It's been a big summer for singer songwriter
Shortly. Not only did she take the stage at Mo Pop and Bled Fest, she finished her first EP for
Triple Crown Records which is officially being released on September 14th. The first track off the EP is called "Finders Keepers", you can listen to it
here. Shortly's music shows talent and wisdom well beyond her 20 something years and this interview proves that she's as smart, thoughtful, and reflective as she is talented, something that makes her extra special. Check out what she has to say, visit
her website to get her new EP this Friday, and mark your calendars for her next live show at
The Loving Touch alongside
Mom Jeans on
Thursday, September 20th.
HID-How many songs will be on the NEW EP?
Shortly- "There will be five tracks on the new EP - three you haven't heard before, and two finally put in context."
HID- What was the inspiration for these tracks?
Shortly- "Each of these tracks were written at very different parts of my life, and curated to stand alongside one-another based on their central theme: interpersonal and internal conflict. Though it is bubbly and chaotic sometimes, a lot of the EP is focused on the heavier parts of self-reflection."
HID- Where did you record these tracks?
Shortly- "In early December, my guitarist (and best friend) Austin and I trekked through the snow and drove to Philadelphia to record with Joe Reinhart at The Headroom. Before then, the songs were just me and my guitar. We went in knowing that it was going to be a lot of brainstorming and producing- the songs came together in that studio. Joe was fantastic to work with, and that was my first time in Philly, too - I'm glad to have spent it in Fishtown. It was a whole adventure. I learned how to french press coffee. I learned how to drive in the dark without my reading glasses. We stayed with my friend Zoe in
Kississippi, and she forgot to give us a house key when she went away- she taught us how to break into her house with a credit card. I learned a lot about the culture there, running into a friend at a soup shop down the street who was also recording "down the street"- in the other direction."
HID- How did you get hooked up with Triple Crown Records?
Shortly- "Triple Crown reached out to me after I was billed with a handful of 3C artists. Basically, my name was interesting. I have to agree with that one. Fred reached out, we talked, we met, we talked more, and then we made magic happen. Signing with a label isn't easy, though, nor is it simple (and it shouldn't be). My manager Nate and I learned how to do this together - sitting in with lawyers, asking the basic questions, reading books, listening to audio books and podcasts, browsing the internet, talking to members of the label, really just gathering all of the information we needed. I'm glad to have done it, and I'm in love with the Triple Crown family, and the team we've built here already."
HID- Is it stressful to release new music?
Shortly- "Maybe going through the motions of getting things ready, but for me, releasing the music itself isn't stressful. It's a weight off of my shoulders, like, "here, I spent a while on this, and now it's yours", kind of thing. It's rewarding, especially after you spend so long on it. I've worked in different projects, and the theme is the same for me every time- by the time I get the songs off my shoulders and into the world, I already have new ones taking their place. The canvas is always full."
HID- How has your summer been?
Shortly- "A good question. Where did it go? We spent a while on the road this summer, first with Many Rooms, then with Bad Bad Hats. We hit up BLED Fest, Spring Fling, Do Division, and MoPop. MoPop! BLED fest was the first show we played as a "full" band. It feels like we've been playing this way for forever, but I still write the songs alone, and practice alone, and I think, 'Oh, yeah, this is how it was for two whole years! It's only been a couple of months, huh?'"
HID- What's currently inspiring you?
Shortly- "Right now, I'm diving pretty deep into fantasy worlds. It sounds silly, but Ni No Kuni II was amazing, and I've been thinking a lot about The Hobbit, again. I've started reading often, again, and I read primarily fiction and science fiction and fantasy, so that's been a huge part of it, too. I guess that feeling of whimsy and childlike innocence and triumph is what has been on my mind, creatively."
HID- What's annoying you?
Shortly- "The weather is all I can think of, but that's Michigan. I should be used to this by now. I'm annoyed by classes starting and me not being in them, as I'm taking the semester off to tour. I have these two lives going at once, and I'm only 9 credits away from filing everything in a single path. It's frustrating, because I've worked so hard on both my degree and my music simultaneously for so long, and this is the first point of diversion."
HID- Is there anything else that you would like our readers to know?
Shortly- "Everyone can learn to play guitar, especially you." - Haley Butters
"You don't have to be great to play, you don't have to have all of the gear knowledge in the world, and you don't need to shred. You don't need to have some crazy deep, unscathed, internal understanding of music to write it. Or to play it. I've heard songs by women with two simple chords that are better than songs I've heard by men with twenty. Unless you have a physical disability that says otherwise, if you think you can't, that's your biggest obstacle. If you like what we're doing, you can do it, too, because you're interested, you're inspired, and that's half the battle."
~S
During the two hour event, we learned how to create three of the brand's signature dying techniques and then we got the chance to try those techniques on an item of our choice. We also got to dye the reusable bag that we would eventually take our new piece home in. We found out that their is a very precise art to rolling the fabric, tying the rubber banding, and squirting the dyes. Plus, some of the techniques that they use require you to let the pieces sit in dye overnight. It takes A LOT more effort to create one of these pieces then we could have ever imagined, which gave us a whole new appreciation for the art of their craft. It was also really fun to hang out, have a drink, and create something with a friend. We couldn't recommend trying a class more, but we know a lot of our readers were reluctant to make the drive. Fortunately for all of us, the dye house made a bold move this summer when they decided to relocate their entire operation to Corktown.
