Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers Talk About New Single And Tease Their Upcoming Album

A music group you need to know!

Made up of Joe Hertler, Ryan Hoger, Aaron Stinson, Ryan McMahon, and Micah Bracken, Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers are a great addition to the music industry. They recently released a new single titled “How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe”.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Joe about going on tour, their dream artists to headline for, and more!

When did you guys first realize that you wanted to start making music together?

J: “We started playing together over a decade ago – and we were all just friends with no real ambition to put together a band. And being that we were also musicians, playing music together was just a natural extension of our friendship. It’s just something we did – and it wasn’t really until our second record that the idea of trying to push this to the next level came into focus.”

How did you come up with the band name ‘Rainbow Seekers’?

J: “It’s a nod to Joe Sample’s fusion record, “Rainbow Seeker.” We were listening to that record quite a bit when we first started playing together. It had this super sick album art and I remember saying “if we were ever a band, the Rainbow Seekers would be a sick band name.” Our friend, TJ Ducket, a pro football player, was hanging with us at the time – and he, being an innately cool person, was like “that would be a sick band name.” His validation cemented the name a few months later.”

Tell us more about your amazing new single ‘How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe’.

J: “It’s a bit darker than some of our other recordings. But it was mostly just a dance track, written on bass, that I put together in my studio. Something was a bit off about it, though, and I thought that it probably wouldn’t make the record. But we started messing with it Nashville. Lots of analog synth work and we refined a lot of the guitars, which really glued the track together. It was a lot of work, but it ended up being one of my personal favs on the record.”

What is your songwriting process as a group usually like?

J: “Mostly I just sit around all day in my studio and write songs. Micah and Ryan (keys and guitar) will come over, usually once a week, and listen to what I’ve done. If they dig it, we work on it and from there we’ll funnel it to the band. Sometimes the live version is just like the record and sometimes it’s a massive departure. But regardless the end goal is to push the songs beyond my studio into fully realized Rainbow Seeker songs.”

You guys went on a tour earlier this year! What was that experience like? Do you want to tour again?

J: “We sure did! We’ve been touring for a long time. They have their ups and downs, of course. Traveling for a living is not easy, but you learn over time how to do so in healthy ways. And there are definitely those tour moments that make it easy to appreciate what we get to do for a living. I try to never take it for granted. Will we tour again? Yes, of course we will. We pretty much never stop touring for any long period of time. Few weeks on, a few weeks off. You kinda have to tour as a band in 2023 if you wanna keep your lights on – it’s all a part of the work that is being a musician :).”

If you guys could headline for any artist, who would you pick and why?

J: “Jamiroquai! Simply because I’m a huge fan and they’ve inspired a ton of my music. Also, Death
Cab for the same reasons.”

We are so excited for you upcoming album ‘Pursuit of Wonder’! Can you tease what fans can expect?

J: “I learned to produce by making hip hop beats and dance music, so there’s a lot of those elements to this record. Four-four dance beats and boom bap hip hop grooves combined with a side of indie folk songwriting. All the grooves were on the demos and we ended up keeping them. They got a vibe and I’m glad the record turned out the way it did!”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?
tiktok.com/rainbowseekers
YouTube.com/@joehertler
Instagram.com/joehertler

Stream ‘How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe’, available now on all music platforms!

Photo Credit: Jake Mulka

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.