All photos courtesy of Blank Space
UCLA Radio’s Rising Artist Spotlight aims to highlight upcoming artists who have demonstrated unique creativity and talent through their music. Through interviews and features, we delve into their journey, influences, and aspirations, giving listeners a glimpse into the future of music.
Many bands have been born from the intimate settings of college house shows and the simple joy of jamming with friends. In that regard, Blank Space is no different. Ryder Schwartz, Elijah Pressman, Danny Cozmos, and David Colasin met while attending San Diego State University, where their raw talent and shared excitement over finding people to play music with quickly became evident.
Over their career, the band have become best friends, worked to transcend past indie rock, and released their 2023 debut EP, Older Now. As Blank Space continue to carve their path through the indie music scene, their unwavering passion, diverse influences, and commitment to delivering an authentic live experience continue to set them apart.
On the one year anniversary of Older Now’s release, we got to chat with the band about everything from their musical journey, career highlights, and experiences with In-N-Out Westwood.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes
Interviewed by Ethan Kung & Somerset Colligan
Ethan Kung: Tell us about the story of the band. How’d you guys meet, and who was the one who originally came up with the idea of making music together?
Ryder Schwartz: I met our original guitarist in the dorms my freshman year. All of a sudden, I had someone to play guitar with, so me and him were obviously like, “Let’s start a band. That sounds awesome.” Then he went out and found Elijah and Danny. We actually had to convince Danny to play with us. It took a little bit of persuading, but it ended up working out.
Danny Cozmos: I’m one year older than Ryder and our guitar player, so at the time, I was already in my second year of school. I was in a couple other bands, so I was pretty busy. But they just kept telling me, “Hey, we want to start this new band”, and all I kept saying was “no” for like, three months. Then finally, something got canceled and I ended up playing with them. And now we’re Blank Space. And that’s my only band.
Ryder: Oh! And I forgot that Elijah was on the side of a road sleeping in an alleyway – that’s where we got him.
Danny: With no pants on.
Ethan: That’s a really good first impression to have of someone! So, to add on to that question, who came up with the name of the band, and where did it come from?
Ryder: It was me, and it didn’t come from anywhere. I was just like, “what about this?” And then that was it. Which is pretty funny, because nowadays, we’re always coming up with cool band names.
Danny: I remember Elijah saying, “Blank Space works because I could actually see that on a festival lineup.”
Ryder: What we didn’t think about though, was the Taylor Swift song. I think it took a month until someone said, “Oh, like the Taylor Swift song!” And we were like, “Ughhhhh, aw shit…”
Elijah Pressman: I feel like we’ve embraced it pretty well, though. “Like the Taylor Swift song” used to be our Instagram bio.
Somerset Colligan: Were there any challenges that you guys faced transitioning from college life to pursuing a career in music and if so, how did you overcome them?
Danny: Time’s my biggest one. You know, for every minute that we spend on stage, there’s probably a week of rehearsal. And for every song that gets put out, there’s endless money, time, and sacrifices that have to go in, and that was the biggest difference for me. Because before, school was a really good excuse. You could always say, “Oh, I need to do school, I need to do homework.” But now there isn’t that.
Ryder: I totally agree. Like Danny, I also dropped out, but I didn’t drop out for music. I run a film company, and do a lot of other media arts work. And same with Danny, he’s a sound guy. So making music is the fun thing we get to do, but we have to sacrifice a lot for it. But it’s better than being in school, that’s for sure.
Elijah: And then there’s David and I, who are still in school. Studying away!
David Colasin: We’re holding it down. You guys are so deep in the music, Danny and Ryder.
Ethan: You guys just recently played at both Peachy Fest and the Constellation Room on back to back nights. How does playing at established venues like those compare to playing at house shows around San Diego?
Elijah: The Constellation Room was great, don’t get me wrong. However, we’ve played SOMA [the venue of Peachy Fest] multiple times, and for Peachy, we finally got put onto the mainstage. It was a whole different ball game – it was the farthest we’ve been apart from each other while still being physically on stage. It was really great – we got to play with a lot of incredible bands, and make friends with them as well. So that was one of the big things that I took away from it – that’s the kind of life that I would hope for the band to have in the future.
Ryder: At the same time, I don’t think I liked it more than a house show. I was obviously thankful to be at Peachy Fest, but with a house show, there’s kind of nothing like it.
Danny: I will say, I feel like more of an artist when we’re at those bigger venue shows. We get put in the green rooms, get our guest passes, our rider sheets – all the stuff that makes you a “real musician”, and you get treated with that level of respect too. Obviously, that doesn’t exist at house shows. They’re fun. They’re a party. They’re crazy. But one feels more like a job, and one feels like you’re getting drunk with your buddies. And both have many positives to them! We’ve done the house show grind, we’ve done the venue grind, and I would do both. I would never turn my nose at either of those opportunities.
Elijah: I also think that we just love playing shows. There’s nothing like getting on stage and playing music with these boys, and I think everyone would say the same. That’s how we started getting good at what we do. It was always about the live shows – always about how we can sound best on stage.
