00:00I just fell in love with it and fell in love with the sound and all the artists attached to that
00:04sound and that time and music just isn't like that anymore. Hey everyone, it's Steven Sanchez
00:10and you're watching Billboard News.
00:20Hey everybody, it's Rania Nipdos with Billboard News and I'm so excited we're here with the
00:24ultimate crooner today, Steven Sanchez. I mean we gotta get to the beginning of it. Of course
00:31people love you for your kind of 1950s style, fresh take on a throwback time that people missed.
00:38Have you always been into that? Oh man, I grew up kind of surrounded by that music a little bit,
00:44but also there was a ton of self-discovery as well. I think more than anything, you know,
00:49the lyricism and the orchestral production of those songs, it makes you feel nostalgic even
00:57more. I mean probably back then that was the norm, right? Like I don't think anyone was feeling
01:01nostalgia. I definitely feel like their love was soundtracked by that music,
01:06but I think now even more so there's this feeling of nostalgia.
01:09Georgia, pulled me in, I asked her.
01:15Well that was super clear until I found you because I think people are yearning for this
01:20old-school type of love, you know, and a lot of people ended up using that song on TikTok to
01:26kind of romanticize the romance. I mean how did it feel when you put a song like that out there,
01:33I guess in your own way, experiencing that type of love and then seeing other people connect with
01:38it? I mean it was exciting really. I mean it's definitely like an out-of-body experience to
01:42hear a song everywhere, you know, and you know it's just the sign of times, you know, you just
01:49you open your phone you're able to kind of connect with the world immediately and that can be a good
01:52thing and a bad thing for sure, but I think it's good when there are moments with songs like that
01:58that feel they're universal and there's a connectivity across, you know, just everybody,
02:05just everybody's individual lives and their stories and they can all come into agreement on
02:09one thing, which I feel like the way the world is right now it's kind of just divided and things
02:13are kind of falling apart in some sort of way and so I feel like people are looking for a hero
02:17in a lot of ways whether that be through music and lyricism and the melodies and how they connect
02:22people to each other or, you know, just art in itself and the visuals of everything, but I feel
02:26like Until I Found You has been really special because it kind of came at a really perfect and
02:31interesting time where like music just isn't like that anymore and lyrics just aren't like that
02:37anymore and yeah it feels like a cool hand raise from that time but that music is still cool and
02:46like it has a life and a breath, you know? Yeah, that's good. You're using, I guess, social media
02:51to spread a beautiful positive message and I think a lot of it, a lot of people have become
02:56kind of jaded to social media and its toxicity. It was cool to see you kind of have this little
03:02beam of light like love exists, look how special this moment is, you know, they should find.
03:07And then, of course, you built on that success with your debut album, Angel Face, and now you
03:12have the deluxe version. Club Deluxe. So tell me about like picking five more songs to go on the
03:19album. What was the thought process behind that? Interesting. It wasn't really tremendously
03:24thought out in the sense that like it was pre-planned. I think these songs kind of
03:29existed in the creation of the record and I think they weren't raising their hands just yet and then
03:35I think when the story was complete, you know, The True Door and Evangeline and Hunter and that whole
03:40triangle of tragedy and that story was told, we were able to kind of add in songs that maybe didn't
03:45make the record the first time around. Songs that still match the sentiments of ones that exist on
03:58the new record. Songs like The Other Side, you know, feel like they go hand-in-hand with High
04:02and This Thing Called Love goes hand-in-hand with Something About Her and, you know, Emotional
04:06Vacation is like, well, that's kind of a black sheep, that one. But, you know, or Fame or Fortune
04:12kind of wraps up and sums up the whole thing, you know. For me, personally, anyway, like, you know,
04:17The True Door wanted to leave behind all the fame and fortune to fall in love and I feel like that's
04:21always been really important to me is like prioritizing what's actually important. Yeah,
04:25so I feel like when it came to picking the songs, I think it was just like what feels true and honest
04:30with myself as an artist but also what feels true and honest with these characters and their stories
04:35and the fictional lens that they're seeing this story through and yeah, it's really sweet to have
