Bandslam: A Battle of the Bands Extraordinaire

From being a film student at NYU to landing the lead role in Bandslam, one of the summer’s hottest teen flicks, Gaelan Connell is well on his way to establishing himself as an up-and-coming actor. The 20-year-old actor stars alongside Disney actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Alyson Michalka in the music-driven comedy about high-school rock bands, music and just being yourself. Youthink caught up with Connell over the phone to chat about music, first kisses and why Bandslam is different than other teen movies.

YT: So, I was able to see the premiere screening of Bandslam and I loved it! What was it about the script that appealed to you?
GC: What’s so cool about the movie is that it’s so easy in Hollywood to do like a typical teen movie where all the characters are like – you know, you have McLovin in one corner or you have Taylor Swift, the cheerleader, in the other – and I think what’s so cool about this is that it’s about a kid, and all the kids in the band, who are much more like the 95 per cent of us who went to high school and had some popular friends and some not popular friends. I think that having that in a mainstream Hollywood film is not the easy choice. It’s definitely a little bit edgier and stuff, but I think it’s pretty cool to be able to kinda have a more realistic high school.

YT: You have already worked alongside some big names, such as Johnny Depp in Chocolat, but this is your first lead role. What has that been like?
GC: It’s overwhelming and fantastic and crazy. [With Chocolat], imagine me much smaller with much bigger hair at age 10 – you don’t want to imagine that (laughs) – and I got go to France and film and that was such a magical experience, but I was 10, you know? I think the most exciting part about that was I got to miss fifth grade (laughs), but my priorities weren’t exactly in order. Now, after that, and like seeing these two superstar girls – Aly and Vanessa – and then suddenly becoming a part of their life by filming this movie with them was just such a crazy experience.

YT: I was gonna ask, what was it like working with Vanessa Hudgens and Alyson Machalka?
GC: The two of them and Lisa Kudrow (among other people on the set) were just the best kind of mentors I could have for a huge movie like this. I mean, the girls would always rip on me for my lack of understanding what certain film terms were on the set and everything, but it was great. It was such a growing experience for me, a learning experience.

YT: In the movie, your character Will gets to kiss both Vanessa and Alyson’s characters. Were you nervous?
GC: Well, yeah, those scenes I probably didn’t have to act too much. I was really nervous… c’mon, one day I’m going to NYU, the next day, I’m like kissing Vanessa Hudgens, like, “What? This isn’t happening!” When I get nervous, the blood leaves my hands – I shouldn’t be telling you this – and I then I’m like sitting there in front of Vanessa trying to shake my hands so the blood comes back and she’s kinda looking around going like, “What he is doing?” It was like day five of the filming. Probably pretty uncomfortable for her.

YT: How would you describe your character Will?
GC: He has an encylopedic knowledge of music, so that’s a great aspect of his life, but his problems arise when he realizes that his only friend is his mom and even with a mom as cool as Lisa Kudrow, if you’re a teenager and your mom’s your only friend, I mean, it’s not exactly the best situation to be in socially. What’s so interesting about the character compared to like I guess your normal kinda awkward outsider kid is that I feel in a lot of movies, the kid who’s the outsider doesn’t really understand why he is, but I think what’s so sad about Will is he knows that he doesn’t fit in and he understands that he’s not as cool as these kids at school, you know? I think that makes it kinda double trouble, even sadder.

YT: Name one quality from your character Will that you would like to keep with you.
GC: I could tell you the qualities I’d like to lose – being so awkward and nerdy – probably a little too close to home there (laughs). But just his knowledge – he has such great taste in music.

YT: I read that you play in the bands Exist and Sweet 16. How did this experience help you with this movie?
GC: Well, you know I don’t play any music in the movie. Todd (director) always jokes that the sequel will be where Will learns to play an instrument. But, yeah, I think it was great for hanging out. I mean, we got to hang out and Aly – it’s crazy, like Aly’s in a real band, you know? And Vanessa has like sold billions of copies of her songs and to be able to just sit back and play guitar with them and go, “Wait, this is the voice that’s sold millions of copies of something,” you know? It’s crazy!

