The Deadbolt Exclusive - 'Waking Up' with OneRepublic Bassist Brent Kutzle

'Waking Up' with OneRepublic Bassist Brent Kutzle
by Troy Rogers

After overcoming the challenges to get noticed and introduce the world to their music, OneRepublic took MySpace in an effort to keep their musical dreams alive. In the online world, OneRepublic quickly became one of the top MySpace bands as they honed their musical skills to spread their music to the masses. But it wasn't until OneRepublic partnered up with mega-producer Timbaland for Shock Value in 2007 with the single "Apologize" that propelled OneRepublic to musical heights they could have never imagined when "Apologize" became the biggest North American radio airplay hit in the history of Top 40. After debuting their first album, "Dreaming Out Loud," to top sales, OneRepublic also earned a Grammy nomination for "Apologize" in the same year.

With the second OneRepublic album release, "Waking Up," still a month away on November 17, the guys of OneRepublic are releasing the "Waking Up" single "All The Right Moves" early on October 6 on iTunes, which OneRepublic fans can find right here.

Ahead of "Waking Up" and the sophomore OneRepublic album release, we caught up with OneRepublic bassist and celloist Brent Kutzle for an exclusive chat to learn more about "Waking Up," the gargantuan success of "Apologize," how the band is dealing with their popularity, the recording process of "Waking Up," and what Brent and the OneRepublic boys thought of their recent Grammy nomination.

THE DEADBOLT: Is there pressure now to recreate the success of "Apologize," or do you guys even think about that?

BRENT KUTZLE: I think we kind of bypass that pressure and we're doing something that we hope will work. There's no possible way we can recreate "Apologize". But we can do something even fresher, and we just start developing our sound, that's all we can really do. It's kind of crazy for a debuting band to have as big of a single as they could.

THE DEADBOLT: That song was huge.

KUTZLE: Yeah. How do you follow that up? We're already talking about the second Shock Value and we've been writing some stuff and we wrote a ballad. I'm like, "Man, we cannot put another ballad on Shock Value 2," just because it'll be sub par to "Apologize". We wrote like an up-tempo, fun track so that there wouldn't be any comparisons.

THE DEADBOLT: What are you guys expecting or hoping for when "All the Right Moves" hits the radio waves?

KUTZLE: We really have no idea. Initial plays have been good. Initial increases have been really good, actually. Good reaction so far. I think people are really surprised at just the sound. We went from "Apologize" to "Stop and Stare" - and Stop and Stare was a completely different song than "Apologize" - and then to this track. I think it's just the evolution of the band. I think that people are kind of expecting something like this. If it's not this then something completely different than the first two singles.

THE DEADBOLT: From a spectator's standpoint, you guys have all the right moves in all the right places. Is this song about your success?

KUTZLE: [laughs] Possibly, subconsciously. Lyrically, on this album, I think there's a lot of subconscious subtext to this whole thing. But it wasn't supposed to be written for that. It was kind of like viewing life as the grass is always greener on the other side. Even if you got everything in the world, there's still that potential to not be satisfied.

THE DEADBOLT: What was behind the decision to relocate back to Colorado to finish this album?

KUTZLE: We had to take a break from being out in L.A.

THE DEADBOLT: [laughs] Good idea.

KUTZLE: [laughs] Yeah. There is a lot of freedom out there and we went snowboarding almost every day. Just coming back to an unfinished song, we kind of had a better perspective than being in some random studio in L.A. trying to squeeze the song out in two days, trying to save money or whatever. We rented a big house out there and just went for it. We didn't really know what to expect, but we love the setting.

THE DEADBOLT: It was probably a good decision to get out of L.A. for awhile anyway.

KUTZLE: Yeah, absolutely, and I think we're all going to stay out there too. We've had artists come out. Ryan's had Leona Lewis out there, Natasha Bedingfield, Adam Lambert, just a bunch of people. They're writing out there.

THE DEADBOLT: I was read something that Ryan said about a desire to move listeners on-stage the way U2 does. Do you know if he still feels that way? Have you guys even had a chance to check out the 360 Tour yet?

KUTZLE: Zack has, our guitarist. He says it's unbelievable. The production, he says, is almost a distraction. It's almost bigger than the band, which is incredible. But yeah, I don't know. They've had such a long career, it's just going to take time to see. Obviously there's probably not going to be another U2, because bands are just in and out these days. I hope that we last another album [laughs]. I hope that our fans - now that we've gained more fans obviously - I hope that everyone sticks with us for at least another album. But yeah, you can only hope.

THE DEADBOLT: Are you tired of the Coldplay comparisons, or do you guys take that as a compliment?

KUTZLE: Tired of it, yeah. I don't like the "watered down American Coldplay" [laughs]. They're an amazing band, amazing production - This new album is definitely a departure. I can see the comparisons on the first album. But I think this is definitely [a step away]. We also had that in mind, always thinking about things, making an album. But making sure we made a complete departure from the last album.

THE DEADBOLT: How did it feel to receive a Grammy nod for "Apologize" this year?

KUTZLE: That was cool.

THE DEADBOLT: Does it bug you not to win, or do you think about that?

KUTZLE: It's not a big deal. But obviously if we would've won, it would've been incredible. You know, Coldplay took everything that night [laughs]. But if you're the "watered down American version of Coldplay," I guess you cannot walk in with anything. It was just an honor to be nominated.

-- Troy Rogers