Ryder: And that’s also our biggest downfall, because we spend so much time wanting to play shows, that we’re like, “Oh shit! We have to record music!”
Somerset: Can you share some of the insights into the musical influences that shaped your sound as an indie rock band?
Ryder: We originally got together over The Backseat Lovers, when they were taking off. But what’s interesting about us is that we all listen to really different music. I think we find common ground in bands like Radiohead, The Backseat Lovers…
Danny: Briston Maroney!
Ryder: Briston Maroney. Me and David find common ground in more shoegazey, grungy artists like Wednesday. Danny likes some harder stuff too, lots of midwest emo. So there’s some weird little bridges being formed, but in our own respects: Elijah is into house music and jazz. Danny is into pop punk and punk rock. I’m into sad folky stuff. And David listens to crazy metal. So there’s this big spider web of music that we each pull from that’s crucial to the sound we create.
Ethan: Do you think your music is the blending of all of those, or do you think it’s picking and choosing based on the song?
Ryder: I think it’s picking and choosing based on the song, but sometimes it does blend together. Our writing process thus far has been that I’ll write the bare bones, take it to the band, and then we’ll work it out together. It’s also a level of respect for each other, like, “Okay, I know Danny is gonna want to do this, and I’m gonna respect him for that, because I like what he plays.” Every song is a blend of everything, even though they do seem like they’re in their own world, too. I don’t even think I could name their genre. I guess it’s indie rock – indie rock is just the umbrella.
Danny: It’s also much different now, versus whatever it was two years ago. Before, there was much more of us modeling off of these artists, like The Backseat Lovers, or Briston Maroney, and finding what they do that we really like. And we’ve always had our Blank Space twists – Ryder has this flavor in the music he writes that’s really unique.
But now, I feel like we’re almost playing the game against ourselves. What can we do better? What can we do that’s different? What can we do that’s our sound? Taking influence from what we’ve written in the past and being like, “remember this one song that we wrote a year and a half ago? That was five seconds of a really cool thing. Let’s make a whole new song off of that.” That’s where my head is now. I’m not really looking for other artists for inspiration, I’m looking at Ryder for inspiration.
Ryder: That’s super fair. I feel like we inspire each other more than anything else. However, I guess in my world, writing new music is definitely based on what I’m listening to. But it never ends the way it starts out. For example, I just listened to a bunch of Big Thief this past month, so I tried to write a Big Thief song. Pretty much everything that’s come out of it is not Big Thief at all, but that’s how it started.
Ethan: You guys are gonna be releasing a new package single on March 29, “Seasons”, which will include both a full band and acoustic version of the song. Where did that idea come from?
Ryder: Oh god, this is such a rabbit hole… The TikTok grind of the music world is the bane of our existence. It’s happened before, where we’ve had a song do well on TikTok and we thought we should continue with it. But this was the first time we actually got reached out to by labels and people interested in helping us record it. It was originally a verse that I wrote at three in the morning, and the next day, it had a couple hundred thousand views on Tik Tok, and I was like, “Oh, great. Now I have to write this, because these imaginary 300,000 people care so much.” *laughs*
But it actually turned out really well. It’s definitely a song that I think we’re all proud of. We’re doing both of them because the acoustic version adheres to the TikTok – people liked the rawness of just me and the guitar. But we felt it important that they hear the full band version, because that’s us. Although the TikTok is just me playing the guitar, that’s not what Blank Space has to offer. So having two versions makes sense.
Danny: So if you want “Seasons” toned down, and you just want Ryder to sing to you at three in the morning, you can have that. But if you want to be at a Blank Space concert in your bedroom, screaming, you can also have that!
Ryder: At the end of the day, it’s about us. If we love it, great! We obviously don’t want to sacrifice our artistic integrity because of some numbers, but I think so far it’s going well. I just can’t imagine we do every song like that. Especially because it’s rare. I think “Seasons” is a good song. But I also think it was just luck that TikTok pushed it. So we’re gonna ride the wave as much as we can, but we’re still just going to write whatever we enjoy writing and playing.
Somerset: Do you guys have any advice to other musicians that are starting their journey, during college or after college?
Danny: Play shows!
Ryder: Make sure you’re friends first. You gotta be friends before you’re band members. It can’t be the other way around. You can’t be friends because you play music, you have to play music because you’re friends. I see a lot of bands around us having these interpersonal issues that make it difficult to be successful. I mean, even we struggle!
But I think for any band to be successful – which for me is feeling content and happy, you gotta spend time with each other and have a life outside of the music so that the music actually means something. But also, like Danny said, just play shows, have fun with each other.
Danny: Obviously we hang out outside of music, but my favorite time hanging out with these boys is before a show. When nothing else matters for a couple of hours other than what we’re about to do, and we’re with our closest friends.
A lot of bands, especially younger bands, struggle to be in the moment, because they’re thinking about other things in life, or about what could go wrong. But especially with these boys, we’ve rarely had that, because we know everyone’s gonna hit their part. Everyone’s gonna put on a great show. And we’re all going to smile and go get In-N-Out afterwards. That’s what we do. So make music your favorite time with your favorite people!
