The Buzz - BuzzWorthy Radio

KEVIN RUDOLF!

Having worked himself up from guitar virtuoso to electronic music maven to studio musician to recording artist to hit producer, Kevin Rudolf is one of today's premier Renaissance Men.

Those who heard "Let It Rock" without knowing Rudolf would be forgiven for thinking the hit single came out of nowhere. In fact, it was actually just one step in an already long and storied career. Now, after experiencing the gift and the curse of a huge record, Rudolf returns a smarter, more experienced, songwriter, singer and producer with his upcoming album, which has yet to be titled, featuring guest appearances by Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wayne and Rivers Cuomo.

With the success of "Let It Rock," Rudolf's mind state shifted from tenuous to confident. "When you make a hit, you become a hit-maker in your own mind. Your whole swag is different and you get a lot of confidence in your success," says Rudolf. "With the new album, I'm going into it as someone who knows how to make hit records. Last time, I was just scrounging to figure out how to get on. Now I'm on and it's just about building on what I've achieved already. I know what I'll never do again."

For the upcoming album Rudolf relocated from Miami to Los Angeles, building an in-house studio that became the de facto recording center for some of music's biggest acts, including Weezer, Simple Plan, Leona Lewis, Three 6 Mafia and Natasha Bedingfield. A new Hit Factory of sorts, Rudolf's house became a creative wellspring, attracting top talent that equally influenced, and was influenced by, his production skills.

Duration:: 30m
Broadcast on:: 17 Mar 2010
Audio Format:: other

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Buzzworthy Radio. Today is March 17, 2010. My name is Joanne, and I'm filling in for your regular host, Nudell Jay Lane, who happens to be around business this afternoon. So I thank you all for tuning in, and I'd just love to say Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all as well. I hope everyone is getting their green on, and their corn beefing cabbage and all that good stuff, but people, please do remember, drink responsibly, today is a day where it's known for many, many DYs that happen, and unfortunately a lot of accidents happen. So let's be responsible about it, and take your time, arrive alive, don't drink and drive. That's my PSA for this afternoon. Coming up, we have a wonderful guest that's about to call in very shortly, Kevin Rudolph. He's a fabulous musician, singer-songwriter, so if you guys just chill out and hang out for a little bit, he'll be with us very soon. Hang on just a few. I'm going to play a few things, and we'll get back to you as soon as our guest comes on the show. Hey, this is Michael Grazade. You're listening to Buzzworthy Radio, and if you're not, you should be. And if it's Buzzworthy Radio, right here on your internet, I'm laughing at the CMT, and this is pretty much where I hang out all the time when I'm not on the air, so you should too. See ya! Hey, everybody, this is John Driscoll from Young and the Restless, the new Philip Chancellor of the Fourth. You are listening to Buzzworthy Radio right now with Navell, stay tuned for what's coming up, what's happening, what's going on, and what will be coming up, what drama to be expected on your favorite folks, listening. Hi, this is Dr. Blochstein, and you're listening to Buzzworthy Radio on Bloch. What? No, I can't do it like he does it. I just can't. Alright, I'll try. G'day, guys, it's Daniel Goddard from Young and the Restless, and this is my Australian Accent. It's, uh, Buzzworthy Radio, and it is a fantastic place to be. Hi, I'm Crystal Chabelle from Guiding Light and you are watching the brilliant Buzzworthy radio. [Sound of a radio] You are now listening to Buzz, radio, yo, but it has to go. This is Blake Lewis, you're listening to Buzz, right, right, right, right, right, right, radio. Buzz, Buzz, what were they? What were they? What were they? What were they? What were they radio? I'm Allison Brie from NBC's Community and AMC's Madness, and you're listening to Baldworthy Radio. She asks hard-hitting questions. I want to know if you guys are wearing clean underwear tonight. She invites listeners to actively take part in the show. You want to put makeup on my husband? See ya! Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! You were not letting me do Buzz Radio Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo! This is Blake Lewis. You know what I mean? Buzz! Right right right right. Buzz! Buzz! What were they? What were they? Radio! Come get you live! It is Buzzworthy Radio! But you can get the latest Buzz! I'm all your favorite shows and stars! Buzzworthy! It's Buzz! Now! Can't get enough of Buzzworthy Radio! I've gotten down to www.buzzworthyradio.net to get the latest news. I'm upcoming guests, past shows and videos of all your favorite stars! Keep getting the latest Buzz! With Buzzworthy! Well guys, our guests, Kevin Rudolph, should be calling in any minute. Looking forward to Chit Chat and with him. It's an amazing story that he has on how he got started. So I'm hoping that he'll delve into a little bit of that as well. For those of you who are tuning in just now, my name is Joanne. I'm the host of Stardish Radio, filling in for Nivelle J. Lee, who is the host of Buzzworthy Radio. He's away on business and just kind of helping each other out because that's how we are. I'm going to help each other out all the time. But feel free to check out Stardish Radio also. I have to say myself, it's a pretty good show. But again, we're waiting for Kevin Rudolph to call in, which I just got word. He should be calling in any minute. Let me give you a little bit of background on the gentleman. He worked himself up from a guitar virtuoso to electronic music, an even studio musician, to recording artists to hit producers. He is definitely one of today's premier Renaissance men. Those who heard "Let It Rock" without knowing Rudolph would be forgiven for thinking the hit single came out of nowhere. In fact, it was actually just one step in an already long and storied career. Now after experiencing the gift and the curse of a huge record, Rudolph returns a smarter, more experienced songwriter, singer, and producer with his upcoming album, which has yet to be titled featuring guest appearances by 3/6 Mafia, Little Wayne, Rivers Cuomo, with the success of "Let It Rock." His state of mind went from tenuous to confident. So we're going to talk to him about all of that stuff and some more and see what's coming down the pike. I know he's got some upcoming appearances that we're going to go through. You should check out KevinRudolf.com. That's R-U-D-O-L-F dot com to check and register. So you can check and see if he's going to be in an area near you. I know I'm checking it out. He's definitely going to be in my area. And when he gets here, I'm definitely going to go see him. So let's see. I'm going to put this in the chat room. I'm going to put his website in the chat room for you guys. KevinRudolf.com. And take a minute to register and see what kind of stuff he has going on over there. He'll be with us any minute I'm told. So just hang on a couple minutes more, I hope. In the meantime, let's see what else is going on that we can talk about. If you guys are on Twitter, you can follow BuzzworthyRadio on Twitter at BuzzworthyRadio, just the way that it is. And you can also find NovellJly on Twitter at NovellJly. And check out BuzzworthyRadio.net for all the upcoming news on guests' appearances. Novell's latest interviews, his excursions out to Los Angeles at the drop of a dime to go interview some fabulous soap stars and other actors. All that can be found at buzzworthyradio.net. So make sure that you check that out. It is definitely worth the finger typing. I'm putting that in the chat room for you as well. And let's see what's the latest trending topic on Twitter. Anybody? Anybody? It looks like that a lot of people are talking about American Idol. I mean, it's definitely something happened last night with Ryan Seacrest. I'm not too sure what that is. I didn't watch it. So I'll have to see if I have any video on that and check it out and what happened with him. I'm going to see who this is. Coler, who's this? Hello? Hi, who's this? Sam? Hi, Kim. How are you? I'm good, how are you? Good, you call on to talk to Kevin Rudolph? Yeah, hopefully you're good. Okay, well, soon as he calls in, I'll get him on the line for you, okay? Hey. What's your favorite song by him? Welcome to the world. Yeah, that's a really good one. Where are you calling from, Kim? Chicago. Chicago? Are you a member of Kevin Rudolph's website? Yes. Did you see that on April 8th he's going to be in Chicago? No, I did not. Yep, Chicago 8th. Chicago 8th. April 8th in Chicago he will be at the House of Blues. Really? Yeah. Sounds a little young though. I don't know if there's an age limit on getting in there. How old are you? Oh, I'm 16. Yeah, well, you know, never know. It could just be a regular concert. You should check it out and see if there's a way you can get some tickets to go see him. Yes. And then I think he's coming back. Oh, no, he's going... He'll be in Ohio. That's a little further away from you guys. But check out his website for the details because it's more to be announced on when and where he's going to be performing. Oh, okay. Okay. All right, I'm going to put John Hope in, okay? Okay. All right. Well, everyone, without further ado, I have to say that the guest today, he is having worked his way into the inner circle of music