June 19, 2025 • 49 mins
Gina Petro a.k.a. singer-songwriter HOLDN takes the wheel and assigns us Banks' Goddess debut album, one of the most impactful records for Gina's own musical endeavors.
Gina recalls how she backed into being a "singer" in the first place and how she bonded with Banks' music in the back of a van while on tour with her old alternative band.
We discuss the merits of seeing concerts alone, where big pop music productions fall short and why all LGBTQ+ kids need a good English lit teacher.
Tell us about your first listen at @AtFirstListenPodcast on Instagram.
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode of At First Listen!
Gina recalls how she backed into being a "singer" in the first place and how she bonded with Banks' music in the back of a van while on tour with her old alternative band.
We discuss the merits of seeing concerts alone, where big pop music productions fall short and why all LGBTQ+ kids need a good English lit teacher.
Tell us about your first listen at @AtFirstListenPodcast on Instagram.
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode of At First Listen!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome to at First Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but walk to.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominie.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
And today we're talking about Banks the artist twenty fourteen
debut studio album Goddess, and our guest is Genette Petrou
aka the singer songwriter. This is the first time I'm
saying so loud.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Holden, Hey, I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Holden. I agree. I didn't spend much time thinking about
I was like, this is a very twenty fourteen thing,
like taking all the vowels out. That's all we were
doing for a second.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Then well, I always say it's because I dropped out
of college twice and I can't spell.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
But is holding a literary reference?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Where are you going with the well Catcher in the Rye?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That is where I was going with that. But I
also never read that book, so I that's basically where
the reference would end for me. And that's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So hold holding Cawfield. So after me telling you I
dropped out of college two times, it would probably not
be a shock to you that I did not love
sitting still in a classroom and being forced to read things.
But my high school English teacher who was incredible. He
(01:32):
was also a touring musician in a hardcore Scottish band
called Folly Andrew. I'm sure you know.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
They're actually one of the one of the bands to
make it out of my hometown area.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, they are sick.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So I saw one of their first farewell tour shows.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So the lead vocalist, John was my high school English
teacher whoa Okay, obviously like when you can relate to
somebody on like that type of like musical level, It
felt like everything that he was saying I could really
relate to. So he kind of made me actually like
reading certain books or like actually like doing like guided
(02:15):
writing prompts, which I always hated. I just hated being
told what to write. But the way that he taught
Catcher in their Eye kind of put me in a
position to think about how I'm consuming what I'm reading differently,
which was really cool. So the name holding kind of
came off of that.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Okay, don't don't you look like your mind was blown
by the Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
The face is like I was really following no, because
like I was, first of all, like every gay person
has a has an English teacher. This is it background back,
this is it background story for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
And that's why we have to defund the Department of Education.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
His English teachers.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Listen, they're they're the gay agenda.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
The English teachers are the gay agenda. My straight English
teacher was the gay agenda. Yeah, if you're watching this,
which you will be, because I'm going to send it
to you.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, just no, I really liked that explanation, and I
just liked how I like how personal it is. Also,
I was like, oh, that's actually I thought it was
like hold.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
On Well, I like to say holding on for dear life,
but that's not That's not how I came up with
the name. I just love to play on, play on
the word.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, so I want to play since you mentioned it.
I was not planning to do this, but this is
my favorite Folly song.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
No, hell yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Discussion is for the pigs. This is uploaded to YouTube
fourteen years ago. So is this your you're the teacher?
Sure is hell yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Johnsonillo my guy.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Of course. Yeah, this is so inspiring. I don't think
I had any teachers that way.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
That is that song is a little bit teddy, not
the not the normal Folly sound, but That's why I
liked it so much.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, But like I think it's a great example because
like you hear that on the surface and you're probably like,
what the hell is he saying? But then you read
the things that he writes and you're like, wow, it's
like super introspective and it makes you creatively think about
the words on the page rather than just being like, oh,
this sentence says today we're talking about Banks like it
(04:40):
it's it never like it's open to interpretation, which I love.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Okay, So that said, why are we covering Banks on
this episode, Gina? Other than that right the episode? Yeah,
I would be much more.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
That's yeah, And I'm glad. I'm glad we got a
little bit of it because I'm really I am. I'm
excited about it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So the real reason that I chose this album is
because before I started my solo project, hold In, I
was in an all rock band for like six or
seven years, and we did a bunch of like DIY tours, festivals,
we did like skate and surf, Warp Tour, Bamboozle, like
all the cool like East Coast Festival type of things,
(05:27):
and I was always sitting in the back of a
van and just being like, I am not listening to
whatever the rest of the guys are listening to, and
like I would, I wrote all of the songs like
both lyrically, vocally and instrumentally, and I'm writing like heavier
alt rock songs like to the tune of maybe like
(05:48):
Circus Survive esque type of genre. But I'm listening to
Destiny's Child, I'm listening to Jazz and Sullivan. I'm listening
to these like R and B pop leaning artists, and
I'm not listening to Circus Survive. I'm not listening to
the Used. I'm not listening to all those like emo
(06:11):
bands or rock bands that the rest of my bandmates
are listening to and like drawing inspiration from. And I'm
just like Wow, I'm like, I really want to write
music like this, but kind of in a different way
where it's like more alternative leaning, still in the pop realm,
but still bringing in like my rock roots. And then
(06:34):
one day I heard this song from Banks and it
was it was Brain, and I was like, WHOA, this
kind of is exactly the direction that I sonically in
my head envision myself going in, and like this is
the ideal sound that it feels the most authentic to me,
(06:56):
and it just made me feel like there was space
for me to do that and to kind of just
tell myself, this isn't too weird. You can actually go
in this direction and it can be super sick. But
I think within this album you can definitely hear like
her inspirations too, Like there's so many like R and
B leaning songs, there's more alternative leaning songs. So, yeah,
(07:20):
this is the album that pushed me to become a
solo artist.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Oh gotcha. So it hit you in that right place
at the right time when your head was was looking
for kind of a new sound.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, And it wasn't even like, oh, I have to
stop making alternative rock music. It was just like, there's
this whole other side of me that I feel like
I'm not fulfilling. And you know, the band ended up
breaking up in twenty fifteen, but this always sat in
the back of my mind, like this isn't this is
(07:55):
an option for me. And I had a song that
I had had written called and that was the first
single I put out under the whole Dymn project. And
I wrote that before I heard Banks for the first time,
and I was like whoa, like sonically definitely similar, Like
I had never heard anything like it before, and like
(08:18):
I said, it just it just made me feel like
I can actually so.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
It was an artist that also like you're you're kind
of going down the same road and you're like, oh,
they maybe they kind of beat me to it.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, And what's crazy is is.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Like, but also you feel a kinship with them because
you both had the same idea.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah. I don't think I ever really thought like, oh,
damn it, like she's doing this. And I think that's
also something that female artists, especially get get knocked for
or get We get put in that situation where it's like, oh,
like so and so is already doing that. But like
if it was a dude, like I don't think that
(08:58):
conversation would ever happen. And like, how many country artists
that are guys like sound almost exactly the same and
you never say like, oh, we already have this, like
they're not being pit against each other, already have.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
A Billy Ray cyrus.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You don't need to have a cubid shuffle.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Come on, no, this like that that explanation makes a
lot of sense to me. I'm I wish we would
have met each other because this was totally my energy,
Like the type of music I was really listening to
it this time, like it actually like I think, like
nothing was the same. Also like Bye by Drake. This
(09:39):
was like the year that it was twenty thirteen that
he that that came out and that was like kind
of had that vibe like I think jene I Eko.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, I love her.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah that this reminded me of. Also, Also like James
Blake and I don't know if you know this band Ink,
I don't think so. They have this album that came
out called No World. They really didn't make much of
(10:10):
a splash after this, But another a couple of guys.
I'm just looking at them who they like at this time.
It's like the type I moved to New York in
twenty fourteen. I was like living in Portland before from Austin.
But this is like the vibe I didn't know banks,
(10:34):
but like this is totally the vibe of like what
I was playing when I was hanging out with my
friends in twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
You have cool friends. My friends hated this shit. Yeah,
we didn't make it very far.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I love that angle because my band one hundred thousand
has a predecessor band that my drummer and one of
my guitarists were in, was really the drummer's vision, Kurt.
