You’d be lying if you said you didn’t listen to Echosmith’s “Cool Kids” on repeat for months during high school. It was the song played at every school dance, the song that you sang in front of the mirror, the song you blasted in your car while your friends sang along. After waiting several years to release a second album, Echosmith is back and better than ever with Inside a Dream, with tracks including “Future Me” and “Get Into My Car.” They recently released “Over My Head,” and we’re already obsessed.
Her Campus spoke with the band’s lead singer, Sydney Sierota, about her favorite parts of touring, her experience performing with her brothers and whether she’d ever consider a solo career.
Her Campus: Over the past few months you’ve released several singles from your Inside a Dream album. How has your sound changed since 2013?
Sydney Sierota: I've definitely changed a lot because in our first album we were five years younger. Naturally, you're going to change a bit with time, especially at the age I am. I was 14 or 15 when we were writing and recording our first album, and now I'm about to be 21. My experience at that age was totally different, so naturally we just changed a little bit in our music influences—staying mostly the same—but there are other artists that we discovered along the way. But we really wanted to be intentional about the core of who we were to remain the same. It's also important that if you grew up with our music to let ourselves experiment.
You're supposed to be slightly different on your second album, and every album, to make sure you're being innovative and evolving as a band. I feel like that's just naturally happened for us because of the time, but there's also the fact that Jamie left. He was a big part of the band. He played the guitar and sang, and was a big band leader. It changed a lot of dynamics not having him there, so essentially there was that transition as well. What we had to try to figure out was how to fill the hole. Of course, there's still guitar music, but it doesn't have the same charge as before.
HC: You’re currently on the Inside a Dream Tour until the middle of May, what are you looking forward to most about this experience? Is there anything you dislike about touring?
SS: I'm just excited to be on the road again and be with the band. I mean, we haven't toured in like two years, so this is a big deal to be out here again getting to play new music and a lot from the first album. I'm excited to share those experiences with people again finally, and I feel like when you put new music out, it's important to play it live. It gives those songs a whole new life when you get to hear other humans singing it with you. I'm also really excited for the fact that we get to see everyone again and see fans that have been to so many shows already—and all the music, of course. It's fun exploring different cities and to see the different sights even if I've been here already. I'm like, "Oh, what coffee shops haven't I been to yet?" These little things make your day different in a kind of way. My least favorite part of touring is just a lack of sleep. I really value my sleep, and it's just very tiring because you do a promo and then a show and then meet and greets. You just get tired, you know? I drink lots of coffee on the road.
HC: How do you get yourself pumped up for a performance? Do you have any rituals to help with nerves or stress?
SS: I mean, I suck at doing this, but I try to do vocal warm ups every day before a show. Also, I try to stretch, which really does help when you're performing. I used to think all that was minor until I started stretching before shows, and I realized my body literally felt better as opposed to just hanging out, sitting and watching Netflix. I just felt more energized if I was intentionally doing something before. Those are little things that I've tried to make sure that I do every day. I also have a specific tea that I drink. It's just Throat Coat tea, and then I put hot water and lemon and honey and all these different things that are really good for your voice. Other people told me about it, so I drink it all the time. I don't know if it's mental that it makes me feel better, but it does. We always pray as a band before the show that it all goes well and that we can do our best, because you're going to mess up, but as long as you're doing your best and giving your all, I think that's really all that matters.
HC: What has it been like performing with your brothers? Has being in a band together helped you all grow closer?
SS: It actually has because it forces us to be more intentional with each other. We might be working together all day, but we still have to be intentional with hanging out. That's one struggle I guess we have working together, especially because we're like, "We work together so much. Do we have to hang out?" Working together isn't the same thing as spending quality time together. It's something that's not as easy but has allowed for more opportunities to hang out. I walked with my brother Noah (bass player) to get coffee this morning, and then I walked with Graham (drummer) to get breakfast. There's little things that we do that we wouldn't have the opportunity to do if we weren't touring together.
HC: If you hadn’t broken into the entertainment industry at such a young age, where would you see yourself now? Would you be in college or pursuing a different career path?
SS: Honestly, I don't know because I've always told myself that I'd be doing music forever. I got so lucky that I'm able to do it and that it worked out. But I think if I didn't do this or it ended up not working out that I'd probably be in college because I'm a very social person. I think it's so cool that you can live in your own dorm with friends, like that's so awesome that you can hang out all the time. I always thought that it sounded so fun, and even now I'll talk to friends that are in college and almost get jealous. Then I remember what I'm doing is awesome in a different kind of way. I feel like I wanted to go to college at one point if this didn't work out. I mean learning is fun, but I don't love writing essays.
HC: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given as a performer?
SS: The best advice that I've been given is probably from Seal. I became friends with him a while ago, and I remember that our first album was about to come out. We were talking and I was telling him how nervous I felt. He just reminded me, "Do you feel proud of it?" I was like, "Yeah of course!" He's like, "Do you love it?" I'm like, "Yeah!" I feel those are some simple questions and he told me that they are all that matter. As long as you feel proud of it, then that's all that matters. People will respond. I keep that with me now, and we've been working on this second album and even with the EP and all of our new music, I just keep reminding myself that what matters most is that I'm proud of it and that I love the music. It's a message that I love, and someone else is going to relate to it no matter what. It's important to make music for that reason than to just please other people.
HC: Would you ever consider a career as a solo artist in the future?
SS: People have asked me that before, and I just have no interest. Maybe I'll feel different one day, but I just love doing this with my brothers so much because I like having partners with me. I don't want to go and walk red carpets alone. I don't want to be on stage with all the focus on me. I like having my brothers there for merely just comfort, and it's more fun that way. Again, maybe one day I'll feel differently, but so far this whole time whenever I think about that, I always remind myself, "Man, I do not want to do this without them." It's also just so much fun having my family there, and I wouldn't want to have a bunch of random people playing on stage with me instead of the people I love, so it's definitely not in the plan.
