September 30, 2025 • 21 mins
In this episode of "Takin a Walk," host Buzz Knight welcomes back singer-songwriter Amanda Shires to discuss her new album, "Nobody’s Girl". Amanda opens up about channeling personal challenges, including her divorce, into her songwriting and creative process. She shares stories about collaborating with producer Lawrence Rothman, finding inspiration in literature and music, and embracing vulnerability in her art. With humor and honesty, Amanda reflects on resilience, trying new things (like jujitsu), and her excitement for touring again, offering listeners an intimate look at her journey and the making of her most personal album yet.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of her acclaimed albums or discovering her artistry for the first time, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the mind of one of Americana’s most compelling voices.
Featured Topics:
• Amanda’s new music and latest songwriting inspiration
• The pain of loss
• Life in Nashville’s music scene
• Balancing family life with touring
• Creativity
• Her resilience
• Mental health, authenticity, and artistic growth
Guest Bio
Amanda Shires is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, violinist, and poet whose fearless artistry has established her as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Americana. A founding member of the supergroup The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby, Shires has released several critically acclaimed solo albums including “To the Sunset” and “Take It Like a Man.” Born in Texas and now based in Nashville, Shires continues to push boundaries with her honest songwriting and masterful violin playing.
Special thanks for the support of Claude. Try Claude for free by going to Claude.ai/buzz
Support the show: https://musicsavedme.net/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And it's not like I choose to be vulnerable or
a person that tends to really answer the question when
you say how are you? I know I should probably
like sometimes say I'm doing great. Let's keep walking.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome back to Taking a Walk. I'm Buzz's night and
we're thrilled to have Amanda Shiers join us once again.
I'm so excited. Amanda's journey since her last visit has
been deeply personal and transformative, culminating in her powerful new album,
Nobody's Girl. Known for her heartfelt storytelling and musical vulnerability,
(00:35):
Amanda opens up about the challenges and growth following her divorce,
weaving those experiences into songs that promise both raw honesty
and hope. Stay tuned as we walk through the stories
behind this compelling new chapter with a cherished guest who
never fails to inspire. Taking a Walk. Hi, Amanda, that's
(01:01):
so nice to see you again.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It's nice to be seen.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
And welcome to taking a Walk. You know, since we
last did our episode, I asked this opening question, so
you're not going to get away with avoiding it. The
question is, since we call the podcast Taking a Walk,
is there somebody living or dead that you would like
(01:27):
to take a walk with and where would you take
that walk with them?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Okay, I would take a walk, I know, I said
Leonard Cohen last time. I can't say the same one.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, I don't know why you could not say that.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I'd take it. I'd take a walk with James Joyce
and complain about you know, some Ulysses and Finnegan's wake
a little and see what the response would be.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Complain. Yeah, what do you think you would? What would
he say?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I have no earthly idea.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's why you would take it right.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Exactly exactly. Maybe we would do the whole walk in
Ireland even.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh, that's magical. I think you guys would would have
a good conversation.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, we'd probably leave either after a fistfight and or
you know, after a fist fight, then a beer or
a pint or something.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Congratulations on the new album, Nobody's Girl. It's described as
your most personal work to date, even though I feel
like all of your work is deeply personal. What inspired
you to take this direction and how did that writing
process for you unfold for this time?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Well, I think I'm inspired by kind of what I'm
always inspired by what's going on in my life. But
I wouldn't call it inspiration is as much as needing
to work through the storms in my life at the time,
And the process was just the same as a process
(03:11):
as it is when you're like not writing songs when
you're in the middle of ruin and trying to figure
out how to take what pieces persist and go forward.
And so in doing that, then in the time that
it takes and the thinking that it takes and the
reflection that it takes, I think there are a lot
(03:33):
of emotions that come with that, and a lot of
feelings and a lot of instances where I try I
was trying to work through and process my grief for
my life through writing about it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
And would you take breaks during that period, would you,
you know, steamroll through a song and then take a
deep breath, start painting, or do other things to creatively released.
