June 10, 2026 • 35 mins
Singer, songwriter & musician Ravyn Lenae visits the pod stu this week for a pitch perfect convo with Kyle about her creative process & classical training at a Chicago performance arts school, buying her first studio session at age 15, building her career as a young artist & manifesting beautiful music. After singing his praises for Ravyn’s brilliant work, acting potential & upcoming album Blue Island, Kyle reveals a game composed just for Ravyn, as an ode to her love of white collar scam documentaries & song expertise, called Scammy Song Lyrics.
Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes of What Are We Even Doing?
Executive Producers: iHeart Media, Elvis Duran Podcast Network & Full Picture Productions
Executive Produced for Full Picture Productions by Desiree Gruber & Anne Walls Gordon
Produced by Ben Fingeret, Nora Faber & Maia Mizrahi
Editing by Mikey Harmon & Nicholas Giuricich
Research by Kimberly Walls
Music by Yatta
Art by Danica Robinson
Additional GFX by Chris Olfers/The Southern Influence
Styling by Dot Bass
Follow us on socials!
Instagram: @wawedwithkyle
TikTok: @wawedwithkyle
YouTube: @kyle_MacLachlan
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the show. Ladies and gentlemen. What are we
even doing? I'm your host, Kyle. This is the show
where we sit down with actors, musicians, creatives, people who
are shaking up the world of art, film, the Internet,
and we talk creative process, ambition, and what happens on
social media. Basically, we get weird in a really good way.
Don't get scared. Today we have a brilliant artist, brilliant artist, performer,
(00:21):
proud Chicago native, and most importantly friend of Mariah am
I right, yes, so nice to have you here. Oh
my god, your voice is incredible.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I was so curious because as a reading up about you,
you studied classical So you you had an opera workshop.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Was that something that in the beginning you were Yeah,
in high school, I went to Shy Arts. It's a
public performance art school in the city, and there I
studied classical music, music theory, piano. It took a little
bit of acting. Oh I love that class.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Okay, I can see the acting come out in early Yeah, yeah,
I definitely. I want to talk about so you were
singing from I mean, how old were you?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Pretty young? I knew that I liked watching entertainment and
watching movies or watching people perform, and I knew I
wanted to be that in some way. And when you
were like maybe like or seven around the yeah enough
to be aware enough to be aware.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
And your parents were Yeah, my grandparents and my mom
were super supportive in that. I feel like they saw
that in me early. And my grandma loves to put
kids in things to keep them busy. I was on
piano for a little bit, guitar, some gymnastics on the
side to get that out, Like I think I really
(01:49):
like singing. That's where I figured out I like to
use my voice in writing. Yeah, and writing I started
with guitar. Yeah, and I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Start with piano, okay, and I would just play little things,
but the guitar was where.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's my favorite and instrument, right, I.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Mean it's like it's so easy to I think, compose,
at least for me. Some people piano, but for me
it was guitar.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah. So Sally, I like, I let go of it.
I want to get back to it because there's something
I feel like it opened your brain up with even
just the songwriting process, being able to play what you
want to hear.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, yeah, I like that. That's good. And you're right
here with hands and there's something about it that makes
it very approachable, apart from not having callouses anymore gone,
but it's a beautiful instrument for that. I love that
you said your grandmother liked to put you anything, because
I did a similar thing. My I really loved music.
(02:43):
I studied piano, then I studied classical piano, and then
I studied voice. I was saying when I was in
high school, when I was a really nerdy thing to do,
I didn't tell anybody that I was singing. I had
an old vocal teacher, Lois Alexander, Yes, and you know.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Strict.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah. And mayvs Skipworth was my piano teacher. Oh yeah,
he was tough, but I sort of grooved on. That
sounds like, did you have the some kind of it
was pretty I.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Would say the classical experience for sure, because there's no
there are a lot of rules to follow and you're
not really allowed to break them. And I remember just
the name sounded serious. But I had a vocal teacher
named mister Dingles.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
What was your other one?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Sticks with Mayvis Skipworth was my piano teacher, and Lois
Alexander was my voice like a law firm. But but
but I think you win. Yeah, for sure. If you
can survive Dingle and teach kids your darn brave. That's
all I can say. In a classroom set. Oh my lord,
(03:50):
you did good. I'm glad you laughed. I love your
laugh too. That's the other thing.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Did? I watch you on the interview that you had
with with with Mariah Carrie and Kelly Rowlands, and you
you're just really charming. Mariah was very scary. I don't
know if you felt that way. Yeah, yeah, I sort
of felt like she should be on a throne a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
It felt like she was.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
We'll have to keep this innertake of that. We'll see,
but anyway, I think I think she admits to being
that way. So it's good. But I found you so
just the interview is so refreshing.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So you're so real, you know. And I responded not
only to the music, particularly Hypnos that album. I know
it's one of your older albums, but just the way
it was produced, the music, the rhythms, everything about it,
and the way your voice. It was just beautifully done.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, it was really special R and B style, Which
it was one of those when you can just put
on any place, anywhere, anytime and just yeah and be
and just be in the moment.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And I thought that was so thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Oh my god. So you're fifteen, You've got three hundred
bucks in your podcast, You're going down to the studio,
you're feeling good. What was what was you remember the
thought process going in and you just like, so at.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
The time, I was going going to a program called
after School Matters. That's basically four kids like me and
the city who know that they love the arts and
love being creative but didn't really have a space.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
To do it in the school like.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It was outside of school. Yeah. So this happened during
the summers, so it was a way to keep kids
kind of engaged in the arts.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Did you find it your mom?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Did we find that? I think we found it online actually,
or maybe somebody told us about it. But I'm like,
this is perfect. It'll keep me busy throughout the summer,
keep me, you know, active creatively, and also I get
paid something.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, and so good.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So I remember I knew what I was going to
do with that first check, and I was like to
pay for studio time. And after that, I didn't know
where I was going to get the next you know,
batch of money for studio time. But luckily the studio
owner told me I could come whenever for free after that.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
It's so awesome And did you enjoy the experience? Was it?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I loved it. I loved it being able to to
use the time and record what I'm feeling and thinking
and use my own money for it. I thought it
was really cool and empowering.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Was someone that was there working with you or how
did that work? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Okay, so I was paired with an engineer at the
studio named Brian, who I still work with today. He's
recorded all my albums.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
No kidding, that's amazing. He's very loyal. Yeah, that's so nice.
That's that's that's a beautiful thing, especially if you have
created relationship and it seems like they saw something. Obviously
they when they offered you the studio times, come down
and work. Yeah, they recognized that you were really passionate
about it. This is something that you really loved.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And that means everything you want to do.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Oh, my god, what did you so your journeying on
your first moving towards the idea of maybe the idea
of an old Did you start thinking about that at
that time? What was your process?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I think at that time that's when EPs were like
getting very like a lot of people were just doing
EPs for some reason, right right, it felt like album
was almost too permanent, or there was something scary about
an album. I'm not sure what it was.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Maybe building an album, which always seems to me like it's,
you know, you're building eight to ten songs roughly exactly.
There's a lot to take.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
On, right, I think it felt a little more intimidating.
