NKD Mag - Issue #61 (July 2016) by NKD Mag

JULY web stars:

actors:

04 ANNA AKANA

12 DANIELLA MONET

a girl who does just about everything

forever the funny girl

musicians:

26 MATT SHIVELY

08 SPENCER SUTHERLAND a man on a clear mission

18 LEVI HUMMON country music’s hottest new recruit

20 EMBLEM3 confident about chapter 2

52 HARLETSON get to know your new favorite band

the real deal of the real o’neals

30 PARIS BERELC one of disney’s new elite

36 MADISON ISEMAN on the rise and not taking it for granted

38 TROIAN BELLISARIO leaving rosewood for new adventures

48 DAVID LAMBERT

on the fosters and his new band

publisher: CATHERINE POWELL

editors: CATHERINE POWELL

writers: MARY BARNES SHELBY CHARGIN TAYLOR DOUGHERTY IAN HAYS DUSTIN HEVERON NARUEEN NASHID CATHERINE POWELL VANESSA SALLES ELIZABETH ZAVOYSKIY

photography: CATHERINE POWELL

design: CATHERINE POWELL

anna akana Words by SHELBY CHARGIN Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Hair & Make-Up by SARAH JOFFE

It’s easy to understand how Anna Akana got her start in standup comedy. From her spunky personality to her unique sense of style, standing out seems to come naturally to the small - but powerful - young woman. From stand-up comedy, she went on to pursue YouTube as a way to express all her creative passions that she wanted to work on. It wasn’t long before she accumulated 1 million subscribers. “I actually stopped stand-up for a couple years to focus on production and was able build up a following over about 1.5 million followers. It’s been pretty crazy. It’s really great though,” she says. Throughout her growth on YouTube, Anna was also booking small parts as an actress. For her, this was necessary as it gave her the right combination of skills to be confident in both her comedic chops and acting skills. 4

Through YouTube, Anna was not only able to generate a following, but have the opportunity to directly connect with her fans. Having lost a sister to suicide at a young age, Anna used comedy as a way to cope, but through her coping, she kept a journal that would turn into her book, Surviving Suicide. “ I had a lot of people reaching out to me after I made [my YouTube video] ‘Please Don’t Kill Yourself ’,” she says. It was the YouTube fan base reaching out that inspired her to release the book to help people. “If anything, maybe one person will read it and be like, ‘This is exactly how I feel.’ And sometimes, all you need to know is that you’re not alone,” she says. It’s a way for her to connect to her young fanbase as she gets older. In a community like YouTube, being able to connect is key, and Anna

likes to think she’s kept a good head of what’s in and how to transfer her adult self to her younger fans. “There’s always this pressure with YouTube – it’s like this beast to feed – like how do you stay relevant? And I’ve probably made 200 to 300 videos at this point and it’s like, do I have an opinion about anything else?” she laughs. It’s the dramatic way she’s able to convey herself and opinions, and her constant ability to lighten a situation in an appropriate, but positive way that keeps her relevancy going. “But at the same time there’s always new ways to share,” she decides. “I feel like sharing things with everyone – it’s like a weird job because you’re like, ‘I don’t want anyone to think I’m an attention whore or that I’m doing this for views, but at the same time you just wanna be honest.” This honesty has

launched her career from comedian, to YouTuber, to actress quickly. If YouTube is what allows Anna to experiment in all aspects of filmmaking, acting is where she truly is able to take her personality and shine. “For my videos I have like two people on staff and then that’s it,” she explains of the difference between her own production and acting. Going from being responsible for writing producing, acting and everything that comes along with a creation is much different than walking onto a set and having everything set out for you. “I show up and everyone takes care of me, everyone’s got food for me,” she laughs. “It’s so much easier focus-

ing on just one job.” It’s a great vibe for someone like her who got to partake in a fun movie such as Ant Man with Paul Rudd. “He looks immortal, he looks like – the same as from Clueless,” Anna says, “I was like eavesdropping on all his conversations when he was talking to people and he complimented me on my voice matching skills.” In the near future, Anna will be rolling out a variety of different projects. Between filming You Get Me, a thriller co-starring Bella Thorne, having a fashion line (Ghost and Stars Apparel), another book coming out, and some bigger production movies on AwesomenessTV, she doesn’t seem to have much free time.

Doing everything she does, it’s important for Anna to be a good role model to break the glass ceiling for Asian American female roles. “There’s a lot more awareness about it,” she begins. “If it’s actually changing statistically, probably not, but I’m hoping that the awareness is the first step to doing it.” She feels her online audience helps open up opportunities that wouldn’t normally be given to other women. “I do feel like it’s on the cusp – we’re on the cusp, it’s gonna happen,” she says. With the production, directing and acting experience that she never thought a small stand-up comedy career could ever lead to, Anna is eager to keep moving forward. NKD

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spencer sutherland Words by ELIZABETH ZAVOYSKIY Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

A quick scroll through Spencer Sutherland’s most recent uploads on Instagram portrays the singer/songwriter in one very clear way: focused. Every image, be it a quick selfie with fans in Washington Square Park or a shot amongst the palm trees in Los Angeles, his new home base, alludes to an idea of a man on a mission. The images speak in volumes, but the captions assist - at an acoustic pop up show, he calls for fans to join him as he films a video for his YouTube or a quick shout out to Teen Vogue post meeting outside the floor to ceiling glass doors, it’s evident the 23-year-old has been busy building a name for himself. Over the past two years, Spencer’s style has become tighter, his brand is more defined and he’s ready for whatever’s to come next. With an EP release on the horizon and a mass archive of YouTube videos, ranging from covers of Bryson Tiller’s “Exchange” mixed in with Post Malone’s “White Iverson”, to a vocal play on recent hip-hop sensation Desiigner’s “Panda”, the genre bending artist is 08

carefully redefining his sound, mixing smooth R&B with polished pop to create something that’s uniquely and unmistakably his own. And while the modeling jobs, live shows, and content he posts across his channels are enough to make your head spin, the singer reveals that’s only the tip of the iceberg. “The last year I’ve been writing and recording a lot of new music. I’ve been playing a few shows here and there. A small tour a few months ago. It’s all been good, I’m definitely happy with the response,” Spencer says.. He reveals he’s been writing not just for himself, but for others as well, a testament to how his songwriting abilities have grown over the past few years. While it goes without being said that every songwriting session is different, one thing remains constant. “I always co-write with a producer or a writer. How do I push myself lately? I have to love the hook. If I’m not in love, if I think it’s okay, then I’m like ‘No, it’s not going to cut it.’” In much the same way that some of

the best things in life come down to being a hit or a miss, songwriting is no different, and the black or white approach proves entirely useful to narrowing down what feels right, and what seems even slightly amiss. This instinct has been the driving factor for Spencer’s upcoming EP release. As we approach the topic of the soon to be released work, his voice quiets. “This is pretty top secret,” he whispers. “We have the songs picked out, I can’t tell you which ones. Well you probably don’t know which ones. No one’s ever heard them.” For this EP, Spencer wrote roughly 80 songs and narrowed it down to five. A 94% cut rate for an EP seems rather extreme but Spencer lays it out quite simply, referring once again to the basic instinct of knowing what works for you as an artist and what needs some more tweaking. “You have to believe in the songs yourself. It’s important to listen to what other people have to say, everybody has an opinion and it does matter, but don’t put out a song you don’t feel is right.

