The Other Side of Someday: I'm The Same by Switch

The Other Side of Someday

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Jan. 29, 2012, 6:28 a.m.

The Other Side of Someday: I'm The Same

E - Words: 5,408 - Last Updated: Jan 29, 2012

Story: Complete - Chapters: 9/9 - Created: Jan 29, 2012 - Updated: Jan 29, 2012

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The morning of Friday, July 22 dawned dark and stormy, but Kurt didn't let that sour his mood. Blaine's Rolling Stone cover story was coming out today and he planned to be the first in line. He went through his morning routine quickly, forgoing most of his hair care and deciding to just wear a hat with the weather outside. He ate a quick breakfast and headed out the door with a call to drive carefully from his dad.

As the weather was so poor, the roads were mostly empty and Kurt made it to the Barnes and Noble in record time. Kurt was in and out and back in the car in less than five minutes. He pulled the magazine out of the plastic bag he'd made the cashier use and just stared at the cover. It had made Kurt's breath catch in his throat when he pulled it off the shelf and now having the time to examine it closer, he was speechless.

It was a simple shot that showed Blaine straight on as he stared broodingly at the camera. He was wearing a brown t-shirt with his arms wrapped around himself. His hair was loose, one curl almost falling into his eyes. He had two beaded bracelets on his right wrist and a necklace tucked under the shirt. The headline yelled out "BLAINE ANDERSON: America's newest pop sensation tells all."

Kurt pulled in a deep breath to compose himself before driving to the Lima Bean across the street. He tucked the magazine into his messenger bag before making a mad dash for the front door. He made it inside relatively unscathed and ordered his usual grande non-fat mocha before settling into one of the leather armchairs by the windows. He took a few sips of his drink before finally opening the Rolling Stone to Blaine's interview.

My interview with Blaine Anderson had originally been scheduled to take place at his manager's office, but at the last minute I received a call from Mr. Anderson himself changing the location to a local diner. He explained that he wanted a less formal setting for our chat and I was more than happy to oblige.
You see, this is the very first interview the young Mr. Anderson has given. By virtue of the fact that very little is known about the pop star that has been blowing up America's radio stations for the past four months, I'm a little wary about how this interview will go. Will he be nervous and quiet? Will I have to pull answers from him like a dentist pulling a tooth? Or will he be open and honest? As a seasoned journalist, I always hope for the second option but prepare for the first. This is why I have no issues with changing the location of our interview on such short notice. Anything that will make the interviewee more comfortable is the right move in my book.
So, on a sunny Saturday morning in early June, I drove out to Los Feliz and Home restaurant to meet Blaine Anderson and get the scoop that everyone is dying to hear.
I enter the diner and immediately spot him at a booth in the back. His hair is slicked down, as it always seems to be. He's wearing a white polo shirt with a red cardigan and, as he stands to greet me, dark wash jeans and black leather booties. He is the very picture of today's modern youth – handsome and charming, dapper some might say. He shakes my hand firmly and offers a warm smile as I approach. I return it happily, telling him what a pleasure it is to finally meet.
Blaine Anderson: No, it's all mine. Please have a seat. Sorry about the last minute change in venue, but offices are just so stuffy and corporate.
Rolling Stone: It's not a problem, at all. I, myself, prefer diners or restaurants for interviews. Anything to make the subject feel more relaxed.
BA: Oh? Should I be nervous? [laugh]
RS: Oh, not at all. This will just be the standard getting to know you chat where I ask all the really personal questions and try and get you cry.
BA: I didn't realize I was going to be interviewed by Oprah! Perhaps I should have brought some Kleenex.
Our initial chat is interrupted by our waitress coming to take our order. Blaine orders huevos rancheros, a side of bacon and more coffee. I order an egg white omelet and some tea. It's obvious by his breakfast order he hasn't been in LA long.
RS: How are you enjoying L.A.?
BA: It's nice, really. I mean, you hear stories about how fake and glossy everyone is out here, but the people I've met seem to be really genuine. I don't know if I've just gotten lucky or am insanely na�ve, but I really like it out here. The weather is a definite improvement.
RS: You're from Ohio, right?
BA: Yup. [nods] I grew up in Westerville, just a few hours from Columbus. It was great being out here in January and teasing all my friends back home as they were buried under a foot of snow.
RS: How have your friends responded to your meteoric rise to fame?
BA: For the most part, they've been amazing. Very supportive, buying the singles and telling me they call the radio stations all the time to request my music. If nothing else, this has shown me who my true friends really are, who it is that is going to stick by me through everything.
RS: So, there has been some negative reaction then?
BA: Some, yeah. It's mostly been from the guys who I just considered to be more acquaintances than real friends, anyway. It hasn't been anything I haven't heard before, just more of the same.
RS: Like what?
He pauses before he responds and I can see that he is unsure of what exactly he should tell me.
BA: I was part of my school's glee club, The Warblers. We were entirely student run and it was all very democratic. Starting last year when I was a junior, I guess I became the unofficial front man for the group. I started getting the majority of solos for competitions and while we always held auditions, some people started to comment on why we were even having auditions if I was just going to get the part, anyway. I just…. I never really understood where they were coming from, I guess. I auditioned like everyone else and the council decided on who was best for the part and the team. If they felt that was me, it was entirely their choice. But it seemed like some of the other guys were blaming me, like I had done something to influence their decision.
RS: And it's because of your position in the group that you're sitting here now, isn't it?
BA: Yeah. We were performing at the Sectional Show Choir Competition last fall where we unfortunately finished second. But the team that won was definitely very deserving. I'll never forget their opening number. They did this bizarre mix of The Beatles' Help with Huey Lewis' Back In Time. There's no way it should have worked, but the boy they had singing lead was so amazing. I've never heard anyone with a voice like his. And he was just so… .
Here, Blaine pauses and smiles to himself as if remembering a fond secret.