Ethan: Nice. In-N-Out sounds really good right now.
Ryder: Yeah, it’s always In-N-Out. It’s always In-N-Out.
David: Ryder, what do you guys call it?
Ryder: Oh, we call it “Nouters” [now-ters].
Elijah: Nouterrrrrrrsssssss!
Ryder: The UCLA In-N-Out is wild.
Somerset: It’s literally constantly busy at every hour.
Ethan: It’s kind of the worst. But also kind of the best. Paul Giamatti was just there, after he won his Golden Globe. That was super weird.
Ryder: I saw the host of Ridiculousness, there. What’s his name?
Danny: Rob Dyrdek.
Ryder: Yeah, Rob Dyrdek. He was just at In-N-Out. Classic Westwood.
Ethan: I’m still waiting for my In-N-Out celebrity sighting. I feel like I’ve dodged all of them, and I don’t know how.
Somerset: Yeah, me too.
Ryder: It’s usually on a Tuesday in the middle of the day. I don’t think they’d be out there Friday night, that’s for sure.
Ethan: So you guys are going to be playing a headliner show at the Music Box in San Diego on April 3, with Subtle Orange and Metaphor. How are you guys preparing for that show?
Ryder: How are we preparing for that show?
Elijah: Same way we always do. We’re gonna practice. We’re gonna play songs in a room together. We’re gonna make sure they sound good. We’re hopefully gonna sell tickets. Then we’re gonna go out there, and we’re gonna rip it!
Ryder: And then get In-N-Out!
Danny: This is a big show for us because one, it’s a headlining show. And two, it’s one of the few shows we’ve had recently in San Diego. We’re not doing too many shows right now. So to have a big one like this means a lot. We have a lot of new music that we want to play, and we want to start building this beautiful show that’s an experience. So it’s not just learning some songs and playing them in a room, but giving people a reason to spend the money they work so hard on to come see us.
Somerset: Totally. What would you guys say is your most memorable moment for the band or the most exciting moment since you started?
Ryder: I think that one [moment that stands out] with all four of us, specifically with David involved, was Peachy Fest. That the biggest stage we’ve ever played on, with the most amount of people. But in the grand scheme of Blank Space, it has to be our tour from last year, where we put a couch in a van and drove up the coast. That was a pretty cool moment.
Danny: We’ve grown up so much together that it’s so hard to point to just one moment, because there’s been times where it’s felt like it was just us boys together, dealing with the shitty parts of life. As sad as that is, those are some of my favorite moments, because we grew so much, and we became such close friends. But also, playing on a big stage to a thousand people – not a lot of things get cooler than that.
David: I wasn’t even playing with you guys at this point, but the tour in Europe was such an amazing opportunity.
Danny: Germany was sick.
Ryder: Although it was kind of shitty and sketch.
David: I’m sure it was, but I’m sure playing music there made it feel super real. Or it could have just been an entire gag. I don’t know… I wasn’t there!
Danny: Nah, it was fun. We got off the plane and we kind of just said to ourselves, “Holy shit. We’re in Germany right now.” All of a sudden, we were all standing there with our cases in our hands, just waiting for a car to come pick us up. *laughs* We try to remember it all, try to forget some of it…
Ryder: Definitely try to forget some of it!
Elijah: One of my favorite moments was our first venue show at SOMA, where we got to play with Foxtide and The Happy Return. The electricity with us backstage, right before we were going on was actually unmatched. We were so excited, and I feel like that was a big moment for us – like “oh shit, this is really meaningful, all these people are gonna sing our songs back to us.” It was really awesome.
Danny: You know what was a good moment that night, Elijah? We all went to Nouters, of course, because what else are you gonna do after a show. That was the day “Red Cup” [Blank Space’s debut single] came out, and when we pulled up, these cars were just blasting it. Their windows were rolled down, and it was a bunch of teenagers having a fun time to our song. I didn’t even tell them – I just listened, watched, and thought, “that’s a cool moment”. Then I went in, got a burger with my friends, and went home. But that was something special – it was so weird listening to people listen to us!
Ethan: So wrapping things up, here at UCLA Radio, all of our members with a show have to make their own DJ names. What would yours be?
Elijah: Sometimes, when I play DJ shows, I go by the name Konos.
Ryder: “Sometimes”?! It’s his whole personality. That’s all he is right now – he’s a DJ!
Elijah: No, I’m Blank Space first, forever! But on the side, I do love to DJ, and I go by Konos because it’s a really good wine.
Danny: I’d probably go for something cool like Raptor. Like, DJ Raptor. Or what about DJ Dinosaur? Ryder… you go! I don’t know.
Ryder: Okay, I’m scrolling through my band name list, and I’m just going to pick the first one I see.
Alright, my DJ name is gonna be Meat Shield. Or Big Ba Bum Bap. No! It’s gotta be Counter Latch, that’s my DJ name.
David: I’m a fan of alliteration, and I think I’d be playing dirty bass-type music. So Dirty Dave, that’ll be my go-to.
Check out Blank Space’s socials and their Older Now EP:
And look out for their single, “Seasons”, dropping March 29.
