of, “Tell me what I have to do. I would move mountains. I would hand you stars”—the most extreme of extreme things. I would do it all just to get the love reciprocated.

PC: You’re an artist who has written hundreds and hundreds of songs. What was the process like deciding which song would be your musical introduction?
Gunnar: I’m really happy you asked this question because I haven’t been asked this before. Basically, this quarantine has put a little delay on the rest of the stuff, but it’s coming now. Starting again, I wanted to put “For Your Love” out first because we have a lot of really, really big and really good pop music—really straight pop music and big, anthemic pop music. I wanted people to be able to—if they hear my song on the radio or hear about me from someone else—go back and see that my introduction into this whole thing was a really singer-songwriter-y, really in depth, and really lyrically strong. “For Your Love” is a really good overall song that shows a lot more artistry than sometimes you can get through on other pop songs.

PC: It’s been really well received and has over seven hundred thousand streams on Spotify alone. How much pressure does that add for future releases?
Gunnar: I wanted that song to be my foundation. In my head, for a foundation, you just keep going up and up. I’m hoping that songs continue to improve and, obviously, gain traction and be streamed and all that. But like I said, I want the biggest audience to be able to hear my songs and hear my music. Hopefully they’ll get them through things and help them through situations or help them relax or enjoy situations.

PC: After touring with PRETTYMUCH, you took some time out for yourself to regroup, rediscover your direction. What was the biggest lesson you learned during that period of time?
Gunnar: Patience. I would say patience is the biggest lesson that I learned. After that PRETTYMUCH tour, things sped up really quick. I had to regroup for a second. I signed a record deal and said, “If we’re really going to do this right and we’re really going to be as big as we can possibly be, I think we need to take a step back and regroup.” I need to figure out step one, two, three of what I want my sound to be right now and work with writers and producers that I think fit. Last year was a year of patience with myself and my team. It was like, “Okay. This one’s good. Let’s go.” Then being like, “Wait, I don’t know.” Patience is the perfect word for it, but it’s time now. It’s time to go.

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?
Gunnar: That tour was really big for me. It was a really, really validating time in my life. We played Wembley Area, which was really cool. I’m ready to get things rolling.

PC: As you look forward in your career, what are some of the goals that you hope to accomplish?
Gunnar: My goal, like I said, is to get my music to as many people as I possibly can and help as many people as I can, but my selfish goal…the moment of when I can say, “Okay. You made it,” I think is Staples center. That’s my, “You did it, Gunnar,” moment.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Gunnar: That’s a really good question. Let me pull it up really quick because I’m horrible with remembering. Let’s see: Black Pink…people won’t be surprised about that. I like Why Don’t We. I like a lot of Why Don’t We songs. I don’t know. I’m going through these. None of these would surprise anybody. I love Marc E. Bassy—I love him. I guess country might be a little surprising.

PC: First album you bought?
Gunnar: It was one of the first Bieber albums.

PC: First concert you attended?
Gunnar: Jonas Brothers.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Gunnar: Staples Center.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Gunnar: I would say John Mayer’s Room for Squares. That changed my life in a crazy positive way. I go through phases where I’ll listen to an album on repeat. Like I said, Marc E. Bassy’s album is really good. I love Camila’s first album—that was one of my favorites.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Gunnar: Hint water.

To keep up with Gunnar, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify. Stream his new song, “Good Enough,” today. Pre-save Gunnar’s debut EP, One Second of One Day, today.

Photo Credit: Chris Weigen