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Speaker 1: Pushkin. Michelle's Honor is the lead singer and creative force

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Speaker 1: behind the indie dream pop band Japanese Breakfast. This year,

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Speaker 1: Zanna released a series of career defining projects that propelled

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Speaker 1: her band to widespread critical acclaim. Earlier this year, Zanna

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Speaker 1: released her New York Times bestselling memoir, The Wildly Popular

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Speaker 1: Crying in h Mark. The book, which began as a

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Speaker 1: New Yorker essay, has since been optioned by MGM O'Ryan

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Speaker 1: for a film adaptation. The book details Honor's time caring

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Speaker 1: for her cancer stricken mother in the period after her

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Speaker 1: mom's death when Michelle recorded Japanese Breakfast sublime debut Psychopon.

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Speaker 1: Shortly after Michelle's book came out, Japanese Breakfast released their

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Speaker 1: third and most ambitious album, Jubilee. It has been named

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Speaker 1: one of the best albums of the year by The

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Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal and PR and Billboard. On today's episode,

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Speaker 1: Broken Record producer Lea Rose talks to Michell's Honor about

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Speaker 1: her triumphant year and exactly how big she wants her

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Speaker 1: band to become. Zanner also talks about casting the soprano

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Speaker 1: star Michael Imperioli in her video for Savage good Boy,

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Speaker 1: and why she ended up going a little too far

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Speaker 1: in the video's neck biting scene. This is broken record

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Speaker 1: liner notes for the digital age. I'm justin Richmondson. Here's

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Speaker 1: Leah Rose with Michelle's honor. You've had a really big

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Speaker 1: year this year. You released Crying in h Mark in April,

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Speaker 1: it's been on the New York Times bestseller list for

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Speaker 1: several weeks, and then your third album, Jubilee in June,

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Speaker 1: and the album's doing really well. Yeah. Are you thinking

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Speaker 1: about your next writing project or is it more of

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Speaker 1: a next album? Yeah? I feel pretty fried, to be honest.

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Speaker 1: It was a really overwhelming year and I'm like so

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Speaker 1: relieved and happy with the response. It's just definitely above

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Speaker 1: and beyond all expectation the best way. But for the

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Speaker 1: last seven years, really had a couple projects in the

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Speaker 1: works really grounding me. And I do have the screenplay

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Speaker 1: for Crying in h Mark, but that kind of feels

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Speaker 1: like I'm revisiting something that I've worked on before. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I was just telling my husband, I

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Speaker 1: feel just really lazy because like for the first time,

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Speaker 1: I'm just like I don't have this drive to juggle

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Speaker 1: three projects the way that I did for the past

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Speaker 1: few years, and I have a little bit of guilt

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Speaker 1: that I'm just like, I just like, don't I want

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Speaker 1: to just eat at restaurants and like chill for a while. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I heard you say that you're in a stage right

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Speaker 1: now where you're just sort of an empty vessel and

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Speaker 1: you're just looking around and you're thinking. So when you

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Speaker 1: first started out and you were in some of your

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Speaker 1: early bands and you would play music for your mom

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Speaker 1: or you would talk to your mom about it, it

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Speaker 1: seemed like she hoped it was just a passing phase

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Speaker 1: and you would kind of come to your senses and

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Speaker 1: get a nice, stable job. That did happen for a

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Speaker 1: period of time after your mom passed away, you know,

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Speaker 1: once things started to pick up with Psychopomp. Did you

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Speaker 1: ever consider just giving it all up for that reason? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think that was part of what moving to New

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Speaker 1: York and getting a job was was just like part

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Speaker 1: of it was like, I'm twenty five and if it

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Speaker 1: hasn't happened for me yet after almost ten years of

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Speaker 1: doing the grind, that's probably not going to happen, you know,

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Speaker 1: and it's time to give it up. I'd never actually

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Speaker 1: like wore to nine to five job without something else

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Speaker 1: on the backburner creatively, and trying to do that very

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Speaker 1: quickly revealed that I just feel so completely unfulfilled by

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Speaker 1: that lifestyle. You know. I would work from in New York,

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Speaker 1: like a nine to five job really is like eight

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Speaker 1: to seven, and I would eat my little sweet green

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Speaker 1: at my computer like everyone else, and I would leave

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Speaker 1: just feeling like I did nothing. I just felt so

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Speaker 1: completely unfulfilled every day. And even still when I did that,

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Speaker 1: I realized, like, Okay, I need some kind of project,

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Speaker 1: and I would go to Crown Heights like after work

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Speaker 1: at seven, drive in rush hour traffic mix with Ned

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Speaker 1: Eisenberg from like eight to midnight, and then go to

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Speaker 1: bed because I just felt like I couldn't I couldn't

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Speaker 1: sleep without doing something that day. And then I just

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Speaker 1: got very, very lucky and really won the lottery with

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Speaker 1: that album. Can you talk a little bit about how

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Speaker 1: you started to record Psychopomp and how you eventually were

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Speaker 1: able to get that out in the world. So my

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Speaker 1: mom passed away in October twenty fourteen, and then I

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Speaker 1: would say probably in December of that year. I stayed

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Speaker 1: behind in Eugene for another six months to kind of

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Speaker 1: just make sure that my dad was okay mentally and

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Speaker 1: help him sort of pack up this house that they

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Speaker 1: lived in for you know, fifteen years. And you know,

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Speaker 1: it's just a really dark period of my life where

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Speaker 1: I was just stuck in this house and in the

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Speaker 1: woods with my dad's like oh the furniture and the decorations,

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Speaker 1: where my mom's had to fold her clothes and put

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Speaker 1: them away and sell things. It was just a really horrible,

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Speaker 1: darkest period of my life. And you know, I needed

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Speaker 1: like a little project to just like figure out what

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Speaker 1: was going on. And there was this little shed at

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Speaker 1: the bottom of the property my parents had, like you know,

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Speaker 1: three to five acres like in the forest. When I

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Speaker 1: was done for the day, I would like go down

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Speaker 1: there and like write some songs. My husband was living

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Speaker 1: with us and he played bass on the album. And

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Speaker 1: then my my first boyfriend and good friend, Nicolae Gamer,

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Speaker 1: who I talked about in the book. He was living

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Speaker 1: in Eugene and he came and played guitar and introduced

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Speaker 1: me to this guy, Colin Redman, who played drums and

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Speaker 1: had a little bedroom studio, and so that became a

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Speaker 1: way for me to kind of just like let off

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Speaker 1: some steam and you know, kind of like figure out

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Speaker 1: the things that I was feeling after this whirlwind six

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Speaker 1: months of living in Eugene taking care of my mom

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Speaker 1: who had stage four cancer. And you know, so I

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Speaker 1: wrote Psychopomp and those guys helped me arrange it and

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Speaker 1: played the other instruments, and then my husband and I

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Speaker 1: moved to New York, I think in May or June

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Speaker 1: of twenty fifteen, and the album needed mixing, and I

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Speaker 1: had this college friend, Dad Eisenberg, who I thought was

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Speaker 1: a very talented mixing engineer, and we actually started opening

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Speaker 1: up those songs while I was working that nine to

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Speaker 1: five job in advertising. Yeah, what I thought was going

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Speaker 1: to be mixing ended up being like adding a lot

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Speaker 1: of SyncE and speeding up songs and adding samples, and

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Speaker 1: Ned really kind of revitalized an album that was maybe

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Speaker 1: a little bit more straightforward. Did you love it? Were

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Speaker 1: you proud of it? Like? What was your thought about

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Speaker 1: it as you were mixing it and adding more to it? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: I mean I think that Ned is a brilliant producer,

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Speaker 1: and the stuff that we were doing there and even

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Speaker 1: you know, when I was recording in the gene. I

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Speaker 1: thought it was great. But I thought everything that I

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Speaker 1: did was great, you know what I mean, Like my

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Speaker 1: old band, I thought all of our albums were great

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Speaker 1: and no one else really cared about them. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: I thought that we made a great thing. When we

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Speaker 1: were done, I like sent it out to all these

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Speaker 1: tiny labels and no one wanted it. Everyone you know,

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Speaker 1: passed on it. And then eventually I found this small

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Speaker 1: label called Yellow K Records, and you know, they were

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Speaker 1: interested in putting it out, and in my mind, I

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Speaker 1: was like, Okay, we'll press five hundred copies and over

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Speaker 1: the next ten years will like slowly sell that. And

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Speaker 1: I told him straight up, like I'm not going to tour.

