Unsigned518 - Episode 191 - Erica Rose

[00:00:01] Speaker A: He was born on a Saturday in 73 he loves punk rock music fighting the 13 cabin in the dazzle Jazz rock Now on the beat guitar with a short wind radio Bat his motherfucking envy scrolling look at motherfucker cuz here he comes Andy Sculling wearing his orange. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Hat welcome to unsigned 518. I'm here with Erica Rose. [00:00:31] Speaker A: Hello. Hi. [00:00:32] Speaker C: Hi Andy. [00:00:34] Speaker B: You know we were talking before and it was one of those things where we got talking immediately before we got recording and I had to put the brakes like immediately on and go, wait, we need to be fucking recording this. So we'll catch back up with that. But I was like, I gotta get rolling. Cause I was losing valuable content by not recording. [00:00:56] Speaker C: The listeners will come to learn that I am a certified yapper. [00:00:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And I love that. And that was like. I was like, this is gonna be so easy. I'm just gonna have to sit back and let you tell a story. So you came on my radar via Instagram and you know, I get. Because obviously I follow and interact with a lot of local music. My algorithm suggests me bands that I've never heard of and musicians that I've never heard of in the area. Which is like one of the best things about Instagram. Like I'm like, wow, they're literally I'm discovering through fucking Instagram. But that's how I. You first came on my radar, some of your videos. And it was the one, you know, with the song California, right? Is that what it's called? Yes, it's just, just California. [00:01:46] Speaker C: It's definitely that one. Because I've been throwing that one at anyone who will listen to it. [00:01:52] Speaker B: It's great. It's a great song and it gets, it gets stuck in your head a lot and, and you know, we will touch back on that, the fact that it's a true story. [00:02:00] Speaker A: Yes, it is. [00:02:01] Speaker B: And, and I love that and I want to hear about it. But I think we should go back a little bit to begin the conversation and I guess just. I'm gonna let you free on. On your relationship with music. [00:02:15] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I. So my earliest memories are with music. I grew up dancing with sisters and cousins and it really started with dance, but then it became about singing. For me, I'm the youngest so I have. I was trying to tell stories to like 8 year olds when I'm like 3 and 4 and of course like I'm a 3 or 4 year old, like I can't get the through line of a story. So they're always like er, you can't tell stories. But I found that with music and with singing that I could, you know, tell the story. And I found that I had that three minutes where I could get through it and then use my voice as the emotion. Whereas when I tell a story, I usually get so caught up in the emotion. Using music and singing, I was able to kind of get to my point right away. So early on, I saw that singing was a little bit of my superpower. You know, it was my opportunity to kind of get my family, my very large family's attention and things like that. [00:03:24] Speaker A: And. [00:03:25] Speaker C: And probably the first real, like, formative music experience that I had. It was after 9 11. I was about, like, three or four at the time. And my mom is a retired NYPD sergeant, and she brought me to her Christmas party after 911 and put me on a table to sing. Which this was, like, standard practice in my house. Like, I would often go, you know, to family parties and sing for everyone or wherever, like, and just sing on a table. And I remember singing oh, Christmas Tree and probably Mercedes Benz, Janis Joplin song, because that was like, my main. [00:04:09] Speaker B: When you were three? [00:04:11] Speaker C: Yeah, that was it. That was like, my main repertoire. And I just remember I. I remember, like, looking around the room and seeing people crying. And, you know, people moved. And that moment, I feel like I'm still chasing that feeling of people feeling moved through music and just that opportunity for people to have catharsis through music and through performance. And it. It was. Yes, it was that same feeling of power, of, like, I can have this power over a room, but it was also the same feeling of, like, wow, I can give people something. [00:05:01] Speaker B: Right? I mean, there's a difference between, like, power and, like, wielding a power. And, like, I control this and being like, I can help people feel by just doing what I like, you know, because you're right. Like, when you said the catharsis, like, even if it's not directly related to what someone needs to get out, that music will open it up. Like, there's times when I will hear a song that will just make me start fucking crying in the car, and I won't even know why. And then, like, you know, when you think of it, you're like, well, there's gotta be something. [00:05:34] Speaker