Girl Love – Interview – Thanks for Asking

Girl Love – Interview – Thanks for Asking – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Who are you? Not, like, philosophically, but you know, who are the members of the band, who plays what? Describe yourself in one sentence (it can be a long sentence.)

GL: Girl Love is my dynamic folk project that seeks to affirm queer holiness. I am often accompanied by NYC musicians Hannah and Marc LeGrand on violin and electric guitar respectively. I write the songs, sing lead, and play guitar and piano. Our creative process is very collaborative. I typically send my songs to Hannah and Marc and they bring their classical and jazz influences to the table and orchestrate the studio versions of the tunes.The LeGrands produced the debut record, “Girl Love”.

RRX: Do you have anything out right now that people can enjoy, and if so, what’s the best way for them to get it?

GL: Our debut album “Girl Love” is on all streaming platforms. At our shows we have the record available on vinyl, tape cd, and even lil USBs with mp3s and a pdf of the lyrics. I’m all about options!

RRX: Artists, musicians, we immortalize. We set it in stone. Is there anyone who has passed that you feel you have immortalized in your work? If so, can you tell us a little about them?”

GL: In 1941, my grandmother, Ruth Drouin, was born. She lived a hard life, but took great joy in her children and grandchildren. She especially loved it when I sang to her. After her passing, I wrote a song called “Estate Sale” about cleaning out her house. The ending lines read, “All things return where they belong / the wave to the sea, your lips on my cheek.” I believe that. I know her love is all around me still.

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

GL: The most memorable place I’ve played would have to be Brother’s Wash and Dry in Queens which is a little artists’ space in an old laundromat. My friend Sampson lives there and curates the space. The Laundromat has become a cornerstone of the community in Maspeth and it was such a joy to play there.

RRX: Is there a song you wrote that really died on the vine? Something you all like but somehow just couldn’t make it work. You swear never to play it live, that sort of thing?

GL: I write to process life so it’s not unusual for me to write a song that I’d never consider performing. Sometimes that’s because the song isn’t very good and other times I’m just writing to communicate to one person. For example, I’ve written songs to process arguments with my partner and I’d never play something like that out. The people closest to me know to expect a song as my response to anything emotionally complex going on in my life.

RRX: What do you think is the most poorly understood thing about music, or the music you play?

GL: Well, the music I play is typically both religious and queer which is something a lot of people have a hard time understanding. I was raised Evangelical so Christian language is a part of my heritage and I use it often in my songs. I’m also a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and the content of my work is definitely gay. So I end up with songs that may be  too queer for church folk and too churchy for queer folk. My hope is that my music might be a bridge between the two worlds.

RRX: How can people keep up with you? What’s coming up, soon or eventually?

GL: Girl Love is going on tour in early March to Chicago and back. We’re playing 8 shows in 8 days including a home show at Cafe Euphoria in Troy, NY on March 15th at 9:30pm. You can follow along with the journey on Instagram @GirlLoveBand

Thanks for asking, RRX. 😉

More from Liam Sweeny…