Q&A: Kendall Schmidt is Finding Joy in the Little Things
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SHEVON GREENE ☆
Photo by Jack Balaban
KENDALL SCHMIDT HAS BEEN KEEPING BUSY LATELY—and not just with music. When we hopped on a Zoom call, the Big Time Rush singer was in the middle of a busy day of family life in Nashville, where he’s now raising his young daughter with his wife.
After years of making music through Big Time Rush and Heffron Drive, Schmidt is more than familiar with bringing his own creativity to different spaces. Big Time Rush even took control of its own future when the group went independent in 2021. Now, his solo music is giving him the chance to explore a sound that’s a little closer to what he’s listened to himself and has always felt connected to.
His latest single, “Good Love,” is a perfect example of that. Schmidt’s voice is just as recognizable as I remember from my Big Time Rush days, but the sound itself is so much more down-to-earth. Inspired by the likes of Bon Iver, the track finds him reflecting on the comfort of having a loving partner and how much easier life can feel because of it.
Throughout our chat, Schmidt’s warm energy was evident as we chatted about everything from fatherhood and finding his own sound to photography and his latest DIY projects. If anything, it’s clear that he’s finding just as much fulfillment in the little things as he is in making music. Read the full conversation with Luna below.
Photo by Jack Balaban
LUNA: First off, congrats on “Good Love!” I really love how warm and laid-back it is compared to some of the bigger pop music you've made throughout your career. What made you want to explore a more stripped-back sound and how has that shift been so far?
SCHMIDT: I think there was always this feeling throughout the years. I didn't necessarily have this figured out when I was working on Big Time Rush and Heffron Drive stuff, but there was always this idea in the back of my mind, even before I booked the show [Big Time Rush], that I was making music I liked, but not music that I listened to.
I always wanted to be in an emo band. I wanted to get signed to MySpace Records. That was the end-all, be-all. But obviously, I learned quickly to love the experience, and I always wanted to be an actor, so that was the main thing. Still, I kept thinking, “I don't think I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.”
With Big Time Rush, you're writing with a bunch of people, and Heffron Drive was amazing and much closer to what I wanted, but I was still writing and producing songs with another person, so you get two different tastes.
Finally, I realized that in order to really get to the root of what I'm trying to say or how I'm trying to say it, I need to do it myself. I was lucky enough to meet Adam Korbesmeyer through writing with Big Time Rush. I remember sending him some ideas, and he really understood what I was going for. Then we went down this road of exploring sounds like Cigarettes After Sex and other indie music.
I finally felt like I was expressing myself in the music that I love. That doesn't mean I'm not going to write some big pop bangers with the band, but I was always putting my indie-ness into Big Time Rush songs, which maybe made them special in some way. I just felt like I needed to really be my authentic self.
LUNA: That's really awesome to hear how you're still able to bring yourself into Big Time Rush and Heffron Drive, but now you're able to fully do that yourself. I heard you took inspiration from some of Bon Iver's earlier work for “Good Love,” which I thought was really interesting. What was it about that sound that felt right for the song?
SCHMIDT: For “Good Love” specifically, the thing that I was fascinated with was with his older music. No pun intended, but specifically with “Skinny Love,” I loved how he did his vocals and how they were so present. I have other songs where my vocals are much more indie-fied, where they're tucked back in the music. I wanted this one to sound like I'm right in front of you. I studied how he did his vocals a bit, and Adam and I listened to a lot of it. Really, it was about stripping back the production so that it could be heard.
I always wanted to try my voice in a different way, but early in my career I realized I sing like a pop singer. Every time I'm singing something, I sound like a pop guy. I know I do pop music, but I'm not a pop guy at heart. It took a while to figure out what I sound like when I'm not. I learned that I don’t need to always be singing full-on or be at the peak of my register. It was a lot of exploring.
I would listen to indie music, and I'm like, “None of these people sing like the traditional singer that you think of, like an American Idol singer.” They all sound so cool because of what they're saying and how they're saying it. I figured I could find my version of that.
LUNA: It feels very authentic and stripped-back. The vocals are very present and that was super evident even just from listening to the track.