C: Yeah, it's the best cry. [00:05:35] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I always say, you know, there's people that have, like, music has made them cry, and there's people that are lying about it, you know? [00:05:47] Speaker C: Oh, man, that song just does something to me. Yeah. [00:05:50] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, if music doesn't make you cry. Like, you know, what's the fucking point? [00:05:55] Speaker C: Yeah. And it was just such a cool. Which I. I'm sure you've had an experience like this too, where. And that's why you're. You're still in this business. It's like we all, as artists, have this moment where you're like, I'm. Like I said, you know, I'm going to be chasing this feeling for the rest of my life. And there when I was, you know, thinking about coming and meeting with you and, you know, talking to you about all this, I was, I'm a Virgo rising. I don't know if you're into astrology. [00:06:25] Speaker B: I'm not. [00:06:25] Speaker C: But it's like, basically, it means I'll give you the long and short of it. It means that I'm like type A and all that stuff, or I present as type A underneath. I am not type A, but I like to, you know, prepare and all that. And I started thinking about. I listened to all other episodes and started thinking about what, you know, what were the formative experiences for me with music. And each one of those formative experiences, it was that same, like, light bulb ignite feeling of I'm connecting with somebody or I'm, like, really deeply connecting with myself too. [00:07:04] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:04] Speaker C: Which is so cool. You know, so. So, yeah, for me, it was that first instance, and then from there it was just, you know, singing whenever I got a chance. And in second grade, my family moved from Long island, so I was born on Long Island. [00:07:22] Speaker B: Oh, my wife's from Long Island. [00:07:23] Speaker C: Oh, where? [00:07:25] Speaker B: Not Levittown. [00:07:27] Speaker C: I know Levittown. [00:07:28] Speaker B: Christ. Now I'm not well. Cause she always makes fun of me. Cause I could never. Like, all the towns out there. Like, I'm like, I can't pronounce. [00:07:35] Speaker C: Just tell her not to listen to this episode. [00:07:37] Speaker B: Like. Yeah, she doesn't listen to any of the episodes. So, I mean, we're. We're staying. [00:07:43] Speaker C: So we're clear. [00:07:44] Speaker B: Yeah, we're safe on that front. Oh, my gosh. I don't know. I won't. [00:07:48] Speaker C: I'll. [00:07:49] Speaker B: I'll. It'll come to me later. [00:07:51] Speaker C: Yeah, you'll text me it later. [00:07:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:52] Speaker C: I. So I was born in Franklin Square, so I was born right on the border of Queens, which is where my accent sometimes comes from. I've. I. You'll hear more later. But I went to school for acting, so it kind of is like, not there as much anymore. But if I spend like 20 minutes with my mom, I like, walk back into the House with my boyfriend, and I'm like, what are you doing? Like, what's going on? Like, this thick accent, so. Which I love. I love that. [00:08:19] Speaker B: Yeah, my. My wife actively got rid of her accent. Like, when she. [00:08:24] Speaker C: When she give her some time around me and my mom. [00:08:26] Speaker B: Come on. It probably would come out, but her whole entire family has that. That Long island accent. I always say they put ours where they're not supposed to be, and then they take them away where they are. [00:08:36] Speaker C: Yep. So my song California, which we were talking about before, in it, I say idear, which I have to be honest with you, like, I kind of do regret now. [00:08:47] Speaker B: Oh, no way. [00:08:47] Speaker A: It's that choice. [00:08:49] Speaker C: I regret that choice because I listen to it every time, and I'm like, people might not know what this is. So my whole family, born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens. My dad's whole side is born on Long Island. They all say idea, and it's a New Yorker, like, downstate New Yorker thing that, you know, you add ours to. [00:09:08] Speaker B: Work, you know, like what a Irish clatter is. [00:09:11] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:09:11] Speaker B: My wife, literally 100% until, like, two or three years ago, and she's Irish, she thought it was called the clatter because that's how her family pronounces it. You know, like. [00:09:22] Speaker C: Well, my. You know, I always used to say precinct, and I recently found out it's precinct. Precinct. I still can't say it. I. I'm just like, it's precinct to me. But, yeah, there's, you know, idear is one of those words in my family that everyone says idear. And I wanted to, because the song is about, you know, my love of New York and all that. I wanted to throw something in there that was for my family. And when I talk about it, I'm like, oh, I don't regret putting it in that