OUR NEW ROLE MODEL

Written by Samantha Fong

ROLE MODEL never intended to be a role model. For Tucker Pillsbury, music is something that happened by accident. Growing up, Tucker was described by friends and family as a natural creative. He spent his time dabbling in everything from painting to poetry, working on multiple projects at once, eventually setting his sights on becoming a director. In pursuit of his dreams, he enrolled at Point Park University in Pittsburgh as a film major. However, after experiencing several sports-related injuries that left him housebound for months, Tucker realized to his dislike how silent it got when there was no one around to be his soundboard. This is when songwriting stepped in to save the day. 

As a newfound homebody, Tucker looked for ways to occupy his time. So when a couple of students left behind their recording equipment, he jumped at the chance to start on a new project, rapping and mixing hip-hop tracks in his dorm room, and gathering inspiration from the daily journals he kept while coping with recovery. Soon, his most personal entries were published lyrics, and Tucker discovered that his writing was something he could believe in.

With a preppy boy-next-door look, ROLE MODEL constructs his image in a way that feels raw and organic. He doesn’t play the part as is often the case for up-and-comers in the music industry. Rather, he offers full transparency with what he’s thinking and feeling, removing with nonchalance the red tape that separates the artist from the audience. 

This is why instead of following the typical pop song structure, ROLE MODEL’s tracks read like confessionals as he walks us through the nuances he’s observed about what it’s like to love someone when you’re young. The naivete, the games, the immersion and withdrawal, and the love ethic are what ROLE MODEL’S discography revolves around because you can’t know life without knowing love and he’s here to tell you why. 

Right from the jump ROLE MODEL has led with brutal honesty, his earlier singles bearing bold names like “i don’t rly like u” and “not a fan”. Looped over with muffled guitar chords and piano bites, the tracks evoke a quiet intimacy, like they were taken straight from a makeshift bedroom studio and out onto the concert stage, which in reality is not far from the truth. And in his recent 2022 debut album, Rx, ROLE MODEL keeps this production style consistent. Though the tracks are fuller-sounding via the magic touch of credited Grammy-nominated collaborators Jeff Ellis and Dale, at its core the approach remains the same. A simple layered chord progression runs laps in the background while ROLE MODEL’s vocals are front and center. 

Yet that’s why his tracks are appealing. The rough edges signal an invitation for us to be vulnerable when we tune in as we reflect upon the things we should’ve said or done if we had just been honest with ourselves. These are the moments ROLE MODEL creates for us: a chance to be introspective and thoughtful in a world that is increasingly difficult to navigate. 

As much as he gives a somber impression with his soft-spoken lyrics, he also knows how to make fun of himself. For example, in the track “life is funny”, ROLE MODEL notes how nobody’s really the person they say they are. We might put on performances for others, but what happens behind closed doors reveals our true character and even ROLE MODEL admits that he’s riddled with self-contradictions. He’s cool but not really cool. He’s anxious but also unconcerned. After all, there’s something to be said about the difference between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to the celebrities we follow. Like us, our role models are complicated people, but that doesn’t make their stories any less worth hearing. Similarly, what makes ROLE MODEL a powerful artist is that he articulates the experience of uncertainty in relationships with oneself and others, with effortless precision. Whether it’s listening to “forever&more” on the drive down to Malibu or “a little more time” when the night turns down, ROLE MODEL says it all so we don’t have to. Our only obligation is to sit back as his lyrics revive the energy in the room.

What any good role model will do is push you to evolve, and as we strive to make our mark on the world they help us see more clearly who we are as individuals. Knowing this, it’s no surprise that Tucker goes by the name ROLE MODEL because although that’s not the position he started in, over time he’s grown to become one of our generation’s most representative voices– a true role model after all.