Alt Bloom talks about the viral single “High Sometimes,” introspection during the pandemic, finding your North, the philosophical essence of nature, and his upcoming sci-fi-laced creative concepts.
“High Sometimes.” You’ve heard it. You’ve felt it. Hell, if you’ve been anywhere near the confines of social media, you’ve most definitely seen it. A song that is magnetically charged from a spirit keen on swatting away the intrusions of anxiety’s various forms, a song so euphoric you may even find yourself well… getting high sometimes.
The viral-smash hit has taken on many interpretations since initially being teased on TikTok. Yet one constant interpretation that remains is the song’s message to elevate—physically, spiritually, and metaphorically—in the face of the chaos that is seemingly devouring our world. “High Sometimes” is a true call to action. Not only does the hit song remind listeners to find the proper means of rising above animosity’s antagonizing actions, but it also serves as a glimpse into who Alt Bloom is, the dynamic artist on the rise, and who Ethan is, a dude, a dreamer from Montana.
“High Sometimes” isn’t the only accomplishment under Alt Bloom’s belt. He has managed to harvest a collaboration with National Geographic’s Planet Possible initiative, releasing two nature-driven songs: “Fly Away” and “I Believe.” At the top of 2021, he received acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone India and The Aquarian for his 90s Indie-Rock-inspired jam “Tired.” Since the release of his underrated 2020 EP Astronaut Complex, he has managed to amass 36 million streams.
Long story short: Alt Bloom is just getting started. But how does Alt Bloom feel about this consistent growth and success?
August 26th reads the calendar. I wait for Alt Bloom to appear within the digital square before me. In the minute I wait, I manage to ask Rachel, Alt Bloom’s magnificent PR, whether or not any question is off the table for this interview. “He has no scandals, luckily,” said Rachel, giving a slight chuckle. “He’s a pretty open book. [Alt Bloom] is just chasing the music thing, smoking a little weed, and getting down in nature. He has more music coming out, but that’s the game [plan] we’re doing with Ethan right now. Hopefully, some shows at some point. . .” A foreshadow of the insightfully raw conversation I would soon be having with Alt Bloom discussing exactly how he feels about his success and much, much more.
Here’s how the conversation went.
. . .
MARC: Hey, what’s up, man?
ALT BLOOM: Good, man. How you doing, bro?
M: Can’t complain, like I told Rachel, I’m living the dream! How are you doing, superstar?
A: (laughs) I’m feeling good, I just got this microphone, so I’m figuring it out.
M: I know, I saw it and was like, “Oh shoot, that mix is brand new, and he’s ready to show it off!”
A: (laughing) Check it out, dude, check it out! It’s the industry standard microphone. It’s so funny because I had a super expensive microphone, but I would go to other studios, and they would have this one (gesturing to his brand new gadget). Compared to other microphones, it’s very inexpensive, so I was like, you know what, I’m just going to go ahead and get this microphone. And this is the first time I’m using it, literally [in] this interview with you.
M: Wow. Dude, I’m— can I call you Ethan?
A: Absolutely (laughs).
M: Yo, Ethan, I’m honored, my good friend. Thank you so much.
A: No, man, I’m honored.
M: So, I know you’re super into nature and everything, right, and I also have heard that you are from Montana. Can you speak to your humble beginnings as a young Montana boy growing scaling mountains and what not?
A: Yeah, I would say growing up in Montana is a mix of… [first], it’s beautiful. I was raised in a sort of ski-bum town meets a hippie town, and right now, it [has] sort of evolved into a touristy area. There’s a lot of different people flowing through the town now. But I would say, being raised in a very small community, there’s a lot of beautiful things about it. Also, in a town that loves nature so much because you’re surrounded by woods 24/7, nature has always been normal to me. Whenever I hear that exact statement like “Oh, you’re outdoorsy,” and I’m like, it’s where I’m from, it’s a part of my being, it’s what I was raised in. There’s a whole lot of ignorance to the rest of the world that gets cooked in there while you’re doing it, but it’s almost like a beautiful thing because it’s just you and the woods and the people you see on a daily basis, and that’s all that you focus on, or at least that’s how it was when I was growing up. It’s just the town and what was going on; that could be skiing, backpacking, going to the lakes, anything like that, really just an adventure-based town.