I mean, what what is your sort of workflow process?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, that's that's an interesting question. The workflow is I'm
kind of a slow writer because well that's just because
that's how I am. I write slow, and I edit
and I revise, and occasionally I'll write something fast. But
sometimes when there's not enough words to describe what you're
going through. That's when I take it out on the canvas.
(04:28):
I feel like that. That's that's you know. I do
abstract painting and you know, gesture work because there's just
some things that are just either better unsaid or easier
to work out on a canvas where at the end
you can like it or paint over it.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Was there other stuff that was going on that you
were inspired by, whether it be particular readings during that
creative time or particular music by other artists during that time.
Was there other stuff surrounding you as you were creating
this new work.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Maggie Smith's book You Could Make This Place Beautiful? I
was reading that book in just the beautiful way that
she shared her experience in her feelings made me feel encouraged. Well,
I mean, whether she knows it or not, she encouraged
me to share my own experiences and what I'd been
(05:28):
going through. There's also Glennon Doyle. We can do hard things.
And I got super into a new hobby called backgammon. Ah. Yeah,
and I'm looking for anybody I can find to play with.
I just really love it. I joined the Nashville Backgammon association,
and I'm not very good yet, but I will be
(05:49):
one day.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Maybe is there like a special card carrying membership that
you get her.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
I think you just kind of get to say that.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
It's well, everyone you know these days bragging about pickleball,
So I think this is sounds better to me, doesn't
it to you?
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It does? And you know, I tried a lot of
things over the past couple of years to find things
that I like to do outside of gardening and making art,
and I tried pickleball. And I am like a giraffe,
a baby giraffe on roller skates when I do anything
like that. I mean, they just rolled their eyes a lot.
(06:28):
They're like, didn't haven't you ever played tennis? I was like, no,
there was a tennis in Lubbock, Texas.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Was there music from other artists during this creative period
for Nobody's Girl that you were particularly listening to or
was it sort of, you know, the same ebb and
flow that you would always go through with music.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, during this time I was I put on the
D'Angelo in the Vanguard Black Messiah a lot over and over.
I just the music relationship and the sounds, really they
took me Somewhere Else and it's just beautiful. And I
also listened to Jack White's No Name a lot, super loud,
(07:11):
like as loud as I could turn it up, especially
that song That's how I'm feeling right now, among others.
But then I listened to You Want It Darker Leonard
Cohen's work over and over because there's something beautiful about
the I don't know the acceptance aspect of that record,
not the mortality part. That part's beautiful, but I wasn't
(07:32):
listening to it for that. And I also just find
his voice very calming.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So who are the folks that you collaborated on with
the other musicians on Nobody's Girl.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, my producer friend Lawrence Rothman.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I thought so, I thought he would be there.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
We wrote this song away it Goes Together one day
in La We were sitting around in the studio and
just started making up this little little chord progression and
then I wrote all the words in probably about two hours.
So there you have one.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Fast song for me, and it's an amazing song.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Oh thanks. I also worked with my longtime piano player
Peter Levin. We wrote a song called Lately Together, and
it's on the record Nobody's girl, And that was a
conversation we were having that day about you know how
checking in with each other, how are you doing? And
then we decided to write a song as a conversation
(08:35):
about our conversation, and that's how Lately was born.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I like that. I like the flow of that. That's
pretty neat. What was different for you though about recording this,
this particular album, just in terms of the technical aspects,
if anything different.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
There's always different things. I mean, this is this. When
I went to do my second session of recording in
La Lawrence's air conditioner did not work and it was
the heat of summer and it was the sweatiest I've
ever been when I've recorded, And I definitely think that
was difficult. You find like your little instruments slipping off
(09:16):
your you know, your hand slip and you're holding things slippery,
and that was kind of different. Then we tried some
new things. We tried some new things with the fiddle.
