January 1, 2021 • 35 mins
The rising pop star opens up about the relationship that inspired her first studio EP, a dreamy song cycle called ‘Minor.’ Abrams also goes deep on her vulnerable new single “Brush Fire,” her early songwriting efforts, and the virtual concert tour that’s taken her around the world without leaving her bedroom.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio.
I'm your host Joe Levy, So like a lot of us,
pretty much all of us. The guest on this episode
of the home edition of the show, Gracie Abrams, started
out with a totally different plan in mind. She had
(00:25):
moved from putting her music up on SoundCloud and then
Instagram and sometimes she was just sharing snippets, just pieces
of a song, to signing with a major label and
releasing her music that way. And she had lined up
shows in London, New York and Toronto to celebrate the
release of her first EP, which is called Minor and
which is full of hushed pop songs that deliver really
(00:46):
big feelings in a very quiet way. Except then and
Gracie ended up playing her first ever shows is live
streams from the same place that she had first started
making her music, which is her bedroom in Los Angeles.
You know, the home edition of Inside the Studio is
all about letting you know how the pandemic has impacted
the lives of artists, and Gracie told our Quarantine correspondent
(01:08):
Jordan Runtalk that she really wouldn't be writing songs like
her new single brush fire if COVID hadn't happened. She
also talked about how she first turned to songwriting because
she had lost her journal and she needed a way
to process things. Writing songs is how she figures out
her feelings and expresses them, and she talked about leaving home,
coming back there, and drawing power from once again being
in a room alone by herself, creating as always. If
(01:33):
you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out the
I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts, which is called
Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds, and which is available wherever you
get your podcasts. Hello everyone, My name is Jordan Runtalk.
But enough about me. My guest today was preparing for
her first ever concert tour in a coronavirus had other plans. Instead,
(01:58):
She's returned to her musical root, her bedroom, where she's
been thrilling fans across the globe with virtual concerts. It's
a fitting homecoming for an artist who first attracted listeners
with self produced songs shared online platforms. The fearlessly personal
lyrics were taken directly from the pages of her own diary.
Last summer, she unveiled her debut EP, Minor a deeply
(02:20):
vulnerable collection of songs that detail the emotional peaks and
valleys of romantic relationship. She says her latest single, brush Fire,
there's her way of closing the book on that tumultuous
chapter of her personal life, and she's looking ahead to
the future in a new year. I'm so happy to
welcome Gracie Abrams. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
It's really cool for me, So thank you well, first
(02:41):
and foremost, how you doing? I know if I feel
like every conversation I have lately has to have the
prerequisite like status check, how you feeling, feeling good, feeling grounded? Yeah, yeah,
hanging in. I'm really grateful to be with my family
um for the holidays, and and to just be home
together is like, despite the fact that that's been this
entire year, it feels a specially kind of comforting to
(03:01):
be able to have them give me close by this time. So, yeah,
how are you that, I'm good? I'm good, sort of
deal with the same thing, kind of We at our
first Thanksgiving without our family for the first time. So
cook the turkey first time, didn't set it on fire.
That's a plus. As far as I'm okay, that was
me too, exactly exactly where we were doing all right,
(03:23):
small small winds these days exactly. Yeah. Well, you have
a new song out in that brush Fire, and it
is absolutely exquisite. I mean the words are vulnerable and
brave and at times brutal. I want to ask you,
what does that song mean mean to you? Thank you? Um?
It felt like a book and song kind of for
what I released this year and having put out Minor,
(03:46):
which is like the first body of work that I've
ever made, and it was kind of about the same
theme in terms of like a different stages of a relationship,
and I feel like brush Fire leaves it kind of
a bit of a cliffhanger in terms of returning to
bad habits in a relationship and kind of like fueling
(04:07):
the fire of of like treating somebody else poorly and
then them doing the same to you. And it's just
kind of a bit of a cycle. But you really
do feel a kind of since your love, So it's
a challenging I just was trying to like leave it
on a note that I felt good about and and
you know, the Tobias Jesso Jr. And Blake slackin wom
(04:27):
I wrote the song that they're both like so unbelievable,
So to be able to work with with them made
it a really seamless process, and so I'm super grateful
for that. I'm a huge fan of Tobias is work.
I I love his contribution incredible. Yeah, do you feel much?
Fire sort of closes the chapter that that you had
written on on Minor in a way, Yeah, I think so.
(04:50):
I think, like I mean, it definitely sounds super different
from the rest of the music that I'm making right now,
which I'm relieved about because I wanted my to feel
like a foundation that was honest and super true to
the kind of music that I write when I'm alone,
which is just like super stripped back and it's like
(05:10):
guitar or piano and you know, the lyrics and that's it.
And I feel like I'm working now a little bit
differently in terms of of writing to track sometimes, and
that's just changing the way that I'm right. I'm just
really learning every single day, and I'm trying to step
outside of the little world that Minor was because I
(05:31):
would love to be somebody that can grow as they
like age. So I'm trying to like step outside my
incredible quote you gave recently where you said, I'm more
scared to put out a song, but I don't feel
as honest than put out a song that's oversharing. I
thought that was just such an incredible sentiment and a
really admirably high standard that I feel like an artist
should have. I just want to ask you more about that,
(05:52):
like why do you feel that way? The reason that
I love songwriting is because I like need it to
feel like saying and can died to myself and like
I it's just the way that I've always um processed
feelings and like I'm an introverted person, so I don't
necessarily shared like how I'm really doing with people in
(06:14):
my life all the time. And that's fine because I
have songwriting. But if I ever like contaminated that practice
by being dishonest, then I would be like fully betraying myself.
I feel like I don't know what I would like
really have if I weren't being like entirely transparent, And
(06:37):
I also like would feel shitty weird about like I
wouldn't know how to kind of like like look at
myself if I if I because you know when you're
not telling the truth, like it's you know, so I
you know, yeah, I mean, it's it's an incredible thing
to feel. I'm always fascinated by people who are able
to write songs, and I'm sort of blessed without ability.
(06:57):
At what point did they start thinking about other people?
When you sit down? Is it primarily to to get
a song out of you and get feelings out of you?
Or are you trying to connect with somebody else or
is it a mix above When I'm releasing music, you mean,
or when you're when you're writing it. At what point
in the creative process do you actually start thinking about, oh,
people are going to hear this, and do you adjust accordingly?
Or I never think about it. No, I don't think
(07:19):
about it. It was It's interesting because I I um,
because this is the first year that I've ever released
anything on like a streaming service. I am realized that
I don't really get the like a wave of emotion
when a song is being released. It's just when I've
finished writing it that I'm like feeling all the things.
