Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller first became friends while acting together
on a popular Nickelodeon show called Gigantic.
While they both loved acting, they also wanted to branch out and do
something else. Who better to embark on an exciting new journey in life
with than your BFF, right? That's exactly what they did and now we know
them as the popular American pop duo MKTO!
It's been a few
months since we last interviewed the guys when they were opening for
Emblem3's #bandlife tour. (See interview at
http://youtu.be/-jvYMnJVz3k) But, we recently had the pleasure of
talking to Tony Oller, half of the musical duo that sings about
everything from heartache to apologizing to dreams coming true. Just
listen to their songs once and you'll see why so many fans are falling
in love with them. Their biggest hit, “Classic,” which can be found on
their recently released debut album continues to
get daily airplay in spite the single being released nearly a year ago.
Their latest single is "American Dream."
After opening for Emblem3's tour, pop sensation Demi
Lovato nabbed the guys to open part of her tour. Now though, with their
popularity growing, you can see these talented guys live, as they embark
on their own headlining North American tour this summer! MKTO are two
guys that you will not want to miss.
Have
you achieved your
"American Dream" by headlining your own tour?
I guess that is the American dream. I think that the
American dream is setting it up to where you are as far as you can go.
[Where] the world as best as you make it. It definitely is an American
dream to be able to have the support that we do at this point in our
careers. To be able to play at live shows. We hope that there's more to
come.
Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?
Oh yeah definitely! Thank you for supporting us and
buying our records. We are so flattered. So many incredible feelings and
things to say to the fans. Just thank you and we are just incredibly
blessed.
Do you have any special surprises for your fans while on
tour?
We just got off a tour, so we have a little practice
in for this tour. We’ll definitely do things and bring guests out here
and there. We just brought this tour over, we did our first headlining
tour over in Australia which was amazing. Now we are going to bring it
to the States and we want have some fun.
You have any inspiration behind your song "Wasted?" About
a girl in particular?
Most songs in general are about a girl, but [they]
are a metaphor for something different. "Wasted" in general is about getting blurred in life, not living in
the moment and having time fly by. It's not enjoying every second in
this beautiful life we have. Not being able to see life clearly and
trying to get a focus.
What song would you say you are most emotionally attached
to on our album?
I would definitely have to say "Wasted." That it is not my favorite song. I have too many favorites
on there. Emotionally it connected for me, though, because it's more
me.
What is your favorite song off the album?
My favorite to perform live is
"American
Dream."
Do
you think your music has evolved since when you first started?
Oh, yeah. It's always evolving. It's from having
more opportunities to experience and see things. Especially this past
year, we've got a lot to talk about. We wrote a few songs for the next
record with a very cool sound. I think it could definitely evolve to a
more mature sound. So much has happened in the year that we can write
about to get off our chests. It would make a cool next album.
Are you going for more mature sound in the future?
I think our next album will go back to our roots.
Sort of "Airplane," B.O.B. sounding. But that’s a ways away. We’re
focused on the now. It’s mostly about whatever is good, label wise, but
we like to make whatever is good in general. All around good music.
What are you looking forward to most on your own tour?
The kid inside me is jumping up and down, saying
this is cool. That comes with the fact that we have a lot of work to do
to get this next record. We’re going to actually bring out a studio bus
for a couple of days and record the record on the road. So yeah I think
having that! We’re coming from a van with eight to ten people cramped in
there to having our own bus. We can record and walk freely. Just get on
the bus, record music and sleep. And not have to catch a flight.
Is there anything you have learned from Emblem3’s tour that
you are going to take onto your tour?
Yeah, I think we learned to get better. A lot of
people have a perspective of always partying on the road and messing
yourself up for more shows. I think it’s just the more shows you do, the
more mature you get. The more you learn what you can and cannot do.
Every show is a learning experience and hopefully it continues to be
better.
Are
you looking forward to any particular cities on this tour?
I look forward to all of them! Definitely visiting a
lot of places we haven't been to before. I’m from Houston, Texas, so I
look forward to playing at my hometown. That’s probably what I’m most
excited about. A lot of people said I couldn’t do it, but, hopefully
everyone comes out to the show. It’ll be cool! It paid off and worked
out.
Is there any advice you would like to give to the people
who are struggling with acceptance and proving themselves?
Yeah. Like anything, we all deal with it. We all
struggle, no matter how successful you are. It’s a lot of hard work!
High school and middle school... school in general is 12 years of your
life. School [may be something] that you may struggle with, but it's 12
years out of whatever the life expectancy is. It's a small part of your
life and you just have to get past it and don’t worry about it.
If you could bring only three things on tour with you, what
would you bring and why?
Definitely would be the laptop that has all of my
recording things on there. My travel piano, so that I can play the piano
and record on the road. And my mic, so I can record on the road. Got to
have the studio, can’t live without that.
So would you be able to live without food?
I mean, I would definitely need some hot Cheetos
once in a while. That’s my favorite food. I don’t know why but I could
eat them all day. Not the normal hot Cheetos, the baked version. That
flavor tastes so good. I’d have to have a bag of those.
ONES TO WATCH WITH SKYPE PRESENTS MKTO TOUR DATES
Date City Venue
June 27
Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
June
28 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
June
30 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
July 1
Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre
July
5 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
July
6 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
July
8 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
July
9 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
July
11 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues
July
12 Las Vegas, NV Bank at the
Bellagio
July
13 San Diego, CA House of Blues
July
15 Bakersfield, CA B Ryder's
July
16 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
July
17 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
July
19 Reno, NV Reno Events
Center (w/ Demi Lovato)
July
20 Paso Robles, CA California Mid-State
Fair (w/ Demi Lovato)
July
22 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
July
24 Houston, TX House of Blues
July
25 Dallas, TX House of Blues
July
26 Pomona, NY Provident Bank Park
July
27 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
July
29 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
July
30 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues
August
1 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
