What are you doing right now?

Well Sarah, right now I am on Ustream, doing a Q&A session with the fans. That's about it. We're not exactly changing the world in anyway possible. But if you are asking what am I doing on a musical or professional level, I'm currently working with Ellie-Grace Summers on her debut album and putting the finishing touches on my own album, Running Changes. I've pretty much spent the entire Summer indoors inside a studio so. But I'm having a good Summer, because I'm working with Summers. [chuckles] There's a thin line between cleaver and stupid.

Cover a Beatles song.

Might as well purchase a gun and shot yourself through the soft pallet of your mouth, because you're not gonna do it right.

What is one collaboration you would love to do?

I'm not really into collaborations at the moment. I've produced so much in the last year or so, that that's what I want to continue doing from here on out, for the most part. Someone that I would love to produce for, would be Glamazon. I think at the moment, that solo female pop queen throne is wide-open due to Miss Vanity's passing earlier this year. If anyone is able to create that blend of sounds and be authentic while still making pop tunes, is Glamazon.

We are still living in a music era that is heavily dominated with female artists. Alicia Lena, GirlSpice, Glamazon, Amy Meyer, Isabel, Ellie-Grace, Lily, Ashley Perry. The list goes on and on.

When will you be touring next?

The next tour will happen, most likely, after the next album comes out. I guess I should tell you when that is happening. Shouldn't I? Probably. The next album will be out on November 21st. And I'm not just talking internationally. It will be released worldwide on the 21st of November. That's just a small detail of all that is happening right now. So basically you'll hear Running Changes in three months time. If I'm not mistaken it's exactly a year give or take a day, of when Let a Man Be Lost was released.

Are there any collaborations on the album?

There is one. There is one collaboration on the album. Let's not call it collab, because I don't like that word. It's a duet. It's a duet that I'm doing with... Ah, I kinda don't wanna tell you. Reason being that we actually just recorded it last week, we haven't mastered it yet. Okay, okay. I'll share it with you guys. Running Changes, will only have one guest spot, and that artist who is on that guest spot is... the beautiful, the talented, the all-around awesome human being that is, Miss Ellie-Grace Summers. It's not some manufactured thing. We weren't pressured into it. Ellie-Grace actually wrote it with me, which makes me respect her that much more. Hopefully it turns out really great, how we envision it. As I said, I believe we are recording it later this week. It's not gonna be the first single though. If I was a betting man, I'd say it will be released as a single sometime after the album is released, but it won't be the first single.

What's the theme on Running Changes?

I've been working on the album for the last nine months at least. So ever since Let a Man Be Lost was released, I already had begun writing and conceptualizing this album, at least in my head. That's why I announced the album title months ago. Before I had even begun writing for this album, I already had Running Changes in mind for the title. If you look at my history, I always take two or three years between albums. As a songwriter, I write everything that I live. You gotta give yourself a little time to live a lot of things, so you can write about a lot of things. My only option is to be as real and personal when I write. You see this timeline didn't happen this time around because thankfully or unfortunately, depending how you look at it. In the last ten or eleven months, I've experienced a lot of things that I've been dying to write about.

So I guess the theme of Running Changes is putting the last year of my life into an album and into music. I've had a lot of situations in my life where things kind of just pop up and people come into your life out of the blue. The key to having a career, not referring to success, but in terms of longevity, you have to let your music grow and progress naturally as one gets older. You can't write the same song you wrote when you were 23, when you're 33. Running Changes is still going to be a double album, split in two ways. I don't really want to go in-depth, I just want people to hear it.

Where are you right now?

I am in Los Angeles. I've worked on this record in a couple of different places. I started in New York City, I went to Nashville for a little while. Today, we actually recorded live strings with a full orchestra. I actually have two more weeks to finish the record, and then two weeks of just mastering and creating the track listing. All in all, I have a month to wrap it all up.

What's up with the Yankees cap?

