Post by Logan Chase Renner on Jan 23, 2014 20:48:57 GMT -5
Logan had taken some time in his morning to go do an interview on the Ellen Show, which, it had been quite a while since he’d been on there. He’d been a busy guy. But it had been a while since Logan had actually done any kind of interview. Sure everyone around himself did them, and they talked about things going on, but Logan had a bit of a reputation for being unattainable when it came to interviews and appearances because of his schedule. He didn’t want that, he wasn’t trying to be some mysterious man behind the desk or anything. As he sat in the chair opposite from Ellen, he smiled, shaking his head at the audience who hadn’t quieted in the least since he’d taken to the stage. He was used to it, of course, but he still found it funny that so many people still liked him. Obviously, he was likeable, that wasn’t it. He just felt like he’d been disconnected with fans since turning to producing, but he hadn’t kept them too disappointed he didn’t think.
“Well hello, Logan, It’s been forever since you’ve been on the show.” “Yeah,” he laughed, “It’s been a while.” “I thought you were avoiding me.” “I would never avoid you Ellen.” “Well, then I realized you haven’t been doing interviews anywhere, so then I was like, oh well he needs to come on my show. We can’t have that, Logan Renner.” “My apologies. But, in my defense, if I was gonna do an interview anywhere, where else would I do one?” “Good point, I think you are admitting I’m you’re favorite.” “I mean, I can’t make drastic statements but…” Ellen waved a hand at him, “I know I’m you’re favorite. So you’ve been busy then?” Logan sat back in his chair, getting a little more comfortable, “Yeah, I’m a busy guy, I keep my schedule pretty booked.” “I know. I have to ask you, do you ever sleep?” “No, not really.” “Well, you look great.” Logan laughed, nodding at the cheers that came after that statement. “Thanks, I have to look good for everyone. Did you think I wouldn’t?” “Well it’s been so long I forgot what you looked like. But I’d imagine Blake makes you sleep. Does she ever come at you with a bottle of ZzzQuil?” Logan shrugged, “I can’t recall that ever happening.” Logan playfully looked over his shoulder, “Don’t give her any ideas,” he laughed.
Ellen shook her head, “Well, I’ll be upfront to say I’m really happy to see that you and Blake are happy. You guys had a rough patch but now it’s all good?” “Oh yeah, all good.” “All good in the hood.” “Just good. Things are perfect.” “Whoa, pulling out the big guns. How long have you two been married now?” “Three years in June.” “Wow!” “I know, crazy right?” he grinned. The audience applauded, and Ellen added, “That’s incredible. It seems like just yesterday you guys were getting married. It was a big deal. Did anyone tell you they didn’t think you’d make it through the first year?” Logan snorted, “Well, not to my face. I didn’t have any doubts though.” “Well of course you didn’t, you married a keeper. And, little Kenzie, how is she? She’s two now?” “Yes… into those terrible two’s.” “She’s two, you’re coming up on you’re third wedding anniversary. That must make you feel old.” “What? No, I don’t feel old at all. I know it probably seems unlikely, but I feel my age.” “How on earth do you manage that?” “I just… I don’t,” he laughed, shrugging. “I think it’s more that I haven’t gotten that sense of like, ugh I’m too old now, I need to go into retirement. I don’t think I’ll ever get that.” “So you’re never going to slow down?” “Not right now, no. I mean, eventually I think we’ll settle in a little more, but right now life’s pretty good.”
“Okay we’ve got some pictures of Kenzie up here behind us, you were nice enough to send us some current ones. She is adorable. Looks just like Blake.” Logan turned around, smiling at the giant picture of his daughter still in pajamas and wearing little cowgirl boots, “Yeah she’s a cutie. Blake took that one yesterday. She does look like Blake.” “Spitting image. But that smile looks like you.” Logan sighed, “Well at least she got something of mine.” “Well maybe she got your business sense.” Logan laughed, “Oh, I hope so.” Another picture came up, one of Logan laying on the floor with Kenzie sitting on his stomach. They were probably playing patty cake or something. “That looks like it’s in a recording studio, does she always come to work with you?” “Oh all the time. Blake and I really try to work things out so we don’t have to have a nanny, we don’t want one. She’s either with one of us, or both, or she’s with one of our friends at the studio. And myself or Blake is never more than 3 offices away,” he chuckled. “She got you wrapped around her finger yet?” “Oh yeah, since day one. That ship has sailed,” he chuckled.