much. Like, this is really sweet, though. Every time I hear it, I'm like, oh, my God. It sounds like I'm trying to pretend to be country. Like, I have a country accent and people might not get it, but it's fine. It's my aunt. [00:10:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I got it. You know, like. Or, you know, aren't. Instead of aunt. Like, my. My mom came from New Jersey, and her accent is. I remember we used to make fun of her when we were kids, because instead of father, you know, oh, go. You know, go tell your father it was farther. [00:10:21] Speaker C: I love that. [00:10:22] Speaker B: You know, go tell your further and talk to your aunt. And we'd be like, what the fuck is this? [00:10:26] Speaker C: I love. [00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah, it's great. [00:10:28] Speaker C: I. When. When I moved back to New York, my boyfriend, we moved back here together, and he's from Delaware, so he has kind of like a Philly accent, which is such a good accent. I love that accent. And he was like, what is the upstate New York accent? And I was like, honestly, like, it's really cool. It's kind of like a. [00:10:49] Speaker B: It's New England. [00:10:50] Speaker C: Yes. [00:10:51] Speaker B: But a lot of. [00:10:52] Speaker C: Sometimes Canadian. [00:10:53] Speaker B: Yeah. But definitely a lot of, like, the Long island queens, like, because it's such a convergence point. [00:10:59] Speaker C: Yeah. And it's a really nice, like, look, sometimes you'll get a little Midwest in there. And we, of course, watched a video on it. I was like, babe, you gotta. You gotta watch this. So, you know, you don't accidentally ask somebody if they're from downstate. [00:11:14] Speaker B: Right. [00:11:16] Speaker C: But, yeah, so, yeah, just the. You know, we move. We ended up moving from Long island up to Westchester after 9, 11. And after my older sister graduated from high school. And when we moved up there, my. My mom put my sister and I in another dance program. And there was a community theater there. You know, the classic singer to a community theater pipeline. And I. My mom was like, I think you're gonna love this. Like, this is. This is dance. It's singing. You know, it's all the things that you love. You're gonna love it. And I loved it. It was just, you know, it was everything. It was people other than my family and my mom's co workers listening to me sing. And from there, I started training my voice classically. So I learned how to sing musical theater style, classically, sing and all that. And I was just so locked in on musical theater. And during that time, you know, I was going from hold for Loud car. [00:12:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I was out here. [00:12:29] Speaker C: I was going to all these rehearsals and dance shows and things like that. And my dad and my mom would constantly play SiriusXM, and we're constantly listening to Tom Petty's Buried Treasure, like Sirius xm classic rock, all that. And I feel like that was when, subconsciously, I was starting to kind of get this tone in my voice and this growl. And, you know, I mean, I mentioned I was. Janis Joplin was like, my earliest repertoire, but it really, you know, started embedding in my brain these, like, different styles and a lot of Al Green, Aretha, Janice, Led Zeppelin, which we already talked about before. [00:13:08] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, before. I think that was before we got recorded. We were talking about drums. You missed. You missed a good drum conversation. [00:13:15] Speaker C: So then from there, you know, I kind of had this sprinkling, but still was so locked on musical theater. And around my sophomore year of high school, my dad got diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer. And my dad's story, you know, pushed me into mine. He. When he was growing up, he wanted to be a race car driver. And he did it up until a little bit before I was born. And my grandpa said to him, if you die doing this, I'm not taking care of your kids because this is your choice and you're risking your life every time you do this. And then he had to quit. And my dad, when he got sick, I said to him, I was like, you know, I'm planning right now on going around the country and applying to musical theater programs. And I just don't know if that's a good idea, because at the time, he had six months to live. And my dad was like, you are never. I'll tell you right now, you are never going to not do something because of me. He was like, I'm going to support whatever dream that you have until the day that I die. I will be your number one fan. And then I was like, well, how does applying to 18 schools sound, dad? And he and my mom drove me around the country auditioning for musical theater schools, and it was awesome. And it just felt like this constant affirmation of my parents, like, supporting my dream. And, you know, they were gunning for me. And now I realize, like, hindsight during that time was when I started