And then you know, I wasn't signed at the time either,
so it just felt like I don't I don't have
the things I need for an album. Okay, I think
that's what I told myself at the time. Smart so
fun to, you know, make make a few songs from
my first EP, moon Shoes, and put it out on
SoundCloud and not really think about who's going to listen
(07:51):
to it. I just remember like that feeling really vividly
of not thinking about the outcome.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
You talk about albums and colors eight with albums. So
that one was the first one was was it? Remember one?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
It was pretty bright moon shoes, some pinks, oranges, something,
something felt like vibrant in youthful about it. I was
in high school at the time. Yeah, experiencing my first
real crazy crush. Yes, heartbreak, the whole thing, but also
like getting to experience Chicago in a really cool way too.
(08:28):
You would have been about fifteen sixteen around there, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Really young. Yeah, that's when you start. I know, my
son is seventeen and he's he's been driving for a bit,
but suddenly he's about to go to college next year.
But it's all about he's discovering Los Angeles now finally
kind of in his own way. Yeah, so he's like, down,
I'm going out. We did this. I'm like okay, okay.
I'm like, you know, he needs to have that freedom,
(08:52):
and that's space to go and explore and figure stuff out.
And my wife and I trust him and he's a
good kid. So it's like, I think he's gonna be fine.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
So my mom felt the same way. Yeah, it was
nice for me, you know, being on the South Side.
It's Chicago's a really segregated city, so you can almost
feel like you're isolated from like the rest of the city,
whether you're on the south side or the north side,
on the west side.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
You know, I know it's the city of neighborhoods. I
don't know Chicago that well. Yeah, yeah, but I know
what And then of course Jim Croachi saying about the
south side.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Of Chicago, so exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
That's all I have. But yeah, so you were able
to like music.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Took me all around the city, yeah, and going to
open mics and my school was a little more north.
So just meeting the different types of people and seeing
the city through this really beautiful lens, going to the
lake and sitting there and riding with my friends or
doing a bonfire at the lake. It just opened my eyes.
(09:48):
So really what the city had to offer creatively, But.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
You were more than that because you opened your eyes,
but you were also responding artistically creatively to this new
these new experiences we've never met. But when I watch
your videos and I see how you tell the story
that accompanies the song, because sometimes it's not like you're
singing the song sometimes and you're moving through an environment.
(10:14):
Sometimes you are, of course, but other times you're it's
a story. You're telling a story, and I feel like
it's like you gather the emotion and then you then
repurpose it in words, lyrics and visually is and I
don't know who you work with to shoot those.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, I think a lot of what I do and
the way I write definitely comes from a real place
in wanted to strike the balance of reality and then
something a little dream like or a little surreal. Yes,
is where I like to live. So I'm happy that
you get that.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah. No, And I also just in terms of the
each almost different obviously, but they're they're evolving and you
can you can trace them, I think. But your choice
of just the rhythms, the sounds, the textures very textured,
it feels to me. And I grew up really loving
Kate Bush. And I don't know if she was ever
an influence of you or you know of her Okay,
(11:12):
come on, okay, okay, I mean I was. She was
like everything Kate on the regular. I just she's just
just tremendous, tremendous, you know, because again not afraid to,
you know, try different things and textures and so creative.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I love how she uses her voice and also like
her body and like really studying how she approaches her
presence on stage, and there's just something really theatrical about
the way she moves, and she's not scared to get
kind of creepy or like here but then come here.
I don't know, there's something really romantic but also eerie
(11:51):
about it.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
I agree, Yeah, I agree, she's Irish. I think, you know,
they can be a little scary. I'm like, I'm not
sure the gallic, the Gaelic influence. I'm like, you're You're
very intriguing, but I'm kind of scared at the same times. Yeah. Yeah,
it's kind of parking back to that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I love Kate.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah, it's very very cool. Do you have other influences
that you for sure?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I love Janet somebody I think masters the art of
blending everything she loves, whether it's rock, pop, R and B, jazz.
You know, She's definitely an inspiration for me. But then
I remember in high school, like discovering certain music or
artists that I fell in love with. Stereo lab I
(12:35):
love something melodically about it that feels creepy but soothing
in a really weird way. I like to find that
that spot.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
It's so refreshing that you're, like you talked about earlier,
you you texture, used different textures, different things, and you're
not the same thing. Like it's like the album is
is coherient, cohesive, but it's you explore these different sort
of odd slightly off killed. I don't know how to
describe it. But and I also think your voice is
(13:05):
so singular, so special. It's a voice that you're not like,
here I am. You know, You're like, come find me,
you know what I mean? And then if you find me,
now we're going to go on this little journey. It
brings me to my next my next thought, which is
you have your own thing and now and then now
you're going out with other artists. Right now, you've been
(13:28):
out with other artists. How does that work? I have
no idea as from.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
My open shows.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yeah, I just show so like someone comes to Sabrina,
comes to you instaces, Hey you know I want to
know someone, she writes a note or something just like that. Okay,
let's go on. I am a totally idiot, but.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Right though, like usually the artist that you're opening for
is a fan of you, and they and they want
you on the show at least that's the way that
it feels natural and good. Yeah. So with Sabrina, she
DM me, So it is a letter. Oh so she
did write it down.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Just reached out.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
She reached out. She said, I love Bird's Eyes, one
of my favorite albums this year. Thank you. I heard
through a grape vine that she was going back out
on tour and I told my team we should hit
her up and see, you know, if she has support
for that yet. And before we could do that, they
had already emailed us.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So she checked in with the DM.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
First, Yes, checked the temperature.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's the that's the trajectory, right, there's a polite way
you slid in the DM, and then you can go
more for more with the email and then it's call
you up on the phone. Sure sure, sure, okay. And
you were like okay, are you like great, let's go
or were you like let's talk? Is there a compatibility thing?
You have to sort of think about its like how
are we going to work together? Will and work together?
(14:49):
Or do you know? Immediately it's like no, I think
this is a great match.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I said great. Yeah, Sabrina Carpenter.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, yeah, you can't argue with that.
I'm getting too intellectual with it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
No, don't know, but that is the thing to think
about though, of how you know, one a concern when
you're opening for someone is how you'll be received, you know,
from the crowd, especially if maybe you know, you think
the genres might not mesh well or anything like that.
But I like to think that my music can reach
(15:21):
multiple different types of people who love different things. So
I just want to get in front of people.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
You talked about when he went to Coachella and that experience,
and you were early, early on the roster, right, Yeah,
you're like, oh my god, pressure, right, I mean I
feel the pressure. I mean I'm not even a singer.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I'm like, oh my god, the sun is beaming down. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, everyone's having their breakfast burritos. No, I'm just kidding.
It's not that early. It's not that early. Oh my
god's opening up coming out of their she's like one
side stage.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I don't hear any chatter after I'm stressing. As my
manager said, are the people out there? He was like,
or even it's going to be great, and there's one
person out there, it's going to be great. I'm like
telling myself, this is only one part of my career.
It won't break me. I'm telling about the whole thing.
Oh my god, just seeing your heart out. It doesn't
(16:18):
matter that one person.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Yeah, and it's your mom.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Holy. I go on stage and it's passed.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
What's that feeling that he's played in front of large crowds?
Was just like the biggest crowd. No, you've had I
don't even know how many people work.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, I mean one of the biggest.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, I've been in front of like a stadium. I
wasn't singing. They've walked out on stage. I think it
was Live AID London. It was who did you introduce? Right?