If everyone’s saying something’s right and you just don’t feel it - don’t put it out,” he says. This idea of what’s right for him at this stage has been one that’s been a few years in the making. At the moment, he defines a “Spencer song” (one that he writes for himself versus one he’s writing for someone else) as super vocal driven. “A lot of people write songs that are really based on just the lyrics and the melodies don’t matter. For me, when I write, melodies should come first. It’s got to be the perfect register or key. It needs to have a lot of low, high or mid range. Everything. And I like to show off different tones, I have a softer tone and a gravel-y raspy tone. It’s cool to have its own special R&B, pop production feel,

and a little bit of falsetto. Every song should have a bit of falsetto,” he says adamantly, emphasis on the falsetto. Though it’s clear that the past year has been focused on his written work, that’s not to say that live performances have in any way taken a back seat to the action. With an iron work ethic, Spencer and his band rehearse every bit of material before a show and then narrow down to a track list that feels the best, coolest, and most powerful, a technique that’s definitely working based off the amount of fan uploaded videos from his recent show at Gramercy Theatre. With the first single release right around the corner, Spencer can’t say much. He’s trying to keep it as big of a surprise for his fans as possible, though he does mention that he per-

formed it at Gramercy to a great fan reaction. “Hopefully the whole world will like it as much as the group that heard it at Gramercy,” he shrugs says. “It’s very different than anything I’ve ever done. It has a really great meaning to me and i think everybody’s going to connect to it. That’s all I an really say,” he says. While tight lipped about any other intimate details of the single, Spencer takes a moment to applaud his fan base, a demographic that reaches both 13 and 23 year olds alike, one that he says he’s extremely lucky to have as well as one that shows his range as a performer and an artist. It’s this fan base that has allowed him to go into the directions he’s choosing to go for the EP, and one that he hopes will be able to resonate his next move. NKD

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daniella monet Words by SHELBY CHARGIN Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Daniella Monet, a Los Angeles native, has always been an outgoing human being. From a young age she knew comedic acting was her forte. From recurring roles on 8 Simple Rules, Still Standing and Bernie Mac, it was Nickelodeon’s Victorious that truly put her on the map. It’s her goal to stay comedy based, which comes as no surprise given her current role on Freeform’s hit show Baby Daddy. “I’ve done some drama, I actually just really love doing comedy, it’s my preference and if I can continue to do it I will,” she says. However, her main goal when it comes to television is to do things that everyone can watch. “I just love knowing whatever I’m on is not super inappropriate. If the 14-yearold kids that I grew up babysitting can watch it then I know we’re all good,” she laughs. “Like, if I have kids one day I don’t want them to be like ‘Mom what’s this screenshot?!’” She’s been able to stay modest - yet confident - throughout her career, and a lot of that is in part to her closeness with her casts. “Our Victorious cast is still just as tight as ever for sure. It’s 12

always cool when you’re on a show for a long time – that’s really the key. I’ve done other shows before, and it’s so different when you work on a series with a cast that’s been together for a while,” she explains. She’s been blessed with the opportunity to work on casts with such positive people who are so close many a time, including her recent role on Baby Daddy. “They have their thing, it works for them. They’re tight, they get it,” she explains. “It’s a flow.” Daniella understands the importance of these relationships as you grow in life, and she’s proud of her old co-stars - like Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice for all they’ve accomplished in the last few years. “I feel like I big sister, I do, it’s weird. I was the oldest one - I was older by five years - so I’ve always had that older sister feeling,” she says. Coming into Baby Daddy was very different for Daniella because she was coming into a well-oiled machine, essentially. “But the good thing about this cast in particular is they never ever make you feel that way. Right off the bat everyone was so welcoming,” she says, “There was always the opportu-

nity to hang out outside of the show – which is like very unique.” It was helpful for her to work out her character – Sam – the on-again/off-again love interest of Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau). “I think it’s so funny to see how people get involved with all that,” she says of the relationship. “It’s like I’m sorry – I can’t – I didn’t write it. But you know, moving forward I think there will be some fun little plot twists,” she hints. Despite her fans being so involved on Twitter, Daniella – who blew up during the surge of social media – is pleasantly chill about her online presence. “I remember fighting it for a while. I remember the web department at Nickelodeon going ‘Okay, we’re going set up Twitter accounts.’ and I was like ‘What accounts?’” she recalls. She didn’t use her accounts for a long time, citing that she was even late to the punch for Snapchat. “I’m just such a little loser” she laughs. “I’m more into it now though. I go in and out of it, like Twitter and Instagram.” However, despite how she feels about not being on the ball with certain social platforms, Daniella does have a YouTube channel

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that really allows her fans to see into her life. “That for me is so much more. I want to look back on that years from now. I’m introducing trips and stuff, like personal family type stuff, and I think that’s cool for me to be able to reflect back on in 10, 15, 20 years,” she says. For her, these platforms are used as a way to showcase who she is beyond her career. What has been fun for Daniella is watching her longterm characters start to reflect her own personality a little more. For both Trina (Victorious) and Sam (Baby Daddy), Daniella can see a lot of herself in their development as people. She speaks highly of Trina, especially. “Everyone’s just trying to fit in but she’s just a wacko, and it was fine,” she says. She believes she has a small bit of that outgoing determination Trina so shamelessly showcased. “I had a small degree of that or else I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing!” she admits. While Trina was a character that was ridiculously over the top, Sam was “so much more natural” for Daniella. She cites working with Jean-Luc as one of the reasons for this. “It was cool working with him, he’s got his shit together,” she says. And while she believes every single role she takes on is a piece of her in some way, connecting with Sam was very easy for Daniella. “She’s cool. I think I made her more like me in some degree except for one little piece that I can’t help or do anything about it,” she teases of this season’s plot twist. At the end of this current season, Daniella had to accept some major differences between her and Sam. “I wanted her to be independent. I talked to Heidi [Clements, executive producer and writer on Baby Daddy] and we wanted her to have flaws,” she explains. Daniella loves doing what she does, but when she’s not working, she’s definitely one to stay in and watch Netflix. Growing up in L.A. has allowed her the chance to grow up seeing and knowing herself in a crazy world of what’s reality and what’s a character. As Daniella speaks, you know you’re talking to someone special. In the future she’d like to tackle directing, but for right now she’s focusing on just pursuing a career and a message greater than herself. NKD 16

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levi hummon Words by VANESSA SALLES Photos by CATHERINE POWELL If Levi Hummon isn’t on your radar, there’s a good chance that’ll change soon. The Nashville native, who’s becoming a force to reckon with in the country music circuit, has been working/touring alongside some of country music’s hottest acts including Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, and 18

many more. Growing up in Nashville, Levi had the opportunity to be surrounded by music since the day he was born. “I definitely grew up in the songwriting world,” he shares. “My dad’s a songwriter and my mom’s a preacher. I’d always sing at church when I was young but it wasn’t until I was

way older that I decided that music was what I wanted to be doing.” In fact, had he not broken his knee, there’s a good chance Levi would’ve become a professional skater. “I fell in love with skateboarding,” he shares. “I was even sponsored by a few things but after breaking my knee, I just stopped completely.” With skating on the backburner, Levi focused on his musical roots. “The first song my dad ever taught me was ‘House of the Rising Sun,’” he said. “I actually used those chords to write a few of my first songs.” Songwriting really stepped into the forefront during Levi’s sophomore year of college. “I had just had a really big break-