04:41it out now. Yeah, and it's so fun and creative with this whole True Door storyline. I mean,
04:46how did you even think to do that? Like, what was the inspiration behind adding like a fictional
04:52element to the whole thing? Not sure. Yeah, there's a lot of 50s and 60s stories. I mean,
05:00there's like Gunslingers and Spaghetti Western stuff, you know, from Marty Robbins who's telling
05:05stories of, you know, Felida and the cowboy that, you know, was gunned down because he shot somebody
05:13over her, you know, and it's just interesting stuff like that that really stuck out to me because
05:18there's not a lot of that showing up either. There's not a lot of storytelling, I think,
05:21happening anymore and I really like looking at records now through the lens of a storyteller,
05:26even if it's, they're true stories but told through like a fictional character, which is
05:30great and so I think there's elements of, you know, my life showing up in this record. Do you
05:35feel pigeonholed at all that you've put yourself kind of in this like retro crooner with a fresh
05:40take? Like, do you feel like maybe moving on to another record that you have to stay in that lane
05:44or do you feel comfortable branching out as well? Or is that just your passion? No, I don't feel
05:51pressure. I think it's, things are cool because they don't last forever, you know, things are
05:55beautiful because they'll last forever and, you know, Angel Face and and this Sal and this record
06:00end here, you know, it's done here because it's going to be forever cool because it
06:05ended, you know, and I always want to look at making records from like a screenplay writer,
06:12like directorial position to write characters and write new stories.
06:23Tell it through a different lens, through a different sound and yeah, it'd be a bummer to
06:27get stuck in like one thing, you know, and there's artists I admire a lot, like like Lourdes
06:32Huron. He goes from, you know, doing the singer songwriter, like adventurous feeling anthematic
06:38record to a, you know, a long lost, you know, cowboy in the desert, you know, trying to find
06:44his way through like strange lands. And I really admire that. And so I think there's a there's
06:50elements of different artistry that, you know, they kind of are daring, which I admire a lot. So
06:57yeah, probably probably just keep making whatever. Yeah, I mean, separately, it seems like movie
07:01making is also on the horizon. Creativity is crazy. I love that. And of course, we have to
07:07talk about the Beach Boys documentary. You were just at the premiere. I mean, Baby Blue bathing
07:13suit. Tell me about when you got the call to make a song for a documentary like this about such an
07:18iconic group. I was in London playing show. And it's funny, prior to that, like weeks before,
07:25John Stamos, months before came to our show in L.A. and John Stamos plays with the Beach Boys.
07:32And and then weeks after that show that we played in L.A., he sends me a video of him in my glove
07:40listening to my record. And crazy. And then we were and then we're in London, you know, and that's
07:48I get that video and I'm watching that. That's crazy. That's a Beach Boy listening to
07:53my song, you know, and he thinks it's good, which is so kind. And then we get this email
07:57while I'm in London and it goes, oh, would you be interested in being a part of the Beach Boys
08:02documentary? Like, sure. Like, yeah. Like, would he be interested in singing a song being written
08:07for the Beach Boys documentary? It's like, yeah, who do we do it with? It's like, oh, Dan Nigro
08:11and Amy Ann. I'm like, great. Let's do that. And so we did. And we got into the studio at Abbey Road,
08:16which is amazing because, you know, the rivalry between the Beach Boys and the Beatles. And it's
08:21felt like a bunch of full circle, beautiful moments. And I felt like I got more connected
08:26and fell more in love with the band, too, because I got to learn so much about who they are as
08:30artists and how they worked. And then working with Dan and Amy, who are such pros, was such
08:37a tremendous honor, too. And I was amazing. It's real cool. And now we're going to be on a seven
08:43inch record with them. Good vibrations on one side and babymoon baby on the other. It's pretty
08:48crazy. The song is so cool because it's so you, but it also fits so well with like a Beach Boys
09:00documentary. How did you, Dan and Amy, kind of blend those two things in the writing sessions?
09:06Yeah, I mean, I think it was just something that kind of felt pretty natural. I think,
09:11you know, they had the idea for the melody and everything. And then we kind of edited lyrics
09:16here and there. But that was really just Dan Agro's incredible producing that enabled that song to
09:22take some flight. And yeah, it was cool. It was cool to just like come in and be a part of it.