“So Logan, as I said, you’re a busy guy. But it looks pretty clear you make a lot of time for being with Kenzie and family time. Is it hard to balance everything?” Logan cleared his throat, “You know, at the beginning it was a little hard. Especially when the label was still small and had just taken off. It kind of exploded into this huge thing so quickly, and it was right around the time we had Kenzie so it went from like, a small family owned business to what it is now, and I was trying to do every job imaginable and still try to be home with the girls. I realized pretty fast I couldn’t do it all. So now it’s nice, I took a lot of time to hire employees. So now I have soundboard techs, and secretaries, and office people. I’ve got people to handle the small things like putting together paper work, handling tours, album covers, scheduling, all the artists have like, their own manager type of person. You know, someone who is one tour with them and deals directly with the artist but works under me.” “So you get to approve everything and sign your name at the bottom of all the paperwork now.” Logan laughed, “Yeah things get brought to me at biweekly meetings for each artist and we talk about image and planning and marketing, all that. And we make a game plan and I approve it, and we go from there. Except Blake, she’s one of the only ones I’m totally hands on with concerning her career. She’d probably divorce me if I tried to pawn her off on someone,” he joked. “But you wouldn’t anyways, you like working with her.” “Yeah for sure. Blake and I kind of started this whole thing together, so we stick together. We’re a good team.” “Well it seems like you’re a good team in general. So for the music, how involved are you there?” “That’s most definitely the place I’m most involved with all the artists, I’d say. It’s where I want to be, it’s what I feel is my place. I spend a majority of my day in studio sessions. Like, my mornings, I try to get all my meetings in, or these types of things, interviews, whatever. After this I’ll head back to the studio and I’ve got some sessions scheduled. The artists all have their own studios and spaces and they work on their own music on their time. Some are there during the day, some go in on random weekends, I’ll catch some of them there at 3 in the morning. Just whenever the inspiration is there, we try to operate at all hours. And then I’ll pop into their sessions to brainstorm and help write and bounce ideas around. Record stuff. Sometimes I just mix things and give it to them. Like with Dani. I’ll give her a track with no vocals and she can always find something to do with it. I like that one on one time too, just vibing off each other. It helps them hone in on what they want, and it helps me understand what they want, where they are coming from, what they’re feeling, the image they are trying to portray. It helps me understand them artistically, and then from there I can better gauge how to handle things on the business side for them. Everything comes full circle that way.” “So in other words, you are REALLY involved.” “I try to be, I want to be. Whatever I can do to help them achieve whatever it is they are trying to achieve, I try to do that for them.”
Ellen took a breath, “Okay so that alone is just the record label. I’m gonna go ahead and list your accomplishments. In order. It hasn’t been done. And since I’m the first to interview you in quite some time, I’m gonna do this. I’ll be the first.” Logan grinned and laughed, “That is quite the ambitious feat.” “It is.” “Go for it.” “Okay. Correct me if I get anything wrong. At age 17 you snagged a deal writing songs for big name artists-“ “16. It was a week after my sixteenth birthday.” “I’m already wrong? Darn, I really thought I had it. I feel so discouraged now, Logan.” “I’m sorry,” he laughed, “no keep going.” “Okay, 16, wrote songs for other artists. Then, oh I see, I misread. Less than a year later you signed a record deal yourself and began recording, which you released just after you turned seventeen and went on your first tour.” “Yes. That was a really fast year. I already had so many songs written, the recording process was really quick.” “And your tour went so well, they sent you on an international tour that summer.” “Yeah, the summer before my senior year.” “You still were in high school?! Like regular school?” “Well yeah, junior year I spent the last half of it after the new year on tour and I had a tutor to help me keep up. And then I wanted to spend my senior year with my friends and graduate with them like everyone else.” “You would. That’s so normal of you.” Logan grinned, nodding and shrugged. He tried to be normal. He remembered being told that they were putting him on an international tour and his first thought was when they were going to England. He’d wanted to see Lance so bad he almost forgot he was supposed to be performing. “Alright. So you took a year to finish school. At 19, you left your label. Why was that?” “Well I had a very clear idea of the kind of singer I wanted to be at the time, and they wanted me to be something else. I wanted to record my own music. My way. On my terms. And I had some musician friends who felt the ame way, so I started my own label.” “So let me clear this up quickly, you started Taboo Records to record your own music. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that you finally released anything of your own.” “Right.” “You became quite busy, with all the other artists?” “Yeah, I signed Blake with me, All Time Low, The Maine, Lights. It all snowballed from there. Joel jumped on board. After that it’s been an uphill trek.” “Have you reached the top yet Logan?” “Not even close.” “Alright, so at age 19 you also got married to one Blake Parker. At age 20 you had a daughter. Since then you have, expanded Taboo Records… there’s the New York studio, the Los Angeles studio, and now one in Nashville?” “Yeah, I’m pretty excited about the Nashville studio. I have a soft spot for country music.” “Well you married America’s Country Princess. I guess she’s the queen now. Even though Blake has veered a bit from the country genre. What genre do you think she is now?” “I don’t put Blake in a box,” he laughed. “That’s really smart of you, Renner. Okay, you have… wow 20+ artists right now. And growing. All the time.” “Yeah, that’s always expanding.” “You also just opened a music venue in New York. It’s… in the meat packing district, care to tell me about that?” Logan nodded, “Well sure, yeah. So I wanted to open a venue that was kind of a bar/club combo with in house DJ’s, and able to have concerts and live rock shows and whatever else. A place for artists to perform and whatever else.” “Why the meat packing district?” “Okay, so when I was looking for commercial space, it’s hard to find a lot of it on Manhattan. My realtor was like, you know, I know its not exactly what we talked about, but come check it out anyways. It was just this big, six floor box building that was literally a meat packing factory. It’s been out of commission for some time, obviously and a few people had tried to convert it into a few different things. Anyways, when I went to check it out it was summer, and it was like, sweltering hot, had sweat dripping down my temples-“ “You’re a good story teller, Renner, anything you can’t do?” Logan laughed, shaking his head, “Anyways it was hot, so I jokingly asked if the air worked in the place and my realtor goes, ‘it’s a meat packing factory, this place gets as cold as an ice box.’ So I named it The Ice Box, and renovated it. The first three floors are part of the venue and the top three floors I rent out as office space and lofts. We just had our grand opening about two weeks ago or so.” “That sounds like a fun place, is there a lot of meat?” Logan grinned, “No, not anymore. It’s almost unrecognizable. But all the originally detailing and warehouse structuring is still intact, it’s got a cool vibe.” “Well I’ll have to stop by. But only when you’re yhere. You can buy me a drink, if you want.” “I would love to Ellen, we have an awesome staff, some top notch bartenders. They could whip you up something. Actually…” A crew member came from off stage, carrying a tray of drinks, “I had these made. These drinks are made just for you and you can name it, it’s going on the menu at The Ice Box.” “You are pulling my leg, Logan Renner, you’re gonna let me name a drink?” “Yeah.” “Oh my gosh, let me taste it. Ooh, this is good. A little sweet, tangy, is that mint?” “I don’t even know what’s in it. Bartender just makes them, good right?” he grinned, taking a sip.
“Logan, I may have found my new best friend.” “Me?” “No, the drink.” The audience laughed, Logan setting his drink down. “And your sister runs The Ice Box?” “Yeah, my older sister, Leah. I’m really glad to have her. She really knows how to run a place, and it’s been nice having her living in the area with my nieces. It’s been a bit of a family affair.” “I’d like to be in on this family affair. You and your brother alone are a dangerous duo, you know that right?” “Are we?” “Oh my god, has no one told you? I mean, I don’t bat for that team, but if I did, I heard yours are the pictures to hang on my tween bedroom wall. A wall of the Renner brothers. So I’m told.” “Well that’s awfully flattering, I guess I can see the appeal.” “How is your brother Lance?” “Loveable.” Logan laughed, “No seriously, I mean he’s great. He and I have disagreements and good times like everyone else out there with a brother. He’s my best friend.” “That’s so nice of you not to judge him because he’s British.” Logan snorted, “Well, Lance is American…” “No one believes that.”