We put the fiddle through a few we kind of
made like a sample of the fiddle a little bit
in that way you can play it with the piano.
(09:36):
I thought that was pretty fun and then kind of,
you know, may it sound less, fiddly. It's nice to
try new sounds when you're used to hearing it one
way your whole life.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Is that one of the many things that makes it
special working with Lawrence.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, And another special thing about working with Lawrence is
they bring a lot of energy and a lot of
a lot of positivity, super encouraging to be around. And
sometimes I would say one thing that's not my favorite
is that Lawrence will pushed me to write or record
(10:14):
even more than I want to. And that happened this time,
and in the end it was the right thing to do,
even though I I, you know, kicked and fussed, and
I'm not easy when I get like that either I
get I get kind of mean. But I did it
and then I was grateful and everything was resolved and
(10:35):
I needed to get to those those couple of songs,
even if it meant writing a couple of trash songs.
And it's the process, really, how you The time it
takes is the time it takes, you know, And I'm
looking at this is my best friend.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I mean that I can't picture you being difficult in
a process in the studio with with Lawrence. I think
you're being hard on your kind of.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Stubborn, you know, and sometimes I just I, you know,
I'm just like I don't want to do that. You
can't make me do something I don't want to do,
you know. And then it's like a kind of like
a lot of back and forth, and I finally do
what they want me to do, because how could you
not when you have a friendship and you know, I
(11:24):
could go stand outside and stop my feet, or I
could get to it, but sometimes you have to stand
outside and stomp your feet and then get to it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
But isn't some of it just playful jousting.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yes, sometimes it is. And sometimes in the studio when
when Laurence is this only happened like twice would push
me and then I was hot and sweaty, and then
it's like I'm also singing about my feelings, which is
you know, which a lot of times when you're a
studios the first time you've ever played the song ever
(11:57):
you've played it and you wrote it and you said, good,
did that. Then you go in and then it's the
first time it's already uncomfortable, and then you add the
hot sweaties, and then you add the what's going on
in the world everything feels uncomfortable, and then suddenly you're
argued about how you I guess you're lazy Shires.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
No now, but I bet there's a fair amount of
not only jousting, but but laughter and good vibes as
well in the studio.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yes, they're definitely right. There is because I think we
can we tend to be able to turn anything into
a joke, and that's kind of that's that's a beautiful
thing when you have jokes and inside jokes that are
born out of ridiculousness.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Is there anything in particular you could share that created
some belly laughter.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So there's this song peace of Mind, and the chorus
is like, oh I hope you like, Oh I hope
you're missing peace of mind. In the beginning, I wrote,
you're missing piece of pizzas of mind, and I tried
to sing it and it was pizza You're missing pizza mind.
(13:10):
That was hilarious, pizza like we're doing that little Caesar's commercial.
That was good.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That was really I love it.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, and that's that's pretty embarrassing. I don't know how
I didn't catch that early on.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
I'd love to. I'd love to hear the outtake.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Sometimes missing piece of piece and I'm so goofy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
How do you ban balance vulnerability and artistry when you're
sharing such personal stories through your music.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
This is just how I am. I am just I
just have to be myself. And somehow I was just
you know, born like this or else I was, you know,
a product of my raising. I don't know the answer there.
But when people you know are open and honest with me,
I feel I feel like I I just feel like
I learned a lot or feel like there's a better
(14:03):
connection with people. And it's not like I choose to
be vulnerable or a person that tends to really answer
the question when you say how are you? I know
I should probably like sometimes say I'm doing great, let's
keep walking. But I've just never been like that. I
don't know if it's because it could be because of
(14:24):
my granddad. I'm not sure, because I asked him how
he was a lot, and he would always start talking
about his health, and at the end of those long
conversations he is like, don't ever ask an old man
about his health. I don't know why, but anyway, that's
just how I am. I just ramble along like I'm
doing now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
It's it's not rambling, it's a taken a walk interview,
That's what it is. Do you share in the process
of creating with others outside your your circle in the studio,
such as your mom? I mean, do you share what's
going on with her in the process of creating new stuff?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I do. I share with my mom, probably more than
I share with anybody. A lot of it is, you know,
very much like how your kid wants to show you
something that they're proud of, or in my case, if
I'm proud of it, yes, that's one thing, but if
I want her opinion on it or thoughts on it.
