After dedicating five years as the front man for the punk group Happy., Tate Logan is switching gears with the release of his new digital card collection club. Logan is working in partnership with Cloutchain to create three themed collections which fans can buy on his website.
The collections include a “Friend Crush” club edition, “Coffee & Covers premiere edition” and a rare “What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie” horror edition. Recently, Logan has earned over 1 million likes on Tik Tok for his horror movie reviews, so the horror edition will be a rare card to unlock.
While Logan is grateful for the people he’s met and the experiences he’s gained as a part of Happy., he is excited for this next chapter and the freedom to pursue what’s important to him. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Logan values self-expression, and his mission with his solo career and digital card club is to give people the space to express themselves and connect with others, finding support in the process:
“I am launching a club where we can support each other. This isn’t like any other VIP or meet & greet you’ve ever done. This is constantly evolving, changing and updating to keep you excited and engaged. We are going to do all sorts of weird and fun stuff together. I can’t wait to begin this journey together.”
The collection launches on June 25 at 12 p.m. EST and orders close on July 22nd . Check out the digital card collection club here.
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
First of all, thank you so much for chatting with me! I honestly can’t survive without making music. That sounds dramatic but it’s true haha. This is all I have ever wanted and everything I work for. I am queer and came from a super small town in the south and had to work extra hard to get my art out there to other people. It feels like my purpose and my mission. I’ve felt it since I was a little kid. I work insanely hard every single day to push my vision and my music forward. Almost to a fault, the people close to me in my life poke fun at me for being such a work horse in such a carefree a creative career path haha. It’s so exciting to be releasing music and creating art as a solo artist now because there are no limitations. I can do whatever I want and that’s incredibly thrilling. I have so much I want to say and so much I want to do and I won’t stop until I do it all!
How would you describe the highs and lows of being an artist?
oh man, that’s such a hard question to answer. Sometimes I feel on top of the world. Traveling the country, meeting fans, playing live shows and writing music is the absolute greatest feeling in the world. But it can also really mess with your head once you start gaining success. People feel a separation from anyone in any sort of public eye, and feel like they can say whatever they want to them. But artists are just humans like everyone else and get our feelings hurt like everyone else. It’s hard not to put my worth or value into the opinions of strangers online sometimes. I want people to like the art that I make, but at the end of the day I’m making it for myself as an outlet, and it’s a beautiful thing when it relates to someone to helps sometime. That’s what I have to focus on.
What’s a musical guilty pleasure of yours?
I don’t think there is any such thing as a guilty pleasure in music. At least not for me! haha. I’m not ashamed of anything that I listen to. I listen to different types of music for different reasons and to feel different things. I really love boy bands like NYSNC* and The BackStreet Boys. I also love neon pop punk like Forever The Sickest Kids and Cobra Starship. Sometimes I play the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack on a loop. “Time-Warp” is like the greatest song ever in a musical haha. I am slightly embarrassed by the fact that I listen to classical music when I get tired of everything else to be honest though haha. I clean the house to Beethoven and Mozart and that makes me sound so pretentious haha.
What are some sources of inspiration for you?
I find most of my inspiration outside of music. Movies inspire me a lot, like the stories and relationships in them. I have tons of little easter eggs in my lyrics that reference different movies. Almost Famous is my favorite movie of all time and I watch it whenever i need inspiration. I’m also inspired by fashion and pop culture. I’m really into clothes and jewelry. Social issues also influence my writing. I’d say my biggest lyric inspirations music wise are Sheryl Crow, Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley, Fiona Apple, Max Bemis from Say Anything and Ben Liebsch from You, Me & Everyone We Know.
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
I have always been inspired by Lady Gaga. She did a lot for the LGBTQIA+ community when I was a young queer kid and she gave me an outlet to express myself then. She also never says anything bad about anyone, and I’ve always really respected that. She is strong in her views and is also just an incredible songwriter and performer. I’m a huge fan.
Favorite activity to blow off some steam?
