INTERVIEWS
“His Fans Are Unlike Any Other Fans”: 5 Harry Styles Openers on What It’s Like to Open for Harry Styles
There’s nothing else quite like a Harry Styles concert. As anyone who has found themself in Harry’s House over the years can attest, these events have their own distinct color. There’s rituals and inside jokes, like the conga line during “Treat People With Kindness.” There are consistent accessories, no matter what city Styles has set up in — boas, sparkles, glitter, and phenomenal suits tend to abound — and the sense of community from arena to arena is tangible. Before the moment Harry Styles steps (or is rolled) onstage, another act has a critical role to play. A support act for Styles has the responsibility of setting the tone and kicking things off for the enormous, eager crowds, often filled with people who have been waiting in their claimed spots in the pit for hours already. As Styl...
How Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Landed Those Incredible Cameos
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is packed with more cameos than you can count on first viewing, as the “Weird” Al Yankovic-style approach to creating a musical biopic (i.e. — a parody of biopics) was able to lean heavily on the iconic musician’s address book to bring in big names. “All of the ridiculously famous legends came from Weird Al, but it was really fun, going out to all those people,” director Eric Appel tells Consequence. “It was Al personally reaching out to all of them, just showing me this list and saying ‘Hey, here’s all these people that are on my holiday card list — pick from them, I can call them personally.” Appel’s initial engagement with Yankovic began in 2013, when he made a trailer version of Weird as a Funny or Die exclusive — leaning hard into the tropes of dark and gr...
Director Phyllis Nagy on Releasing Call Jane in a Post-Roe v. Wade World: “Women’s Rights Are Always Under Attack”
Phyllis Nagy knew it was coming. When the director was initially doing press for her new film Call Jane last January, during the Sundance Film Festival, she had a good sense that a looming Supreme Court decision would be bad news for American reproductive justice. “If you were in a sort of political activist space at all regarding women’s rights, you did know that something not very good was coming of that decision,” she tells Consequence on the eve of the film’s release. “What we didn’t know — what I certainly didn’t know was the violence with which it would be dispatched and the number of states that moved to implement already draconian reproductive rights laws. So this did send me reeling, and probably a whole lot of other people who worked on this, too.” Call Jane is a period piece tha...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Kat Keo and Kim Coffel of Hoaxed
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. Erickson is also a music artist herself and has a new EP and single out, “Last Love,” with Upon Wings. The latest edition of Beyond the Boys’ Club features an interview with Kat Keo and Kim Coffel of Hoaxed. Hoaxed have just released their debut full-length album, Two Shadows, available via Relapse Records. Bringing together singer-guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, Hoaxed walk the line between heavy melodic rock and gothic metal, with captivating lyrics, catchy hooks, sharp guitars, and a heavy, pulsating rhythm. While Two Shadows is Hoaxed’s debut full-leng...
The Backseat Lovers Break Down New Album Waiting to Spill Track by Track: Exclusive
Track by Track is a recurring feature series in which artists share the story behind every song on their latest release. Today, Joshua Harmon and Jonas Swanson of The Backseat Lovers break down their new album, Waiting to Spill. The highs and lows during the three-year period The Backseat Lovers spent crafting their latest record, Waiting to Spill, are palpable from the jump. Out on Friday, October 28th, the album illustrates the impact of a meditative work between experimenting with DIY instruments and wrapping up tracks from earlier sessions. The indie rock ensemble embodies the idea of patience is a virtue, as their sophomore effort builds off 2019’s When We Were Friends at its own pace, leading to a rewarding album for both the collective and their listeners. Throughout Waiting to...
NCT’s Ten Is Willing to Try It All
To understand why Ten of NCT, WayV, and SuperM is in such high demand, all you have to do is watch him in motion. Contemporary dance is at the heart of his first solo single, “Dream In a Dream,” which was released four years after he joined Seoul-based company SM Entertainment and one year after he debuted in the ever-shifting NCT U. Empty verses and sparse choruses, as well as a barren set, left room for Ten’s dancing to take center stage. The effect was breathtaking — in 2017, it whet the appetite of those getting their first taste of NCT’s then-novel concept — but more importantly, it showed what Ten brings to the table when twenty-plus members, and multiplying, are seated by his side. Since then, his work in NCT’s Chinese subgroup WayV and SM’s internationally-focused SuperM has peeled...