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Speaker 1: I have this job, i've health insurance. I like I've

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Speaker 1: done that. It's not it doesn't work. Like I'm over

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Speaker 1: that lifestyle. I have to like focus on this. And

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Speaker 1: he's like, okay, that's fine, and he was still willing

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Speaker 1: to put it out and they got a PR person, Aloy,

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Speaker 1: who's still my PR person. And you know, when he

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Speaker 1: told me he was hiring a publicist, I was like, why,

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Speaker 1: you know what a waste of money, Like, it's not

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Speaker 1: going to do anything, and the record got great press,

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Speaker 1: and I got offered the Mitzky tour. I had labels

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Speaker 1: that were interested, and around that time, I had like

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Speaker 1: a year end assessment of my progress at my job

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Speaker 1: and I thought I was getting a raise, and they

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Speaker 1: actually told me. I was like not doing what And

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Speaker 1: so like the owner, I think he's kind of like

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Speaker 1: a punk guy actually, and like I think he thought

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Speaker 1: I was like funny, and I think he felt bad

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Speaker 1: for me that I was so blindsided by this, you know,

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Speaker 1: this end of the year progress part that he misspoke,

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Speaker 1: I think. And he offered me a two month severance,

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Speaker 1: which was crazy because I'd only been there for nine months,

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Speaker 1: and like he was letting you go. Yeah, he was

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Speaker 1: like if you're not happy, like if you're so surprised

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Speaker 1: by this, like maybe it's not you know, you shouldn't

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Speaker 1: you should go do something else or whatever. And so

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Speaker 1: I took my paid Christmas vacation and around that time

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Speaker 1: I had been offered all these cells by showcases. I

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Speaker 1: thought about it. I came back and I was like,

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Speaker 1: I'll take that two months everance. And in my mind

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Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, well you have two months of

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Speaker 1: pay to like see if this is going to turn

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Speaker 1: into something and reassess, and then it ended up doing

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Speaker 1: really well. We went to south By, we got signed,

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Speaker 1: I got a booking agent, I got this you know,

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Speaker 1: North American tour, and I never worked another job since then.

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Speaker 1: So what do you think it was about the album

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Speaker 1: that stuck this time? I don't know, you know, I

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Speaker 1: think it's a There was a number of things. I

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Speaker 1: think when you know, maybe I had just finally paid

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Speaker 1: enough of my dues, Like maybe my name had kind

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Speaker 1: of been like bubbling up, and there was a kind

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Speaker 1: of clarity and focus that my other band before it

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Speaker 1: didn't have, because I could kind of like be this

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Speaker 1: directorial force that I had kind of you know, the

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Speaker 1: band before it was kind of more of a democracy.

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Speaker 1: It was like four people like you know, and I

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Speaker 1: was kind of like writing music. Then that was a

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Speaker 1: little bit harder. It was a little harder than what

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Speaker 1: I wanted to make me or that what I or

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Speaker 1: more naturally like comes out of me. I guess like

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Speaker 1: I was in a band with three kind of dudes

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Speaker 1: that came up in punk and hardcore, and I think

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Speaker 1: that Japanese Breakfast I was able to kind of lean

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Speaker 1: into like more pop sensibility, more indies, So it was

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Speaker 1: just more listenable, more palatable. And yeah, I think also

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Speaker 1: a narrative like came out, like when when we wrote

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Speaker 1: a press release, like I didn't say anything about my

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Speaker 1: mom passing away, but you know, as you can probably tell,

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Speaker 1: like I'm a pretty open book, easy person to interview,

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Speaker 1: and like I think that, you know, when people ask

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Speaker 1: like what is the song about, I told them, you know, honestly,

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Speaker 1: And that narrative kind of came out on its own,

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Speaker 1: and I think that it resonated with people and that

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Speaker 1: was part of it. And I just got lucky the

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Speaker 1: right place right. Who knows why, but that's my theory.

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Speaker 1: It's also very good. Yeah, I wouldn't chuck it all

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Speaker 1: up to luck. The cover image is so arresting. It's

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Speaker 1: just it sort of stays with you. It's a little

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Speaker 1: bit mysterious, like what's going on here? How did you

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Speaker 1: pick that image? And where did you find? I know

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Speaker 1: it's your mom's in the picture, but how did you

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Speaker 1: come across the image? I mean, first of all, I

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Speaker 1: you know, was packing up the house and threw so

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Speaker 1: much stuff away except for all the family photos. So

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Speaker 1: I was like going through all these family photos all

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Speaker 1: the time, and so they were certainly like top of mind,

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Speaker 1: and it was also free, so I didn't have to

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Speaker 1: hire anyone. It was just like the image. I like

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Speaker 1: this image, you know. I think my mom looks so

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Speaker 1: beautiful there, and like she's with her friend and she's

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Speaker 1: around my age, you know when I lost her, and

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Speaker 1: it really just looks like she is like in the sky,

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Speaker 1: Like it looks like they're on a cloud and she's

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Speaker 1: reaching for me. Yeah. Well, I mean I've done so

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Speaker 1: many interviews that I haven't really talked about this, but

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Speaker 1: like when I think about that album cover, like it

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Speaker 1: does look kind of like it's a woman reaching down

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Speaker 1: below from like a cloud or something, but it also

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Speaker 1: looks like it's a woman like letting go of someone beneath,

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Speaker 1: you know, And that's like just so much what that

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Speaker 1: album is about. You know. I was like having all

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Speaker 1: these dreams about my mom and it felt like it

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Speaker 1: was her way of like reaching towards me or something.

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Speaker 1: But it was also like, you know, about becoming an

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Speaker 1: adult after like you like lose your parents maybe a

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Speaker 1: little bit sooner than you're ready to, and yeah, like

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Speaker 1: having to to Forgohn after that and being let go

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Speaker 1: of So yeah, it felt like so fitting for that

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Speaker 1: time and the themes on that record. She just paces

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Speaker 1: Dais sniffs That's in Heaven from Japanese Breakfast debut album,

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Speaker 1: Psycho Pomp. We'll be right back with more from Michelle's

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Speaker 1: Honor after the break We're back with Lea Rose and

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Speaker 1: Michelle's Honor of Japanese Breakfast for the second album, did

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Speaker 1: you have kind of a creative frame for it? Did

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Speaker 1: you have an idea of where you wanted to go?

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Speaker 1: So we played south By must have been twenty sixteen,

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Speaker 1: and everything exploded for me as an artist there. And

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Speaker 1: I had this song Machinist. That was that song about

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Speaker 1: it falling in love with the robot and in my mind,

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Speaker 1: you know, after like doing all this press around Psychopomp,

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Speaker 1: I was like, I don't want to talk about this

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Speaker 1: ever again. I want to I don't want to write

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Speaker 1: an album about grief. I need to like write an

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Speaker 1: album about like a sci fi concept album that has

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Speaker 1: nothing to do with my personal life and everything to

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Speaker 1: do with like fiction. And I had kind of promised

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Speaker 1: Dead Oceans, like I told them, you know, They're like, oh,

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Speaker 1: you must have another album ready to go or something,

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Speaker 1: and I had kind of lied and been like, oh yeah,

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Speaker 1: like it's ready to go, sign me, you know. But

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Speaker 1: it was kind of a good way to go about

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Speaker 1: it because I, you know, I had all of the

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Speaker 1: pressure of like a successful kind of debut that I

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Speaker 1: was like, okay, like I need to avoid the sophomore slump.