M: Who in your family led you to fall in love with the outdoors? Was it your mom and your dad? Maybe an uncle or something?
A: Well, they initially bonded over Slalom [water] Skiing; they met on a Slalom Skiing boat. My dad loved my mom because she skied, and mom loved my dad because he skied, so that was the basis for it. And it’s actually funny (laughs) when I was growing up… like now I’ll go to play video games with my homies nowadays and I want to be so good at Mario Kart or Super Smash—
M: Oh! I love Super Smash! (laughs)
A: Oh, I know, I know. Brilliant games! But I’m always the most mediocre player in the room, and I’m like, man, what is the deal? For a while, that would make me feel like an outcast (laughs), but then I realized that growing up, every time I got on the computer, every time they wouldn’t let me buy games. They would be like, “Get outside, get outside, get outside.” And I would go outside and figure out entertainment 24/7.
M: Damn, so how was the transition for you in making that move from Montana to LA? That must’ve been quite the culture shock for you.
A: What’s funny is the culture shock was in return to Montana. Yeah, I still remember one of the first times I came to LA— it was in 2009, and it was one of the first times I have ever been on an airplane. I booked a ticket to come out here for a writing series, but when I came back— I grew up in a predominantly white area, [so] when I came back, I realized there were so many… so many pasty people here (they both laugh). I remember when I first left LA to come back to Montana, people would ask, “What do you do in Montana?” And it’s literally everything they do [in LA] but for cheaper, and we’re outside a ton more. So, it was really on both ends where you experienced a culture shock. Coming to LA felt natural to me; there were fellow musicians out here, more creatives to connect with. Compared to Nashville, Atlanta, even, which are the other main centers I was looking at when you come to LA, there’s a huge outdoor community here: rock-climbing everywhere, drive four hours north [and] you’ll be in the mountains immediately, which [are] the Sierras and they’re some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. So, you get a huge dose of the outdoors here and a community of people that are absolutely incredible and endless. You could meet a new person every day, and you still wouldn’t get through all the musicians that live here; it’s insane.
M: Of those two, Montana and LA, which of those do you draw the most inspiration from music-wise?
A: I would say, music-wise, I draw the most from LA, and spiritually, I would say Montana. That and balance. Your career is a hugely important fact that you should dump your heart into, but at the end of the day, when the lights share off, and you’re out of the studio, off the stage, [or outside of] a networking meeting, there’s a whole other life, a huge life, that you have to tap into and that’s where Montana becomes important to me. That’s why I spend most of my free time trying to explore as much as I can while our bodies are young; I know some days I’ll be decrepit trying to walk through the woods (chuckles). But really, my morality, spiritually, stems from Montana and my drive in music; my passion and the inspiration for it stems from the communities in Los Angeles.
M: I love it; the duality of man. Montana is obviously a physical place, but then it becomes a sort of philosophical belief when you think about it on that sort of level. Damn, I love that. In regards to your humble beginnings and everything, did you always feel like you were destined to be an acclaimed singer-songwriter? Or were you like, “You know what, I really want to work for Patagonia and make really nice sweatshirts.”
A: (laughs) You know, I never thought about doing anything other than music. Now I’m proclaiming myself a star… I think that it took me years to understand that I was capable of doing that. Of course, growing up as a big fish in a small town, I would always get the “You’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do that,” but then when I left that small town and got a look at what was actually going on, I was like “Wow, I’m quite shit” (they both begin to laugh). That made me realize that I have a lot to work on, whether that may be my skills as a writer or skills as a singer, which is really why I came to LA. I felt that if I want to do this for the rest of my life at the highest level that I possibly can, then the only place that I can surround myself with people who will push me to the next level is in Los Angeles.
M: Were there any other artists that you drew inspiration from or that influenced you along the way?
A: Yeah, I would say my biggest influences would be Mac Miller and Tom Petty.
M: Damn, Rest In Peace.
