Midnight Red

Pop Anthem Of The Summer "Hell Yeah"

Boys will be boys, and Midnight Red is here to prove it. In the boy band tradition of The Back Street Boys and New Kids On The Block, who they opened for on tour, this group of exciting and talented young men are carrying on this pop tradition torch.

Hot on the heels of their EP, "One Club At A Time," and their own tour as well, Midnight Red is dropping what is sure to be the pop anthem of the summer, "Hell Yeah".

Midnight Red's Colton Rudloff is here to tell us all about it. Take it away, Colton.

MS: I met you once at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, CA one night when I saw you guys perform there.

CR: Oh, sweet, what did you think?

MS: It was fun and I noticed you have a really loyal fan base.

CR: Those are the ones to have; they'll buy four albums, not just one.

MS: Well, it seems like you guys are going to really breakout big time with "Hell Yeah".

CR: That's the whole plan. You heard the music that we performed; some of them are available on iTunes, but this is the first time we are saying, "Hey, this is Midnight Red, we are going to be on the radio, and this is what we got." We're out of the gate.

MS: Good build up. You were found as a band member on YouTube.

CR: They had been auditioning people, cattle call auditioning. Nobody really fit. They went to You Tube and typed in "kid that can sing". Who knows what they really typed in because I don't know if you typed in "kid that can sing," my face really pops up. (laughs) But I was the first one to come up, so I'm not too mad about it.

MS: Hey, that worked out well for you. (laughs) Spill about being a huge fan of "American Idol."

CR: Oh, yes, absolutely! That was the real reason I went into singing. Not until Kelly Clarkson did I become really infatuated with some person's music.

MS: Yeah, I heard you were into Kelly Clarkson.

CR: It's not healthy. It's not good. It's like a bad obsession. (laughs)

MS: So, how much are you obsessed?

CR: No, it's a great thing (laughs) I'm sure if she knew how much of a fan I was, she'd be happy to hear it. I'm really, really into her. I care about her the same way I would care about family or a friend.

MS: Oh, yeah, that is an obsession. (laughs) So would you duet with her if you could?

CR: My God, bud, no! I have already met her thanks to Ken Phillips (MR's PR guy). I don't really know what else there is to live for.

MS: Are you sure you wouldn't want to duet with her? C'mon...

CR: Meeting her was number one on my bucket list so I have to come up with something better now.

MS: Duet, duet! You gotta do it. Yeah, I have a bucket list, too. One of mine was to be in a horror movie where I die a violent death.

CR: You did it?

MS: Yes, I did! You like horror movies?

CR: No, I hate them! I want a rom-com or a good comedy.

MS: Horror movies are their own form of rom-com. (laughs)

CR: Yes, I guess we have a different sense of humor. (laughs)

MS: So, you opened for the Back Street Boys and New Kids on the Block.

CR: Getting to see them every night I learned so much. You didn't catch me in my dressing room, I was out watching the show every night. My ears were killing me after that tour, it was so loud! (laughs) Wow! You get a bunch of middle-aged women together, there is nothing like it.

MS: (laughs) Too funny!

CR: We got a lot of exposure from it. After, we would go on Twitter and search for "Midnight Red" and people would be like, "Who are these little midgets on stage. I feel like a pedophile right now." That was always fun, because not everyone is going to love it. We got people also saying "that is my new favorite band." I love both sides of it. I love when people think we are ridiculous or awful, that's not my problem. (laughs)

MS: Everything has it's place, and different strokes for...

CR: I agree!

MS: Dish of your cover of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It".

CR: You know, I remember being in the room and one of our marketing girls at Interscope had that idea, and I thought, "oh yeah, that will never happen." I figured it was people just chatting about whatever and they eventually made it happen. For me to take my clothes and dance up to strangers at Hollywood and Highland, CA, that was a pretty big deal for me. But once you're out there, it was really kind of fun!

MS: By the way, you guys don't ever lip sync. I could tell from your Hard Rock performance.

CR: No, no, no! Because we are a group that is really dancing, it really is tough. I'm not really a dancer. I started dancing because I am in Midnight Red. I've always been a singer, but then you really add that whole other cardio aspect. Luckily there are four other guys on stage, so if you are not doing super well at the moment...

MS: Dancing and singing at the same time is a tough go.

CR: You have got five guys that are trying to match each other and the choreography is really intense. No kidding, I wanted to throw up a few times, but you get over it. (laughs)

MS: It's hard. I saw a recent performance of a friend who sang live but when she was dancing and singing, it was lip synced.

CR: Yeah, it's really tough, I used to be more of a stickler about not lip syncing. I mean, when I watch people who are really good at lip syncing on award shows, you're supposed to be perfect and that's what it's all about. It's going to be a learning experience for all of us.

Get Red: www.midnightred.com

Twitter: @ItsMidnightRed

Michael Shinafelt

Michael Shinafelt has covered pop & dance music since he first burst on to the writing scene, interviewing everyone from pop icon Olivia Newton-John to pop artist E.G. Daily. Not to mention the many dance divas (male and female) who he has crossed paths with. Other interviews of note are Pamela Anderson, Heidi Fleiss, as well as cover stories on Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin. Peace.