If you’re lucky enough to have discovered the indie alt-pop band, then you know their leading frontman [Paul Klein](https://www.instagram.com/pauljasonklein/). Hailing from Tusla, Oklahoma, the former model turned musician is the true definition of inspiration, from his sold out shows at LA’s Forum to sitting front row at Saint Laurent in Paris, he’s a small town boy who’s going after his wildest dreams and turning them into reality. And _Flaunt_ has a feeling, he’s just getting started.
Having started taking classical piano lessons at the young age of 5, it was at age 16 when Klein penned his first song inspired by his first true love, even using the record to ask her to prom. Soon enough, he’d discover his own talents as a singer-songwriter, ditching the modeling world altogether and trading it for the studio and mainstage. In 2014, Klein met bandmates Charles Leslie "Les" Priest and Jake Clifford Goss, and together they formed LANY (which stands for Los Angeles, New York).
In describing himself, Paul states, “I'm in a band called LANY, that's really what I do. Normally I play a lot of shows and we put out lots of music. I have a hard time separating myself from my band, it's truly the love of my life.”
Now, LANY returns with their much highly-anticipated single titled “Dancing In The Kitchen,” off their forthcoming album. The record itself is about appreciating the present moments in life, and not to take any day for granted.
_Flaunt_ caught up with Paul Klein via Zoom, who was posted in West Hollywood after just designing his own merch with his girlfriend. Read below as we discuss his roots in Oklahoma, the turning point in music, how LANY came to be, what inspired “Dancing In The Kitchen,” their forthcoming album, upcoming merch, goals, and more!
**What was a young Paul like growing up in Tusla, Oklahoma?**
My mom put me in classical piano lessons at the age of 5, and was classically trained for 13 years. To a certain degree, I never felt like I wanted to stay in Oklahoma or belonged in Oklahoma. I always felt super different from people around me and school. I appreciate my roots. I love my roots and I love my family, but I’m super glad I'm here in LA. It was a good place to grow up, I learned a lot. Obviously, all my formative years took place there, but was ready to see the world and get out a little bit.
**When did you realize you could do music for a living?**
Somewhere later in high school. In the early parts of high school, I had a really amazing science teacher. Shout out to teachers because when they're really good, they have a really massive impact on students. I had this science teacher named Richie who’s no longer alive unfortunately, but she was so good. She had me thinking I wanted to be a doctor or an orthodontist. She had me so invested in learning about the body. I had her for biology and anatomy, but then it came time to go to prom. I wrote my first song asking this girl to go to prom with me, she said yes. My eyes were opened: “oh, this is fun writing songs and people like them.” So it quickly changed.
**You were modeling before the music, right?**
Yeah, but that was an accident. I got picked up off the street and legitimately, I moved to LA. LANY wasn't a thing yet. I lived in a 9-unit apartment building. A guy named Gerald was starting his own clothing line, he’s the only person I ever met in that building. I said "Man, I'm looking for a job.” I applied to bag groceries at Trader Joe's, to clean dishes in the back at Whole Foods, to be a bank teller at Chase Morgan Bank, and got denied for all those things. I went to school, I got a Business degree. I like fashion, so he told me "Why don't you go downtown to Parks showroom, they're the middleman between a clothing line and a retailer. Maybe they have a gig for you.”
I went down there, they said "Hey man, we have a great internship we’d love to offer you." I asked "Does it pay?" They said "It doesn't right now, no." I said "Aw man, thank you for that, but I really need some money. I need to pay my bills." So I'm walking out, they said "Yo, have you ever modeled before?" I said "No, never." He said “your dimensions are perfect. If you want to come back and model, we can't pay you but we'll pay you in free clothes and food.” I said “okay, yes.” I went and put it on my Instagram, signed to Next a week later.
**That's wild! Was it fun?**
I had a great time, I learned so much about myself. Modeling is an incredible thing for individuals, if you understand it. It made my skin a lot thicker, made me a lot tougher. It made me realize I am who I am, and this is what I have to offer. If you don't like, it's not for you. You walk in and they basically tell you if you're good enough or not, if you're what they're looking for or not. That can be tough, but it built a lot of character and thickened my skin. I've grown a lot more confidence, so I'm really thankful for it.
**How did the idea for LANY originate?**
So I lived in Nashville for two years. Before LA, I was studying at Belmont University. I met my bandmates there, but we were buddies. I lived in a house with 3 other guys. I’d go over there and watch basketball or go watch movies, party, eat pizza, whatever. Moved to LA, Jake and Les started making music on Les' Dell computer in the bedroom of their house and it was cool. It was so random: "Yo, when did you guys start doing this?" \[laughs\] I said "can I fly back and see what the 3 of us can come up with? If it's any good, we could put it on the internet and see what happens?" And that's exactly what I did. I flew there March of 2014, we wrote and recorded our first 2 songs in 4 days. Put them up on the internet to zero followers legitimately, on April 22nd 2014. Now, we're here.
**Do you feel like it was a slow grind or a long grind?**
It's been a slow build. The trajectory of LANY has always been like this. We've never had a real viral moment on the internet, never had a #1 anything. But we'd never go backwards, and it's been like that for 7 years. We're selling out arenas now around the world, without a viral moment, without a #1 on radio or anything. That's a recipe for the stickiest fanbase on the planet, you know? We'll never be smaller than we are today. I could say that a year from now because if you know LANY, it's because you found LANY on your own. You have this sort of relationship with it, and you're invested in equity and the band.