“Logan you really know how to drive a conversation off track.” “Sorry? It’s like talking to an old friend,” he joked. “Oh Logan, we are friends. You are letting me name a drink. I still don’t even know what to call it.” “Take your time,” he smiled. “Alright, let’s talk about Taboo TV. Music just wasn’t enough, you had to get your hands in TV?” Logan smiled defensively, “On the contrary Ellen, my trip into television was all well intended in the name of music. Think of MTV circa TRL. There’s an afternoon music video countdown, interviews with artists and other celebrities, music and industry news. Punk’d, which I personally was excited about. We also have concert footage and specials. Whenever there’s not a program on, it’s just music videos all day every day. I love Catching the Wave. The dynamic between Bentley and Libby is real reality TV. I honestly wish I could say they're scripted, but there is no way on earth anyone could ever write the things they do and say. That is pure childhood friendship. And you throw Tyler Kingsley into the mix. It’s great, Tyler has close ties with Collin at the label with the videos, and Libby is video DJ on Taboo TV, it all kind of ties together.” “For you, TV is really foreign though. But look at this TV company you started. That’s impressive.” “Thank you.” “And you mentioned Collin Reynolds, yes?” “Yes, Collin does all the music videos for Taboo artists, unless respectfully declined, obviously. And he is free to work with other artists as well, if he so chooses.” “But you, deciding TV wasn’t enough, because you’re Logan Renner, enlisted Collin to help you and now you have Taboo Film Company. That in itself has been off to a great start.” “Yeah it has. So we started with music videos and then Collin and I really started discussing the video biographies and artist based films. Blake has her movie, Joel has two, Katy has one, All Time Low, etc. We’ve got a little library of them. And I think they’re really important you know? They really give a great window into the writing process and tour life and just life being in this business.” “And you know, they make a lot of money. There’s that,” Ellen added, causing the audience to chuckle. “Yeah I guess there’s that, I can’t deny it. But I know when I was younger, with my idols and favorite musicians; there was nothing I liked more than a good documentary on them. It felt like Christmas, you feel like you know them. There’s that connection between artist and fan, it’s really important.”
“So then how did real films start happening? You’re hard to follow, Renner.” Logan rubbed a hand over his hair, “Well, I heard through connections that Footloose was in pre-production, and I was really excited about it. Cult classic. And then I heard it wasn’t going to happen because of funding reasons, and I just felt like, there’s no reason for that. So I got myself involved.” “Financially.” “Yes.” “It was a hit. Any new films coming up?” “Well, I don’t want to give anything away, but we have something in the works. Very premature to be giving away details. But we’re definitely working on something currently.”
“Logan, if you don’t mind me asking, because this conversation has gotten into so much detail and I think it’s clear to everyone that you are one talented young man of 22, you have accomplished so many things. But, if I may go back to something said earlier, this all started with a small record label. That you started because you wanted to be able to record your own music how you wanted. Are you ever going to put out an album? Ever?” Logan laughed, sitting forward in his seat, “Well, I have released singles. I can’t even say I don’t record my own music, I do. I record things for myself all the time. But it’s more for personal reasons, creative outlet, all that. Not so much for the purpose of releasing an album. But I have released singles. I mean last year I released, Every Night, Hello Baby, Like I Do.” “Can I assume some of those were about Blake?” “Oh, you can safely assume they were all about Blake. More recently, I released Love Away and Back For More. And some Christmas songs.” “Yeah, I noticed the Christmas songs.” “Well lot’s of people sing Christmas songs, and I really love Christmas.” “I’ll bet you do, you have a cute little family to celebrate with.” “Oh yeah, Christmas with Kenzie, really can’t top it.” “So am I allowed to announce new things now? Is it time?” Logan nodded seriously, “Go for it.” “So you are releasing tonight at midnight, two new songs, singles, right?” “Yes,” he said as the audience began to stir. This was new information. “Okay. Logan Renner tonight on iTunes, Hush Hush and Here With You. Make sure you go and download them. Logan, it has been a pleasure having you friend, please come back soon. I like knowing that I get exclusive interviews with you, we should keep it like this.” “I’ll see what I can do,” he joked, standing up. “I’m naming this drink… Kitty Chow.” “What? Seriously?” Logan snorted, laughing. “Logan Renner. You said I could name this drink, that’s what I pick. Alright, again, Logan, thank you for being here. And now performing live for the first time, his world premiere of his new song, Hush Hush, he’s being nice and letting me premiere it on my show instead of his TV channel, Logan Renner everybody.”