up,” he reveals. “I had a guitar in my closet and ended up picking it up and writing about it. After that, I found myself writing a song every single day. I wound up sending them all to my dad via GarageBand and asked for his feedback. Eventually, I decided it was something I wanted to do professionally.“ Having decided to pursue a career in music, it was all about one thing: location. “At the time, I was actually living and going to school in Florida,” Levi says. “So, my dad told me to come back to Nashville, ‘where a songwriter needed to be’. I transferred over to Belmont and about three months later, I signed my first publishing deal and dropped out of school.” How did the deal come about? Believe it or not, it all started with dinner. “My dad had a publisher friend of his over for dinner one night and he asked me to play him a song,” Levi says. “I sang ‘Naked Love’ and ‘God Bless the Broken Road,’ which my dad wrote, and the very next day, he invited me to his office to sign a deal.” After signing his deal, Levi’s songwriting career really started taking off. “I started co-writing with people to see what it was like to be apart of Nashville’s creative community,” he shares. “From those co-writing sessions, the song ‘Make it Love’ came out of it. It was co-written with Andrew Dorff and was featured in the documentary, TWO: The Story of Roman and Nyro. If that feat wasn’t impressive enough, “Make it Love” was well on its way to earning Levi some very note-worthy attention. “The song got on the shortlist for Best Original Song for The Oscars,” Levi says. “So, at that point, we were trying to hype it up to get the nomination and so we made a music video.” The video, nearing 20,000 views on Levi’s YouTube channel, played a big part in landing the singer-songwriter his first record deal. “Making that video, I had no idea what a music video was supposed to be,” he laughs. “In it, I’m just walking around NYC handing out sunflowers to people on the streets. After we put it online, it caught the attention of a few people from Big Machine; I met with them and a week later, I had first my record deal.” With his career quickly on the rise, Levi credits Big Machine for giving him the confidence and assurance that this was indeed the path he wanted to be on. “When I first met with Big Machine, I thought

that singing and songwriting went hand in hand,” Levi admits. “I knew that I loved writing songs and I knew that I loved singing but I didn’t know that I’d want to be out on the road forever and that I’d want to be played on the radio, etc. The label really solidified the fact that I want to be a country music artist.” Soon after, Levi released his self-titled five-track EP, which he went on to perform on multiple tours. “Releasing the EP was an awesome experience,” Levi shares. “I had wanted something that would show off a more up-tempo side to me and I think all these songs are the perfect kind of songs to just roll down your windows to and crank up the volume in your car. It was really important for me to have a sound that made sense to who I am and what I’m doing in my life right now.” The EP, though only a preview to Levi’s artistry, was both a special project to him and the label. “It was really important for me to find my voice and the label really understood that,” he says. “They let me go through my own things at my own time and that was truly something special. Big Machine has been really caring to me and they think of my stuff as precious; that was definitely something I needed at the time.” Since releasing the EP, Levi’s been on the road with country music’s hottest new acts. “I’ve spent the last year and a half touring every weekend, writing new songs, and working my butt off,” he shares. “We’ve toured with everyone from Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Maddie and Tae, and so many more. We’ve gotten to play everything from The Ryman Auditorium to bars out in the middle of nowhere.” With the new wave of up-and-coming artists, Nashville’s hub of creativity has been growing exponentially. “As a Nashville native, it’s pretty weird to see how much it’s grown,” he laughs. “It’s really interesting to see Nashville get more and more attention because the city is just pure awesomeness. It’s definitely an important place for country music.” With new artists and new sounds, the “qualifications” for country music has often been questioned but Levi believes country music can be defined quite simply. “Country music is such a genre-less genre and the only solid thing that exists about country music is the stories that it tells,” he says. “The ‘qualifications’ are always changing but I think it’s just about perspective. Country music is an honest description of a moment. I think it’s so important for

the country genre and ‘country people’ to be open to new things; that’s what allows music to grow and flow in such a unique way and that’s how you get more interesting music to come out of it.” For Levi, post-EP life has been a whirlwind of fun and exciting changes. “I’ve for sure noticed a huge difference in my life,” he says. “I was on the road with Dan + Shay a few weeks back and it was one of my first post-EP performances so I was excited to sing those songs. When I got on stage, there was a group of fans that already knew every word to every song and it was just one of those ‘this is why I do what I do and why I work so hard’ moments. I really do care to see people in the crowd smiling and singing – it’s an amazing thing. That’s why I love doing what I do. I feel so blessed to be apart of these artists that are coming up and I feel like this is just the beginning of my career.” As passionate as Levi is for his music, he also has a passion for helping others. For that, he credits his mother. “My mom actually started the Magdalene house of Nashville,” Levi says proudly. “It’s a twoyear residential program for women with a history of drug abuse and/or prostitution. My mom started noticing that once these women graduated the program, a lot of them would relapse because they weren’t able to find any work. So, my mom’s solution for that was Thistle Farms. A lot of the women who graduate the program end up working there and help make bath and body care products. The recovery rate went up from 43% to 75% - which is seriously so amazing. My mom’s on the road 200 days out of the year; she goes out on these tours and talks about Magdalene and Thistle Farms and she’s a legit rock star about this stuff. She’s definitely the rock star of the family.” Although he’s already accomplished so much this year, Levi’s not stopping anytime soon. “Since it’s been such a process to get these five songs out and do all these promo tours, I’d say my debut album will be out either late this year or early 2017,” he says. “I definitely want each song off the EP to live its own life and have its own time – that’s why there’s no rush. I’m obviously still writing songs for the album, but having these few out right now just means the world to me. I’m hoping to release a new single and so I’ll most likely be touring all summer.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

emblem3 Words by NAUREEN NASHID Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

In late June 2014, after placing fourth on season two of The X Factor and releasing their debut album, Nothing to Lose, Emblem3 announced that they were going on hiatus because band member, Drew Chadwick, wanted to pursue a solo career. It was cited that there were some issues with musical differences, and that brothers, Wesley and Keaton Stromberg, were going to continue on as a duo. However, after releasing an EP titled Forever Together, the brothers went their separate ways musically as well, thus making the future of Emblem3 as a band seem indefinite, leaving fans heartbroken. Fast forward to September 2015, the band got back together and announced that the hiatus was over, surprising everyone who had thought that they were broken up for good. “We never did say we were broken up. We said that Drew was going to explore his solo options,” Wesley says. “We low-key knew that we were going to come back as soon as the contracts ended,” Drew adds. 20

The contracts they speak of were ones that they were signed to while they were on The X Factor. The band was under two labels and had a manager that they were uncertain about, making the whole experience extremely hard for them. “They weren’t serving our true highest potential as artists and human beings. We felt really creatively restricted. The only option was to take a break, but make it appear and feel like a breakup,” Drew says. They were always planning to come back together, but had to keep the whole thing under wraps for a while regarding when and how. Their biggest concern was their fans, who they hated keeping out of the loop. “This is our real beginning,” Wesley says. “We have grown up together. We’ve done this since we were 9, 11 and 13 years old.” They went on to explain that over the years, they’d gone through so much together -- clashes and breakups -- but always came back together and that’s how they knew this wasn’t permanent. “This is our life.

We’re in this together,” says Wesley. “September 1st [2015] was when the contracts ended and the very next day we announced we were back together again and went to the studios,” Keaton says. Their young age and the fact that several of their favorite bands started around the same time as they are gives them confidence in the fact that they still have a long way to go. They don’t believe that they’ve wasted time or have lost their fan base. The band is selling out some big gigs, including their shows in New York and Boston, all through self promotion, which they’re super proud of. To restart their career, Emblem3 release “Now” in February – their first release since reuniting. The song took a few digs at the entertainment and music industry with lyrics such as, “You see, certain people tried to brand us / Without takin’ the time to understand us / I get the fact there’s a business plan but / That shit damn near broke the band up.” “It was enlightening people on what happened. It wasn’t

necessarily shade. It was mostly for the fans to explain to them what happened,” Drew says. For them, it’s artistry before business. They were asked to change their musical sound to mainly pop, which is not something they want to do or be known for. “Basically their business plan didn’t line up with what we wanted to be. Their sound was trying to be too mainstream, and while they had a great plan, it wasn’t fully there and we were barely given any control like we wanted,” Keaton says. According to them, it was a “mess of creative opinions”, but they’re really happy with where they are and how it turned out. Now, they can be honest to their original sound, which blends in beach rock, hip hop, reggae, and R&B with a bit of pop.

