Getter is Fricking Killing It [EP Release + Interview]

If you haven’t heard of Tanner Petulla – aka Getter – I don’t know what the frick is wrong with you. Whether it be the OWSLA artist’s insanely well-produced music or his hilarious internet presence, the San Jose native’s wide range of talents has garnered him one of the largest and most loyal followings in electronic music.

Now with his highly-anticipated Wat the Frick EP out today, Getter is ready to transcend to new heights. Embarking on a massive U.S. tour spanning across 40 cities in just the next two months, EDM’s class clown is debuting his first headlining bus tour in style. Bringing along right-hand man Nick Colletti to host as well as star-studded musical support featuring Yultron, Aryay, Wuki, Josh Pan & more, this is going to be one hell of a tour you certainly don’t want to miss.

We had the chance to sit down with the man himself to talk his new EP, touring, creative process and much more. Stream Getter’s Wat the Frick EP throughout our exclusive interview below and show Tanner some well-deserved love. – Max Chung

Getter

Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter

Run the Trap: From your first release in 2011 all the way until now you’ve dropped a ton of projects. What makes this Wat the Frick EP different and special from the rest?

Getter: I think the biggest thing is that – besides $UICIDEBOY$ rapping on one of the songs – they’re all solo tracks. No collaborations. This EP is essentially revealing to the public what my brain’s been up to. That’s the kind of shit that you can expect, it’s really just everything that I fuck with right now.

Accompanying the EP you’re also embarking on your first headlining bus tour. Same question: what’s special and unique about this tour? What should people expect and what are you most excited about?

When I toured with Datsik and all those guys it was just the dopest shit. My dream was to have my own bus tour with all my best friends, so the fact that that’s happening now is crazy. I wanna make it not just memorable for my friends and I but memorable for everyone who comes out to the shows. I’ve always had this idea of doing a tour that isn’t necessarily centered around music, because a lot of people know me for more than that. There’s comedy, characters, other dumb shit involved. I wanna bring those elements to the stage where it’s more of an entertainment tour instead of just a music one. I’m purposefully not having any crazy production or anything – that’s already been done. I think the real work is in the actual show and experience. That’s really what I’m trying to achieve with all this.

Aside from dubstep there’s also the melodic side of Getter as your track “Something New” highlights, as well as past projects like Planet Neutral. Describe to me the creative process behind balancing these different sides of your craft.

A couple of years ago I kept getting crazy writer’s block – anybody who does music can relate. But I figured out that if you bounce from genre to genre that quickly goes away because you only get writer’s block when you try to make the same thing over and over again. If I go and make something that’s different and fun it gives my brain a break from all the other dubstep stuff I normally do. So I’ll produce a few tracks like that then come back and make a really dope dubstep song. But I mean, my brain has a lot of weird shit going on and I just like to follow it with music. If I’m sad, I’ll make a metal song or a sad song. If I’m high as fuck I’ll make a stupid track. It’s just whatever I’m feeling at the time.

How is the dubstep scene different than what it was five years ago?

There were so many people complaining about shit back in the day. Now I feel like it’s gotten to the point where everybody’s finally stopped arguing. People just listen to the music. The genre is in a good spot now because it’s really hard for an artist to just make dubstep in 2016. Everybody’s doing everything now, it’s a lot more diversified. But at the same time its changed for the worst. A lot of times, in my experience, I’ll put out one type of music and get a bunch of fans in that genre or market, but then switch and try something else and then those people, previously calling themselves my number one fans, are cussing me out. That’s why I always blow up the topic online, I think it’s fucking annoying that people can’t make up their minds about what they like.

You’ve always put out a crazy amount of music in such short periods of time. What’s your secret?

I’m not a big party-er anymore. I know that sounds weird to say because I’m 23 but when I was 16 to 21 I was partying all the time and music wasn’t first. But now I don’t even leave my fucking house except for when I go to my studio down the street. I feel like once people figure out that they want music to be their career that should be enough to really motivate and drive them forward. I know a lot of people that wanna do music, and they’re doing music, but they also need to party and go to all of the clubs. The best way I like to look at it is: I’m at clubs every weekend of my life… for my job. If somebody works at McDonald’s you think on their day off they would want to go to McDonald’s? Fuck that! At the end of the day there’s no real secret. You just have to figure out what you want and then go get it.

You and Nick both have reputations for your hilarious videos. Any plans on expanding on that in the future – like a TV show or another series similar to DJ World with Dillon Francis?

Yeah! Definitely one of the top three things we’re going to work on after the tour is getting something like a TV show or a movie going. We’re planning on using all the money we make from the tour on it. We want to fund it independently because if we get somebody else we’re not gonna be able to do it exactly how we want to. So Nick and I are saving our own budget so we can do whatever the fuck we want, exactly how we want.

Best advice for upcoming producers?

I feel like they gotta put their dicks away and stop waving them in front of everyone’s business. You just gotta let the music speak for itself. If you make good shit people will find it. Perfect example is Rickyxsan with his “Gettin’ That” record. He didn’t send it to anyone, people just heard it and then Skrillex and Diplo were playing it. People just need to stop sending so many emails and giving out USB’s and stuff. At the end of the day, I’m less likely to listen to your song if you give me a USB than I would if I just randomly found it on soundcloud. I feel like people just have to focus on the music.

What’s the next big goal for Getter?

Definitely a TV show or a movie.