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Speaker 1: Maybe the best way to do that is just do

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Speaker 1: it fast, like just right, you know what feels good

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Speaker 1: to you immediately. But then when I started trying to

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Speaker 1: go in on this like very heavy handed sci fi

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Speaker 1: concept record, I was like, you know, your mom still

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Speaker 1: just died, like that was like two years ago, and

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Speaker 1: you're still going through a lot of these feelings. And

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Speaker 1: I think I ended up being an album much more

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Speaker 1: about this different type of grief. I was like kind

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Speaker 1: of dissociating a lot. I felt very out of touch

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Speaker 1: from reality and you know, kind of spacey. I guess.

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Speaker 1: So I think that it's kind of like a very

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Speaker 1: loose concept record about grief and mourning and kind of

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Speaker 1: like removing yourself from feeling in this way. And I

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Speaker 1: had kind of like a bad falling out with Ned Eisenberg,

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Speaker 1: the producer who worked on Psychopomp, and I reached out

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Speaker 1: to my friend Craig Hendricks, who ended up joining the

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Speaker 1: live band, and he recorded my old band, Little Big

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Speaker 1: League's first album, and the two of us like forged

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Speaker 1: a really wonderful collaborative relationship from starting with that record.

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Speaker 1: It was really a very insular process. It was very

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Speaker 1: concentrated one month of like largely just writing, arranging recording

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Speaker 1: in his little warehouse studio, like just me and him

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Speaker 1: playing all the instruments and putting it together. And I

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Speaker 1: felt like that's what I needed to kind of avoid

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Speaker 1: the kind of pressures of the sophomore slump taking its

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Speaker 1: toll on me. Yeah, I feel like your fashion really

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Speaker 1: exploded between album two and three. And is that just

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Speaker 1: because of like now you have access to more resources?

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Speaker 1: Is it knowing more designers? How did that happen? And

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Speaker 1: it's been so incredible to see, thank you? Yeah. I

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Speaker 1: mean it started with just like needing something to wear.

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Speaker 1: And a big change was I'm I started hanging out

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Speaker 1: with cclu was my stylist, and she's you know, become

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Speaker 1: a really good friend of mine, and the two of

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Speaker 1: us like went from you know, begging small designers to

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Speaker 1: loan to us, buying and returning a lot of stuff

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Speaker 1: like and she just you know, I think she really

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Speaker 1: introduced me to fashion in general as an art form.

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Speaker 1: And I started actually really enjoying it and feeling really

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Speaker 1: good wearing different things and it becoming a part of

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Speaker 1: the show and having different themes for different eras. And

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Speaker 1: you know, when I think about musicians like be York

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Speaker 1: or David Bowie or you know, John or whatever, like

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Speaker 1: it's nice for me that you can think of their

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Speaker 1: album cycles, like what sort of era they're in, you know,

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Speaker 1: getting to be a bigger artist, you just start to

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Speaker 1: tear apart all of the details of like what can

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Speaker 1: you add to make it better? You know, all these

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Speaker 1: little things. It's not just like adding more musicians. It's

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Speaker 1: not just like adding more instruments and like more like

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Speaker 1: detailed analogue sound. It's also like what does the backdrop

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Speaker 1: look like, what does the production look like, what does

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Speaker 1: the lighting look like? What well people are looking at

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Speaker 1: what we're wearing, what does that look like? Or like

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Speaker 1: the drumhead or you know, the microphone decoration, whatever, like

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Speaker 1: any detail like it just as this level of this

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Speaker 1: heightened level of thoughtfulness, I like the idea of like

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Speaker 1: integrating that and every single thing that we do, and

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Speaker 1: so the wardrobe started to kind of take on that

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Speaker 1: sort of meaning for me too. And the more that

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Speaker 1: I learned about different designers and the more that Ceci

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Speaker 1: kind of integrated me into that world, the more exciting

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Speaker 1: and fun it was to kind of come up with

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Speaker 1: more ideas and make that a part of the show. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's so cool. Oh, thank you. So I just wanted

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Speaker 1: to ask you specifically about a couple of the songs

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Speaker 1: on Jubilee. Oh great, okay, So Tactics. Yeah, yeah, this

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Speaker 1: seems to be new on Jubilee. There's string sections, and

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Speaker 1: you talked about, you know, as your evolution as an

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Speaker 1: artist went on, you started adding different elements into the scores,

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Speaker 1: and this is just seems like a huge jump from psychopump.

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Speaker 1: So where did the idea come from. Yeah? I started

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Speaker 1: writing a lot more songs on piano for this album,

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Speaker 1: and so Tactics was a song that started on the

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Speaker 1: piano and I really wanted it to be this kind

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Speaker 1: of Randy Newman type ballad, and Craig transposed the introduction

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Speaker 1: that was originally played the piano to a string quartet

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Speaker 1: and then he kept saying like he had this like

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Speaker 1: Bill Withers beat in mind, and I was like, I

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Speaker 1: don't know what you're talking about. This is a ballot.

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Speaker 1: This is a Randy Newman ballot. And once I heard it,

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Speaker 1: I was like, oh, that Bill Wither's beachs Like yeah, okay,

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Speaker 1: that that makes complete sense. And that was sort of

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Speaker 1: how that song came together. Cool. I feel like that

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Speaker 1: song hasn't gotten it's too. That's one of my favorite

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Speaker 1: songs on the record, and I'm surprised that more people

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Speaker 1: don't gravitate towards it. And then Savage, Oh, yeah, if

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Speaker 1: you could talk a little bit about the video too

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Speaker 1: for that as well. Yeah, so Savage, good boy, I

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Speaker 1: wrote after reading a news headline about billionaire's buying bunkers,

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Speaker 1: and I thought, you know, that's a horrifying reality in

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Speaker 1: my mind, Like that song is about a billionaire kind

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Speaker 1: of coaxing a young woman to live with him in

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Speaker 1: his bunker as the kind of as the world burns

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Speaker 1: around them and global warming ticks over, and I think

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Speaker 1: over time, it's kind of like revealed that this guy

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Speaker 1: who just thinks that I'm just playing this game, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm doing what it takes to win. I'm doing what

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Speaker 1: it takes to survive and protect my family. Over time,

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Speaker 1: it just like that reality of just that mentality of

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Speaker 1: hoarding wealth on such a high level reveals itself as

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00:20:24,876 --> 00:20:29,076
Speaker 1: a more and more menacing perspective. And so I wanted

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Speaker 1: a very literal translation of that video. And I thought,

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Speaker 1: you know, my dream savage good boy was Michael Imperioli

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00:20:38,316 --> 00:20:40,796
Speaker 1: because and we thought that, you know, my cinematographer and

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Speaker 1: I love the Sopranos, and we followed him on Instagram

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Speaker 1: and just saw that, you know, he was kind of

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Speaker 1: in the scene like he's a big shoegaze fan, and

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Speaker 1: he's brillianto most of Sumny and My Bloody Valentine, and

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Speaker 1: I just thought that he might be down for a

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Speaker 1: kind of, you know for him, probably very low budget

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Speaker 1: music video appearance. And you know, he looks so great

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Speaker 1: now and it's kind of like a different role for him, Like,

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Speaker 1: you know, he's always been this kind of like working class,

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Speaker 1: sort of tough guy, but he looks so handsome and

