Who are The Real You?
Motivational Muses Exclusive Feature | by Anastasia Logan
Transparency is what The Real You, a pop punk band from Gainesville, Florida, live out through their music and personalities. Raw emotions are delivered with a high energy approach and establish the foundation for this groups' sound. The Real You was formed back in June 2018 when vocalist, Dennis Pfeiffer and guitarists, Tyler Moscarello and Issac Morales, all came together to begin a project that would become The Real You. These three were acquaintances back in high school, at the time Dennis was playing in another band reached out to Tyler to play alongside him. Isaac joined them at Tyler's suggestion. After a while they decided to start jamming as a separate entity and soon The Real You was born.
In terms of name origins, I think it is best to allow Tyler to dive into the specifics.
"So funny enough we are kind of big fans of this show on Cartoon Network called “Adventure Time” and there’s an episode on it that's called “The Real You” and we had been brainstorming names for a while and we saw that and was like ‘hey this could kind of work’ and we stuck with it."
The Real You have been busy this past year in which they have released two EPs. Their debut EP, Motions of Life dropped back in February of 2019, which highlighted three tracks and opened a variety of doors in the music world. Most recently they dropped We've Got It All Figured Out which has given them an identity moving forward in the music world. Everything about the creative process behind their latest EP revolves around growth and working to become better in all areas of life. One milestone this EP represents was the group making the decision to seriously pursue music, which Tyler can explain in full.
"At the time we made a lot of decisions in our own personal lives and we were writing that EP and recording it on what we actually wanted to do. We really really wanted to take music seriously. ‘Cause 2019 was a really really good year for us. It was our first full year as a band together and we were just kind of getting really serious toward the end of the year. That was when we were wrapping up tracking and everything and this name kind of fit. We’ve got it all figured out."
A key aspect that was important for this group when creating this EP was finding a way to stay true to themselves while reinventing areas of the pop punk genre. This was achieved through the collaborative writing process they use to share their experiences with other. Dennis highlights how their personal experiences coincide with the music they create.
"We try to be as different as we can. There’s like a million breakup songs. Maybe it’s time for us to reinvent [the breakup song]. The new stuff and everything else is more about mental health and how we feel about those days. How shitty life can be sometimes and what we can do about that as an individual and as a group."
Mentorship came in the form of Harrison Borsmann the guitarist from Capstan, who pushed these three and their music to become deeper than what was on the surface. Harrison was active throughout the recording process, giving both industry and life advice. Dennis recalls everything Harrison did for him and the band.
"He helped us really develop our sound. He really helped us develop while writing the songs to their fullest. In the process he did a lot of cool things. He talked about the industry and people and other bands. What we could do with ourselves. Kind of helped us realise all the potential we have. He helped bring out all the divas in us."
Three tracks stood out as personal favorites for this crew. "High Life" is Tyler's favorite because it was the first to be conceived in the writing process and had a complete transformation from demo to the finished product. For Dennis, "I've Never Been One For Transparency" takes place as a favorite because of how this tracks standout against the rest. A lot of emotions were packed into this song from his life experiences. Lastly, Isaac chose "September Embers" because not only does he love the vocals, but this track takes on a movement without pushing boundaries.
Quarantine has allowed for conceptualizing of future projects including new music and rebranding in order to hit the ground running once the opportunity arrises.
Even though The Real You have only been around for about a year they have a number of achievements that are impactful for a band their size. After the release of their first EP, these guys were playing some shows with some big names. I'm talking like We The Kings and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and a multitude of others. These shows have lead to new personal favorite coffee shops in other states and meeting a variety of people who they now consider friends which have become priceless achievements in their journey. All of this was because they never waited for something to happen as Tyler can further explain.
"Every time we got an opportunity brought to us we were like ‘let's take it’. We never kind of like sat back and was like ‘let's just wait for something to happen.'"
Music opens a number of doorways and can allow those who create it to look deeper within themselves to see what they have learned through being a part of this creative outlet. Being open is important to The Real You and they laid it all out while sharing about what creating music has taught them as individuals. For Tyler, music has made him more observant about the world around him and the creative process needs to start somewhere.
"I didn’t start writing [songs] until I got into high school. But they were all pretty garbage. I feel like everyone needs to go through that just other young aspiring artists. You just got to write those first couple really bad songs and then after that it gets easier and you just kind of become more intune with your own emotions.