SCHMIDT: My mom still says with the other songs, like “Any Less” or “Honeydew,” “I can't really hear the vocals all that well.” I think she always expects me to be singing front-forward. Anyway, “Good Love” should not be an issue with that (laughs).
LUNA: I wanted to ask about becoming a father. Music has always been a part of your life, but fatherhood has introduced an entirely new part of it. Has that changed the things you notice or find inspiration in when you're writing?
SCHMIDT: The typical expectation people might have with having a kid is that the first thing you do is write a song about or for your kid. There were a couple of times when I was working on these songs where I was trying to do that. Then I realized, “I haven't even been a father for that long, and there's so much to learn.” Of course, I could write something general and vague, but at the time, she was only one. When I was writing this music, I hadn't even had time to really explore that yet.
It's one thing to be in a relationship for a long time, like [my wife] Mica and I have. It's another thing to be married, and then it's another thing to have a kid and write songs about love with the context of the things that you notice when you have a kid; how relationships change, how your relationship changes to really focusing a lot on your child. Not to forget about just keeping her alive! She's got to be fed, and she's got to sleep. Having a kid in the context of your relationship changes how you interact with each other, and that changed the way I wrote songs about our relationship. It just adds a whole different dynamic.
Of course, there will be many songs for my kid. I even included her in “Honeydew,” where she's got her little laugh at the end of the song, and she listens to it just for that part. Those songs will come, but there's so much to talk about when it comes to the adjustment of being in a relationship with a kid in it.
Photo by Jack Balaban
LUNA: I also read that you've been recording a lot of your solo music at home, even using some of the same equipment you've had for over a decade. What do you love about working in that environment compared to making music in bigger studios with larger teams?
SCHMIDT: I've always had a studio. From when I was a teenager, it was just a laptop and a microphone. But every time I've lived somewhere, whether in LA or Nashville, I've probably had eight different iterations of a home studio.
Where I live now is really cool. We have this guest house, and there's a ladder that goes up to a lofted area, like 15 feet up. When you're up there, it feels like you're in this treehouse. It's not some studio where everything is perfectly soundproofed. It's hardly soundproofed at all.
As far as the equipment goes, I made some purchases that I considered lifelong purchases. I bought a microphone and equipment that I shouldn't ever have to replace. The only thing I've replaced a bunch is my computer, obviously, because they just end up sucking after five years.
You develop this relationship with this stuff. It becomes a piece of you, and even if the shit hit the fan, I probably wouldn't sell it. I'm very proud of my small collection.
To be honest, I don't ever really feel comfortable in a big studio. Number one, it's rented. It costs money. Number two, it's not your stuff. There's usually a runner or an engineer or someone you don't know. Going into somebody else's studio that's rented for the day, it's harder to be creative there.
LUNA: Being in your own home studio, you're familiar with the space and you're comfortable there. That's probably where the best inspiration and creativity come from.
SCHMIDT: And I’m using my own restroom!
LUNA: And another bonus, you can make music in your PJs. I love how involved you are in the visual side of your solo music, especially with your background in photography. Do you already have a visual idea in mind when you're making a song, or does that come together afterward?
SCHMIDT: I wish I could say I'm more prepared than I am, but everything in my life creatively happens last minute. Especially now, I'm either doing the dishes, making food or mowing the lawn. I live a pretty suburban life. So when it comes time to make the artwork, I'm always like, “Damn, I didn't think of this.”
A solution has been the fact that I take so many photos. I've probably got thousands and thousands of film photos, and there's plenty I've already taken that would work well with the artwork. It's like a fun little Easter egg.
In the case of “Good Love,” I knew I wanted to do something with a peach. I took some photos of peaches, but that didn't do it for me. So I got the idea to do my best watercolor peach. I didn't like how that looked either, so I was like, “What if I take this watercolor painting I did, and then I copy it on a copier?”
I made a copy, scanned it and had that put into the artwork. So the actual picture on “Good Love” is a watercolored, copied peach that I did myself.