A: Yeah, I know, to both of them. Both of them are amazing musicians, and, being in Montana, you never got to see live music at a [large] scale, really. Tom Petty came through Montana on his last tour, which I didn’t know was his last tour. I ended up going to see him because I never saw him live, and I have been obsessed with him my whole life. But, that would be the two people that I pull from still to this day. Recently, I’ve been leaning into Oasis, and there’s this producer named Jared Solomon, right now, who works with Remi Wolf; I love their whole vibe, Still Woozy, I love his vibe and the fact that he does a lot of that on his own is super inspiring. Those are the people that I have always pulled from and the new folks that I have been pulling from in regards to inspiration.
M: I know you didn’t get to tour off of your EP that you dropped last year, right?
A: Yeah.
M: You’re sitting on that whole body of work, and I know, I know, I just know you’re working on some heat right now, I know it.
A: (laughs) Thank you, man!
M: Do you think you’re going to tour off of [Astronaut Complex] and the project you’re currently working on at the same time?
A: The lust to tour that EP is still very much there, and [that] the world is on a rocky terrain every other day doesn’t make it seem very promising. But I work on so much music every day, and my team knows this. I’m an obsessive writer, sometimes to a fault, and I would be working on something and be like, “This is great!” Then, a couple of minutes later, I’m working on the next record.
M: Yeah, I saw you with a pen in your hand just fiddling around with it—
A: Oh, I have a session pulled up literally right behind you (they both laugh). It’s for a live video that I’m working on. I have to finish the audio. But yeah, the goal is to keep putting out music. My thing is, though, I have always been a touring artist. That’s where I feel the most connection, as I’m sure most artists do, but it’s where I gain the most growth. When I was with my old band, that’s where we would generally see the biggest growth strides. Fans mean more to me more than anything; if I literally never had a song that charted and I had a million fans and never had a song that charted, that would be the dream to me. I would love that much more than having a song charted and having no fans; it’s the people that mean the most to me, so it has been interesting trying to connect with people during these lockdowns during the pandemic as we’ve had to be very social media-driven and not in-person driven. So, I’m super excited to be able to go on the road and connect with people in that way. Until then, I definitely won’t wait on the world to open back up to release music; that’s going to happen.
M: Going off of that, “High Sometimes” is a banger, and obviously, the numbers support what I’m saying. You’ve expressed your love for your fans, and that obviously plays a role in how you create and market your music. How does the success of “High Sometimes” feel for you right now? Taking everything you’ve said about the importance of fans and your love for them. Is this feeling surreal? Or is it something that you look at and you go, “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
A: It’s just cruising. I always have my head in the next bucket, which is—in my therapy, I’m learning how to be in the now and be present in the moment (laughs). One of the things that stokes me about “High Sometimes” is that it’s written as a double entendres about A) getting stoned when things are crap, and B) going back [to Montana] when things are crap. Whenever I’m feeling anxious, and my parents would hear me on the phone, they would be like, “You need to go hike, you need to go do something outside,” and any time I get above the city, looking down into it, all the stress always melts away. We’re all literally trying to figure it out. This is a giant ant kingdom, and we’re all little ants just trying to figure out our lives in it. I think with “High Sometimes,” I’m starting to see that translate as people are taking videos into the outdoors, and that’s what got me super excited about, especially as a creator, [being a] musician in the pop world. I want to get people thinking that the outdoors is cool because it is. So when I see people taking that song and repeating the same actions that I did with looking down at the feet and then looking up at the view that they’re looking at, that’s where I feel the most impact. It feels like I’m encouraging people to listen to it outside, go outside and share their experiences.
M: That’s fire. Bouncing off of that bit you said about outside, you have a collaboration with National Geographic, and that is outrageous in that regard. With the music you have been making, sitting, and going to make, will it all have that theme of love for the outdoors, or do you see yourself veering off and trying something new in regards to theme/subject?
