Being a Taylor Swift fan is a big job sometimes. With all of the theories, the surprises, and the drama, it’s definitely a wild ride. Almost everyone I’ve met at BU has been a fan of Ms. Swift in some shape or form. My friend Lauren Grill has taken her love to a new level. Lauren, along with her DJITS (DJs In Training) Talia Lissauer and Paige Tubinis, hosts the radio show All Too Unwell at WTBU on Thursdays from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. I sat down to catch up on all things Taylor with Lauren.
Q: How did you get involved with the radio show?
A: I believe I saw WTBU at COM SPLASH and I was like, ‘that sounds fun!’ So I interned on A Whole Lot of Hoopla. And then after one semester, you can stay on your show as a full DJ, or you can start your own show. So I’m doing both this semester. I am on A Whole Lot of Hoopla, and then I co-founded All Too Unwell.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for the radio show?
A: Me and my girl Abby (Lauren’s former DJ co-host)… we thought it would get a little boring if we did all Taylor every week. So we decided we would pick one Taylor song to deep dive into every week. And then build a playlist off of that.
Q: What are the big challenges with it?
A: I think the biggest challenge is waking up at 5:30 in the morning. When you’re a new show, they give you either a really early or really late time slot. So I would say that the biggest challenge is fitting it into your schedule.
Q: How much sleep do you usually get on those days?
A: Not a whole lot. I think I get four hours straight, but like if I was responsible, I would get the normal amount.
Q: How much work and planning do you have to do for each show?
A: I make a playlist every week. It’s fun because you’re doing stuff that you like doing. I do not mind, you know, agonizing over a Taylor Swift playlist every week.
Q: Do you ever say stuff on the radio that you get embarrassed about later?
A: You know, it’s six o’clock in the morning. I don’t listen back to it that often. But when I do, I’m like ‘oh no.’ Sometimes we’ll leave the studio and we’ll be like ‘that was a little unhinged.’ It’s like a fun conversation between friends, but it’s on the radio. It doesn’t feel like you’re talking to other people. It just feels like you’re talking to yourself.
Q: Have you ever thought about reaching out to Taylor’s marketing team and asking them if she wants to be on the show?
A: We tag Taylor Nation in everything. The ultimate goal would be for this to get us to the secret session (Taylor Swift’s secret concert sessions). We want to build enough of a following that we can get to Taylor— that’s the ultimate goal.
Q: What’s your experience with Taylor growing up? Was she your favorite artist?
A: I was a Swifty from fourth grade through sixth grade. And then 1989 came out and I was really in it, and Gwen (my best friend), my sister, and our moms went on a road trip to see the tour. And that’s one of my favorite memories ever. I always joke that she [Taylor] takes up like 20% of my mental capacity. And then a full circle moment happened. We did a trip to Boston, that same group, to visit schools last year. And it was the weekend that Fearless (Taylor’s Version) came out.
don’t forget to listen to lauren on all too unwell every week for all the content your swifty heart could ever want.
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