ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Youve had a huge year with the success of Drew Barrymore.
It started last November when I put out Drew Barrymore.
I was an independent artist, and in August I performed at Radio City Music Hall for the VMAs.
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You cant be up there without feeling like youre possibly living someone elses life.
Its kind of wild.
I was constantly thinking if I get too excited, Im going to wake up.
That was a big one.
I lost it a little bit then.
It was such a nice thing to do.
It felt very special to me, especially being so happy with who I ended up signing with.
I couldnt have even imagined how amazing it was going to end up being.
Patience is key!Patience is key, man.
It sucks because you dont know if its going to pay off.
Patience is amazing in retrospect.
Lets talk about Drew Barrymore.
I started doing it when I was at the Saguaro hotel in Arizona.
Its like this Wes Anderson, colorful, weird place, and that was the whole setting.
I attempt to create a setting in a song.
Drew Barrymore ended up being the right focus for it because she represents Hollywood royalty.
She is those things.
Have you heard anything from her about it?Nah.
Not yet.Not yet… but its been out for a year.
They want more, but its been great.
So that part has been super-fun, but I have to move faster.
Im always coming up with song titles on the road and working in that way.
Thats kind of cool though, because a random thing can become something way bigger…Yeah!
Drew Barrymore was random.
It would suck to get tired of your own songs.
Is there one person you want to collaborate with?Yeah, theres a bunch.
Id love to work with Outkast, if they were ever to make a new record.
Gorillaz, [Childish] Gambino, Frank Ocean.
I have this thing that I want to have Stevie Wonder sing a hook that would be really cool.
Third Eye Blind was the first band that I loved.
I listened to the CD back to front, and I still do.
Its the lyricism; they talk about things that I wasnt used to hearing in music.
Music was always a source of therapy for me.
I just make my own therapy now, and it turned out that it helps other people too.
Is it true you taught yourself guitar at age 13?I did.
I started playing tabs from old rock songs from Rancid and Blink 182.
Speaking of performing, youre headlining your first tour next year.
Is there one place youre excited to play most?Here, always.
When I come back to New York it feels like a homecoming, always.
The biggest things happen to me here, the most special moments happen to me here.
I love coming back here.
Indianapolis is a great city, the crowds go off there.
Its so cool to see the country that way too.
Its the best way to see it.
Atlantas amazing, Boston, I went to school in Boston.
All my favorite cities are always the first places to sell out too.
And you have an album coming out in 2019 too calledCarnival.
I have crazy ADD and a form of dyslexia, so things dont always make sense.
I think thats why it helps to write my own songs.
Yeah, theres just a lot going on.
So yeah, its a carnival.
What can people expect from it?Its just elevated.
Theres a song for every mood, I think.
I just attempt to get into a theme.
I wrote it immediately after watching the episode.
That shows such a mind f.It is!
Its a mind f. I love doing stuff like that.
Its fun little experiments.
I want to know the world.
Then, its just how do I get that experience out into the world?
