Latest / Caught on the Mike... / CARR

Transcript

CARR · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Disclaimer, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Listener discretion is advised.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: The ones that invest the most part of this far is the last thing that was based on the forest here with the bar.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: After touring with artists like Fallout Boy and Fitzgeworld, we're now stepping into a new chapter with her upcoming album, Far Girl.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: We've talked about growth, confidence, and owning your own story.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Caught on the Mic.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Today's guest knows how to turn one fleeting moment into something that sticks with you long after it's gone.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Carr is an R alt pop storyteller based out of Los Angeles, kicking off 2026 with her new single, Mud, a rain-soaked cinematic track inspired by one unforgettable night that outlived the relationship behind it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: You may have seen her on tour with Fallout Boy, Bring Me the Horizon, and Jimmy Eat World.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like those are like three of my favorite bands.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is amazing.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to welcome Carr to the show.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: How the heck are you?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yay! Thank you so much for having me.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I had to like stumbled over my own words.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: The word vomit just I was making you nervous already.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's let's talk about the new single, Mud.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's being described as a rain-soaked, emotionally charged anthem.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: What was the exact moment that you knew that this song needed to be the lead single off your upcoming album, Car Girl?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, I think, I mean, it's personally one of my favorite songs on the album.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think because it's it's like a literal story that I'm telling.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I had such an emotional connection to that moment, I guess.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I've just been obsessed with the song.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I listened to it constantly for the last like year on repeat.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: A little narcissistic, but uh I love that song.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So do you ever hear certain songs and they just kind of take you back to that exact moment in time where you first heard them or you first conceptualized it as a writer yourself?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have those moments like that?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I feel like I I listen to them back, especially if I'm like missing the person, or if I'm like, oh, I wish you would reach out to me, let me loop the song a million times.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Or it's just it, yeah.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it just brings me back to that moment, and I'm kind of like, dang, that was fun.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're putting forth something that has such a strong piece of you personally, like, do you ever think about what your relationship with nostalgia is like?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, me and my best friend are always like, nostalgia is literally gonna be the death of me.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I it makes me sick to my stomach.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I hate it.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like all of those, I don't know if you're on that side of TikTok, but the TikTok where it's like middle school, high school nostalgia, and I'm like, oh, time just like is such a scary thing to me.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really hard for me to like live in the present if you can't tell from my music.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's something that I really have to work on, and I have to like read a lot of books, and I have to like you know, meditate and and focus really hard to be present.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's just something that I think I've always struggled with, like my whole life.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you and I are on the same page there.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, I tether every moment in my life to what's going on in pop culture.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: So music specifically, right?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, music specifically, I'll hear a certain song and it's like an audio time machine.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm able to just instantly transport myself to that moment in time.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, sometimes nostalgia and your relationship with nostalgia can be unhealthy.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, I have gone down that rabbit hole on TikTok for sure.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also really special for you, too, I guess, because you can like, you know, you're able to channel that, which I feel like a lot of people can't do.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess it's kind of like a double-edged sword in the sense of like, I hate it, but it's also, I guess, a beautiful thing sometimes.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: I look at it as my superpower, not my kryptonite, especially with a platform like this podcast where I talk to a lot of musicians and I'm like able to talk to some of my heroes and be like, oh my gosh, I listen to you forever and like get to share those stories.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, there's those moments after I'm done recording and I'll go back and I'll listen to their tracks, and I'll be like, Man, where did time go?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's also like I feel like a good like connection with someone a lot of times when they're able to like.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it shows that they're like a deep person when they're able to do that versus like people that have no relationship to nostalgia.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, it literally makes me sick to my stomach.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, before we jumped on here, I did listen to Mud again.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I've been listening to all of your music the past couple of days, taking a deep dive.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: You've said that Mud came from a vivid night that outlasted the relationship.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: What details from that night do you think make the song feel so cinematic?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think story time.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think we went, so it was someone that I was seeing very briefly.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was like our third date, and we went to a haunted house, and I think it's a very bold third date, I think, because you're like spending the night with someone, you know, it was kind of like our first night doing something that wasn't like going to get a drink, you know, which was kind of like a big moment in itself, because you know, I don't know, it just felt like a long night where when you're with someone like that.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're not drunk, you're sober, you're going to a haunted house.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we it was raining that night, and we it was really muddy, obviously, because the LA haunted house is like pure dirt, and it's like, I don't know if you've ever been.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you located?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I'm like I'm in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in the middle of shit.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's muddy here all over the place, damn it.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: You got you got the mud, you're good.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but yeah, it was like we got really muddy because obviously the mud and the dirt, the whole like house is like dirt.