world only to come as highly respected and requested as his mentor, as his production skills are in high demand. And he is with us this afternoon. He gives a taste of what is coming up for his extraordinary career. Please give a buzz delicious welcome to the incomparable Kevin Rudolph. Hey, guys. Hang on one second. He'll be right there. Thank you so much. We're just waiting for Kevin to be patched through, and then you guys will be hearing the voice of greatness. Hey, I've got Kevin for you guys. Thank you. Hey. Hi, Kevin. How are you? Good. How are you doing? I'm selling in today from Navell, who's actually out in California on business. So welcome to Buzzworthy. Thank you. I sure have me. Well, no problem. So, Kevin, you have an incredible story on how you began your career. A few things that I wanted to touch on real quick, just give me like a little 60 second bio on how you went from New York to Miami to L.A. Okay. Basically, I grew up in New York City. You know what I mean? I grew up around a lot of different kinds of music. I was always playing in bands and trying to produce and do different things, and I hooked up with Timbalin. I started playing guitar on a lot of his records, like Black Eyed Peas, Nolie Fatado, Lil Kim, and Al Cooljay and everything, and I kind of followed him to Miami because he'd moved down. They worked on Missy Elliot and spent a few years in Miami playing guitar and trying to get on as a producer and as an artist and do everything. And I'm meeting Slim and Baby from Cash Money, and I played them my demo that I'd made it for me as an artist, and they said, "We love this. We want to sign this." So, you know, we built a relationship, and Wayne got to let it rock, and, you know, still nothing was happening. It's like that feeling of, you know, "Is it going to happen? Is it not?" And then, you know, Wayne came out and Carter III was so successful in one day. Slim called me up. He said, "I want you to follow. I want you to... I won't let it rock to come out." So, we mixed, let it rock the next week, and it was on the radio like two weeks later. And spent a year on the road, and, you know, also producing and writing for a lot of different artists, like Cobra Starship and Leon Lewis, and Pre-6 Mafia, and, you know, just like, any... Pretty much like the whole span of music, and ended up moving to L.A. because there was just so much going on out of here. Like everyone was out here, you know, like everyone comes over to my house now, and just worked in the Tasha betting field, and weezer, and just, like, such a great environment, and so much creativity out here that I just ended up in L.A. Now, there was a point in your career when you moved to Miami, and you were working with Timbaland, where you kind of gave up on music. How come? I gave up on music a lot of times, you know? I mean, I gave up on music just because, you know, it's really hard to get on, and get people to agree to do something with you, you know what I mean? It's like, you know, I would have moments where I, I mean, I stopped for even a couple of years when I was a kid, and just didn't even play guitar, and I got back in it, and then, like, even when I was in Miami, I was, like, kind of, like, half-assed for a while. And then I just, I really did something that hit me at a certain point, like, I just really need to do this again, like, I need to, I need to make my own out, I need to make my mark, I need to get out there, and, you know, once I got it, like, focused in my mind that that's what I was really going to do, that's when everything really started to follow. But I was, like, done, I was, like, hanging out in Miami, like, doing nothing all day, and just trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. It's not an easy journey, and people believe that once you make a couple of records or you work with a few people, and you make some music that you're automatically rich, you know, they don't realize the work that's involved into making an album or writing a song, and it's not like that at all, it's right. I mean, there was a point where you just, you had ten gold records, was it, or platinum records, and you were just kind of, like, from now. I mean, it was great if you came into my apartment because at all these records I played guitar on, and, you know, I had them all stacked up against the wall, and it looked great, but I was broke, and I hadn't, I wasn't doing anything, and it was like, it was silly, it was like, what am I doing with these records? Like, I didn't have any money at all, I was like, I was done, I was like thinking of what else am I going to do if I can't make this happen every day, you know, like, I was even messing around in a real estate for a minute down there, saying if I could, like, you know, flip some condos, and everyone was doing that