His vision was this sound of like commercially viable melodic
hard rock mixed with super heavy metal, influenced by like
(11:15):
My Sugar and and also like new metal, and so
he had established a sound for his band. And then
a band called Periphery came out and I was like, hey, Kurt,
you should check out this band, and he was like,
oh my god, I love it. And then a few
years later we were like, yeah, they really kind of
beat us to the whole punt, Like.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
But did you feel like they knocked you out of
the race or did you feel like they opened a door.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I would say neither because no doors.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Were open, but like if they were.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But on the other side of the coin, there's a
band now called Sleepsoaken Yeah, which is doing great. The
guys in the band all like them. I'm I'm kind
of the lone holdout who does not like sleep Token
and we were discussing it and I feel bad when
I don't like music and I can't form an explanation,
(12:12):
and then it came to me and I go, Guys,
I think the reason I don't like sleep Token is
they seem like a gimmicky, shitty version of our band.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's like a caricature the Funhouse mirror.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But I will say if we wore masks and spooky
robes and came up and called our called our shows congregations.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I saw a sleep No More a couple of days ago,
Warped Tour, sleep Token, sleep Token. I went to warp Okay,
maybe not now I'm like, there's something with sleep in
the name. I went to warp Tour. My sister Blade
Warped tour band Fever three to three, and we were
so we saw a lot.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Of bed heard of Fever three through three?
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Well, sisters famous, she's the band. Yeah, uh friend of
the friend of the pod. So we got to see
a lot of bands and they blended together. And especially
because like I was, those were the more the more
fun bands to check out were the ones I hadn't
really heard of MGK headlined. Didn't didn't need to check
(13:20):
that out. But uh, okay, well that was a good tangent.
I'm gonna figure out what band it was. But I
got to watch them they had a gimmicky thing too,
and I thought that was like.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Were they all dressed in robes and stuff?
Speaker 1 (13:34):
They didn't they know there was like it was like
horror themed that there was like different.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Was it in this moment? In this moment, I don't
think they were playing or no.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I don't. I'll just give you a second, give me
a second.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But you said something earlier where you said, I feel
guilty for not liking something that everyone else liked, and
I will probably be the only artist that ever sits
in this chair. And so as this, I don't want
everyone to like my music because music is subjective. I
don't like every song or every artist that I hear,
(14:09):
and like that's my right and my opinion, Like you
don't have to like everything put in front of you.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
It's like a like if I have a prejudice against
something I see, I'm trying to figure out why that is.
Why why don't I like Eminem's.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I know why so many that Well, that's kind of ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
That's also example.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But I think that there's also some sort of like
and maybe it's subconscious, but like you don't want to
like something that everybody is jumping on but also like
that because you don't want to be a bandwagoner.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
No, it's not because I would probably enjoy my life
more if I just like the thing that everybody likes.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Being a hater. Yeah, well you know that's a little
bit of work you can do.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, but I hate in my heart.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
I was so far off with the name Ice nine Kills.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Oh yeah, sleep obviously.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, Ice nine Kills.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yeah, they're okay.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
They were gimmicky for sure, but I got to watch
them change clothes, not like change clothes, but like do
the back but like the behind the scenes stuff. That
was really entertaining, and it made me have a lot
of respect for those guys who were acting it out.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yeah yeah, I mean you're doing like a you're doing
like a real show at that point. Yeah, that's like
that's like musical theater basically. Yeah. Okay, so let's take
a break and we'll dive into Banks and her Goddess
album right after this on a first Listen.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Welcome back to at First Listener. I'm Andrew Dominique.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And we're back with Gina a ka Or from Holden.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Holden just hold yeah, she is holding if you will.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
On Instagram and so we're talking about the goddess Albumn.
You mentioned the song Brain, so I'm gonna play a
second of Brain so people know what we were talking
about in the first segments. The cool thing about electronic
(16:45):
music is the way like you really need to curate
every element in the mix, Whereas if you're working with
a rock band, like yeah, you're you're shaping tones and sounds,
but it's like kind of the same quor ingradients where
(17:07):
it's like, if you're making an electronic record, do I
want my bass sound to be like like, is the
bass on this song gonna be a drum yeah, which
has a pitch to it? Or is it going to
be like a trombone which is like processed to make
a certain vibe too.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah. I think the reason why I specifically pointed out
that part of the song because if you listen to it,
me having a naturally rock music programmed brain from the
get go. The first time I heard that last or
like that peak of that song, I hear a crazy
(17:48):
live version breakdown in my head. Think about it, like
you got a drummer like uh, like riding the ride
as a crash, like guitars doing like a heavy sustain
like you know what I mean. Yeah, Like that's like
what really got me into it because there's so many
(18:09):
similarities and it kind of just felt like the perfect bridge.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's a rock feeling, but not a rock sound, not
a rock execution correct. Yeah. And so the first track
on the record is Alibi. So this is obviously significant
because it was the first Bank song I ever heard
in my life. And one of the interesting things about
(18:41):
this choice for me is that sometimes you hear an
artist and you're like in the context of when it
came out, because I knew it was twenty fourteen, all
of a sudden, like other stuff that I had heard
since that time kind of comes into focus, like, oh,
I know what Verite is into. I know maybe what
(19:06):
Lana del Rey was kind of listening to. Potentially like
Fantagram was maybe into this.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
I feel like Banks. I feel like FK Twigs definitely inspired.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Banks, and maybe the order is a little bit different,
but it's like there's definitely there was something happening around
this time, and there were you know, other artists that
were kind of on this.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, but you were talking about like theatrics earlier and
how it's like a performance and I've seen her live
I want to say, two or three different times, and
one time was actually in I want to say it
was twenty fourteen or twenty fifteen. I think she was
on tour with The Weekend as an opener. That makes sense,
That makes sense, And I don't think many people knew
(19:56):
who she was, but that was the reason I went
to the show and I just blown away, and then
saw her again on a headlining tour and she like
I felt like I watched her confidence as an artist
just like explode and like utilizing. She has these like
(20:16):
different voices that I feel like are different characters inside
of her, Like she could be so soft and intentional
or like so rough and gritty and like push you
feel like she's pushing it out of her body. Yeah,
And it's like these different characters that she plays are
(20:36):
now becoming visual and it's like being able to see
an artist develop like that, or like not even develop,
it's just like come into their own just is It's like,
how do you get to that point of confidence where
you just get on stage? And like she has a
(20:56):
song called Underdog that's that's newer. Obviously this was twenty fourteen. Underdog.
I want to say it was like maybe five or
six years ago at this point, but she literally barks,
like and I'm just like, I know the thought process there,
because like not that I'm saying I'm gonna get on
one of my songs and bark, because that's I don't
(21:17):
think that's me, but just seeing it from an artistic perspective,
as like I'm watching an artist just whatever sound their
body feels that it needs to make it's coming out.
Like That's how I feel most to myself, especially if
I'm at a live performance, Like my live shows sound
(21:38):
nothing like my recorded versions, and I played tracks like
I have a live drummer, which I think brings a
whole different energy to a live show. But the way
that I perform is the same way that I performed
when I was in an alt rock band. I am
banging my head, I am throwing my body all over
(22:00):
the place. I play guitar live, I play drums live.
I'll play keys live, and I try to bring in
as much instrumentation. Like in my song civil War, there's
a drum break that my drummer and I just go
back and forth. I bring out the roto toms and
we just do like a cadence and like for me,
that's like that's my music education. Like I'm letting that
(22:20):
shine through for a little bit. It's like I don't
want to be just that girl standing there singing to
a track with a drummer, because everyone's like, what does
she even do? Not that I'm saying that singing to
a track is not a talent, because it absolutely is.
I just know that, you know, I don't think I'm
a vocalist. That's not my strongest thing.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think first and foremost, I am a songwriter, lyricist.
I think vocalist is maybe like fourth on my list.
I'm a guitar player, I'm a keys player, I'm a
producer before I'm a vocalist. And I think I just
use my voice to convey whatever it is that I'm
feeling or whatever I'm writing about, and it's it's definitely
(23:07):
just a tool for me. It's another instrument. I never
intended to sing for my band. It was one hundred
percent accident. We started out as a Thank god, we
started out as a four piece band and we had
a singer. In the day of a show, it was
like a street fair. I was like fourteen years old,
(23:29):
our singer decided she didn't want to be in the
band anymore, and they're like, no, well you know all
the parts because you wrote them. The next thing I knew,
I was on stage singing and playing guitar, and it
just never stopped. I was an instrumental music student all
throughout high school and any type of formal education I've
(23:50):
ever had. I was never a theater kid, like I
played in the pit orchestra. I was never on stage
singing defying gravity. That wasn't me. But you bet your
ass I am now not well, but I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That like connection with It's like you have a connection
with uh, with the artist as as a as a
person and as like a project as much as the
music itself seems like I I think that's something you
definitely have in common with other people who are like
(24:27):
actively doing music. Who we have on the shows that
they'll pick. I mean a lot of people do, but
picking like the first album or like the first like
a very early album. Mizzy from the ex who position
yeah exactly, there's yeah, do she picks exactly? Pick doja cats?