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it was like we were like walking through mud all night, and then on the way home, you kind of have to take this like shuttle bus, and we were just like cracking up because the shuttle bus is like just so bright, and we're just disgusting, like covered in mud, and we were just like cracking up because we're like this is like such a weird moment to have with someone that you barely know, and then he had a truck, obviously.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's a that's the main part of the story.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and he picked me up at the truck.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, it kind of like was my interpretation of that night, and like after the fact, where it obviously didn't last, and we were like, wow, I experienced that whole night for literally nothing.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like I got covered in mud, but it was also like a really cinematic special night.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't think I'll ever forget it, you know, even though the person is gone, but it was it was a really fun night, and I obviously had to make a song out of it.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of tying to our discussion about nostalgia and tying this into our discussion about nostalgia, do you think moments like that have been accelerated in this post-COVID world that we live in now where we have maybe a different vantage point of time than we did previously?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like because we all maybe went a little bit longer with human connection and like the lack of going on dates and and meeting up with people.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And me and my friends are still like it's so it's such a weird dynamic.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you go out in Nebraska to the bars, but it's like no one really knows what to do or like how to come up to you and like talk to you.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that's a whole other like journey in itself is like kind of just dealing with the awkwardness of like, wait, how do you be social again?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I literally forget what was that like before we were indoors for like three years.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I gotta tell you, I I do live in Nebraska and going to the bars is about the only thing we do here.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like people in Nebraska would be like more fun and social though, like versus LA.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: We try, we try.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's all we have to do.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, honestly, I I'm underselling it.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like Omaha specifically, which is just 45 minutes away and where I live for many years, had a thriving music scene for a long, long period of time to where the New York Times and Spin Magazine and Wall Street Journal at one time cited it as being the next Seattle.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: So as much as I joke around about us like only going to bars, we went to live music venues like absolute like crazy.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So and those are the best places to play shows.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I played in in Nebraska.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember where, but it was a good it was a good time, I remember.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So how did writing this song specifically help you process the experience?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oof.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like writing is literally how I process everything in my life.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think I've heard a lot of people, you know, write about my music and say that it's kind of like journal entries, which I feel like it's literally my form of therapy.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's also I have very bad, I don't know if it's like OCD or anxiety, but I like can loop the same situation for a long time.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's also a way that I like cope with that and like getting over things.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you can tell, I really get stuck on the same people for a long time.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh it's my way of kind of helping myself get over that too, I think.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: So how do you balance the raw emotion with your musical craft?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's really tough to say.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think it's also like getting yourself in rooms with people that are kind of like your friends or like people that you are comfortable.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've kind of found my circle that I really like to work with producer-wise, um, writing-wise.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I usually will go in with like a concept or an idea and have some some pieces of it written, and I'll kind of just it's very vulnerable, obviously, because you're like, look, I I just went on this date and you know, this is the whole story.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I think it's surrounding yourself with people that you're comfortable enough with that like understand you as a person and kind of help you get it all out as well.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because there's times where I've been in in the beginning of my career, you know, you sign these little deals and people just want you to to meet as many people as you can.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So you're kind of just getting thrown into rooms with different writers and different producers, and there's so many like different energies going on, and there's people that you don't really feel that comfortable with for some reason, or like you don't really want to like open up to.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've been in sessions where I'm like, I don't really like like you that much, like I don't want to tell you what's going on in my life.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, I think a huge part of it is just finding the people that you feel comfortable with that you like, and yeah, that's kind of how I balance it.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: When you're there writing with somebody, do you ever second guess putting down your vulnerability on a track?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I get a little bit uh I think because my writing is like so specific that I get a little nervous when the person like hears it, especially if it's someone like like this person that I wrote Mud about, where we aren't on like bad terms, like the doors kind of still open.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like when I release this, it kind of like slams the door shut, and I'm like, there goes my chance at uh ever reconnecting with you.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: They think I'm crazy.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I think I think I definitely have moments where I'm like, oh god, I'm scared.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I I think that's like the beauty of also like releasing music, because you're like, fuck it, like whatever.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And also just the the fear of like maybe people aren't gonna relate to how specific the song is or how you know vulnerable it may be, but I guess that's just the kind of writer that I am.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, whatever.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is my therapy.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: So the new album, Car Girl, it's kind of a bold new direction for you.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: In what ways does this album differ from some of your past releases or past projects?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think I really wanted to like take a step backwards and go more into like the indie rock space versus like more alt rock, I guess, or whatever.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I think Mud is like pretty indie, at least to me.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it sounds it has like an indie like flair to it.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that was important uh to me for this record as I was like, I really want it to sound like more indie, like my second uh EP.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just bored.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: We kind of were like, I want it to sound kind of like demo-y and almost like not as polished as my first album, I guess.