Kurt paused, his coffee cup hovering in the air half way to his lips and reread that last paragraph about six times. That was him. Blaine Anderson was talking about him. He had been there and Kurt had never known and Blaine Anderson remembered him and thought he was amazing. Kurt was going to die. He was going to hyperventilate and die right there, in the middle of the Lima Bean.

RS: What was so special about him?
BA: He's a countertenor. It's not a voice you really hear very much in music today. A lot of guys can use their falsetto and get up there if they need to, but to have a natural voice in that range is pretty astounding. In fact, we've been looking for someone like that to add to the Warblers for years. I was actually a little jealous of their group for having him.
RS: You don't sound too disappointed about not winning.
BA: I was, of course. We'd all worked really hard and it's always a little disappointing when you lose out on something like that. But I can't say that the winning team didn't deserve it.
RS: What happened after the competition?
BA: We were out in the lobby, waiting for the bus to come pick us up when I was approached by Mr. White. He told me he was a talent scout and was interested in working with me. I was hesitant, at first, because that kind of stuff only happens in movies. But, he gave me his card and when we were on the way back to school, one of the other members asked me who that had been. I showed Nick his card and he promptly freaked out. [laughs] It seems that Mr. White was legit and a big time agent out here and Nick told me I was nuts if I didn't at least talk to him.
RS: What did you think?
BA: I was still a little wary of the whole thing. I mean, I love performing; I worked at theme parks over school breaks, but I guess it was just never something I saw myself doing as a career. I always pictured myself going off to college, studying business, maybe pre-law and getting a job, one day taking over the family business. Perhaps, if I had time I would join a local theater company, or play in coffee shops on weekends. Show business just never really figured in as a viable career choice.
RS: And now?
BA: I can't imagine doing anything else. It's one thing to be on stage performing someone else's work, but when it's your own words and your own feelings that the audience is responding so positively to, well, it's intoxicating, really.
He smiles his big infectious smile that just lights up his whole face and we're once more interrupted briefly by the waitress dropping off our food. We make small talk as we dig in to our meals – local hot spots he loves, the process of actually creating an album.
RS: I did get an advanced copy of the album before this interview.
BA: They did tell you it's not completely finished, yet, right?
RS: Yes, they did. So, I won't be going into a full technical analysis, but I did want to talk about some of the recurring themes in your songs.
BA: Certainly.
RS: You co-wrote all the songs on the album, right?
BA: With the exception of the Keane cover, I did, yes. That was really the main sticking point for me, I think. If I was going to do this, I wanted it to be me. So, the lyrics are me. Well, probably 95% me. The song writers they hired helped me flesh some things out, gave me some tips on what works in the market. They also helped fill in the rest of the music. I can play piano and a little guitar, but I have no idea how to write for drums or bass or all the rest of it. [laughs] But they were great. They really listened to what I wanted, how I wanted the songs to feel and I think we came out with something that's really fantastic.
RS: How long have you been writing music?
BA: Gosh, forever it seems like. [laughs] My parents were away quite a bit on business when my sister and I were younger, so to entertain ourselves we would write little plays to perform for them when they got home. After I got older and started taking piano lessons, we turned them into musicals. It was always silly things. You know, songs about slaying the monster in the closet or about the wicked witch who lived down the street. I didn't write my first real song, I would say, until high school. But it was sort of like once I started I couldn't stop. I would be jotting down lyrics in math class instead of the problems on the board and then I begged my parents for a guitar for Christmas and every free chance I had I was writing songs.
RS: It's certainly quite different from a lot of stuff that's on the radio now. It almost feels a live album as opposed to a studio one.
BA: When we first started recording, we did the usual way of laying it down track by track. But when I heard it, it just didn't feel right. And Matt [Serletic, producer] was amazing through it all. We talked it out, and he figured out what I was having issues with, so he suggested we try one take as a whole band to see what that would give us. We started with I Still Think and when I heard it played back, it was exactly what I wanted. It was raw and honest and real. So much music today is so over processed and I wanted to strip all that away and just let the music do the talking, not the production.
RS: The record company certainly seems to have a lot of faith in you, giving you that kind of freedom on your first album.
BA: Believe me, I know! [laughs] Alan [White, Blaine's manager] was very instrumental in letting me do this my way. He really believes in me and he's been with the label for years, so they trusted him. Even still, I didn't do this all on my own. I had help from some really amazing people. This has all been one very strange ride but I am incredibly grateful for everything that's been given to me.
RS: Getting back to the songs themselves, there seem to be two major recurring themes in your songs – identity and self-discovery. What can you say about that?
BA: I think for most people my age, those are the two big issues we have going on in our lives. We're not really kids any more, but legally we're not yet adults. It's this weird limbo where you try and get through school and deal with your parents and family and friends while also trying to figure out who you are and what kind of person you want to be. Personally, I had gone through a bit of a rough time a few years back. Some of my fellow students took umbrage at the honesty with which I presented myself. For awhile it made me question if my revelation was a real one or if there was some way I could be normal, like them.
RS: Me, Myself and Lies is a very powerful song.
BA: I wrote that one after the summer I spent rebuilding a car with my father in our driveway. Most boys my age probably would have loved it. But with what had happened earlier that year at school, I was fairly certain this bonding was merely an attempt to make me straight.

