Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Live from the Duncan Latte Lounge.Ellerie Ward, Welcome to iHeartMedia. Thank
you so much so. Ellerie If, for those that don't know, is
a New York City based actor,singer, and musician whose album A Perfect
Little Death went viral with her takeon the category of Stephen Sondheim. Her
new album, Keep a Tender Distancecontinues the folk exploration of Sondheim. So
(00:23):
again, welcome to iHeart. That'sso great to have you here. I'm
very happy to be here. Soyou've blown up in the recent couple months
years at least with this acoustic Sondheimset. How did this whole thing manifest?
It is a wild little tale.In March of twenty nineteen, before
(00:44):
any of this, I was justauditioning like crazy, going to as many
things as I could, which ifyou've never experienced New York City audition season,
it can beat you down a littlebit. And so I was going
to audition and seeing my friends andthey would ask me how I was doing,
and one day I responded with,oh, you know, every day
(01:04):
a little Death. And then Ihad the song stuck in my head.
And when I have a song stuckin my head, I either listened to
it repeatedly, or I play itand sing it. And so I picked
up my little cheap guitar ahead atthe time and put together these couple of
(01:26):
chords that I sort of knew andcreated this cover and then it just sort
of became this thing. And Ijust kept making these covers sporadically in my
living room for my enjoyment. Andit wasn't until TikTok that I posted them
there that I found an audience forthem that I never knew I had.
And yeah, much much transpired thereafterthat has now brought me to moments like
(01:49):
this. Thank God for TikTok,right what? And also, I also
say every day a little death,So I appreciate the fact that you've made
a little bit of a courier outof that phrase, because I use that
on a daily basis basically exactly.So, what's been the most surprising thing
that has kind of transpired throughout thisjourney with you and the Sondheim acoustic set
(02:14):
up? There? There are many, um and I think the main two
that are popping up in my headis the first one is after his death,
I had I learned that he approvedof my first album and loved what
I did with his music, whichis something that I never expected to receive
(02:36):
and something that I cherish truly everyday. Um. And then also the
fact that it led me to ummy my friendship with Josh Groben, who
then ultimately asked me to open forhim on tour last summer, and that
changed my life. And I meanjust things that when you post a video
you don't foresee happening. So Sondheim'sapproval and Josh group and asking you to
(03:00):
open for him, never saw thosehappening, but they've changed my life.
And we should also mention it's kindof apropos for you to be here today
because it is Sondheim's birthday, sothis is all kind of like a moment
happening for you. Yeah, I'mreally grateful to be playing his music for
people on his birthday. It's verymeaningful. And you mentioned Josh Grobin.
But the other amazing thing is youhave some big fans out there, and
(03:24):
you did post about one a couplemonths ago, was when you met Lynn
Menuel Miranda and he came in andtold you how much of a fan he
was, and you're like, ohmy god, but I'm a fan of
yours. It was so crazy.Yeah. So I was in Saratoga Springs.
I had just come off of doingmy set for Josh and was in
(03:44):
my dressing room and my dressing roommateLucian I got a knock on our door,
and it was Josh being like,hey, like, I have a
friend here, like who wants tomeet you? Guys, Like, is
it okay if I bring them in? You're like yeah, of course,
like come on in, and thenit's Lynn like gunning for me out the
door. I was like, ohmy god, what and gave each other
(04:08):
a huge hug and we just lovedon each other, and I could not
believe that this genius man was tellingme that he was just like constantly listening
to my voice in his ears forthe past few months. And he also
went on publicity tours and talked aboutyou too, yeah, which like,
I what, It's just crazy,that's crazy. I'm like, I'm constantly
(04:30):
giddy about things like that when theyhappen, because I I've spent so long
not having things like that happen.So it's it's still really surreal to even
think about that still. So inhonor of Sonheim's birthday in honor of you
being here, I do have alittle bit of a hard question. If
you had to only sing one Sondheimsong for the rest of your life,
(04:51):
what would it be? Oh mygod? Okay, Well, my favorite
song to sing is Sent into theClowns because it just feels good. So
maybe I'm going to go with that, but you know, it could change
tomorrow or the next day. Soso I've one last question before we go
(05:13):
into like the finite details of albumsand where to find you. We are
on the Duncan Latte Lounge. Ifyou could have a Duncan latte with anyone
who's either alive or past, whowould it be and why? Well,
I feel like Sondheim would be theobvious answer. So I'm gonna shake it
up and I'm gonna say so,my all time favorite artist is Caroline Policek.
(05:36):
I actually can say I wouldn't bethe artist that I am today without
her music. And I love theway she looks at the world, and
I would love to have a conversationwith her about just art and music and
how much she has changed my life. So that's my pick that I thought
(05:56):
you were going to go to Sandheimroute so that I love that. That's
going to be too on the noseright. Well, for those that don't
know, how can they find whereyou are where you're performing, because you're
going to go out, You're goingout on tour, so how can they
find you? You can find meat ellery Ward just my name everywhere and
anywhere, Instagram, TikTok, theLike, and my website elleryward dot com
(06:17):
has all of my tour dates listed. My ling tree on all my social
media has that there as well.So yeah, type my name anywhere and
you'll find me. And I shouldmention both albums are out on Ghostlight Records.
The vinyls coming out on June second, Yes, feel Ghostlight Records.
Yeah, so go out and findthem today. Ellerie Ward, thank you
so much for joining us today.Thank you so much for having me.
