Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nathan Hurley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nathan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?

I was in a rock band for two years before anyone in the industry really pointed me in the right direction. A band we were opening for told us that if we wanted to be represented by an agent or record label our best bet was to play 200 shows a year for 3-5 years. He told me if I did that I would meet who I needed to meet.

So we did that for a year and a half or so before we got our break.

Our whole approach back then (and still kind of is to this day) was to say “yes” to every gig. A quote from Scott Pilgrim became our band’s unofficial motto: “a gig is a gig is a gig is a gig.”

We toured the east coast and the Midwest primarily. Our big break came when a Tulsa show needed a local opener last minute and since we were known for saying yes to every show we got on the list for consideration. We opened for The Wrecks that night and those guys sent a video to their management at the time.

Then we kept touring and slowly built a relationship with Richard and Stefanie that eventually led to a new band, rebranding, tons of new songs in a record deal that started in March 2020.

Shortly after we signed with Brandon Hughes for booking and ever since then being in a band has gotten to be more fun every year. It’s great having a team and I’m glad we did the tour grind for 2 years without a team supporting us first because I know how hard it is when you’re on your own.

That’s how we got the team we have now and that’s how we stay busy making new music and playing shows.

Nathan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

First and foremost I’m a performer. I wrote songs so that I have something to play at the shows. I like touring and jumping around on stage. I love the crowd interaction. That’s what drives me and keeps me in music.

Never planned on doing this but went on a roadtrip to see an amazing concert in New York city back when I was in college and the show was so good I went home and put a band together.

I write songs a lot and am slowly learning production (I don’t enjoy it much but doing it myself saves a ton of time and puts me in the driver seat)

I help other bands however I can to get started when they ask me for help. But I’m still in it trying to build my own thing so I never feel like I’m far enough ahead to give anyone much advice yet.

I’m most proud of the culture snd reputation of our band. We love our fans and stay connected as best we can online. Pre-show meetups has been a really cool thing we started this year.

We aim to be kind at all times in this band. On stage, off stage, in the van etc.
There’s tons of toxic practices in the industry and we don’t want any part of the negativity so we work hard to bring a good vibe wherever we go.

I’m proud of what I get to do. I get to do this because we hustled for a long time and had no clue what we were doing. I’m glad we went for it!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Atomic habits and the war of art have changed my mindset on how to create and maintain output.

Learning to write daily even when you don’t want to will make or break a band. The worst times in my life as an artist came when I chose comfort over discipline. The voice in your head that gives you good excuses to not work on your craft today (called “resistance” in the war of art) has to be dealt with. We forget it’s there until we’ve gone weeks without creating much.

Atomic habits helped me put up guardrails to keep me on track.

I love habit stacking and making lists. Without ample structure life gets in the way of what you’re aiming for.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had band members quit because of how much we were doing and taking on. When one of the founding members quits something it shakes everyone up.

I almost quit too. For me and Caleb (my brother and co-founder of the band) that season was brutal as we learned to do the things our former bandmates were responsible for. It was exhausting finding and training new players but it made it very clear that this band was important and that we wanted it badly.

We restructured everything and had to be more firm on expectations on what kind of commitment we were promising each other and the venture.

It was sad seeing close friends part ways from something as personal as a tracking music group but I learned a lot and I’m now glad it happened because we’ve gotten some huge breaks since then and I think we may not be where we are now without those major shifts in approach and leadership.

Contact Info:

• Website: Wearefoxroyale.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearefoxroyale/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3FddvE2NYrGSS0g0cMy8om?si=rxWFSpNURHCeU0mZsu7YTg

Image Credits
Jeren Kent Robert Bustamante