Yankees? You're gonna be upset? I think everyone should be a Yankees fan for one day a year. If you are a fan of baseball, I think you could at least respect the Yankees enough to wear this cap. I'm in LA and I've been wearing my Yankees hat all day today, which means my hair looked terrible. I don't feel like I'm being a bandwagon-er just because I own the hat. There are three hats that I think if you live in the states, that you could wear just to rep the city. Like Boston, and LA, that mean more than just the team. I don't feel when I wear a Yankees hat I'm advertising the team, rather just indicate my love for the city. I make sense if you let me rant long enough.

What's the first single off the album going to be?

Hmm... the first single off the album. I think I might just keep that to myself for right now.

Who produced the album?

I did. I am, I did whatever. Nobody else produced anything, I produced the entire thing, as I've done a couple of times before. I did have a some great engineers though, just to get opinions. You might not know this but I'm a loner when I create a record, for the most part. But it's been fun making it. I've my touring band record a lot of stuff. As previously mentioned, I worked with Ellie-Grace Summers on a song, and she's also been around a lot in the studio as a guest/friend for the last month or so. It's been fun.

When does the single come out?

The single will be released in September. I wanna say the first or second week of September, so you're going to hear it rather soon actually. I'm proud of the first single, as I am with the rest of the album of course, but I think the single gives the listener a perfect idea as to how both sides of the album will be.

Will "Everything She'll Ever Be," make the record?

This is a question that's been popping up a lot since I performed it at the Chaos Awards. Everything She'll Ever Be, is a song that I wrote rather recently, and it's a song that I might not like very much but others do. As of right now, it won't be on the record. Don't hold it against me if you see the track listing in a month and it ends up being on there. But as of today, it's not on Running Changes. I don't even have the demo in my possession, if I'm honest with you.

How many songs are on the new album?

I'm thinking it will have 16 songs. Each side split to 8 songs each. The most difficult part for me when making a record is always perfecting the track listing. With this record especially, the track listing is very important. I have about 31 or 32 songs written, which is the most I've ever considered for one record. So that has to be cut, and a lot of good songs aren't going to make it but that's just how this kind of thing works. It's all about bumping off songs that aren't up-to-par with the rest, and something that you keep updating. The list gets longer as you write more songs, but it also gets better because you will only have the best of the best when the time comes to make the final cut.

Any advice for first-time songwriters?

Lose you're freaking mind. That's my advice for first-time songwriters. If you want to be a good songwriter, you have to figure out why you want to do it. For me, it was an outlet to release whatever I had inside or whatever I felt at a certain time. Since I was a teenager, I've always been a very anxious person. And I slowly found out that by writing, I was actually letting my mind rest for a minute, which anyone who knows me understands that I need that. My brain works at two hundred miles per hour, so if I didn't discover songwriting, I would be in a mental institution right now. So if you think you might have a little crazy in you, then songwriting is for you. Music is the best way to express yourself and your feelings. The more details you include a song, the better. The more it seems you're speaking to this one person, the better the song is going to be. Write fucking open letters, except don't include their name. My favorite songwriters are the ones who are true, and honest, and real. Each song should have little mementos for you.

What have you been doing with your time off?

I haven't really penciled in much time off. I'm obsessed with being in the studio right now. Be it perfecting my own album, or Ellie-Grace's album, or Infinite's album, or Riot! in the Boulevard's. I've spent this entire Summer working on something music related. When I've had a weekend off or whatever the case, I enjoy doing short little road trips to Vegas with a few friends. Like one weekend where my mind isn't thinking about my next move. I need that every once in a while.

When will you play in France?

I've played in France once or twice in European tours and whatnot. Never have I gone real deep into touring much of Europe. So to all my French fans I say, bon hiver. [chuckles] I don't know.

What is my favorite memory when I'm on tour?

One of my favorite memories while being on tour is, well on the last tour, on the last leg. We played three stadium dates. At Gillette Stadium in Boston, Ford Field in Detroit, and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. I will never get use to playing in a stadium. I've played festivals in front of 300 thousand people, but playing stadiums just blows my mind. One of the best moments of my life was when I went to soundcheck for the first ever stadium played, looking out at that empty stadium then come back a few hours later and see it packed. It's a wonderful feeling. That, and I also love seeing a lot of different places. I don't enjoy traveling a lot on planes, but I could live an entire year in hotel rooms and tour buses just seeing all the beautiful places around America.