(24:51):
It wasn't It's like it wasn't her first thing that
she came out with. It was her first like debut album, yeah. Yeah,
And and it's like you connected with it in the time,
but then it also like kind of opened a door. Yeah,
and you just like think differently about music and so
(25:12):
and it's like you followed you've you followed her as
a person as well.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
It's so interesting because it's like it makes you feel
like you know somebody, but you don't know anything about them.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, And that's a cool place to be also as
a fan to yeah, have like no concept of what
an artist is.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Like Yeah, And it's a it's a huge reminder too
that like there are artists that share so much about
their life and about themselves and even through their art,
and it's to the point where you listen to it
and like your brain automatically, like you you form like
that special connection with an artist because of what you
(25:53):
relate to within their music, right or like something that
you see online that you relate to, whether it's in
their music or like a video that they post just talking,
but you don't know them, like you truly don't know
them as a person. But that's the crazy power and
downfall of the Internet. It's like you truly feel like
(26:14):
you know someone when you don't. But I think it's
a good reminder to kind of just like to check yourself,
like wow, like I really relate to this, but this
is just this piece of this person.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
What is her live show like or how has it
changed over the years. Is it like a pop show
with all the bells and whistles and the dancers and
like the set design or is it more of like
singer on stage with a band.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
So it has definitely evolved. The first time I saw her,
I want to say, definitely on a live drummer. I
want to say maybe like a bass player, guitar player
that doubled on keys. It was very very minimal, like
no dancers, maybe like a backdrop, but like she was
opening for the weekend, so it might have just been
(27:16):
like on her logo on like his led wall. Yeah,
so like very very minimal. I don't remember much about
like the bells and whistles within the live show. I
just remember it being very very simple. But now when
she goes out she has dancers that are not on
every number, like just when appropriate. I want to say,
(27:39):
she has like maybe like four musicians on stage, but
it is very much focused on her, Like she is
dancing with the dancers, but it's like it's not your
typical dance. It's like very it's a routine, but it's
it's very like interpretive. Yeah the point where, like, like
(28:01):
I was talking about earlier, these sounds that she's making
are definitely mimicked within the dance, and like I can't
dance to save my life, so you'll never see me
doing that, but like I admire that so much.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Yeah, we were saying on one episode how it's like
that kind of big production pop show. I'm just like
I'm sort of not that into it. It's because it
just seems it seems like a lot of fluff. But
also it's like I can't imagine being the main performer
and having to learn all that stuff just because my
song hit number one, like and now I need to
(28:36):
be like a dancer with the person because I actually
just saw the weekend like last week not a good
show at all. And also he had like.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Forty dances take controversial take.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
It seemed like he did not want to have all
the dancers.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
I have a very strong opinion and.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Didn't want to interact with them in any way whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
I have a strong opinion slash theory, and I am
not knocking any artist that brings that level of production,
Like I appreciate that for what it is. I appreciate
the talent that's on the stage, But as a principal,
like you, as the artist, it's a crutch, like it
(29:18):
takes so much pressure off of you having dancers or
having a band that's like interactive. And I'm not saying
it makes your job easy. It does not. It just
makes it easier. So let's talk about Charlie XCX, no band,
no dancers, just one woman going absolutely batshit for an
(29:40):
hour and a half, two hours insane.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
One woman and her tracks and auto tunes.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Yeah, yeah, who cares? Who cares?
Speaker 1 (29:48):
What?
Speaker 3 (29:48):
She definitely doesn't, which is why it's very.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Cool exactly and because that is one hundred percent authentically her.
She came out and like that was it, It was her.
She poured herself onto the stage and every night. Yeah
I think she was at the Garden too, but like
she poured her heart out onto the stage every night.
(30:11):
And it looks I didn't get a chance to see her,
but I saw plenty of videos from it, and I
just know that no two nights look the same because
it wasn't choreographed. She didn't have dancers, she didn't have
a band. There wasn't a scripted moment in every show.
Like I know, if I go and see an artist
like one or like more than one time on a
tour and I listened to the banter between the songs
(30:35):
and it's the same, I automatically just like like, oh damn,
like especially if it's in.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
A difference and stoking like a little confidence.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
For me. It's like if I'm big on talking in
between songs when it's appropriate, especially if I know I'm
playing in front of a crowd that has never heard
of me. But I like to connect on that front,
just because, like my live performances are the most important
thing to me. It is the number one way that
(31:10):
I connect with people. I admittedly am not super good
at the Internet. I think I'm funny enough for it,
but I just like there's something about like turning the
camera around and like filming myself that does not feel
authentic to me. So I try to do it in
ways that are very me and like candid. So it's
(31:31):
not as like, oh no, I gotta do that again.
It's like, if you see me post a video of
me talking, just know I did it one time because
there's never going to be a second take.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yeah. I also really connect with with artists through this
through live shows. So and it's such a different way,
Like I think there's I wasn't as interested in seeing
Charlie even though now I'm regretting it.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Same me too.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
See. See this is the problem with being a hater
and being slow to pick up a new thing because
you're like, oh, I don't know what's the hype about.
Because now we missed out on BRAT. We could have
been a part of that. We could have and we chose. Well,
I would know I was living it.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Well, I'm still I'm still having a Brad summer in
the fall, winter spring, I'm having a Brad summer.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
But yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't as excited to see
it because it is I just knew it would be electronics,
like I'm I like to see music live live. Yeah, actually,
or like or if it's like electronic, if it's techno,
you know, like a dance party. But that's like the
(32:48):
different it's a certain setting for it. But it's uh,
it's an interesting thing. Because I didn't. I don't. I
haven't seen Banks live. I didn't really what.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Is the What is the crowd like at a Bank show?
Is it rave kids? Is it rock people? Is it
just like a weird collection of people like these these
people would never be in the same room otherwise, or
is it somehow like a group of people that all
look like like you've never seen them out before, but
here they all are.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I think it's a mix. Yeah, like her, I don't
feel like you know, when you go to English teachers Andrew,
I love that tie in. I don't know what they
do for a living, but it's quite possible. I genuinely
I have no idea, Like it's not one of those
things where people are camping out overnight and they're running
(33:40):
to the barricae, Like it's not like that. Like I
genuinely feel like it's a room of people that like
appreciate the art. They come in, they watch the show,
they have a good time, they post a couple of videos,
and they move on with their life and they listen
to the music and they appreciate it for what it is.
Like there are some environment where like I get super
(34:02):
overwhelmed by like people like freaking out at concerts and
I'm just like whoa Like, especially if you're surrounded by that,
You're just like, I can't even hear what I'm here
to hear now.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
And that's the main problem with the big production shows.
To me. I would like if I could watch Sabrina
Carpenter and all those million dancers in a room with
one hundred and fifty cap and like I'm getting to
see it up close, that's sick. But I don't need
to be a thousand miles away, and I can't even
really like I can I can barely see you. I
(34:37):
can only see the screens and like whatever else. And
I certainly am not getting I'm hearing like myself yell
the lyrics.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
That's that me, espresso.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Yeah. Yeah, So that's like I think that's the difference
between there's like they're seeing like live music actually be played,
and then there's like seeing a production, and then there's
there's this in between of where there's like.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
A wall in between you and the performance. Like I
went to see Chelsea Cutler at Radio City Music Hall,
phenomenal artists live. It's it's sad girl music. Like that's
something that like when I go to see an artist
like that, I want to be fully engulfed in it.
And where I was sitting on the mezzanine, I felt
(35:28):
like I was watching other people watch Chelsea Cutlor.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
And that's exactly the vibe.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Yeah, And it's not because people were freaking out. It
was because, like where I was sitting, everybody was like
socializing and like talking to each other. So I felt
like I was in a bar at a concert watching
other people watch a concert. And I just felt so
disconnected from a show that was so engaging, like it
(35:57):
was not on the artist at all. It was just
like venues.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I went to the show by myself, which and it'd
been a while since I'd gone by myself. It is
such a great way to see live music because number one,
you can randomly make a friend, but also if no
one is if you have there's no pressure to make
conversation with someone. You can just literally watch the show
(36:22):
and have and enjoy that part of it. And yeah,
I had a great time. I bought a shirt and
I had like a couple of beers, and then I
went home. And and you can also leave whenever you want.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yeah, sounds lovely. I should do that.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
You should. There's this thing. It's called The Artist Journey.