I don't even remember I was it was so you're
in a shock really because you step out on the stage.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Isn't that one of the biggest crowd.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Was one of the big was it? I think?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
AID was always a Wembley.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I think it's like one of the biggest crowds ever.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
You know, Sir Bob Gildorff came out. No, he didn't
come out, but anyway, they introduced me. I don't think
anyone even heard them. I heard what they said. I
just walked on stage, and I looked at and said,
nobody can see me. It was like, because I can't
see anybody, I saw no faces. He was just a
sea of different patterns. And I walked out and just said, nah,
ladies and gentlemen, next, but whatever, I got to go back.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You introduced Kareem Bailey Ray. I just met her. She's
so great.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
But when I was in shock, sure, so I don't
even know what I said. You said it was like, Wow,
it was crazy. It was crazy. I know I've done
fake stuff. And in front of when we did the doors,
we were in front of a crowd. It was it
was about I think we were there two or three
thousand people. Yeah, And to me that was like, I said, oh,
I get it, I get it. This is why people
(17:52):
want to be rock stars. I said.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
There's no feeling like that.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Unbelievable, no feeling like that. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And
when you're at the center and you're controlling that and
people are paying attention to you and listening and loving
what you're doing, I mean.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Do you feel like a magician?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Isn't it that? It's like the best feeling in the world.
It's like it's like when I'm in front of the
camera between action and cut those that's the moment you
live for because everything else you're doing, the preparation, writing,
it's for.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
That two minute high exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Yeah, and that's what you keep coming back for when
I imagine it to.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Be absolutely there's nothing like it that is so like
I feel my spirit lea my body on stage, and
then I get off stage and I kind of go
like this, and I'm like, when's an excellent before you
go on?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You are just more like.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I get excited about it. Yeah, yeah, I think I
get nervous on TV.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Oh interesting, like for an interview.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Like the fallon Kimmel, like Late Night like those, or
like the news.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You mean, sitting or performing something about anything that's live
on camera.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm like, anything happened right now?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, and often does.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Anything no take backs.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I get nervous too, I get really, I get.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, you're always on camera.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
It's weird when you're on camera as a character. Yeah, weird.
I mean it's you're sort of focused on something else.
It's also on the other actor. We're talking and you're
talking with this and the cameras are here recording but
I'm like, I'm not really thinking about those yeah, talking
and we're doing our scene together. But when I'm when
you're in a situation where you're doing an interview, it's timing,
it's delivery, it's a story, right, are you're paying it?
(19:36):
It's all the little stuff that I keep running through
my head. I'm getting better. Yeah, And if you really
feel comfortable with the host, if you know them a little.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Bit, thenis it's good? Yeah? Thanks you something?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I really want to act, And every time I talk
to my acting friends about it, I tell them I
have the worst memory ever, and I feel like that's
part of the memory.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Song. For God's sake, come on, how do you remember
all the songs? I know you'll hope you remember what
I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
If you remember, you.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Know what happens as opposed to a song, you're carried
along by the melody, I think, right, Okay, that helps.
Shakespeare is kind of like music. In other words, it's poetry,
so you're carried along by the poetry.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
But when you're working, like so, I'm shooting the low
down with with Ethan Hawk, right, Okay, I have my
line and I don't know necessarily my next line yet.
But I'll say my line to him and then he'll
say he's lining back to me, and then I'll be like,
that's my line is to response to that, and then
and he responds to that dance he said dance. And
sometimes even if you're on stage and you say you say,
you deliver half your line, the other actors like they
(20:41):
might know to jump in, but if you don't get
the whole line out, they don't get there, they don't
get their cue. It's not gonna it's not gonna make sense.
And if it's good writing, it will make sense. So
that line, what you're gonna say back to me after
I say, after I say my line is in response
to what I say, makes sense. So you're like, so
you all will have that to carry.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
You through, gotcha. Okay, that's a barrier.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
No, I think it's I love that you say that,
because that's what I think when I when I watch
your videos, I said, you're telling stories and I don't
know if you're are you how involved in the visual process?
Are you there like, oh yeah, writing and you know,
kind of telling the.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Story or not not writing, unless like there's one video
where we did it in my grandmother's house, and I
was like, my idea to do so, like is it
love me not? Love me not?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
He was obsessed with that, and that's what I sort
of said. It's incredible because you're it's not like you're
in our beautiful lighting looks stunning, but that's not what
it's about. It's about revisiting a place and a little
bit of a ghost through it and kind of remembering
and telling. And it's remembering, it's a memory. And we
were all taken by just like this is such a beautiful, organic,
(21:54):
natural storytelling. And I was just like that said I said,
she's an actress. I said, I'm one hundred percent behind you.
If that's something that you're interested in doing. Yeah, yeah,
you're so expressive, just without a lot of drama, you
know what I mean. It's like it's all in there.
That's the thing about camera. Camera wants to go inside
and find you. You've got that in you know, thank
(22:17):
you stun stunts. Yeah, so very good.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I can make it.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I highly recommend that if that's the next step. But
don't stop singing, please. I'm gonna talk about because you
mentioned I think in one in one interview about lunch
with Chaka Khan, who I adore and again one of
those musicians when I was growing up that was really like, Wow,
different style altogether, she's big and out there. Is that
(22:43):
somebody that you also so.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Inspired by that?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Sometimes I think I'm inspired by Almost was like the
opposite to me.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, I was gonna say, yeah, is it something that
you'd like, Oh, I aspire to be that, or just
like oh, wow, they are so good at that. I'm
not that, but I I'm really good at this. Or
is it like, no, I want to bring a little
bit more of that into my.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
I think it's a mix. It's a mix of wow,
she can do that into how do I like adopt
that same punchiness to like my style or talk or
the way I may sing a certain word. I don't know.
It's just like a swag thing.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, you know, that's interesting that you have something that
maybe you want to like add Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Or I think is in there, but like being able
to see it represent it in a certain way. Oh,
that's what it is.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
This is the actor's journey. The actor's journey is to
bring out the sides of yourself that you may be
not so comfortable with or how does it come out.
I'm not going to have any control over this. It
could be scary, all that kind of stuff. The new album, Yeah,
can you tell me a little bit about that Blue
(23:54):
ALBUMD So, it's already got a color in the titles.
I see, it's a.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Can you guess what color? Been working on Blue Island
the past year or so, and I kind of just
came up with the name a few months ago. What
I realized I was having such a hard time coming
up with a name, and that's never really happened to
me before. But I think this has been such a
weird and exciting time for me, you know, off the
(24:24):
hills of Birds Eye and Love Me Not. I feel
like I'm almost in between, like something resolved and something unresolved.