to find that I didn't really fit into musical theater. You know, I had this rock and roll voice and a lot of the roles for, like, 18 year olds or sopranos and, you know, they're like princesses, and it just wasn't really my. My vibe. I looked like I was 30 years old, and I held the trauma of a girl that, like, almost lost her dad, you know. So I realized that, like, the stuff I wanted to sing was really mature. And I think with rock music and not just rock music, but like country music and just, you know, popular quote unquote music, not musical theater music. You can sing really mature content at any age, and it's believable because you put yourself into it. And with musical theater, I had a really hard time being fully myself because there was this divider of, like, a character. [00:15:47] Speaker B: Right. And there was always gonna be that. [00:15:49] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And so I didn't end up getting into any musical theater programs, which, again, hindsight, you know, I was doing this material that wasn't me, and I think it showed. It was you know, a little inauthentic. And I could sing, but I couldn't, like, always play the part. And then I actually got into Marymount Manhattan College's acting BFA program. And my professor for my freshman year was the guy who did my audition, and he said, you know, something to me along the lines of, like, you gotta, you know, you have to be yourself in the material. And my monologue did that, but my song didn't. And still was chasing the musical theater, still trying to do it. End of the freshman year, I did a pop rock music class and my professor came up to me and I had sang a Jefferson Airplane song. And she was like, don't you have so much fun when you're actually singing material that you like? And it was same, like, light bulb moment from when I was 3 or 4 years old. Like, oh, whoa. You know, I had that experience when I was singing that I had when I was three or four years old where I felt locked in with everybody and things just, you know, I looked back and I had a couple opportunities in high school where I got to sing with bands and I had those formative experiences again. Like, got to sing hold on by Alabama Shakes. I don't know if you know that song. [00:17:15] Speaker B: I do, Absolutely. [00:17:16] Speaker C: I mean, such a good song. [00:17:17] Speaker B: It's a fucking hard song to sing. [00:17:19] Speaker C: It's such a good thing. It's a. Such that song, singing that song. And get. I started singing it when I was like 15 or 16 and now I'm 27. And it's like every single year that I sing that song, it hits differently. And that was one of those moments where I was like, oh, I gotta sing something like this, you know, and this feels really good in my body. And, yeah, just kind of all was. My relationship to music was starting to shift there. It was really coming back to that first experience of, like, singing something that feels so good in my body, right, and feels good to, like, connect with other people and, you know, I get to show off who I really am. And then my dad was in remission, and then he got diagnosed with lung cancer, and he got four months to live. And I was a sophomore in college. And right at the same time, my professor said, I think you should get tested for a learning disability. And I was like, I gotta get down to brass tacks. Like, it was just everything that wasn't me. Finishing my college degree and getting my paycheck each week and, like, checking in with my family kind of had to go to the wayside. And it all was just My acting program, which I'm really grateful for, because, you know, I have all these skills that I get to use on stage now. Like, I have no shame. I rolled around on the floor for so many hours in that program. Like, you could not embarrass me for anything. [00:18:52] Speaker B: That's. That's a strong thing to have because that holds a lot of people back. Lack of embarrassment or that. That pride. Not pride thing, but that, like, oh, I can't. I can't do anything like that. [00:19:06] Speaker C: Sometimes you gotta, like, you know, like, I don't. I don't think anymore on stage, which is an amazing thing to have. Like, on Friday night or Saturday night, when we did a gig, I was doing High Kicks, and at the end of the show, I was like, I can't believe I didn't even think about if my pants ripped. Like. Like, you know, you don't think about those things anymore because you're just in. [00:19:28] Speaker B: The moment and it's part of the show. And, like, you do kind of have to get. You know, like, I'm in that same kind of school of you got to put on a show like you're on a stage. And, you know, if I'm just standing there, like a jagged. Like, not looking at the crowd, just looking down at my feet. That's why there's a whole genre of music called shoegaze. Because it's all they do is stare at their fucking pedal boards. And I'm like, you know, that's not me. Like, you gotta put on a show. You gotta do something to put