I see myself as very observant and that’s how I usually end up writing by just observing what’s going on around me, what I am feeling. And then it can translate into lyrics, melodies, actual music. Then just the huge thing of like listening to this kind of music. I found a home in this genre. Whenever I listen to stuff I am always getting inspired by other artists that I look up to."
Music has taught Dennis the importance of appreciating the small moments in life and every opportunity that has been presented to him.
"Being on stage just a couple minutes before we play or in the moment that we are playing songs. It feels like a high for me. Like being on Cloud 9. All of these people are watching us and they don’t have to be watching us they can be doing anything else. I always appreciate that. The friends and the new people I always get to meet. Even my friends at home, they are a huge support system in my life just having them around and having them come out to shows, buy tickets or merch.
All the places we have gotten to go to. There’s lots of towns I have never been to before this experience, lots of cities outside of Florida that because of music we are able to go to and get to meet new faces and make new things and make new favorite coffee shops. Really appreciating the time I have been able to get and staying in the moment and rising and living through it."
Isaac credits music to helping him be more aware about what is going on with himself and be in touch with those emotions.
"If I had to say anything about writing and how it has affected me I would think it’s just kind of makes me a little bit more aware of what's going on with myself. There’s not like a song that we write that is not true. None of it is fabricated. It's all like really real for us and I think it’s probably been one of those saving graces for me and it just kind of helps you deal with depression and anxiety. And having these guys around. I don’t know what I would do without music. I think I would do something really, really boring."
Challenges always make themselves present and The Real You have had their fair share of adversity in their young career. From being pushed back due to circumstances out of their control to almost losing all their gear driving back from their third show. They definitely know how to make the best of a situation. Not giving up is a virtue of this group and no matter how tough it can get, they work through these challenges and better themselves and their music.
"We just keep getting pushed down but we always seem to find a way to get back up. We all kind of want to do that."
Even the negativity of life cannot stop these guys. They know giving music their all matters .
"We could all be having a really bad day or something personal can be going on on a day of a show that makes it hard. But in the moment we all kind of come together right before we hit the stage and play 100 percent. Nothing else matters but what we are doing at that moment. That goes for anything, from writing music to trying to get a video or like practicing or touring. We are all there and all want to be there and this is what we want to do so we have to give ourselves 100 percent cause nobody else will. "
Our time with The Real You is coming to an end. We all know what that means! Yup. It is time for fun facts everyone!
Tyler is a music man through in through. He started with the guitar, then moved to tenor saxophone, only to drop out of band once he reached high school where he picked up the cello. Now this is where I am a bit jealous. His high school had a class called "Rock Band" and yes all they did was learn songs and would preform them in a concert at the end of the semester. That is one way to be introduced to live music.
Now Dennis is a jack of all trades. This guy is a vinyl collector, workout buff, a film photography enthusiast and an impeccable event planner. Talk about multi-talented.
Last but certainly not least is Isaac, who is a comic book lover and like many of us cannot stand his vocals at times. But I think we can all agree his vocals are sounding just fine on their latest release.
The Real You should be on everyone's radar. These three are going to make waves in the pop punk world and I personally cannot wait to see what they have in store. Give We've Got It All Figured out a listen today and make sure to follow these guys on all social media.
Advice from The Real You
‘'If you have something you want to do with your life, life’s too short, just go out and try your hardest. A lot of the time it’s like we are navigating through uncharted waters and it is very scary and I know that a lot of people are very intimidated by that and that is completely okay they have every right to feel that way 'because it is very scary. But it helps when you have a nice support system. Just go out and manifest your dreams: life’s too short.''
- Tyler Moscarello
"Keep your head up, King/Queen. I think that in life there is going to be a lot of stuff that gets in the way of things, but you have to stay optimistic and keep your head up and look to look at that light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t go around putting yourself down or putting others down. Keep on keeping on. Your worth is a lot more than you value it to be."
- Dennis Pfeiffer
"My advice about music : just do it. There really can’t be too much music in the world. So just go out and try it. If you want to do it by yourselves, awesome. If you want to start a band, by all means, please, the world always needs more music. It’s going to suck at one point or another but if you really want to do this then it's just something you need to muscle through and make sure to check in with people around you that support you and ask ‘hey am i making the right move? Is this right? Does this sound fine? Should I do this?"
"If i had a non-music piece of advice it would be the same thing: talk to people. Especially in today’s day and age. I know that isolation is hard for a lot of people. Just talk to people, make sure you get whatever it is you are feeling out to somebody. Don’t trap those negative feelings for too long."
- Isaac Morales
Connect with The Real You
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