So I feel like I'm existing in like this middle
space where things feel great, things, I feel confident, I
feel bold, I feel like I know so many new
things about myself. And then on the other hand, I'm like, wait,
(24:45):
I've just experienced so much change in my personal life,
and you know, internally, my friendships and birds Eye almost
felt a little more reflected. Yeah, and like I was
observing something about myself.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I also felt you were teaching, yeah, a little bit,
you were observing, absorbing something, and then you were kind of, yeah,
teaching a little bit about what you were experiencing. Absolutely,
so this is a little bit more so maybe this
is the next.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
This is like an immersion in a way.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Okay, okay, cool.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Like I feel like Bird's Eye was me looking down
and understanding what happened here, and now I'm like stepping
into that girl.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah that makes sense, of course. Yeah, I mean that's
the birds view. That's great. And who are you working with? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So Dahi who did Bird's Eye. He also did Blue Island,
and that's like that's family to me. So it's been
so nice to work on another project with him and
learn new things. And you know, I get to see
his kids every day and you're growing up.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
You know, how does that relationship in the studio, So
that's this acro sanct place feels like kind of like
when you're in front the camera, you're working together quietly
with the other actors and stuff, you're you know, mulling
things over. But in the studio situation, you're like, you
have ideas, he has some thoughts. Is it like a
dance or is it like.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
What it's a dance for sure. It's like it's like
you're waiting for lightning to strike at the perfect time
every session, and sometimes it doesn't happen. Some days we're
in there, we're just playing stuff, or we're playing songs
that we like from another artist, or we're talking about
a movie we just saw it we really liked. Or
(26:34):
the other days, like the culmination of all of that
sparks magic and it's a lot of just sitting around
around watching the game, coming back with that burner.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Is on low all the time. Yeah, like the process,
the process is going. It's just taking its own sort
of form. Absolutely, and then as you said, something will sortally.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Pop spark and I'm like, wait, what's that.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah, you'll hear something.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, it's the funnest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That is so cool. Yeah, my favorite story is who's
telling me the story that they were like in the
middle of a dream and they woke up and they said,
oh my god, I have the melody. This melody is
the best melody ever. And they roll over and they
kind of hit their eye on it and they sing
it and then and then they get up the next
morning like it's just awful.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
That happens to me all the time. That's why I like,
I feel like sessions, My sessions have to be cut
off at her inside it goes past nothing good. It's real.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
And you know, this is what made me think that
you have music running you all the time. When you're
in the video of is it Pilot, when you're running,
you're jogging, Yeah, pilot, And I said, and it's just
you're jogging, I said, she's in the flow. She is
in the music, the music is going. She's she's like
making yourself available to whatever the universe is going to
give her, whether she's running, doing some cooking somewhere, she's
(27:57):
not with friends, driving in the car, always in you.
I felt like that's why I took away.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
From that little I love that.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Just the same kind of thing, right, I mean, it
feels like I think as a musician, as a singer,
it's like you live in music. Just is that I
come in and out, I'll pop in, Oh this is fun.
But I'm observing watching people doing you know, I'm thinking
in terms of like oh, behavior, downloading, downloading all behavior
and thinking about that, or something comes to me it's like,
oh my god, that's that moment. That's what it is
(28:27):
in that scene. You know, it's so silly, but it's
like it comes in, it comes at all times. Yeah,
I love your palmer appear.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
You guys laughed like that's she's from Chicago.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Oh my god. You guys are like, it's.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Just a answer. Yeah. You know when you're talking to
someone from Chicago, you start talking a little faster.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was definitely that. You guys
are answering you other questions and she's like, okay, step back.
I loved it.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I love it, Thank you. I love her.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Have great NAIs, have great nails. My wife does tell
me to once sometimes she gets it. She said, you
need a manicure. I'm like, I'm like really, because it's
not my favorite thing. But because then and she says,
no pedicure, I think, And I said, I don't want
anyone touching my feet.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Why do you hate that?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
I like it? Once I I'm embarrassed. I don't want
people because I feel bad about my feet. I don't
want well, we feel bad about your feet, so you
feel bad about my ankles. They made me wear socks.
I used to wear these shoes with no no sontime.
I did, I totally and I said, you know what,
you're You're right, You're right, you're right. I have all
(29:35):
my man ankles and you're right. I know you didn't
say that, but that was my takeaway. Okay, okay, let's see,
we're gonna do a game game when we come back.
A segment we designed just for you. It's called Scammy
song Lyrics. Okay, good guys, go back. Oh you look
(29:58):
at your already in character character. It is very good.
Raven's already character as am I welcome. Okay, we're back
with a segment called Scammy song Lyrics because of your
love of she will find out.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
But we're going to get to the bottom of.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
This, yes, doctor, all right, as an ode to your
love of white collar scam documentaries and brilliant understanding of songs. Okay, mashup,
I'm going to read you some song lyrics from popular
songs that have some scammy vibes to them, and you
will tell me what song it is from. Okay, okay,
(30:36):
Raven has got a wonderful fair of a pair of
spectacles and a magnifying glass, and she is totally in
character right now. I am wearing an investigative hat. Well, actually,
is it more of a fidora? All right? First one,
are you ready? Yes? If you catch me at the border,
I got visas in my name. There's three choices. Are
(30:58):
you ready? Jumping? Jumping by Destiny Child Paper Planes, Obsessed
by Carry I think she has it, lady and gentlemen,
you are correct, you are correctly. She got to the
bottom of it. Very very elementary, my dear Raven. Elementary.
(31:21):
All right. I was born to flex Diamonds on my
neck s O S by Rihanna. Big Girls Don't Cry
by Fergie Money by Cardi B. Always your tough one.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Cardi B.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes you are did you hear if you feel me's
channeling that you're sending that to you like this? Okay?
Next one? Ready, it's a bittersweet to think about the
damage that we do. Choicing that. Yeah, it's bit as
sweet to think about the damage that we do. I
(31:59):
Say a Little You by Aretha Franklin, Favorite Crime by
Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Liar by Selena.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Gomess sounding the little Olivia. Maybe not sound like Olivia.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
My god, your sleuthing skills are amazing, very very good.
All right, here we go. Two more. Are you ready?
I'm here to remind you of the mess you left
when you went away. I'm here to remind you of
the mess you left when you went away. I have
creat three different keys in that, all right, Me and
You by Cassie You Ought to Know by Alanis Morisset.
(32:43):
Did I Give it Away? Yeah? What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (32:45):
What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Home record work? I'm terrible. I'm a terrible clue giver.
I mean's because I just saw I'd be terrible. It'd
be a terrible game show host the ten thousand dollars
Pyramid or whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Time.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
If you think you're getting away, I will move you wrong.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Murder on the Dance Floor by Sophie Ellis Bexter Complicated
by Avril Levin. Don't start now, by that's murder on
the dance floor. That's right, you know, besides the one
he's saying, you got all of them right. We did it,
We did it. No, no, no, no, no failing, no
(33:25):
failing and so much fun. Even so, what do you
wanna talk about? What's up next? What's coming? I know
it's coming with the album.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Yeah, I'm super excited about that. I mean handle is
a song that I'm really happy to have out in
the world. My mom told me that was one that
had to grow on her.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So, Okay, she loves it now. But she loves it now.
Why do you think it was? Is it challenging melodically
or just lyrics or I.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
Think it's a little more rambunctious than my songs I've
done in the past. So there's something a little angsty
about it. Okay, maybe be the melody was a little
weird for her.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Okay, she loves it now, so I'm excited.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
So if you hate it first, let it.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Sit with you. No, we're not going to get it
at all. I'm excited about the growth because each album
is you continue to expand on what you started with,
which I think is it's not easy to do. It
just gets richer and deeper and more compelling. So I
want to thank you for coming, Thanks for having did
we figure out what are We even doing? I don't know.