It's a book that, if I'm being totally honest, I'm
not gonna push it because I think I've read maybe
four pages. But there's a thing. There's a concept in
the book called artist dates.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Oh yeah, I'm not going about the artist's way.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
The artist's way. See, that's how much I've read about it.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I'm on, I'm currently on chapter ten.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Or be like chapter one. And no one can get
through this.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Over the past ten years. No, people can't get people
can't get through it. I have my fourth try. You should.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
But yeah, the artist dates, the artist states, Yeah, that's
the perfect thing.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Going to do a show alone. Yes, it's true.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
So that is an artist date.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Going to a show, going to do something alone.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Anything that's serving you and like your mental health and
like giving you the opportunity to kind of sit with
yourself and enjoy your own presence is an artist date.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Gotcha? All right? So should we take a break and
wrap it up? Yes, all right, let's do that. Will
be right back. Welcome back to a first Listen.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I'm Dominique and.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
I'm Andrew, and we're we're switching up the order now. Wow,
and were your Regina aka holding We're wrapping it up
about the Goddess album by Banks? Gina, is this your
favorite album of all time?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
No, okay, it's not, but I would say arguably one
of the most meaningful and most impactful. And to be honest,
I don't even think it's I don't even think it's
my favorite Banks album.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Did you listen to it again after you assigned it
to us?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Yeah? Absolutely, because I hadn't listened to it in a while.
And then I thought about it and I was like, no,
I need to listen to this again. And it was
just like it took me right back to the first
time I heard it in a good way, in an
awesome way, because I come to it now with a
different point of clarity and a totally different headspace, whereas
(38:58):
like before, I was so confused. So I was like,
why am I making rock music? I'm like, I like,
I just feel like I'm living two different identities and like,
and that's fine. Who cares? Like I can write a
rock song today, I can write a metal song tomorrow,
a pop song the next day, a country song which
probably will never happen. And then you know what else
(39:20):
am I missaying classical, jazz, R and B, hip hop,
you name it. I could do it every day of
the week, and it's gonna tell me No.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I think it all adds depth to your to what
you're trying to do, like any any new thing that
you bring in.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, And I mean I was so young just thinking
like I because I decided I'm in this band, like
I have to make this kind of music forever. That's
not the case. It's never the case. Like, I don't
care who you are, where you are in your career,
if you put yourself into one genre of music, you're
not stuck there, truly, you're not. I mean, like you
(39:56):
said MGK earlier, and I think it's maybe not the
best example, but like he was a rapper and now
what is he like? Pop punk?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah, it's true, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
His music got even worse. And that's his right, and
that's his right exactly.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
You have the right to suck.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
If he needs his next album, the right to suck.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I'm in that would be really great. Well, yeah, I
just came from you know, a place where he was
the headliner of like you know, Warped tour, So there
was a lot of really great talent there. So there
was plenty of discussion about about MGK had but you
know that he's a very hard working man and that
is very visible in a way that people don't usually
(40:50):
I think is cool.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Yeah, I mean that's another thing about him is like
I might not like his music, but like I respect
what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Exactly was just like I don't want to make rap,
I want to make pop punk songs.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Well, right, so you know it was supposedly that Eminem
bullied him into putting after he started to be.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
So I'm coming around on Eminem a little.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
No Eminem, Uh, well, we don't need it. That's another conversation.
We'll work people doing black music. That's what we're that's
what we're naming.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Yeah, so true.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
That's the time we come for Eric Clapton. Yeah, he's
going down. But Gina as Holden, do you have any
shows coming up? Anything you want to plug?
Speaker 2 (41:41):
I no shows right now, but I am working on
a self produced covers EP that is kind of pulling
music from music I was raised on. And then a
second part of it would be music that kind of
inspires me or I draw inspiration from now, whether it's
an artist or a song. Just working on producing that
(42:04):
out and hopefully we'll get it out soon, but really
excited about it. I've always been somebody who loves to
take an already written song and put my own twists
on it. I've been doing that for as long as
I've known how to play instruments. So it's kind of
just been an exercise for me to remind me that
music is for fun and that I can make anything
(42:28):
sound like however I want, and that's the art of it.
Because I found myself getting into this rut where it's
just like, oh, I wrote this song and I really
really like it. So now all of these songs need
to kind of live within this space and.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
Yeah, you're trying to make the album exactly really want to.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
And it's not that I don't want to, it's that again,
like I find myself pigeonholing myself, and this truly is
an exercise to just get out of that. And it's
been so fun, been so fun. It's brought me back
to like the reason that I do this.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
Yeah, you're arranging it, you're producing it.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yeah, and then my friend Joey's mixing and master right,
So it's really an in house job.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
That's great. I mean one of the things that I
really like about what you do is that you you
are playing a lot of instruments, you're writing the music yourself.
I think that there need to be more examples of
women doing that. Yeah, absolutely, because it's like this sort
of paradigm that we've heard throughout our lives is there's
like the pretty singer lady, and then there's the producer
(43:36):
who's like some grizzled you know, Swedish guy, hunched over
like a shrished over a keyboard or a mixing desk.
So yeah, it's great that you've taken so much into
your own hands, for sure.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Yeah, It's also like there are things that I try
to explain. I love working with other people, I really
really do, and I think it pushes me as an artist,
It pushes me to think differently. But there are things.
Speaker 3 (44:03):
In lis just you to have to google every single
step of how to use a digital audio work station
while you're making a track.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
So true, so true. But you know what, that's okay,
It's it's totally okay. But yeah, like I love being
in the room with other people, but there's something about
working by myself that keeps me honest. It's like I
need to be better at this or I need to
let go of this idea and just hold myself accountable
(44:32):
for what I'm putting on myself, what pressures I'm putting
on myself, and then kind of take a step back
and just be like, chill the fuck out. It's music,
like you make it because you love it, You make
it because you like what it sounds like. So just
do that.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Like, are you saying like that when you're working with
other people sometimes because I think I relate to this
that you take their opinion, Well, you take their opinion,
but it's like you you throw something at them that
maybe you're kind of like an in on and but
maybe don't care about. But then they entertain it back
and there and then so then you're just like both
kind of going in depth about something when you could
(45:08):
have just like moved on to the next thing. It's
like they entertain your perfectionism more than more than you'll
let yourself.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
Because you know or you present an idea that they
will like and not necessarily the idea that you want
to do.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I have no problem saying delete that. I've said that
a lot in the studio, and I was just like, okay, yeah,
I have no problem speaking up, and like I walk
into the studio all the time just being like listen.
It's never personal, like I'm not aggressive, but like, if
(45:42):
I don't like something, I'm going to tell you and
we'll work together to change it. But I think my
biggest hurdle working with other people is explaining what's in
my head to somebody else and not saying move, I'll
do it, yes, because I genuinely like I'm working with
somebody else for reason. I want their creative input on
(46:05):
what I'm telling them. So if I'm gonna just sit
at the desk, I could have just done it myself,
and that's not the purpose of it. So it's like
I have a hard time explaining you're working with other
people because you want what they bring to it, not
because you need them to get to the finish line
of your project. Yeah, but also, like, let's be so clear,
(46:27):
I do need other people because like I can't mix,
I can't master. I hear things in my head and
I do my best to make the sounds. But yeah,
I don't want to downplay anybody I've ever worked with
because I do need them one hundred percent, but like
they also need me, Like they might not need me specifically,
(46:49):
but like they need artists. So you know, it's a
mutually beneficial relationship. And I'm lucky enough to work with
people that I genuinely love and that are friends of
mine and that make me feel feel comfortable and heard
and seen and in an environment to actually make things
that are important to me and make me feel like
the most me.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
Right, No, that's right, sick domb you have a new
show to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
If you want to hear more from me, come to
you see Black Pride on the twenty eighth. It's going
to be a super sick show. Happy Pride, everybody.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Happy Pride is Pride Month. We're pushing the gay agenda.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Yep, we're on track, thankfully.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Oh, this was a Pride episode, Genus. Yes, we tricked you.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
Yeah, you need to trick me.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Yeah, this was a Pride episode. We tricked everyone. Actually,
you see Black Pride, we're gonna have Jay Jorden and
Rob Apollo. He is actually a friend of the show. Yes,
we yeah, we did an episode on his song She
They so if you want to see that live and
me and maybe Andrew's there, maybe Gina, some of the
(47:59):
d co to U see Black. On the twenty eighth at.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
Thirty Nice and I have something to promote. One hundred
thousand has a show next month playing it hidden tracks
in Boonton, New Jersey. It's a record store. It's July eighteenth,
that's a Friday, and it's just going to be us
and our friend Matt Simon is going to do an
acoustics set before we go on, so you can come down.
(48:26):
It's b yob Okay's say b yob. Buy a record
from our guy Shane, who is a good friend and
support of the band. Buy one of our records because
he sells them. There Zodiac album on Vinyl'll check it out.
