NASHVILLE, TN — Thankmelater. released their second single “karma.” on June 16th, following the success of their debut single “shutmedown.,” which was the result of years of writing and development that initially brought the two artists, producer/guitarist Jacob Redding and vocalist Eric Vattima, together. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
Jacob Redding comes from the DMV area specifically Virginia and Eric Vattima hails from Las Vegas. thankmelater. was founded in Nashville, TN during our college years.
Eric – that’s right. We started a project after a few different bands didn’t pan out, and we’ve been friends for the last seven years, so we just musically clicked and it happened to turn into this band.
2. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name thankmelater.?
Eric – so our primary initial sonic influences came from bands like The Neighbourhood, Young The Giant, The Band CAMINO, Khruangbin, and Twenty One Pilots. The strongest being The Neighbourhood and Twenty One Pilots, given our more alternative background. We’ve always listened to these types of bands in our years of writing, and looked to try and find a “nichè” so to speak in our own genre, and this sparked the ideas for the first EP as we produced it. It’s funny, because we change sound as we move into new projects. EP 2 is going to be more pop influenced and a lighter tone overall, from the way we’re recording right now. We just go with what inspires us day in and day out. As for the name, thankmelater. is a name that pays homage to those who came before us, the part of the industry from our idols to the working vets who brought us up and passed the torch to Jake and me. It’s a play on the phrase “don’t thank me now, thank me later.” – because we’re always meant to grow and continue to learn and evolve as artists, and that’s part of the legacy we want to leave behind one day.
3. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
Jake – I feel that deep, resonating lyrics are a big part of the music so far. I’d say that and the guitar line and soundscapes make up the key elements of a thankmelater. track. I’d say our sound is eclectic and moody instrumentals that lay a foundation for deep thoughtful lyrics.
Eric – Agreed! If you took the early 2000s Alt, threw some atmospheric guitars, and a dash of pop element, you’d get a bit of what we’re going for.
4. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you?How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as rock?
Eric – I think that it’s important to pull inspiration from those who you love, but where the originality comes into play is when you set out to make something different. You find something key in the bigger picture and just roll with it. Whether it’s a different sounding voice, a particular style of guitar playing, a drum tone, or a mix of it all, you just gotta go with your gut and try different things and learn and grow from it. When I first started writing, I was emulating the styles of Rob Thomas and Jason Mraz (love both of those artists dearly), and as the writing continued, I pulled from Alternative artists from my hometown and then eventually gravitated towards some of the bands we cited as influence. Somewhere along the way, I started looking for what I could do that was different, how to make something sound like “Eric Vattima” and then eventually how could I make something that sounds like “thankmelater.” Jake and I both just want to try a little bit of whatever inspires us, and hopefully will look back with both pride and humility over creating something “original” that can tell great stories with this band.
5. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
Jake – Truthfully, I (Jacob Redding) try to avoid social media as much as possible. I realize the power it has on most people and I’m not a fan. We both appreciate constructive criticism that helps us hone our skills and keep us honest but haters talking nonsense online is useless to get involved with. Take everything with a grain of salt and keep it moving. Overall, I’d say it’s something we ignore.
Eric – As the one who primarily handles all our media pages, we’re always appreciative of constructive comments, and open to criticism. We’re still finding our right audience through the algorithms, so we don’t really take to heart the haters/etc. We continue to find the right people who are interested in the music we make, and so we don’t really pay mind to the hate comments, unless someone’s comment is out of hand, in that case we delete the comment and report the account.
6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
Jake – Being from the D.C area I’ve always seen music as a part of daily life which works its way into the lives of people that relate to it and that can create a powerful connection and create anthems for social and political movements of people and ideas brought together and shared through the music and community that the music builds. We definitely have opinions on the way of the world, and we aren’t afraid to showcase that though our music even though that’s not the main focus of our writing.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
Eric – I think I can safely say for both of us that what matches fulfillment to the work that we put in is the response we get, more specifically how our music can and does connect people at the level we’re at now (which is fairly new to the whole scene) – it doesn’t deter us that we clock countless hours into our craft and the music, because at the end of the day, we’re seeing people resonate with it, we’re helping create moments of connectivity among each other, and we’re making new fans every day, which is an absolute blessing in this realm. Given the current state of the broken and divided world we’re all part of, it’s kinda cool to see how music can create a safe space to connect and make new friends and just give people peace of mind, even if just for a little while. To be at that point NOW, is incredible, and with that I can’t wait to see what more fulfillment can come as this grows in the future.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
Jake – Being a duo of two multi-instrumentalists and producers, the process normally starts with one of us creating a demo of something and bringing it to the other. Through collaboration and compromise we end up working that demo into something uniquely thankmelater. and then get into the full production and tracking. We’re both guitar players at heart and I’d say most songs start with the guitar and voice. When we need an outside ear or an extra player We’ve turned to our producer Dallas Jack and fellow musician MNERVA, to name a few.
9. What would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
Eric – Moving here to Nashville and living here for so many years. Everything we’ve done, all the scenes we have been part of, it led to us making this band and things just falling into place. If I hadn’t moved here, I never would have been part of so many bands that led to the next project, never would have met Jake in college and became great friends, Jake probably never would’ve gone to LA and then moved back, and we never would’ve made the last band we had that then turned into this band. Everything led right to the next, so I’d say I’m pretty proud at where hard work, luck, and timing has gotten us so far.
10. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
Eric – it’s so important for songs to be open to interpretation. Just because we have a story that drove writing the song, doesn’t mean everyone needs to take that same exact message and run with it, they could see a completely different story and message, but it connects and resonates with them. Once a song is out, it’s no longer yours to hold close and control the meaning of. You send it out into the world and just let everyone else get what they need from the song and roll with it.
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