(07:40):
And because because again, like it is a really it's
just such a personal thing for me, which I am
super grateful for um, they're definitely like I don't I
I don't ever read comments really because I because of
how personal it is, and I try to have thick
skin about everything owned me all the time. But like,
(08:02):
I don't know, I'm I I feel so excited when
I see that anyone is either listening or connecting to
the to the words. But um, I I don't think
I even have enough experience yet to really be able
to think about, like, how are people going to receive it? Weirdly,
(08:22):
because I've never I've never even played a show yet,
so I don't even know what that like in person
reception looks like. And and so I I'm sure my
like answer would change in a year after shows are
are up and running again hopefully, but um, you know,
we'll see. When did you first know that music was
a way that you wanted to express yourself and express
(08:42):
these feelings? What was you remember? Your first song? Yeah,
I mean it's so stupid, but I like I had
been journaling for really the first song that I ever
wrote was a result of losing my journal, which was
my like everything, and I had only my first instrument
was rock drums, So like, it's not even you can't
(09:05):
really write a song over that. But I like managed
and it was it was just like a pretty like brutal.
I was kind of like resorting to songwriting because I
lost what was incredibly important to me. So, yeah, what
about you started journaling in the first place. Is It's
always something I wish I was able to do, was
more disciplined than doing but I've never been able to
(09:27):
my Well, I I was kind of just like raised
around um like people who loved poetry and storytelling, and
I felt like someone that like I just wanted to
(09:47):
document my I don't know why. I just really wanted
to document my feelings I had. I think I liked
the drama of it. I think I liked feeling like
I had something secret, and I think um that once
I started doing it, it really became like a safe space.
And then that was kind of it. Like I still
I mean, like I do not like leave this anywhere
(10:11):
far away from me, Like it's always with me, and
it makes me feel safe and it makes me feel
like I have kind of like a touchstone of like
different chapters of my life. And it's the most useful
tool in my songwriting that I've found, so far besides
like referencing people that I am incredibly close to or
like have had you know, detailed conversations with about you know,
(10:32):
stuff that sticks out to me because I just I
just try to write everything down. What has it been
like working with producers on these recent Bastlord songs, with
songs that are so personal and it was that a
(10:53):
big adjustment from working on them sort of privately in
your room and putting them directly on on streaming platforms. Yeah. Originally, yes,
um for sure. When it was like before I before
I signed to Interscope, I was kind of when I
was sixteen, I was allowed to have like my first
meeting with um, you know, anyone from anywhere, and it
(11:15):
was my parents are like super protective, but a very
kind woman had reached out and I think they felt
safer because she was a woman and they were not
just like some like dude anyway, So I I had
a meeting and she kind of helped. Originally when I
was sixteen, hooked me up with like speed dating kind
of like trial with different producers, and that was weird.
(11:35):
But it also like interestingly, I didn't feel as strange
as it does now because I didn't know, kind of
like what I wanted to say as much as I
do today. So I didn't really feel like I was
entering every session with like the most extreme amount of vulnerability.
And I feel that way now, which is why I
(11:57):
feel really lucky to have kind of like met a
handful of people that I love and trust entirely, and
so it doesn't feel like there's a like they have
walls up um And at the same time, like if
I do feel scared for whatever reason to be vulnerable,
it's like the power that I feel I have is
(12:17):
to be able to be in my room alone and
write a song and then bring it in and I
don't feel like I'm working through the language and the
vocabulary in front of them, where I'm like there's a
you know, a clock running out and we have until
eight pm, and like I don't. I think it's like
the pressure to write is not something that I have
(12:42):
I've been familiar with until this year, just like being
signed to a label, knowing like what I need to
deliver and also wanting to never release anything that doesn't
feel true and honest. So it's like an interesting but
it also doesn't really take up too much space. I
feel really lucky to have such a supportive UM team
around me and everyone is I feel lucky to be
(13:04):
like working with them. So it's it's a it's a
cool situation. Yeah, Now that you sort of closed the
book on the on the minor chapter and process those emotions,
what themes are you looking to touch on in your
and your work that you're in the songs that you're
working on Now, I think that I would not have
been writing about the same stuff had COVID not happened, honestly, because, um,
(13:32):
I'm like, I've only really ever been used to writing
about what is in front of me, and like if
I'm meeting someone new or if I'm going to a
new place and kind of like experiencing things for the
first time in some capacity like that is has always
been attractive to me and kind of like writing about
first experiences and feelings. Um, But now, because of how
(13:57):
isolated we've all been and kind of like stuck in
one place, I've been thinking back to the year that
I lived in New York because that same year was
was when I had my first like like real breakup
and that's what miners about. But at the same time,
like in hindsight, as important as that event was, like
(14:22):
the year itself that I was there was filled with
so much more life than just like you know, being
sad at the end of the day and like you know,
journaling about how much you might miss someone or how
much you might hate them. It's like I met the
most amazing people that year. I like had kind of
my first experiences as as an adult, like not living
at home and feeling that freedom is such a specific thing.
(14:45):
And and so I'm kind of writing in with like
a sense of nostalgia that I, um, I'm only now,
like I think finally just barely old enough to be
able to feel nostalgic about something, and it's just that
city and and having had the opportunity to live there. Um,
so I'm kind of exploring that at the moment. It's
(15:09):
funny because I also went to school in New York
and leaving a a sort of more suburban area, and
I remember that that moment, and when you leave to
go to New York, you could come back home. It
could be three weeks later, and everything still feels so
different being back home. It's just this huge dividing point
(15:30):
in your life. And I know that sounds dramatic, but
I remember feeling that too immediately. No, exactly it is.
It's also interesting, like because I am I'm writing about
this a lot to you and kind of trying to
figure out how to say it because it is such
a strange thing. But like, I love school so much.
I never dropped out. I'm like technically on a leaf
about since, but I I love it and the fact
(15:53):
that like all of my best friends, all of my
peers for the most part, are still there and I'm
doing this thing that I love. But it is really different,
Like it's not there's not a day to day like
locked in schedule. It's like everything's up in the air,
and you know, touring could have been a reality this year,
but it will be next year, knock on wood, and
(16:14):
like that is a whole other, like kind of experience
that I can't necessarily like call my roommate from school
and like be like over, you know, tell me how
you got through that, because it's a new thing. I
don't know. I just like so, I'm I'm kind of
trying to figure out how to write about that, like separation,
and that's been a super emotional part of of like
(16:38):
doing music. At all in a great way and in
a hard way. But it's it's, um, yeah, it's fascinating.
