If you ask me why I chose Boston University, I could give you a few reasons. However, none of them are as important as this: I chose BU because I wanted to be in a city where lots of artists would perform. My love for music has shaped my college experience – to the point where I go to at least three concerts each year.
I started this “tradition” freshman year of college when I saw James Bay. It was a cold and rainy October 1st at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion – I distinctly remember shivering. I didn’t know who the opener was, I hadn’t bothered to look. It was my first concert since Taylor Swift’s Red Tour in 2012. After a LOT of searching, I found that the opener was some group called Joseph? Never heard of them. But boy, was it one of the most impactful performances I’d ever seen.
Joseph, for those of you who haven’t had the privilege to fall in love properly, is a “folk” (genres are limiting) band from Portland, Oregon made up of three sisters – Allie and Meegan Closner and Natalie (Closner) Schepman. When I was introduced to them, they had just released their first full-length album, I’m Alone, No You’re Not.
Credit: ATO Records
Their haunting harmonies and powerful lyrics echoed in my mind long after their performance. I was lucky enough to see them a literal two weeks later when they came back to headline their own tour. If you can’t tell, I’ve been obsessed with them since my freshman year of college.
Credit: Jericha Tavares
After extensively touring, they took a break (that felt like forever to me, but I thrived for two or so years on their live performance). This summer, they came back into my life, like a long lost love – in full force, with new stories to tell, and new love to share in their new album Good Luck, Kid (I cried when I heard Fighter.) GLK is an album about “getting into the driver’s seat of your own life,” in whatever form that takes. Since they’re in town tonight, I had the honor of interviewing Al, Meegs, and Nat about their music process, living life, and everything in between.
What does the songwriting process look like for you ladies? How do all of the puzzle pieces come together?
“Every single song comes in a different way. Sometimes it pours out from emotions all at once and other times it happens when we walk into a room with a co-writer and start with a conversation. Other times it happens when one of us has something written down in our notes app or a good melody hummed during soundcheck! Pretty much all of our songs are written for emotional processing. We always try to make songs that are as honest as possible and we don’t know what will go on the album until we listen to all the demos side by side to see what fits together.
We try to find one lyric that describes the heart of the album. For this one, it took the insight of our creative director, Patrice Lighter, to notice all the references to driving throughout the album. She pointed out that we’d written lyrics like “I was sitting in the backseat, riding in the fast lane, not sure who was driving” and “seems like there’s no one driving” and “passenger window rolled down” and then our title track says “they handed you the keys, the driver’s seat is yours now.” It became clear that this album tells a story of getting in the driver’s seat of your life.”
How has your writing and recording process changed over the last 6 years?
Natalie: “Before “Native,” “Dreamer,” [and] “Kin,” the songs mostly came from songs I had written over many years and then totally overhauled with our friend and producer at the time Andrew Stonestreet. Then with I’m Alone, No You’re Not, Meegan and Allie had a lot more contribution to the songs and it was also the first time we’d written with co-writers. For this last one, the songwriting changed because we’d been touring with a band and we wanted to write songs that would sound amazing with a band.”
Credit: Joseph
What is your personal favorite on this album?
Natalie: “My absolute favorite song on the album is “Room For You” because it encapsulates everything I wish for the audience and for everyone on this planet. Right this second though, I’ll say “Presence” because I’ve been practicing the guitar riff and it’s going to feel SO good to play it through a loud PA. “Half Truths” is a standout to me because I have watched Allie do amazing work overcoming anxiety and this song captures that so well. And also “Revolving Door” is a heart-wrencher–a very brave song for Meegan to write. I love this album!”
How do you prepare for tours and live shows?
Meegan: “My number one priority is seeing all of my friends before I leave. Then I do laundry, buy a journal and a good pen, and clean my room (hopefully), etc. I’m one of those people that waits till the last minute to do everything I need to do.”
Allie: “I don’t have much routine when it comes to the pre-showtime, but I do vocal warm-ups and right before we go on stage the girls and I will always stand in a circle with our hands in the middle and chant a little pep talk. I always love that moment in particular. I’m excited to see what new routines I make on this album cycle!”
Alright – advice time. If you could give any advice to college kids struggling with anxiety, what would you say?
Meegan: “Face it head-on. Run towards it, not away from it. Don’t try and ignore it. I’ve given so much power away to anxiety because I’ve tried to stifle it, I’ve shamed myself for it, I’ve felt embarrassed by it, and I thought if I just ignore that it’s happening, it might go away. It’s ok and very normal and a lot of the time healthy to have anxiety. Our bodies are trying to tell us something. One thing I’ve been doing recently is saying to anxiety, “Okay, come at me! Do your worst!” And surprisingly, it is the one who retreats, not me.”
One more – What advice would you give to rising talent?
Allie: “I don’t mean to be cheesy, but my honest advice would be to enjoy every single moment. Soak in the moments where you’re singing at a pizza shop while combating the sound of the sports tv above your head. And the moment where you’re singing covers for 3 hours just to sneak in a few of your own songs. And then again when you’re playing a headlining show for the first time and the only people in the crowd are your family and a few friends and 3 strangers. It’s all so important no matter how unimportant the shows may feel at the time. It’s all a part of the journey.”
Joseph has contributed SO much to my life through the honesty of their music as well as their overwhelming love for their fans (honestly, Natalie emailed me after my mom passed. I can’t make these things up). Catch them TONIGHT at Paradise Rock Club at 8 PM. Stream Good Luck, Kid on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, or wherever you get music!
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!