So that's that's coming up next month. We'll talk about
it more. I'm sure. Thanks so much Gina for doing
(48:49):
this episode with us.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
You guys.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
Habby Pride, Pride, Bring me into a Fride celebration. Twist
my arm.
Speaker 3 (48:57):
We'll be back next week with another episode of app
First Listen follow us on Instagram at at First Listen
to podcast Follow Gina at She is holding h O
L d M.
Speaker 2 (49:09):
That's correct, can't sell.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
And yeah we'll be back next time. Thanks, bye, bye,
Welcome to at First Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but walk to.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominie.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
And today we're talking about Banks the artist twenty fourteen
debut studio album Goddess, and our guest is Genette Petrou
aka the singer songwriter. This is the first time I'm
saying so loud.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Holden, Hey, I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Holden. I agree. I didn't spend much time thinking about
I was like, this is a very twenty fourteen thing,
like taking all the vowels out. That's all we were
doing for a second.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Then well, I always say it's because I dropped out
of college twice and I can't spell.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
But is holding a literary reference?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Where are you going with the well Catcher in the Rye?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That is where I was going with that. But I
also never read that book, so I that's basically where
the reference would end for me. And that's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So hold holding Cawfield. So after me telling you I
dropped out of college two times, it would probably not
be a shock to you that I did not love
sitting still in a classroom and being forced to read things.
But my high school English teacher who was incredible. He
(01:32):
was also a touring musician in a hardcore Scottish band
called Folly Andrew. I'm sure you know.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
They're actually one of the one of the bands to
make it out of my hometown area.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, they are sick.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So I saw one of their first farewell tour shows.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So the lead vocalist, John was my high school English
teacher whoa Okay, obviously like when you can relate to
somebody on like that type of like musical level, It
felt like everything that he was saying I could really
relate to. So he kind of made me actually like
reading certain books or like actually like doing like guided
(02:15):
writing prompts, which I always hated. I just hated being
told what to write. But the way that he taught
Catcher in their Eye kind of put me in a
position to think about how I'm consuming what I'm reading differently,
which was really cool. So the name holding kind of
came off of that.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Okay, don't don't you look like your mind was blown
by the Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
The face is like I was really following no, because
like I was, first of all, like every gay person
has a has an English teacher. This is it background back,
this is it background story for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
And that's why we have to defund the Department of Education.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
His English teachers.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Listen, they're they're the gay agenda.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
The English teachers are the gay agenda. My straight English
teacher was the gay agenda. Yeah, if you're watching this,
which you will be, because I'm going to send it
to you.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, just no, I really liked that explanation, and I
just liked how I like how personal it is. Also,
I was like, oh, that's actually I thought it was
like hold.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
On Well, I like to say holding on for dear life,
but that's not That's not how I came up with
the name. I just love to play on, play on
the word.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, so I want to play since you mentioned it.
I was not planning to do this, but this is
my favorite Folly song.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
No, hell yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Discussion is for the pigs. This is uploaded to YouTube
fourteen years ago. So is this your you're the teacher?
Sure is hell yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Johnsonillo my guy.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Of course. Yeah, this is so inspiring. I don't think
I had any teachers that way.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
That is that song is a little bit teddy, not
the not the normal Folly sound, but That's why I
liked it so much.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, But like I think it's a great example because
like you hear that on the surface and you're probably like,
what the hell is he saying? But then you read
the things that he writes and you're like, wow, it's
like super introspective and it makes you creatively think about
the words on the page rather than just being like, oh,
this sentence says today we're talking about Banks like it
(04:40):
it's it never like it's open to interpretation, which I love.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Okay, So that said, why are we covering Banks on
this episode, Gina? Other than that right the episode? Yeah,
I would be much more.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
That's yeah, And I'm glad. I'm glad we got a
little bit of it because I'm really I am. I'm
excited about it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So the real reason that I chose this album is
because before I started my solo project, hold In, I
was in an all rock band for like six or
seven years, and we did a bunch of like DIY tours, festivals,
we did like skate and surf, Warp Tour, Bamboozle, like
all the cool like East Coast Festival type of things,
(05:27):
and I was always sitting in the back of a
van and just being like, I am not listening to
whatever the rest of the guys are listening to, and
like I would, I wrote all of the songs like
both lyrically, vocally and instrumentally, and I'm writing like heavier
alt rock songs like to the tune of maybe like
(05:48):
Circus Survive esque type of genre. But I'm listening to
Destiny's Child, I'm listening to Jazz and Sullivan. I'm listening
to these like R and B pop leaning artists, and
I'm not listening to Circus Survive. I'm not listening to
the Used. I'm not listening to all those like emo
(06:11):
bands or rock bands that the rest of my bandmates
are listening to and like drawing inspiration from. And I'm
just like Wow, I'm like, I really want to write
music like this, but kind of in a different way
where it's like more alternative leaning, still in the pop realm,
but still bringing in like my rock roots. And then
(06:34):
one day I heard this song from Banks and it
was it was Brain, and I was like, WHOA, this
kind of is exactly the direction that I sonically in
my head envision myself going in, and like this is
the ideal sound that it feels the most authentic to me,
(06:56):
and it just made me feel like there was space
for me to do that and to kind of just
tell myself, this isn't too weird. You can actually go
in this direction and it can be super sick. But
I think within this album you can definitely hear like
her inspirations too, Like there's so many like R and
B leaning songs, there's more alternative leaning songs. So, yeah,
(07:20):
this is the album that pushed me to become a
solo artist.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Oh gotcha. So it hit you in that right place
at the right time when your head was was looking
for kind of a new sound.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, And it wasn't even like, oh, I have to
stop making alternative rock music. It was just like, there's
this whole other side of me that I feel like
I'm not fulfilling. And you know, the band ended up
breaking up in twenty fifteen, but this always sat in
the back of my mind, like this isn't this is
(07:55):
an option for me. And I had a song that
I had had written called and that was the first
single I put out under the whole Dymn project. And
I wrote that before I heard Banks for the first time,
and I was like whoa, like sonically definitely similar, Like
I had never heard anything like it before, and like
(08:18):
I said, it just it just made me feel like
I can actually so.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
It was an artist that also like you're you're kind
of going down the same road and you're like, oh,
they maybe they kind of beat me to it.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, And what's crazy is is.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Like, but also you feel a kinship with them because
you both had the same idea.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah. I don't think I ever really thought like, oh,
damn it, like she's doing this. And I think that's
also something that female artists, especially get get knocked for
or get We get put in that situation where it's like, oh,
like so and so is already doing that. But like
if it was a dude, like I don't think that
(08:58):
conversation would ever happen. And like, how many country artists
that are guys like sound almost exactly the same and
you never say like, oh, we already have this, like
they're not being pit against each other, already have.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
A Billy Ray cyrus.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You don't need to have a cubid shuffle.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Come on, no, this like that that explanation makes a
lot of sense to me. I'm I wish we would
have met each other because this was totally my energy,
Like the type of music I was really listening to
it this time, like it actually like I think, like
nothing was the same. Also like Bye by Drake. This
(09:39):
was like the year that it was twenty thirteen that
he that that came out and that was like kind
of had that vibe like I think jene I Eko.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, I love her.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah that this reminded me of. Also, Also like James
Blake and I don't know if you know this band Ink,
I don't think so. They have this album that came
out called No World. They really didn't make much of
(10:10):
a splash after this, But another a couple of guys.
I'm just looking at them who they like at this time.
It's like the type I moved to New York in
twenty fourteen. I was like living in Portland before from Austin.
But this is like the vibe I didn't know banks,
(10:34):
but like this is totally the vibe of like what
I was playing when I was hanging out with my
friends in twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
You have cool friends. My friends hated this shit. Yeah,
we didn't make it very far.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I love that angle because my band one hundred thousand
has a predecessor band that my drummer and one of
my guitarists were in, was really the drummer's vision, Kurt.
His vision was this sound of like commercially viable melodic
hard rock mixed with super heavy metal, influenced by like
(11:15):
My Sugar and and also like new metal, and so
he had established a sound for his band. And then
a band called Periphery came out and I was like, hey, Kurt,
you should check out this band, and he was like,
oh my god, I love it. And then a few
years later we were like, yeah, they really kind of
beat us to the whole punt, Like.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
But did you feel like they knocked you out of
the race or did you feel like they opened a door.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I would say neither because no doors.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Were open, but like if they were.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But on the other side of the coin, there's a
band now called Sleepsoaken Yeah, which is doing great. The
guys in the band all like them. I'm I'm kind
of the lone holdout who does not like sleep Token
and we were discussing it and I feel bad when
I don't like music and I can't form an explanation,
(12:12):
and then it came to me and I go, Guys,
I think the reason I don't like sleep Token is
they seem like a gimmicky, shitty version of our band.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's like a caricature the Funhouse mirror.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But I will say if we wore masks and spooky
robes and came up and called our called our shows congregations.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I saw a sleep No More a couple of days ago,
Warped Tour, sleep Token, sleep Token. I went to warp Okay,
maybe not now I'm like, there's something with sleep in
the name. I went to warp Tour. My sister Blade
Warped tour band Fever three to three, and we were
so we saw a lot.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Of bed heard of Fever three through three?