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Speaker 1: like I think that you know, dressed up in that way,

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Speaker 1: like he looks like he could be this other type

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Speaker 1: of guy. And so I thought it would be fun

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Speaker 1: to cast him. Really really lucky that he was in

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Speaker 1: it because he's so great in it. What was it

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Speaker 1: like to work with him? I mean, being a big

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Speaker 1: fan of the Sopranos and then you're just like so

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Speaker 1: physically close with him in while filming that video and

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Speaker 1: you're like biting his neck like was that? Oh God? Yeah,

388
00:21:33,676 --> 00:21:36,556
Speaker 1: it was great. I Mean he's a very generous person

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Speaker 1: and a fantastic actor, and I'm really grateful that he

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Speaker 1: had no ego and he would just you know, he

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Speaker 1: really let me direct, you know, and he really took

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Speaker 1: me very seriously, and you know, reassured me and many

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Speaker 1: times to give him feedback and that he was going

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Speaker 1: to take it seriously. And and you know, watch I

395
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Speaker 1: was the first time I worked with a real actor

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Speaker 1: really and a professional actor. And yeah, just seeing like

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Speaker 1: the small variations that he made from take to take

398
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Speaker 1: like and what he could give like was so fun,

399
00:22:07,316 --> 00:22:10,636
Speaker 1: you know, to like watch a true actor work in

400
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Speaker 1: that way. Was it hard to give him feedback? I

401
00:22:13,076 --> 00:22:15,236
Speaker 1: mean it was it hard to articulate what you wanted.

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00:22:15,636 --> 00:22:18,356
Speaker 1: I had a real vision for it. The hardest thing

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Speaker 1: was getting the blood to work to make the bite

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Speaker 1: look believable. Was it in your mouth? It was in

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Speaker 1: my mouth. And it was initially like I was trying

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Speaker 1: to squeeze a bottle from off camera and the bottle

407
00:22:34,076 --> 00:22:37,996
Speaker 1: got stuck, like the blood wouldn't come out, and actually,

408
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Speaker 1: like during the first take, my brain kind of crossed

409
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Speaker 1: wires and like I kept trying to squeeze the bottle,

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Speaker 1: it wasn't coming out, and I was like, oh, it

411
00:22:46,516 --> 00:22:48,316
Speaker 1: was on film, So I was like, oh, you're burning film.

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Speaker 1: The come out, come out. And as I was clenching

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Speaker 1: my hand down, my mouth also started clenching down. And

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Speaker 1: I didn't realize until after the take that I had

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Speaker 1: like accidentally bit the shit out of my imperial neck

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Speaker 1: and he had this huge bite mark, and I was like,

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Speaker 1: oh my god, I'm so sorry. Like now you think

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Speaker 1: I'm just like weird, kinky, like freak trying to like

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Speaker 1: get one in, and I like, I was like I

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00:23:14,036 --> 00:23:15,996
Speaker 1: was trying to explain to him, and he was very understanding,

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00:23:16,036 --> 00:23:19,876
Speaker 1: but I was like, I was just mortified because I

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Speaker 1: was the last ache of the day and of course,

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Speaker 1: and like you know, I was just like stressing about

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Speaker 1: time and I just felt so bad. Wow, he's a trooper. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we'll have to take a quick break, but we'll be

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Speaker 1: right back with more from Michelle's Honor. We're back with

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Speaker 1: the rest of Leah Rose's interview with Michelle's Honor. Has

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Speaker 1: it been performing shows? Did you feel like you were

429
00:23:44,316 --> 00:23:47,036
Speaker 1: rusty at first when you were first performing? Yeah, definitely.

430
00:23:47,036 --> 00:23:49,476
Speaker 1: And I think it was tough for me because I'm

431
00:23:49,476 --> 00:23:51,476
Speaker 1: not the type of singer that like sings in my

432
00:23:51,596 --> 00:23:56,396
Speaker 1: free time, you know, so getting my voice like back,

433
00:23:56,436 --> 00:23:59,356
Speaker 1: and you know, you've been just like the swagger of

434
00:23:59,476 --> 00:24:03,116
Speaker 1: being a front person after not talking to people and

435
00:24:03,156 --> 00:24:07,436
Speaker 1: then suddenly seeing thousands of people watching you is really tough.

436
00:24:07,556 --> 00:24:09,716
Speaker 1: And so I said, I think that the tour was

437
00:24:09,756 --> 00:24:12,636
Speaker 1: really really hard for me to adjust. We were also, yeah,

438
00:24:12,756 --> 00:24:17,076
Speaker 1: bigger group for the first time, bigger profile, bigger crowds,

439
00:24:17,116 --> 00:24:21,876
Speaker 1: bigger venues, on a bus. It was a real adjustment

440
00:24:22,196 --> 00:24:26,036
Speaker 1: and I felt a lot of performance anxiety that I

441
00:24:26,116 --> 00:24:31,036
Speaker 1: never experienced before, just questioning if I deserved to be there,

442
00:24:31,076 --> 00:24:33,916
Speaker 1: and you know, it was just a huge change. And

443
00:24:34,036 --> 00:24:37,356
Speaker 1: also like my stamina I think has really suffered, and

444
00:24:37,396 --> 00:24:39,796
Speaker 1: I feel like I've heard about this from a lot

445
00:24:39,836 --> 00:24:42,436
Speaker 1: of people with any job. I just it's harder to

446
00:24:42,476 --> 00:24:44,516
Speaker 1: do more than one thing a day. And it used

447
00:24:44,516 --> 00:24:47,036
Speaker 1: to be I would work on my book or work

448
00:24:47,036 --> 00:24:49,636
Speaker 1: on a soundtrack while on tour, I would multitask or

449
00:24:49,836 --> 00:24:52,356
Speaker 1: be able to do press and stuff. And this time

450
00:24:52,356 --> 00:24:54,156
Speaker 1: I just really I felt like I was on that

451
00:24:54,196 --> 00:24:56,676
Speaker 1: show naked and afraid, like towards the end of the days,

452
00:24:56,676 --> 00:24:58,876
Speaker 1: where people are like it's just not worth like exuding

453
00:24:58,876 --> 00:25:01,156
Speaker 1: the calories to move and so you're just kind of

454
00:25:01,156 --> 00:25:04,036
Speaker 1: like sitting still for a really long time to just survive.

455
00:25:04,636 --> 00:25:06,836
Speaker 1: I felt like that where I just all I could

456
00:25:06,836 --> 00:25:10,116
Speaker 1: do was play the shows and I could really just

457
00:25:10,196 --> 00:25:14,956
Speaker 1: focus on surviving tour this past couple of runs. Yeah,

458
00:25:14,996 --> 00:25:17,396
Speaker 1: So when you were just starting out and you were

459
00:25:17,436 --> 00:25:20,436
Speaker 1: starting to do live shows, how did you think about

460
00:25:20,476 --> 00:25:22,756
Speaker 1: what you were going to be like on stage? Who

461
00:25:22,796 --> 00:25:25,636
Speaker 1: did you model yourself after, if anybody? I wanted to

462
00:25:25,676 --> 00:25:29,036
Speaker 1: have like a kind of like orchestral classic element, Like

463
00:25:29,076 --> 00:25:32,796
Speaker 1: I always think of my dream show as being as

464
00:25:32,836 --> 00:25:36,916
Speaker 1: curated as like the b York Vesperutine shows with the

465
00:25:37,516 --> 00:25:40,276
Speaker 1: choir from Greenland and the hard Player and mottin Muse,

466
00:25:40,396 --> 00:25:42,156
Speaker 1: Like I would love to be able to get to

467
00:25:42,156 --> 00:25:43,636
Speaker 1: the point where it can just be more and more

