A canceled appointment usually gives me an excuse to go home. For Temper City, it helped create “Self Aware.” During our conversation at Austin City Limits, the band reflected on moving from writing for other artists to performing their own music. Their story includes an unexpected studio opening, a shared phone note, and a new question shaping their songwriting: how will this feel onstage? Apparently, the Notes app continues to carry the creative industry. Mine mostly carries unfinished captions and reminders I have already ignored. For Temper City, arriving in Austin was an exciting part of that transition. They described feeling welcomed by the people around them and spoke enthusiastically about getting to perform their own work. “It’s been incredible,” they said of the ACL experience. After spending years working behind the scenes, taking the stage themselves meant exploring a different relationship with the songs they create. They were now responsible for bringing that music directly to an audience. That shift had already been taking shape when the session behind “Self Aware” happened. Another artist canceled, leaving the band with studio time they had already arranged. Rather than abandon the day, they decided to use it for themselves. “We might as well make a song for our project,” they recalled thinking. They had already discussed creating a project of their own, so the cancellation gave them space to act on that idea. What could have been a frustrating interruption became an opportunity. “It was a happy mistake,” they said. I appreciate a productive plot twist. My canceled plans have yet to produce a single, but perhaps I need to raise my expectations. Stepping into the spotlight has also changed what happens during the writing process. When creating for someone else, they explained, the eventual live performance wasn’t necessarily something they considered as closely. Now, performing the songs themselves makes that question much more immediate. “Translating songs to how they feel live, it’s a whole new thing,” one member explained. The stage has become something they think about while a song is still taking shape. They’re considering how the music will feel beyond the recording, when they’re the ones performing it in front of people. That gives the creative process another dimension: a song needs to work in the studio, but they also get to discover what happens when it enters a live setting. Our conversation also touched on “Reverse Psychology,” which developed through a combination of preparation and spontaneity. The band remembered jamming together and finding elements of the production through that process. But the title was already waiting. “We had the title,” they explained, describing a shared phone note where the three of them collect possible song names. “Reverse Psychology” was an idea they wanted to build around. The jam helped them find the musical direction to meet it. Sometimes inspiration arrives unexpectedly; sometimes it has been sitting in your phone, patiently waiting for everyone to catch up. Looking ahead, Temper City expressed excitement about exploring different sides of their sound. They described an indie-rock foundation with a nostalgic quality, while leaving room for different approaches in upcoming music. For listeners introduced through “Self Aware,” there is more of the band’s identity still to discover. What stood out to me was their willingness to use the opening in front of them. They had an idea, available studio time, and a reason to try. Now, they’re learning what those songs can become onstage. The next time someone cancels on me, I may still go home. But I’ll admit Temper City made a compelling case for staying.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St. John's chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.