“Well hello, Logan, It’s been forever since you’ve been on the show.” “Yeah,” he laughed, “It’s been a while.” “I thought you were avoiding me.” “I would never avoid you Ellen.” “Well, then I realized you haven’t been doing interviews anywhere, so then I was like, oh well he needs to come on my show. We can’t have that, Logan Renner.” “My apologies. But, in my defense, if I was gonna do an interview anywhere, where else would I do one?” “Good point, I think you are admitting I’m you’re favorite.” “I mean, I can’t make drastic statements but…” Ellen waved a hand at him, “I know I’m you’re favorite. So you’ve been busy then?” Logan sat back in his chair, getting a little more comfortable, “Yeah, I’m a busy guy, I keep my schedule pretty booked.” “I know. I have to ask you, do you ever sleep?” “No, not really.” “Well, you look great.” Logan laughed, nodding at the cheers that came after that statement. “Thanks, I have to look good for everyone. Did you think I wouldn’t?” “Well it’s been so long I forgot what you looked like. But I’d imagine Blake makes you sleep. Does she ever come at you with a bottle of ZzzQuil?” Logan shrugged, “I can’t recall that ever happening.” Logan playfully looked over his shoulder, “Don’t give her any ideas,” he laughed.
Ellen shook her head, “Well, I’ll be upfront to say I’m really happy to see that you and Blake are happy. You guys had a rough patch but now it’s all good?” “Oh yeah, all good.” “All good in the hood.” “Just good. Things are perfect.” “Whoa, pulling out the big guns. How long have you two been married now?” “Three years in June.” “Wow!” “I know, crazy right?” he grinned. The audience applauded, and Ellen added, “That’s incredible. It seems like just yesterday you guys were getting married. It was a big deal. Did anyone tell you they didn’t think you’d make it through the first year?” Logan snorted, “Well, not to my face. I didn’t have any doubts though.” “Well of course you didn’t, you married a keeper. And, little Kenzie, how is she? She’s two now?” “Yes… into those terrible two’s.” “She’s two, you’re coming up on you’re third wedding anniversary. That must make you feel old.” “What? No, I don’t feel old at all. I know it probably seems unlikely, but I feel my age.” “How on earth do you manage that?” “I just… I don’t,” he laughed, shrugging. “I think it’s more that I haven’t gotten that sense of like, ugh I’m too old now, I need to go into retirement. I don’t think I’ll ever get that.” “So you’re never going to slow down?” “Not right now, no. I mean, eventually I think we’ll settle in a little more, but right now life’s pretty good.”
“Okay we’ve got some pictures of Kenzie up here behind us, you were nice enough to send us some current ones. She is adorable. Looks just like Blake.” Logan turned around, smiling at the giant picture of his daughter still in pajamas and wearing little cowgirl boots, “Yeah she’s a cutie. Blake took that one yesterday. She does look like Blake.” “Spitting image. But that smile looks like you.” Logan sighed, “Well at least she got something of mine.” “Well maybe she got your business sense.” Logan laughed, “Oh, I hope so.” Another picture came up, one of Logan laying on the floor with Kenzie sitting on his stomach. They were probably playing patty cake or something. “That looks like it’s in a recording studio, does she always come to work with you?” “Oh all the time. Blake and I really try to work things out so we don’t have to have a nanny, we don’t want one. She’s either with one of us, or both, or she’s with one of our friends at the studio. And myself or Blake is never more than 3 offices away,” he chuckled. “She got you wrapped around her finger yet?” “Oh yeah, since day one. That ship has sailed,” he chuckled.