Kurt nearly choked on his coffee and had to reread that sentence ten times just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But, no. Blaine Anderson had basically just said, "Oh, yeah, I'm gay" like it was nothing.

RS: That must have been difficult.
BA: It was. It still is at times, to be honest. It's hard to go through that time and not feel like you can talk to the one man who's supposed to love and understand you no matter what.
RS: And now?
BA: It's better, in some ways. In other ways, this [gesturing around him] has made things more complicated. He'd always talked about me possibly taking over the family business one day, like I had thought. It took some convincing to get him to agree to let me try this. I think it helped that I'm still young enough and I can go back to school if things don't work out.
RS: Let's talk about your first single, Don't You. Why go with that one over the title track?
BA: That was another interesting discussion with the label. I was pushing for Human. That song, to me, is something I think everyone can identify with. Kids, adults, everyone in between. It's about trying to fit in when you feel like everyone else already has their place and then coming to that realization that everyone is just as lost as you. We're all just stumbling through this life the best we can.
RS: That does certainly seem like a fairly universal feeling.
BA: [nods] But the label was insisting on Don't You. They have all this data and reporting that shows love songs often indicate better long term success for an artist when released as the initial single. I did end up trusting their judgment on this, and we're prepping Human to be the second single.
RS: Was Don't You written about anyone in particular?
BA: Oh, no. [laughs] It's really sort of my fantasy date, I guess you could say. One of those times you're out with someone and everything is just going so well and you're getting along even better than you had hoped that you don't want the night to end.
RS: You seem to have something of a romantic streak in you. Even Though and On The Road are both rather romantic, as well, in different ways.
BA: Even Though is another one of those songs that I think a lot of people can identify with. Everyone's out there looking for that perfect someone and you don't always see that that person is already standing right in front of you.
On The Road I wrote earlier this year. The record company sent me on a little mini-tour around the West Coast and I just fell in love with all the little towns we stopped in and the people there. I've done a fair amount of traveling with my dad on some of his business trips, but it's always been to places like New York or Chicago. Getting to see all those little out of the way places really opened my eyes to a lot of things and different people. It was a really wonderful experience.
RS: Stutter, on the other hand is a very angry song.
BA: That was actually written about a friend of mine. She had gotten involved with this guy and it was a huge mess with him running hot and cold on her. We all knew he was bad news, but she just didn't want to see it. So, that song was sort of my way to try and help her see that she was really too good for him. She did eventually dump him, so I consider it a success.
RS: I would have to say that you're on the right track to have great success, Blaine.
BA: Well, thank you. I just hope I can live up to everyone's expectations.
We part with another handshake and a promise to keep in touch about the article. He's doing a photo shoot to go along with it later this week and I mentioned dropping by if I need to follow up on anything. He assures me that it wouldn't be a problem and wishes me well. I make my way back to my car and look back into the restaurant to see that he has joined an older couple who had been sitting a few tables away. I immediately realize that these must be his parents and I wish I had known they were there so I could talk to them, as well. But, perhaps, that was part of his plan.
So, get ready, America. Blaine Anderson is not going anywhere.