(34:30):
Maybe we gave it a good try. We're still soothing.
Thank you much for you on the show. All right,
thanks everybody. What Are We Even Doing? Is a production
of iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran podcast network, hosted by
me Kyle McLachlin and created and produced by Full Picture
(34:50):
productionists Yay, featuring music by Yata and artwork by Danica Robinson.
For more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram
and TikTok at WAWED with Kyle. Please rate, review, and
subscribe to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
(35:12):
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation point
Welcome to the show. Ladies and gentlemen. What are we
even doing? I'm your host, Kyle. This is the show
where we sit down with actors, musicians, creatives, people who
are shaking up the world of art, film, the Internet,
and we talk creative process, ambition, and what happens on
social media. Basically, we get weird in a really good way.
Don't get scared. Today we have a brilliant artist, brilliant artist, performer,
(00:21):
proud Chicago native, and most importantly friend of Mariah am
I right, yes, so nice to have you here. Oh
my god, your voice is incredible.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I was so curious because as a reading up about you,
you studied classical So you you had an opera workshop.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Was that something that in the beginning you were Yeah,
in high school, I went to Shy Arts. It's a
public performance art school in the city, and there I
studied classical music, music theory, piano. It took a little
bit of acting. Oh I love that class.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Okay, I can see the acting come out in early Yeah, yeah,
I definitely. I want to talk about so you were
singing from I mean, how old were you?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Pretty young? I knew that I liked watching entertainment and
watching movies or watching people perform, and I knew I
wanted to be that in some way. And when you
were like maybe like or seven around the yeah enough
to be aware enough to be aware.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
And your parents were Yeah, my grandparents and my mom
were super supportive in that. I feel like they saw
that in me early. And my grandma loves to put
kids in things to keep them busy. I was on
piano for a little bit, guitar, some gymnastics on the
side to get that out, Like I think I really
(01:49):
like singing. That's where I figured out I like to
use my voice in writing. Yeah, and writing I started
with guitar. Yeah, and I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Start with piano, okay, and I would just play little things,
but the guitar was where.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's my favorite and instrument, right, I.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Mean it's like it's so easy to I think, compose,
at least for me. Some people piano, but for me
it was guitar.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah. So Sally, I like, I let go of it.
I want to get back to it because there's something
I feel like it opened your brain up with even
just the songwriting process, being able to play what you
want to hear.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, yeah, I like that. That's good. And you're right
here with hands and there's something about it that makes
it very approachable, apart from not having callouses anymore gone,
but it's a beautiful instrument for that. I love that
you said your grandmother liked to put you anything, because
I did a similar thing. My I really loved music.
(02:43):
I studied piano, then I studied classical piano, and then
I studied voice. I was saying when I was in
high school, when I was a really nerdy thing to do,
I didn't tell anybody that I was singing. I had
an old vocal teacher, Lois Alexander, Yes, and you know.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Strict.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah. And mayvs Skipworth was my piano teacher. Oh yeah,
he was tough, but I sort of grooved on. That
sounds like, did you have the some kind of it
was pretty I.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Would say the classical experience for sure, because there's no
there are a lot of rules to follow and you're
not really allowed to break them. And I remember just
the name sounded serious. But I had a vocal teacher
named mister Dingles.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
What was your other one?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Sticks with Mayvis Skipworth was my piano teacher, and Lois
Alexander was my voice like a law firm. But but
but I think you win. Yeah, for sure. If you
can survive Dingle and teach kids your darn brave. That's
all I can say. In a classroom set. Oh my lord,
(03:50):
you did good. I'm glad you laughed. I love your
laugh too. That's the other thing.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Did? I watch you on the interview that you had
with with with Mariah Carrie and Kelly Rowlands, and you
you're just really charming. Mariah was very scary. I don't
know if you felt that way. Yeah, yeah, I sort
of felt like she should be on a throne a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
It felt like she was.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
We'll have to keep this innertake of that. We'll see,
but anyway, I think I think she admits to being
that way. So it's good. But I found you so
just the interview is so refreshing.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So you're so real, you know. And I responded not
only to the music, particularly Hypnos that album. I know
it's one of your older albums, but just the way
it was produced, the music, the rhythms, everything about it,
and the way your voice. It was just beautifully done.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, it was really special R and B style, Which
it was one of those when you can just put
on any place, anywhere, anytime and just yeah and be
and just be in the moment.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And I thought that was so thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Oh my god. So you're fifteen, You've got three hundred
bucks in your podcast, You're going down to the studio,
you're feeling good. What was what was you remember the
thought process going in and you just like, so at.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
The time, I was going going to a program called
after School Matters. That's basically four kids like me and
the city who know that they love the arts and
love being creative but didn't really have a space.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
To do it in the school like.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It was outside of school. Yeah. So this happened during
the summers, so it was a way to keep kids
kind of engaged in the arts.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Did you find it your mom?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Did we find that? I think we found it online actually,
or maybe somebody told us about it. But I'm like,
this is perfect. It'll keep me busy throughout the summer,
keep me, you know, active creatively, and also I get
paid something.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, and so good.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So I remember I knew what I was going to
do with that first check, and I was like to
pay for studio time. And after that, I didn't know
where I was going to get the next you know,
batch of money for studio time. But luckily the studio
owner told me I could come whenever for free after that.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
It's so awesome And did you enjoy the experience? Was it?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I loved it. I loved it being able to to
use the time and record what I'm feeling and thinking
and use my own money for it. I thought it
was really cool and empowering.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Was someone that was there working with you or how
did that work? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Okay, so I was paired with an engineer at the
studio named Brian, who I still work with today. He's
recorded all my albums.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
No kidding, that's amazing. He's very loyal. Yeah, that's so nice.
That's that's that's a beautiful thing, especially if you have
created relationship and it seems like they saw something. Obviously
they when they offered you the studio times, come down
and work. Yeah, they recognized that you were really passionate
about it. This is something that you really loved.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And that means everything you want to do.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Oh, my god, what did you so your journeying on
your first moving towards the idea of maybe the idea
of an old Did you start thinking about that at
that time? What was your process?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I think at that time that's when EPs were like
getting very like a lot of people were just doing
EPs for some reason, right right, it felt like album
was almost too permanent, or there was something scary about
an album. I'm not sure what it was.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Maybe building an album, which always seems to me like it's,
you know, you're building eight to ten songs roughly exactly.
There's a lot to take.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
On, right, I think it felt a little more intimidating.
And then you know, I wasn't signed at the time either,
so it just felt like I don't I don't have
the things I need for an album. Okay, I think
that's what I told myself at the time. Smart so
fun to, you know, make make a few songs from
my first EP, moon Shoes, and put it out on
SoundCloud and not really think about who's going to listen
(07:51):
to it. I just remember like that feeling really vividly
of not thinking about the outcome.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
You talk about albums and colors eight with albums. So
that one was the first one was was it? Remember one?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
It was pretty bright moon shoes, some pinks, oranges, something,
something felt like vibrant in youthful about it. I was
in high school at the time. Yeah, experiencing my first
real crazy crush. Yes, heartbreak, the whole thing, but also
like getting to experience Chicago in a really cool way too.
