By Laura Antonelli
During his radio promotional stint and just days before his sold-out homecoming album release show on August 3 in New York City, Ryan Star squeezed Music Vice writer Laura Antonelli into his hectic schedule. On Wednesday (July 28) they discussed over the phone the joy and excitement in Star’s record finally being released and how learning to live in the moment is what truly matters and defines his new album, 11:59, which releases today, 3 August.
Laura, what’s up? How you doing?
Hey Ryan. Good, how are you?
I’m very good. I’m in Memphis, Tennessee. Where are you?
I’m in Toronto. But I heard I only have 15 minutes with you.
So you wanna jump right in and skip all the pillow talk?
Yeah, that’s a waste of time.
[Laughs] That’s cool. Let’s do it. Let’s do it.
So 11:59 has been a long journey. You began recording this album in 2006. Now four years later it’s finally being released on Tuesday [August 3, 2010]. How are you feeling right now, Ryan?
I’m feeling great. There’s exhaustion that goes into this process and a lot of emotion attached to it because you’ve been making a record for so long, the ups and downs, everything is attached to it. Now I’m finding myself saying for the first time that this Tuesday it’s coming out. It’s a trip. This is the dream. 11:59 is really something I’m so proud of and it’s the album I’ve always wanted to make, so here it is finally. There’s not much more to say than yeah, it’s a totally exciting time.
Why was the release date pushed back so many times?
I guess it depends who you ask. If you’re asking me, I would say I wanted to really tour and get in there. I didn’t want to just come out with a record and see what happens. I wanted to get out there and build it the right way. Build it the old fashioned way. Be an artist that gets out on the road and builds his fan base, so part of it was that. I was continuing to tour while I was finishing the album for so long. Then a lot of it just comes down to the right timing. When you’re dealing with a bigger machine than just my little independent record label I used to do, there’s more people involved and more at stake. So I think we were just waiting for the right time. Now that “Breathe” has been getting out to the world in a big way, it’s the time, so here we go.
That leads perfectly into my next question. You made Songs from the Eye of an Elephant independently, so what made you decide to sign to a major label [Atlantic Records] again?
Good question. When I was younger, my band Stage was signed to Maverick Records and we went through the whole major label ordeal. I experienced what can go wrong and the heartbreak involved with it. Then I experienced the joy of doing it on your own [withSongs from the Eye of an Elephant] and the autonomy of every little thing from the artwork, the recordings, you name it. I was able to build that up in New York which was a tough time to do it in, but I had this following for this independent thing. For the first time in my life I was actually making a living doing music. I was still living on NYU dorm floors, but I was at least making music and having people come to my shows.
Then I felt there was still something else missing on this whole other level. I hooked up with the right people. I don’t think I would have signed with any other record label. It was just the right people who had the right passion. They shared the passion that I had for what I was doing, so it made sense to me. It didn’t feel like I was signing anything away or going to a big, bad company. I felt like I was just getting some help in my independent process. Obviously, as you can see, I was able to take my time and make the record I wanted, so it’s proven to be true.
There is a “Carpe Diem” (“seize the day”) theme with songs like “Brand New Day”, “Right Now”, “Breathe”, “This Could Be the Year”, and the title track, “11:59”. I found a foreshadowing in the insert of Songs from the Eye of an Elephant when you wrote, “…but you only wonder what would have been if you had captured the moment when you had it.” So tell me about the idea of -
Wow. Laura, you just gave me chills, man. That’s intense. You did your research.
Thank you, Ryan.
Wait, so what was the actual question?
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