A: As far as music videos go, I definitely want to live out my childhood dreams of making miniature three-minute movies with sci-fi concepts. Right now, we have such baby budgets; it’s funny. I remember talking to my team and saying I really want to do some surreal and fantasy-style videos, and they said you don’t have the budget to do it. I said, well if I don’t start now with this shoe-string budget now, [then] when I get a big budget, I won’t have any lessons or anything to base my ideas off of. So, it’s been really fun to work with Selena Michelle—she’s been the line directing these nerd videos, but it’s been fun to work with her and figure it all out as we go along. The outdoor stuff will always be there; we’re working on a live video that we shot for “High Sometimes” out near some Black-Eyed Susans, these sunflower-looking flowers that were blooming up in Bishop, California. We shot a live video up there and then backpacked up to 10,500 ft for my video after that, so I’m always going to have the live outdoor aspect in there, but conceptually I want to begin digging deeper into what I’ve been feeling. Nature is the backdrop for my existence, but I definitely want to explore more creative realms when putting out music.
M: Well, speaking of more creative realms… weed. How much— (they both start laughing). Did you like that transition?
A: Yeah, yeah, it was smooth. (continues laughing).
M: How much does weed help you tap into that other creative realm that you mentioned? From Ethan to Alt Bloom, how much of that is owed to the flower of weed?
A: I would say that the thing I owe more to that flower is it’s my tap out. When I’m creating, I can’t write lyrics for shit when I’m stoned. I’ll go to sessions, and I’ll be completely envious of producers and other artists who can smoke and be completely functional. For me, it’s my official tap out, my “I’m done for the night.” My girlfriend will sit here and watch me work ’till midnight, and she’ll be like, “Are you done?” and I’m not done ’till I have my drink or my smoke, and it helps me to relax. I’ll say that what I owe to weed is my ability to be like, “Alright, I’m officially stepping off; let me take my one or two hits and vibe out for the rest of the evening.” It’s also something [that] if I’m getting too frustrated and taking myself too seriously during production—not the lyrics, [but] production—I’ll step out and have a smoke and come back in and be like, “Just relax, dude, it’s music—”
M: “Woah, just take it easy, man!” (gestures hands like Drake towards the Theater Thug).
A: (laughing) Exactly, we’re supposed to be having fun here, so enjoy the process and don’t beat yourself up so much. So, I’d say weed is mainly for me to check out and helps me with that a lot.
M: What was the first time you got high? Were you like, “Yeah, I need this to just kind of chill and party with this”?
A: Well, I still remember the first time I got high (laughs). I remember we tried carving out a banana and attempting to smoke out of it. It worked for like one hit, but I would say weed is not something that I need; it’s just something that works for me. I know a lot of people say when they get paranoid, but for me, it slows me down. It slows me down a lot, and I think what happens is the paranoia turns into humor for me as I begin to realize that I’m stoned. It all becomes funny to me that I’m thinking these thoughts. Like, “Dude, you’re so stoned, but you’re okay. You’re in a classic movie scene right about to panic but just remember you’re stoned.” Yeah, that’s funny. It’s definitely not a need for me, just more like a cue to step out and relax.
M: Going into a deeper conversation about weed, nature, hiking, I saw some people on Twitter discussing “High Sometimes.” I wish I would’ve taken a screenshot, but they were breaking down the song on a mental health level. Talking to your point about anxiety and things like that, taking the song to levels of actually discussing mental health and saying, ‘Hey, you get high sometimes, but it’s not just in regards to smoking but the actual act of hiking, becoming closer to nature as a way to free yourself from the anxieties of the world.’ How do you feel about fans taking this song to philosophical and pro-mental health levels? That has to feel amazing.
A: Oh, yeah, I adore it. I know in the last couple of years, mental health has become something that everyone is more game to talk about, and everyone is more relaxed on the subject. But as an artist, I know everyone always talks about what you want to leave behind; I remember watching this Mac Miller and Rick Rubin interview that really stuck with me. In the interview, he talked about how he would sometimes write down a really dark, depressing lyric, and he would look at it and go, “Woah, I got that out of me,” and then he would go ahead and write something that would end up being a little lighter. Rick Rubin was like, “Why would you do that? That’s a type of personal experience as an artist through honest feelings,” and Mac goes “I feel the world is already dark as it is, and I don’t think I need to be adding more to it,” and that really stuck with me especially when I’m putting things out. That’s one of the reasons I love Stevie Wonder—yes, he talks about dark subjects and these heavy things but its always through bright, positive beaming way, and I feel there’s a lot of music out there that covers the field of “I’m broke, and I’m hurt” so when it comes to my music I want to go “I’m broke, and I’m hurt, but it’s all good.” We all feel that way, and we’re going to get better; just keep going, keep fighting, and keep your chin up to find that light every day. So the fact that the people are connecting with the song in that way just stokes me out.