Hailing from Southern California, they wanted to add elements of that into their music and stay true to themselves. During their hiatus, each of the members kept busy. “We came back together and during the process of the break we took, we wrote a bunch of songs, all three of us,” Keaton says. Each of them brings something different to the table and they believe they couldn’t ask for a better team to play songs with. “This time around we’re doing everything ourselves, so it’s pretty insane,” Keaton says. Because of this, they were able to learn a lot while making their latest EP, Waking Up, and their working dynamic changed. Since they were just getting back together after having not seen each other in

a while, everyone was a bit sensitive early on. “It was kind of like, which direction are we going in? But then we realized we can do whatever we want. And that’s the coolest part about all this. Fuck genre. We’re just going to be ourselves,” Drew says. Though it was challenging making this EP, they enjoyed it because they understand that not all artists get to do this and the fact that they can is the coolest thing about it all. “It was like a quick little rehearsals for the album,” Wesley says. While they enjoy working and doing everything on their own, they were swift to add on that they are still open to working with big collaborators in the future in terms of songwriting and producing. However, they only want people who are

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willing to get with their sound and enhance it. Luckily they’re able to keep track of how the fans are reacting to their music through their app. It shows them analytics about who’s liking what song the most. “There’s the ‘Chloe’ fans, which is more the pop stuff. And that’s awesome -that’s one half. And then there’s another half that’s, like, “Jaiden” fans, where it’s a more natural vibe,” Drew says. While trying to develop their new sound, they also want to bring in elements from their old songs, like “Sunset” and “One Day.” Currently they’re pushing their new single “End of the Summer” to radio. A few radio stations have picked it up and they’ve visited some as well. The single will be a part of their full-length album, which will come out sometime at the end of summer or early fall. “This next album will reflect a lot of our individual personalities and I’m pretty excited about that,” Keaton says. They’re giving this album a lot of time, dedication and passion, hoping that it’s their best work yet. The boys are confident in their ability to create this music and sound because this is what they’ve been waiting for since the beginning. They’re also super excited for the fans to hear it. “One year from right now, it’s early summer. I think we’ll probably either be on an arena tour with a massive A-List act, like, maybe Zayn,” Drew says of the band’s oneyear plan. It’s important to them that they gain direct support from someone huge. Some of their bigger goals include being on Saturday Night Live and getting a few awards as well. “You realize how political the music industry is and, like, you need to have the people that have the connections to get you in the right way. And the money to make those things happen.” They understand they need a ton of promotion and it won’t all be easy sailing. According to them, some of the biggest acts out now, such as The Weeknd, are huge because they have original sounds. “I feel like we have that potential -- we always have,” Keaton says. NKD 24

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matt shively Words by TAYLOR DOUGHERTY Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

“And just so you know, this will be in the interview… It’s on record,” Matt Shively laughs during an unexpected phone call in the middle of our interview; and it’s this kind of humor that has become a trademark for him. The 25-year-old California native is at the top of his game right now, co-starring as oldest child Jimmy O’Neal on ABC’s new hit series The Real O’Neals alongside Mad Men’s Jay R. Ferguson, Raising Hope’s Martha Plimpton and TV newcomer Noah Galvin. The series, which premiered back in March, has been critically acclaimed, debuting to over 6 million viewers and was picked up for a second season in May. Matt grew up primarily with his mother following his parents’ divorce when he was 5. He found a love for acting at a young age but had a hard time convincing his mom to let him pursue it. “My mom didn’t want me to be a child actor because I don’t think that usually works out,” he laughs. But he finally convinced her, eagerly pursuing it at the end of junior. high and in high school through theatre, and didn’t

have to wait long before he started booking real roles. “I didn’t really ‘work’ work until I was 18. I got very lucky. The week before I graduated I got my first show, which was a very good thing because I was not planning on going to college. Probably never will. So it was either Taco Bell or bust,” he laughs. That show was Nickelodeon’s hit True Jackson, VP where he co-starred alongside Keke Palmer, Robbie Amell and Ashley Argota for three seasons as Ryan Laserbeam. “I think I was a little too young to really understand how cool that was to be able to be the series regular on a show, but I learned a lot,” he says. On the longstanding comparisons between Nickelodeon and Disney, Matt had some interesting sentiments. “I’ve always looked at Disney as like a bubble. If you get in trouble on Disney the chances of you still working for Disney are very slim, whereas if you get in trouble on Nickelodeon the odds of you working for Nickelodeon are still a little higher, I think,” he says. Following the end of True Jackson, VP in 2011, he continued to steadily work, joining the cast of

the Nickelodeon show, The Troop in its second season and booked guest spots on shows like Teen Wolf, Last Man Standing and costarred in Paranormal Activity 4. But, The Real O’Neals is a big step in his career, being his first foray into network television, and he’s just trying to take it all in. “I told myself going into this that this could be the one and only time you do a network show, so soak it in for everything that it is,” he says. The cast is a tight knit group, a rarity in network television. “The cast is absolutely ridiculous. We really are a family, which is weird because you don’t ever get that,” Matt says. “We all kind of kept our distance during the pilot because we weren’t sure if it was going to go, nobody wanted to get too close. But literally once we got picked up [we became close] during the first week… We live tweet every week and they’re either at my house or we’re at Noah’s house. It really doesn’t happen that way a lot but there isn’t one person who doesn’t get along with somebody else.” In the first episode of The Real O’Neals his character,

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Jimmy, announces to everyone that he is anorexic, and Matt can’t wait to explore the character further and develop a real storyline for him. “I think I’d be really cool if I had more of my own shtick going on. I’d also love to see me wrestle. There was an original beginning of the pilot that had him describing each of us and showing what we did, and mine was like a wrestling thing. I had to walk around Pasadena in a singlet for like the entire day, and then I had to choreograph wrestle this dude all day and they ended up cutting that and going with a different idea. I was like ‘That sucks! Let me get some pay off for that!’ But come second season I think there will be a lot more to discuss as far as who I really am,” Matt says. As someone who has done comedy for the majority of his years on screen, that’s what audiences are use to seeing from him, but you’d be surprised to know that isn’t his first choice. “I would actually rather do drama,” he says. “I enjoy doing drama a lot. There’s a lot more depth in drama. Comedy’s really fun, but it’s something that I’ve always done. I was the class clown. I don’t think I ever really wanted to choose what I wanted to do, it’s just I love entertaining and whoever will hire me I will do the best in that given situation. But I’ve always just been funnier than depressing.,” he says. One of Matt’s most striking features is his continued optimism in this business that can be so tough, but the work keeps coming in for him, showing no signs of stopping. There’s the second season of The Real O’Neals, a few indie movies, and he has a small role in the upcoming big screen Power Rangers movie. Whether or nor not The Real O’Neals lasts for years won’t matter. It’s so evident and clear just by hearing him talk that this is his path and he’s willing to weather the storm of Hollywood to walk that path, and that’s something to be commended for. But what does his mom think now that he’s been consistently working for years? “Oh she still hates it,” he laughs. NKD NKDMAG.COM

paris berelc

Words by MARY BARNES Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Hair & Make-Up by SARAH JOFFE