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but you know, when you're on a label, there they don't really let you uh they don't really uh like the uh polished or the unpolished version of things.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like my first album cover that I pitched, they were all like, no.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what the fuck is it?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was like this really sh it was like this really shitty drawing of like a superhero girl, and I thought it was like the coolest thing, and I was like, I'm obsessed with this.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they were all like, um, I don't think so.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know if this is the vibe.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, all right, whatever, I'll turn it into a t-shirt.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that'll be my merge.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: So were there any Sonic experiments on this record that surprised you?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the I don't remember what number it is, but Alien Rap Boyfriend is one of the tracks, and it's definitely like a little weird.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's probably like the weirdest track I've done.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like sonically, and uh yeah, it's a little weird.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: At least it feels weird to me because I feel like all my music kind of sounds the same.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that's that's symptomatic of anybody that creates art.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have to let you have to play it for other people and let them give you the feedback.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna get imposter syndrome and be second guessing every little thing that you do.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's normal.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very good at doing that.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, who are some of your personal influences going into this album?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, that's a good question.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think I listened to a lot of what have I been listening to?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know, truly.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if I'm being fully honest, I think it was just like the music I listened to is just so random.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you would probably be so weirded out if you looked at my likes on Spotify, you'd be like, what the fuck?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why do you have this country song, this Moana song?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I am so confused.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's quite a journey.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I just listened to so much random shit, honestly.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: I remember I listened to a lot of um Lord's second album.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: I tend to get like emotional, emotionally attached to certain albums, like from a time in my life.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do you ever do that with your nostalgia?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Always, yeah.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Always.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: It was weird today.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: I was walking around and I heard of all songs, I heard Justin Timberlake's mirrors.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: And like, I'm like, oh my gosh.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: I and it was weird because it came out about this time of year, whenever that album launched.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I it was like, like I said earlier, that it was an instantaneous time machine where I felt the way I felt the first time I'd ever heard that song.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I I get that it absolutely, 100%.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's so crazy how that happens.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I hope people experience that with my music, but it definitely like I tend to like gravitate towards albums where I listened to them a thousand times because I'm like, this brings me back to this time in my life where I was happy or like feeling a certain way.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, I feel like I listened to a lot of melodrama, I think, at the time.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I listened to a lot of Gracie Abrams' new album.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: I have also a like little emotional tie to that album, unfortunately.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's what's somebody that's influenced you throughout your entire career that would shock somebody that would be listening or watching this?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, a shock.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hmm.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe like the killers or like the kooks or some like I guess it's not that much of a shock.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: No, because I I hear the killers influence.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think a lot of like uh British bands, maybe, which isn't that shock.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like Elliot Smith.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I've said these and people are like, it's not that shocking.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to think of something that would be like full shock.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I was talking with um Nick Simmons and Evan Stanley.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: They've got a new project called Stanley Simmons, and they're the sons of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was just talking to them the other day, and we were talking about one of the silver linings of streaming on how people are now uh genre fluid with their listening habits.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like when we were younger, everybody would get into a lane and stay in that lane, and now everybody listens to everything and they're open about it, and there's no such thing as uh, you know, guilty pleasures anymore.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's true.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's really true.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's that just goes back to my uh Spotify likes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like recently I've been listening to I guess this would maybe shock some people, is like some country songs I like.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've been listening to the Zach Bryan album, even though I heard he's not that great of a person, but I like his writing.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: I have the same conflict.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really like his writing, but I you know, I've heard bad things, so I I try not to get too uh connected to that music, but Morgan Wallen, also kind of same vibe.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Love his music.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Heard he's a little problematic, so I don't know.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of those things where you almost have to tell yourself, separate the art from the artist.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: So you didn't move to LA to initially pursue music, you stumbled into it while working nights at a studio.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: How did that unconventional start shape your approach to your art and your career?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think just having no expectations or like pressure on myself.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously now I do, but in the beginning it was just pure like enjoyment of writing music slash therapy from getting over a breakup.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I just put it out.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like I like I talk about this with my friends all the time, and I'm like, what drug was I on in like 2019?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was just like writing shit and put it out, and like the song I wrote about uh the lead singer of Catfish and the Bottleman just put it out.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, was I okay?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like what was I uh what was I going through?