yourself out there. [00:19:57] Speaker C: Yeah. And, you know, the theater part of me, that's where it comes from. And, you know, that formative experience of seeing people's reaction when I write music and when I perform music, prepare for a show, I think about how it's gonna look like when I wrote my song Lose Sleep. Like, I envision how I would perform it at Spack, because it's, like, my dream venue. And I just see, you know, people screaming it back at you. Like, California. Like, I see that in New York, you know, being performed again at Spac, my dream venue. [00:20:32] Speaker A: Right? [00:20:33] Speaker C: Just, like, people screaming it back at you. And, you know, that part of me is the theater, the dance part that. The interactions with the audience and all that. So I got that from my BFA that, you know, I'm like, every day I use that acting degree. Come on. [00:20:52] Speaker B: Well, I think we should. I want to hear a song. So which one were you going to play first? [00:20:58] Speaker C: So let's play Lose Sleep because it's right there. [00:21:02] Speaker B: Maybe tell us a little bit about the tune before we play it. [00:21:05] Speaker C: So Lose Sleep I wrote it came out of the line. I'm trying to bring myself back to that spot. When I wrote Loose Sleep, I had the line I got to do so I won't lose sleep over you. Which, a lot of my songs kind of start from a place of love. Actually, they don't really start from, like, angry emotions. And I was trying to write a song that was saying, I love you and I care about you, but we have something to talk about. And, like, I don't want to waste, you know, losing sleep over this when I know tomorrow morning we're gonna be fine kind of thing. But what gets in the way is my inability to communicate and my great ability to yell. So that's kind of where the song came out of. So. And it really is based in a lot of my love for rock and roll and a little bit of my love for rap, too. Those verses are. The first verse is a lot of, like, Megan Thee, Stallion inspiration and trying to really get your point out in a passionate and empowered way. So. Yeah. [00:22:24] Speaker B: Awesome. All right, well, let's check out Lose Sleep, Erica Rose, and then we'll be right back. [00:22:38] Speaker A: Get up, get out, it's time to fight. Don't care if you don't want I gotta match the light you seen that look? [00:22:43] Speaker C: You know what's coming your way I. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Got that itch I wanna scratch you fan the flame and now the cinders crack. You can't blame me when you don't listen to a thing I say. Reaching out my hand I am losing sleep with a no man you know the words I need but your friend take it up from me I love you dear dare you hear screaming just to make that clear cause I got shit to do and I won't lose leap over you Lord knows I've got a big fucking mouth and mama says I'll ruin this without a doubt she said I should be sweet to you but what I need isn't getting through so I'll keep spitting vicious words like a broken sprout reaching out my hand I am losing sleep of a no man. You know the words I need but you're quite taken up from me. I love you dear, dear don't you hear screaming just to make that clear. Cuz I got to do and I won't loosely over you make that clear right now. Chicken to do and I want lo. [00:24:57] Speaker B: All right, that was lose sleep Erica Rose. And you know we were Talking before, you know, with the musical theater and you kind of realized that you wanted to sing something, I guess like spoke to you more and that was, you know, a more rock forward type of music. But at what point did you start, I guess writing your own stuff that that spoke to you? [00:25:19] Speaker C: Yeah, so I was a big poetry girl, you know, throughout my whole life. I always journaled and sometimes wrote poems, sometimes wrote song, but it was really journaling. And one of like the biggest hurdles for me to start really writing was admitting to myself that like you can kind of start this at any age, right? And you don't have to be like doing it from when you're three, like writing real songs to write. You can just start whenever. So after college I took a break from performing and really like creating. I just felt really burnt out and freelanced and I traveled around a lot the country and then I eventually met my now boyfriend Paul and he told me he was moving to California the day I met him. And then three months later I was on a road trip with him to California. And then two months later I decided to move to California. I got a job in LA working at CAA and had a lot more time, you know, I was went from freelancing, working 12 hour days to working 9 to 5 and I was like, should I start acting again? And I tried it. Didn't feel the love and felt really pulled to music. And I decided to make a album of covers for my grandma. And my dad called me and he was like, if you don't do something with this, you are wasting what you have. And he was like, you have to do