In the past, I used to get frustrated. "Why aren't we #1 anywhere?" Ultimately, it's been a massive blessing in disguise because nobody's been spoonfed our band people. Like I said, if you like us, it's because you like us. You found us somehow and you love it.
**“Dancing in the Kitchen” out now, what’re you most excited for?**
Yes, I'm so excited. Anytime you go away and write an album, make an album, this is the week you dream of. This is the week I had in mind 6 months ago. Every step of taking on a treadmill to get into shape, every punch I've thrown in training to get in shape, every sleepless night thinking of song titles, was with this day in mind. The visuals, the artwork, the tracklisting, every bit of blood, sweat, and tears was poured out with this week in mind. I'm trying to figure it out as much as I possibly can because this is the best feeling you have as a creative: when you got something up your sleeve that you know is great and it's time to show the world.
**How did you come up with this title? Were you dancing in your kitchen?**
That's a cool story. When I'm in the season of writing for an album, I try to go in Monday through Friday, every single day and write a song. Every day. I very rarely go into a room and don't come out with a song. It’s my artistic duty and responsibility when I'm walking into rooms to say "Hey, this is a song title. I want to write a song called this." Or “here's the premise, here's the thesis statement. Here's this idea, how can we make this work?
The day we wrote “Dancing In The Kitchen,” I walked into the room and said "Today, I want to write a song called ‘Till I Don't’." An idea that I don't know what even tomorrow holds. I had no idea we were going into a worldwide pandemic. I had no idea this was what my life was going to look like and feel like. Honestly, I can't promise forever. But I will love you up until the point that I die. I will love you right up to the second that I don't love you anymore. We’re writing that song, working on the bridge. I spit this phrase: "We fly around the world just to dance in the kitchen.” Everyone perked up and said, "Bro, go in there right now and record the demo vocal for "Till I Don't’.”
Because at that point, we had the song written. It was 5pm, then we're going write “Dancing in the Kitchen.” I've heard about people writing two songs in one day, but I never have. Never tried, never really wanted to. I went in there and did that part for "Till I Don't,” came back in the room and said, "alright now, let's write ‘Dancing in the Kitchen’." That’s a real turning point in the writing process for that album, when we wrote that song.
**For this project, were there any different approaches? Any different artists or producers you wanted to work with?**
We worked with a producer named Andrew Goldstein who we've never worked with before. He produced the album with us from top to bottom, all 12 tracks which is really great. Worked with a lot of songwriters I've never worked with before: John Ryan, Andrew Goldstein is one of them. Jesse Saint John, David Hodges from the band Evanescence, which is a crazy reference. David Hodges has written a lot of songs on the new Ed Sheeran album that's about to come out, so very different approach this time around.
_mama’s boy_ and _Malibu Nights_ were were more or less concept albums, and this is not. This album is like looking at my journal: not the past month, but the past 6 years. There's certain songs that I went back and revisited those emotions, those thoughts, those scenarios and experiences. I'm better equipped to write about those in 2021 than I was in 2016, just from getting better at writing songs and being a better artist. That's really cool, I like that.
**Why’s now the perfect time to release?**
Oh, because it's done. We put out _mama's boy_ in October of last year, we were faced with the decision to either sit back and take a break, wait for the world to heal and reopen — or we can do that and make an album, not take a break. I'm really, really glad that we did. Trying to go on tour later this year and get people excited about an album that came out a year ago is a bit of a challenge. While it was not easy, I pushed myself to my absolute limit in making this album and turning it around so quickly after writing our third one, it absolutely is worth it. It's going to pay off in a big way.
**Your livestream performance at the Wiltern had a very unplugged, acoustic, stripped-down feel to it. When you're working on a song, does it always start on a piano or guitar? Or do the lyrics and melody come first?**
Usually, the song title will present itself first. There's not an absolute answer for this because every song has its own story. Usually the concept or the song title hits me, then it's the melody and the chord structure, then it's the lyrics.
**What inspires you the most? Just life?**
Definitely. Touching back on the way I operate: my convictions and my artistic responsibility is to always be prepared. When you're a touring band, there's seasons. There's ebbs and flows. There's writing the album, there's making the album, there's touring the album, then there's back to writing and making. I tried to be very diligent and aware of my experiences and my surroundings at all times, no matter what cities I'm in. I'm always writing on my phone and keeping notes and ideas so that when the season comes back around for me to write, I'm prepared. I'm sharp and I'm ready.
**Talk about designing all your merch by yourself.**
I love clothes, I have way too many. Way too many clothes, way too many shoes, but I do love it. In the beginning early days, nobody was around to help me design merch so I did it myself. I have a lot of fun doing it, it’s another extension of who I am and who we are as a band. I could easily outsource it, but I have too much fun making it and thinking of it. It's been amazing to grow and evolve. As we've brought in different creative directors or people to be my creative hands and feet, it's been cool to be able to sketch things out and see them come to life. We did 80 unique merch pieces on the last album, which is really, really cool. I don't know how many we're going to be able to do this year but before I jumped on this phone call, I was designing merch with my girlfriend.
**Any goals for yourself at this point in your career?**
Of course! I always have goals, they're always changing. I’d love to sell out this tour we're about to go on, 100% sell out would be amazing. We technically haven't had a song go Platinum in the States yet, would love to see that happen. Ultimately, my goal is to do music for a living and I'm doing that right now. I'd like to protect that and keep that a reality, so keeping excellence so I can do what I love.