And you're also at this moment on world tour, a
very different kind of world tour. I mean, you're in
a world tour in your bedroom. Tell me about how
that's going. How are these digital concerts going. It's like
the coolest thing I've ever done, I think because I
(16:59):
having or played a show, um, and also being introverted, uh,
and having like my entire like experience in terms of
sharing music with people. It's been on Instagram except you
know until this past year. But so I have like
or had the worst stage fright ever, like I was.
(17:20):
It made me yeah, yeah, like I thinking about it
when I was younger, because I would think about it
when I was writing songs in like middle school, in
high school and whatever. Like I would sometimes think about
it so hard that I would cry because it freaked
me out. I was like, I don't want this thing
to be the reason I can't pursue music, because it
was like so debilitating and weird. Um. And yet that
(17:43):
was clearly a spawn of like my crippling anxiety, like
not being able to even I was basing that fear
on nothing. But um so, these shows have been unbelievable
because it's like the most dream me version of like
a transition between playing stuff for no one in my
(18:03):
room and playing things on a stage for people. It's
like I am in my room, but I see their
faces and their live reactions and we're talking throughout the show,
and it's like crazy. It's like a really weird thing
that's like possible and like manageable and amazing. And so
I'm now just like revved up and excited for shows.
Um So, I can't believe that, like that's the thing
(18:26):
that we can do today. But it's amazing. Yeah, it
has to be so surreal being in the very place
in your bedroom where you would you know, write these
songs years ago. It must be so just that juxtaposition
of being sort of where it began and also performing
for people and being sort of where you want to be.
That must be really incredible. It's cool. It's like I
(18:49):
was nervous for the first like two or three shows,
and then I I kind of realized how comfortable I
was not because of like just the ability to like
sing in front of people, which was a new discovery.
But like I know so many of the faces that
(19:09):
were at these shows because of how many years I've
been interacting with a lot of these people all over
the place, and like that's a crazy thing in and
of itself, but like I feel like a really strong
sense of community with the people that for some reason
listen to my music. Like it's like it's a really
um special thing that like they've allowed me to have.
(19:32):
And especially during the pandemic, Like the most amount of
faces that I've seen at one time where have been
during these shows, Like and it feels it's like it's
really it's like serotonin. I'm like I can get through
the following month because I just got to have a
conversation with like a hundred fifty people and it was
(19:52):
weird and funny and like they're in Germany, but like
it was so fucking fun and like it was amazing.
It's just like the best. So I'm I love it
more than anything. Well music for you, it seems to
have always been I have this element of social media
to it, as you said, putting songs on Instagram and
also back in like SoundCloud. It wasn't just a way
to listen to music. It was a way to connect
(20:13):
and almost have a dialogue with the audience, how you
could comment on specific points in the song and SoundCloud
to tell me more about like just sort of the
funny blend of of social media and music for you, Well,
I mean it like is you said, but like yeah,
so I wasn't allowed to have social media in middle
school when everyone else was getting it for the first time,
(20:33):
and I felt, uh kind of like a bit of
an outsider obviously, being like in sixth grade and like
insecure already, and my uh just like I was, I
was using the internet to discover new music anyway, found
SoundCloud and and just like kind of went off there
and was one of the people that was commenting like
(20:55):
four times a song at like every section that made
me emotional, and then like reply to people's comments who
also felt the same. And so I was like really
interacting with people there. And then by the time I
got on Instagram, it was like just a really obvious
kind of like bridge. I was like I'm already posting,
you know, like this is like this is how I'm
(21:17):
I'm comfortable using the internet is to share music and
to to do it that way, and um, so it
felt it felt obvious to me and at the same time,
like it's an interesting instinct, I guess, to be able
to like hit a button and then walk away from
your computer and like not be scared, despite the fact
(21:39):
that like that lives forever versus like a live show,
you know, if people aren't documenting it is there for
you know, an hour and then never again. So I
don't know what my psychology is behind that, but um,
that's that's how I started posting stuff anywhere. Did you
ever use their comments to sort of refine your songs,
refine track lists or anything like that? Is it is
(22:00):
almost like a collaborative process. I wouldn't stay on I honestly,
I don't spend too much time on SoundCloud anymore. Sadly,
Like I think my because of like the community that
I've found on Instagram, Like I feel really personally connected
to all of them, um, and so I probably should
(22:22):
read comments elsewhere, but I definitely feel like a sense
of like it is a bit of a collaborative process
with strangers. It's cool being able to test out clips
of songs on Instagram too and see like how is
it received, even in like, you know, a hundred comments
like is this a song that I should finish and
release or is it only worth the thirty seconds that
(22:43):
I wrote? And then I'll leave it casually like it's
not a big deal. So that part is nice. Um,
but yeah, I mean I also like definitely reference the
people who listen to my music. They'll send me songs
a lot be like I think you might like this.
I think. So there's like even in that way, it's
like I can pull production elements from you know, references
that you know strangers send me, And that's amazing. Also,
(23:15):
who are some of your musical heroes when you were
in those days when you were first starting listening to SoundCloud?
Who are the voices that really got you through? Phoebe
Bridgers is like the one and she um her. When
I was thirteen, I found her stuff on SoundCloud and
like YouTube and um, the first piece of music I
(23:39):
ever posted to the Internet ever was a cover of
her song called Waiting Room and it I remember like
finding the cover photo that I ended up uploading like
from tumbler, Like it was like all of that like
I could not have like so so Phoebe yeah, yeah,
like she really she really like shaped a lot of
(24:01):
like what I started caring about in terms of she was.
She was the first artist that I listened to where
I was like, Okay, I think that I want to
be singing my own songs because until that point I
just loved songwriting. And I was like, I it's singing
is nice because I can hear these songs coming to life.
But like, I'm not a good like I can't do
(24:22):
that myself. And I was so scared of people, so
I was like, this isn't gonna work, um, but Phoebe
made it feel doable somehow, like just I was like,
your you are literally reading me your diary in these songs,
and so if you can do it, I can do it.
And and so I owe her a lot of like
weird confidence. But yeah, well so it's so it's so bizarre.
(24:47):
There's some like weird. I actually like I've known her
since I was thirteen because I went to a middle
high school and when I was in sixth grade, there
was like a senior or something at the school who
had seen that I posted that cover somehow, and he
was like, I know her. She comes through sometimes. So
I met her at school and then we've just like
(25:07):
we've known each other ever since then, and I don't
see her often at all, and she I'm I'm like,
I feel like I'm just still her biggest fan from Afar.
But you know, it's like she's like so supportive of
me and so kind and generous, and she doesn't need
to spend any of her time like even thinking that
I exist anymore, but like she's just really really she's
(25:28):
just like the greatest. She's like the best artist ever
and she's just like the best. You've got some great
feedback from that for some reason. But she, I mean,
every I I am just like I'm everyone's biggest fan.