I absolutely love horror movies!!! Probably too much to be honest haha. I love all sort of horror movies and usually watch one almost every night. I love everything from the classics to low budget indies to new releases. I also have a beautiful fiancée and two dogs that I love spending time with. I make them watch horror movies with me haha.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
Last year I released our sophomore album with my band Happy. We toured the country right before the pandemic and it was incredible. This year I am focusing on a new solo project. I have spent the last year writing new music, traveling back and forth to Los Angeles, and creating a whole new universe for my art. I feel refreshed. Happy. still exists, but the art that I am inspired to create right now doesn’t fit under that project. I am so excited to start releasing new music and touring!!! I recently launched a VIP club for my fans that is super cool. They can collect and trade one-of-a-kind digital cards that come with perks like access to unreleased music, live performances, Q&A’s and even free movie tickets. I love connecting with fans in intimate ways so they know how much I appreciate them.
What are some things you do to deal with anxiety and creative blocks?
Well, medication to be honest. I’m not ashamed of my struggle with mental health at all and I think it’s always good to talk about and be open about. I take antidepressants and anxieties daily. I also go to therapy. It saved my life. I also just like to go outside and lay in the grass.
What’s the future looking like for you?
I feel more inspired and more excited about music than ever before. I feel like every moment has lead to now, and all of my hard work is paying off. I feel like I have been in somewhat of a box for a while, and that there is so much more to who I am that what I have been able to show the world. I can’t wait to share everything i’ve been working on! I’m going to release really fun music and also use my platform to advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights.
What inspires your visuals, videos, looks etc?
I love blending nostalgia with modernity. Like having the instrumentation of the song feel very 90s surf rock but with a modern pop melody over it..or mixing different decade influences into my fashion choices. I’ve always had this weird thing in music videos about not showing a lot of technology. I don’t like to have iphones, or airpods, or flatscreens or anything like that. I don’t really know why, it might change haha. But I want my visuals to exist in a world that feels separate from the real one. Like a world without time, I guess. I want to blend so many different sounds and visuals that if you came here from a different planet on a spaceship you wouldn’t be able to pinpoint when I existed hahah. I’m super into fashion. I love wearing all sorts of rings, necklaces, chains, earrings, bracelets etc. I also love wearing women’s clothes and men’s clothes at the same time. If it looks cool, I’m gonna wear it.
What is the most embarrassing memory and most proud moment of your career so far ?
It’s really hard to pinpoint the proudest moment of my career. I try my best to make the most of every little piece of success I get. Every little bit of success is relative to the moment and always feels equally as exciting. I think one of the coolest things to me personally was when my mom and fiancée flew from South Carolina to New York City on tour. They have supported me since the beginning when I was playing in living rooms and coffee shops, and this was the first time they had ever seen me on tour, in a new places 100s of miles from home, to a packed room.
It was so cool to share that moment with them. The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me was when we were on a DIY tour in college. I had a friend with me who was selling our merchandise and she had a fake ID at the time. I wanted to shout her out on stage and thank her for her help on the tour and I accidentally called her by her real name, then panicked and called her by her fake ID name, and it just totally looked like I couldn’t remember her name and was an asshole but I was just trying to thank her without busting her out for having a fake ID hahahaha.
She and I have been friends since we were little kids. It was hilarious and she still laughs about it today. Another time we were in Philly and Trippie Redd was playing the bigger room at the same venue as us. The venue staff accidentally brought his rider into our dressing room and we thought it was ours. I started drinking a red bull and the woman came back in and was like “LOL THAT IS NOT FOR YOU” and took the red bull out of my hand. It was so hilarious. We were just some stupid punk band to them and it still makes me laugh.
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
That the ones who don’t make it are the ones who gave up too soon + that building real long-lasting relationships is worth it’s wait in gold.
Where do you think the music and entertainment industry is headed after this past year?
Everyone has been deprived of music for a year. I think music is going to come back stronger than ever. Music is so important to life and human connection and I think people are going to be going to shows and buying albums like crazy again. It’s gonna be awesome.
