On the Verge: X Ambassadors
This week in On the Verge, Paste BN's spotlight on breakthrough artists, Patrick Ryan talks to alt-rock band X Ambassadors.
Small-screen stardom. Their songs have been in car commercials (Jeep Renegade) and covered by the Pitch Perfect cast (Jungle), but X Ambassadors still attribute their breakout success to One Tree Hill. Hearing that track Litost would be featured in a 2012 episode of the prime-time soap, "we were all like, 'Oh, this is whatever,' " says drummer Adam Levin, 27. "Then it ended up that us being played on (the show) was what got the song onto the radio."
Wistful thinking. The New York-based indie rockers are now reigning at No. 1 on Paste BN's alternative airplay chart with Renegades. The hand-clapping, arena-rock anthem is the lead single off the band's debut album VHS, out June 30, which the group approached as a concept record. Hoping to emulate the storytelling structure and skits often heard on rap albums, they sprinkled audio clips from childhood home movies and early tour footage throughout to give the music a narrative. "We hadn't heard much of that in the rock or alternative world," lead singer Sam Harris, 26, says. "It tells our story" and also "feels a little nostalgic."
Seedy start. Raised in Ithaca, N.Y., Sam and his brother, keyboardist Casey Harris, started playing music in middle school with their longtime pal, guitarist Noah Feldshuh. The three friends met Adam when they moved to New York for college and formed a band — performing at open-bar nights and DIY venues, and taking out a shabby rehearsal space in Brooklyn. "We eventually found out we were renting it from a squatter," Casey, 28, says. "We ended up paying this guy rent for months." One day, Noah, 28, adds, "he just called us up and was like, 'Hey guys, you gotta get your stuff outta here before the cops (arrive)."
"X" marks the spot. Sam is the first to admit their band's moniker is unremarkable. Sitting around one day and glancing around the room for inspiration, Adam looked down at his Remo-brand "Coated Ambassador" drum head and suggested the title. They later added "X" when they learned there were other Ambassadors who had released music. "That was just me sitting on my computer, entering in different variations of 'Ambassadors,' " Harris says. "We Ambassadors, O Ambassadors, The New Ambassadors, and then X Ambassadors was just what we settled on."
Imagine that. The band has released three EPs since 2009 and earned a handful of famous fans in the process, most notably, Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds, who first saw an acoustic performance of their song Unconsolable online and brought them to producer Alex da Kid's KIDinaKORNER label. "The whole thing with Imagine Dragons just blew it all open," Sam says. "Dan actually told me, 'I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring you guys to the label immediately. I talked with my wife about it, like, should we bring these guys? They're really good.' " X Ambassadors has since supported the Radioactive rockers on tour, as well as Jimmy Eats World, Panic! at the Disco and Milky Chance this summer.
Welcome to the Jungle. Along with Jay Z's Jungle remix for a Beats by Dre commercial, X Ambassadors have permeated genres: as featured artists for Eminem (Wicked Ways) and Zedd (Transmission), and with Sam's co-writing credit on Rihanna's American Oxygen. "None of us have ever met any of these people, which makes it even weirder," Sam says. Although, he has been starstruck to meet acts such as Michael Fitzpatrick (of Fitz and the Tantrums). "That's pretty much the extent of it," Sam says. "I don't have like, Brad Pitt calling me up."