So I don't nothing else makes sense to me. Just
(25:49):
I'm like, I just like stay in this room and
I like listen to music all day want. I mean
this as somebody like me who loves music with all
my heart and has never been able to write song,
and just the way that people do it it just
it still seems like magic even after all these years.
To me, you've been writing songs for what twelve ten
years now, a very long time. I know this is
(26:10):
probably a strange question, but what makes you a better songwriter?
How does that process work? Is it getting better at
articulating your feelings. Is it being able to come up
with more complex melodies? Is it just mastering song structures
and mechanics? Like what is it that to you feels
like how have you progressed? Do you feel? Um, I'm
actively trying to right now because because it is really
(26:34):
important to me that the music I released next does
feel like there's a bit of an evolution, Like I'm not,
you know, literally stuck in this room because I think,
um that like I could make another project that sounds
like minor because that's what really does come so naturally
to me, is like that kind of songwriting, that kind
(26:55):
of like production. I'm like, I can see this whole thing,
but I want to step out of that. And I
think what's been amazing, uh for me to watch is
specifically working with Blake Slatkin, who is my boyfriend but
like also works with so many different kinds of artists,
(27:19):
and he is like a sponge when he's in a
room with someone in like a really amazing way where
he's so hyper aware of of like intricacies that every
single time we get back in the studio together, he'll
like say one thing or play me one drum sound
(27:39):
from like a previous session that he had in the week,
and like it will it will like spark something that
if I hadn't heard that sound, I would not have
otherwise like written, So does that make sense? Like I
feel like I'm it's it's surrounding myself. Yeah, it's like
I mean it's just like I I think exposure two
(28:01):
music that you don't make is so important, and I
think that's just like what I found. Um, I'm like
really listening to people, like just like shutting your mouth
and like listening to the people that are around you,
or like listening to conversations that you might over hear
on the street and like and then of course like
just practice. But there are so many I feel like
(28:23):
there are methods in terms of like how many syllables
you should use, or like what like mouth sounds make
it easy for a song to like roll off the
tongue and then therefore be more catchy. And there's all
that stuff I am really less capable of, Like like
those details are less obvious to me. I think, like
as someone who is not touching all the buttons when
(28:46):
we're producing, it's like I'm thinking more about like what's
the feeling what do I want to feel at the
end of the song? Like, what am I feeling right now?
I'm like, that's where my head is mostly, but I'm
trying to like step out of that a little bit
because I think I have to in order to get better.
Something I've noticed with a lot of writers, either songwriters
or novelists or pretty much anyone who writes, is they
(29:09):
almost have a hard time shutting the camera off in
a way that there's sort of they could be going
through the most you know, being broken up within that
very moment, and there's still a part of them in
the back of their mind that's thinking, oh, wait, this
is going to make a really great song, a really
great do you find yourself almost having a hard time
being present because there's that little piece of you in
the back that's recording at all sometimes and that like sucks,
(29:34):
like that can like that looks like that's like exhausting
because I think, um, I think, like you want to
be able to do both things and I don't think
I like live there all the time, but for sure
like and also that's what like, it's more so annoying
when the people in your life if you're like saying
(29:55):
this day was hard or like this person made me
feel x y Z for like a friend or a
family member, but like that's going to be a great song,
you know what I mean. It's like yeah, or it
just sucks. Yeah, so but you know, I think it's
like it kind of goes, it goes both ways. What
does one look like for you? Right now? I'm writing
(30:19):
my album right now, which feels different and like exciting, genuinely,
like for the first time, like the past month, it's
finally started to feel exciting because I was struggling to
right for a lot of quarantine, which was also like
(30:40):
stressing me out and making me feel like I actually
I don't really know how to do anything, like it
was a very weirdly like in terms of writing, like
a debilitating year. Um, and I still don't know exactly why,
but obviously just like based on circumstance, like A is
different right now. So I've started to become more patient
(31:03):
with myself in that way. And as I've done that,
the songs have actually started to come. So I'm relieved
and they'refore excited and um, if everything goes to plan
and if people stay safe and if we as a country,
like get our Ship Together tour will be a thing. Um,
(31:25):
not just here but in I think May, I'm supposed
to be in Europe, which would be amazing, and um,
I just I don't know. I'm like, I just am stoked.
I was feeling super kind of stressed about a lot
of unnecessary things a month ago, and having had the
(31:50):
opportunity to release brush Fire at the end of this
year made me feel like almost like I could reflect
on on the music that I that I released and
wrote this year and made me excited and like motivated
to move forward. And I for a moment was not
feeling that way. So I just feel very like overwhelming
(32:12):
sense of gratitude and uh and I yeah, I mean
more than anything. I hope that everyone's just safe next year,
but well, we'll see what happens. Learning to be good
to yourself in times like this and accepting that, you know,
the the anxiety and just everything else that surrounds us
is I think something I think everybody's working on. It's
(32:32):
be like, Okay, today today I'm not feeling that, but
you know what tomorrow could be better exactly. Yeah, fully,
it's such a day by day thank for everyone and
especially considering like all of our experiences this year are
so so are there it's they're as wildly different as
we all are as people, based on our backgrounds and
(32:55):
what we have access to or don't. And so I think,
like more than it really is, I just feel I
feel so um lucky for absolutely everything um and and
excited and hopeful that like all of us like as
people will will continue to support each other because there's
(33:18):
there's a lot of kindness that exists, but like I
just hope that we can like lean on that. And
and my my last question, if you could snaff your
fingers and have everything go back to I'll say normal
and quotes whatever your definition of normal is this time
last year, Say what would be the first thing that
(33:40):
you would do? Places you'd go, people you'd hug, things
you'd do. I um, I it's such a like the
specific like personal one. But my mom's whole family is
from Maine, and um, that is like a really important
place for me, like being in in the woods and
(34:00):
by the water. UM. Feeling that connected to to like
nature every year of my life like has been something
that I feel like, um really like actually for writing
is like a really helpful thing for my head and
getting out of l a which um I love but
(34:21):
like can feel like really exhausting and kind of loud.
Um And so I wish I or I would go
there if I could snap, I would just go there alone,
frankly and and and be like in the trees um
and you know, hug my cousins and all the things.
(34:43):
But fingers crossed that happened. Really, I'm a New England
boy myself. I totally get it. Oh are you? Where
are you from? I'm from about an hour west of Boston,
a little town called so Jealous and so jealous helping
me get there so hopefully, yeah, I hope, I hope
for you. Oh yeah, exactly. Gracie, thank you so much
for your time today, your music. You're the best. Thank
(35:05):
you very much, thank you, thank you for everything. Thank
you for having me. Inside the Studio is a production
of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
check out the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(35:27):
wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio.