M: Speaking to mental health, have you personally been impacted by mental health on any level? Anxiety or anything like that? Personally, when I hear “High Sometimes,” I think of my anxiety, and I know my anxiety can be crippling, and I’m a super outgoing dude, but once I feel that anxiety, I need to relax. With “High Sometimes,” it feels like Alt understands what I’m experiencing, so do you feel any of that?
A: Absolutely, man. One of the cool things about getting older, everyone always says it’s a negative thing, but as you get older and the more you [have] that anxiety, I one-thousand percent feel that debilitating times where I know better than to stay inside, but that’s all I’ll do. Then I have to muster up the strength to go outside and maybe go for a run or something. I feel that all of us are feeling the way we do, especially in a world where comparison is one-swipe away, which prevents people from really living in the present moment. One of the things that [has] been helping me a lot through my anxiety is reading and trying to refocus my energy. Some books that I recommend are Radical Acceptance which reconciles who you are and things of that nature. I’ve been reading this book called Ask, and it is Given, talking about focusing your vibrations and energy, Surrender Experiment, and The Untethered Soul; they’re all books that make you feel more connected to the anxiety and accept it, trying to fight it off creates more problems than turning to it and going “Hey, why are you here, what are you trying to teach me, what are you showing up at my door?” and turning the moment into “I love you, I accept you.” That’s really what I’ve been working on with my therapy lately, trying to get that love and acceptance from within as opposed to seeking it from the outside world.
M: Beautiful. Damn, that was well-said, man, damn thank you.
A: No, thank you for bringing it up!
M: Fasho! So, with all of that being said, your focus on mental health through therapy and reading, how did the pandemic impact your mental health? And did it have an impact on your songwriting as a result?
A: It impacted me a ton; I would say the main reason is it took me away from the people who are positive influences in my life on me making decisions in my music. Not that anyone has bad intentions, just you’re the only one who knows where your North is, and I feel that I had gotten into a pretty good pattern of following my compass where I felt it was necessary from A) my own happiness and to pass it on to other people, and B) for the sanity of working as an artist within this industry. The biggest thing that happened to me was a delayed thing that happened to me; I didn’t realize till like six months ago how much it had affected me as to what I was creating and why I was creating, and what I was looking for when I was creating. It’s still pieces that I’m sifting through as a creative to really find my own true North; I mean, I stepped out, went home, and it was just me in a room with emails from my label giving me feedback on what I was doing, and I took a second to just take a step back into the energy and spirit of who I was. The conflict of this whole thing and what it has brought up, I really think that that’s also been impacting me in negative and positive ways but really more so looking at everyone and saying, “This last year has been nuts; we all have been pushed away from each other, everything is being politicized, everything is being pushed to its max of what you should feel—”
M: Oh, speak on it, speak on it!
A: Yeah, it’s had an impact on all of us, and some of us don’t realize that, regardless of what is being portrayed to us, the bottom line is we are being divided on every front. Whether it’s a president, policies, vaccines, anything that comes outright, it just seems you need to have a hard opinion on it with no facts right now, and you’re either with us or against us. And that’s on both sides. It’s been an interesting thing to deal with as well, but I just had to come down to the fact that we’re all human; everyone is doing the best with the information they have, and really try to not be fearful or sensationalized by any point that’s put across and tackle a second to process that the people around you are people like you just trying to get through like you are.