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it was very bold, but I also like I just didn't care, and I still like carry a little bit of that in me still.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think that's kind of how it's shaped.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: There was no expectations, there was no label, no one telling me how to make things.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: It was literally just me and a friend writing and just putting it on the internet.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think the lessons of that are kind of the undercurrent that still serve you today?
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think so.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think, I mean, it all ties back to me.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Doing this because I love to do it and I love to write and I love to you know get out my words of how I'm feeling, and it's a way that I just cope with things that I'm dealing with in my everyday life.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that all kind of is the underlier for all my music, pretty much.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: So you're on Pete Wentz's and Spencer Smith's label.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: How did that all come about?
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: I had just released my second EP, I'm just bored.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And pretty much I had just played a show in LA.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was the night I got home from playing a show at Moroccan Lounge, and I got a DM from Pete Wentz, and I was just like, what?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought maybe he was like on the or at the show or something, but he was just like, hey, like I really I found your EP and I really like your music.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, can you connect me with your manager?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I connected him with my manager, and I pretty much met him in person, and we just like totally vibed.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's just I feel such a like good connection with Pete because I think we're like really similar in a lot of ways too.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like young Pete, I feel, and and me are kind of maybe on the same wave.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: But he also just kind of like stood me as an artist, and I think that's something that's really hard when you're signed to a label because everyone has such a business mindset.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it becomes really draining and hard to deal with as an artist, like being like the only one.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it feels really comforting to kind of have Pete because he always gets, you know, the artist side of it because he's also an artist, you know.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he he just is always able to like relate to how I'm feeling or if I really want something, um, he pushes it for me, you know, which is nice to have.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: So what's one key thing that you've learned from him?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think just staying true to to what you want.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: And even though I just said my first album cover.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but just he's very strong in like that's what you like, okay.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you believe that that should be the first single, okay, that should be the first single.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas, you know, other people are like, no, this this is how it should be.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And he's all like, however you want it to be is how it should be, which is very rare, I guess, in music business.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: It really is, but I mean he's encouraging you to lean into your gut.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he's very much like, yeah, he totally is like, listen to yourself and what you like.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: So has working with him changed how you view the business side of music?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, no.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't think so.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think because I don't even look at him as like a business partner, even though he is, you know, like he's almost like a friend and a mentor to me at this point.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, which is what I need, you know.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like I need someone on my team that isn't fully business minded because it is frustrating, you know?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's kind of that balance of having somebody that supports your vision but also isn't going to tell you what you want to hear.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: You need to surround yourself with people that are like that for sure.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And like the first like when we kind of put all these songs together, Pete was I had a meeting with Pete and we were talking, and we kind of had this like rough idea that isn't the idea that it is now where it's kind of like superhero comic vibes.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And we had this like rough cover that I didn't really like that much, and I was like, I don't know, like I just wasn't really feeling good about it.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he could tell, and he was like, you know, you really need like a creative vision that you love, and you know, if you listen to yourself and the things that you like and the things that you love, and you know, I love comic books and I love like that whole like vision, like superhero y like my walls are covered in like weird art.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, he was able to redirect me to to get to a place where I was like, okay, I feel really confident with this, like, I really like this idea that we're going towards.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, love it.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you've played with some big acts, as I've named.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still kind of mind-blown by it.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I it is a personal goal to get Jim Atkins on my show at some point.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's so shell.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, what live moment stands out as a turning point for you?
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, I mean, I think the whole obviously Fallout Boy tour was like such an iconic tour to be on and like such a good memory.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone on the tour was amazing.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: All the other opening acts were amazing.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just felt so lucky to be there, and I was like, Am I dreaming?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this is crazy.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: That was huge.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna ask you that.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: If there was a moment where you had to like step outside of yourself and say, What the hell is happening?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Am I am I dreaming this?