468
00:25:43,676 --> 00:25:47,276
Speaker 1: creative and curated and inventive like that. But then there's

469
00:25:47,276 --> 00:25:50,316
Speaker 1: also bands like Wilco or Death Cab who are these

470
00:25:50,396 --> 00:25:53,836
Speaker 1: like rock bands who have had these really long careers

471
00:25:53,836 --> 00:25:58,996
Speaker 1: with really diverse, ever changing albums, and I and just

472
00:25:59,036 --> 00:26:01,596
Speaker 1: seem like there are bands that have really good head

473
00:26:01,636 --> 00:26:03,756
Speaker 1: on their shoulders and are also kind of just always

474
00:26:03,796 --> 00:26:06,596
Speaker 1: pushing themselves to do better. And so I feel like

475
00:26:06,596 --> 00:26:10,116
Speaker 1: those are my two main models that I tried to

476
00:26:10,956 --> 00:26:13,516
Speaker 1: go for as we get bigger. And then I've heard

477
00:26:13,556 --> 00:26:16,356
Speaker 1: you talk also about Karen Oh how you really admired

478
00:26:16,396 --> 00:26:20,356
Speaker 1: her growing up and your interview with her in interview

479
00:26:20,916 --> 00:26:24,196
Speaker 1: was so great and so nice to hear you two connecting.

480
00:26:24,676 --> 00:26:26,636
Speaker 1: Tell me a little bit about meeting her. Were you

481
00:26:26,756 --> 00:26:29,196
Speaker 1: super nervous for that? Did it live up to what

482
00:26:29,316 --> 00:26:31,876
Speaker 1: you were hoping that it would be. Yeah, I feel

483
00:26:31,876 --> 00:26:35,356
Speaker 1: like that was my like meeting the president, like for

484
00:26:35,436 --> 00:26:38,356
Speaker 1: other people, you know, Like I felt like that was

485
00:26:38,476 --> 00:26:41,676
Speaker 1: the person I was the most nervous about meeting. And

486
00:26:41,716 --> 00:26:44,756
Speaker 1: I feel I almost like didn't want to meet her

487
00:26:44,876 --> 00:26:48,476
Speaker 1: because I didn't want to ruin my image of her

488
00:26:48,676 --> 00:26:52,076
Speaker 1: or whatever my fantasy for we didn't meet in person

489
00:26:52,156 --> 00:26:55,716
Speaker 1: because it was during the lockdown, and I didn't we zoomed,

490
00:26:55,756 --> 00:26:58,636
Speaker 1: but it was just our voices, which I was kind

491
00:26:58,636 --> 00:27:00,716
Speaker 1: of nice, honestly, because I feel like I could just

492
00:27:00,756 --> 00:27:03,676
Speaker 1: really concentrate on the conversation and made it a little

493
00:27:03,716 --> 00:27:06,676
Speaker 1: bit less nerve racking. But I also really appreciate that

494
00:27:06,716 --> 00:27:10,196
Speaker 1: she's a very She's just a career of genius and

495
00:27:10,556 --> 00:27:15,476
Speaker 1: my hero and so brilliant and intelligent, but she also

496
00:27:15,596 --> 00:27:20,596
Speaker 1: is very nervous and relatable and earnest and uses a

497
00:27:20,596 --> 00:27:23,316
Speaker 1: lot of filler and talks kind of like fast and

498
00:27:23,436 --> 00:27:25,516
Speaker 1: jolty in the way that I do. So I think

499
00:27:25,516 --> 00:27:29,396
Speaker 1: I felt kind of naturally pretty comfortable with her. It

500
00:27:29,516 --> 00:27:32,516
Speaker 1: felt like we were kind of cut from a similar cloth.

501
00:27:32,596 --> 00:27:36,116
Speaker 1: And she read my book and enjoyed it, and you know,

502
00:27:36,116 --> 00:27:39,676
Speaker 1: it's very encouraging of me in the perfect way. And

503
00:27:39,876 --> 00:27:42,156
Speaker 1: I wish I wish I had a full record. I

504
00:27:42,196 --> 00:27:44,156
Speaker 1: did ask Interview to send me the recording, but I

505
00:27:44,196 --> 00:27:46,196
Speaker 1: think they thought I was joking. I was like, I

506
00:27:46,236 --> 00:27:48,196
Speaker 1: want to listen to this recording like every night when

507
00:27:48,196 --> 00:27:50,356
Speaker 1: I fall asleep, because you know, I'm pretty sure at

508
00:27:50,356 --> 00:27:52,396
Speaker 1: one point she called me like a singular artist, and

509
00:27:52,596 --> 00:27:55,516
Speaker 1: you know, hearing your hero call you that or just

510
00:27:55,596 --> 00:27:59,156
Speaker 1: appreciate your work. It's just a real career highlight dream

511
00:27:59,196 --> 00:28:01,316
Speaker 1: come true. It was. It was everything that I wanted

512
00:28:01,316 --> 00:28:04,876
Speaker 1: that conversation to be. I was really really lucky. That's incredible. Yeah,

513
00:28:05,116 --> 00:28:08,316
Speaker 1: thinking about you watching Karen Oh when you were younger

514
00:28:08,676 --> 00:28:11,676
Speaker 1: watching videos, it reminded me of in your book when

515
00:28:11,676 --> 00:28:15,036
Speaker 1: you talk about when you finally started to tour after

516
00:28:15,076 --> 00:28:18,796
Speaker 1: Psychopomp came out. You would see the like the sixteen

517
00:28:18,836 --> 00:28:20,836
Speaker 1: year old girls and the audience who were looking up

518
00:28:20,876 --> 00:28:23,916
Speaker 1: at you in wonderment and how much that meant to you.

519
00:28:24,036 --> 00:28:26,036
Speaker 1: Can you just talk about sort of like that full

520
00:28:26,076 --> 00:28:30,716
Speaker 1: circle moment. Yeah, I mean I would say that our demographic,

521
00:28:30,796 --> 00:28:34,116
Speaker 1: more than other indie bands, has a lot more young

522
00:28:34,316 --> 00:28:38,316
Speaker 1: Asian people, particularly young Asian girls. And yeah, I mean

523
00:28:38,356 --> 00:28:41,236
Speaker 1: I think that people enjoy like seeing themselves, you know,

524
00:28:41,276 --> 00:28:44,716
Speaker 1: and it's kind of like a rare thing when you're

525
00:28:44,916 --> 00:28:47,916
Speaker 1: a minority in America. And yeah, I mean it's just

526
00:28:47,956 --> 00:28:51,316
Speaker 1: a real honor. I've had a few young girls come

527
00:28:51,396 --> 00:28:53,476
Speaker 1: up to me and say, you know, you're my care

528
00:28:53,636 --> 00:28:56,916
Speaker 1: know and I can feel what you feel. And yeah,

529
00:28:56,916 --> 00:28:59,076
Speaker 1: that's really strange coming from a place where you know,

530
00:28:59,116 --> 00:29:00,876
Speaker 1: I talk about this in the book, but there was

531
00:29:00,916 --> 00:29:04,436
Speaker 1: still this real scarcity mentality that I had to kind

532
00:29:04,436 --> 00:29:07,756
Speaker 1: of tackle of just seeing this woman who inspired me

533
00:29:07,836 --> 00:29:11,436
Speaker 1: to see myself represent sented in this very white, male

534
00:29:11,516 --> 00:29:17,396
Speaker 1: dominated industry, and then also this feeling of insecurity that

535
00:29:17,516 --> 00:29:20,036
Speaker 1: you know, oh, there's already one Asian American woman doing this,

536
00:29:20,396 --> 00:29:22,836
Speaker 1: there's not really going to be room for another. It's

537
00:29:22,916 --> 00:29:26,556
Speaker 1: exciting to see that change, and the younger generation have