there, and then I was like, maybe I'll just live in Europe and, like, be a backpack, you know, I was just, like, looking for anything, I just, I just didn't want to do this anymore, you know? Right. Now, let it rock, um, the real meaning of this song, I know, that's one of my favorite songs, and particularly because of the music, it's actually on my iPod, I use it when I work out, it's like very motivating for me, but tell me, tell me the story behind it. The story behind it was, um, I had a rapper named Grapp at my house, who's like a big underground rapper in New York, and like, you know, a friend of mine hooked us up, and he was just going to give me some quick cash to do a beat for him, you know, and I really needed the money, so he was over at my house, and making a bunch of beats for him, and one of them I made was the beat for Let It Rock, and, you know, I played it to him, and I had, I remember I was playing it so loud, because I was so into it, I knew I could write a great song to it, but I thought well, you know, what do you think about this, and, you know, hip-hop was still not even quite as pop as it is now, then, you know, so I, and he was like, man, that's cool, man, but I just, you know, maybe it's just not for me, so the next day I, I just, I started just vibing over it, I would just listen to it over and over and go, yeah, you got, you know, yeah, you got it coming, 'cause you know, no, no, no, I just write down all these just stream of consciousness ideas, and I just started to sing, I didn't even write it, like I was really writing a song, I just sort of let it come out of me, and I just started to direct all my frustration, all my anger, and all the, the, the kind of, like, being abused, you know, bullshit, yes, thank you, we can curse on this, yeah, if you can, all this bullshit, and I just started thinking about everyone who had let me down, and I was like, I see your dirt to your face, yeah, you got it, you know, and I just started forming these words, I just started coming with this letter rock thing, and it turned into this thing where I was like, it was like this biblical thing where I was saying down to the world, because when I arrive, I bring the fire, you know, those are real words, not like pop words, it comes off like that in the club, but what I was saying when I come through, I'm gonna burn through everyone and bring truth to this, and do it the way I wanna do it, and be myself, and when I say let it rock, I'm saying don't give a fuck, like, you know what I mean, it doesn't matter, like, that's what I'm, that's what I'm saying by letter rock, I'm not, it's not a fist pumping anthem, it's like a call to battle. Right, right, and I totally get it, I get it more now that you explain this to me more, but when I use it for working out, I usually generally use it as like a boxing kind of workout, because it really does come across that way, yeah, yeah, it really does, and that's one of my favorites, before that it's been said that with the success of letter rock, your mind shifted from tenuous to confident, so why did you, what was it about yourself that made you feel a little uneasy before this so long? Well, I think, you know, part of it was just, you know, a lot of people I grew up in New York, you know, they either, like, they either OD'd or they moved away and can't figure out their lives and can't function, you know, I don't know what it was, everyone I grew up with, no one could deal with the world after growing up in New York, you know, and I think I was in that category a little bit, I was trying to find my way in music, I was trying to find a way to make money, I was trying to hustle, I was trying to figure something out where I could just do what I do in the world and succeed or at least survive, and that wears on you after a long period of time, you know, I was, I was like a prodigy guitar kid and I had all this attention and then, like, nothing for years and years and years and figuring out what the hell was that for and what am I doing and I can't, I can't find a way to make this work for myself, so all years and years and years that build up and you start feeling very insecure and you don't really know who you are anymore, and then you kind of dig deep and I dug deep and made that album in the city and that's a very, you know, that's a story about that from in the city, from the cocky, you know, saying motherfuckers all know who I am to the great escape at the end and trying to find a way out and trying to find some understanding within myself. Right, now do you feel that with the work that you did and having those 10 records up on your wall, the people that you worked with, do you think that they, you kind of just did your thing but they weren't really there to back you, like, to help you along the way? You know what I