What's your favorite type of coffee?

Anything that Starbucks sells. Over the years I'm pretty sure I've tried every single thing they sell. Lately, I've been addicted. Some favorites are the iced caramel latte, 'cause their fucking awesome. Anything with latte in the name, I probably like it.

Has it been difficult picking the songs for the album?

It's the most difficult thing I've ever done in my career. Every song that I write is about a certain emotion. So in picking the songs, you have to be really aware of who is reacting best to which of your songs. I'll play songs for play in my life, before you guys, the fans hear it. I'll play them for my band. I'll play them for my friends. I'll play them for my musician friends. I only play it for people who I know are going to be completely honest with me. I'd rather someone say, 'that's awful,' and be honest then lie and tell me it's great. The ones that I like best and get the best reaction from my close circle of friends, are the ones that make it onto the album. May be the song win. It's as easy as that. I can't be personal about it. I have to be personal when I write the songs. I can't be that way when it comes to picking the best from the best. I don't get my feelings hurt when a song doesn't make it. I tend to like best the ones that ya'll like the best, usually.

Why the fuck did I just say ya'll? By the way. I gotta stop hanging out with people from Tennessee and stuff. [laughs]

What's your favorite food?

I hate cooking, I'm slowly learning, but I still hate it. I've bought a ton of cook books that are stored somewhere in my house. My favorite food is any food that I can buy and just eat, without having to do any work. My favorite is probably Italian cuisine. Anything Italian, I usually love. Spaghetti alla carbonara, chicken Parmesan, muffuletta sandwich. I eat a lot of Italian food, Japanese, Chinese, American of course. I obviously do not watch what I eat. If you know anything about me, you know that I eat whatever I desire. That wasn't perfect wording because an extremely dirty thought just entered my mind, but let's move on.

Do you have any acting plans right now?

The Let a Man Be Lost film, will be released soon. I want to say very early 2012. We finished filming it this past June. That's about it for right now. Everything else is just dedicated to my music career. It's all about making Running Changes, not only the best album I've ever made, but one of the best albums you've ever heard. I like acting, it's fun. I would love to be in a TV series sometime in the future. Not right now because music is still my main priority, but somewhere down the line. I am so immersed in music right now, that is all that's on my mind right now. I'm also going to be very busy after this record because I'll start working with Katie Coyle on our collaboration album, then I think as soon as 2012 comes around I'm going to be touring the world. I know it's been a little while since I've last toured. I'm so excited to get back on the road and play for ya'll.

Are most of the songs on the new album about your personal life?

[nods his head, smirking] Yep. I don't talk about my personal life in interviews, but I definitely sing about it and write about it. Definitely sung about a lot on this next record.

What's up with the long hair?

I'm letting the hair grow out for a minute. I'm really just gonna stop caring about the high-maintenance hair for a little while. It also matches my new folk-sound on this next album so. I might look somewhat like Johnny Depp, but as far as I'm concerned, that's not a bad thing. The look I'm going for is a 50's movie director.

When will you play in Brazil?

Never. Sorry to break it to you but probably not soon. I probably have all but four fans in Brazil. [chuckles]

Where is your hometown?

I was born and raised and spent the first nineteen years of my life, in Miami, Florida. I'm not a very big fan of my hometown but I didn't have much saying in it so. That's why I don't talk about it too much because it's just the place I grew up in. I don't feel any strong connection to it, other than my family still being there. I've been fortune enough that with my career, I've been able to see and visit a lot of places that I absolutely love. I love New York City, that's probably my favorite city in the world. Los Angeles, if you do it correctly, it's a great place. Nashville, Tennessee, I really want to buy a place there someday. I think that's the absolute perfect place to raise a family.

What are you hobbies?

Weird, esoteric research. I don't know why. I love ridiculously esoteric research. And sex. I love sex a lot too.

Can you give me some home decorating advice?