Born in Milwaukee, Wis., Paris Berelc started off as a beauty pageant contestant, coming in fourth place at only 4-years-old. “I still have the trophy,” she recalls. Afterwards, she started gymnastics, which she did from ages 4 to 14. During that time, she was picked up by Ford Models and started her career. “I did [modeling] for a few years and that’s what really got me more curious [about] acting,” she says. At 14, she went to Hollywood during pilot season and started auditioning. Lucky for Paris, Disney XD was casting for their new series, Mighty Med, (which first aired in 2013), a show about a superhero hospital. She landed a leading role as Skylar Storm, an extraterrestrial heroine who loses her powers. Paris moved out to Hollywood to play her quirky character. “She was kind of like Clark Kent,” she says. “She has a separate identity, but she’s also kind of naïve and oblivious to some things since she’s not from Earth.” That innocence is 30

one of the many things that attracted her to the role. “She’s really cute, but then she’ll turn around and kick you in the butt. She’s tough,” Paris says. Skylar Storm was the only regular female character on the show. “It was really nice,” Paris says of working with an all-male cast. “There was never any drama between us. It was always just us having fun on set.” Being a teenage girl, there were times when she felt she needed a girl to talk to, but adapted to her surroundings and found comfort in her costars. “There were some times when I was like ‘Well, normally I would talk to a girl about this but Jake [Short], Bradley [Steven Perry], I need to talk to you about something,’” she laughs. In 2015, while filming the second season of Mighty Med, Paris booked the role of Molly in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Invisible Sister. Though still on Disney, the role presented a new opportunity for the actor. “It was very different from my Skylar Storm character,”

she recalls. “I was wearing things I would not wear in real life. She would wear bright colors, skirts and flowers and that just wasn’t me. It was fun to be girly for once.” Not only did she get to experiment with playing a character that differs greatly from herself and her main role as Skylar, she also did her first on location shoot in New Orleans. “I’m usually on a set or a stage, so it was cool to be in the French Quarter around a million people,” she says. Filming took place for two months in different New Orleans locales. “We got to film in a cemetery which was super cool,” she says. Now, Paris stars in the Mighty Med and Lab Rats combination spinoff series, Lab Rats: Elite Force on Disney XD, which follows a team of bionic heroes and superheroes that band together to fight common threats in their city. Paris still plays her beloved Skylar, but in a new way. “In Mighty Med, I lost all [of my powers], but on Lab Rat, I truly get them back,” she says of her

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character. “It was nice to finally be able to use them.” Adjusting to her character’s superpowers was a challenge for Paris at first. “It took a few times,” she recalls of her first time filming her superpowers, which are all added via CGI after filming. “I’m standing there by myself and I’m grunting in front of all these people and it was super awkward,” she laughs. She soon got used to the awkwardness. “You have to grunt and yell and there’s nothing happening. But then you see it all together and you’re like, ‘Yeah, oka,y that actually looks really cool,’” she notes. The combination of two existing Disney shows worked out well for the cast, who all get along very well. “Kelli [Berglund] who plays Bree on Lab Rats was my best friend before the show,” Paris says. “When we heard about them possibly combining the two [shows] we were like ‘Oh my gosh that would be so fun!’” The pair knew they wouldn’t have any issue getting along. The two casts came together and became like family. “We’re a lot closer than most cast members are, normally. It’s nice to work with people that I actually like,” she sys. Currently, Paris is waiting to hear if Lab Rats: Elite Force will be picked up for a second season. Meanwhile, she is auditioning for other roles, hoping to land a spot in a movie or another pilot. She is also focusing on one thing most 17-year-olds have in common: high school. Balancing the two can be rath-

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er challenging, but thanks to her set teachers, she is able to get her education while working on the show. “I love my set teachers. They help us a lot with getting our school done and staying on track,” she says. When she isn’t filming, she does virtual homeschooling. Moving out to Hollywood, she knew she would not be able to finish her education in a traditional high school setting. “I kind of figured you can only miss like two [school] days out of the year and I didn’t think me being on set for

eight months was going to work,” she laughs. Despite her bright career, Paris still plans on attending college. “I actually really want to go to UCLA,” Paris says. “I would study literature. I really want to be a writer.” Though she’s still in high school, she has already taken two college English courses. As far as her writing career is concerned, she has expressed interest in producing her own materials. “I want to write scripts,” she confirms. She takes on writing as a hob-

by for now and has written a few scripts just for fun. Like every teenager, her other hobbies include sleeping, eating and drinking coffee. She also turned her gymnastic history into stunt work training. “Our stunt coordinator and I go to the gym and we’ll work on kicks and forms,” Paris says. She has also shown interest in music, posting the occasional cover song and even writing her own songs. “I don’t know if I will ever make it a career but I’m not closing that door,” she says. NKD

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madison iseman Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Born on Valentine’s Day, 19-yearold actress Madison Iseman has a lot of love to give. And while much of that is dedicated to the love of her life, her cat, she spreads the remainder of that passion through her acting. She was born in the small town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With the local pastime and energies being spent on sports, Madison found her way through watching lots and lots of movies. This led to her first glimmer of acting. “Me and my friends would do stupid little short 36

films. We would do horror films and kill each other off and my parents thought it was kind of weird,” Madison laughs. This was her outlet. So, at 13, she journeyed with her mother up to New York for the summer. It was her first serious pursuit of acting. And while she learned a great deal, she decided to attend high school. But, like most who get bit by the acting bug, there was an itch in need of a good scratching. So, at 16 she moved to L.A. and has been there ever since. “L.A. is so nice,” she says.

“The weather, the people- it feels more like a home to me than South Carolina ever did.” Balancing school with a burgeoning acting career was tough. After settling in LA, she decided to combine her junior and senior year and take care of that in one fell swoop. She joined a private school for industry kids and took her classes with nine other wistful performers whom she is still friends with to this day. That first year was spent balancing classes with the infinite

loop of auditions. And while she did find some success, like having a guest appearance on Modern Family, “school always has to come first.” Still, every chance presented to her, she solidified connections and learned to schmooze with the best of them. Eventually, that dedication paid off in the form of, Still the King, which premiered on June 12th. In this new CMT series, Madison plays the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. The audition was daunting, but when she eventually got the call, she had little time to pack her bags and jet off to Nashville for four months to begin shooting. To Madison, though, it’s all part of the fun of acting. “It was cool because it was one of the most spontaneous things I’ve ever done,” she admits. Working with Billy Ray and the other veterans on set was a dream come true for her. She admits that she thought it would be more nerve racking, but Billy Ray helped make it very relaxed. The best part for her was the collaborative atmosphere. Everyone was a team player and open to suggestions and ideas to make the show the best that it can be. “I’ve been on sets where everything is super strict and you’re scared to speak your mind. But I never felt like that on the [Still the King] set with everyone,” Madison says. Spending time in Nashville also gave her a greater appreciation of this opportunity. Experiencing seasons (something L.A. notoriously lacks) and living near Centennial Park made her fall in love with the city. Even little joys like reading a book at the park strengthened her love for Nashville. It’s no surprise that the music scene played a role in this. For Madison, it “has good vibes everywhere. [It’s] just a feel good place.” Working with Billy Ray, living in working in two of the biggest music cities of the world, music has not been pushed off the table for Madison – in the future. While it is a possibility, she is just focusing on her acting career for the time being. With the hype building around her new show, she’s trying her hardest to not take her current accomplishments for granted. Like everyone, she has actors whom she looks up to. One of her favorites is Nina Dobrev, known for her infamous

role as Elena Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries. To Madison, Nina is the definition of a role model. For having such a big following, she admires how level headed and human Nina is. “I love her. You see her on television and whatnot and then you see her in real life. And she’s not a selfish person. It’s just so cool someone is able to work that much and just carries themselves so well. She’s so genuine in everything she does,” Madison gushes. This resounding appreciation is a beacon of light in a world at times clouded by the fog of social media. Like most everyone, Madison is quick to state how she uses Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, the whole gambit. As an actor, it is not just about socializing, networking and self-promotion play a large role. For industry decision-makers, this is not what is important. For them, relevance is equated to the number of followers you have. And while Madison has her own opinions on this matter, she understands the importance the role social media plays your young people pursuing a career in any kind of performance industry. Yet, even with

