Think of a song by a male popstar. What's it about? Girls? Partying? Crying in the shower? Calling your mom?
Probably not the last two. Unless you’ve listened to Role Model, the stage name of 23-year-old Tucker Pillsbury, who’s set out to redefine what’s considered “normal” in music.
He’s been related to Billie Eilish, Omar Apollo, and other contemporary musicians who are taking a candid approach to popular music. Pillsbury has mentioned how much he’s inspired by those in his field, artists, like BENEE, Gracie Abrams, and Mk.Gee, who are also trying to push the limits of not only what can be talked about in music, but also what it means to be a “popstar."
Pillsbury, who’s went through depression and anxiety, wants to put out music that’s relatable. He started making his music as an escape during this time in his life.
His music normalizes feelings a lot of young adults can relate to, not feeling good enough, going through rough patches and suffering from mental illness. His song “six speed” is about going through a depressive episode. It talks about how commonplace depression is, and how focusing on little things, like the speed of your bike, are ways to ground yourself.
He put his EP oh, how perfect in November 2019, featuring songs with the same raw emotion and relatable feelings of his music.
Role Model is initially from Maine. He started making music when he was in college in Pittsburg, and actually started out rapping. Him and his friends taught themselves how to use recording equipment, and had some fun with it.
Mac Miller, a Pittsburg native, was one of Pillsbury’s main inspirations for starting music. He was like a mentor to Pillsbury.
Like rapping, Pillsbury came across singing by chance.
“I was just digging through these beats that people had sent me,” Pillsbury told i-D Vice in an interview. “I started singing a melody to it and ended up recording it.”
His creative process is largely inspired by both personal experiences, like not fitting in, and working to figure out who he is without the opinions of other people.
After his career took off, he moved to Los Angeles to work on his music. Moving to Los Angeles only added to these feelings of not fitting in, and has influenced the way he makes his music.
“I stay in the studio and work by myself. Music aside, the LA ‘scene’ isn’t a very welcoming place,” Pillsbury said in an interview for DIY magazine.
Pillsbury’s subjects aren’t the only bounds of modern music he’s trying to break out of. He also wants to make music more accessible, make concerts more simple and make his relationships with his fans more personal.
Constraints have also been an influencing factor in Pillsbury’s creative process and personal philosophy. Because he didn’t have enough money for a producer, his first EP was produced by a 16-year-old boy in his hometown that knew how to edit recordings.
“You can literally set a studio up on your desk in your room, Pillsbury told i-D Vice in an interview. “Anyone can make a song now and you don’t have to have loads of money.”
Pillsbury tries to take a carefree attitude towards live performances.
“I’m not good at planning stuff ahead like that. I just can’t overthink it,” Pillsbury said in an interview with the Recording Academy. “Me and my band members, we don’t do any of the huddle stuff or anything. We just get on stage. We try not to plan too much. We just see how it goes.”
He covers Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” at many of his shows, which he’s labeled as one of the favorite parts of his performances. As a new artist and an opening act, he’d been met with crowds that didn’t know his music. Covering “The Climb,” a popular song that many people know the lyrics to, was a way for Pillsbury to connect with a crowd before they even became fans.
I first saw Role Model at a concert in Indianapolis. He was opening for LANY on their 2019 North American tour from May 28 to Jun 8, spanning from the Midwest to the South.
In 2019, he played Lollapalooza in Chicago in July and Austin City Limits in October. After releasing his oh, how perfect EP, he headlined a tour in November 2019.
Pillsbury continues releasing music, even amidst the pandemic. His newest single “blind” has been out since July 22.
Every Wednesday at 4, you can watch Pillsbury’s “Coffee Run with Role Model” on Instagram Live, where he interacts with fans and talks to other artists.
Though he hasn’t put an album out yet, Role Model is someone to watch.
So you want to listen to Role Model? Start here.
1) girl in new york
- Seriously. This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s a good sampler of his vibe, the music is chill but exciting, and of course, he talks about his mom.
2) minimal
- Very much speaks to Pillsbury’s carefree and take-it-as-it comes attitude. Also has a quasi-rap section, and I still haven’t figured out how he can hold his breath that long.
3) hello!
- Shares some relatable feelings of just feeling down sometimes. And it has a killer piano and trumpets in the back.
Sources:
https://www.onestowatch.com/artist/role-model
https://diymag.com/2019/11/13/get-to-know-role-mode
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1dy5WNgIKQU6ezkpZs4y8z?si=YLyclBOiTc-j_OBxzolZJQ
I really loved this post. I don't think I have ever heard of this artist before, but I admire how he takes on a new approach to not only the way music can sound, but the way music can be performed, collaborated upon, and how it can function in the industry.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me in this post was when you mentioned how Pillsbury does not plan a lot for his shows. Pillsbury seems to knock down the constraints that planning poses for him by allowing himself to live and perform in the moment.
I really like how he allows himself to be vulnerable with his lyrics. I think many artists, and people in general, deny their more personal struggles that they go through. This is a shame because it makes it seem like our struggles are "embarrassing," when in reality, if we all approached our struggles without shame, it would probably make the process of overcoming them less isolating. I think Pillsbury appreciates this reality and attempts to change it for the better through his work.
I'm actually a huge role model fan and saw him last fall in Chicago. Although he is a smaller artist I appreciated how connected he was with the audience and the lack of "extra productions lights and colors" which I think can some times take away from the message of his music. It's interesting how these artists can make a new sounds that resonates with many young people. In the past few years, I think pop has become a lot more diverse in terms of instruments, beats, etc. and no longer has that "boring pop sound". From writing about his own experiences to not meeting right before the show, his authenticity and natural interest/passion for music really shines through. It's also really cool to see how he started out with raping and started singing "accidently". I think the average young person can relate a lot more to going through depression or heartbreak rather than some of the lavish and extravagant lifestyles described in other popular music today. Role Model is a great creative and I'm excited to see what is next for him. I suspect he'll get really popular in the next few years.
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ReplyDeleteI had not heard Role Model's music before listening to your recommendations, but from what you described I think he sounds very interesting (and I like the songs you recommended!). Often we seem to read about creatives who have famous parents in the same field or came across their art in a very structured way. The way you described the accidental nature of his trajectory makes his work much more interesting and accessible, which seems to be a theme/focus of his creative process. I also think it is so interesting to see the way social media is forging relationships between artists and fans, especially during the pandemic. Technology as a whole is obviously really changing the art world in terms of creation and marketing (to name only a few), but it is interesting to consider how his connection with fans via performances and the instagram lives that you mentioned might impact his process and ultimately his success. Thanks for the recommendation!
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I really enjoyed this post, and found it interesting to read about how it is so creative and unique that Pillsbury makes his music centered around not-so-unique but less spoken about aspects of every day life, like mental health and the struggles of fitting in. Often when people think of creativity, they think of a creation or product that is totally new or novel. Yet, Pillsbury takes a common product (music) and a common theme (the struggles of fitting in, etc) and blends them to make a unique and novel method of connecting people and their experiences with life and mental health. His product, his music, brings solidarity to different people and comfort in knowing that many people share in similar struggles. With famous singers and songs, it often is the main product and aspect of that domain to sing about being happy, rich, famous, and so forth. So although being a singer/songwriter working in L.A is not unique or creative, Pillsbury writing songs about less glamorous, and in my opinion, not well enough addressed topics, and the manner in which he doesn't orchestrate or plan his shows, is a creative, authentic, and unique way of expressing himself and connecting others. Many young artists such as Pillsbury are changing the domain of music, and it is interesting to read about how he creatively used social media to network himself with fans and other artists and forge connections with his fans using social media.
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