538
00:29:26,996 --> 00:29:29,796
Speaker 1: a lot more role models to look up to that

539
00:29:30,116 --> 00:29:32,876
Speaker 1: look different. In your interview with Mark Ronson, you were

540
00:29:32,916 --> 00:29:37,836
Speaker 1: talking about how you've never recorded in an actual big

541
00:29:37,876 --> 00:29:41,716
Speaker 1: recording studio and worked with an outside producer. Is that

542
00:29:41,796 --> 00:29:44,036
Speaker 1: something you're considering for the next project or do you

543
00:29:44,076 --> 00:29:46,076
Speaker 1: think you'll sort of stay in line with what you've

544
00:29:46,076 --> 00:29:48,676
Speaker 1: done with the past three Yeah. I think that that's

545
00:29:48,676 --> 00:29:53,276
Speaker 1: actually a really exciting new terrain for me. You know,

546
00:29:53,356 --> 00:29:57,436
Speaker 1: we did do our Spotify sessions in at Electric Lady

547
00:29:57,556 --> 00:30:00,196
Speaker 1: and you know, which is a very legit studio, and

548
00:30:00,916 --> 00:30:06,796
Speaker 1: I did record some strings and piano at this very

549
00:30:06,836 --> 00:30:09,876
Speaker 1: nice studio called spice House Sound and Philly, and I

550
00:30:09,876 --> 00:30:13,076
Speaker 1: think that those experiences were what led me to you know,

551
00:30:13,476 --> 00:30:16,036
Speaker 1: gave me the experience of what it was like to record,

552
00:30:16,116 --> 00:30:19,516
Speaker 1: like what makes a studio like that special. I had

553
00:30:19,516 --> 00:30:22,156
Speaker 1: this moment where I was recording better than Mask for

554
00:30:22,196 --> 00:30:25,556
Speaker 1: the Sable soundtrack, and I had recorded you know, ten

555
00:30:25,636 --> 00:30:28,956
Speaker 1: to twelve vocal performances just on like an SM seven

556
00:30:29,036 --> 00:30:32,556
Speaker 1: and my Apollo twin, and I had camped them together

557
00:30:32,796 --> 00:30:35,956
Speaker 1: feeling like, you know, oh, it's the performance that really matters.

558
00:30:36,436 --> 00:30:39,396
Speaker 1: And then I recorded a scratch vocal at spice House

559
00:30:39,556 --> 00:30:41,796
Speaker 1: sound on like they're in very nice vintage Norman and

560
00:30:42,196 --> 00:30:45,156
Speaker 1: these all these preampts, and you know, that scratch vocal

561
00:30:45,236 --> 00:30:48,076
Speaker 1: sounded way better than any saying that I had come together.

562
00:30:48,116 --> 00:30:49,436
Speaker 1: And I think that that was kind of a really

563
00:30:49,436 --> 00:30:52,876
Speaker 1: eye opening experience, or like hearing what an acoustic guitar

564
00:30:52,956 --> 00:30:56,236
Speaker 1: can sound like when it's engineered properly and electric lady,

565
00:30:56,276 --> 00:30:58,276
Speaker 1: and you know, it's kind of like always like the

566
00:30:58,356 --> 00:31:02,076
Speaker 1: simplest stuff like that that really you can hear the

567
00:31:02,076 --> 00:31:04,476
Speaker 1: difference now, and I think that that's what's really So

568
00:31:04,556 --> 00:31:06,596
Speaker 1: I'm really glad that I did the records that I

569
00:31:06,636 --> 00:31:08,556
Speaker 1: did this way because I learned so much and I

570
00:31:08,556 --> 00:31:12,676
Speaker 1: think maybe just like I have more reverence for studios

571
00:31:12,716 --> 00:31:14,876
Speaker 1: now that I would I can afford to go in

572
00:31:14,956 --> 00:31:18,316
Speaker 1: and record and bring this sort of elevated version of

573
00:31:18,516 --> 00:31:21,436
Speaker 1: a new record too. It sounds like your voice is

574
00:31:21,476 --> 00:31:23,956
Speaker 1: getting over the course of the three projects, like your

575
00:31:24,036 --> 00:31:27,636
Speaker 1: voice is getting clearer and clearer and more upfront. Is

576
00:31:27,676 --> 00:31:31,116
Speaker 1: that a conscious decision sort of? You know? I mean

577
00:31:31,476 --> 00:31:33,676
Speaker 1: it's it's nice to hear you say that. I think

578
00:31:33,676 --> 00:31:35,476
Speaker 1: that there are a couple of things, like, I think

579
00:31:35,516 --> 00:31:39,716
Speaker 1: certainly the fidelity of our recordings improved over time. The

580
00:31:39,836 --> 00:31:44,996
Speaker 1: budgets certainly improved over time. My knowledge and ears I

581
00:31:44,996 --> 00:31:47,756
Speaker 1: think have improved over time. But I also think I've

582
00:31:47,796 --> 00:31:53,156
Speaker 1: always been really shy about my voice. And I think

583
00:31:53,236 --> 00:31:55,356
Speaker 1: touring for the last five years has made me a

584
00:31:55,436 --> 00:31:59,676
Speaker 1: much more confident singer and performer. And I've gotten a lot.

585
00:31:59,876 --> 00:32:02,396
Speaker 1: I've become a much stronger vocalist. I feel like that

586
00:32:02,516 --> 00:32:05,756
Speaker 1: something I can personally really hear from album to album

587
00:32:05,916 --> 00:32:08,316
Speaker 1: is just becoming you know. I think I've challenged myself

588
00:32:08,716 --> 00:32:11,116
Speaker 1: more just the songs that I write. Yeah, I think

589
00:32:11,116 --> 00:32:13,236
Speaker 1: I've just become a much better singer just because I

590
00:32:13,836 --> 00:32:16,516
Speaker 1: do it every day, you know. And when I was younger,

591
00:32:16,916 --> 00:32:19,996
Speaker 1: you know, I wasn't touring regularly and I had a

592
00:32:20,036 --> 00:32:23,556
Speaker 1: lot less confidence in my voice. I've heard you talk

593
00:32:23,676 --> 00:32:27,596
Speaker 1: about possibly wanting to make a more pop album at

594
00:32:27,636 --> 00:32:30,316
Speaker 1: some point in the future. Absolutely, I think it was

595
00:32:30,356 --> 00:32:33,116
Speaker 1: something I actually started to do on Jubilee More and

596
00:32:33,396 --> 00:32:35,836
Speaker 1: you know, I have like dabbled in over time. Like

597
00:32:36,436 --> 00:32:39,356
Speaker 1: you know, there's a song like called Kokemo, Indiana on Jubilee.

598
00:32:39,676 --> 00:32:42,036
Speaker 1: You know, I'm a thirty two year old woman that's

599
00:32:42,196 --> 00:32:46,436
Speaker 1: married and it's a very stable, generous relationship, but you know,

600
00:32:46,516 --> 00:32:48,636
Speaker 1: no one wants to hear about that really, and like

601
00:32:48,756 --> 00:32:51,236
Speaker 1: you know, Kokomo, I wrote from the perspective of a

602
00:32:51,316 --> 00:32:53,996
Speaker 1: young boy living in Cookemo, Indiana who's saying goodbye to

603
00:32:54,076 --> 00:32:57,796
Speaker 1: his high school sweetheart, who's moving to Australia for a

604
00:32:57,836 --> 00:33:00,476
Speaker 1: study abroad program. That was the narrative in my mind.

