Role Model Says the Concept of Time and 'Feeling Stagnant' Was 'Very Much on My Mind' While Writing New Album (Exclusive)

The singer-songwriter is teaming up with American Airlines and Mastercard for his upcoming fall tour in support of the new album

NEED TO KNOW

• Role Model will release his new album Chuck Timely & the Hourglass on Aug. 7
• The album explores themes of time and “feeling stagnant” through a fictional alter ego
• Role Model partnered with American Airlines and Mastercard for his tour, offering exclusive pre-sale access for cardholders

Role Model may have enjoyed his breakthrough success last year with “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” but his new single “High Hopes 3000” has secured his latest milestone: his first charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. 

“It’s amazing. I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s crazy to have something like this happen now,” the singer (born Tucker Pillsbury) tells PEOPLE. “I guess it’s never too late.”

If there’s anyone who would know that time is but a construct, it’s Chuck Timely. If you’ve never heard of Mr. Timely before, well, he’s a time traveler with a killer music taste — and he just so happens to be the new alter ego Pillsbury has assumed on his upcoming third album, Chuck Timely & the Hourglass (out Aug. 7).

Pillsbury — who partnered with American Airlines and Mastercard as sponsors of his upcoming tour — says Chuck’s origin story goes back to the studio. The singer, 29, was about three-quarters of the way done with his new record when he developed Chuck as a way of representing a lot of the themes that kept coming up.

 “As soon as I brought it to the boys in the studio, it was all we talked about every single day, was Chuck,” he says. “What are his likes and his dislikes? What kind of music does he like? What kind of car does he drive? And we were like, ‘No, he just kind of somehow appears wherever he needs to be.’”

The group even created a bible to flip through about all things Chuck, which included a questionnaire of Chuck-related questions, and re-recorded some songs to better fit the Timely vibe.

Pillsbury says coming up with the lore behind the new character was “the most fun part” of the album process, though he stops short of calling the new record a concept album. The songs on the album are not made up things about a fictional person, but a way to tie together what he was already feeling about the passage of time and how it shakes out differently for everyone.

“I’m hitting that age now where a lot of people are getting married around me, and there’s a lot of feeling stagnant and feeling like everybody’s moving ahead in their lives and taking those steps and starting families or just falling in love or moving away and always kind of felt stagnant,” he explains. “So that’s a lot lyrically about that. There’s a lot about wanting to go back in time and change other things in my life. It just seemed like time was obviously very much on my mind throughout all the songs I wrote.”

In September, he’ll take the new album on the road with Chuck on Tour. Sponsors American Airlines and Mastercard have teamed up to give AAdvantage Mastercard members exclusive access to the first pre-sale for tickets. The pre-sale is happening now, and ends Thursday, June 25 at 10 a.m. local time. 

American Airlines AAdvantage® Mastercard® credit cardmembers also have the ability to redeem AAdvantage® miles to see Pillsbury live.

“I’m already an American Airlines frequent flyer spokesperson in my own life, so it felt right,” he jokes. “And also I’m down to do anything to give actual fans access to the tickets, because now it’s getting harder. I’m down to do anything with someone who’s going to help get tickets in the hands of people who actually listen to my music.”

For tour this time around, Pillsbury is looking forward to playing larger venues, which offer space for grander production. 

“The band has grown and so I think it’s just going to be a better show. We have more to play with now,” he says. “A lot of the music is going to be very fun. I think it’s going to be one big party every night.”

He recently teased a few new songs on the album at his set at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee. He confirms that artists like John Mellencamp were a “big” influence on one of the new songs he played, but makes it clear that his goal was to strike the right balance of never leaning too far into any one influence or reference.

He gives an example: One song was leaning rather folksy, just “screaming for banjo and fiddle.” So to reel it in, Pillsbury and his band threw on a sitar — which made the cut on a few songs — and a flute solo.

“We wanted to either go further in time and pull in some early 2000s pop references, or we’d go further back in time and pull from some early Rolling Stones stuff. It’s all over the place,” he says. “With the Chuck thing representing how we produce this album, it’s taking little things from every era and trying to make these weird cocktails of songs.”

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