09:27Then for it to be, you know, oh, this is all my thing. And I like I'm constructing the song the
09:32way I want it, the way it's cool to be more collaborative and just kind of let somebody
09:36construct it. And then I get to be a part of that. So that was really great. I mean,
09:40speaking of icons too, Priscilla Prince, believe herself, saw a video of you and like gave it her
09:47stamp of approval. It was very cool. Obviously. I mean, I think a lot of people look at you and
09:51you're like, OK, well, great. We have a new Elvis. Finally, we have a new crooner in town.
09:57How did it feel to have Priscilla look at your video, first of all, see your video and also
10:02love it? Man, my buddy, Connor, who shoots, Connor Peterson, who shoots photos for us on tour.
10:09He's like the biggest hype man ever. And so usually when something crazy happens,
10:15he'll be the first one to come be like, did you see that? Like, did you see this? And I remember
10:20I saw it first. I just kind of sat there looking at it. We're on the tour bus.
10:23And he opens the door to the back lounge and he goes,
10:27he just flips around. I'm like, dude, I know like, oh, my gosh. And we also it's just a testament
10:33that we have the best fans in the whole world because, you know, it's because of a fan,
10:37you know, loving our our music that they went, met Priscilla Presley like, yo, you should you
10:42should check out this dude. And not it's amazing. It's like a tremendous gift to to be approved by
10:49so many, so many icons like Elton John and the Beach Boys and Priscilla Presley. And, you know,
10:54it's it's amazing. It really is. Yeah. I mean, you have these like back to back to back moments
11:00that if I were in your position, I'd be like, this isn't real like this. There's no way any
11:04of this is happening to me. I mean, how do you stay present and grounded as you navigate this
11:10just insane year that you've had? Oh, just just faith. I think faith is a really important thing
11:17to me. And I think I just like I just recognize I'm not I'm not the hero. I'm not like the most
11:24important thing. And also it's super unnatural to receive praise at the magnitude in which
11:30artists do and glorification and, you know, accolades for for the things that they accomplish,
11:36because it's like, how do you how do you take credit for something that feels like beyond
11:40what like you're actually capable of doing on your own?
11:47I don't know. It just helps me remind me that, like, there are more important things and like
11:52how how big you can become and how much money you can make and how many numbers you can gain,
11:58and yeah, I don't know. So I think that's that's a really important thing to me.
12:02Yeah, also spoke to me like when you said earlier that everything's temporary, everything passes,
12:07and I feel like that, at least in my experience, allows you to stay present as you navigate these
12:13things, because you're like this, I'm living this right now. I need to enjoy it while it's here.
12:17For sure. There's like an incredible gratitude with that. Definitely, which is nice to feel
12:21as well, like knowing that you've been given something for a short time, you get to do
12:26as much as you can with it. And then it just, it just goes away at some point, which is awesome.
12:32Well, with your trajectory, I don't think it's a short amount of time.
12:36A long career. And moving forward, you have a string of really cool festival dates this
12:42summer by barking on I mean, for someone who hasn't been to Stephen Sanchez show,
12:46what can they expect? Oh, man, it's so funny. I feel like
12:51folks who've listened to our records and stuff, don't expect it to be as big and loud as it is.
12:57But it's just like the new record, but like times 10 adrenaline, adrenaline, like it's just like,
13:04it's a it's a good time. And there's a lot of shaking, lots of moves on stage, lots of moments.
13:08And I think it'll be really exciting. We're gonna fall tour. It's gonna be exciting. And I hope to
13:13see everybody out there. So come get your show. Is there a song that maybe on the deluxe album
13:18that you're excited to see the reaction live? Yeah, the other side has been a fun one that
13:23we've been playing. But also songs like fame or fortune. I mean, it's just amazing that I mean,
13:29there are these moments during shows, where like no one, no one is making a single noise. And it's
13:36usually during fame or fortune. And it's like, I'm excited to just have more moments like that
13:41because I feel like I really have in that moment. And it's, it's exciting. So beautiful.
13:47It's cool that you just have these fans that are so connected to you and your message and
13:52your story that they're willing to go along for the ride. You know, the serious moments are quiet
13:58and the ruckus moments are exciting. You know, they kind of just go along with you. And I think
14:03that's so great. Oh, thanks. And yeah, I mean, thank you so much, Stephen. This is wonderful.
14:08I'm so happy for your success and good luck for the future. Thanks so much.
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