605
00:33:00,956 --> 00:33:03,476
Speaker 1: And I've certainly never been a young boy in Cocomo, Indiana,

606
00:33:03,476 --> 00:33:05,436
Speaker 1: but I know what it's like to feel stuck in

607
00:33:05,476 --> 00:33:07,756
Speaker 1: a small town. And I know I remember what it

608
00:33:07,796 --> 00:33:10,516
Speaker 1: was like in high school when a relationship ended before

609
00:33:10,556 --> 00:33:12,836
Speaker 1: you were ready, And so I wanted to write a

610
00:33:12,836 --> 00:33:15,516
Speaker 1: sweet love song about just a boy that was like

611
00:33:15,596 --> 00:33:18,676
Speaker 1: you know, I know this isn't forever, and you're about

612
00:33:18,676 --> 00:33:20,516
Speaker 1: to go impress the whole world with the person that

613
00:33:20,596 --> 00:33:22,636
Speaker 1: I fell in love with, And what if he could

614
00:33:22,716 --> 00:33:24,636
Speaker 1: just be okay with that? What if you had the

615
00:33:24,676 --> 00:33:27,436
Speaker 1: maturity at that age to just like have it and

616
00:33:27,436 --> 00:33:30,236
Speaker 1: then let it go. So I feel like I've already

617
00:33:30,276 --> 00:33:32,556
Speaker 1: started to write that way and it's been really fulfilling,

618
00:33:32,596 --> 00:33:35,116
Speaker 1: and it can be just as moving or better. The

619
00:33:35,196 --> 00:33:37,156
Speaker 1: Mask is a song I really love that I wrote

620
00:33:37,156 --> 00:33:39,756
Speaker 1: for Sable and you know that has nothing to do

621
00:33:39,836 --> 00:33:41,676
Speaker 1: with me, and I feel like that's the most compelling

622
00:33:41,716 --> 00:33:44,836
Speaker 1: song I've ever written as an artist, truly, and I

623
00:33:44,916 --> 00:33:47,996
Speaker 1: didn't put any any personal detail there and that is

624
00:33:48,036 --> 00:33:50,236
Speaker 1: really exciting to me, and I think that I'm really

625
00:33:50,236 --> 00:33:53,916
Speaker 1: looking forward to harnessing that more and more over time

626
00:33:53,916 --> 00:33:57,396
Speaker 1: as a recording artist. What has been your biggest pinch

627
00:33:57,476 --> 00:34:00,476
Speaker 1: me moment up until this point. There's so many things

628
00:34:00,516 --> 00:34:03,156
Speaker 1: that happened this year that are totally unreal. I mean,

629
00:34:03,196 --> 00:34:05,676
Speaker 1: the first one was the New York Times bestseller list.

630
00:34:05,756 --> 00:34:09,236
Speaker 1: That was That's something that like, I'll always be that now,

631
00:34:09,316 --> 00:34:12,076
Speaker 1: you know, I get buried with that, which is incredible

632
00:34:12,316 --> 00:34:15,236
Speaker 1: that that was the first huge thing of the year. Yeah,

633
00:34:15,436 --> 00:34:19,996
Speaker 1: Playing five nights at Union Transfer in Philadelphia. We sold

634
00:34:19,996 --> 00:34:22,276
Speaker 1: out five nights at the venue where I used to

635
00:34:22,316 --> 00:34:26,196
Speaker 1: work the coach Check and my old boss, Sean ackknew

636
00:34:26,956 --> 00:34:29,916
Speaker 1: had had the coach check a big coach check painted

637
00:34:29,956 --> 00:34:33,796
Speaker 1: sign that that's called Michelle's Honors CoA check now, which

638
00:34:33,876 --> 00:34:38,796
Speaker 1: is incredible. And Yeah, Jeff Tweedy covering uh Cocoma Indiana

639
00:34:38,996 --> 00:34:42,156
Speaker 1: was really a major pinch me moment. I've you know,

640
00:34:42,196 --> 00:34:46,036
Speaker 1: Wilco is the perfect band. They are what I aspire

641
00:34:46,516 --> 00:34:48,516
Speaker 1: my band to walk in the footsteps of. They're just

642
00:34:48,556 --> 00:34:52,596
Speaker 1: a classically great and everyone loves them. And when I

643
00:34:52,636 --> 00:34:55,076
Speaker 1: wrote Cocomo Indiana and we were coming up with a

644
00:34:55,116 --> 00:34:57,756
Speaker 1: string arrangement for it, I mean we had a moment

645
00:34:57,756 --> 00:35:00,516
Speaker 1: where we were like, is this too close to Jesus, etc?

646
00:35:01,036 --> 00:35:03,916
Speaker 1: Like this is I mean, this is so inspired by

647
00:35:03,996 --> 00:35:05,956
Speaker 1: just like the elegance of that arrangement. And when I

648
00:35:05,956 --> 00:35:08,196
Speaker 1: wrote posing for Cars, I was like, I want this

649
00:35:08,276 --> 00:35:10,716
Speaker 1: solo to feel like the solo and at least that's

650
00:35:10,756 --> 00:35:14,236
Speaker 1: what you said. And so to see like my one

651
00:35:14,236 --> 00:35:17,996
Speaker 1: of my songwriting heroes like cover my song was really

652
00:35:18,036 --> 00:35:22,476
Speaker 1: wild and really really pinched me special. Yeah that's incredible. Yeah,

653
00:35:22,556 --> 00:35:25,916
Speaker 1: three days from now, I'm gonna be covering Jesus Etcetera

654
00:35:25,996 --> 00:35:28,196
Speaker 1: with him at ACL So that's like my big pitch

655
00:35:28,236 --> 00:35:30,556
Speaker 1: pitch does my I'm in Austin early, so I'm really excited.

656
00:35:30,876 --> 00:35:33,196
Speaker 1: But yeah, I've been practicing. I know Jesus Etcetera. I've

657
00:35:33,236 --> 00:35:35,036
Speaker 1: like listened to as songs since I was a teenager,

658
00:35:35,076 --> 00:35:37,876
Speaker 1: and like I actually walked down the aisle at my

659
00:35:37,916 --> 00:35:40,676
Speaker 1: wedding too. She's a job like to a Wolco song,

660
00:35:40,876 --> 00:35:42,716
Speaker 1: but I've known. I mean, Jesu et Cetera is like

661
00:35:42,756 --> 00:35:45,396
Speaker 1: the biggest Wolca song and like I love that song.

662
00:35:45,636 --> 00:35:48,676
Speaker 1: But even still, I'm like so nervous, like like what

663
00:35:48,716 --> 00:35:51,236
Speaker 1: if I forget I thought you don't get nervous before

664
00:35:51,236 --> 00:35:53,916
Speaker 1: a gigs, I weirdly do know. And I get really

665
00:35:53,956 --> 00:35:57,156
Speaker 1: nervous about doing anything on other people's stuff because if

666
00:35:57,156 --> 00:36:00,076
Speaker 1: it's my own thing, like I don't really care about

667
00:36:00,076 --> 00:36:02,276
Speaker 1: messing it up because that's like just me. But if

668
00:36:02,356 --> 00:36:05,596
Speaker 1: I'm doing something like for someone else's band, I get

669
00:36:05,636 --> 00:36:08,796
Speaker 1: really nervous about it or even just like I was thinking,

670
00:36:08,836 --> 00:36:12,396
Speaker 1: like I get really nervous about even just like sustaining

671
00:36:12,436 --> 00:36:14,636
Speaker 1: a syllable for the right amount of time, like I

672
00:36:14,676 --> 00:36:18,276
Speaker 1: don't want to like change the melody at all, you know, yeah,

673
00:36:18,396 --> 00:36:20,956
Speaker 1: Or I don't want to say like so instead of

674
00:36:21,236 --> 00:36:23,036
Speaker 1: this or you know what I mean, Like even like

675
00:36:23,076 --> 00:36:26,116
Speaker 1: small changes that are so like negligible, Like I get

