By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Photo By Elizabeth Miranda
Q) What appealed to you about being a part of Camp Rock 3?
A) Well, first of all the first two Camp Rock movies were big childhood movie memories of mine. They probably helped shape the idea that I could play music at a really young age. I picked up a guitar at about seven or eight years old and I’ve been playing and writing songs ever since. So, this type of Camp would’ve been something that I would love to go to. I was never intending to be an actor, but because I spent so many years in a band, writing songs and playing live shows that the character that they wrote for me in the movie was literally me, and it was kind of a parallel existence to go and play Desi in the movie.
Q) What were you doing when you learned you got the part?
A) The audition process was a lot of fun, but it took quite some time to find out whether or not I actually booked the job. I started to really get anxious about getting an answer, so that day I had taken a long bike ride and surfed at the beach near my house to get my mind off things. And when I got home, I got the phone call.
Q) Were you a fan of the Camp Rock movies growing up?
A) I was a fan, for sure. I got to see it on streaming and watch it as many times as I wanted.
Q) Your character Desi is attending Camp Rock with his sister Sage. How was Desi originally described to you?
A) Originally in the first script I read Desi was seventeen or eighteen years old in the movie and had been taking care of his mom after Desi and Sage’s [Liamani Segura] parents split while she got to go off to a fancy music school. He decided to stay behind and take care of mom. He was actually old enough to drive the Camp bus. But I had already auditioned for both Fletch and Cliff, and ultimately, they rewrote Desi to match my age and personality. So, to be honest with you, the first time I really read what the Desi character would be like was in the audition scenes that they rewrote from my screen test, which I loved. He was now my age and we had a lot in common.
Q) What, if anything, do you feel you have in common with your character Desi?
A) Desi is a musician through and through. He plays multiple instruments, writes his own music, but probably loves the music more than he would love the fame. That pretty much sums me up as well. I love sharing my music with people and of course embrace it and have so much joy over the fact that my music actually reaches people. That’s the whole point. But I’m not searching for some sort of validation by being simply famous. Desi is a purist stuck and has a slacker thing in the beginning of the movie going on but he’s afraid to even try out of the fear of losing the joy of music getting caught up in the race. I am definitely a jump right in and try everything kind of guy so I work really hard at writing my songs and try to be fearless when getting my music out there. So, there we are different. Desi and I both didn’t dance until we went to Camp Rock and came out pretty decent dancers, maybe?
Q) The premise of the film is the campers competing to be an opening act for Connect 3. What was it like to work with Maria Canals-Barrera and the Jonas Brothers?
A) It was one of those rare instances where you get to meet actors in the characters that you knew them from just being a fan. The most awesome thing about it was that I was part of a movie that they were sharing with me now. Of course, working with experienced actors and musicians in person like that means you get to watch up close and personal how they do what they do and that learning is incredible.
Q) I noticed you’re a part of a band in real life; did you draw from that experience during the film?
A) Yes, I started a band when I was about ten years old and actually won a Battle of the Bands against all these older teenagers in Southern California. The winner got to play a whole set at a big music festival called the Beachlife Festival. So, I know what it feels like to love music and compete for the opportunity to play a big stage. It was so natural for me because I had this actual life experience.
Q) In the film a difference between Sage and Desi is that Desi’s approach to music is more free-spirited and Sage is very disciplined; which approach do you feel relates to your own?
A) In real life, I find a balance. You have to be free in your spirit and open hearted to write music that people will relate to. The whole point is to connect us so you have to be a person who lives your life in your heart and try not to get locked up in your head. But I very much keep a discipline with all it takes to be a musician and recording artist – practice, writing every single day and keeping some pretty intense hours in the studio because I’m just always wanting to write and record.
Q) Talk about learning the process for learning the choreography for the film.
A) I didn’t even know that I was going to dance until I landed on set in Vancouver and heard I was going to dance class in the morning. It was one of those situations where you have to just jump right in. I walked into a giant rehearsal space with some of the best dancers around and had to try to not only keep up, but lead dances in these numbers somehow. The choreography team and all of the pro dancers were so encouraging of me. One of my favorite moments of the whole shooting experience was when I finished my first real rehearsal of get ready and all the dancers started to jump up and down and the director [Victoria Rodriguez] hugged me and was crying because everyone was just so happy that I nailed it.
Q) What were some of your personal favorite scenes to shoot for the movie?
A) My favorite scene was the last scene that we shot in the whole movie. It was this wild and intense paint and craft war. But even more than the obvious reasons why it was so fun, it was my favorite scene because it was like a wild celebration of all the hard work that we had done. I’ll never forget it.
Q) What do you think it is about the Camp Rock franchise that has made it such a fan favorite?
A) I think it was a fan favorite for the same reason I was a fan – it opened up the possibilities of people everywhere to pursue their dreams of music and also get to travel to a summer camp and meet all kinds of cool people.
Q) What are the other projects that you have been busy working on lately?
A) Right now, I am about to leave on the World‘s Collide tour and have been rehearsing for months. It is going to be such an incredible experience to play arenas all across the country and in Europe. I have been working on my first solo album and in the studio for about nine months as well and will be releasing so much music soon. And I got the opportunity to be on the all new “Mickey Mouse Club,” which is the first time Disney has ever done live performance with musicians and singers. It’s been really fun.
Q) What inspired your next single “TALK” and what is your songwriting process?
A) This year I had my first real relationship and it inspired a lot of the songs that will be on the album including “TALK.” At this particular point in my relationship, it felt very much like I couldn’t seem to communicate with this person that I loved very much and I wrote about the feeling of wanting to connect and be understood, but somehow feeling like we couldn’t connect. Usually, I’ll go into the studio with music and a concept. Sometimes I’ll come in with a full song and sometimes I just know there’s something that I want to say.
Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of your work?
A) I would like to say that the support means absolutely everything to me. The fact that my life experiences and way that I interpret them into music and lyrics actually connects with people? That’s what this is all about. I love when people say that the song feels like it was written for them and completely relate because that’s what I love about music as a listener and fan of my favorite artists as well. It’s the biggest compliment I could get.