The Real You Tours Internationally

Born in the “Emerald City” of Seattle, Washington, The Real You, is a passionate band driven by four individuals, in hopes of conquering the music world. At the young age of three, the band has completed eight tours, with two of them overseas.

“As an unsigned band it’s important for us to be on the road as much as possible,” lead singer Ryan Striker said in an exclusive interview with FanBolt. “We want to meet new people and get our music into as many ears as possible! We’ve done three full U.S. tours, three west coast tours, and two Japan tours.”

The pop rock band says that they love being on the road and experiencing all that the world has to offer.

“The best part of touring is meeting new people every night, and seeing parts of the world that most people never get a chance to see,” Striker said. “It’s fun just being in a van with your friends and having the freedom of the open road in front of you.”

Being an unsigned band has its downfalls, the members of The Real You have a full schedule playing shows, promoting their band and arranging their own tours. Booking their own tours have been a great learning experience for them, but they are excited for the day that they can eventually pass that job on to an agent who will handle all of their bookings.

“The bands you see on TV, hear on the radio, and watch on big tours, have big labels and lots of money behind them,” Striker said. “We don’t have that kind of financial support yet, so everything we do, we have to do on our own, with little or no money.”

Despite the complications they face, The Real You stays positive and hopeful; this is evident in their songs.

“I think in general we are all positive people,” Striker said. “I don’t see the point in being sad and depressed all the time, and if that’s all you hear in the music you listen to, it will affect you. I try and see the bright side in things, and show our fans that they can be happy too!”

Striker was really excited when I asked him about The Real You’s future. “We’re planning on a big year in 2010!” Striker said. “With management on board now, we are hoping to spend most of the year, on the road [and] playing to bigger crowds. We are also writing new tunes that we hope to record on our full-length album this year!”

Their new EP titled “Better Now Than Never” is available on iTunes or smartpunk.com.

by: Kimberly Gallagher