(08:28):
You would have been about fifteen sixteen around there, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Really young. Yeah, that's when you start. I know, my
son is seventeen and he's he's been driving for a bit,
but suddenly he's about to go to college next year.
But it's all about he's discovering Los Angeles now finally
kind of in his own way. Yeah, so he's like, down,
I'm going out. We did this. I'm like okay, okay.
I'm like, you know, he needs to have that freedom,
(08:52):
and that's space to go and explore and figure stuff out.
And my wife and I trust him and he's a
good kid. So it's like, I think he's gonna be fine.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
So my mom felt the same way. Yeah, it was
nice for me, you know, being on the South Side.
It's Chicago's a really segregated city, so you can almost
feel like you're isolated from like the rest of the city,
whether you're on the south side or the north side,
on the west side.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
You know, I know it's the city of neighborhoods. I
don't know Chicago that well. Yeah, yeah, but I know
what And then of course Jim Croachi saying about the
south side.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Of Chicago, so exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
That's all I have. But yeah, so you were able
to like music.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Took me all around the city, yeah, and going to
open mics and my school was a little more north.
So just meeting the different types of people and seeing
the city through this really beautiful lens, going to the
lake and sitting there and riding with my friends or
doing a bonfire at the lake. It just opened my eyes.
(09:48):
So really what the city had to offer creatively, But.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
You were more than that because you opened your eyes,
but you were also responding artistically creatively to this new
these new experiences we've never met. But when I watch
your videos and I see how you tell the story
that accompanies the song, because sometimes it's not like you're
singing the song sometimes and you're moving through an environment.
(10:14):
Sometimes you are, of course, but other times you're it's
a story. You're telling a story, and I feel like
it's like you gather the emotion and then you then
repurpose it in words, lyrics and visually is and I
don't know who you work with to shoot those.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, I think a lot of what I do and
the way I write definitely comes from a real place
in wanted to strike the balance of reality and then
something a little dream like or a little surreal. Yes,
is where I like to live. So I'm happy that
you get that.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah. No, And I also just in terms of the
each almost different obviously, but they're they're evolving and you
can you can trace them, I think. But your choice
of just the rhythms, the sounds, the textures very textured,
it feels to me. And I grew up really loving
Kate Bush. And I don't know if she was ever
an influence of you or you know of her Okay,
(11:12):
come on, okay, okay, I mean I was. She was
like everything Kate on the regular. I just she's just
just tremendous, tremendous, you know, because again not afraid to,
you know, try different things and textures and so creative.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I love how she uses her voice and also like
her body and like really studying how she approaches her
presence on stage, and there's just something really theatrical about
the way she moves, and she's not scared to get
kind of creepy or like here but then come here.
I don't know, there's something really romantic but also eerie
(11:51):
about it.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
I agree, Yeah, I agree, she's Irish. I think, you know,
they can be a little scary. I'm like, I'm not
sure the gallic, the Gaelic influence. I'm like, you're You're
very intriguing, but I'm kind of scared at the same times. Yeah. Yeah,
it's kind of parking back to that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I love Kate.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah, it's very very cool. Do you have other influences
that you for sure?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I love Janet somebody I think masters the art of
blending everything she loves, whether it's rock, pop, R and B, jazz.
You know, She's definitely an inspiration for me. But then
I remember in high school, like discovering certain music or
artists that I fell in love with. Stereo lab I
(12:35):
love something melodically about it that feels creepy but soothing
in a really weird way. I like to find that
that spot.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
It's so refreshing that you're, like you talked about earlier,
you you texture, used different textures, different things, and you're
not the same thing. Like it's like the album is
is coherient, cohesive, but it's you explore these different sort
of odd slightly off killed. I don't know how to
describe it. But and I also think your voice is
(13:05):
so singular, so special. It's a voice that you're not like,
here I am. You know, You're like, come find me,
you know what I mean? And then if you find me,
now we're going to go on this little journey. It
brings me to my next my next thought, which is
you have your own thing and now and then now
you're going out with other artists. Right now, you've been
(13:28):
out with other artists. How does that work? I have
no idea as from.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
My open shows.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yeah, I just show so like someone comes to Sabrina,
comes to you instaces, Hey you know I want to
know someone, she writes a note or something just like that. Okay,
let's go on. I am a totally idiot, but.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Right though, like usually the artist that you're opening for
is a fan of you, and they and they want
you on the show at least that's the way that
it feels natural and good. Yeah. So with Sabrina, she
DM me, So it is a letter. Oh so she
did write it down.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Just reached out.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
She reached out. She said, I love Bird's Eyes, one
of my favorite albums this year. Thank you. I heard
through a grape vine that she was going back out
on tour and I told my team we should hit
her up and see, you know, if she has support
for that yet. And before we could do that, they
had already emailed us.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So she checked in with the DM.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
First, Yes, checked the temperature.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's the that's the trajectory, right, there's a polite way
you slid in the DM, and then you can go
more for more with the email and then it's call
you up on the phone. Sure sure, sure, okay. And
you were like okay, are you like great, let's go
or were you like let's talk? Is there a compatibility thing?
You have to sort of think about its like how
are we going to work together? Will and work together?
(14:49):
Or do you know? Immediately it's like no, I think
this is a great match.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I said great. Yeah, Sabrina Carpenter.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, yeah, you can't argue with that.
I'm getting too intellectual with it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
No, don't know, but that is the thing to think
about though, of how you know, one a concern when
you're opening for someone is how you'll be received, you know,
from the crowd, especially if maybe you know, you think
the genres might not mesh well or anything like that.
But I like to think that my music can reach
(15:21):
multiple different types of people who love different things. So
I just want to get in front of people.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
You talked about when he went to Coachella and that experience,
and you were early, early on the roster, right, Yeah,
you're like, oh my god, pressure, right, I mean I
feel the pressure. I mean I'm not even a singer.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I'm like, oh my god, the sun is beaming down. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, everyone's having their breakfast burritos. No, I'm just kidding.
It's not that early. It's not that early. Oh my
god's opening up coming out of their she's like one
side stage.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I don't hear any chatter after I'm stressing. As my
manager said, are the people out there? He was like,
or even it's going to be great, and there's one
person out there, it's going to be great. I'm like
telling myself, this is only one part of my career.
It won't break me. I'm telling about the whole thing.
Oh my god, just seeing your heart out. It doesn't
(16:18):
matter that one person.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Yeah, and it's your mom.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Holy. I go on stage and it's passed.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
What's that feeling that he's played in front of large crowds?
Was just like the biggest crowd. No, you've had I
don't even know how many people work.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, I mean one of the biggest.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, I've been in front of like a stadium. I
wasn't singing. They've walked out on stage. I think it
was Live AID London. It was who did you introduce? Right?