I'm your host Joe Levy, So like a lot of us,
pretty much all of us. The guest on this episode
of the home edition of the show, Gracie Abrams, started
out with a totally different plan in mind. She had
(00:25):
moved from putting her music up on SoundCloud and then
Instagram and sometimes she was just sharing snippets, just pieces
of a song, to signing with a major label and
releasing her music that way. And she had lined up
shows in London, New York and Toronto to celebrate the
release of her first EP, which is called Minor and
which is full of hushed pop songs that deliver really
(00:46):
big feelings in a very quiet way. Except then and
Gracie ended up playing her first ever shows is live
streams from the same place that she had first started
making her music, which is her bedroom in Los Angeles.
You know, the home edition of Inside the Studio is
all about letting you know how the pandemic has impacted
the lives of artists, and Gracie told our Quarantine correspondent
(01:08):
Jordan Runtalk that she really wouldn't be writing songs like
her new single brush fire if COVID hadn't happened. She
also talked about how she first turned to songwriting because
she had lost her journal and she needed a way
to process things. Writing songs is how she figures out
her feelings and expresses them, and she talked about leaving home,
coming back there, and drawing power from once again being
in a room alone by herself, creating as always. If
(01:33):
you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out the
I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts, which is called
Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds, and which is available wherever you
get your podcasts. Hello everyone, My name is Jordan Runtalk.
But enough about me. My guest today was preparing for
her first ever concert tour in a coronavirus had other plans. Instead,
(01:58):
She's returned to her musical root, her bedroom, where she's
been thrilling fans across the globe with virtual concerts. It's
a fitting homecoming for an artist who first attracted listeners
with self produced songs shared online platforms. The fearlessly personal
lyrics were taken directly from the pages of her own diary.
Last summer, she unveiled her debut EP, Minor a deeply
(02:20):
vulnerable collection of songs that detail the emotional peaks and
valleys of romantic relationship. She says her latest single, brush Fire,
there's her way of closing the book on that tumultuous
chapter of her personal life, and she's looking ahead to
the future in a new year. I'm so happy to
welcome Gracie Abrams. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
It's really cool for me, So thank you well, first
(02:41):
and foremost, how you doing? I know if I feel
like every conversation I have lately has to have the
prerequisite like status check, how you feeling, feeling good, feeling grounded? Yeah, yeah,
hanging in. I'm really grateful to be with my family
um for the holidays, and and to just be home
together is like, despite the fact that that's been this
entire year, it feels a specially kind of comforting to
(03:01):
be able to have them give me close by this time. So, yeah,
how are you that, I'm good? I'm good, sort of
deal with the same thing, kind of We at our
first Thanksgiving without our family for the first time. So
cook the turkey first time, didn't set it on fire.
That's a plus. As far as I'm okay, that was
me too, exactly exactly where we were doing all right,
(03:23):
small small winds these days exactly. Yeah. Well, you have
a new song out in that brush Fire, and it
is absolutely exquisite. I mean the words are vulnerable and
brave and at times brutal. I want to ask you,
what does that song mean mean to you? Thank you? Um?
It felt like a book and song kind of for
what I released this year and having put out Minor,
(03:46):
which is like the first body of work that I've
ever made, and it was kind of about the same
theme in terms of like a different stages of a relationship,
and I feel like brush Fire leaves it kind of
a bit of a cliffhanger in terms of returning to
bad habits in a relationship and kind of like fueling
(04:07):
the fire of of like treating somebody else poorly and
then them doing the same to you. And it's just
kind of a bit of a cycle. But you really
do feel a kind of since your love, So it's
a challenging I just was trying to like leave it
on a note that I felt good about and and
you know, the Tobias Jesso Jr. And Blake slackin wom
(04:27):
I wrote the song that they're both like so unbelievable,
So to be able to work with with them made
it a really seamless process, and so I'm super grateful
for that. I'm a huge fan of Tobias is work.
I I love his contribution incredible. Yeah, do you feel much?
Fire sort of closes the chapter that that you had
written on on Minor in a way, Yeah, I think so.
(04:50):
I think, like I mean, it definitely sounds super different
from the rest of the music that I'm making right now,
which I'm relieved about because I wanted my to feel
like a foundation that was honest and super true to
the kind of music that I write when I'm alone,
which is just like super stripped back and it's like
(05:10):
guitar or piano and you know, the lyrics and that's it.
And I feel like I'm working now a little bit
differently in terms of of writing to track sometimes, and
that's just changing the way that I'm right. I'm just
really learning every single day, and I'm trying to step
outside of the little world that Minor was because I
(05:31):
would love to be somebody that can grow as they
like age. So I'm trying to like step outside my
incredible quote you gave recently where you said, I'm more
scared to put out a song, but I don't feel
as honest than put out a song that's oversharing. I
thought that was just such an incredible sentiment and a
really admirably high standard that I feel like an artist
should have. I just want to ask you more about that,
(05:52):
like why do you feel that way? The reason that
I love songwriting is because I like need it to
feel like saying and can died to myself and like
I it's just the way that I've always um processed
feelings and like I'm an introverted person, so I don't
necessarily shared like how I'm really doing with people in
(06:14):
my life all the time. And that's fine because I
have songwriting. But if I ever like contaminated that practice
by being dishonest, then I would be like fully betraying myself.
I feel like I don't know what I would like
really have if I weren't being like entirely transparent, And
(06:37):
I also like would feel shitty weird about like I
wouldn't know how to kind of like like look at
myself if I if I because you know when you're
not telling the truth, like it's you know, so I
you know, yeah, I mean, it's it's an incredible thing
to feel. I'm always fascinated by people who are able
to write songs, and I'm sort of blessed without ability.
(06:57):
At what point did they start thinking about other people?
When you sit down? Is it primarily to to get
a song out of you and get feelings out of you?
Or are you trying to connect with somebody else or
is it a mix above When I'm releasing music, you mean,
or when you're when you're writing it. At what point
in the creative process do you actually start thinking about, oh,
people are going to hear this, and do you adjust accordingly?
Or I never think about it. No, I don't think
(07:19):
about it. It was It's interesting because I I um,
because this is the first year that I've ever released
anything on like a streaming service. I am realized that
I don't really get the like a wave of emotion
when a song is being released. It's just when I've
finished writing it that I'm like feeling all the things.