676
00:36:26,276 --> 00:36:29,236
Speaker 1: like really anxious about like tampering with someone else's work

677
00:36:29,276 --> 00:36:31,156
Speaker 1: in this way that I don't I don't care if

678
00:36:31,196 --> 00:36:33,156
Speaker 1: I like, isn't that part of it? Like isn't that

679
00:36:33,196 --> 00:36:35,956
Speaker 1: okay to sort of slightly change it internalize it? And

680
00:36:36,516 --> 00:36:39,396
Speaker 1: I'm sure it is. I mean, like when he covered Kokemo,

681
00:36:39,476 --> 00:36:42,356
Speaker 1: like he definitely like changed the melody, and I thought

682
00:36:42,356 --> 00:36:44,756
Speaker 1: it was like, you know, it's like endearings, it's him,

683
00:36:44,876 --> 00:36:46,996
Speaker 1: you know, and it's fun. But like as a young

684
00:36:47,076 --> 00:36:50,836
Speaker 1: one being invited to do this huge thing, like I

685
00:36:51,276 --> 00:36:54,396
Speaker 1: want to do it perfectly, and sometimes like that'll like

686
00:36:54,436 --> 00:36:56,396
Speaker 1: really psych me out in this way that I don't

687
00:36:56,436 --> 00:36:59,436
Speaker 1: get as nervous about for my own show. So are

688
00:36:59,436 --> 00:37:01,236
Speaker 1: you guys going to be singing it together? You like

689
00:37:01,276 --> 00:37:03,916
Speaker 1: trading off verses or how's it gonna I actually don't know.

690
00:37:03,996 --> 00:37:06,716
Speaker 1: I have rehearsal and two day on Wednesday, and I

691
00:37:06,716 --> 00:37:09,876
Speaker 1: guess we'll figure it out there. That was texting Jeff

692
00:37:09,916 --> 00:37:12,436
Speaker 1: tweetie and I was like, I'll like sing the chorus

693
00:37:12,476 --> 00:37:14,476
Speaker 1: with you or like I'll see you know, we treat verses,

694
00:37:14,516 --> 00:37:16,236
Speaker 1: and he seemed to like really want me to like

695
00:37:16,836 --> 00:37:18,516
Speaker 1: kind of take it over. He's like, oh, people are

696
00:37:18,596 --> 00:37:22,436
Speaker 1: tired of hearing me sing my songs and I was like, no,

697
00:37:23,116 --> 00:37:26,396
Speaker 1: they're not, okay, but yeah, we'll see what happens. I

698
00:37:26,396 --> 00:37:29,916
Speaker 1: don't know, that's so excited. Yeah. So ultimately, when you

699
00:37:29,956 --> 00:37:32,276
Speaker 1: think about your career and where you are now and

700
00:37:32,436 --> 00:37:36,036
Speaker 1: what's happened just really over this past year, how big

701
00:37:36,076 --> 00:37:39,396
Speaker 1: do you want to be? I think that, like my

702
00:37:40,076 --> 00:37:43,636
Speaker 1: mentality is like I'm gonna push as far as I

703
00:37:43,636 --> 00:37:46,556
Speaker 1: can go, just out of like curiosity of like how

704
00:37:46,596 --> 00:37:49,516
Speaker 1: far we can go? Like how would I even be

705
00:37:49,636 --> 00:37:53,076
Speaker 1: in control of that. I have to just do my best,

706
00:37:53,676 --> 00:37:56,556
Speaker 1: and I'm curious about like making it as big as

707
00:37:56,556 --> 00:37:58,476
Speaker 1: I you know, I could do this. Yeah, I think

708
00:37:58,516 --> 00:38:00,836
Speaker 1: that like Mountieri does, like where it's just it's just

709
00:38:01,036 --> 00:38:05,196
Speaker 1: him and he does all his own press and booking

710
00:38:05,236 --> 00:38:08,236
Speaker 1: and you know, management and all that stuff. But you know,

711
00:38:08,276 --> 00:38:11,196
Speaker 1: there's also like a curiosity that I feel like of

712
00:38:11,356 --> 00:38:13,476
Speaker 1: just well, how far can it go? You know, like

713
00:38:13,556 --> 00:38:15,996
Speaker 1: I never thought I would be in a bus, Like

714
00:38:16,036 --> 00:38:18,156
Speaker 1: I never thought I would be playing five nights at

715
00:38:18,196 --> 00:38:21,796
Speaker 1: Union Transfer. I never thought any of this stuff, and

716
00:38:22,276 --> 00:38:25,716
Speaker 1: we're far beyond my wildest ambitions. Even as like a

717
00:38:25,836 --> 00:38:29,196
Speaker 1: sixteen year old girl that knew nothing about the music industry,

718
00:38:29,236 --> 00:38:32,156
Speaker 1: I never ever thought that I would make it this far.

719
00:38:32,396 --> 00:38:34,596
Speaker 1: So I kind of just I'm always going to write

720
00:38:34,716 --> 00:38:37,076
Speaker 1: music that's interesting to me. I'm always going to like

721
00:38:37,596 --> 00:38:41,036
Speaker 1: follow like principles that are meaningful to me. But I

722
00:38:41,076 --> 00:38:43,116
Speaker 1: also I'm very curious of just like well, I'm not

723
00:38:43,116 --> 00:38:47,036
Speaker 1: going to like shy away from it getting bigger cool. Well,

724
00:38:47,036 --> 00:38:48,796
Speaker 1: thank you so much for taking the time to day

725
00:38:48,836 --> 00:38:51,196
Speaker 1: to talk. It was so much fun connecting. I've been

726
00:38:51,236 --> 00:38:53,716
Speaker 1: like completely immersed in your world for the past month,

727
00:38:53,796 --> 00:38:55,996
Speaker 1: so it's really nice to talk to you about I

728
00:38:56,036 --> 00:38:58,596
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. This was so thoughtful and I really

729
00:38:58,676 --> 00:39:04,916
Speaker 1: enjoyed my time here. Thanks for Michelle's honor for the

730
00:39:04,956 --> 00:39:08,276
Speaker 1: insightful view into her creative evolution. You can hear a

731
00:39:08,356 --> 00:39:11,876
Speaker 1: new album you Belie, along with our favorite Japanese breakfast

732
00:39:11,876 --> 00:39:15,276
Speaker 1: songs at Broken record podcast dot com. You can follow

733
00:39:15,356 --> 00:39:18,796
Speaker 1: us on Twitter at broken Record, Broken Records, produced with

734
00:39:18,836 --> 00:39:23,756
Speaker 1: helpful Lea Rose, Jason Gambrell, Martin Gonzalez, Eric Sandler, and

735
00:39:23,916 --> 00:39:28,076
Speaker 1: Jennifer Sanchez, but engineering help from Nick Chafee. Our executive

736
00:39:28,076 --> 00:39:31,476
Speaker 1: producer is Mia LaBelle Broken Record is a production of

737
00:39:31,516 --> 00:39:34,996
Speaker 1: Pushkin Industries. If you love this show and others from Pushkin,

738
00:39:35,396 --> 00:39:39,396
Speaker 1: consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast

739
00:39:39,436 --> 00:39:43,636
Speaker 1: subscription that offers bonus content an uninterrupted ad free listening

740
00:39:43,836 --> 00:39:46,596
Speaker 1: for four ninety ninety month. Look for Pushkin Plus on

741
00:39:46,636 --> 00:39:50,596
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts subscriptions, and please remember to share, rate, and

742
00:39:50,596 --> 00:39:53,196
Speaker 1: review us on your podcast staff. Our theme musics by

743
00:39:53,236 --> 00:39:55,196
Speaker 1: Kenny Beats. I'm justin Michmund