YT: What is your favourite scene from the movie?
GC: I think my favourite scene – and I’ve discussed it with both Aly and Vanessa – is just the whole sequence where Aly drops me off and teaches me how to kiss – not for the obvious – not for like, “Oh, I guess we’re going to have re-shoot this one again Ally, I think I messed up.” No, but I think it has such a kind of John Hughes 80s vibe to it – there’s this song playing on the radio, like this cheesy B-side David Bowie song. I love movies that are kind of like maybe a little over-the-top, but are kind of magical. I know that sounds real dorky, but I think that scene is like very kind of movie magic, you know, sitting in a beat-up car, having a song on the radio and practicing the first kiss.

YT: What was the vibe amongst cast members between takes?
GC: It was great. It was such a good vibe. We were shooting in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Festival, this huge indie music festival, and they do it once a year, and we were shooting in Austin at the time the music festival was going on. So to be able to shoot a movie about music while all these rock bands that kids actually listen to these days are playing was unbelievable. We’d go shoot all day – I’d have to kiss one of the girls, you know, tough day – and then we’d go watch some of these up-and-coming bands.

YT: It seems that since Moulin Rouge came out in 2001, there has been a real revival of the musical genre and music-driven films and TV shows. Why do you think this trend has lasted so long?
GC: Well, I think, music is so universal, especially nowadays, you can get music everywhere, on your iPod. Everyone literally does have a soundtrack these days and I think that’s definitely helped, but in this movie, it’s not a musical obviously – it’s much more like School of Rock in the sense where bands play in kind of concert situations. Music is really – it’s so cheesy and cliché, but I think it’s cliché because it’s true – it really is kind of a universal language.

YT: Did you have similar band slams/battle of the bands competitions in high school and what do you think such competitions do for young, up-and-coming bands?
GC: Playing in the band Exist (actually, Todd put a song on the soundtrack from my band, which is so cool), [the battle of the bands] was awesome. It wasn’t as huge [as in the movie]. It was in the fall and it was in the spring and all the bands that we knew in our school, we were kind of all rivals. It was great. It wasn’t as crazy as the movie, but it definitely was something to look forward to and a reason to go practice every Saturday. So I think for up-and-coming musicians, obviously any competition like that is a very easy way to get recognized and show your talent.

YT: We thought it would be great to do a quick lightning round, so here it goes. What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think of….
GC:
Shia LaBeouf: Awesome. Thank you, Shia LaBeouf for even making someone like me be able to be in a movie as a lead.
First kiss: Just like with Aly in the movie – it’s scary how realistic my character was compared to my own middle school experience.
Celebrity crush: It’s so scary answering this ‘cause what if you meet them? I don’t know. Taylor Swift.
Best band: Jets to Brazil. They have an album called Perfecting Loneliness, which is really good; it’s like rock.
High school: Great in retrospect.
Canada: Amazing. Really. I was in Canada last year actually. I love Canada.

YT: Finally, Youthink is a high-school magazine that is written by high-school students across Western Canada. What advice do you have for teens who want to make it big like you?
GC: I wish I could be at a place where I could give advice, but literally, I feel almost like every time I get an acting job, especially this one, it’s almost like a fluke. You know, you wake up and you’re like, “Really? These people think I’m good at this?” I’d say just stick with it. I keep thinking, if I want to be a rock star, so many rock stars today are like 30, you know? I have 10 more years to get a record contract. One of the biggest things is that people just give up on it. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. If you make it to college and you can still play an instrument, you will have so many opportunities to play because so many kids by that point, if they’ve learned growing up, have just stopped playing, you know – have given it up. If you just stick with whatever you’re doing, you’re going to find a niche; you’re going to find people who want to listen to you.

To see Gaelan Connel in action, check out Bandslam, now playing in theatres across Canada.