LUNA: That's awesome! It's like mixed media, going from the original watercolor picture, which originally came from just a picture of a peach.
SCHMIDT: And believe it or not, I got my printer to work! That's a huge accomplishment (laughs).
LUNA: A lot of people who grew up listening to Big Time Rush are now experiencing the same life milestones you're writing about. What's it been like having those fans grow alongside you?
SCHMIDT: Some fans that I've seen since I was much younger, and they were much younger than that, now are having kids. Seeing people who I first saw when they were like eight, and now they're married. Having people come up and say, “You were my first concert. I was five.”
It's wild. Time goes by very fast, and suddenly you blink, and I'm 35, and all these people are grown up.
I also wanted to evolve myself as an artist to be fitting with the person I am now. Not everyone knows about my solo music, so a lot of the people who are finding it are these amazing fans who've been there with me every step of the way through Heffron Drive and all that stuff.
I think a lot of people still think Big Time Rush [from the TV show] is a real band that's from Minnesota and they're hockey players. It's all very interesting. I'm so lucky and blessed that this thing I did a long time ago still allows me to do the thing I love. At the time, we just didn't realize what it meant to people.
LUNA: If you were to pick one timeless song from your three different eras—Big Time Rush, Heffron Drive and your solo career—which songs would you say are the ones you go back to or think of every now and then that you consider timeless?
SCHMIDT: From Big Time Rush, you’d be hard-pressed to ask any of us this question and not get the same answer. All of us love “No Idea.” To me, that's a timeless song. Obviously, “Worldwide” is timeless. “Boyfriend,” in a funny way, still feels current. As we play that song, it doesn't feel like a song from 2010. It feels like, “This song slaps.” I'll also say “Cover Girl” just because that was one of the first songs I felt like I really let myself open up into songwriting. I was with people where it was just me from the band, and I was working with some amazing people like Lindy Robbins and Toby Gad. I was like, “I can't even believe these people take me seriously.” That was a big moment for me.
With Heffron Drive, one song to me that is very, very cool is “Nicotine.” “Parallel” seems like it would be the obvious one, but I love “Art of Moving On” as well. Those are timeless.
Then for my new stuff, my favorite is always going to be “Honeydew.” I just love it. It hit a note for me lyrically and sonically that I was like, “Wow, I said what I wanted to say.” There was no filler. Plus, my kid's in it.
LUNA: Before we wrap up, can you give us a sneak peek into what's coming next? I know you've always loved acting, so is there anything with music or acting coming up, or maybe something outside of music that you're really excited about?
SCHMIDT: As far as my music goes, while I'm not on tour with the band, everyone is off doing all the things they've been putting off for five years. I'm doing the same thing. We've got some stuff planned, and until then, I plan to put out a song every month or so. I don't want to do an album because I feel like it gets skipped over. There will come a time, it's just not right now. I'm barely building my catalog.
As far as acting goes, I wish! It's tough. A while ago, I committed to doing music, but I would love to. I think it's hard for almost every actor right now anyway. It's not an easy business. There are very few auditions, and a lot of people are just making offers.
I've also been doing a lot of DIY stuff at my house, which I'm really excited about. We have this closet, and my wife recently said, “Hey, these shelves are so cruddy. Do you think you can redo these shelves?”
When I took them out, I realized the whole closet was ugly. Our house is from the '30s, and everything was all jacked up and out of level. So I was like, “I'm going to do a cedar closet.”
My dad's a contractor, and I've got tools galore. I told Mica, “Just give me two days of focus.” And it's amazing. It smells incredible! I used aromatic cedar, and that's the kind of stuff that jazzes me up too. It's not just about performing and music. It's the little things as well.
LUNA: It really is the little things and being able to find that balance. You're still making music and finding joy in that, but you're also able to find joy in the simplicity of those things too. Not that DIY is simple, because I know there's a lot that goes into it.
SCHMIDT: I also wouldn't be fulfilling my millennial obligations if I didn't start DIYing my house. It kind of comes with the territory.
LUNA: I still have yet to get to that point, but probably one day (laughs)!
SCHMIDT: Don't worry, it'll happen!