I don't even remember I was it was so you're
in a shock really because you step out on the stage.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Isn't that one of the biggest crowd.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Was one of the big was it? I think?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
AID was always a Wembley.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I think it's like one of the biggest crowds ever.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
You know, Sir Bob Gildorff came out. No, he didn't
come out, but anyway, they introduced me. I don't think
anyone even heard them. I heard what they said. I
just walked on stage, and I looked at and said,
nobody can see me. It was like, because I can't
see anybody, I saw no faces. He was just a
sea of different patterns. And I walked out and just said, nah,
ladies and gentlemen, next, but whatever, I got to go back.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You introduced Kareem Bailey Ray. I just met her. She's
so great.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
But when I was in shock, sure, so I don't
even know what I said. You said it was like, Wow,
it was crazy. It was crazy. I know I've done
fake stuff. And in front of when we did the doors,
we were in front of a crowd. It was it
was about I think we were there two or three
thousand people. Yeah, And to me that was like, I said, oh,
I get it, I get it. This is why people
(17:52):
want to be rock stars. I said.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
There's no feeling like that.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Unbelievable, no feeling like that. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And
when you're at the center and you're controlling that and
people are paying attention to you and listening and loving
what you're doing, I mean.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Do you feel like a magician?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Isn't it that? It's like the best feeling in the world.
It's like it's like when I'm in front of the
camera between action and cut those that's the moment you
live for because everything else you're doing, the preparation, writing,
it's for.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
That two minute high exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Yeah, and that's what you keep coming back for when
I imagine it to.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Be absolutely there's nothing like it that is so like
I feel my spirit lea my body on stage, and
then I get off stage and I kind of go
like this, and I'm like, when's an excellent before you
go on?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You are just more like.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I get excited about it. Yeah, yeah, I think I
get nervous on TV.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Oh interesting, like for an interview.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Like the fallon Kimmel, like Late Night like those, or
like the news.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You mean, sitting or performing something about anything that's live
on camera.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm like, anything happened right now?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, and often does.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Anything no take backs.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I get nervous too, I get really, I get.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, you're always on camera.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
It's weird when you're on camera as a character. Yeah, weird.
I mean it's you're sort of focused on something else.
It's also on the other actor. We're talking and you're
talking with this and the cameras are here recording but
I'm like, I'm not really thinking about those yeah, talking
and we're doing our scene together. But when I'm when
you're in a situation where you're doing an interview, it's timing,
it's delivery, it's a story, right, are you're paying it?
(19:36):
It's all the little stuff that I keep running through
my head. I'm getting better. Yeah, And if you really
feel comfortable with the host, if you know them a little.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Bit, thenis it's good? Yeah? Thanks you something?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I really want to act, And every time I talk
to my acting friends about it, I tell them I
have the worst memory ever, and I feel like that's
part of the memory.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Song. For God's sake, come on, how do you remember
all the songs? I know you'll hope you remember what
I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
If you remember, you.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Know what happens as opposed to a song, you're carried
along by the melody, I think, right, Okay, that helps.
Shakespeare is kind of like music. In other words, it's poetry,
so you're carried along by the poetry.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
But when you're working, like so, I'm shooting the low
down with with Ethan Hawk, right, Okay, I have my
line and I don't know necessarily my next line yet.
But I'll say my line to him and then he'll
say he's lining back to me, and then I'll be like,
that's my line is to response to that, and then
and he responds to that dance he said dance. And
sometimes even if you're on stage and you say you say,
you deliver half your line, the other actors like they
(20:41):
might know to jump in, but if you don't get
the whole line out, they don't get there, they don't
get their cue. It's not gonna it's not gonna make sense.
And if it's good writing, it will make sense. So
that line, what you're gonna say back to me after
I say, after I say my line is in response
to what I say, makes sense. So you're like, so
you all will have that to carry.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
You through, gotcha. Okay, that's a barrier.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
No, I think it's I love that you say that,
because that's what I think when I when I watch
your videos, I said, you're telling stories and I don't
know if you're are you how involved in the visual process?
Are you there like, oh yeah, writing and you know,
kind of telling the.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Story or not not writing, unless like there's one video
where we did it in my grandmother's house, and I
was like, my idea to do so, like is it
love me not? Love me not?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
He was obsessed with that, and that's what I sort
of said. It's incredible because you're it's not like you're
in our beautiful lighting looks stunning, but that's not what
it's about. It's about revisiting a place and a little
bit of a ghost through it and kind of remembering
and telling. And it's remembering, it's a memory. And we
were all taken by just like this is such a beautiful, organic,
(21:54):
natural storytelling. And I was just like that said I said,
she's an actress. I said, I'm one hundred percent behind you.
If that's something that you're interested in doing. Yeah, yeah,
you're so expressive, just without a lot of drama, you
know what I mean. It's like it's all in there.
That's the thing about camera. Camera wants to go inside
and find you. You've got that in you know, thank
(22:17):
you stun stunts. Yeah, so very good.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I can make it.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I highly recommend that if that's the next step. But
don't stop singing, please. I'm gonna talk about because you
mentioned I think in one in one interview about lunch
with Chaka Khan, who I adore and again one of
those musicians when I was growing up that was really like, Wow,
different style altogether, she's big and out there. Is that
(22:43):
somebody that you also so.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Inspired by that?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Sometimes I think I'm inspired by Almost was like the
opposite to me.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Well, I was gonna say, yeah, is it something that
you'd like, Oh, I aspire to be that, or just
like oh, wow, they are so good at that. I'm
not that, but I I'm really good at this. Or
is it like, no, I want to bring a little
bit more of that into my.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
I think it's a mix. It's a mix of wow,
she can do that into how do I like adopt
that same punchiness to like my style or talk or
the way I may sing a certain word. I don't know.
It's just like a swag thing.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, you know, that's interesting that you have something that
maybe you want to like add Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Or I think is in there, but like being able
to see it represent it in a certain way. Oh,
that's what it is.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
This is the actor's journey. The actor's journey is to
bring out the sides of yourself that you may be
not so comfortable with or how does it come out.
I'm not going to have any control over this. It
could be scary, all that kind of stuff. The new album, Yeah,
can you tell me a little bit about that Blue
(23:54):
ALBUMD So, it's already got a color in the titles.
I see, it's a.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Can you guess what color? Been working on Blue Island
the past year or so, and I kind of just
came up with the name a few months ago. What
I realized I was having such a hard time coming
up with a name, and that's never really happened to
me before. But I think this has been such a
weird and exciting time for me, you know, off the
(24:24):
hills of Birds Eye and Love Me Not. I feel
like I'm almost in between, like something resolved and something unresolved.