I feel like she's always been a safe person to
(15:31):
share things with, and we've been close and talk about everything.
I'm lucky, but that's about all as far as people
I share it with. And I don't share like demos.
On occasion, I'll listen to my own demo to make
sure I like the words, but I don't listen to
it at all for my own self. And I also
(15:54):
like to share with my mom because she makes a
lot of what I do possible, whether it be making
snacks or helping me with my daughter, or overall like
backbone support. I feel like I got a lot of
my backbone and I guess chat I don't know what
(16:14):
the word for this is, but like where you feel
like questions are challenging or curious about things and wanting
to know how things work and why, and you know,
challenging kind of norms.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
I guess you know, since we last we're together for
the podcast, one thing that is really gone crazy out there,
among many things, has been you know, things such as
chat GPT. What's your take on AI and things like
(16:47):
chat GPT.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I mean, it's it's already here, so it's a matter
of going along with it or not. Kind of like
how when we got t pats and horses and internet
and and things like that. Radio then it's it's a
bit scary when you go deep and read like how
(17:11):
how what? You know? Some people are saying about about
the future of humanity and things like that, But I
think that there are more more important things in the moment,
like yeah, I keep working on that, but they're more
probably important things to be thinking on and chat GPT
and the as far as they hear and now, I
mean it's both important, but maybe use it to learn
(17:33):
how to help other people. I guess I'm not sure.
It's hard to say, oh, I don't like it because
as much as I love Neil Young, I wish that,
you know, it was more cool with dreaming and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
So you're going to be hitting the road as always.
Do you love the road as much as you always have?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
That's a good question. I am not sure. I haven't
been on the road since October of twenty twenty three. Really,
I've done a couple of one offs, and I love
to play live. I love to connect with folks that
you know, feel similarly to me, and I love to,
(18:17):
you know, see the landscape and all that. But I
also do get nervous because it's it's gonna be you know,
I'm gonna bring mercy, My Mom's gonna bring mercy out
some and it's it's gonna be a different scenario than
it's been before. Not to say I'm not strong on
a four that I definitely am. So I don't really know,
Like I know, I loved it before, so how could
(18:37):
I not love it again? We'll see so far, I
still love it.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Different adjustments, you got different adjustments to make.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Last time I was on the road, I loved it. Yeah,
I don't know because I'm not on it.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Are there any genres you have in Touched that you
can envision touching creatively?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Genres? Let's think I'm open to everything, you know, especially
if somebody invited me to do something. I wouldn't just go,
you know, hop into a death metal band. I would
definitely lead the lead, the compadre there to invite me
and you know, work something out.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
A death metal fan that you just.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I'll try anything, seven or eight times.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I love I love hearing Amanda Shire say death metal band.
There's just something, Uh, there's an irony to that. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I mean, who doesn't want to hear a death metal fiddle?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
That's right? You got that right. Are there lessons from
the past year that found their way into your music,
intentionally or unintentionally.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
That's a good lessons intentional or unintentional.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I did take a jiu jitsu class, and uh, and
I signed up for it because I was trying to
figure out a way to get cuddles. And at the
end of the class, I asked if next time I
could just be the person they demonstrated on and the
guy said no and kicked me out, and that lesson
I learned there was if you're going to sign up
for a new thing to do, make sure you're there
(20:15):
to try and do that thing. They kick you out
really well, they kind of just said, you know, they
didn't find it as amusing as I did.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They discouraged you from attending further. How's that?