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: Is this real?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in it, it kind of is like a whirlwind, obviously, because being on those tours as like a low budget artist, you know, you don't have the luxury of traveling in a in a uh tour bus.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we were constantly like having to like leave maybe a little bit early to drive this place, like we were in a fucking sprinter van.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we were we we made it work, obviously, but um you're in such a whirlwind when you're on a tour that big and it's like it's it's crazy.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it ends, you're like, wow, you that tour depression really kicks in where you're like, did I really just do that?
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: That was so fun.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, what have you learned about yourself as a result of these experiences?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think just kind of learning to go with the flow a little bit better.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think I have this control issue in my life.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like you're my therapist right now.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'll take that as a compliment.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I do too because I feel so comfortable telling you my issues, but I feel like I have this problem with control where I want to control every situation, and that's just not the reality of life.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think on these type of tours and when you're playing these shows, like things don't go perfect, and rarely there's always shit that happens, and you literally just have to just go with the flow of everything.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's symptomatic of like highly performative, high performanced, uber creative people in general, is we typically are our own worst critics, and we want everything to be a hundred percent perfect, and it never is.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, and I'm I'm such a perfectionist, and I've been that way since I was a little kid, and I think this career has helped me a lot in that sense, but it's also like a huge struggle for me, you know?
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm still figuring it out.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's the thing though.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, we're at a place in society right now where like we all scroll on the TikTok, we all scroll on Instagram, and the content that tends to perform the best is the most authentic, right?
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: And authenticity means like exposing some flaws here and there, and so it's great when art can kind of mimic that, especially in a world where AI is like making albums full-on albums and having hits now, you know?
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Crazy.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's it's really true.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think people, yeah, people just connect more to others when they're authentic, I think.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: Leaning into that, your music is very personal.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: How do you stay open with your fans without feeling overexposed?
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's such a good question.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's really no boundary with like anyone in my life at this point.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like I put everything on the table pretty much.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just kind of an open book, but I am very like personal, I guess, in my like own life.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Which I probably should should be a little bit better with that as well.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Vlogging and showing like the side of my life where it's not just music.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess there is that little boundary there, but like when I meet fans at shows and stuff, I feel like I'm always down to talk about whatever I love meeting people and hearing about like their lives, and I'm down to talk about myself, as you know, for a long time.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love to talk.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: But that's good.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's good though, right?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, has a fan ever interpreted something uh that you've put out there that has surprised you?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm, I don't think so.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think there's been anything where it's been like wrongly interpreted or interpreted in a way that surprised me.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I also like black out in these kind of questions.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, That's okay.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's perfectly okay.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's perfectly okay.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because as it honestly, that it is like critical thinking type stuff where you're just like and I've never had to step out of side my own body and kind of look at it that way before.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's so true.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, what do my fans think?
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: I have no clue.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, nothing that I've seen really.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of a lot of girls that relate to the uh anxious attachment type beat.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a good thing, though.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, because uh, you know, Rick Rubin has a theory about you need to make the art for yourself first, and that's when people will really enjoy it.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, totally.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what I do in the writing sense.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: But then as we talked about, I definitely get a little bit in my head to be like, are people gonna relate to this?
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are people gonna like this?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what is I don't know, like maybe it should sound more like, you know, my top hit, or maybe it should sound more like this, but at the end of the day, I think if I like it and I'm comp confident with it, then I'm just like put it out.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if my label likes it.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: So aside from Cargirl dropping on March 20th, what are you most excited about for 2026?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think touring, hopefully.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: I know that there's some things brewing, and yeah, I'm just ready to to play some shows again.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't play any shows last year.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think I played one show.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was a very transformative year for me, I think, last year.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just I'm ready to get all this music out there and play some shows.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and just for people that are watching and listening, we're recording this in January.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: This is about the time when tours start getting announced.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure she's having to bite her tongue a little bit.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: Trust me, I spent many years in the music business myself.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: I know exactly the position that you're in.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: What do you have any cool shows coming up that you're going to?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go see the elevators.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: Have you ever heard of the elevators?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: No, but it's a cool name.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: It is a cool name.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're kind of like kind of like reggae type band, but I'm gonna go see them.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go see Two Feet here, I'm gonna go see Hawthorne Heights here soon.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I mean, there's a lot of cool stuff.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like I actually started something on the notes app and I just started typing out shows that are coming to my area because that's actually one of my goals for the year is to go out and see more shows this year.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: How about yourself?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really have anything in the books as of right now, like to go see shows.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm going to I'm doing like those two emo night things this month, which is fun in Brooklyn and in LA.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think the LA one has been announced yet, but um, yeah, that'll be fun.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love emo night.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: So are there any projects or collaborations outside of this that we should be watching out for?