So I feel like I'm existing in like this middle
space where things feel great, things, I feel confident, I
feel bold, I feel like I know so many new
things about myself. And then on the other hand, I'm like, wait,
(24:45):
I've just experienced so much change in my personal life,
and you know, internally, my friendships and birds Eye almost
felt a little more reflected. Yeah, and like I was
observing something about myself.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I also felt you were teaching, yeah, a little bit,
you were observing, absorbing something, and then you were kind of, yeah,
teaching a little bit about what you were experiencing. Absolutely,
so this is a little bit more so maybe this
is the next.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
This is like an immersion in a way.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Okay, okay, cool.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Like I feel like Bird's Eye was me looking down
and understanding what happened here, and now I'm like stepping
into that girl.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah that makes sense, of course. Yeah, I mean that's
the birds view. That's great. And who are you working with? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So Dahi who did Bird's Eye. He also did Blue Island,
and that's like that's family to me. So it's been
so nice to work on another project with him and
learn new things. And you know, I get to see
his kids every day and you're growing up.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
You know, how does that relationship in the studio, So
that's this acro sanct place feels like kind of like
when you're in front the camera, you're working together quietly
with the other actors and stuff, you're you know, mulling
things over. But in the studio situation, you're like, you
have ideas, he has some thoughts. Is it like a
dance or is it like.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
What it's a dance for sure. It's like it's like
you're waiting for lightning to strike at the perfect time
every session, and sometimes it doesn't happen. Some days we're
in there, we're just playing stuff, or we're playing songs
that we like from another artist, or we're talking about
a movie we just saw it we really liked. Or
(26:34):
the other days, like the culmination of all of that
sparks magic and it's a lot of just sitting around
around watching the game, coming back with that burner.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Is on low all the time. Yeah, like the process,
the process is going. It's just taking its own sort
of form. Absolutely, and then as you said, something will sortally.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Pop spark and I'm like, wait, what's that.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah, you'll hear something.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, it's the funnest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That is so cool. Yeah, my favorite story is who's
telling me the story that they were like in the
middle of a dream and they woke up and they said,
oh my god, I have the melody. This melody is
the best melody ever. And they roll over and they
kind of hit their eye on it and they sing
it and then and then they get up the next
morning like it's just awful.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
That happens to me all the time. That's why I like,
I feel like sessions, My sessions have to be cut
off at her inside it goes past nothing good. It's real.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
And you know, this is what made me think that
you have music running you all the time. When you're
in the video of is it Pilot, when you're running,
you're jogging, Yeah, pilot, And I said, and it's just
you're jogging, I said, she's in the flow. She is
in the music, the music is going. She's she's like
making yourself available to whatever the universe is going to
give her, whether she's running, doing some cooking somewhere, she's
(27:57):
not with friends, driving in the car, always in you.
I felt like that's why I took away.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
From that little I love that.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Just the same kind of thing, right, I mean, it
feels like I think as a musician, as a singer,
it's like you live in music. Just is that I
come in and out, I'll pop in, Oh this is fun.
But I'm observing watching people doing you know, I'm thinking
in terms of like oh, behavior, downloading, downloading all behavior
and thinking about that, or something comes to me it's like,
oh my god, that's that moment. That's what it is
(28:27):
in that scene. You know, it's so silly, but it's
like it comes in, it comes at all times. Yeah,
I love your palmer appear.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
You guys laughed like that's she's from Chicago.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Oh my god. You guys are like, it's.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Just a answer. Yeah. You know when you're talking to
someone from Chicago, you start talking a little faster.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was definitely that. You guys
are answering you other questions and she's like, okay, step back.
I loved it.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I love it, Thank you. I love her.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Have great NAIs, have great nails. My wife does tell
me to once sometimes she gets it. She said, you
need a manicure. I'm like, I'm like really, because it's
not my favorite thing. But because then and she says,
no pedicure, I think, And I said, I don't want
anyone touching my feet.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Why do you hate that?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
I like it? Once I I'm embarrassed. I don't want
people because I feel bad about my feet. I don't
want well, we feel bad about your feet, so you
feel bad about my ankles. They made me wear socks.
I used to wear these shoes with no no sontime.
I did, I totally and I said, you know what,
you're You're right, You're right, you're right. I have all
(29:35):
my man ankles and you're right. I know you didn't
say that, but that was my takeaway. Okay, okay, let's see,
we're gonna do a game game when we come back.
A segment we designed just for you. It's called Scammy
song Lyrics. Okay, good guys, go back. Oh you look
(29:58):
at your already in character character. It is very good.
Raven's already character as am I welcome. Okay, we're back
with a segment called Scammy song Lyrics because of your
love of she will find out.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
But we're going to get to the bottom of.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
This, yes, doctor, all right, as an ode to your
love of white collar scam documentaries and brilliant understanding of songs. Okay, mashup,
I'm going to read you some song lyrics from popular
songs that have some scammy vibes to them, and you
will tell me what song it is from. Okay, okay,
(30:36):
Raven has got a wonderful fair of a pair of
spectacles and a magnifying glass, and she is totally in
character right now. I am wearing an investigative hat. Well, actually,
is it more of a fidora? All right? First one,
are you ready? Yes? If you catch me at the border,
I got visas in my name. There's three choices. Are
(30:58):
you ready? Jumping? Jumping by Destiny Child Paper Planes, Obsessed
by Carry I think she has it, lady and gentlemen,
you are correct, you are correctly. She got to the
bottom of it. Very very elementary, my dear Raven. Elementary.
(31:21):
All right. I was born to flex Diamonds on my
neck s O S by Rihanna. Big Girls Don't Cry
by Fergie Money by Cardi B. Always your tough one.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Cardi B.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes you are did you hear if you feel me's
channeling that you're sending that to you like this? Okay?
Next one? Ready, it's a bittersweet to think about the
damage that we do. Choicing that. Yeah, it's bit as
sweet to think about the damage that we do. I
(31:59):
Say a Little You by Aretha Franklin, Favorite Crime by
Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Liar by Selena.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Gomess sounding the little Olivia. Maybe not sound like Olivia.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
My god, your sleuthing skills are amazing, very very good.
All right, here we go. Two more. Are you ready?
I'm here to remind you of the mess you left
when you went away. I'm here to remind you of
the mess you left when you went away. I have
creat three different keys in that, all right, Me and
You by Cassie You Ought to Know by Alanis Morisset.
(32:43):
Did I Give it Away? Yeah? What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (32:45):
What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Home record work? I'm terrible. I'm a terrible clue giver.
I mean's because I just saw I'd be terrible. It'd
be a terrible game show host the ten thousand dollars
Pyramid or whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Time.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
If you think you're getting away, I will move you wrong.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Murder on the Dance Floor by Sophie Ellis Bexter Complicated
by Avril Levin. Don't start now, by that's murder on
the dance floor. That's right, you know, besides the one
he's saying, you got all of them right. We did it,
We did it. No, no, no, no, no failing, no
(33:25):
failing and so much fun. Even so, what do you
wanna talk about? What's up next? What's coming? I know
it's coming with the album.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Yeah, I'm super excited about that. I mean handle is
a song that I'm really happy to have out in
the world. My mom told me that was one that
had to grow on her.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So, Okay, she loves it now. But she loves it now.
Why do you think it was? Is it challenging melodically
or just lyrics or I.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
Think it's a little more rambunctious than my songs I've
done in the past. So there's something a little angsty
about it. Okay, maybe be the melody was a little
weird for her.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Okay, she loves it now, so I'm excited.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
So if you hate it first, let it.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Sit with you. No, we're not going to get it
at all. I'm excited about the growth because each album
is you continue to expand on what you started with,
which I think is it's not easy to do. It
just gets richer and deeper and more compelling. So I
want to thank you for coming, Thanks for having did
we figure out what are We even doing? I don't know.
(34:30):
Maybe we gave it a good try. We're still soothing.
Thank you much for you on the show. All right,
thanks everybody. What Are We Even Doing? Is a production
of iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran podcast network, hosted by
me Kyle McLachlin and created and produced by Full Picture
(34:50):
productionists Yay, featuring music by Yata and artwork by Danica Robinson.
For more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram
and TikTok at WAWED with Kyle. Please rate, review, and
subscribe to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
(35:12):
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation point
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ON DEMAND News
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com