(07:40):
And because because again, like it is a really it's
just such a personal thing for me, which I am
super grateful for um, they're definitely like I don't I
I don't ever read comments really because I because of
how personal it is, and I try to have thick
skin about everything owned me all the time. But like,
(08:02):
I don't know, I'm I I feel so excited when
I see that anyone is either listening or connecting to
the to the words. But um, I I don't think
I even have enough experience yet to really be able
to think about, like, how are people going to receive it? Weirdly,
(08:22):
because I've never I've never even played a show yet,
so I don't even know what that like in person
reception looks like. And and so I I'm sure my
like answer would change in a year after shows are
are up and running again hopefully, but um, you know,
we'll see. When did you first know that music was
a way that you wanted to express yourself and express
(08:42):
these feelings? What was you remember? Your first song? Yeah,
I mean it's so stupid, but I like I had
been journaling for really the first song that I ever
wrote was a result of losing my journal, which was
my like everything, and I had only my first instrument
was rock drums, So like, it's not even you can't
(09:05):
really write a song over that. But I like managed
and it was it was just like a pretty like brutal.
I was kind of like resorting to songwriting because I
lost what was incredibly important to me. So, yeah, what
about you started journaling in the first place. Is It's
always something I wish I was able to do, was
more disciplined than doing but I've never been able to
(09:27):
my Well, I I was kind of just like raised
around um like people who loved poetry and storytelling, and
I felt like someone that like I just wanted to
(09:47):
document my I don't know why. I just really wanted
to document my feelings I had. I think I liked
the drama of it. I think I liked feeling like
I had something secret, and I think um that once
I started doing it, it really became like a safe space.
And then that was kind of it. Like I still
I mean, like I do not like leave this anywhere
(10:11):
far away from me, Like it's always with me, and
it makes me feel safe and it makes me feel
like I have kind of like a touchstone of like
different chapters of my life. And it's the most useful
tool in my songwriting that I've found, so far besides
like referencing people that I am incredibly close to or
like have had you know, detailed conversations with about you know,
(10:32):
stuff that sticks out to me because I just I
just try to write everything down. What has it been
like working with producers on these recent Bastlord songs, with
songs that are so personal and it was that a
(10:53):
big adjustment from working on them sort of privately in
your room and putting them directly on on streaming platforms. Yeah. Originally, yes,
um for sure. When it was like before I before
I signed to Interscope, I was kind of when I
was sixteen, I was allowed to have like my first
meeting with um, you know, anyone from anywhere, and it
(11:15):
was my parents are like super protective, but a very
kind woman had reached out and I think they felt
safer because she was a woman and they were not
just like some like dude anyway, So I I had
a meeting and she kind of helped. Originally when I
was sixteen, hooked me up with like speed dating kind
of like trial with different producers, and that was weird.
(11:35):
But it also like interestingly, I didn't feel as strange
as it does now because I didn't know, kind of
like what I wanted to say as much as I
do today. So I didn't really feel like I was
entering every session with like the most extreme amount of vulnerability.
And I feel that way now, which is why I
(11:57):
feel really lucky to have kind of like met a
handful of people that I love and trust entirely, and
so it doesn't feel like there's a like they have
walls up um And at the same time, like if
I do feel scared for whatever reason to be vulnerable,
it's like the power that I feel I have is
(12:17):
to be able to be in my room alone and
write a song and then bring it in and I
don't feel like I'm working through the language and the
vocabulary in front of them, where I'm like there's a
you know, a clock running out and we have until
eight pm, and like I don't. I think it's like
the pressure to write is not something that I have
(12:42):
I've been familiar with until this year, just like being
signed to a label, knowing like what I need to
deliver and also wanting to never release anything that doesn't
feel true and honest. So it's like an interesting but
it also doesn't really take up too much space. I
feel really lucky to have such a supportive UM team
around me and everyone is I feel lucky to be
(13:04):
like working with them. So it's it's a it's a
cool situation. Yeah, Now that you sort of closed the
book on the on the minor chapter and process those emotions,
what themes are you looking to touch on in your
and your work that you're in the songs that you're
working on Now, I think that I would not have
been writing about the same stuff had COVID not happened, honestly, because, um,
(13:32):
I'm like, I've only really ever been used to writing
about what is in front of me, and like if
I'm meeting someone new or if I'm going to a
new place and kind of like experiencing things for the
first time in some capacity like that is has always
been attractive to me and kind of like writing about
first experiences and feelings. Um, But now, because of how
(13:57):
isolated we've all been and kind of like stuck in
one place, I've been thinking back to the year that
I lived in New York because that same year was
was when I had my first like like real breakup
and that's what miners about. But at the same time,
like in hindsight, as important as that event was, like
(14:22):
the year itself that I was there was filled with
so much more life than just like you know, being
sad at the end of the day and like you know,
journaling about how much you might miss someone or how
much you might hate them. It's like I met the
most amazing people that year. I like had kind of
my first experiences as as an adult, like not living
at home and feeling that freedom is such a specific thing.
(14:45):
And and so I'm kind of writing in with like
a sense of nostalgia that I, um, I'm only now,
like I think finally just barely old enough to be
able to feel nostalgic about something, and it's just that
city and and having had the opportunity to live there. Um,
so I'm kind of exploring that at the moment. It's
(15:09):
funny because I also went to school in New York
and leaving a a sort of more suburban area, and
I remember that that moment, and when you leave to
go to New York, you could come back home. It
could be three weeks later, and everything still feels so
different being back home. It's just this huge dividing point
(15:30):
in your life. And I know that sounds dramatic, but
I remember feeling that too immediately. No, exactly it is.
It's also interesting, like because I am I'm writing about
this a lot to you and kind of trying to
figure out how to say it because it is such
a strange thing. But like, I love school so much.
I never dropped out. I'm like technically on a leaf
about since, but I I love it and the fact
(15:53):
that like all of my best friends, all of my
peers for the most part, are still there and I'm
doing this thing that I love. But it is really different,
Like it's not there's not a day to day like
locked in schedule. It's like everything's up in the air,
and you know, touring could have been a reality this year,
but it will be next year, knock on wood, and
(16:14):
like that is a whole other, like kind of experience
that I can't necessarily like call my roommate from school
and like be like over, you know, tell me how
you got through that, because it's a new thing. I
don't know. I just like so, I'm I'm kind of
trying to figure out how to write about that, like separation,
and that's been a super emotional part of of like
(16:38):
doing music. At all in a great way and in
a hard way. But it's it's, um, yeah, it's fascinating.
And you're also at this moment on world tour, a
very different kind of world tour. I mean, you're in
a world tour in your bedroom. Tell me about how
that's going. How are these digital concerts going. It's like
the coolest thing I've ever done, I think because I
(16:59):
having or played a show, um, and also being introverted, uh,
and having like my entire like experience in terms of
sharing music with people. It's been on Instagram except you
know until this past year. But so I have like
or had the worst stage fright ever, like I was.