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, they wanted to me to like, you know, really
participate and probably get you know, the room kind of
smelled anyway, It wasn't really set up for cuddling. Other
things I learned are I guess that resilience isn't you know,
glamorous or pretty. It's just you get your pieces and
(20:51):
you keep on going. Also learned that I'm tougher than
I think I am.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Any advice you'd give to others now navigating transitions.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
You don't have to figure it all out, and you
don't have to figure it all out all at once,
or any of it all at once. You just got
to figure out what you can and keep on. Don't
have to figure it all out in one day.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Take your time, Amanda, I adore you. Thank you for
being on again taking a walk and congrats on the
new music and all the best always to you.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Awesome Thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And it's not like I choose to be vulnerable or
a person that tends to really answer the question when
you say how are you? I know I should probably
like sometimes say I'm doing great. Let's keep walking.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome back to Taking a Walk. I'm Buzz's night and
we're thrilled to have Amanda Shiers join us once again.
I'm so excited. Amanda's journey since her last visit has
been deeply personal and transformative, culminating in her powerful new album,
Nobody's Girl. Known for her heartfelt storytelling and musical vulnerability,
(00:35):
Amanda opens up about the challenges and growth following her divorce,
weaving those experiences into songs that promise both raw honesty
and hope. Stay tuned as we walk through the stories
behind this compelling new chapter with a cherished guest who
never fails to inspire. Taking a Walk. Hi, Amanda, that's
(01:01):
so nice to see you again.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It's nice to be seen.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
And welcome to taking a Walk. You know, since we
last did our episode, I asked this opening question, so
you're not going to get away with avoiding it. The
question is, since we call the podcast Taking a Walk,
is there somebody living or dead that you would like
(01:27):
to take a walk with and where would you take
that walk with them?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Okay, I would take a walk, I know, I said
Leonard Cohen last time. I can't say the same one.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, I don't know why you could not say that.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I'd take it. I'd take a walk with James Joyce
and complain about you know, some Ulysses and Finnegan's wake
a little and see what the response would be.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Complain. Yeah, what do you think you would? What would
he say?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I have no earthly idea.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's why you would take it right.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Exactly exactly. Maybe we would do the whole walk in
Ireland even.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh, that's magical. I think you guys would would have
a good conversation.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, we'd probably leave either after a fistfight and or
you know, after a fist fight, then a beer or
a pint or something.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Congratulations on the new album, Nobody's Girl. It's described as
your most personal work to date, even though I feel
like all of your work is deeply personal. What inspired
you to take this direction and how did that writing
process for you unfold for this time?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Well, I think I'm inspired by kind of what I'm
always inspired by what's going on in my life. But
I wouldn't call it inspiration is as much as needing
to work through the storms in my life at the time,
And the process was just the same as a process
(03:11):
as it is when you're like not writing songs when
you're in the middle of ruin and trying to figure
out how to take what pieces persist and go forward.
And so in doing that, then in the time that
it takes and the thinking that it takes and the
reflection that it takes, I think there are a lot
(03:33):
of emotions that come with that, and a lot of
feelings and a lot of instances where I try I
was trying to work through and process my grief for
my life through writing about it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
And would you take breaks during that period, would you,
you know, steamroll through a song and then take a
deep breath, start painting, or do other things to creatively released.
I mean, what what is your sort of workflow process?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, that's that's an interesting question. The workflow is I'm
kind of a slow writer because well that's just because
that's how I am. I write slow, and I edit
and I revise, and occasionally I'll write something fast. But
sometimes when there's not enough words to describe what you're
going through. That's when I take it out on the canvas.
(04:28):
I feel like that. That's that's you know. I do
abstract painting and you know, gesture work because there's just
some things that are just either better unsaid or easier
to work out on a canvas where at the end
you can like it or paint over it.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Was there other stuff that was going on that you
were inspired by, whether it be particular readings during that
creative time or particular music by other artists during that time.
