Cisco Adler (left) and Shwayze will release the new album Let It Beat on Oct. 27.
Shwayze and Cisco Adler are a multi-talented pair of dudes. In the ways of music, they’ve turned out hit singles “Buzzin'” and “Corona and Lime,” which may have been the soundtrack to your summer. On the side, they’ve had their own MTV reality show, Buzzin’, and are planning to shoot a movie in January. In a conference call, they told us about tripping onstage, gave advice for aspiring artists and promoted their new album, Let It Beat.
The Diamondback: How psyched are you for your new album, Let It Beat, to drop?
Shwayze: Very excited, very excited. This is the second album for us. We’re finally finding our style. For me, it’s nice after having the first record and not knowing how people were going to react. We have more people to support us now.
Cisco: It’s the next chapter. We wanna show different sides of us and see how we grow with our audience.
DBK: Your new track “Get U Home” sounds a lot different from your previous stuff. What happened?
Cisco: You know what? That’s only one song. We wanted to come out and shock people a little bit. We wanted to show people that there are a lot of different sides to this group. You won’t be surprised to hear five or six songs in the vein of the last record, so you’re not getting a big dance record. “Get U Home” is definitely the only song of its kind. We have one song on the album with Snoop Dogg that’s a straight-up hip-hop track. There’s another with a full horn section with an old soul sound. We’re all over the board.
DBK: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on stage?
Cisco: Well, I’ve gotten completely naked on stage.
Shwayze: I’ve never done anything really crazy. The only thing I’ve done is fall on stage pretty much flat on my face. That was an embarrassing moment.
Cisco: We try to get crazy every night and give it our all, so by the end of the night we’re exhausted and sweaty. Sometimes we’re all bloody.
DBK: It seems like you guys are really tight with your fans. You did that reality show on MTV, and on your website you have a phone number at which fans can reach you. Tell me about how important fans are to you.
Cisco: Oh, man. The thing about that is … this movement was created by the fans. It wasn’t created by a label, with marketing. We started out by giving music to people; it got online and started spreading. That’s what makes our music real, and it’s what keeps it going, you know what I mean? Our record was out for two years online before we put it out. The TV show just expanded our audience. Our fans are extremely important to us.
DBK: Could you imagine doing anything but music?
Cisco: Music is my life. If the music stops, then my heart stops beating. That’s why the album’s called Let It Beat.
Shwayze: I definitely could not. Music is definitely a part of my life no matter what. I’ll probably try other things eventually, but for right now, it’s music and the movie we’re shooting in January.
DBK: Can you tell me more about this movie?
Cisco: We can’t say much about the movie, but it’s sort of a buddy comedy that’s about a music group, but not necessarily Shwayze. It’s more of a fictionalized version. It’s hilarious. It’s gonna be great. It’s actually going to be directed by Nick Goossen, who directed Grandma’s Boy. I think Nick Swardson’s gonna be in it.
DBK: What advice can you give to aspiring artists?
Cisco: I would say… just be yourself, because everyone can spot a fake. Keep doing it, and if people say no, and you really believe in yourself, tell them to f— off. What you really gotta do is hone your craft. The more songs you make the better you get. You gotta experiment, don’t let it get stagnant. And build a fan base. I’ve seen a lot of great musicians who are just sitting at home doing nothing. You gotta get out there and spread your music, you gotta get good live.
Shwayze: Don’t do it expecting to get rich off of it. If you’re going to do it, you gotta do it for the love of it. It’s so much harder to get rich off music as it was back in the day.
Cisco: Yeah, it’s gotta be a labor of love.
DBK: What’s the coolest thing about being famous?
Cisco: It’s kinda interesting. I was always the kid at school who was friends with a million people, and I think Shwayze was like that too. He once said that fame is kinda like being the popular kid at school everywhere you go. The coolest thing about it is not the fame; it’s when people come up to you and say ‘I was having a hard time, and your music got me through it,’ or ‘Your music is the soundtrack to my life.’ That’s why we had to go back to the lab and make Let It Beat as good as it could be and take it to different places. We wanted to be like, the last album was the soundtrack to their summer last summer, now we’re coming back and giving them some more music to live to. The girls are nice too.
DBK: All right, last question. Why should we buy your album?
Cisco: At the end of the day, we’re trying to make music for people who are trying to have a good time. It’s a well-rounded album. We got Snoop Dogg; we got The Knux… if you liked the last album, you’re definitely going to love this one. If you questioned the last album, then f— off and don’t listen to it.
Shwayze’s new album Let It Beat hits stores Oct. 27.
mwildman@umd.edu
