Dreams become realities for OneRepublic

Randal Walton
May 10, 2010
Filed under Entertainment

This is a band that may not exist today. This is a band that was contemplating the end before the beginning even started.  But then, in 2006, something extraordinary happened. It came in the form of a little melody called “Apologize.”

            “It happened at just the right time, because we were probably just a few months away from calling it quits,” Ryan Tedder confirms.

            The band, now known as OneRepublic, had been signed and dropped by a record label when MySpace discovered them. However, once they switched their status from “signed” to “unsigned,” their entire world forever changed. Immediately after switching their status, “Apologize” became the number one song in the entire world. Mosley/Interscope Records, noticing the band’s growing fame and talent, signed the band later that year.

            Hailing from Colorado, OneRepublic consists of five guys who can play just about any instrument you put in front of them: Ryan Tedder (guitarist, pianist, and lead vocalist), Zach Filkins (guitarist and background vocalist), Drew Brown (guitarist), Brent Kutzle (bassist and cellist), and Eddie Fisher (drummer).

            “We’ve all pretty much been musical our entire lives,” Tedder said.

            In addition to being dropped by a major record label, OneRepublic has also experienced more music woes.

            “The hardest thing we’ve ever done is not give up faith when we were playing shows for like five people….We weren’t really feeling much forward momentum,” Filkins admits.

            The band released their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud, in 2007. It, and the band, became an instant success. Tedder attributes the band’s success to the truthful lyrics.

            “I think that people connect with honest lyrics. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as the lyrics are honest…They connect cause it’s real.”

            “We write a lot about the human condition. Anyone can relate to something,” Filkins adds.

            Their second album, Waking Up, is very different from its predecessor. The lyrics still have the same power, but the album is much more upbeat. Its inspiration is quite surprising.

            “The idea behind the album is that it plays out like a movie soundtrack. We wanted it to feel like something you could press play on the first song and let it play till the very last song and not skip anything,” Tedder relates.

            Since 2006, OneRepublic’s life has dramatically changed. They have gone from a band that a record label got bored with to a band that no one can seem to get enough of. Currently, they are touring extensively in Europe. Later they will open for their biggest musical influence, U2.

            “I’ve never seen a better band than U2 at a show,” Tedder said.

            OneRepublic has just about everything – cash to last for days, hit albums, singers from every recording studio wanting to work with them, and a gazillion fans. So, one has to ask: is there anything that OneRepublic has left to do?

            “[Before I die,] I want to shark dive without a cage. Preferably immediately before I die,” Brown said.

            Way to go Drew, way to go.