For me, my LA house at least, is very mismatched. I don't like to match things. Not even when I dress. I like things to be a little off when it comes to colors. That's my advice. A lot of people have a very clean and modern decor, I'm not one of those people. I prefer things that have a more classic and organic feel to it. My home is very mismatched.

Which places are you playing in the next world tour?

I've had a lot of scheduling meetings lately about the next tour. We're gonna go to a lot of places on this next tour. Nothing is official yet, but it's gonna be a long tour and I'm gonna have tons of travel miles racked up. I can't wait.

When will I play Australia next?

I'm gonna play Australia on the world tour, for sure. I have no idea exactly when though.

Will you ever start doing meet-and-greets again?

I haven't done a meet-and-greet in fucking ages. On this next tour I want to do a lot of them. I want to do at least one on every tour stop either before or after a show. It's fun meeting fans, I haven't done that kind of intimate thing in years.

Will I play Italy?

Of course. I can't wait to go to Italy. I don't even care about playing shows there I just want to eat at every restaurant there. If you're one of my Italian fans, buy me authentic Italian food and I will sign anything you want, take pictures, whatever.

What are your favorite artists right now?

Katie Coyle, Ellie-Grace Summers, Infinite, Riot! in the Boulevard, GirlSpice, and PANIC!. I feel I can say PANIC! because I'm not a part of it and haven't been for the last few years, so I feel I can say PANIC! without sounding like a bias prick. Also, I've learned that I don't have opinions on people's personal lives or their media persona, I just care about the music.

Why do you praise Ellie-Grace so much?

I praise Ellie-Grace because she deserves it. I had a conversation with Ellie the other day, and I told her, "you know, you and me are kind of like black swans." We're so rare there's not really any reasoning for it. There is no therapy for songwriters. Songwriters go to therapy and the therapist says, "yeah, you got me. I've never heard of that." We go into rooms and see things that aren't there. And we also balance that somehow with being a normal person. That's something I like to call, "Dear God make me crazy enough to keep on dreaming, normal enough to sleep once in a while." She's not this manufactured artist. She doesn't have a bunch writers backing her up. She's a genuine artist with real, raw talent. Her debut album is amazing, I can tell you that much. Her debut album will off-set all this bullshit media attention she has been unwillingly involved in as of late. I promise you in two years time, she will be the biggest artist in the world. She has all the making to be very successful in this industry.

Are you watching Big Brother?

No I'm not. I'm pretty sure I compared the reality show to an abortion, so my feelings haven't changed on that. It's like if you know anything about me, you understand that I don't need anymore drama in my life, much less other people's drama. I think if your on the show, you're either trying to make a name for yourself, your a has-been, you need money, or your just bored with your career and you want to see how many boundaries you can push. The latter is my guess on Jason Smith and whoever else is somewhat relevant on that show.

You're a douche but I can't help but love you.

That's not a question but I feel I still have to speak about it. Okay, listen. How can you tell someone their a douche but you still love them? That either means that you're able to have such duality emotionally, or douche isn't the best word used to describe a human being. If you're able to think someone is a douche but still love them, that's basically more or less your compensating about feeling strange 'cause you like me. That's like going to your therapist and telling them, "this stays between you and me but." That's you trying to make yourself feel more comfortable about the whole situation. So calling me a douche in that setting is more a revelation of your own trips and whatnot. Instead of me saying, don't call me a douchebag, I'll say I understand what you're trying to say. I get it. You're trying to reconcile the fact that you can't help but love me. At such point I would like to say, welcome to my family... Wait, no, I have a better one; now you know how Nadia Berry feels. [chuckles]

Douche means nothing. You know what I like to do these days, go on Google and type in people's names. Type in Google, so and so is a.... wait for like the top ten auto-fill, every single one of them is negative. I put in my interpretation of who I think cool people are. It's like, so and so is a terrible word. That's made me understand that words like douchebag don't mean a damn thing.

Google says Ryan Ross Hernandez is a douche.

[laughs] Thank you for that. Thank you for just verifying that. Thanks for not giving me an opportunity to think that I might deserve some self-respect.