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Well, sisters famous, she's the band. Yeah, uh friend of
the friend of the pod. So we got to see
a lot of bands and they blended together. And especially
because like I was, those were the more the more
fun bands to check out were the ones I hadn't
really heard of MGK headlined. Didn't didn't need to check
(13:20):
that out. But uh, okay, well that was a good tangent.
I'm gonna figure out what band it was. But I
got to watch them they had a gimmicky thing too,
and I thought that was like.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Were they all dressed in robes and stuff?
Speaker 1 (13:34):
They didn't they know there was like it was like
horror themed that there was like different.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Was it in this moment? In this moment, I don't
think they were playing or no.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I don't. I'll just give you a second, give me
a second.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But you said something earlier where you said, I feel
guilty for not liking something that everyone else liked, and
I will probably be the only artist that ever sits
in this chair. And so as this, I don't want
everyone to like my music because music is subjective. I
don't like every song or every artist that I hear,
(14:09):
and like that's my right and my opinion, Like you
don't have to like everything put in front of you.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
It's like a like if I have a prejudice against
something I see, I'm trying to figure out why that is.
Why why don't I like Eminem's.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I know why so many that Well, that's kind of ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
That's also example.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But I think that there's also some sort of like
and maybe it's subconscious, but like you don't want to
like something that everybody is jumping on but also like
that because you don't want to be a bandwagoner.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
No, it's not because I would probably enjoy my life
more if I just like the thing that everybody likes.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Being a hater. Yeah, well you know that's a little
bit of work you can do.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, but I hate in my heart.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
I was so far off with the name Ice nine Kills.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Oh yeah, sleep obviously.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, Ice nine Kills.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yeah, they're okay.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
They were gimmicky for sure, but I got to watch
them change clothes, not like change clothes, but like do
the back but like the behind the scenes stuff. That
was really entertaining, and it made me have a lot
of respect for those guys who were acting it out.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yeah yeah, I mean you're doing like a you're doing
like a real show at that point. Yeah, that's like
that's like musical theater basically. Yeah. Okay, so let's take
a break and we'll dive into Banks and her Goddess
album right after this on a first Listen.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Welcome back to at First Listener. I'm Andrew Dominique.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And we're back with Gina a ka Or from Holden.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Holden just hold yeah, she is holding if you will.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
On Instagram and so we're talking about the goddess Albumn.
You mentioned the song Brain, so I'm gonna play a
second of Brain so people know what we were talking
about in the first segments. The cool thing about electronic
(16:45):
music is the way like you really need to curate
every element in the mix, Whereas if you're working with
a rock band, like yeah, you're you're shaping tones and sounds,
but it's like kind of the same quor ingradients where
(17:07):
it's like, if you're making an electronic record, do I
want my bass sound to be like like, is the
bass on this song gonna be a drum yeah, which
has a pitch to it? Or is it going to
be like a trombone which is like processed to make
a certain vibe too.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah. I think the reason why I specifically pointed out
that part of the song because if you listen to it,
me having a naturally rock music programmed brain from the
get go. The first time I heard that last or
like that peak of that song, I hear a crazy
(17:48):
live version breakdown in my head. Think about it, like
you got a drummer like uh, like riding the ride
as a crash, like guitars doing like a heavy sustain
like you know what I mean. Yeah, Like that's like
what really got me into it because there's so many
(18:09):
similarities and it kind of just felt like the perfect bridge.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's a rock feeling, but not a rock sound, not
a rock execution correct. Yeah. And so the first track
on the record is Alibi. So this is obviously significant
because it was the first Bank song I ever heard
in my life. And one of the interesting things about
(18:41):
this choice for me is that sometimes you hear an
artist and you're like in the context of when it
came out, because I knew it was twenty fourteen, all
of a sudden, like other stuff that I had heard
since that time kind of comes into focus, like, oh,
I know what Verite is into. I know maybe what
(19:06):
Lana del Rey was kind of listening to. Potentially like
Fantagram was maybe into this.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
I feel like Banks. I feel like FK Twigs definitely inspired.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Banks, and maybe the order is a little bit different,
but it's like there's definitely there was something happening around
this time, and there were you know, other artists that
were kind of on this.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, but you were talking about like theatrics earlier and
how it's like a performance and I've seen her live
I want to say, two or three different times, and
one time was actually in I want to say it
was twenty fourteen or twenty fifteen. I think she was
on tour with The Weekend as an opener. That makes sense,
That makes sense, And I don't think many people knew
(19:56):
who she was, but that was the reason I went
to the show and I just blown away, and then
saw her again on a headlining tour and she like
I felt like I watched her confidence as an artist
just like explode and like utilizing. She has these like
(20:16):
different voices that I feel like are different characters inside
of her, Like she could be so soft and intentional
or like so rough and gritty and like push you
feel like she's pushing it out of her body. Yeah,
And it's like these different characters that she plays are
(20:36):
now becoming visual and it's like being able to see
an artist develop like that, or like not even develop,
it's just like come into their own just is It's like,
how do you get to that point of confidence where
you just get on stage? And like she has a
(20:56):
song called Underdog that's that's newer. Obviously this was twenty fourteen. Underdog.
I want to say it was like maybe five or
six years ago at this point, but she literally barks,
like and I'm just like, I know the thought process there,
because like not that I'm saying I'm gonna get on
one of my songs and bark, because that's I don't
(21:17):
think that's me, but just seeing it from an artistic perspective,
as like I'm watching an artist just whatever sound their
body feels that it needs to make it's coming out.
Like That's how I feel most to myself, especially if
I'm at a live performance, Like my live shows sound
(21:38):
nothing like my recorded versions, and I played tracks like
I have a live drummer, which I think brings a
whole different energy to a live show. But the way
that I perform is the same way that I performed
when I was in an alt rock band. I am
banging my head, I am throwing my body all over
(22:00):
the place. I play guitar live, I play drums live.
I'll play keys live, and I try to bring in
as much instrumentation. Like in my song civil War, there's
a drum break that my drummer and I just go
back and forth. I bring out the roto toms and
we just do like a cadence and like for me,
that's like that's my music education. Like I'm letting that
(22:20):
shine through for a little bit. It's like I don't
want to be just that girl standing there singing to
a track with a drummer, because everyone's like, what does
she even do? Not that I'm saying that singing to
a track is not a talent, because it absolutely is.
I just know that, you know, I don't think I'm
a vocalist. That's not my strongest thing.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think first and foremost, I am a songwriter, lyricist.
I think vocalist is maybe like fourth on my list.
I'm a guitar player, I'm a keys player, I'm a
producer before I'm a vocalist. And I think I just
use my voice to convey whatever it is that I'm
feeling or whatever I'm writing about, and it's it's definitely
(23:07):
just a tool for me. It's another instrument. I never
intended to sing for my band. It was one hundred
percent accident. We started out as a Thank god, we
started out as a four piece band and we had
a singer. In the day of a show, it was
like a street fair. I was like fourteen years old,
(23:29):
our singer decided she didn't want to be in the
band anymore, and they're like, no, well you know all
the parts because you wrote them. The next thing I knew,
I was on stage singing and playing guitar, and it
just never stopped. I was an instrumental music student all
throughout high school and any type of formal education I've
(23:50):
ever had. I was never a theater kid, like I
played in the pit orchestra. I was never on stage
singing defying gravity. That wasn't me. But you bet your
ass I am now not well, but I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That like connection with It's like you have a connection
with uh, with the artist as as a as a
person and as like a project as much as the
music itself seems like I I think that's something you
definitely have in common with other people who are like
(24:27):
actively doing music. Who we have on the shows that
they'll pick. I mean a lot of people do, but
picking like the first album or like the first like
a very early album. Mizzy from the ex who position
yeah exactly, there's yeah, do she picks exactly? Pick doja cats?