something with this. So I joined a band, like doing a lot of, you know, Tedeschi Trucks, Zeppelin, classic rock stuff and some like country rock stuff and just loved performing again and started writing. I just felt like this itch to keep creating more and more and just kept hearing my dad in the back of my head of like, if you don't do something with this, you're wasting it. And my dad would just hype me up at every turn. Like I'd send him, you know, videos of recordings from rehearsal and things like that. And he just was like, yes, do more of this. He was like my earliest voice teacher and just really gave me that boost that I needed and the encouragement to just try it. And from there I was in a blues band and I met my producer, Mike Stocksdale, who is also an amazing independent artist. And I had been working with someone, you know, really just trying to find out how to, how to get my music recorded. And he. I went up to him and I was like, yeah, I gotta. I have to quit this blues band because I just really need to focus on getting my music made. And he was like, well, I produce people. Come hang out with me and we'll produce the song. And I was like, oh, really? And he was like, yeah, just bring whatever you have and let's figure it out. And then from there, just dove right into it. And Mike. Mike plays like every single instrument. He. When he hears this, he's gonna be like, that's not true. But to me, he plays every instrument as I don't play any instruments. So for me, he could, you know, he could play anything. And I'll be like, you amazing at that. But he really is. But he started working with me and, you know, we did a couple of co writes on the ep and he is an amazing lyricist and he would be like, maybe go in this direction or. Or what if you did something there? What if you just cut the verse? So with my song that I'm going to show you next, we've talked about it so much, so we kind of have to do California, which I wasn't planning on, but, like, we have to, because I keep talking about it. But that was the end. [00:29:04] Speaker B: That was, you know, I was like. [00:29:05] Speaker C: Oh, the song is true. So what ended up. I mean, with Mike, that was the first song I brought him. And I said to him, I was like, this is a country song. Nothing else is going to be country. I just have to write in this genre because I love that. I felt in love with country music. I found Kelsey Ballerini and I just kind of dove. I. You know, I had already loved Casey Musgraves, and I just dove into country music. And for my first song that I recorded, I had this little bit of a fear of being fully vulnerable. And I felt like with country music, I could be vulnerable but still be cheeky. Like in the song, I say, I moved to California for a man. I have to admit that wasn't in my plan, which is true and is hard for me to admit. And then the line later, I say, two years later, now he's eating out my hand and we're gonna move across the country. Like, you know, it allows you to have that vulnerability, but also like, you know, George Strait, all my exes live in Texas. He's literally talking about, like, losing all these women in his life. But it's kind of funny, you know, in a way. So I just love that and the ability to do that. But Mike really allowed me to kind of just explore. And because it was my first release, I just was like, I want to try everything. I. I have all these influences, and I just wanted to be country, I wanted to be rock, I wanted to be soul. I wanted to do all those things. Now that I've done it, likely the future stuff is going to be pretty heavy rock and roll. I. I just keep going back to that Janice sound and that Zeppelin sound, and I just. [00:30:43] Speaker B: But, I mean, you can't tell me or nobody can tell me that, like, both of you know, Janice and Zeppelin have certainly a country influence at le. At the very least. [00:30:54] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:30:55] Speaker B: You know what I mean? And fucking Zeppelin. We're on the other side of the world and we're picking up Southern blues, like, influence, you know. Yeah. [00:31:02] Speaker C: So it's all blues, you know. [00:31:06] Speaker A: One. [00:31:06] Speaker C: Of the greatest things about doing that Blues Band 1, I worked with these amazing guys, you know, all the band, I just have to give them a shout out of. Both of the bands that I worked with in California are some of the greatest guys that I gotten to work with. They just were like, my. [00:31:23] Speaker B: Really, bud? [00:31:24] Speaker C: He's like, why are you talking about them and you're not talking about me? What's up, buddy? [00:31:32] Speaker B: No, no. Once you come back up here, the snoring was much better. [00:31:35] Speaker C: It was really nice, actually. But all of them, you know, that. That blues band, it really allowed me to learn about, really, where my influences came from, because I got to learn about the true history of blues and how a lot of our rock music is