Names In Lights

For anyone taking it upon themselves to watch all four painfully slow hours of the Grammys back in February, a few things became abundantly clear. 1) Wally De Backer is officially our biggest musical export since AC/DC; 2) Jack White doesn't give a shit; and 3) Taylor Swift seemingly knows the words to every single song in the Billboard charts. The latter was obvious to the extent that, as the broadcast unfolded, the Twittersphere began lighting up with drinking game suggestions based around imbibing every time the camera cut away to Swift enthusiastically miming the words to whatever tune happened to be playing at the time – the majority of which were destined to vanquish her own tunes and leave her with only one measly trophy (for a collaboration!). Whatever her motives (it's certainly not our place to suggest that Swifty is some sort of all powerful hit magpie, or anything less than an incredibly shrewd businesswoman) it's this voracious appetite for the output of her competitors that put 2013's golden girl in touch with Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn a couple of weeks ago, leading to a bump in the already burgeoning profile of the Utah-based flouro-pop outfit.

“I feel like she's so giant and so successful that I almost would find her being a jerk acceptable,” Glenn quips on Swift's invitation for him to join her in a rendition of his band's hit single Everybody Talks at a recent LA show. “She's just the most down-to-earth person, though. I know she's been a fan for a while, so when we toured with Maroon 5 and she was at the Staples Center in LA she asked me if I wanted to sing with her at a show. I thought that it was really kind but I actually didn't think it was actually going to happen. A week later I got a text on my phone and it was Taylor Swift. It was surreal to know that she was really a fan, that she was texting my phone and it wasn't a fake number. It was weird though – especially on iMessage where you can see that the person is typing – it was weird to think that Taylor was somewhere on the other end of the phone thinking about what to type to me. So she flew me out next week and we did the show. She's incredibly kind, especially for her age and from the kind of success she's had. If you look at the degree of fame that she had – she's basically it right now – versus the type of person that she is off stage and as a human being, it's definitely a bit shocking and surprising.”

Of course, the fact that Neon Trees received the tap on the shoulder from Swift indicated that they're doing pretty well for themselves, thanks very much. First gaining significant exposure in 2008 when they opened for The Killers across America, Glenn and his cohorts struck commercial paydirt with their ubiquitous 2010 single Animal, taken from the debut long player Habits. Signed to Mercury Records, currently touring with Maroon 5 and riding the crest of a wave of euphoria whipped up by the aforementioned smash Everybody Talks, it seems that years of hard work are finally paying dividends. “All of us started this band in 2005 and we've given that every single day, day in and day out,” Glenn explains. “We did it a lot on our own without label help, so I think that's given us an appreciation of what we have now. Sometimes people may look at us as a pop band, and I think when we call ourselves that it's because of our love of great pop songs that people can sing along to – but it doesn't reflect in any way the type of artists we are or the way we play our music.

“As far as my personal life goes, day to day it's only different in the fact that I'm never at home,” he continues modestly. “Before that I had such a desire to never be at home and now I'm just so much more appreciative of the simpler life. Not to be dramatic but I feel like I've found purpose. I think it's like anyone that is passionate about something, if they feel like they're contributing and they're getting up every day and doing something to make their lives interesting. I feel like I'm much more comfortable in my own skin.”

One inescapable aspect of running a successful pop band in 2013 is the advent of social media. Bands are able to converse with their fans in an immediate manner never thought possible – and one look at Neon Trees' Facebook page would suggest that they're savvy to this trend. It's surprising then to find that a culture vulture like Glenn would confess to becoming somewhat disillusioned about how his fans are finding and consuming their music in this day and age. “I used to take social media so lightly, and I still in some way do think that it takes away some of the mystique of the music, or of the band you are,” he explains. “At the same time, if you take this approach solely, you're actually holding on to an almost archaic approach. It's become such a social thing and it is important. I do like that we have a fanbase that's so interested in what we're doing because the minute we don't I think we'd be pretty sad.

“I was fortunate enough to grow up without cell phones and the internet. I went to high school without all that stuff. I mean, the internet was still around but it wasn't such a daily thing as it is now. I'm happy that I grew up with a love of going to shows and having to wait in line and hanging out for hours only to get a glimpse of the person I went to see. I had to really seek out information on artists and I think it created more of an ownership that felt really special to me. I don't know if that idea of feeling special towards a band or an artist has completely gone but I definitely feel that it's a lot easier to neglect seeking out much about the artists. I do love a lot about the modern way music works but you can't really expect the same fandom or devotion all the time that artists could have had 15 years ago.”