this in mind, she confidently states, “It’s the talented people who will get the work and make it in the end.” She has a clear-eyed view that those who are meant to mount the summit will, one way or another, find their seat. For Madison, it is all about the journey. She is actively working on projects that she can’t provide any details on yet, but, that is all part of the path she is following. To her, there is no reason to add any unneeded stress by setting lofty goals. Focusing on awards, becoming the “next big thing”, while seductive, are not her primary goals. Of course she would be joyful beyond words to attain those, but for Madison, that is not the point of acting. Her goals are rooted in why she got in to performing in the first place. Admiration isn’t the point for her. Striving for achievements that you set in stone only distract you from the infinite possibilities around you. For Madison, her aspirations are more grounded and shines a light on that dialogue in your head many excuse in pursuit of fame. “My only goals are to be successful and happy and to make things that people remember,” she says. NKD

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TROIAN BELLISARIO Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Hair & Make-Up by SARAH JOFFE Styled by AUDREY BRIANNE

“I think I still have some blood on me from last night,” Troian Bellisario admits when she arrives at the studio for our cover shoot. She was on the Warner Bros. lot until 3:00 a.m. the night before, running through the woods in heels, covered in a mixture of fake blood and dirt – which is a rather normal occurrence for Troian and her Pretty Little Liars co-stars. There’s a high chance this won’t be the last time she spends her Friday night like this, but with a series wrap date set for October, Troian’s time as Spencer Hastings is coming to an end. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Troian grew up on sets, often following her parents to work. Her mother, Deborah Pratt, was an actress, singer and dance, but later became a writer, producer and director. Her father, Donald P. Bellisario, who started in the Marines before moving over to advertising, eventually transitioned into writing and directing as well. “My parents made worlds for a living. They told stories,” she says, “So that’s what I

was raised with.” Spending so much time on sets, Troian was able to get a feel for exactly what she wanted to do as a career and gravitated towards acting at a young age. She booked her first role when she was 4, but found repeating lines 20 times boring as a kid. It wasn’t until she was a teenager and found Shakespeare that she fully caught the acting bug. Theatre drew Troian in more than television and film, initially. Prior to booking Pretty Little Liars, Troian had plans of moving to New York to pursue stage acting. She was doing a play in Los Angeles at the time of her original audition, and had no idea what she was getting herself into. “I thought television was my parents’ world,” she admits, “I went to school at USC [University of Southern California] and studied theatre, so that was really my track.” Troian knew nothing about Pretty Little Liars aside from it being based off a series of books and that her agents were really excited about

it. Even after she booked the job she wasn’t positive she wanted to do it, but her agency kept stressing how huge it was going to be. It wasn’t until after she shot the pilot and started seeing people online getting upset with her because she wasn’t blonde (like Spencer is in the books) that she really understood the magnitude of this project. Luckily, fans caught on to Troian’s version of Spencer rather quickly once the show started airing. “I’m really glad I’ve had the time, with our audience, to establish myself as a Spencer Hastings,” she says. Regardless of how excited everyone around her was about the show, there was no possible way for Troian to prepare for what would become the next eight years of her life. After over five seasons of trying to figure who “A” was, the show made a dramatic five-year time jump in the middle of Season 6 and setup what would become the series’ final mystery. But there is also the matter of which couples NKDMAG.COM

are “endgame” (Internet speak for who will end up together). And while most fans are rooting for Spoby (Spencer and Toby [Keegan Allen]), Troian doesn’t think Spencer needs to end up with anyone. “I think that the interesting thing is we get really attached to couples on television, and I think for me, always my favorite shows, it’s not about the couples and the will they/ won’t they,” she says. She is more interested in watching characters develop, and enjoys when a character grows into a completely different person than they were in the beginning. “What I found undeniable, was as [Spencer and Toby] grew up, and he joined the police force and she continued to do really devious shit, and be a criminal and a delinquent…” Troian trails off, laughing, “Spencer wants to be a global citizen, and Toby wants to be a small town cop.” One of Troian’s favorite scenes to date was the flashback to Spencer’s and Toby’s pregnancy scare, which took place during the time jump. “It was the first time, under these circumstances, that these characters are looking at each other and saying, ‘I love you, but I want a completely different life. And that’s okay, it just means I have to let you go,’” she says, “I think that’s a really important lesson to teach to young women and to teach to young men. The first love of your life is incredible and it’s amazing, but it might not be the person you end up with, and that’s okay.” That scene was also kind of fascinating for Troian to film, for other reasons. “I don’t even know if I’m supposed to tell you this, but originally it was written as though the pregnancy test was positive,” Troian shares. The initial script informs exactly why Spencer sympathized with Yvonne (Kara Royster)’s decision to have an abortion and why Spencer and Toby broke up – because Toby wanted a child and Spencer didn’t want to drop out of college to raise one. They filmed the present day scene where Spencer and Toby discuss 40

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their situation two separate ways, and went with the one implying that the test came out negative. “I knew shooting it, it was going to be out of our hands, and the higher powers would be like ‘that’s way too much,’” she says. Even though Spencer wasn’t directly involved with this majorly controversial plotline, Troian thinks that having Yvonne’s character go through it was still a huge step forward for Pretty Little Liars as a whole. “I feel like we’re doing that a lot on the show, we’re taking the steps forward. People are changing, people are growing up,” Troian says. Even things like Spencer and Hanna (Ashley Benson) being able to maturely discuss Spencer dating Hanna’s ex-boyfriend, Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) are signs of character development – because high school Hanna would have cried “boyfriend stealer” immediately. With only a few months left of filming the last season of Pretty Little Liars, it is slowly starting to sink in for Troian that things are coming to an end. “I feel so many things about the ending of this series. I’m scared, I’m excited…” she says, “I do know a number of things [about how the show ends] because I kind of make it my job. I’m such a huge, nosy person.” She anticipates the last few weeks of shooting to be extremely emotional – which she got a bit of a taste of midway through Season 6 when she went to set one day and Spencer’s bedroom was gone. “It was horri-

fying!” she says. She wasn’t aware that the last scene she filmed on that set was the last one until the next day, when she promptly ran over to it, only to see a single wall and some carpet still remaining. “It felt like my childhood bedroom,” she admits. Looking forward, Troian is open to the idea of doing another television series for this long again, but thinks that opportunity would be rare to come by. “I think it’s really crazy that we’ve gone as long as we have, and it’s a low probability that it will ever happen to me again,” she says. She plans on taking a bit of a break from television for a while, but when she does approach it again, she knows it needs to be a very different show. Which shouldn’t be an issue, considering the chances of Troian being cast as a high schooler again are slim – and Troian, now 30, has spent enough time being a teenager. “I spent an additional six years [as a teenager] after my original seven,” she laughs, “I’m going to have PTSD walking into any high school hallway.” Before Troian even auditioned for Pretty Little Liars, she was writing Feed – a screenplay that would take roughly seven years to go into production. Her parents, as writers, told her to never wait around for someone to give her a job. They also warned her that even if she was able to get work, it wouldn’t necessarily be work that was creatively fulfilling. “I had an idea to try to communicate a life experi-

