Stephen Kramer Glickman
Words: Amy Bell
Stephen Kramer Glickman has released a debut album of cover songs, entitled 'The Moving Company'. The album contains covers of Billie Eilish, Radiohead, The Beatles, Post Malone, Soul Asylum, Green Day, Bob Dylan, and many more. Glickman will additionally release a Joker-inspired music video for his cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” on the day the album dropped.
The album marks the latest major milestone in Glickman’s already impressive career – as a multi-faceted actor (best known for his role as ‘Gustavo’ in Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush), stand-up comedian, and podcast host of 'The Night Time Show'. Although the road to recording the album was not an easy one. Glickman began recording this album after going through a break up in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 and then getting sick with Covid-19.
He had a rough ride, but is excited to release his new album. Ahead of the single release, we got the chance to speak to him about his new album, podcast and his acting career.
Hi Stephen! Thanks for talking to ReVamp Magazine. Your new album of cover songs ‘The Moving Company’, is released, what made you want to do cover songs, instead of putting your own songs on the album?
I have never written songs of my own, so that wasn’t really an option for me, although I have a ton of respect for people who can do that. I've been playing the piano and singing my entire life and I’ve always loved covering contemporary songs and adding a new spin to them. In 2020 and early 2021, I worked with Casey Abrams from American Idol and Kendall Schmidt from Big Time Rush to create a few cover songs and based on the success of those singles, I decided to give an album a shot.
When did you realise you had a talent for music and singing, and how did you begin to pursue it?
It happens over time. Confidence comes from different places. After I recorded a couple songs at the recording studio, I sent them to my sister (Natalie London from the band Hey, King!) and she wrote back “fuuuuuuuuuuuck you this is amazing!” That made me feel a lot more self-assured about trying to pursue it.
What was the recording process like and how did you choose a selection of songs to cover?
After going through a breakup back in 2020 I got Covid and was stuck at home with just my piano and my pug, Jelly Donut, to keep me company. I started doing Livestreams on TikTok and the numbers were really crazy. 40,000 to 50,000 people were tuning in for a live stream and pretty quickly I had 1 million followers. This happened to coincide with Big Time Rush premiering on Netflix, so there was a lot of synergy. I started going to the recording studio and recording my favorite songs from all different genres. In a typical recording session, I would record 6 to 10 songs and was just having fun with it. After a few recording sessions I started narrowing things down a little bit, but I was pretty lost in the process. I got to work on a few songs with Grammy Winning producer Greg Collins (U2 Album of the year) which was super exciting and really helped develop the tone of the album. But to finish the album I really needed a producer that could be super hands-on and help me nail down which songs to cut, which songs needed additional musicians on them and someone who could arrange and orchestrate for these new musicians. I was very lucky to be able to bring my younger sister Natalie London in to produce and arrange on the album and rock it out. She helped create a real cohesive vibe that I really love.
You were in ‘Big Time Rush’ playing Gustavo, what was your best memory from the show?
Spending time with my dogs on the show. The guys are so talented, and I loved watching them film their music videos. That was the best.
What made you want to audition for the role of Gustavo?
I auditioned for the role because it seemed like a fun role, and I have always been a fan of Nickelodeon. I mean…. REN AND STIMPY?!?!?
You also host a podcast ‘The Night Time Show’, can you tell us a bit about the podcast?
I’ve spent the last four years working with three of my best friends on a podcast and we get to interview our heroes. We just had our 200th episode, which I am super proud of with our guest Kevin Smith. We release an episode a week and it’s absolutely worth listening to.
What made you want to create a podcast, and what is your biggest achievement to date with your podcast?
I wanted to create a podcast so that I had something fun to do on a regular basis with my friends, but our biggest achievement has got to be the office cast reunion in 2019 with 10,000 people in the audience at LA Comic Con.
Lastly, what is next for you?
I’m looking for some places to perform songs from the album and do “An Evening with Stephen Kramer Glickman”. I miss singing on stage and I can’t wait to do it again.
You can download 'The Moving Company' by Stephen Kramer Glickman here.
Also check out Stephen's music video for 'Crazy' below.