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not at the moment.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about some uh future collabs, but they're kind of still, you know, bubbling a little bit.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're still trying to figure that out.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, who knows, Mike?
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: I am just floating away.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited for you.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for this portion of your journey because I'm sure you are straddling the line between excitement and anxiety, and I think that's always a great place to be because it's not uh what's coming next, it's the volume of what's coming next, I'm sure.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it just like the anxiety part of it is just proof that you care.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's what someone told me, and I was like, I love that.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for validating my anxiety.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, why don't you tell my viewers and listeners where they can find you online?
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can find me at C A R R Music, CarMusic, and yeah, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
• 35:49
  unknown: Yes.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty much it.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: What's your TikTok algorithm been like lately?
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, it's been a lot of um food.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been weird, hasn't it?
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: And cleaning, which is such a random.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think with the new year, I've been like, I love watching people like get their life together on TikTok where they're like reset with me for for 10 minutes, and they're just like putting everything together as I'm just like laying in my bed with like my Doritos, and I'm like, wow, this must be nice to have your life together like that.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that has been my feed, really, which is kind of like random for me.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: What about you?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: Mine's been like weird stuff, like it's movie or TV show clips, and like things like woodworking, and it's like odd stuff, really odd stuff.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of those things where you'll see somebody like with a scroll saw sawing a piece of wood and creating this amazing piece of artwork, and you're like, I'm not interested in this at all, but I can't stop watching it.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, that type of stuff is like you fall down a massive rabbit hole where you're like, wow, this is like really addicting to watch.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: Have you been watching any good TV shows or films?
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, and that's the other thing.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's the that damn conformity gate conspiracy theories from Stranger Things.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Overly occupying my feed.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: Me and my sister were like fully on that boat for like a few days.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, it's definitely releasing tonight, like obviously, like all of these, these uh these clues.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it was crazy that whole like conformity gate.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: But my TikTok feed was like edits of Vecnow for a really long time.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like thirst, like like thirst traps of him.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, So, what did you think of this last season?
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I liked it.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: I did too.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I know that there was so many like mixed, you know, feedback of people being like, it sucked, the writing was so bad, but I enjoyed it.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, what else?
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like it ended in a way where it's like you can't really be like miserable about it, like nothing that drastic happened.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I did like the last half hour of it, I was kind of like, oh, we have 30 minutes left, like something's gonna happen.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, there's there's 15 minutes left, like what's gonna happen.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: But nothing happened, and I feel like it is what it is.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I thought it was fine.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: What about you?
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_01: My hot take on it, like, and I I'm sure this is kind of crazy, but I think they should have released all the episodes at once.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think the reason it felt discombobulated was because that middle section, nothing dramatic really happened in that middle section, so it gave people a platform to bitch about something, and you know, online communities, they're gonna complain no matter what.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's so true, actually.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Cause you're totally right.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's that's very good take.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: But it is true.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone has something negative to say regardless.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: And everyone loves to hop on the hate train, but I was like, it's I like the show, it was like it was cute.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, whatever.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: Love it, love it, love it.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I am so glad to have gotten to know you over the last 40 minutes.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I I gotta tell you, I would love to have you back on the show anytime you want.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe around the album release, we can we can talk shit about the album and tell all the stories.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if I play in uh Nebraska, you have to come.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: I will, I will, I will.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: We will definitely we'll stay in touch after this, and uh this is awesome.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for doing the show.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: The world is a much better place with you and it, my friend.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you so much.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was so nice to meet you.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're so easy to talk to.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: That is the best compliment I got given.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for real.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Carr for joining me on the podcast today.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: That was a blast.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: I cannot wait for her album, Car Girl, which dropped on March 20th.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: I may have heard a little bit of it, and it is fantastic.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you're giving her a follow at car music on all social media platforms.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_01: And while you're being generous with the follows, make sure you are following Fox on the Mike on the same platform.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: Give me a subscribe on my YouTube channel and keep in touch for any future episode drop.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: You can also visit me on my website, www.fotonthemic.com.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are a publicist or manager or out scout in the entertainment space, feel free to shoot me an email, cotonheight at gmail.com for all booking networks.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's been FotOntheMic with Michael Clark.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Michael Clark.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, thank you.