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ence that I had gone through that I still felt like a lot of people in my life never really understood, or that I couldn’t really communicate,” she says. She wrote the first 30 pages in one sitting, and she finished it less than three weeks later. At the time, she didn’t have any money or any credits, so she just patted herself on the back for finishing something. A few years into Pretty Little Liars, Troian began working with her friend, Tommy Bertelsen, on making short films. As the show continued to gain momentum and Troian and Tommy kept making short films, she began taking meetings about Feed. Each year the show was on, the more interest there was for Troian’s film, but it took six years to secure enough financing to get it into production. “It was really tough for me, because it came together three years ago, but [Pretty Little Liars’] hiatus window was so small,” she says. She essentially just didn’t have enough time off from the show to film Feed until this past November. Now that filming is done, the duo is hoping to take Feed on the festival circuit and secure distribution through that. “I’m really excited to share it,” she says. Troian has been very open about her struggles with an eating disorder in the past, and finds it very difficult to be on a show with the word “pretty” in the title. “It’s very frustrating to me when I hear my fans use the words ‘perfect’ and ‘flawless’. Because it’s hours of hair

and make-up, and binder clips on the back of your clothes” she says, “When it’s taken to the extreme, you end up slowly killing yourself, and alienating those around you in a struggle for perfection.” She feels that being on the show was part of the problem. “In a larger sense of creating this sort of false ideal for young women,” she says. She hopes that Feed be a bit of a balancing act. Pretty Little Liars is a social media phenomenon, and platforms

Instagram or Snapchat, asking herself if it’s “done up enough”. “It’s a chosen narrative; it’s not true,” she says, “It’s strange for me because it feels so far removed from my job.” But she understands that social media really is a part of her job now, and finds it’s incredible to be able to talk to fans so easily. “But it’s a side of this career that I never thought I’d ever have to deal with,” she says. Troian makes an effort to be as carefree with her social media as possible. A few weeks before our shoot, she accidentally left her unlocked phone and VIP Coachella passes in her bag in a parking lot after a hike. This resulted in a random person (named Jack) trying to contact her, but eventually taking both her phone and the tickets to Indio for the festival, and simultaneously taking over her Snapchat for the weekend. “It’s the most fun on Snapchat I’ve ever had and I wasn’t even on it,” she jokes. Moving forward, Troian will be making her directorial debut on this season of Pretty Little Liars and Feed is in post-production. She has barely any time to plan her wedding (to Suits star Patrick J. Adams) – partly because they film their shows 3,000 miles apart from each other. “I think actually he’s going to take over planning the wedding, which I’m super grateful for,” she laughs. While her plans post-PLL are still up in the air, she’s eager for fans to see a new side of her when she moves out of Rosewood. NKD

“IT’S VERY FRUSTRATING TO ME WHEN I HEAR MY FANS USE THE WORDS ‘PERFECT’ AND ‘FLAWLESS’. BECAUSE IT’S HOURS OF HAIR AND MAKE-UP, AND BINDER CLIPS ON THE BACK OF YOUR CLOTHES. WHEN IT’S TAKEN TO THE EXTREME, YOU END UP SLOWLY KILLING YOURSELF, AND ALIENATING THOSE AROUND YOU IN A STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTION.”

like Twitter and Snapchat have propelled the show to unimaginable heights. With that comes a legion of fans that latch on to the show’s stars, and are consistently interacting with them – often throwing around words like “perfect” and “flawless”. “It’s really affecting,” Troian admits, “Social media is supposed to be this immediate peek into your life. But we always have filters.” She’ll often check herself before posting a photo on

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david lambert Words by DUSTIN HEVERON Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Grooming by THEA ISTENES

In an entertainment landscape beset by brash personalities, rash decision-makers, and bombastic Bachelorette contestants, David Lambert stands apart — or, more accurately — sits apart from the “LOOK AT ME” generation to which he belongs, all subtlety and nuance; poise and class beyond his years. Reserved but not unwelcoming, courteous but not stiff, quiet but not downtrodden; David Lambert doesn’t fit the stigma of what you’d expect from an actor in the prime of both his performing career and his party years… and yet that’s exactly what helped separate him from the competition when he was cutting his teeth in Hollywood, and it may very well be what’s kept him working while others have fallen away. A familiar face on popular shows like Psych, Longmire, and the beloved but gone-too-soon show Aaron Stone on Disney Channel, David has found a great on-and-off screen family via Freeform’s The Fosters, where he plays eldest son and dramatic focal point, Brandon Foster. But before he was Brandon, he was David, and as one of the leads on a show known for portraying unconventional stories and characters, David has been prepping for this role his entire life. “I was always sort of not doing

the normal thing,” David shares of his youth. “I traveled a lot,” David continues, “We had this nomadic existence all the way until I was in high school basically, and it was really good. I got really good at adapting to new environments, and I met a lot of different people. It was a really unique way to grow up.” As with many talented performers, David started exploring his passion for the arts fairly early on, though he never would’ve predicted that it would carry him to his current heights. “I always did theater growing up,” David recalls, “I did sports growing up, but I didn’t take an interest into it. And competition, I don’t really like what it does to people sometimes.” An observation that definitely applies to the often cutthroat world of acting and entertainment as much as it does high school sports. David adds, “It was always sort of weird for me, so I guess I went in to the arts for that reason.” It had more than just artistic benefits though, as David observes, “I met a lot of friends that way, it became a social outlet, and that was the first form of ‘acting’ I did.” But simply being an artist didn’t mean David saw himself performing much beyond his high school stage, as he recalls, “It was sort of odd for me because I wasn’t one

of those kids who saw myself in L.A. I was trying to be realistic. I was like, that’s so big league, I’m just this theater kid who likes to do [theater],” he says. Then, nailing an open call audition for an agent in Georgia that David describes as “pure luck” brought this “theater kid” into the same big leagues he’d previously thought were unrealistic for him. “Once I got a response,” David confesses, “That was sort of when I allowed myself to kind of dream and think about what it would be like to be an actor, as a living. And now it’s been the most amazing sort of ride. I plan to do a lot more of it.” A prominent presence on a wide range of quality shows, Lambert found one of his most resonating roles in the character of Brandon Foster on The Fosters — a character David speaks about more as if it were a close friend of his, rather than simply a role he portrays on television twenty-some weeks a year. And just as if they were best friends in real life, David felt a connection to Brandon and The Fosters immediately, right from the outset of the audition process. “I liked how progressive it was,” David says of the show, “With the connection to the LGBT community — which I think was a very, very important thing to cover at that time, specifically — and it ended up timing out NKDMAG.COM

very beautifully with our show in a lot of different ways, which has continued to be cool.” “At first, I found it interesting the sort of similarities I could stitch out of what the character was at that point,” David deconstructs, “The character really got fleshed out by the time we were rolling.” The life that David brought to the character of Brandon really seemed to inform the evolution of Brandon, as evidenced by how different the audition version of the character was compared to the version that Fosters fans have come to know and love. “During the audition process,” David shares, “[Brandon] was sort of this golden boy: oldest in the family, musician kid, who was like super talented beyond his years, and was super happy and in a good place, and in a good situation and was 50

really loved and that was kind of it.” Now in their fourth season of following Brandon in The Fosters, fans know there’s so much more to David’s character than where he started. And David praises his show’s quality storytelling as one of the key factors in what keeps viewers coming back, noting that their show doesn’t rely on some of the gimmicky qualities that define the other programs that are popular with their demographic. “Something I found myself saying a lot with interviews for the show,” David observes, “Was I really liked how it was just this anchored, down-to-earth show.” “And we don’t need explosions or vampires or werewolves to tell a story or have an audience or have it mean something,” David states, “And I liked that aspect about it. And as I continued to do the show