Kurt sat back and tried to absorb everything he'd just read. If nothing else, he was just more impressed with the picture of Blaine that he now has, but two major points keep coming back to mind: 1) Blaine is gay and 2) Blaine knows who he is and thinks he's amazing. He really could not wrap his head around that last point. It was too much.

He packed his things and headed back out to his car, grateful that the rain had finally stopped. Mercedes had better be home and awake. He needed his best friend, right now.

Luckily, she was home when Kurt got there and freaked out just as much as he had.

"I knew I recognized him!" she said. "He was the lead singer for The Warblers; they did Hey, Soul Sister and Breakeven. Santana was going nuts over them. I mean, it was a whole choir full of cute boys in school uniforms. Who wouldn't?"

Kurt just shrugged in reply.

"You really don't remember?"

"I was trying to concentrate on not throwing up before singing in front of several hundred people. I don't even remember the other numbers we did and barely remember winning. Just that everyone hugged me, so I figured something good must have happened."

"Well, yes. We won because you were amazing and Blaine obviously recognizes talent when he sees it."

Kurt just flopped down on her bed, not sure what he should be feeling. He was overwhelmed and excited and nervous. If he should ever have the chance to meet Blaine, what would he say? Should he mention that he was that boy from the competition? It was just too much.

"Come on," Mercedes said, slapping his arm. "My cousin is getting married in a couple months and I need you tell me if I have anything in my wardrobe that is acceptable or if we need to go shopping."

Kurt nodded as he sat up. As always, Mercedes knew just what he needed. A little retail therapy was just what the doctor ordered.

The following Tuesday, Blaine's album was released and Kurt had been guilted into working at the garage with his dad. One of the guys was on vacation and they had been inundated with people wanting tune-ups in advance of their family vacations. So, Kurt was stuck doing oil changes instead of sitting at home, locked in his room with Blaine's album on repeat like he wanted.

Luckily, his dad seemed to notice how distracted he was and let Kurt go after lunch. He drove straight to the nearest Best Buy and headed directly for the New Releases section.

There it was. The first album in the row: Blaine Anderson – Human.

Kurt gently picked it up from the shelf and marveled at the album cover. It was a simple profile shot of Blaine and a microphone. His eyes were closed and he just looked so calm and peaceful. Kurt immediately loved it. He turned it over to review the track listing and recognized several of the songs from the videos he had seen. He was also happy to see Somewhere Only We Know listed among them. Ever since Blaine mentioned he had covered a Keane song in the interview, Kurt had been hoping it was that one. He couldn't wait to hear how Blaine sounded. He snapped out of the daze he'd been in when he realized he wouldn't know unless he actually bought the album so he could listen to it and find out.

He made his way up to the cash registers, quickly bought the album and hurried back to his car. He debated whether or not he should pop the disc into the car stereo or wait until he got home to listen to the CD. Kurt figured that once he started listening, he wouldn't want to stop and would want as few distractions as possible. Instead, he hooked up his iPod and tuned it to the Blaine Anderson playlist he had made of the few songs previously available. It was only a twenty minute drive home. He'd waited this long already, another twenty minutes would be nothing.

Of course, that's when Murphy's Law stepped in and caused the usually short drive to take almost an hour thanks to a couple accidents and a very long freight train. Kurt was practically vibrating with the anticipation by the time he pulled into the driveway. He ran into the house and straight up to his room, forgoing the shower he would normally take after working at the garage and immediately put Blaine's CD in his stereo.

The first track was the radio single – Don't You. It immediately helped Kurt calm down and he eventually decided he should at least change clothes and clean-up a little more so he didn't get grease and dirt all over his room. After changing into an old t-shirt and pajama pants and quickly washing his hands, Kurt pulled the booklet out of the case as the next track began.

He read along to the lyrics of Human, the second song he had ever heard Blaine sing back in June when he found those videos on YouTube. "Why do I have this incredible need to stand up and say, 'Please pay attention'? It's the last thing that I need to make myself seen. Well, that ain't my intention," Kurt sang along. How did Blaine know exactly what Kurt was feeling? These words were just everything Kurt could never figure out how to say. He wanted to jump up on the roof and just shout it to the world.