Was there other stuff surrounding you as you were creating
this new work.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Maggie Smith's book You Could Make This Place Beautiful? I
was reading that book in just the beautiful way that
she shared her experience in her feelings made me feel encouraged. Well,
I mean, whether she knows it or not, she encouraged
me to share my own experiences and what I'd been
(05:28):
going through. There's also Glennon Doyle. We can do hard things.
And I got super into a new hobby called backgammon. Ah. Yeah,
and I'm looking for anybody I can find to play with.
I just really love it. I joined the Nashville Backgammon association,
and I'm not very good yet, but I will be
(05:49):
one day.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Maybe is there like a special card carrying membership that
you get her.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
I think you just kind of get to say that.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
It's well, everyone you know these days bragging about pickleball,
So I think this is sounds better to me, doesn't
it to you?
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It does? And you know, I tried a lot of
things over the past couple of years to find things
that I like to do outside of gardening and making art,
and I tried pickleball. And I am like a giraffe,
a baby giraffe on roller skates when I do anything
like that. I mean, they just rolled their eyes a lot.
(06:28):
They're like, didn't haven't you ever played tennis? I was like, no,
there was a tennis in Lubbock, Texas.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Was there music from other artists during this creative period
for Nobody's Girl that you were particularly listening to or
was it sort of, you know, the same ebb and
flow that you would always go through with music.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, during this time I was I put on the
D'Angelo in the Vanguard Black Messiah a lot over and over.
I just the music relationship and the sounds, really they
took me Somewhere Else and it's just beautiful. And I
also listened to Jack White's No Name a lot, super loud,
(07:11):
like as loud as I could turn it up, especially
that song That's how I'm feeling right now, among others.
But then I listened to You Want It Darker Leonard
Cohen's work over and over because there's something beautiful about
the I don't know the acceptance aspect of that record,
not the mortality part. That part's beautiful, but I wasn't
(07:32):
listening to it for that. And I also just find
his voice very calming.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So who are the folks that you collaborated on with
the other musicians on Nobody's Girl.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, my producer friend Lawrence Rothman.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I thought so, I thought he would be there.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
We wrote this song away it Goes Together one day
in La We were sitting around in the studio and
just started making up this little little chord progression and
then I wrote all the words in probably about two hours.
So there you have one.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Fast song for me, and it's an amazing song.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Oh thanks. I also worked with my longtime piano player
Peter Levin. We wrote a song called Lately Together, and
it's on the record Nobody's girl, And that was a
conversation we were having that day about you know how
checking in with each other, how are you doing? And
then we decided to write a song as a conversation
(08:35):
about our conversation, and that's how Lately was born.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I like that. I like the flow of that. That's
pretty neat. What was different for you though about recording this,
this particular album, just in terms of the technical aspects,
if anything different.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
There's always different things. I mean, this is this. When
I went to do my second session of recording in
La Lawrence's air conditioner did not work and it was
the heat of summer and it was the sweatiest I've
ever been when I've recorded, And I definitely think that
was difficult. You find like your little instruments slipping off
(09:16):
your you know, your hand slip and you're holding things slippery,
and that was kind of different. Then we tried some
new things. We tried some new things with the fiddle.
We put the fiddle through a few we kind of
made like a sample of the fiddle a little bit
in that way you can play it with the piano.
(09:36):
I thought that was pretty fun and then kind of,
you know, may it sound less, fiddly. It's nice to
try new sounds when you're used to hearing it one
way your whole life.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Is that one of the many things that makes it
special working with Lawrence.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, And another special thing about working with Lawrence is
they bring a lot of energy and a lot of
a lot of positivity, super encouraging to be around. And
sometimes I would say one thing that's not my favorite
is that Lawrence will pushed me to write or record
(10:14):
even more than I want to. And that happened this time,
and in the end it was the right thing to do,
even though I I, you know, kicked and fussed, and
I'm not easy when I get like that either I
get I get kind of mean. But I did it
and then I was grateful and everything was resolved and
(10:35):
I needed to get to those those couple of songs,
even if it meant writing a couple of trash songs.
