The Colourist is a phenomenal four piece band that you have to check out! Seriously, you will be amazed. There’s absolutely no disappointment whatsoever. Take a few minutes out of your lovely day for this:
They are incredible at what they do and know just how to deliver a great show. I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to interview Maya Tuttle, the drummer for The Colourist, who happens to have one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. I did this interview for the radio station I work for, WNHU 88.7 FM, with my co-host Nico Weilmann.
So how did you all meet? What told you guys, hey we have to make music together?
Maya Tuttle: Adam (Castilla) and I were actually in a band before this where he only played guitar and I only played drums (neither of us sang). When that band broke up, we decided to keep making music together and enlisted the help of Justin (Wagner), who’d been a friend and helped us out in our previous band, and Kollin (Johannsen), who we knew through mutual friends. We could not find a singer, though, so Adam and I just started singing out of necessity.
How did you come up with the name?
A friend was working on a student film and she mentioned that they’d just hired a colorist. I was like, “what’s a colorist?!” In film, the colorist is in charge of the color scheme for the entire film. Color is their art, and the subtle changes in tone affect the mood of the film. We just fell in love with this idea of adding or manipulating color as an art form and how much that is tied to our feelings about what we’re looking at and experiencing.
You all just released your self-titled debut album—which is fantastic! Can you tell us about the music process behind it?
Thank you. This is the first full-length album any of us have ever been involved in, so when we decided a full-length was the direction we wanted to go, we had a handful of songs that we immediately knew would go onto it. With the themes that became apparent in these core songs, we started writing more. We wrote a few dozen songs in the span of 6 months in order to figure out what should go on this record. Interestingly enough, the first single, “Little Games,” was actually the song that came together last.
Where did you record the album?
We recorded the album with Carlos De La Garza. Drums and some other elements were done at Sunset Sound and NRG in LA, but the majority of the album was recorded at Music Friends Studios in Eagle Rock. Rich Costey mixed the record.
What’s your favorite song?
The “favorite song” question is always difficult. For me, personally, I might say “Wishing Wells.” If you were to ask anyone else, I’m sure everyone would give you a different answer or none at all. It’s cliche, but we love every song in it’s own way.
When it comes to writing music, is it collaborative or do you each come up with ideas and improvise?
Our songwriting process varies from song to song. Each of us are writers in the band so the songs come about in different ways. Sometimes one person brings in an idea, other times the four of us are jamming during practice and something starts manifesting that ends up being the beginnings of a new song.
How do you all find the inspiration for your songs? What do you want to convey; what do you want the audience to walk away with?
The inspiration comes in so many ways. A lot of it is drawn from personal experiences that we share with each other and all relate to. As far as what we want to convey, I would say: hope. Many of the themes on this record mirror the themes in our own lives as we transitioned into this life of music: being brave enough to make big changes in your life, to be yourself and do what you want to do, despite horrible patterns or people that might be holding you back. We try to balance darker lyrics with more upbeat music. I think it’s an unconscious coping mechanism that leaves everyone in a hopeful place.
The Colourist is on tour right now. Can you describe how that feels? What’s it like?
We’re in the middle of our very first headline tour right now and it has been incredible. To travel to cities thousands of miles from home and have rooms filled with people there to see you — it’s surreal. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. That’s the great part; the more difficult part is that tour is extremely hard work. I mean, we’ve played 7 different cities in the past 7 days! Sometimes you can’t get to bed til 2am and then you have to hit the road again at 5am. Of course, when you’re doing something you love, it doesn’t feel like hard work. It’s incredibly fulfilling. Also, being on tour means not eating so healthy. I’ve probably eaten a few too many cup o’ noodles on this trip.
How different are your lives when you’re on tour, compared to home?
Way different. There’s hardly a moment’s rest on tour. Most cities we’ve visited, we didn’t even have time to explore. At home, we usually have a more relaxed schedule. In fact, the first few days back at home from tour are usually spent hibernating and watching movies until we’re adequately rested.
What’s different about your live performances, compared to other bands?
One interested thing about us is that Justin and Kollin switch instruments throughout our set. Adam and I have this cool vocal chemistry as well: we sing together while each playing our respective instruments, him and guitar and me on drums.
What’s your favorite song to play live?
“We Won’t Go Home” is really fun because it’s so high energy. I love it when I can actually see people moving in the crowd. It’s the best feeling to see people rocking out in the audience.What are some of the challenges you
What are some of the challenges you all face? What advice would you give upcoming musicians, who want to make a living playing music?
Staying healthy has been a huge challenge for the band as a whole. Traveling while exhausted and eating gas station food for dinner is a great recipe for a sick bandmate. For me, personally, another struggle has been making sure to keep in touch with friends and loved ones. It’s so hard when you’re constantly traveling and busy, but it’s incredibly important to stay connected with good people, with mentors, with family.
My advice to someone who wants to make a living playing music would be: decide what type of musician you want to be, because that’ll determine your path. Do you want to be a touring musician that plays arenas with Beyonce (which would be incredible…)? Or do you want to perform your own stuff? For the latter: don’t try too hard to become what you think people want to see. That is, be yourself, whatever that is. Speak and sing from your heart — because if you do anything another than that, people will figure that out very quickly. Authenticity is rare and really compelling. And attractive.
What are some of the most incredible parts about being in this band?
To be able to see as much of the country as we have has been is such an amazing experience. On top of that, we get to meet so many people from every walk of life. I feel like being on tour is like experiencing a very concentrated version of life. One week feels like one month because you’ve packed a month’s worth of experiences into one week. The most incredible part of being in this band, though, is being able to make music for a living. It’s rare to have your passion as your job.
How are you all in social media? Where can people find you?
We all use everything:
facebook.com/thecolourist
instagram: @thecolourist
twitter: @thecolourist
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The band has currently finished their headlining tour, but will do a couple shows this summer! Check out their self-titled album as well!
http://www.thecolouristmusic.com/
Listen to WNHU 88.7 FM.