Having relaxed a bit, Kurt decided to take his stereo into the bathroom so he could finally clean up properly. One Track Mind, On The Road and Even Though washed over him as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair. He couldn't help dancing along to On The Road with its catchy, slightly country-sounding, guitar licks.

When the piano started up on the next tune, Kurt paused and gave the song his full attention. It was Somewhere Only We Know and Kurt just knew Blaine would sound amazing on it. He was not disappointed. Blaine was amazing. The rawness in his voice, the feeling he was able to evoke moved something deep inside Kurt. It was like Blaine was singing just for him.

Then the disc completed shifted tone as I Still Think began to play. It had Kurt smiling and even laughing in some places. Blaine was really a phenomenal song writer.

Kurt had just finished getting redressed and was finishing up his moisturizing routine when the haunted strains of a lone piano poured out of the speakers. Kurt picked up the disc and saw that it was Me, Myself and Lies, the song Kurt had been most anxious to hear ever since the interview. It was a slow progression of chords, B minor if Kurt remembered correctly. And then Blaine's voice joined in and the pain that Kurt heard in those words had tears forming immediately.

I tried so hard to be
Who you wanted me to be
To be the son you loved
And the friend you admired
I pushed it all away
Pushed it all down and tried to hide
All the hurt and the pain
The whispers and stares from time gone by
But that's just not me
I'll stand up and shout
Until you believe
It's just me, myself and lies

By the end of the song tears were just streaming down Kurt's face. Kurt knew exactly how Blaine felt. And to know that Blaine felt it, too? That Kurt wasn't alone? It felt like some huge weight had been lifted.

Sure, the other kids in glee were bullied and slushied on a regular basis, but they had never had to face the fundamental hate other people had for him simply because of who he loved. They would never understand; Kurt had started to think no one else ever would. Then, here comes this boy, who had apparently been two hours away and at one point, ten feet away and Kurt had never seen him. He wondered what his life might have been like if he'd met Blaine at the Sectional competition that year. He wondered what it would have been like to have someone who could truly understand what he was facing every day. His dad tried and he was great, really, but he couldn't know what it was like to walk in Kurt's shoes. He wondered how different his junior year might have gone if he'd had someone to lean on when it got really tough.

By the time Kurt cleared his head and brought himself out of his reverie, he realized he'd missed most of the rest of the songs. It was only the shock of the loud, angry guitar that brought Kurt's attention back to the CD playing. Stutter was such a contrast to what the rest of the album had been that Kurt couldn't help snatching up the liner notes to read along with the lyrics. Man, Blaine sounded pissed.

I know you could be better
Don't have to waste my time
It's not like I need you more than
I need me and mine
But I know that you want it
Trying to get you on it
Baby we could fuck the rights
Turn around and wrong it

Kurt felt his face flush hot as Blaine said "fuck." Damn, that was hot, Kurt thought to himself. He didn't know why, it's not like he and his friends never swore, but hearing Blaine say that word with that voice made Kurt think really bad thoughts. Well, maybe not bad thoughts, per se, but definitely those of an impure nature.

He decided after the day he had he deserved to indulge himself a little. He dug out the old Discman he still had somewhere and put Blaine's album in, with Stutter on repeat. He laid down on the bed and let Blaine's voice just carry him away. He could listen to the rest of the album later.

Later that week, he met up with Mercedes for lunch on his break from the shop. He'd had Blaine's album on repeat non-stop and could not stop humming whatever song was fresh on his mind. He walked into the sandwich shop singing the chorus from Allegedly to himself. Mercedes was waiting in line to order and he joined her, dropping an arm across her shoulders.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Oh, not much," Kurt replied. "The usual oil changes and people not understanding why they need oil changes and so not understanding why we tell them their whole engine is almost shot and they should just buy a new car. But still, could be worse."

"You do seem to be awfully chipper."

"Blaine's album came out the other day," he answered. "And it is amazing. Mercedes, if you haven't bought it yet, you are heading out to get it immediately after we eat. It will change your life."

"It's that good?" she asked.

"It's quite possibly one of the best albums I've ever heard," Kurt said. "There's just so much emotion and he feels, like, everything. For a debut album, it's pretty amazing."

"Okay, then. Looks like I have a stop to make before I head home."

"What about you? What's new?"

"Same as you, really. Stupid customers that don't seem to have common sense and want everything right then even when it's not physically possible."