(24:51):
It wasn't It's like it wasn't her first thing that
she came out with. It was her first like debut album, yeah. Yeah,
And and it's like you connected with it in the time,
but then it also like kind of opened a door. Yeah,
and you just like think differently about music and so
(25:12):
and it's like you followed you've you followed her as
a person as well.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
It's so interesting because it's like it makes you feel
like you know somebody, but you don't know anything about them.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, And that's a cool place to be also as
a fan to yeah, have like no concept of what
an artist is.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Like Yeah, And it's a it's a huge reminder too
that like there are artists that share so much about
their life and about themselves and even through their art,
and it's to the point where you listen to it
and like your brain automatically, like you you form like
that special connection with an artist because of what you
(25:53):
relate to within their music, right or like something that
you see online that you relate to, whether it's in
their music or like a video that they post just talking,
but you don't know them, like you truly don't know
them as a person. But that's the crazy power and
downfall of the Internet. It's like you truly feel like
(26:14):
you know someone when you don't. But I think it's
a good reminder to kind of just like to check yourself,
like wow, like I really relate to this, but this
is just this piece of this person.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
What is her live show like or how has it
changed over the years. Is it like a pop show
with all the bells and whistles and the dancers and
like the set design or is it more of like
singer on stage with a band.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
So it has definitely evolved. The first time I saw her,
I want to say, definitely on a live drummer. I
want to say maybe like a bass player, guitar player
that doubled on keys. It was very very minimal, like
no dancers, maybe like a backdrop, but like she was
opening for the weekend, so it might have just been
(27:16):
like on her logo on like his led wall. Yeah,
so like very very minimal. I don't remember much about
like the bells and whistles within the live show. I
just remember it being very very simple. But now when
she goes out she has dancers that are not on
every number, like just when appropriate. I want to say,
(27:39):
she has like maybe like four musicians on stage, but
it is very much focused on her, Like she is
dancing with the dancers, but it's like it's not your
typical dance. It's like very it's a routine, but it's
it's very like interpretive. Yeah the point where, like, like
(28:01):
I was talking about earlier, these sounds that she's making
are definitely mimicked within the dance, and like I can't
dance to save my life, so you'll never see me
doing that, but like I admire that so much.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Yeah, we were saying on one episode how it's like
that kind of big production pop show. I'm just like
I'm sort of not that into it. It's because it
just seems it seems like a lot of fluff. But
also it's like I can't imagine being the main performer
and having to learn all that stuff just because my
song hit number one, like and now I need to
(28:36):
be like a dancer with the person because I actually
just saw the weekend like last week not a good
show at all. And also he had like.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Forty dances take controversial take.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
It seemed like he did not want to have all
the dancers.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
I have a very strong opinion and.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Didn't want to interact with them in any way whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
I have a strong opinion slash theory, and I am
not knocking any artist that brings that level of production,
Like I appreciate that for what it is. I appreciate
the talent that's on the stage, But as a principal,
like you, as the artist, it's a crutch, like it
(29:18):
takes so much pressure off of you having dancers or
having a band that's like interactive. And I'm not saying
it makes your job easy. It does not. It just
makes it easier. So let's talk about Charlie XCX, no band,
no dancers, just one woman going absolutely batshit for an
(29:40):
hour and a half, two hours insane.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
One woman and her tracks and auto tunes.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Yeah, yeah, who cares? Who cares?
Speaker 1 (29:48):
What?
Speaker 3 (29:48):
She definitely doesn't, which is why it's very.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Cool exactly and because that is one hundred percent authentically her.
She came out and like that was it, It was her.
She poured herself onto the stage and every night. Yeah
I think she was at the Garden too, but like
she poured her heart out onto the stage every night.
(30:11):
And it looks I didn't get a chance to see her,
but I saw plenty of videos from it, and I
just know that no two nights look the same because
it wasn't choreographed. She didn't have dancers, she didn't have
a band. There wasn't a scripted moment in every show.
Like I know, if I go and see an artist
like one or like more than one time on a
tour and I listened to the banter between the songs
(30:35):
and it's the same, I automatically just like like, oh damn,
like especially if it's in.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
A difference and stoking like a little confidence.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
For me. It's like if I'm big on talking in
between songs when it's appropriate, especially if I know I'm
playing in front of a crowd that has never heard
of me. But I like to connect on that front,
just because, like my live performances are the most important
thing to me. It is the number one way that
(31:10):
I connect with people. I admittedly am not super good
at the Internet. I think I'm funny enough for it,
but I just like there's something about like turning the
camera around and like filming myself that does not feel
authentic to me. So I try to do it in
ways that are very me and like candid. So it's
(31:31):
not as like, oh no, I gotta do that again.
It's like, if you see me post a video of
me talking, just know I did it one time because
there's never going to be a second take.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yeah. I also really connect with with artists through this
through live shows. So and it's such a different way,
Like I think there's I wasn't as interested in seeing
Charlie even though now I'm regretting it.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Same me too.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
See. See this is the problem with being a hater
and being slow to pick up a new thing because
you're like, oh, I don't know what's the hype about.
Because now we missed out on BRAT. We could have
been a part of that. We could have and we chose. Well,
I would know I was living it.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Well, I'm still I'm still having a Brad summer in
the fall, winter spring, I'm having a Brad summer.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
But yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't as excited to see
it because it is I just knew it would be electronics,
like I'm I like to see music live live. Yeah, actually,
or like or if it's like electronic, if it's techno,
you know, like a dance party. But that's like the
(32:48):
different it's a certain setting for it. But it's uh,
it's an interesting thing. Because I didn't. I don't. I
haven't seen Banks live. I didn't really what.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Is the What is the crowd like at a Bank show?
Is it rave kids? Is it rock people? Is it
just like a weird collection of people like these these
people would never be in the same room otherwise, or
is it somehow like a group of people that all
look like like you've never seen them out before, but
here they all are.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I think it's a mix. Yeah, like her, I don't
feel like you know, when you go to English teachers Andrew,
I love that tie in. I don't know what they
do for a living, but it's quite possible. I genuinely
I have no idea, Like it's not one of those
things where people are camping out overnight and they're running
(33:40):
to the barricae, Like it's not like that. Like I
genuinely feel like it's a room of people that like
appreciate the art. They come in, they watch the show,
they have a good time, they post a couple of videos,
and they move on with their life and they listen
to the music and they appreciate it for what it is.
Like there are some environment where like I get super
(34:02):
overwhelmed by like people like freaking out at concerts and
I'm just like whoa Like, especially if you're surrounded by that,
You're just like, I can't even hear what I'm here
to hear now.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
And that's the main problem with the big production shows.
To me. I would like if I could watch Sabrina
Carpenter and all those million dancers in a room with
one hundred and fifty cap and like I'm getting to
see it up close, that's sick. But I don't need
to be a thousand miles away, and I can't even
really like I can I can barely see you. I
(34:37):
can only see the screens and like whatever else. And
I certainly am not getting I'm hearing like myself yell
the lyrics.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
That's that me, espresso.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Yeah. Yeah, So that's like I think that's the difference
between there's like they're seeing like live music actually be played,
and then there's like seeing a production, and then there's
there's this in between of where there's like.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
A wall in between you and the performance. Like I
went to see Chelsea Cutler at Radio City Music Hall,
phenomenal artists live. It's it's sad girl music. Like that's
something that like when I go to see an artist
like that, I want to be fully engulfed in it.
And where I was sitting on the mezzanine, I felt
(35:28):
like I was watching other people watch Chelsea Cutlor.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
And that's exactly the vibe.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Yeah, And it's not because people were freaking out. It
was because, like where I was sitting, everybody was like
socializing and like talking to each other. So I felt
like I was in a bar at a concert watching
other people watch a concert. And I just felt so
disconnected from a show that was so engaging, like it
(35:57):
was not on the artist at all. It was just
like venues.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I went to the show by myself, which and it'd
been a while since I'd gone by myself. It is
such a great way to see live music because number one,
you can randomly make a friend, but also if no
one is if you have there's no pressure to make
conversation with someone. You can just literally watch the show
(36:22):
and have and enjoy that part of it. And yeah,
I had a great time. I bought a shirt and
I had like a couple of beers, and then I
went home. And and you can also leave whenever you want.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yeah, sounds lovely. I should do that.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
You should. There's this thing. It's called The Artist Journey.
It's a book that, if I'm being totally honest, I'm
not gonna push it because I think I've read maybe
four pages. But there's a thing. There's a concept in
the book called artist dates.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Oh yeah, I'm not going about the artist's way.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
The artist's way. See, that's how much I've read about it.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I'm on, I'm currently on chapter ten.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Or be like chapter one. And no one can get
through this.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Over the past ten years. No, people can't get people
can't get through it. I have my fourth try. You should.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
But yeah, the artist dates, the artist states, Yeah, that's
the perfect thing.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Going to do a show alone. Yes, it's true.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
So that is an artist date.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Going to a show, going to do something alone.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Anything that's serving you and like your mental health and
like giving you the opportunity to kind of sit with
yourself and enjoy your own presence is an artist date.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Gotcha? All right? So should we take a break and
wrap it up? Yes, all right, let's do that. Will
be right back. Welcome back to a first Listen.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I'm Dominique and.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
I'm Andrew, and we're we're switching up the order now. Wow,
and were your Regina aka holding We're wrapping it up
about the Goddess album by Banks? Gina, is this your
favorite album of all time?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
No, okay, it's not, but I would say arguably one
of the most meaningful and most impactful. And to be honest,
I don't even think it's I don't even think it's
my favorite Banks album.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Did you listen to it again after you assigned it
to us?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Yeah? Absolutely, because I hadn't listened to it in a while.