Animation Legend Henry Selick on What He’s Learned From The Nightmare Before Christmas to Wendell & Wild
Director Henry Selick clearly has a soft spot for the spookiest time of year, having brought The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and now the new Netflix animated adventure Wendell & Wild to the screen. But here’s his favorite part of Halloween these days: getting to see trick-or-treaters in familiar costumes while distributing candy at his home. “I was delighted when more and more kids start showing up as Nightmare Before Christmas characters and then some Coraline characters,” he tells Consequence. “That’s my favorite, is kids dressed up as characters from films that I’ve worked on.” The best part is that the kids don’t know whose house they’ve arrived at, and, says Selick, “I’ve got a lot of puppets and memorabilia from all the films. So if the kids are dressed up like Nightmar...
Robert Glasper on Bringing His Multi-Faceted Piano Music to Austin City Limits, New Song with Mac Miller: “He Was a Trailblazer”
Austin City Limits might not be the first place you think of when you want to hear jazz, but if anyone could bring the genre to the wide-spanning music festival, it’d be Robert Glasper. The four-time Grammy winner is a renowned pianist, record producer, and songwriter, whose collaborations span roots-rock mainstays like Brittany Howard to modern hip-hop legends like Kendrick Lamar and the late Mac Miller; to call Glasper just a jazz musician would be immensely reductive. When Consequence caught up with him backstage at Weekend 2 of ACL just ahead of his set at the Tito’s Vodka stage, Glasper seemed relaxed, yet excited to return to his home state for the fest’s second weekend. It’s a little surprising given the circumstances; he’d just arrived from his current home base New York City, wher...
Behind the Boards with John Congleton: Producer Talks St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Tegan and Sara and More
Behind the Boards is a series where we spotlight some of the biggest producers in the industry and dig into some of their favorite projects. Here, we sit down with John Congleton to discuss his production work with St. Vincent, The Walkmen, Tegan and Sara, and more. When an indie band wants to level up, they work with John Congleton. The Texas-based songwriter and producer has been instrumental in helming records for some of the biggest indie artists of the last decade, from St. Vincent and Angel Olsen to The War on Drugs and David Byrne. He’s been particularly busy in 2022, with his hands on some significant releases: Tegan and Sara’s new album Crybaby, Death Cab for Cutie’s Asphalt Meadows, and Whitney’s Spark. But one thing that Congleton’s productions all have in common is his ability ...
Melissa Villaseñor on Why She Left Saturday Night Live: “I Had Little Panic Attacks”
When Saturday Night Live returned for Season 48 this fall, it was missing Melissa Villaseñor, who had been with the show since 2016 — her best bits showcasing her jaw-dropping impressions and sharp silly characters. For those missing her unique voice, though, there’s Whoops . . . I’m Awesome, her new book featuring stories about her life alongside her own original artwork and fun activities for adults (get your copy here). In the book, Villaseñor refers to her job as an SNL cast member in the present tense, because she finished writing the book this spring but made the decision to leave the show this summer. But, she says, “all these things were created during that time there. So I think it makes sense that it’s still present.” When it comes to the decision to leave the show, Villaseñor sa...
Behind the Boards with Ricky Reed: Producer and Songwriter Talks Lizzo, Camila Cabello and More
Behind the Boards is a series where we spotlight some of the biggest producers in the industry and dig into some of their favorite projects. Here, we sit down with Ricky Reed to discuss his songwriting and production work with Lizzo, Camila Cabello Leon Bridges, and more. It’s been a whirlwind of a decade for Ricky Reed. Since 2012, the California-based singer, songwriter, and producer has helmed dozens of hits, including Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty,” Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too,” and most recently, Lizzo’s triumphant Hot 100 No. 1 “About Damn Time.” But Reed’s versatility is what makes his career so special; he’s never just been the go-to pop producer or top line aficionado. He thrives in the sonic grey areas of pop, determined to make each song in his catalog a full experience, never half-as...
Tegan and Sara Quin, Cobie Smulders, Clea DuVall, and More on Why High School Had to Be a Period Piece
“I’m really excited that we get to see queer art from the ’90s,” executive producer Tegan Quin tells Consequence about High School. Based on the memoir written by Quin and sister/longtime collaborator Sara Quin, the new Freevee series takes a unique approach to adaptation, anchored by solid debut performances by Railey and Seazynn Gilliland as twins named Tegan and Sara, whose complicated relationship becomes stronger as they discover a mutual love for writing and performing music. Thanks to showrunners Clea DuVall (who also directs multiple episodes) and Laura Kittrell, the series serves as both an authentic portrait of Tegan and Sara’s experiences growing up in the 1990s as well as a relatable narrative capturing the essence of growing up and discovering your true potential. Below, the Q...