mean, like one hand wash is the other kind of thing? I mean, you know what, there would have been no reason to help me, honestly, because I wasn't ready to help myself at the time, you know, like, I wasn't, you know, what was I going to do, you know what I mean, like, you know, it's sort of like, I wasn't ready, you know what I mean, in reality at the time, and then after that, you know, it's sort of like, a prophet gets no love in his hometown, it's almost like the people that know you as the guitar guy who does this, they can't maybe see you as being an artist, you know what I mean, I mean, I used to work with David Banner and I ran into him last week, you know, after not seeing him for a couple years and he goes, "Man, you did it, man, you did it, congratulations, man, all those labels thought you weren't going to do it, but you did it," and he was just, like, really supportive and cool and it was almost cooler just coming back instead of saying, "Hey, man, can you help me out, can you introduce me to somebody?" I was just, like, never, I was never that kind of guy, I was never, like, I was never good at, like, "Hey, can you help me stuff?" I was always, like, too defiant, so it's almost like I had to just kind of, like, I just had to find my own way and then come back and say, "Look, I did this on my own," you know? Yeah, and I have to say, you actually did it and you did it very well, I mean, and whatever it is that sparked about you creating that song, what it rocked, that led you to that, I mean, we're all thankful for that and now you have a studio built into your home and you have the best of the best coming to you for your production services. Yeah, I mean, that's what, like, I'm writing about in this album, it's just like, I'm really lucky, you know what I mean? I also, I'm still hungry, I'm still, like, driven, I still have a chip on my shoulder, you know what I mean? I still want to be the best and be the best producer and songwriter and artist and all that, so, you know, that's what I'm doing now, I mean, I'm like, I'm so happy, I'm in the game, but I also feel like I'm not done, I'm not even near done, I'm still pissed off, I'm still, I still want to get there, you know what I mean? Yeah, you have a long life to live and let it be pissed that that's what's gonna make you, keep making some fabulous music. Amen, man, that's all right, I have one of your dedicated fans on the line, if you don't mind taking a call, her name is Kim, she's been holding for quite some time, Kim, say hi to Kevin. Hello? Kim? Hello? I think she might've been holding for too long. She's actually still there, she may be a little bit shy, but, you know, I'll let her sit for a few minutes. Sometimes when they actually get to get on the air and get to talk to their idols, they get a little tongue twisted and they don't get to speak, who would your ideal collaboration be with? You know, I've met like so many great people and some of them really unexpected, I never thought, you know, I was always a fan of, like, life house, but I never thought we'd get to work together, you know, and it's just, that's been like a blessing, like, so amazing to work with such a great songwriter, so much fun, and, you know, remain friends after and been lucky working with Natasha Beddingfield recently and Rivers Cuomo, Weezer, you know, Lil Wayne, obviously, Jason, amazing, like, all great talents, I mean, obviously, you know, I would love to work with Jay-Z, I would love to, you know, it's probably never going to happen because she makes her work every 10 years, but I'd love to work with Shade, you know, one of my favorite artists of all time. I think it would also be fun to, like, you know, just as an experiment to try to call up some people who, you know, were my idols, like, you know, Pete Townsend, I mean, I would just, like, he's a genius, you know, I mean, anyone, even on the radar, even, you know, things to do that, but I would love to do something like that, you know, I don't know, I don't know if he would, you know, be open to it or whatever, but I love, man, I'm just so into, like, being creative and I don't care with who or what on anything, I'll do it. Well, you know, I mean, you've proven yourself to be the one who doesn't give up, so, I mean, I wouldn't even say that it would never happen. I mean, from what, I'm hearing from you and from what I read about you, once you set your mind to it, you're done, and like you said, you're angry enough to want more, and I can definitely see you doing stuff like that, and I really hope that it does happen for you. Yeah. You know. Yeah, I appreciate that. I really do. No, I think you're a fabulous talent, Kevin, I really do, and I want to mention to everyone, if you go to Kevin Rudolph's official website, KevinRudoff.com, register, become a member, and