M: You had a bit of a reality check in living with yourself, huh? You couldn’t run away to a party or whatever or go jump off of a boat or something; you really had to sit with your thoughts and truly think about it. Trying to make sense of your life in the face of the world that seems to be radicalized and sensationalized, growing darker, but I love you decided you would make sense of things. When we’re forced to slow down and take a glimpse at the world, the objects in the mirror can appear larger than what they are.
A: Yeah, man, exactly, exactly, you got it.
M: While you were facing a bit of existential dread, what were some albums you were listening to keep you sane? And to help you with songwriting, of course.
A: I had just watched the Supersonic Oasis documentary; I watched the Eagles documentary, so I got super into both of those bands; I got into Bill Wither; I love his drum-beats and that raw soul. Those are the guys I did deep-dives into; I also did a deep-dive into Pink Floyd. I read their whole thing. They have some weird music, bro (laughs).
M: Yes, they do, yes, they do (laughs).
A: I dove into them because I really loved some of their hit records. Once I got into them, I was like, “Yoooo; these guys are off the wall!”
M: Right! You hear them, and you go, “Yo, am I even on earth? Where. The hell. Am I?” (laughs).
A: Yes, exactly (laughs); those dudes made some trippy records, but I leaned into some classic stuff. Steve Miller as well. Basically, if my dad showed it to me growing up, I was listening to it. And being back home in Montana, I was really reflecting on my roots and my origin of songwriting and where that actually came from. But yeah, that would be the music that I connected with most during the pandemic.
M: What else can we expect from Alt Bloom going forward? Can you give us the name of a project? Or is there a tour, a new single? Give us something!
A: There’s a song that I’m about to drop, and we’re trying something new as they’re videos both rooted in sci-fi/fantasy and that “Old Kick Drum” video that I released earlier this year? That was supposed to be the starting point for all of this sci-fi stuff, so that’s why it’s me watching my whole life, me making a tape of everything and shoving it into the tape player; that’s supposed to be saying that I’m basically about to enter into this new world of Alt Bloom. I have this new song called “High School” coming out, which is kind of a celebration of being in high school and not knowing totally what to do, which is totally okay, and that’s what the song is about. Then the last song coming out towards the end of the year is called “Beautiful,” it’s exactly what it sounds like. And the hook line goes: “If ya’ momma doesn’t say you’re beautiful, of course, you are.” I’m super excited [about] the videos and all of these songs, but I’m really excited about next year. I’m really trying to reconcile the lo-fi pop stuff that I was doing with the alternative worlds that I’m doing, blending a couple of artists together to try and put these two worlds together, which is turning into an alternative soul project which I’m really excited for. We’re in August, so I still have a handful of months before I start worrying about what 2022 looks like (chuckles).
M: You gotta live in the now like your therapist said (smiling, about to laugh)
A: Live in the now! (Laughs). Figuring it one day at a time. The Power of the Now, that’s another good book I’m listening to right now. But yeah, [I’m] gonna close out the year [with] two more releases, a lot of videos, got nature videos coming, and I just got hooked up with an agency, so hopefully, shows coming soon.
M: Fantastic, you love to see it. Alright, just two more questions, and then I will let you go back to your writing!
A: No, no, I wanna ask you about you, man. You have such a good spirit; this has been a really good interview, man. The way you’re moving the ball is really fun, so thank you for these questions.
M: E, thank you so much, man. I’m trying my best! I was really nervous; I’m not gon’ lie because you’re Alt Bloom. I told my fiancé, like, “Yo, I’m about to get on a call with Alt Bloom. I’m scared as shit,” and she was like, “No, you’re fine, you did this before!” Once we started talking, it was great, it just feels like I’m talking to one of my college homies, and we’re just catching up.
A: Yeah, man! Yeah, that’s how it feels to me too, man. There are so many interviews that you go to, and they’re asking you the 15 questions that everyone always asks, and your interview has been the exact opposite with great flow and awesome reflections, so I appreciate that, man.
M: Aw, thank you, man. I appreciate that. Alright, we can gas each other up after these last two questions. Where did you get the name Alt Bloom?