And then I thought about it and I was like, no,
I need to listen to this again. And it was
just like it took me right back to the first
time I heard it in a good way, in an
awesome way, because I come to it now with a
different point of clarity and a totally different headspace, whereas
(38:58):
like before, I was so confused. So I was like,
why am I making rock music? I'm like, I like,
I just feel like I'm living two different identities and like,
and that's fine. Who cares? Like I can write a
rock song today, I can write a metal song tomorrow,
a pop song the next day, a country song which
probably will never happen. And then you know what else
(39:20):
am I missaying classical, jazz, R and B, hip hop,
you name it. I could do it every day of
the week, and it's gonna tell me No.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I think it all adds depth to your to what
you're trying to do, like any any new thing that
you bring in.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, And I mean I was so young just thinking
like I because I decided I'm in this band, like
I have to make this kind of music forever. That's
not the case. It's never the case. Like, I don't
care who you are, where you are in your career,
if you put yourself into one genre of music, you're
not stuck there, truly, you're not. I mean, like you
(39:56):
said MGK earlier, and I think it's maybe not the
best example, but like he was a rapper and now
what is he like? Pop punk?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah, it's true, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
His music got even worse. And that's his right, and
that's his right exactly.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
You have the right to suck.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
If he needs his next album, the right to suck.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I'm in that would be really great. Well, yeah, I
just came from you know, a place where he was
the headliner of like you know, Warped tour, So there
was a lot of really great talent there. So there
was plenty of discussion about about MGK had but you
know that he's a very hard working man and that
is very visible in a way that people don't usually
(40:50):
I think is cool.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Yeah, I mean that's another thing about him is like
I might not like his music, but like I respect
what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Exactly was just like I don't want to make rap,
I want to make pop punk songs.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Well, right, so you know it was supposedly that Eminem
bullied him into putting after he started to be.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
So I'm coming around on Eminem a little.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
No Eminem, Uh, well, we don't need it. That's another conversation.
We'll work people doing black music. That's what we're that's
what we're naming.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Yeah, so true.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
That's the time we come for Eric Clapton. Yeah, he's
going down. But Gina as Holden, do you have any
shows coming up? Anything you want to plug?
Speaker 2 (41:41):
I no shows right now, but I am working on
a self produced covers EP that is kind of pulling
music from music I was raised on. And then a
second part of it would be music that kind of
inspires me or I draw inspiration from now, whether it's
an artist or a song. Just working on producing that
(42:04):
out and hopefully we'll get it out soon, but really
excited about it. I've always been somebody who loves to
take an already written song and put my own twists
on it. I've been doing that for as long as
I've known how to play instruments. So it's kind of
just been an exercise for me to remind me that
music is for fun and that I can make anything
(42:28):
sound like however I want, and that's the art of it.
Because I found myself getting into this rut where it's
just like, oh, I wrote this song and I really
really like it. So now all of these songs need
to kind of live within this space and.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
Yeah, you're trying to make the album exactly really want to.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
And it's not that I don't want to, it's that again,
like I find myself pigeonholing myself, and this truly is
an exercise to just get out of that. And it's
been so fun, been so fun. It's brought me back
to like the reason that I do this.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
Yeah, you're arranging it, you're producing it.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yeah, and then my friend Joey's mixing and master right,
So it's really an in house job.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
That's great. I mean one of the things that I
really like about what you do is that you you
are playing a lot of instruments, you're writing the music yourself.
I think that there need to be more examples of
women doing that. Yeah, absolutely, because it's like this sort
of paradigm that we've heard throughout our lives is there's
like the pretty singer lady, and then there's the producer
(43:36):
who's like some grizzled you know, Swedish guy, hunched over
like a shrished over a keyboard or a mixing desk.
So yeah, it's great that you've taken so much into
your own hands, for sure.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Yeah, It's also like there are things that I try
to explain. I love working with other people, I really
really do, and I think it pushes me as an artist,
It pushes me to think differently. But there are things.
Speaker 3 (44:03):
In lis just you to have to google every single
step of how to use a digital audio work station
while you're making a track.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
So true, so true. But you know what, that's okay,
It's it's totally okay. But yeah, like I love being
in the room with other people, but there's something about
working by myself that keeps me honest. It's like I
need to be better at this or I need to
let go of this idea and just hold myself accountable
(44:32):
for what I'm putting on myself, what pressures I'm putting
on myself, and then kind of take a step back
and just be like, chill the fuck out. It's music,
like you make it because you love it, You make
it because you like what it sounds like. So just
do that.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Like, are you saying like that when you're working with
other people sometimes because I think I relate to this
that you take their opinion, Well, you take their opinion,
but it's like you you throw something at them that
maybe you're kind of like an in on and but
maybe don't care about. But then they entertain it back
and there and then so then you're just like both
kind of going in depth about something when you could
(45:08):
have just like moved on to the next thing. It's
like they entertain your perfectionism more than more than you'll
let yourself.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
Because you know or you present an idea that they
will like and not necessarily the idea that you want
to do.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I have no problem saying delete that. I've said that
a lot in the studio, and I was just like, okay, yeah,
I have no problem speaking up, and like I walk
into the studio all the time just being like listen.
It's never personal, like I'm not aggressive, but like, if
(45:42):
I don't like something, I'm going to tell you and
we'll work together to change it. But I think my
biggest hurdle working with other people is explaining what's in
my head to somebody else and not saying move, I'll
do it, yes, because I genuinely like I'm working with
somebody else for reason. I want their creative input on
(46:05):
what I'm telling them. So if I'm gonna just sit
at the desk, I could have just done it myself,
and that's not the purpose of it. So it's like
I have a hard time explaining you're working with other
people because you want what they bring to it, not
because you need them to get to the finish line
of your project. Yeah, but also, like, let's be so clear,
(46:27):
I do need other people because like I can't mix,
I can't master. I hear things in my head and
I do my best to make the sounds. But yeah,
I don't want to downplay anybody I've ever worked with
because I do need them one hundred percent, but like
they also need me, Like they might not need me specifically,
(46:49):
but like they need artists. So you know, it's a
mutually beneficial relationship. And I'm lucky enough to work with
people that I genuinely love and that are friends of
mine and that make me feel feel comfortable and heard
and seen and in an environment to actually make things
that are important to me and make me feel like
the most me.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
Right, No, that's right, sick domb you have a new
show to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
If you want to hear more from me, come to
you see Black Pride on the twenty eighth. It's going
to be a super sick show. Happy Pride, everybody.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Happy Pride is Pride Month. We're pushing the gay agenda.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Yep, we're on track, thankfully.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Oh, this was a Pride episode, Genus. Yes, we tricked you.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
Yeah, you need to trick me.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Yeah, this was a Pride episode. We tricked everyone. Actually,
you see Black Pride, we're gonna have Jay Jorden and
Rob Apollo. He is actually a friend of the show. Yes,
we yeah, we did an episode on his song She
They so if you want to see that live and
me and maybe Andrew's there, maybe Gina, some of the
(47:59):
d co to U see Black. On the twenty eighth at.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
Thirty Nice and I have something to promote. One hundred
thousand has a show next month playing it hidden tracks
in Boonton, New Jersey. It's a record store. It's July eighteenth,
that's a Friday, and it's just going to be us
and our friend Matt Simon is going to do an
acoustics set before we go on, so you can come down.
(48:26):
It's b yob Okay's say b yob. Buy a record
from our guy Shane, who is a good friend and
support of the band. Buy one of our records because
he sells them. There Zodiac album on Vinyl'll check it out.
So that's that's coming up next month. We'll talk about
it more. I'm sure. Thanks so much Gina for doing
(48:49):
this episode with us.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
You guys.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
Habby Pride, Pride, Bring me into a Fride celebration. Twist
my arm.
Speaker 3 (48:57):
We'll be back next week with another episode of app
First Listen follow us on Instagram at at First Listen
to podcast Follow Gina at She is holding h O
L d M.
Speaker 2 (49:09):
That's correct, can't sell.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
And yeah we'll be back next time. Thanks, bye, bye,
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