(17:20):
It made me yeah, yeah, like I thinking about it
when I was younger, because I would think about it
when I was writing songs in like middle school, in
high school and whatever. Like I would sometimes think about
it so hard that I would cry because it freaked
me out. I was like, I don't want this thing
to be the reason I can't pursue music, because it
was like so debilitating and weird. Um. And yet that
(17:43):
was clearly a spawn of like my crippling anxiety, like
not being able to even I was basing that fear
on nothing. But um so, these shows have been unbelievable
because it's like the most dream me version of like
a transition between playing stuff for no one in my
(18:03):
room and playing things on a stage for people. It's
like I am in my room, but I see their
faces and their live reactions and we're talking throughout the show,
and it's like crazy. It's like a really weird thing
that's like possible and like manageable and amazing. And so
I'm now just like revved up and excited for shows.
Um So, I can't believe that, like that's the thing
(18:26):
that we can do today. But it's amazing. Yeah, it
has to be so surreal being in the very place
in your bedroom where you would you know, write these
songs years ago. It must be so just that juxtaposition
of being sort of where it began and also performing
for people and being sort of where you want to be.
That must be really incredible. It's cool. It's like I
(18:49):
was nervous for the first like two or three shows,
and then I I kind of realized how comfortable I
was not because of like just the ability to like
sing in front of people, which was a new discovery.
But like I know so many of the faces that
(19:09):
were at these shows because of how many years I've
been interacting with a lot of these people all over
the place, and like that's a crazy thing in and
of itself, but like I feel like a really strong
sense of community with the people that for some reason
listen to my music. Like it's like it's a really
um special thing that like they've allowed me to have.
(19:32):
And especially during the pandemic, Like the most amount of
faces that I've seen at one time where have been
during these shows, Like and it feels it's like it's
really it's like serotonin. I'm like I can get through
the following month because I just got to have a
conversation with like a hundred fifty people and it was
(19:52):
weird and funny and like they're in Germany, but like
it was so fucking fun and like it was amazing.
It's just like the best. So I'm I love it
more than anything. Well music for you, it seems to
have always been I have this element of social media
to it, as you said, putting songs on Instagram and
also back in like SoundCloud. It wasn't just a way
to listen to music. It was a way to connect
(20:13):
and almost have a dialogue with the audience, how you
could comment on specific points in the song and SoundCloud
to tell me more about like just sort of the
funny blend of of social media and music for you, Well,
I mean it like is you said, but like yeah,
so I wasn't allowed to have social media in middle
school when everyone else was getting it for the first time,
(20:33):
and I felt, uh kind of like a bit of
an outsider obviously, being like in sixth grade and like
insecure already, and my uh just like I was, I
was using the internet to discover new music anyway, found
SoundCloud and and just like kind of went off there
and was one of the people that was commenting like
(20:55):
four times a song at like every section that made
me emotional, and then like reply to people's comments who
also felt the same. And so I was like really
interacting with people there. And then by the time I
got on Instagram, it was like just a really obvious
kind of like bridge. I was like I'm already posting,
you know, like this is like this is how I'm
(21:17):
I'm comfortable using the internet is to share music and
to to do it that way, and um, so it
felt it felt obvious to me and at the same time,
like it's an interesting instinct, I guess, to be able
to like hit a button and then walk away from
your computer and like not be scared, despite the fact
(21:39):
that like that lives forever versus like a live show,
you know, if people aren't documenting it is there for
you know, an hour and then never again. So I
don't know what my psychology is behind that, but um,
that's that's how I started posting stuff anywhere. Did you
ever use their comments to sort of refine your songs,
refine track lists or anything like that? Is it is
(22:00):
almost like a collaborative process. I wouldn't stay on I honestly,
I don't spend too much time on SoundCloud anymore. Sadly,
Like I think my because of like the community that
I've found on Instagram, Like I feel really personally connected
to all of them, um, and so I probably should
(22:22):
read comments elsewhere, but I definitely feel like a sense
of like it is a bit of a collaborative process
with strangers. It's cool being able to test out clips
of songs on Instagram too and see like how is
it received, even in like, you know, a hundred comments
like is this a song that I should finish and
release or is it only worth the thirty seconds that
(22:43):
I wrote? And then I'll leave it casually like it's
not a big deal. So that part is nice. Um,
but yeah, I mean I also like definitely reference the
people who listen to my music. They'll send me songs
a lot be like I think you might like this.
I think. So there's like even in that way, it's
like I can pull production elements from you know, references
that you know strangers send me, And that's amazing. Also,
(23:15):
who are some of your musical heroes when you were
in those days when you were first starting listening to SoundCloud?
Who are the voices that really got you through? Phoebe
Bridgers is like the one and she um her. When
I was thirteen, I found her stuff on SoundCloud and
like YouTube and um, the first piece of music I
(23:39):
ever posted to the Internet ever was a cover of
her song called Waiting Room and it I remember like
finding the cover photo that I ended up uploading like
from tumbler, Like it was like all of that like
I could not have like so so Phoebe yeah, yeah,
like she really she really like shaped a lot of
(24:01):
like what I started caring about in terms of she was.
She was the first artist that I listened to where
I was like, Okay, I think that I want to
be singing my own songs because until that point I
just loved songwriting. And I was like, I it's singing
is nice because I can hear these songs coming to life.
But like, I'm not a good like I can't do
(24:22):
that myself. And I was so scared of people, so
I was like, this isn't gonna work, um, but Phoebe
made it feel doable somehow, like just I was like,
your you are literally reading me your diary in these songs,
and so if you can do it, I can do it.
And and so I owe her a lot of like
weird confidence. But yeah, well so it's so it's so bizarre.
(24:47):
There's some like weird. I actually like I've known her
since I was thirteen because I went to a middle
high school and when I was in sixth grade, there
was like a senior or something at the school who
had seen that I posted that cover somehow, and he
was like, I know her. She comes through sometimes. So
I met her at school and then we've just like
(25:07):
we've known each other ever since then, and I don't
see her often at all, and she I'm I'm like,
I feel like I'm just still her biggest fan from Afar.
But you know, it's like she's like so supportive of
me and so kind and generous, and she doesn't need
to spend any of her time like even thinking that
I exist anymore, but like she's just really really she's
(25:28):
just like the greatest. She's like the best artist ever
and she's just like the best. You've got some great
feedback from that for some reason. But she, I mean,
every I I am just like I'm everyone's biggest fan.
