Inside Texas A&M's new intro song with Colin Padalecki '20 of Surfaces

A member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2020, Colin Padalecki is one-half of the pop duo Surfaces. During Wednesday's edition of TexAgs Radio, Padalecki joined in-studio to discuss the process of producing Texas A&M's new football entrance song for Kyle Field.

Key notes from Colin Padalecki interview

• Some of the coaching staff and athletic department people asked me to come speak about NIL, and what I was doing when I was running track at Texas A&M. I wasn’t able to talk about my music when I was in school here. A few weeks after I was a guest speaker, they hit me up about making an original song for the walkout, and that was crazy. I told them I’d give them a few options and give them my best shot.
   
• I asked for a Zoom meeting with the athletic department. I asked about BPMs and chanting elements and other aspects they might be looking for. I made four or five options, and we met again. We landed on one that we thought might work, and I made a few other tweaks before it became THE song.
   
• It was sick to be part of something bigger than myself and to reconnect with the university that I graduated from. It was special to have Kyle Field involved. Giving Texas A&M a home-field advantage was something special.
   
• I had to fly out the Saturday morning before the first game to play a festival for Surfaces, so I missed hearing the song at Kyle Field myself. I was watching the game in our green room to make sure it went OK. It seemed like everybody liked it.
   
• I started my musical career in high school, and I would write songs for my cousin. I kept up with it in college, but it slowed down some because I ran track at A&M. I had music in my heart, so I had to chase it. I eventually met Forrest Frank, and he was going to Baylor at the time. He would drive down here, and we would hang out and show each other music that we thought was cool. We ended up recording half of our first album in Seattle, but other than that, we recorded most of our other stuff in a house on Montclair in College Station’s historic district.
   
• Some of my teammates at A&M track were always supporting my music career. It was kind of small, but they were always supportive of my chasing it.
   
• Pat Henry and the coaching staff didn’t know that I was making music at the time, and I wasn’t allowed to talk about it because of the NCAA rules back then. I was DJing at Northgate during school too. I was getting myself some money while I could.
   
• Working with Elton John and making a song with him was a dream come true. I met Jack Johnson, who is my songwriting hero, and he told me his kids play our music around their house in Hawaii all the time. There are so many of the huge musical heroes to me that are so down to earth. It has been a dream come true, and I’m grateful for it every day.
   
• Seeing Elton John conduct himself in such a reserved, polite manner is incredible. He doesn’t have an ego to him. It taught me to remember where I’m from, be respectful and be humble. Music doesn’t have to change who you are.
   
• For our second show, the athletic department asked us to play the fan zone outside of Kyle Field before the LSU game that went to seven overtimes. We played “Sunday Best” before that crazy game.
   
• I love playing at festivals. We played Lollapalooza. We’ve played Austin City Limits, which is something I always dreamed of.
   
• We put out “Cloud” last week, and it has been well received. It’s the first time I sing on one of our songs, so it’s cool to have my vocals out there.
   
• I always wanted to be a songwriter and write feel-good songs that you could hang out with. I’ve always tried to make it a natural process.
   
• Soundcloud was our social media back when we were getting started.
   
• I’ve been coming to Kyle Field with my dad since before I could remember. My first memories of football were of me pretending to be Jorvorskie Lane in my backyard with NERF footballs and trucking people.
   
• I’m going to the game this Saturday because I haven’t heard the entrance song in action yet.
   
• I wanted to make a song that would make those guys want to run through a wall. I had a good idea of what got me hyped up as an athlete. I added some hip-hop elements and a guitar that builds up before having a beat switch, and beat switches are very popular now. It was just something that I thought would work.
   
• Our music is just like a big melting pot. We don’t have a genre. I was born and raised on classic rock, but I listen to hip-hop, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson and everything. I describe it as “feel good” music, whatever that means.
   
• My older cousin, who also went here, told me about some stuff being said on TexAgs. That was probably February or March of this year, and I’ve been caught in the wormhole and am always on TexAgs. It’s an interesting atmosphere because some people are positive, and others are yelling at clouds. Deep down, everyone loves the university, and that’s why they’re all so critical.