Scott MacIntyre: "The future is very exciting"

When the publicist told us the Idols that would be coming to press hour, Scott wasn’t one of them, but she told us that we would probably see Scott because he liked to come. And after just a few seconds with Scott, you could see why.

Scott has a lot to say and he’s very good at saying it. He has a great ability to draw you in and you gain such a respect for him and really appreciate everything he’s been through. So, it was a real treat.

Although I have to admit that it got off to a slightly awkward beginning, because I was waiting for him to get seated in the chair before I spoke, and he was waiting for me to speak so he could figure out which side of the table I was sitting on. I think it was the first time I’ve ever been accused of being too silent…

Angela: Since we’ve only got a few minutes, I like to start with the future first. So tell me what the future holds once the tour is over.

Scott: The future is very exciting. As soon as I left the show I began work on my next album. It’s about midway through production right now and we’re hoping to get it out before Christmas. You can actually hear samples on my MySpace, myspace.com/scottmacintyre. I’m really excited about it. It’s all original, kind of along the lines of John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Bruce Hornsby, Vanessa Carlton—that type of singer/songwriter meets pop. I’ve also been approached by several major music publishing companies as far as representing me in writing for other artists. Because songwriting has been a big part of my past. I know I’ve talked about it a lot. I’ve been writing since I was five years old. But it wasn’t pop music back then. It was classical. I came from a very classical pianistic background. I didn’t sing until much later in life and had very little training vocally compared to the extensive training I have in classical piano performance. But right when I was 15 years old, that’s when I first started paying attention to the radio and there were some bands like Train and Fuel and Vertical Horizon. You know, that was the first alternative pop/rock I listened to. I realized that there was a really powerful combination between music and words. You can really say so much in a song that you might not be able to say in a normal conversation. That’s when that idea really captivated me. So, I’m planning on writing for myself and other people going forward. I’ve also been approached to write a book by a renowned book publisher and that’s something I’ve been wanting to do actually for a number of years and never really found the right time for it. I’m sure there will be more books to write in the future because I’m still very young. But I’ve been through a lot for my age. And I’ve received so many e-mails, thousands and thousands—obviously after being on the show—from around the world from people who have told me the most amazing stories about how the little bit of my story that they witnessed on ‘American Idol,’ the show, has meant so much to them in their own life. And I think if people were able to know the full story and finally know how meaningful the tour, this whole experience is to me because of all the things I’ve been through, it’d be a really worthwhile project. So I’ll be working on that after the tour.

A: You’re going to be very busy.

S: Yeah, that’s going to need some time to be carved out. It’s not really something I can put my head around on the road. But I’ve done a lot of writing in the past. It’s something I love to do. So that will be moving forward.

A: So what’s the tour been like for you? Because obviously there are different arrangements for you so what’s it been like for you?

S: It’s been amazing. It’s so much more enjoyable for me than the television show because it’s really about connecting with the person in the front row just as much as it is connecting with the person in the highest tier. You’re really interacting with large groups of people in the audience as a whole and I’m honored that so many people have come out to support us. It’s not so much about finite moves and choreography anymore and looking at this camera on that line of the chorus and looking at that camera on the next verse and following them around. That was all accurate guesswork on my part during the television show.

A: And you’re very good at it too, by the way.

S: Thank you. It’s not about the cameras so much. They’re there if people want to use them. I mean they’re definitely capturing the show, but it’s really much more about the audience that’s here. It’s about the ten thousand, fifteen thousand people that are under the same roof with us instead of 500 in the studio and millions through the cameras. I can feel them react. I can basically experience the music with everyone who’s come to hear.

A: What’s that feeling like for you, when you take the stage and you hear the screaming?

S: It’s amazing. It’s not even that the attention is focused on me, it’s really I think that there’s something magical, whether it’s 200 people or it’s 15,000 people in the audience and I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum. I’ve done a lot of things in the middle and it’s really a magical moment when you’re making music and people react to that and you react to their reaction. There’s a chemistry there from the stage that is unparalleled by anything else I’ve experienced.

A: Do you have a favorite moment from the tour so far?

S: I don’t know. It’s a toss-up between late night conversations with the other Idols and you really get to know each other well or meeting the fans outside. I mean, we have all these private meet-and-greets all day, we talk to you guys, we do the show, we have more meet-and-greets, but then around twelve o’clock, we finally get to go out to the buses and there are usually around a thousand people out by the barricades as I’m sure you’ve seen or heard, it’s really my favorite time of the night because you go out on a high note, you really feel the support but most importantly you get the true reaction from the fans that really want to meet you. And that has really made the tour that much more exciting because that’s not something that happens on most tours. We have 10 people on this tour, I’ll definitely be back, a lot of us will keep touring. This experience with myself and these other nine people, the crew and everyone we’re working with will never happen the same way again. It’s really a once in a lifetime experience and it’s amazing that people are so excited to meet us and it’s very humbling.

A: Then it is true that you guys all get along?

S: It is. It actually is.

A: There’s no real dirt to tell?

S: There’s not. I don’t know what to say. There really isn’t. Wish there was.

A: I hear that the pranks are getting a little more severe.

S: Are they?

A: I hear that the band is—

S: Oh, right. They know what I would do if they mess with me.

A: So they don’t mess with you?

S: What are they gonna do? [laughs] I don’t wear a fedora during my set. There’s not much they can do.

A: So you knew what I was talking about.

S: I know what you’re talking about.

A: Matt was telling me that earlier.

S: You know one of these days during the piano duel, I’m just gonna—Have you seen that yet?

A: No, this will be my first time seeing you guys tonight.

S: Okay, well we keep it pretty clean and we kind of go back and forth and try to outsolo each other and one of these days I’m just going to take my fedora and chuck it across the piano and start a little [laughs]…

A: Has this experience been more than you could have hoped?

S: It has actually because I’ve dreamed about going on tour since I was a little kid. It’s everything I imagined it would be. It’s even more. There’s really no doubt inside I can tell you about. I wish I had a little more sleep, but the whole experience is completely worth any hardships or struggles of being on the road. It’s really a privilege to be here. I know that some people get sick of being on the road. If it starts to feel mundane, and it really never does, I just keep pinching myself and reminding myself that this is so amazing. Because it feels very natural to me. I’ve dreamed about being here, I’ve worked for this goal for a number of years. So it feels almost too comfortable to me. And after the first show in Portland, I really decided that I’m gonna live in the moment, every single moment of each show because when it’s over, like I said, we’ll all be doing our own thing. This is never going to happen again with these nine people and the bonds that we have and being able to do this every night on the road. So it’s really something to be treasured.

A: So you’re going to be kind of sad when the tour ends.

S: Oh, absolutely. We’ll have to look at a dueling piano tour.

A: Because it sounds to me that you’re looking forward to going on tour on your own.

S: I am. I really am. I got a huge itch a couple of weeks ago, not for the tour to end, but to really—because while I’m on tour, I can’t just lock myself in a studio day after day and really bring songs to life. As a writer or a producer, I just miss that. I miss that whole creative side of the industry. I’ve been itching to sing my own music. It’s something definitely to look forward to, so I don’t think I’m going to be depressed or anything like that when this ends at all. I’m just going to look forward to the next big thing. I’m thankful for all my fans out there. I mean, this is only the beginning, so I’d love to stay in touch with you guys and please stay in touch with me, because there’s a long road ahead. And I’m excited.

A: I think that sounds like a great way to end it.