So I don't nothing else makes sense to me. Just
(25:49):
I'm like, I just like stay in this room and
I like listen to music all day want. I mean
this as somebody like me who loves music with all
my heart and has never been able to write song,
and just the way that people do it it just
it still seems like magic even after all these years.
To me, you've been writing songs for what twelve ten
years now, a very long time. I know this is
(26:10):
probably a strange question, but what makes you a better songwriter?
How does that process work? Is it getting better at
articulating your feelings. Is it being able to come up
with more complex melodies? Is it just mastering song structures
and mechanics? Like what is it that to you feels
like how have you progressed? Do you feel? Um, I'm
actively trying to right now because because it is really
(26:34):
important to me that the music I released next does
feel like there's a bit of an evolution, Like I'm not,
you know, literally stuck in this room because I think,
um that like I could make another project that sounds
like minor because that's what really does come so naturally
to me, is like that kind of songwriting, that kind
(26:55):
of like production. I'm like, I can see this whole thing,
but I want to step out of that. And I
think what's been amazing, uh for me to watch is
specifically working with Blake Slatkin, who is my boyfriend but
like also works with so many different kinds of artists,
(27:19):
and he is like a sponge when he's in a
room with someone in like a really amazing way where
he's so hyper aware of of like intricacies that every
single time we get back in the studio together, he'll
like say one thing or play me one drum sound
(27:39):
from like a previous session that he had in the week,
and like it will it will like spark something that
if I hadn't heard that sound, I would not have
otherwise like written, So does that make sense? Like I
feel like I'm it's it's surrounding myself. Yeah, it's like
I mean it's just like I I think exposure two
(28:01):
music that you don't make is so important, and I
think that's just like what I found. Um, I'm like
really listening to people, like just like shutting your mouth
and like listening to the people that are around you,
or like listening to conversations that you might over hear
on the street and like and then of course like
just practice. But there are so many I feel like
(28:23):
there are methods in terms of like how many syllables
you should use, or like what like mouth sounds make
it easy for a song to like roll off the
tongue and then therefore be more catchy. And there's all
that stuff I am really less capable of, Like like
those details are less obvious to me. I think, like
as someone who is not touching all the buttons when
(28:46):
we're producing, it's like I'm thinking more about like what's
the feeling what do I want to feel at the
end of the song? Like, what am I feeling right now?
I'm like, that's where my head is mostly, but I'm
trying to like step out of that a little bit
because I think I have to in order to get better.
Something I've noticed with a lot of writers, either songwriters
or novelists or pretty much anyone who writes, is they
(29:09):
almost have a hard time shutting the camera off in
a way that there's sort of they could be going
through the most you know, being broken up within that
very moment, and there's still a part of them in
the back of their mind that's thinking, oh, wait, this
is going to make a really great song, a really
great do you find yourself almost having a hard time
being present because there's that little piece of you in
the back that's recording at all sometimes and that like sucks,
(29:34):
like that can like that looks like that's like exhausting
because I think, um, I think, like you want to
be able to do both things and I don't think
I like live there all the time, but for sure
like and also that's what like, it's more so annoying
when the people in your life if you're like saying
(29:55):
this day was hard or like this person made me
feel x y Z for like a friend or a
family member, but like that's going to be a great song,
you know what I mean. It's like yeah, or it
just sucks. Yeah, so but you know, I think it's
like it kind of goes, it goes both ways. What
does one look like for you? Right now? I'm writing
(30:19):
my album right now, which feels different and like exciting, genuinely,
like for the first time, like the past month, it's
finally started to feel exciting because I was struggling to
right for a lot of quarantine, which was also like
(30:40):
stressing me out and making me feel like I actually
I don't really know how to do anything, like it
was a very weirdly like in terms of writing, like
a debilitating year. Um, and I still don't know exactly why,
but obviously just like based on circumstance, like A is
different right now. So I've started to become more patient
(31:03):
with myself in that way. And as I've done that,
the songs have actually started to come. So I'm relieved
and they'refore excited and um, if everything goes to plan
and if people stay safe and if we as a country,
like get our Ship Together tour will be a thing. Um,
(31:25):
not just here but in I think May, I'm supposed
to be in Europe, which would be amazing, and um,
I just I don't know. I'm like, I just am stoked.
I was feeling super kind of stressed about a lot
of unnecessary things a month ago, and having had the
(31:50):
opportunity to release brush Fire at the end of this
year made me feel like almost like I could reflect
on on the music that I that I released and
wrote this year and made me excited and like motivated
to move forward. And I for a moment was not
feeling that way. So I just feel very like overwhelming
(32:12):
sense of gratitude and uh and I yeah, I mean
more than anything. I hope that everyone's just safe next year,
but well, we'll see what happens. Learning to be good
to yourself in times like this and accepting that, you know,
the the anxiety and just everything else that surrounds us
is I think something I think everybody's working on. It's
(32:32):
be like, Okay, today today I'm not feeling that, but
you know what tomorrow could be better exactly. Yeah, fully,
it's such a day by day thank for everyone and
especially considering like all of our experiences this year are
so so are there it's they're as wildly different as
we all are as people, based on our backgrounds and
(32:55):
what we have access to or don't. And so I think,
like more than it really is, I just feel I
feel so um lucky for absolutely everything um and and
excited and hopeful that like all of us like as
people will will continue to support each other because there's
(33:18):
there's a lot of kindness that exists, but like I
just hope that we can like lean on that. And
and my my last question, if you could snaff your
fingers and have everything go back to I'll say normal
and quotes whatever your definition of normal is this time
last year, Say what would be the first thing that
(33:40):
you would do? Places you'd go, people you'd hug, things
you'd do. I um, I it's such a like the
specific like personal one. But my mom's whole family is
from Maine, and um, that is like a really important
place for me, like being in in the woods and
(34:00):
by the water. UM. Feeling that connected to to like
nature every year of my life like has been something
that I feel like, um really like actually for writing
is like a really helpful thing for my head and
getting out of l a which um I love but
(34:21):
like can feel like really exhausting and kind of loud.
Um And so I wish I or I would go
there if I could snap, I would just go there alone,
frankly and and and be like in the trees um
and you know, hug my cousins and all the things.
(34:43):
But fingers crossed that happened. Really, I'm a New England
boy myself. I totally get it. Oh are you? Where
are you from? I'm from about an hour west of Boston,
a little town called so Jealous and so jealous helping
me get there so hopefully, yeah, I hope, I hope
for you. Oh yeah, exactly. Gracie, thank you so much
for your time today, your music. You're the best. Thank
(35:05):
you very much, thank you, thank you for everything. Thank
you for having me. Inside the Studio is a production
of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
check out the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(35:27):
wherever you get your podcasts.
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