After months of speculation, it’s finally here — Carolina Production’s spring concert will be tonight at the Koger Center, and Andy Grammer will be headlining with opener Ben Rector.
Grammer and Rector’s performance is set to start at 7 p.m. and admission is free for USC students, faculty and staff. Tickets are available at the Russell House information desk and the Koger Center box office with a valid CarolinaCard.
Grammer is a singer-songwriter who specializes in pop rock, and his crowd-pleasing sounds have been enjoyed by college students for years.
Before making his way to campus, Grammer chatted with The Daily Gamecock about his upcoming album, married life and much more:
Daily Gamecock: Have you always aspired to be a musician? I noticed that you’ve been playing instruments all your life.
Andy Grammer: Yeah, I didn’t know like right away. I was a big jock in high school. But then I really started liking guitar. I think I decided somewhere in college that that was really something I wanted to do. I just love songwriting. It’s my favorite. So it was somewhere in college, I was like, “Alright, this is gonna be super hard, but I’m goin’ for that.”
DG: What was the defining moment for you with fame? Was there any specific accomplishment that stood out over others?
AG: Yeah, you know, a lot of people say, like, it’s when they first heard themselves on the radio and different things, but for me, it was when I had my first headlining tour and people actually came. That was amazing. Because I played out on the streets and I played a lot of different places, and it’s hard to get people to really care or come out to shows. So developing a fanbase, it was pretty amazing.
DG: You’re doing pretty well in the public eye, so what has it been like moving into the spotlight?
AG: It was awesome. It was like, it was super incredible to be on the radio, on TV shows, stuff like that. It was just unbelievable. I’ve been doing it for a really long time, so the fact that it happened, and I know it happens to not that many people, so I feel very lucky.
DG: I read about your influences, and it said they are a combination of guitar, piano and hip-hop musicians. What do you do in your music to combine all of those?
AG: I think I usually start with one of those elements, whether it’s drum loop or a piano line or some sort of guitar thing, and then I get a blend of them until it feels right. Like, “Keep Your Head Up” is kind of a piano song with a dirty beat underneath it, and then it starts falling into place like I like it.
DG: What are a few of your favorite musicians?
AG: Right now, I’m really into Macklemore, huge into Coldplay, and I love Drake.
DG: What is some non-musical media that inspires your work?
AG: I love — I think art’s really cool. I post a lot of things on Instagram. I love street art.
DG: What can we expect from your second album?
AG: I kinda stretched myself a little bit. I really enjoyed taking chances. I was very, very delicate about the songs themselves, like, I wanted to make sure I have great songs, but then with the production I had a lot of fun. Like, the first single off the album, it kind of sounds almost folky. But that’s just one song, and another one kind of, to me, sounds almost like a mix between a Kanye and an Imagine Dragons song. And then there’s one that sounds like, a little bit like an Imogen Heap song. So I just took a lot more risks sonically.
DG: Have you performed for a lot of college crowds?
AG: Yeah, I’ve done tons of colleges. I’m actually on my way to a college right now.
DG: What is your favorite part about performing for students?
AG: My favorite part about performing for students is that usually what ends up happening is that about half of the people are into my stuff and know what I’m like and know the words and stuff, and then the other half have no idea. They just heard that some dude was playing out on the lawn. I like trying to win them over.
DG: What’s your favorite part about performing live?
AG: My favorite part about performing live is hopefully being able to give people what they need. I mean, I’ve been to shows where people have blown me away, and it’s the best ever, so I love that moment where you know that you hope that you’ve done that.
DG: So are there any artists you’ve enjoyed touring with?
AG: Sure — I’ve gotten to tour with Train, Gavin Degraw, Natasha Bedingfield, Colbie Caillat, a lot of really, like, incredible artists that are doing great things now.
DG: What do you do for fun on tour?
AG: On tour, we do play a lot of basketball, we play a lot of racquetball. We rarely get to go see a movie. I just love being with my best friends on the road. It’s great.
DG: Where are some of your favorite places that you’ve performed?
AG: I got to play at Red Rocks with Train in Colorado, in Denver. That was amazing. I got to play at Central Park in New York City. Those were both pretty incredible.
DG: So I saw that you’re married to another singer-songwriter, so what is that like? Is it mutually beneficial to be in the same field?
AG: Yeah, sure, that’s cool that you have someone who understands it. You can write about the hard times with each other, celebrate the good stuff. It’s a weird lifestyle so having someone who understands it is really actually nice.
DG: What are your future plans, for music or otherwise?
AG: Well, we just finished the second album, which is mostly done. And then we’re heading out on tour for the summer. It’s gonna be awesome. And then after that, we’re just gonna see where the rest of this takes us.