then you get to see all the interactions of what's going on, and he's got quite a few tour dates coming up through the month of April and May with more to be announced, and I'm looking at this website right now, and you're going to be in Buffalo, which is where Ryan, you're going to be in Buffalo on April 29th, so I don't have to come, yes, you are. It says April 29th. Okay. You get to be in Buffalo, so. Damn, I didn't know that I'll come to you for all my tour dates. All right. Well, I'm looking at you. No one tells me until I got to be on the plane. All right. Well, I'll tell you here. You go on that Nashville, April 3rd, you go on a Kentucky, April 4th. You go on a Michigan, April 5th, Ohio, April 7th, Chicago, April 8th. Colorado on the 10th and so forth, and then you're moving your way through California, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta. You're making your way all over, South Carolina, and then eventually to Buffalo, which is where I am. So, I'm going to have to come see you. All right. That sounds like a plan. I'm definitely going to have to come see you. I'm going to give Kim one more chance to come on the phone. Kim, are you there? Kim. Oh, Kim. Oh, it's Sam. Sam. I'm sorry. Sam. I'm sorry. Sam. Hi, Kevin. Hey, Kevin, what's up? Hey, what's up, Sam? How you doing? Good. How are you? Where are you? Where are you? Oh, Chicago. Oh, what's up? We're just there. Yeah, I know. And then me and my friend heard it on the radio, so then we went there because it's like the club was like five minutes away from the house, so then we're like, we couldn't get in because we're not 21, so we were just like leaving there, which I like sneaking in and everything. We're like, come on, we need to see Kevin and then we're like, no, so we're like in the rain for like hours or like, okay, we're like, we're like, what are we doing? Next time. Well, like I just said, you're going to be in Chicago on April 8th. Half the blues. Are you sure? Next month? Yeah, I don't know if those dates are right. Well, I'm leaving off of your website, so I don't know, it doesn't have the year, it just has the dates. All right, I might be speaking, so we might have to check on that. We'll figure it out. Yeah, we will, and we'll definitely put it out there, but just keep going to Kevin's website for the updates. I'm sure that he's going to get on somebody's ass to take care of it now. Right, I'm getting on their ass right now. Do you have a question for him, Sam? No, I just wanted to say hi, and I was really like, said, I couldn't see him and say hi. Oh, what sucks? Yeah. Well, we'll be back, like, you know, definitely through the summer, we'll be, you know, doing a bunch of shows, so I'm sure we'll hit Chicago again, but thanks for trying, that sucks. Yeah. All right, Sam. All right. Bye. All right, good talking to you, okay. Oh, well, Dan, don't I feel like an idiot, you better get on somebody about that website now. I was getting old. I'm excited you were coming. Oh, gosh. All right, well, Kevin, I have to say, tell me a little bit about this album, no title yet. Album is called to the sky. Okay. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. There's no limits. All right, let me ask you, what advice would you give to someone who is trying to do what you do? I mean, there's a lot to it, you know what I mean, and it depends what you want to do. Hey, yeah. Oh, hey, how you doing, man? I'm just finishing up, come on in, come on in. Sorry. I just, I don't have to mean you here. Okay, what the thing is, you just want to down for a second, okay, the thing about it is you just have to be really persistent, you know, you have to just keep at what you're doing and don't stop until it happens, you know what I mean? Absolutely. And that's really, that's really the trick to it. That's what people, you know, people give up and they stop and they turn around, but you just got to be persistent. Right. Well, Kevin, you're definitely an inspiration to everyone. I wish you all the best with the new album and much success to you and good luck and get fixed in that website and hope to hear from you soon. All right. Thanks. Everybody, the talented Kevin Rudolph signing off on Buzzworthy Radio. Thank you so much. Okay. All right. Cool. Okay, everyone. Thank you so much and have a wonderful afternoon. Welcome back to his hosting duties on the next scheduled show, which is undetermined right now. So keep going to buzzworthyradio.net for more information on who novel is going to have next. Everyone, have a wonderful afternoon. Like I said, happy St. Patrick's Day. Be safe, arrive alive, don't drink and drive, get your green on and have fun with it. Come get you live, it is Buzzworthy Radio, but you can get the latest buzz on all your favorite shows and stars. Buzzworthy, start now. (upbeat music)