(06:38):
It's been a pleasure, amazing.Thank you. To see more videos like
this, check out Duncan Latte Loungedot com and if you're posting on social
use the hashtag Duncan Latte Lounge
Live from the Duncan Latte Lounge.Ellerie Ward, Welcome to iHeartMedia. Thank
you so much so. Ellerie If, for those that don't know, is
a New York City based actor,singer, and musician whose album A Perfect
Little Death went viral with her takeon the category of Stephen Sondheim. Her
new album, Keep a Tender Distancecontinues the folk exploration of Sondheim. So
(00:23):
again, welcome to iHeart. That'sso great to have you here. I'm
very happy to be here. Soyou've blown up in the recent couple months
years at least with this acoustic Sondheimset. How did this whole thing manifest?
It is a wild little tale.In March of twenty nineteen, before
(00:44):
any of this, I was justauditioning like crazy, going to as many
things as I could, which ifyou've never experienced New York City audition season,
it can beat you down a littlebit. And so I was going
to audition and seeing my friends andthey would ask me how I was doing,
and one day I responded with,oh, you know, every day
(01:04):
a little Death. And then Ihad the song stuck in my head.
And when I have a song stuckin my head, I either listened to
it repeatedly, or I play itand sing it. And so I picked
up my little cheap guitar ahead atthe time and put together these couple of
(01:26):
chords that I sort of knew andcreated this cover and then it just sort
of became this thing. And Ijust kept making these covers sporadically in my
living room for my enjoyment. Andit wasn't until TikTok that I posted them
there that I found an audience forthem that I never knew I had.
And yeah, much much transpired thereafterthat has now brought me to moments like
(01:49):
this. Thank God for TikTok,right what? And also, I also
say every day a little death,So I appreciate the fact that you've made
a little bit of a courier outof that phrase, because I use that
on a daily basis basically exactly.So, what's been the most surprising thing
that has kind of transpired throughout thisjourney with you and the Sondheim acoustic set
(02:14):
up? There? There are many, um and I think the main two
that are popping up in my headis the first one is after his death,
I had I learned that he approvedof my first album and loved what
I did with his music, whichis something that I never expected to receive
(02:36):
and something that I cherish truly everyday. Um. And then also the
fact that it led me to ummy my friendship with Josh Groben, who
then ultimately asked me to open forhim on tour last summer, and that
changed my life. And I meanjust things that when you post a video
you don't foresee happening. So Sondheim'sapproval and Josh group and asking you to
(03:00):
open for him, never saw thosehappening, but they've changed my life.
And we should also mention it's kindof apropos for you to be here today
because it is Sondheim's birthday, sothis is all kind of like a moment
happening for you. Yeah, I'mreally grateful to be playing his music for
people on his birthday. It's verymeaningful. And you mentioned Josh Grobin.
But the other amazing thing is youhave some big fans out there, and
(03:24):
you did post about one a couplemonths ago, was when you met Lynn
Menuel Miranda and he came in andtold you how much of a fan he
was, and you're like, ohmy god, but I'm a fan of
yours. It was so crazy.Yeah. So I was in Saratoga Springs.
I had just come off of doingmy set for Josh and was in
(03:44):
my dressing room and my dressing roommateLucian I got a knock on our door,
and it was Josh being like,hey, like, I have a
friend here, like who wants tomeet you? Guys, Like, is
it okay if I bring them in? You're like yeah, of course,
like come on in, and thenit's Lynn like gunning for me out the
door. I was like, ohmy god, what and gave each other
(04:08):
a huge hug and we just lovedon each other, and I could not
believe that this genius man was tellingme that he was just like constantly listening
to my voice in his ears forthe past few months. And he also
went on publicity tours and talked aboutyou too, yeah, which like,
I what, It's just crazy,that's crazy. I'm like, I'm constantly
(04:30):
giddy about things like that when theyhappen, because I I've spent so long
not having things like that happen.So it's it's still really surreal to even
think about that still. So inhonor of Sonheim's birthday in honor of you
being here, I do have alittle bit of a hard question. If
you had to only sing one Sondheimsong for the rest of your life,
(04:51):
what would it be? Oh mygod? Okay, Well, my favorite
song to sing is Sent into theClowns because it just feels good. So
maybe I'm going to go with that, but you know, it could change
tomorrow or the next day. Soso I've one last question before we go
(05:13):
into like the finite details of albumsand where to find you. We are
on the Duncan Latte Lounge. Ifyou could have a Duncan latte with anyone
who's either alive or past, whowould it be and why? Well,
I feel like Sondheim would be theobvious answer. So I'm gonna shake it
up and I'm gonna say so,my all time favorite artist is Caroline Policek.
(05:36):
I actually can say I wouldn't bethe artist that I am today without
her music. And I love theway she looks at the world, and
I would love to have a conversationwith her about just art and music and
how much she has changed my life. So that's my pick that I thought
(05:56):
you were going to go to Sandheimroute so that I love that. That's
going to be too on the noseright. Well, for those that don't
know, how can they find whereyou are where you're performing, because you're
going to go out, You're goingout on tour, so how can they
find you? You can find meat ellery Ward just my name everywhere and
anywhere, Instagram, TikTok, theLike, and my website elleryward dot com
(06:17):
has all of my tour dates listed. My ling tree on all my social
media has that there as well.So yeah, type my name anywhere and
you'll find me. And I shouldmention both albums are out on Ghostlight Records.
The vinyls coming out on June second, Yes, feel Ghostlight Records.
Yeah, so go out and findthem today. Ellerie Ward, thank you
so much for joining us today.Thank you so much for having me.
(06:38):
It's been a pleasure, amazing.Thank you. To see more videos like
this, check out Duncan Latte Loungedot com and if you're posting on social
use the hashtag Duncan Latte Lounge
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