And it's the process, really, how you The time it
takes is the time it takes, you know, And I'm
looking at this is my best friend.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I mean that I can't picture you being difficult in
a process in the studio with with Lawrence. I think
you're being hard on your kind of.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Stubborn, you know, and sometimes I just I, you know,
I'm just like I don't want to do that. You
can't make me do something I don't want to do,
you know. And then it's like a kind of like
a lot of back and forth, and I finally do
what they want me to do, because how could you
not when you have a friendship and you know, I
(11:24):
could go stand outside and stop my feet, or I
could get to it, but sometimes you have to stand
outside and stomp your feet and then get to it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
But isn't some of it just playful jousting.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yes, sometimes it is. And sometimes in the studio when
when Laurence is this only happened like twice would push
me and then I was hot and sweaty, and then
it's like I'm also singing about my feelings, which is
you know, which a lot of times when you're a
studios the first time you've ever played the song ever
(11:57):
you've played it and you wrote it and you said, good,
did that. Then you go in and then it's the
first time it's already uncomfortable, and then you add the
hot sweaties, and then you add the what's going on
in the world everything feels uncomfortable, and then suddenly you're
argued about how you I guess you're lazy Shires.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
No now, but I bet there's a fair amount of
not only jousting, but but laughter and good vibes as
well in the studio.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yes, they're definitely right. There is because I think we
can we tend to be able to turn anything into
a joke, and that's kind of that's that's a beautiful
thing when you have jokes and inside jokes that are
born out of ridiculousness.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Is there anything in particular you could share that created
some belly laughter.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So there's this song peace of Mind, and the chorus
is like, oh I hope you like, Oh I hope
you're missing peace of mind. In the beginning, I wrote,
you're missing piece of pizzas of mind, and I tried
to sing it and it was pizza You're missing pizza mind.
(13:10):
That was hilarious, pizza like we're doing that little Caesar's commercial.
That was good.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That was really I love it.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, and that's that's pretty embarrassing. I don't know how
I didn't catch that early on.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
I'd love to. I'd love to hear the outtake.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Sometimes missing piece of piece and I'm so goofy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
How do you ban balance vulnerability and artistry when you're
sharing such personal stories through your music.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
This is just how I am. I am just I
just have to be myself. And somehow I was just
you know, born like this or else I was, you know,
a product of my raising. I don't know the answer there.
But when people you know are open and honest with me,
I feel I feel like I I just feel like
I learned a lot or feel like there's a better
(14:03):
connection with people. And it's not like I choose to
be vulnerable or a person that tends to really answer
the question when you say how are you? I know
I should probably like sometimes say I'm doing great, let's
keep walking. But I've just never been like that. I
don't know if it's because it could be because of
(14:24):
my granddad. I'm not sure, because I asked him how
he was a lot, and he would always start talking
about his health, and at the end of those long
conversations he is like, don't ever ask an old man
about his health. I don't know why, but anyway, that's
just how I am. I just ramble along like I'm
doing now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
It's it's not rambling, it's a taken a walk interview,
That's what it is. Do you share in the process
of creating with others outside your your circle in the studio,
such as your mom? I mean, do you share what's
going on with her in the process of creating new stuff?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I do. I share with my mom, probably more than
I share with anybody. A lot of it is, you know,
very much like how your kid wants to show you
something that they're proud of, or in my case, if
I'm proud of it, yes, that's one thing, but if
I want her opinion on it or thoughts on it.
I feel like she's always been a safe person to
(15:31):
share things with, and we've been close and talk about everything.
I'm lucky, but that's about all as far as people
I share it with. And I don't share like demos.
