Interview: We’re More Than Just Bougie Girl with Gloom Girl MFG
Interview by Lindsey V. Britt
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Marsh
From the underground music scene in Nashville, Gloom Girl MFG band members Paige MacKinnon (singer, songwriter), Connor McCourt (drums), Ethan Waggoner (guitar) and Stephen Sobolewski (bass) are on the road to success with their smash hits “Crimes”, “Part Time Ghost”, “My Brother’s Meds”, and latest single “Batshitlorette”, they are about to release their new ep POLYCRISIS coming out May 3rd. I got to speak with the band’s fierce lead woman Page MacKinnon about the experience of making POLYCRISIS and living in the Nashville music scene.
Your new EP POLYCRISIS Comes out May 3rd, what was the process of creating it like?
The process of creating it was great! It’s kind of different for each song, we worked with Brad Shultz at Battle Tapes studio, that’s where we recorded everything, he’s such a joy to work with obviously, he’s in one of our favorite bands Cage the Elephant, which is still pretty surreal honestly. So “Bougie Girl” was a song we had been playing for a really long time and we were comfortable, on the other songs Brad definitely helped a lot with the composition and going, okay this part really catches my attention, maybe we need to extend it or move this over a little bit, which was really really fun, it felt like I was in an awesome school. But “Bougie Girl” he really liked it the way it was, it was just a matter of adding baritone guitars, recording it in Battle Tapes which is an insane studio, and just making it as loud as it can be. And then “I Love You” is one that’s kind of interesting, it’s the last song on the track, that one was created in the studio basically, I had a voice memo where I had the guitar that you kind of hear throughout, and I had most of the lyrics but it was just that, and Brad heard it and was like okay we’re going to run with that and kind of create it in the studio and form it into a real song, that was really fun, we had never done anything like that before.
I got to hear POLYCRISIS and it’s great! And my favorite off the EP was “I Love You”, can you tell me more about that song?
It was more of a stream of consciousness, I kind of was in a headspace where I was thinking about I love you in kind of a, I don’t know if this is right but metaphysical, like this entity in all the different ways to that you love. The first verse is the I love you that you just feel everywhere and it’s just so beautiful, and then I love you is a prayer so I was thinking about the I love you that’s out in the universe or if someone has a religion, and the worse parts are the weak points in our lives I guess, where maybe love is a factor of making us do mean things. I was just thinking of love itself as like this entity that is ever-changing and surrounds us and is in us, and is our relationship, so it’s very heavy, it’s just how my brain works, but I like that with all of that thought that I’m struggling to express, the song came out with a lot of space and simplicity, and I think that’s what I’m proud about the song.
I looked up the meaning of ‘Polycrisis’ which is a concept of compounding crisis that society is facing, what made you want to make that the title of the EP?
I think we think as much in our brains and in our hearts about the community, and about the world that we live in, I think a lot of the songs speak to the idea that your experiences are definitely a part of who you are, you can overcome bad experiences too, and there’s this fluid kind of nature that makes you uniquely you, we’re like sponges, we go through all these things. Also, there are just a lot of beautiful and horrible things happening in the world, somehow, we found one word to kind of encapsulate all of that, so it’s like speaking to what we’re writing about and how we feel.
You’ve said you don’t like being put into a specific genre of music, why is that?
Cause I have a rebellious spirit, haha! A little bit of that, but also because I feel we are capable of making all sorts of different sounds, and that’s one of the things that Brad really empowered us with in a way was that the first song he heard us play was “Bougie Girl”, which is a very straight-ahead punk rock song and if you heard that one song you might think that’s what this band is about, but I think as he started working with us and developing this relationship producer/band, he was very much like you guys are so much more than just that, even though we love punk and we love that song and “Batshitlorette” has elements of that straight on punk thing too. I just think it’s more fun to be you and express yourself in so many different ways, especially when you get to work with Brad Shultz and Jeremy Ferguson who are just super great at what they do.
I heard that none of you are originally from Nashville, what made you decide to make Nashville your home base?
It’s all different reasons but also all the same reason, which is we wanted more music in our lives, and we wanted to be in a community where we at least heard, and we were all right, that there is a really beautiful community here, there are tons of shows all the time. And there’s really great quality I think everywhere and sometimes you just don’t go out and seek it, and find those people, so maybe that’s on us. But that being said, I think we’re all really happy we moved here because we found each other, became friends, and started playing music together, it really worked out. So, I would say community if I had to put one word.
How excited are you for your EP release show with The Weird Sisters and Wilby at The Basement East on May 2nd?
So excited! We never headlined The Basement East before, we’ve been lucky enough to play there, it’s the best stage ever, and it’s the best room ever, Mike “Grimey” Grimes is amazing, he’s a saint, he’s awesome, he might not like that I said that but he’s just so kind. It’s a big room and we have the opportunity to pack it out and we got the work ethic, and so does Wilby and The Weird Sisters. Plus any opportunity to see Wilby or The Weird Sisters play I’m there, and I also get to play. Gosh, I’m really excited.
Might there be a tour in the works for Polycrisis?
We hope so, we might be playing some festivals in the summer so keep an eye out for that. We’re putting out good music and doing our part with all of that stuff, we hope to sell out the show. So hopefully soon.
Gloom Girl MFG loves to channel the spirit of trailblazers such as PJ Harvey, Sleater-Kinney, and Pretenders, what about those artists inspire you to channel them?
So many things, great songs, they are just really great performers, I feel like you hear it in their music, the way they sing, the way they play the guitar, the way they perform that it’s just everything is out there, they just put their whole heart and soul into the art that they are creating, and you really see that and feel that, those are the kind of performers that I want to be and I know my bandmates want to be. We just want to create an experience that’s really real and authentic, and if it means something to us and you can see that, our hope is that it’s going to mean something to the people watching as well.
Is there a dream venue you’d love to perform at?
Well, crazy enough we already played The Ryman, which is definitely one of them, we got to open up for Explosions In The Sky, they were phenomenal and that was an unbelievable show, it’s crazy that I can say we checked that off. I don’t know, I drive by Ascend Amphitheater all the time, that would be crazy, I’ve seen a lot of amazing people play there, gosh, that would be amazing.
My last question is, do you have a recommendation? It can be a restaurant, activity, place, or anything.
I recommend picking up a guitar and trying to play music, cause it’s really fun!
Check out Gloom Girl MFG on your favorite music streaming platform and their new EP POLYCRISIS on May 3rd, along with their EP release concert at The Basement East in Nashville on May 2nd and maybe some festivals later this summer.
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