Andy Grammer Describes True Pain as Growing Opportunity (Exclusive)

Andy Grammer’s new album Naive just dropped this month and the tone of it is already showing fans a much different side to the talented musician. Known for his upbeat, popular hits like “Honey I’m Good,” and “Good To Be Alive,” the 35-year-old is revealing a more raw feel to his story throughout the new album.

In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Grammer admits he’s slowly but surely becoming more “confident” with being himself to his fans.

“[I’m] continually trying to be more and more confident with being myself,” Grammer revealed. “Which sounds maybe cheesy, but the truth is, well all know that’s really hard to do, to just completely put yourself [out there] like, ‘This is who I am and I hope you like it. If you don’t, it’s probably not for you.’ That is a hard thing [to do]. That really takes a lot of bravery, building up courage, to continually peel away layers.”

That’s exactly what Grammer is doing with his new music. With songs like, “Don’t Give Up On Me” and “Wish You Pain,” the emotion he’s relaying is more organic than ever, especially with the latter.

“That is a quote directly ripped from a quote,” he said of the track. “It’s a quote basically about you only grow from struggle and pain. It’s taking a step further and saying I know that it’s messed up just saying that I do wish this upon you.”

He added that the idea for this new song came from a fan who told Grammer she was inspired by him and was curious to know what she needed to do to follow suite. As a response, he said “You need to go and play a hundred shows that nobody cares. You need to write a bunch of songs that are bad, and get through that. I promise you’ll be in a better spot.”

Additionally, Grammer says that once a person experiences a deep, emotional type of pain — similar to the one he went through when he lost his mom 10 years ago — that’s when you grow as a person.

“I really got what pain is,” he said of the immense loss. “So when I see someone else in pain, I have an inkling of what they’re going through. Before, I led like a super, lucky, privileged life. I still do, but I had to experience true pain.”

That is what he plans on bringing to the stage when he hits the road for his Don’t Give Up On Me tour Sept. 2, 2019. Grammer just came off of a vacation to Hawaii with his family before gearing up to go back out on tour, and he also just wrapped Norwegian Cruise Line’s first Songwriters Cruise as part of their “Free The Beat” program.

“Oh man, it’s really nice. We’re going to Alaska, it’s just beautiful,” he said.

Grammer was asked to host the new event while joined by six other, top tier songwriters in the music industry known for their hits with artist like Maroon 5, One Republic, and Niall Horan. But what made the experience extra special was that he got to bring his dad with him.

“This is the thing I like about cruises, just the amount of time you spend. You’re just kind of in one place the whole time and it’s all here and interesting. So you end up spending a lot more quality time with the people you’re with, which I like,” Grammer said. “I brought my dad on this cruise and we’ve had a bunch of long, awesome conversations. We do get that, but it seems like it’s facilitated a little bit easier on the cruise.”

For more information on Andy Grammer and his upcoming Don’t Give Up On Me tour, visit his official website.