Drake Bell is cleared for takeoff.
After a three-and-a-half-year process, Bell released his latest album “Non-Stop Flight” in October of 2024.
The singer and actor’s new album heavily draws inspiration from the glamorous air travel days of the ’60s. Think of the heyday of TWA and Pan Am Airways.
At first he was looking to that era for the album’s artwork, but then it slowly inspired the music as well.
“It started taking on this whole life of its own,” Bell told KTLA 5’s Andy Riesmeyer while donning a bedazzled captain’s jacket. “When you hear the record, the flight attendant introduces you to the flight, then I come on as the captain and guide you when there’s turbulence for when the rock songs come on… it’s like a musical journey through the skies.”
That theme then comes through on the stage shows as well.
“We kind of went wild with it,” he confessed.
The new music was welcomed by the former childstar.
In 2024 he came forward in the documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” and revealed himself as John Doe in an abuse case against dialogue coach Brian Peck.
“The year that I had, it really was an emotional rollercoaster, up and down,” he explained. “Then sharing my story, having the world know something you’ve kept inside for so long.”
From sharing his story, Bell got a “surprising reaction.”
Recently when he flew into Los Angeles he was approached by a woman at the airport for a photo. She revealed that Bell inspired her to tell her story and now she and her husband are working to push legistlation in their home state to keep “people safer.”
“That’s something I didn’t expect,” Bell said. “It’s something that if we talk about it, raise awareness, and pull back the curtain, it’ll help a lot.”
While it is helpful to talk about it, he doesn’t want to give “false hope” to those who are healing.
“I’m still dealing with it, regardless and will be for the rest of my life, but it is one step of the healing journey of being able to put those things behind you, understand why they happen, how they happened, it wasn’t your fault and you’re not to blame and you’re not the only person that has to deal with it on the inside.”
As he navigates life after publicly sharing such personal details, he’s been pouring himself into his new music.
“I don’t journal or diary, I write songs. For the past three years, everything that’s been going on in my life, have been put into the lyrics of this record, it gets very exhausting mentally and emotionally,” he explained.
However, he did find a way to blow off steam and have some fun.
In the colorful song and music video “By the Ocean,” Bell revealed that he just wanted to make a song that “means absolutely nothing.”
Bell’s got other items in the works like an upcoming autobiography, a movie and even a tour!
“Non-Stop Flight” is available now.