On occasion, I'll listen to my own demo to make
sure I like the words, but I don't listen to
it at all for my own self. And I also
(15:54):
like to share with my mom because she makes a
lot of what I do possible, whether it be making
snacks or helping me with my daughter, or overall like
backbone support. I feel like I got a lot of
my backbone and I guess chat I don't know what
(16:14):
the word for this is, but like where you feel
like questions are challenging or curious about things and wanting
to know how things work and why, and you know,
challenging kind of norms.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
I guess you know, since we last we're together for
the podcast, one thing that is really gone crazy out there,
among many things, has been you know, things such as
chat GPT. What's your take on AI and things like
(16:47):
chat GPT.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I mean, it's it's already here, so it's a matter
of going along with it or not. Kind of like
how when we got t pats and horses and internet
and and things like that. Radio then it's it's a
bit scary when you go deep and read like how
(17:11):
how what? You know? Some people are saying about about
the future of humanity and things like that, But I
think that there are more more important things in the moment,
like yeah, I keep working on that, but they're more
probably important things to be thinking on and chat GPT
and the as far as they hear and now, I
mean it's both important, but maybe use it to learn
(17:33):
how to help other people. I guess I'm not sure.
It's hard to say, oh, I don't like it because
as much as I love Neil Young, I wish that,
you know, it was more cool with dreaming and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
So you're going to be hitting the road as always.
Do you love the road as much as you always have?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
That's a good question. I am not sure. I haven't
been on the road since October of twenty twenty three. Really,
I've done a couple of one offs, and I love
to play live. I love to connect with folks that
you know, feel similarly to me, and I love to,
(18:17):
you know, see the landscape and all that. But I
also do get nervous because it's it's gonna be you know,
I'm gonna bring mercy, My Mom's gonna bring mercy out
some and it's it's gonna be a different scenario than
it's been before. Not to say I'm not strong on
a four that I definitely am. So I don't really know,
Like I know, I loved it before, so how could
(18:37):
I not love it again? We'll see so far, I
still love it.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Different adjustments, you got different adjustments to make.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Last time I was on the road, I loved it. Yeah,
I don't know because I'm not on it.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Are there any genres you have in Touched that you
can envision touching creatively?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Genres? Let's think I'm open to everything, you know, especially
if somebody invited me to do something. I wouldn't just go,
you know, hop into a death metal band. I would
definitely lead the lead, the compadre there to invite me
and you know, work something out.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
A death metal fan that you just.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I'll try anything, seven or eight times.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I love I love hearing Amanda Shire say death metal band.
There's just something, Uh, there's an irony to that. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I mean, who doesn't want to hear a death metal fiddle?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
That's right? You got that right. Are there lessons from
the past year that found their way into your music,
intentionally or unintentionally.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
That's a good lessons intentional or unintentional.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I did take a jiu jitsu class, and uh, and
I signed up for it because I was trying to
figure out a way to get cuddles. And at the
end of the class, I asked if next time I
could just be the person they demonstrated on and the
guy said no and kicked me out, and that lesson
I learned there was if you're going to sign up
for a new thing to do, make sure you're there
(20:15):
to try and do that thing. They kick you out
really well, they kind of just said, you know, they
didn't find it as amusing as I did.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They discouraged you from attending further. How's that?
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, they wanted to me to like, you know, really
participate and probably get you know, the room kind of
smelled anyway, It wasn't really set up for cuddling. Other
things I learned are I guess that resilience isn't you know,
glamorous or pretty. It's just you get your pieces and
(20:51):
you keep on going. Also learned that I'm tougher than
I think I am.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Any advice you'd give to others now navigating transitions.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
You don't have to figure it all out, and you
don't have to figure it all out all at once,
or any of it all at once. You just got
to figure out what you can and keep on. Don't
have to figure it all out in one day.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Take your time, Amanda, I adore you. Thank you for
being on again taking a walk and congrats on the
new music and all the best always to you.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Awesome Thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Lynn Hoffman
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