There are many factors that determine if a song makes it all the way to Number One. Not only does the song need to connect with listeners, but the timing has to be just right. Literally, all the stars have to line up. I have watched this happen numerous times in my music business career; when it happens, it’s a magical and exciting moment, one that is due to the combination of a great song and a lot of hard work from a team of experts.
I have had the privilege of seeing it happen, not just once, but twice with the band Neon Trees. Both of their multi-platinum singles, “Animal,” which you may recognize from the Las Vegas tourism commercial, and “Everybody Talks” from the Buick commercial where it showed the band performing the hook of the song on a tour bus, rose straight to the Number One spot on numerous charts. I have spent a lot of time on the road doing press and promotion with the band, including a recent fun adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
A healthy lifestyle is important to all of the band members; none of them drinks alcohol or caffeine, or smokes. Since lead singer Tyler Glenn follows a vegan diet, he prepares a wide variety of delicious and healthy recipes. Here is one that he showed me when he was a recent guest on Rockstar Health & Fitness:
Tyler Glenn’s Road Ready Vegan Mexi Scramble
Ingredients:
1 block of extra firm tofu
Half package of soyrizo (any brand)
¼ cup nutritional yeast
½ cup fresh salsa or pico de gallo
½ cup black beans
Daiya vegan shredded cheese (pepper jack or cheddar)
Olive oil
Lori Rischer (right) and the Neon Trees at the Staples Center in LA shot by David Young-Wolff
Season to taste with any of the following:
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Optional garnish:
Avocado slices
Tofutti sour cream
Heat a small amount of olive oil in skillet.
Place block of tofu in skillet and use a fork to mash to a crumbly consistency.
Add soyrizo and mix together over medium heat.
Add nutritional yeast, seasonings, salsa, and hot sauce to tofu and soyrizo mixture and blend.
Add black beans and daiya cheese.
Cook scramble until lightly pan-fried and daiya cheese melts.
Garnish as desired with avocado slices and/or Tofutti sour cream.
Tyler also does a lot of stretching, regular cardio, and works out with a kettle bell. His bandmate and guitar player, Chris, loves to run. To keep it fun, he listens to the Zombie app while he’s running. Neon Trees drummer, Elaine, recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy; soon after, she was back on the road and in great shape. Elaine works out regularly with a combination of cardio and weights. When we were in Mexico, she was in the gym doing the Insanity® high-intensity interval workout. The band was recently on the road opening for Maroon 5 and playing in front of sold-out arenas. I love watching Neon Trees evolve into classic rock stars. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of their journey! Watch for new music coming soon.
Lori Rischer is a veteran music business executive, the KISS-FM health and fitness spokesperson, and yoga instructor. Rockstar Health & Fitness shares the healthy secrets of celebrities Check out her weekly blog at KISSFM.com keyword “Rockstar” or: LoriRischer.com.
Lori Rischer is a music business promotion and marketing executive. In addition, she is the health & fitness spokesperson for KIIS-FM, a yoga teacher and certified yoga therapist. Rockstar Health & Fitness shares the healthy secrets of celebrities. Check out her blog at KIISFM.com keyword Rockstar or LoriRischer.com and listen to her workout playlist on icHeartRadio iheart.com/original/Rockstar-Health-Fitness.