“So Logan, as I said, you’re a busy guy. But it looks pretty clear you make a lot of time for being with Kenzie and family time. Is it hard to balance everything?” Logan cleared his throat, “You know, at the beginning it was a little hard. Especially when the label was still small and had just taken off. It kind of exploded into this huge thing so quickly, and it was right around the time we had Kenzie so it went from like, a small family owned business to what it is now, and I was trying to do every job imaginable and still try to be home with the girls. I realized pretty fast I couldn’t do it all. So now it’s nice, I took a lot of time to hire employees. So now I have soundboard techs, and secretaries, and office people. I’ve got people to handle the small things like putting together paper work, handling tours, album covers, scheduling, all the artists have like, their own manager type of person. You know, someone who is one tour with them and deals directly with the artist but works under me.” “So you get to approve everything and sign your name at the bottom of all the paperwork now.” Logan laughed, “Yeah things get brought to me at biweekly meetings for each artist and we talk about image and planning and marketing, all that. And we make a game plan and I approve it, and we go from there. Except Blake, she’s one of the only ones I’m totally hands on with concerning her career. She’d probably divorce me if I tried to pawn her off on someone,” he joked. “But you wouldn’t anyways, you like working with her.” “Yeah for sure. Blake and I kind of started this whole thing together, so we stick together. We’re a good team.” “Well it seems like you’re a good team in general. So for the music, how involved are you there?” “That’s most definitely the place I’m most involved with all the artists, I’d say. It’s where I want to be, it’s what I feel is my place. I spend a majority of my day in studio sessions. Like, my mornings, I try to get all my meetings in, or these types of things, interviews, whatever. After this I’ll head back to the studio and I’ve got some sessions scheduled. The artists all have their own studios and spaces and they work on their own music on their time. Some are there during the day, some go in on random weekends, I’ll catch some of them there at 3 in the morning. Just whenever the inspiration is there, we try to operate at all hours. And then I’ll pop into their sessions to brainstorm and help write and bounce ideas around. Record stuff. Sometimes I just mix things and give it to them. Like with Dani. I’ll give her a track with no vocals and she can always find something to do with it. I like that one on one time too, just vibing off each other. It helps them hone in on what they want, and it helps me understand what they want, where they are coming from, what they’re feeling, the image they are trying to portray. It helps me understand them artistically, and then from there I can better gauge how to handle things on the business side for them. Everything comes full circle that way.” “So in other words, you are REALLY involved.” “I try to be, I want to be. Whatever I can do to help them achieve whatever it is they are trying to achieve, I try to do that for them.”
Ellen took a breath, “Okay so that alone is just the record label. I’m gonna go ahead and list your accomplishments. In order. It hasn’t been done. And since I’m the first to interview you in quite some time, I’m gonna do this. I’ll be the first.” Logan grinned and laughed, “That is quite the ambitious feat.” “It is.” “Go for it.” “Okay. Correct me if I get anything wrong. At age 17 you snagged a deal writing songs for big name artists-“ “16. It was a week after my sixteenth birthday.” “I’m already wrong? Darn, I really thought I had it. I feel so discouraged now, Logan.” “I’m sorry,” he laughed, “no keep going.” “Okay, 16, wrote songs for other artists. Then, oh I see, I misread. Less than a year later you signed a record deal yourself and began recording, which you released just after you turned seventeen and went on your first tour.” “Yes. That was a really fast year. I already had so many songs written, the recording process was really quick.” “And your tour went so well, they sent you on an international tour that summer.” “Yeah, the summer before my senior year.” “You still were in high school?! Like regular school?” “Well yeah, junior year I spent the last half of it after the new year on tour and I had a tutor to help me keep up. And then I wanted to spend my senior year with my friends and graduate with them like everyone else.” “You would. That’s so normal of you.” Logan grinned, nodding and shrugged. He tried to be normal. He remembered being told that they were putting him on an international tour and his first thought was when they were going to England. He’d wanted to see Lance so bad he almost forgot he was supposed to be performing. “Alright. So you took a year to finish school. At 19, you left your label. Why was that?” “Well I had a very clear idea of the kind of singer I wanted to be at the time, and they wanted me to be something else. I wanted to record my own music. My way. On my terms. And I had some musician friends who felt the ame way, so I started my own label.” “So let me clear this up quickly, you started Taboo Records to record your own music. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that you finally released anything of your own.” “Right.” “You became quite busy, with all the other artists?” “Yeah, I signed Blake with me, All Time Low, The Maine, Lights. It all snowballed from there. Joel jumped on board. After that it’s been an uphill trek.” “Have you reached the top yet Logan?” “Not even close.” “Alright, so at age 19 you also got married to one Blake Parker. At age 20 you had a daughter. Since then you have, expanded Taboo Records… there’s the New York studio, the Los Angeles studio, and now one in Nashville?” “Yeah, I’m pretty excited about the Nashville studio. I have a soft spot for country music.” “Well you married America’s Country Princess. I guess she’s the queen now. Even though Blake has veered a bit from the country genre. What genre do you think she is now?” “I don’t put Blake in a box,” he laughed. “That’s really smart of you, Renner. Okay, you have… wow 20+ artists right now. And growing. All the time.” “Yeah, that’s always expanding.” “You also just opened a music venue in New York. It’s… in the meat packing district, care to tell me about that?” Logan nodded, “Well sure, yeah. So I wanted to open a venue that was kind of a bar/club combo with in house DJ’s, and able to have concerts and live rock shows and whatever else. A place for artists to perform and whatever else.” “Why the meat packing district?” “Okay, so when I was looking for commercial space, it’s hard to find a lot of it on Manhattan. My realtor was like, you know, I know its not exactly what we talked about, but come check it out anyways. It was just this big, six floor box building that was literally a meat packing factory. It’s been out of commission for some time, obviously and a few people had tried to convert it into a few different things. Anyways, when I went to check it out it was summer, and it was like, sweltering hot, had sweat dripping down my temples-“ “You’re a good story teller, Renner, anything you can’t do?” Logan laughed, shaking his head, “Anyways it was hot, so I jokingly asked if the air worked in the place and my realtor goes, ‘it’s a meat packing factory, this place gets as cold as an ice box.’ So I named it The Ice Box, and renovated it. The first three floors are part of the venue and the top three floors I rent out as office space and lofts. We just had our grand opening about two weeks ago or so.” “That sounds like a fun place, is there a lot of meat?” Logan grinned, “No, not anymore. It’s almost unrecognizable. But all the originally detailing and warehouse structuring is still intact, it’s got a cool vibe.” “Well I’ll have to stop by. But only when you’re yhere. You can buy me a drink, if you want.” “I would love to Ellen, we have an awesome staff, some top notch bartenders. They could whip you up something. Actually…” A crew member came from off stage, carrying a tray of drinks, “I had these made. These drinks are made just for you and you can name it, it’s going on the menu at The Ice Box.” “You are pulling my leg, Logan Renner, you’re gonna let me name a drink?” “Yeah.” “Oh my gosh, let me taste it. Ooh, this is good. A little sweet, tangy, is that mint?” “I don’t even know what’s in it. Bartender just makes them, good right?” he grinned, taking a sip.
“Logan, I may have found my new best friend.” “Me?” “No, the drink.” The audience laughed, Logan setting his drink down. “And your sister runs The Ice Box?” “Yeah, my older sister, Leah. I’m really glad to have her. She really knows how to run a place, and it’s been nice having her living in the area with my nieces. It’s been a bit of a family affair.” “I’d like to be in on this family affair. You and your brother alone are a dangerous duo, you know that right?” “Are we?” “Oh my god, has no one told you? I mean, I don’t bat for that team, but if I did, I heard yours are the pictures to hang on my tween bedroom wall. A wall of the Renner brothers. So I’m told.” “Well that’s awfully flattering, I guess I can see the appeal.” “How is your brother Lance?” “Loveable.” Logan laughed, “No seriously, I mean he’s great. He and I have disagreements and good times like everyone else out there with a brother. He’s my best friend.” “That’s so nice of you not to judge him because he’s British.” Logan snorted, “Well, Lance is American…” “No one believes that.”