I liked that [aspect] more and more. It’s something that’s been kind of a constant with this.” Another one of the show’s constants that wasn’t necessarily part of the original charter for the character was Brandon’s musical endeavors, as enhanced by David Lambert’s real life musical prowess. “I probably started musical theater when I was in sixth grade or fifth grade,” David recounts, “And around the same time I also started with choir and I was taking vocal lessons. So if anything I was training for music more than acting. Music has been a constant theme in my life, and it’s been really, really important to me.” As it turns out, music is really important to the entire world of The Fosters, with character Brandon’s musicality reflecting the tone not only of David’s character, but

also the show as a whole. “I know they wanted to take Brandon and they still want to take Brandon into all these different phases. And music usually reflects that, because Brandon’s the type that uses music as a major catharsis,” David says, “There’s a lot of times in the show that the way he’s doing his music reflects either how he feels, or something he went through, or something he’s trying to express.” “[Composer for The Fosters] Brad Hooks,” David praises, “Who is kind of the music coordinator on our show, he’s responsible for all of Brandon’s original music — whether it’s his compositions, or his pieces, or the band. So from the get-go I would go to Brad to do all these piano pieces for the show and we developed a relationship and he just kind of found out I could sing through that relation-

ship.” David adds gleefully, “That sort of just bled into the show. And before I knew it, we’re doing a band, basically. I think it worked.” In a rare turn where the imaginary may have informed the real world, David may be taking a cue from Brandon Foster’s playbook, as David revealed that he’s working on musical endeavors of his own. “I have a project I’m working on now with two guys, they’re just two long term friends of mine, we kind of got together and wrote songs and have a bit of an album on our hands.” At this point, David isn’t shopping around to labels, but hasn’t completely written off the idea in the future. “We’re kind of very DIY in the sense of how we’re going torelease it I think,” David confesses, “That may change. We’re sort of checking out different ways to go about it, but hopefully by this

summer there should be something out there.” “We have a twitter [account] up,” David says with the earnestness of someone who’s excited for their art to be released into the world, but knows all the the extra ups and downs that such a release brings. “The band’s called Late Revival so the twitter is just @TheLateRevival,” David relays straightforwardly, “It’s very, very new but we’ve been working on it internally for a while now, and it’s really great, collaborative stuff.” A rock star who doesn’t see himself as such, and an acting powerhouse that still just views himself as a theater kid from the south, David Lambert continues to shatter stereotypes in favor of being true to his art, and that’s the kind of show that we should all want to see. NKD NKDMAG.COM

harletson Words by NAUREEN NASHID Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Based in Los Angeles after moving out of their own respective hometowns, Nathan Harrington, Jackson Singleton and Weston Wilson decided to form a three-piece band to pursue their dreams of becoming musicians. Initially, they sought out to become individual artists, but after meeting through L.A.’s open-mic circuit and bonding over their favorite musicians, they formed Harletson. So far, the band have posted several covers, such as “Let it Go” by James Bay, “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift, and “What a Feeling” by One Direction, giving each of these songs an original twist through their vocal harmonies and acoustic driven sound. NKD: At what point in the process of you three working together did you decide that you all need to be in L.A. full time? Nathan: I think it became one of those things where we were like, kind of trading states. And we were all kind of going back and forth and visiting each other. Then we were all like, ‘If we’re really going to make this happen happen, then we’re all going to have to make the move out to L.A. And I think that was about four or five months in of us actually meeting and writing with each other. NKD: Ever since then, what has your day-to-day been like essentially? Jackson: Our day-to-day is pretty much working. It’s a day at the office everyday. We try to make it that way. At least going over to each other’s houses and writing, or practicing, or rehearsing for upcoming shows, etc. NKD: When you first linked up, what were some of the artists that you all bonded over? Weston: The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Like, The Beatles, Beach Boys. Crosby, Stills & Nash. NKD: How do you take those influences and spin them enough that you’re not ripping them off completely, but just using them as influences? How would you describe your own sound specifically? Nathan: I think kind of sticking with the instrumentation that they would use back in the day. Like, a lot of acoustic guitars and clean electrics, and real, raw drums. I think that’s how we capture the sound of back then, and then also just lyrically taking from other songs. Like, ‘Oh that was clever how they did

that.’ Then it’s like, how can we take that and make it a little more modern? So it’s like an ode to the ‘70s. So I think that’s how we kind of capture that now, but also make it more modern and relevant today. NKD: What was the first song that you guys wrote together that made you say “This is our sound and this is the standard that we need to reach?” Nathan: “Say Our Goodbyes” is actually that song. It’s a single that we’re going to be releasing pretty soon, so we’re really stoked about that. And that was song - that was the moment in Harletson history where we realized that was it. That was the “a-ha” moment. And we knew we wanted to move forward with that type of sound. And started moving with that. That song is actually about all of our backgrounds, like where we came from - Jackson, Florida. Weston, North Carolina, and me, Chicago to Arizona and then here to L.A., like our trip here to LA. And it was easy for us to connect with that kind of thing. NKD: Since there are obviously so many people making music right now, and it’s easier than ever to put it online, what are you guys doing to get people interested right off the get go? Nathan: I think if you listen to “Say Our Goodbyes” or anything we’ve done, it just sounds different. It sounds classic. I mean, not The Eagles, because nothing can sound like The Eagles. Jackson: It’s the Harletson sound. We have our own vibe. Back to the question that you asked earlier about our sound - it’s very much our own. It’s just really awesome and I think the goal for every artist is to have their own sound. Most don’t achieve that and are okay with it, but I think we really fought to have our own feel, so, I feel like that’s probably it. It’s our Harletson sound. Weston: Yeah. And that’s why we’ve been posting a lot of covers - to get people excited about our sound and give them a taste. Like, how can we take this new, modern song and make it who we are? So that’s kind of how we’ve been getting people excited to hopefully hear our single. NKD: What is the process of you guys putting your covers together? Because they are very unique and your choices are very specific.

Nathan: We try to flip it on its head. Make it our own vibe. And I think a big process of it, again, is looking back on how The Eagles or Fleetwood Mac would sing their own music. So kind of giving it that feel, somewhat, too. And bringing back that acoustic-y vibe to it. Jackson: I think that a lot of the process to finding our covers is, like, one of us having an AUX cord in the car. Like hearing a song in the car and being like, “I love that song.” How can we do that song? Usually that’s kind of how we pick our songs. Or we hear it on the radio and we think sometimes that it’s got a good melody, but the production sucks, so how can we make it more Harletson? So I would say that most of our choices come from really, organically, us. Just listening to music together and hanging out. NKD: And moving forward, what’s your game plan for 2016? Weston: 2016 - well, we’re hoping to play a few more shows. We have a few shows lined up now. Nathan: This August we’re playing Show of the Summer at Hershey Park Stadium, so I’m excited about that. Jackson: Yeah, we’re really excited about that. Nathan: Just trying to build that fan base towards that, too. NKD: If you guys could accomplish one thing by this time next year, what would it be? Nathan: Just have a good fan base, and like be able to go anywhere, I guess within The States, and play. I don’t need to play for, like, 30,000 people, but, 500 people? I would love to do that every night. Jackson: We all wanna go on tour, so hopefully by this time next year, we are hoping to be doing that stuff. Weston: Yeah, I mean next year, I hope that our fans at least get something out of our music. That they see that we are kind of paying tribute to people of the past, but we’re also bringing back the morals and lyrics that they kind of fought for back then, which is, like, peace and love and unity. I feel like that’s missing in a lot of the music today. And hopefully within the next year, our music kind of reflects that people look at that and make the changes in society. That was happening back then. There were movements and that sort of thing, so I hope that we, in a weird way, start a rebellion. Jackson: A positive rebellion. NKD NKDMAG.COM

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