just based in blues music and it's appropriated from a lot of black artists. [00:32:02] Speaker B: Pretty much all of it. [00:32:03] Speaker C: All of it is. All of it is. [00:32:05] Speaker B: And any genre, anything can be traced. [00:32:07] Speaker C: Right back to country music, rock music. It's all, you know, appropriate and by. [00:32:13] Speaker B: Proxy, like, even hip hop. And, you know, all of that can be traced back to blues. [00:32:19] Speaker C: To all of it. Yeah. So that was, you know, even listening to this ep, Crybaby, my most recent release. Like, it all just kind of comes back to this blues and rock feel that I have in my music and that I want to aim for. I will never just guarantee you right now that he'll never write a country song again. Because it was so much fun to write and it is so much fun to sing. And, like, I. I know that the country influences are in there. You know, My mom's favorite band is Allman Brothers, so my sister's name is Melissa. [00:32:53] Speaker B: So, like, oh, wow. [00:32:54] Speaker C: I had to write a song and. [00:32:56] Speaker B: I don't even know, like, when you said that, like, I didn't even know if I would personally call Almond Brothers, like, a country. [00:33:03] Speaker C: I wouldn't. Yeah. I wouldn't. [00:33:05] Speaker B: I would say they're like, yeah, yeah, Southern rock. But, like, definitely the rock is in there. Yeah, But, I mean, you're right. I guess it is a lot. Very country. [00:33:14] Speaker C: Maybe this is a separate conversation, but I wonder, like, you know, what makes it, quote, unquote, Southern rock? Is it. [00:33:23] Speaker B: You know, I think it probably is because it. It could be confused with country, you know, like. Because I guess, you know, as soon as you said that, I'm like, yeah, I guess you could say, oh, all my brothers are a country band. [00:33:34] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:33:34] Speaker B: Or you could say they're a Southern rock band. And neither one of them. Yeah, like, they're both absolutely true. [00:33:42] Speaker C: But, yeah, you know, I'm. I'm just so grateful to Mike and that he just allowed me to get creative and that he was willing to take anything that I threw out him and willing to sit there with me for an entire session and try to figure out the second verse of California, because I could not figure out a second line in that verse. What's that? [00:34:05] Speaker B: Like, you know, taking your own stuff but working with someone, you know, who. You know, like you said, who knows how to play everything, but, like, obviously has a very deep understanding of how a song works, because, you know, until you, like, get into songwriting, you don't realize how much it works, how much. [00:34:26] Speaker C: So none of my songs had pre choruses. Not one of them. And Mike was like, you need a pre chorus. Put it in there. Come on. Go write it. Like. So that was really helpful because I was able to, you know, get the form, and now I was able to go home and continue writing new songs that I could have that form already before I brought it back to Mike. And for me, again, it starts with the performance. So when I started writing California, I started with the chorus. So I started with we never had. It was. We never had the Hawks for California. Oh, sorry. No. The main line that I started was the spring will drive through Texas. I've forgotten all my exes, which came out of George Strait. And it also came out of the Miley Cyrus song new, which she says, I want to drive down to Texas, flip off my exes. And I fucking love that line. I love that line. And I could not get it out of my head. So I had. We never had the hots for California and that X's line in my head. And I was like, what if I write a chorus about like going through all these states, right? And then I saw just like, you know, the backdrop on stage of like driving in a car and going through all these places. And then, you know, me on Stage in an iHeart New Yorkshire and like, that's how it kind of all came together. And when I brought it to Mike, I think I just had little pieces of verses and the chorus and I told him how I saw it and how I wanted it to feel. And I think one of the biggest things is that, you know, I knew Mike's work and I loved his work. And we already had that to start, so I knew that I could kind of just give him whatever and we'd be on the same page. And also, you know, when we would perform together, we would do a lot of. He would solo and I would just kind of ad lib with my voice. So we already had this like, musical language that was unspoken. And because we had that, I knew that I could go to him and literally say, I hear. And he would play it on the guitar and it would sound like what I wanted it to sound like. [00:36:45] Speaker B: So it's like an extension of yourself, almost like, you know. [00:36:49] Speaker C: Yes. And like, what's cool about that is that when you find somebody that you trust and that feels really good to work with and, you