“Logan you really know how to drive a conversation off track.” “Sorry? It’s like talking to an old friend,” he joked. “Oh Logan, we are friends. You are letting me name a drink. I still don’t even know what to call it.” “Take your time,” he smiled. “Alright, let’s talk about Taboo TV. Music just wasn’t enough, you had to get your hands in TV?” Logan smiled defensively, “On the contrary Ellen, my trip into television was all well intended in the name of music. Think of MTV circa TRL. There’s an afternoon music video countdown, interviews with artists and other celebrities, music and industry news. Punk’d, which I personally was excited about. We also have concert footage and specials. Whenever there’s not a program on, it’s just music videos all day every day. I love Catching the Wave. The dynamic between Bentley and Libby is real reality TV. I honestly wish I could say they're scripted, but there is no way on earth anyone could ever write the things they do and say. That is pure childhood friendship. And you throw Tyler Kingsley into the mix. It’s great, Tyler has close ties with Collin at the label with the videos, and Libby is video DJ on Taboo TV, it all kind of ties together.” “For you, TV is really foreign though. But look at this TV company you started. That’s impressive.” “Thank you.” “And you mentioned Collin Reynolds, yes?” “Yes, Collin does all the music videos for Taboo artists, unless respectfully declined, obviously. And he is free to work with other artists as well, if he so chooses.” “But you, deciding TV wasn’t enough, because you’re Logan Renner, enlisted Collin to help you and now you have Taboo Film Company. That in itself has been off to a great start.” “Yeah it has. So we started with music videos and then Collin and I really started discussing the video biographies and artist based films. Blake has her movie, Joel has two, Katy has one, All Time Low, etc. We’ve got a little library of them. And I think they’re really important you know? They really give a great window into the writing process and tour life and just life being in this business.” “And you know, they make a lot of money. There’s that,” Ellen added, causing the audience to chuckle. “Yeah I guess there’s that, I can’t deny it. But I know when I was younger, with my idols and favorite musicians; there was nothing I liked more than a good documentary on them. It felt like Christmas, you feel like you know them. There’s that connection between artist and fan, it’s really important.”
“So then how did real films start happening? You’re hard to follow, Renner.” Logan rubbed a hand over his hair, “Well, I heard through connections that Footloose was in pre-production, and I was really excited about it. Cult classic. And then I heard it wasn’t going to happen because of funding reasons, and I just felt like, there’s no reason for that. So I got myself involved.” “Financially.” “Yes.” “It was a hit. Any new films coming up?” “Well, I don’t want to give anything away, but we have something in the works. Very premature to be giving away details. But we’re definitely working on something currently.”
“Logan, if you don’t mind me asking, because this conversation has gotten into so much detail and I think it’s clear to everyone that you are one talented young man of 22, you have accomplished so many things. But, if I may go back to something said earlier, this all started with a small record label. That you started because you wanted to be able to record your own music how you wanted. Are you ever going to put out an album? Ever?” Logan laughed, sitting forward in his seat, “Well, I have released singles. I can’t even say I don’t record my own music, I do. I record things for myself all the time. But it’s more for personal reasons, creative outlet, all that. Not so much for the purpose of releasing an album. But I have released singles. I mean last year I released, Every Night, Hello Baby, Like I Do.” “Can I assume some of those were about Blake?” “Oh, you can safely assume they were all about Blake. More recently, I released Love Away and Back For More. And some Christmas songs.” “Yeah, I noticed the Christmas songs.” “Well lot’s of people sing Christmas songs, and I really love Christmas.” “I’ll bet you do, you have a cute little family to celebrate with.” “Oh yeah, Christmas with Kenzie, really can’t top it.” “So am I allowed to announce new things now? Is it time?” Logan nodded seriously, “Go for it.” “So you are releasing tonight at midnight, two new songs, singles, right?” “Yes,” he said as the audience began to stir. This was new information. “Okay. Logan Renner tonight on iTunes, Hush Hush and Here With You. Make sure you go and download them. Logan, it has been a pleasure having you friend, please come back soon. I like knowing that I get exclusive interviews with you, we should keep it like this.” “I’ll see what I can do,” he joked, standing up. “I’m naming this drink… Kitty Chow.” “What? Seriously?” Logan snorted, laughing. “Logan Renner. You said I could name this drink, that’s what I pick. Alright, again, Logan, thank you for being here. And now performing live for the first time, his world premiere of his new song, Hush Hush, he’s being nice and letting me premiere it on my show instead of his TV channel, Logan Renner everybody.”
