After the release of ‘Drew Barrymore,’ Bryce Vine’s career immediately took off and has kept him on-the-go ever since then. Currently, Vine has tour dates lined up until May of 2019 and millions of followers and supporters worldwide. In an exclusive interview with United by Pop, Vine opened up about his tour, the start to his career and collaborations.
How has the tour been so far?
It’s definitely taken me a couple of days to get used to it. It’s great. You’re drained for a second [after shows], but you feel the energy throughout the whole room. When I go on stage, I’m like: “there’s no way I’m going to have any energy after the show.” Our whole crew is [always] down to stay up all night and watch a movie on the bus.
How did you first get started with music? What is a fond memory you have of making music?
When I was 13, my mom bought me a guitar because she saw my interest in music and I just spent every night in my garage learning tabs and songs that I already knew. It was great because it was the first time that I was able to make all of those songs myself. I would always search for songs when I heard them on the radio because there was no Shazam. It was a lot harder to find music that you loved back then, so being able to create my own was the coolest thing in the world. I did it every night and every waking moment. My mom recently found a tape recording that I had made when I was 13 [saying]: “Well, I can’t really play the guitar now, but I’m hoping to start a band soon and I’ll see where things go.” When I was in high school, I went into a journalism class and sat next to this girl who could play the drums. I was like “I play the guitar,” and then it was like “let’s start a band.” That was how it all got started. I started writing songs with them and we started performing all over. I never had to worry about fitting into a certain group at school. It was like I had my own thing…I had my band. I finally found out about a music school in Boston and I was like: “You can go to college for music?!” I applied to go to Berklee and did a live audition. That’s how I got in.
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I’m sure the students at Berklee admire you a lot. You started there and now you have your own tour. That has to be great, right?
Yeah! Everything in retrospect is bizarre. As it’s happening, you don’t know the value of it. You can’t know the value of it. I thought that when I was there (at Berklee), I thought [that] they had made a mistake letting me in. I had a partial scholarship to go there and I got to Berklee and [thought] there’s nothing but talented and amazing people from all over the planet and I felt so insecure. I remember one day I called my mom and I was like, “I don’t think I’m supposed to be here. I think they made a mistake. I don’t what I’m doing. I don’t know what music to do [and make] or what I’m supposed to do.” She was like, “Well, they think you’re worth it!” I delved into different kinds of music and went to the gospel ensemble and then I sang jazz and then I just kept trying things until something worked. It wasn’t until I knocked on this dude’s door after I heard beats coming out of it that I finally was getting closer to what I was supposed to do.
That’s a crazy story and interesting how it all unraveled into what your career is today!
Yeah! Now, that dude who I was making beats with back in college is in the DJ duo Lost Kings. Me, him, my DJ who I still have now and my producer who I still make all of my music with were all in a group together at Berklee. We put four songs on Myspace way back when and some DJ reached out over MySpace and was like: “I like your stuff. I feel like you would really work well with this DJ and this rapper I’m talking to. Let me connect you!” The DJ was Carnage and the rapper was G-Eazy. That’s how I met G! I watched his entire progression. One of the rooms that we (G-Eazy and I) played was in Boston…a completely empty show. Only the bartenders were there in 2009. The other night I just headlined a show for a radio station [there] and it was sold out. 10 years! It’s crazy.
How was it to see your original track ‘Drew Barrymore’ blow up and hear all of the positive feedback?
It was weird! It was kind of gradual. I had released that song independently and had gotten signed in the process. The label was pushing it to radio and starting to work it to the radio before I had even finished signing my deal. The turnaround was crazy. Then I went on tour and when I was on tour, I started hearing it pop up little places. The first time I heard it on the radio was in Omaha, Nebraska after a show that I had played. I was like: “Woah. This is what it feels like. This is wild right now.” That was the first time that it was surreal. I still had no idea where it was going to end up being [in the future]. I go to my gym every day and I look up sometimes [on the tv] and see my face and hear my song and it takes me a second to be like, this is normal.
That must be crazy to hear your song in public…that has to be an insane concept, right?
Yeah! People walk up to me and I’m not sure if I know them. I say: “Hey, how’s it going?” and they’re like “I love your song!” Then it makes sense. I don’t mind it. It’s cool and it’s fun to be acknowledged for something that you love.
Do you have a highlight of your career thus far?
Yeah! Lots. There’s always something. When I found out that this tour was sold out, like all of the shows, I was blown away. I did not expect it because I know what it’s like when someone has one hit. Some people are stoked and they want to delve into all of that artist’s work and some people just like that song and that’s fine. For people to have found ‘Drew Barrymore’ and then go listen to all of my other songs, buy tickets, wait outside in the cold and to do it all ahead of time…it’s unbelievable. When I first saw that happening, that was crazy. The biggest thing [and highlight] was performing at the VMAs on that rooftop. It was crazy. I felt like I was living in someone else’s skin. I was where No Doubt, Eminem and Red Hot Chili Peppers all started in the past. One more [highlight] was when I was going into New York and I had my whole team with me. I was going to a label [room] for what I thought was interviews. I walk in and everyone is clapping and I’m like, “What’s going on?” They opened the door to the lounge room and the head of my label is there. They presented my gold plaque for ‘Drew Barrymore.’ My whole team was there and we had been working together for years. It was an emotional moment for sure.
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What artists are you listening to right now that you may also want to collaborate with in the future?
Childish Gambino, Gorillaz, Twenty One Pilots and Post Malone. I love all these guys and I wonder how they came up with their sound. It excites me to see what they’re going to do next because they’re clearly doing something that just comes from them in a way that they’re are able to invent and everyone else has to follow. There’s only so many of these guys that can invent that [type of] sound and all of those people are great artists. Their music lasts and people are always excited to see what they’re going to do. That’s what I want.
What can fans look forward to in the near or distant future?
The album will be called Carnival and it will be out in the summer and the new single is dropping in a couple of weeks! It’s called ‘La La Land.’
Thank you, Bryce Vine, for taking the time to speak with United by Pop.
Be sure to check out Bryce Vine on tour and stay connected with him on social media for updates on music and more.