know, you have that with them, that you don't really have to play an instrument in order to create what you hear in your head because you can translate it to someone. So I, I say this to Mike all the time. Like, I am so grateful for him and that I found him and that he was able to translate my gibberish, you know. So, yeah, it was. That's kind of how it, it worked for me, for my songwriting process. And, you know, even when I have an idea, I still send it to Mike because he's just. You got to check out his music. It's like what he does is very. His lyrics are just butter. They're like poetry. I. His, his shows. I sit there and I'm like my ears up just listening to hear all the magic that he puts into it. So, yeah, it's, it's. It's cool to get to do that with someone and for them to just let you go for it. [00:37:50] Speaker B: Cool. Well, do we want to hear the song? [00:37:53] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:37:53] Speaker B: And this is California. Is there anything you want to add before we, before we play it? [00:37:58] Speaker C: Ah, no, it's a true story, you know, I guess that's it really. The only thing that's not true Is that we didn't end up driving through Texas. But yeah, we, you know, we lived in California and we just were ready to come home. And that's what this song is about. [00:38:13] Speaker B: So awesome. All right, well, let's check out California Erica Rose, and then we'll be right back to wrap it up. [00:38:30] Speaker A: I moved to California for a man I have to admit that wasn't in my plan New York was where it all began but in his arms was where I land two years later now he's eating out my hands Started think of our future plans Looked around and couldn't find what brought us here Cause we never had the hearts for California and Montana's just the one that stand out here this spring won't drive through Texas I've forgotten all my exes it's you in New York that's got my heart, my dear. [00:39:28] Speaker C: I always thought that he would do me good. [00:39:33] Speaker A: But my man runs hotter than a pile of burning wood and California sober seemed real nice Till we both just got a little bit too high Cuz we never had the hots for California and Montana's just a one night stand idea this spring won't drive through Texas I've forgotten all my exes it's you in New York that's got my heart my dear One thing I just can't leave behind. [00:40:19] Speaker C: The friends I met truly one of a kind it breaks my heart to see us apart. [00:40:29] Speaker A: But God willing they'll love it and want a brand new start we never had the hots for California and Montana's just a one night stand idea this spring will drive through Texas I've forgotten all my exes if you in New York that's got my heart, my dear Cuz we never had the hots for California and Montana's just the one I stand out here this spring will drive through Texas I forgotten all my exes it's you in New York that's got my heart my dear. [00:41:20] Speaker B: That was California. Erica Rose. And Erica, I want to thank you so much for taking your time out of your day to come out here and do this. It was a really great conversation. I really enjoyed it. And like I do with all my guests, before you go, I want to give you a chance to say your gratitude. So microphone is all yours. [00:41:37] Speaker C: Well, I'm just so grateful to be here. Thank you so much for having me on. You know, I just. It's so awesome to be considered a 518 unsigned artist. And, you know, it's just a really cool feeling. I just love this community. And I'm just so grateful to be here and just this opportunity to get to talk to you and get to meet you and, you know, talk about our community is just really awesome. [00:42:00] Speaker B: And Calvin. [00:42:01] Speaker C: And Calvin, I have to say, I'm really grateful for Calvin and his beautiful snores. But yeah, just thank you so much for having me on. And if everyone liked what they heard, they can go listen to my EP Crybaby or we're going to have some more music and more fun things coming out soon. So we have merch available on my Instagram. And then if you're ever in the mood for dancing, I work with the Rhythm Pilots. I sing with them cover band throughout 518. So if you want to come out, dance a little, I'll be there. You can check out my Instagram for any of our upcoming dates, but that's pretty much it. Just grateful for you for having me on. Thank you so much. [00:42:39] Speaker B: You're so welcome. [00:42:39] Speaker C: This is so much, much fun. [00:42:42] Speaker B: All right, so she is Erica Rose. I am Andy scullin. This is unsigned 518. I'll see you on the road. Unsigned 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullin. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a [email protected] unsigned 518 if you would like to advertise on the show, send me an email at unsigned518mail.com and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram at unsigned518. Take care of one another and I'll see you next week.