A: Basically, after I left the last project I was in, I was deciding what I would do next, and I was looking at my name, Ethan Thompson. Love my name, no problem with it. But it’s [that], so many projects are attached to it that if you type in [my] name, all this other music would pop up, some in my control and some outside of my control. So, when I decided I would be doing this new project, I wanted to really step into something, a version of myself that I always wanted to be. I decided that I would name it something that was not attached to my trial and error. I wanted to start a new page, and I wanted the focus to be on nature meets city because I had been living in the city for about seven years, but I was still a Montana boy at heart. So I wanted to find something that connected the two worlds and the two genre collisions that I was doing, so after sitting in a room and throwing words together for three days, Alt Bloom really matched the attitude and the growth I was feeling, and the nature meets city vibes implied through most of my music.
M: My last question. You mentioned sci-fi and these surreal worlds that you want to explore within your music videos, so I have to ask you, what is your favorite sci-fi movie, comic book, or video game of all time?
A: Ender’s Game was one of my favorite books growing up, and in the fantasy world, there was a book called Eragon, and I read all those books growing up. I’m totally a sucker for Marvel movies and will watch any of them. I’m the type of person that if it’s over and there’s more storyline, I’ll go ahead and look up the old comics.
M: Yes!
A: Yeah, dude (laughs). I would be there looking at all of it, so good. I would say that all those are my tops, but I’m super excited for Dune to come out, and I’m actually going to read the book before it comes out. So super excited for that. Anything really in that sci-fi world I’m really interested in, but it’s funny though anytime my girlfriend would ask me what I want to watch, I’d be like, “Babe, come on, you know what I want to watch” (laughs). It’s either going to be a superhero movie or some sort of thriller; that’s like my homepage.
M: Okay, okay, this is the last question, I promise, I promise. Let’s say Kevin Feige comes up to you and says he wants to push the next phase of Marvel forward, and he’s giving you a chance to be anybody you want to be, bro. He says, “Ethan, I want you to pick a hero, and we’re going to shoot the movie tomorrow.” Ethan wants to be …
A: I think I would want to be Spider-Man. The reason being obviously A) everything about Spidey is dope, but B) every time I’m longboarding or on a bicycle and I see a vehicle go by, I go, “Damn dude, if I was just Spider-Man, I could just zap on the back of the vehicle from the longboard and just launch.” I saw a plane flying over top of me the other day, and I went (makes a Spider-Man web shooter gesture, Ethan’s wrist formulates in a way that lets Marc know he is a fellow Spider-Man enthusiast much like himself).
M: Bro, I do the same thing! (They’re both cracking up at this point). I was sitting at dinner with my fiancé the other day, and I go, “Damn, the fork is all the way over there (performs a veteran thwip).
A: Yeah, yeah, man. It’s the same thing with the Force; that would be super cool to be able to just pull things to you. I’m moving atoms; it’s moving atoms; there has to be a way that I can get this thing to move (laughs).
M: Damn, this was a great interview, man.
A: Absolutely, thank you for the time, and thank you for the energy.
M: Fasho, it was definitely great energy; thank you for your energy, we were just bouncing it off of each other, and it was dope. Yo, the next couple joints you drop, I feel, are gonna be some heat, and if you want somebody to come to a show and write a review or an interview there on the spot, I’m your guy. I’m in NY, so let me know.
A: You’re NY-based?
M: Yes, sir!
A: Right on, right on. Congrats on the fiancée, by the way!
M: Thank you, and actually, fun fact, her name is basically Mary Jane.
A: Whattttttt? (Laughs with the most supportive smile you could ever smile).
M: (laughs) Yeah, her name is Mariah Janelle—a Queen—but we call her MJ for short.
A: Let’s go! (laughs) Dude, that’s amazing! Tell MJ I said what’s up!
M: Fasho, will do! Yeah, super crazy, man, the universe is nuts (laughs). But congrats on everything you’re doing. You’re killing it out here. Whenever the new album is coming, please let me know; tell your people to send that joint my way; I would love to write a review on it and give you another interview, dawg.
A: Absolutely, man, thank you. The feeling is mutual; thank you for taking time out of your day to do this; this was great, and thank you for taking the time to look into my music; I look forward to doing this again. Cheers.
Listen to High Sometimes here.
