We chat to new duo Exit 216 about their debut single ‘Brother,’ the country industry and more. The interview will come to the podcast soon.
Hey, how are you guys doing?
Steven: We’re doing good.
Have you guys felt like you’ve been more or less inspired during these crazy months of the pandemic?
Steven: It’s been bittersweet for me, because when me and Cole first got together, I must admit that I was freaked out by the COVID stuff that was going on and I went in lockdown mode for a little bit. For me I’m still kind of getting adjusted, Cole hasn’t really been affected by it because he’s superman. I’m the guy who needed a little break from life.
It must have been a weird time, because when you first came together as a duo you probably didn’t think about this whole situation.
Cole: No it was not!
Steven: Cole and I are just thinking about all the shows that we would have been doing, with the kind of hype that we’ve got for our project. It’s been hyped up really well. If we’d had live shows on top of it, it would have been crazy.
It’s probably one of those very strange things, you’re navigating it and thinking what would we have been doing if things haven’t been like this but then again, the quiet has allowed more space for people to connect with your music and be more open to new artists.
Steven: For me, the hustle has just been turned on too. This has been a time where people have been more eager to talk to new artists, for me it was just perfect timing to get interviews going and get us on people’s radar.
Both your stories are so different in terms of how you came to the duo and how you came to Exit 216. Can you talk about your different backgrounds and how that has shaped you?
Cole: Steven is from Savannah, Georgia and I’m from Nashville, I’m from here born and raised. Steven had a bunch of incredible success in Los Angeles and he was encouraged by a friend of his to come to Nashville and write here and try and write a country hit. Of course, he did with ‘One Number Away.’ Little did I know that I’d be writing songs and singing with the guy who wrote it. He was looking for a guy to do this with and he found me through a mutual friend of ours, he asked that guy if there was a guy who could sing with him, he texted me and the rest is history.
Obviously Steve you did come from that pop production background, so when was the moment that you decided to go down the country music route?
Steven: It was in Cali, me and my brother had a production company called Jackie Boyz a long time ago – we had a RnB duo and we did a lot of interesting stuff. We started off together singing in the streets and I felt like around 27, I wanted to start switching it up and changing our styles, so I went to Miami for a time and got into the Latin world. It was really exciting and I got to working with these Latin artists like Gloria Estefan and Telemundo. It was a great time and I got to a place where either I’d dive into the Latin world or I’d try something new. I went to Nashville in 2014/5 with an open mind and heart, confident that I’d get something going there. I was one of the first people who was interested in signing Luke, when he was trying to get going, wanting to do a pub deal with him.
There’s a magic in that you guys have come from such different backgrounds, even sonically coming together. When you first came together in that first writing session was it incredibly natural and organic?
Steven: Cole and I are truly brothers in music, meaning like we both love experimenting with different sounds, even the lyrics. I’m the older guy in the group, so sometimes I’ll ask Cole ‘hey, is this cool?’ It’s cool because I’ve actually brought out the country side in him more and he’s brought out the blues and soul side of me more. It’s an interesting play because we definitely learn a lot from each other. Sometimes you want to get that other opinion and Cole is the perfect person, because his ear is just phenomenal.
Cole: I sang quite a bit growing up, rock n’ roll stuff like Journey and The Eagles, so I had that in my belt, but John Mayer was my biggest influence, I picked up the guitar and thought ‘that’s it.’ I’m all about it. Never had I thought I’d be playing country music, but I think it’s great to get into something you’d never thought you would get into. At one point, I did want to get into country just not at the beginning, but thankfully Steven has opened my mind, some of the biggest paths have come from country like Taylor Swift….
Steven: …and Dan + Shay, the genre has evolved so much.
The big introduction to you guys was ‘Brother.’ Can you talk a bit about that track, it’s so fresh and current?
Steven: I brought that to Cole, I wrote that with Drake White. We got in the studio around May and I remember telling Cole about this song idea that I wanted him to jump in on. We thought with the conversation going on around the protests and in the country, we wanted to create something that brought people together, no matter what they look like or how they were raised, something about love and positivity that we can show our vocals on. We wanted something that we could sing on together and get the conversation going.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mif9nKqstRM
It’s a powerful introduction to you guys.
Steven: Thank you, we have other songs and we’re talking this week about the next one but we wanted this one to be meaningful and different, it’s not preachy but it’s one of those songs that uplifts you and it can be timeless.
So do you know yet what will be the next track?
Steven: We’re trying to wrap our head around it. We’re trying to decide what makes the most sense as a team. We’re doing a mixtape instead of an album because we want to introduce people slowly. We’re going to release the debut single in January and going into radio, so that’s the plan.
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