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1. Do you think that people's real story is oftentimes buried among emojis and filters on the internet? How in your opinion can someone highlight their raw perspectives amidst the proliferation of inauthenticity?
I would 100% agree with that. And it’s a shame because we’ve never had such an ability to show our uniqueness to the world but instead of embracing that and letting our “freak flag show” so to speak people are content with being this templated version of a person all for the sake of being accepted by a bunch of strangers. I think the most important thing is knowing who you are and being secure in that, which sounds cliché but it’s true. And then once you have that, there’s a certain level of practice that goes into being your most authentic self. It’s natural to want to fit in so you really have to work at making sure that your thoughts and feelings and opinions are truly your own and not just being fed to you by the collective hive mind of the internet
2. You've advocated for "Public Self-appreciation" post wherein you've encouraged people to share their journey and accomplishments, why do you think this is a crucial part of our humanity when the majority seems to be fine with mere 15-seconds of fame?
I think it’s very easy to see where you want to be. Anybody can look at Drake and be like “Yea that’s what I want to do. I want to sell out stadiums and go on world tours.” But nobody wants to acknowledge that at some point Drake was probably excited about playing basement shows with 30 people paying him no attention. Those baby steps are super important because every time you do something you haven’t done before, that’s a win and it deserves to be celebrated. And I think as much as we moan and complain on social media we could be using that time and energy to celebrate ourselves and appreciate the accomplishments of others.
3. You composed a song called "Bathroom floor", is there an existential inspiration behind this song? What is it about? Is it fair to ask a musician how a listener should feel about their particular song or the mere question defeats the purpose of music?
My method of songwriting always has two sides to it. On one hand there is usually a literal story that I’m telling and on the other hand there’s a feeling or emotion or concept I’m trying to convey through that story. In the case of Bathroom Floor I got really drunk one night because I was upset about a girl I had been seeing who I hadn’t talked to in a while. I got so drunk in fact that I ended up falling asleep on my bathroom floor and I woke up with the realization that maybe I had liked this girl a bit more than I was letting on. It’s all about these visceral emotions that we often force ourselves to stifle because society tells us they’re “weird” or “too much”. It’s not ok to tell someone you love them after a month of dating or to not want to be friends after a breakup because you’re hurt by it. Everyone feels those kinds of things but refuses to allow themselves to explore those feelings because of societal norms. So Bathroom Floor is kind of a lament to myself about the regret I feel towards allowing those things to control how I choose to feel and express (or not) express myself. As far as asking a musician how you should feel after listening to a song, I think if you have to ask, the songwriter hasn’t done their job right.
4. How can you convince people to abandon preconceived notions, prejudice, and to promote kindness and happiness?
I really believe it’s about immersion and just setting an example. Most prejudices come from a place of ignorance and I don’t mean ignorance in a negative connotation but just pure lack of knowledge. If you only know what you’ve been told or shown about someone or a group of people than of course you’re going to take that at face value. I try my best to judge every person individually and leave all affiliations at the door. My main question is are you a good person or not? And of course that criteria is different for everyone but as long as that’s your baseline I think you can very easily check your bias at the door.
5. As A Human, Are You An Outside Observer Of The Universe, Or Are You A Piece Of The Universe Observing Itself?
I think I see myself as an outside observer but really when I think about it I have to be a piece of the universe observing itself. I have thoughts and actions and those thoughts and actions affect other thoughts and actions and, although in a very infinitesimal way, that ripple effect affects the universe somehow.
6. What Are You Most Sentimental About?
Probably lost friends and lovers. It’s so weird that there are just these people in the world who at one point were my absolute confidents. And now they just exist as these ghosts in my memories. It’s often times difficult for me to reconcile with the fact that I’ll never have those connections with those people again because they meant so much to me. So every once in a while I do end up feeling weirdly sentimental about them. But such is life.
7. Do you consider your music as a love letter to humanity or it's mostly from a selfish perspective of wanting to create something?
My goal as an artist has always been to be the sense of escape that all of my favorite artists were for me. I mean, sure, there’s a certain need for me to express my own feelings as a form of therapy but if it weren’t about the people listening then I would just be playing away in my bedroom every day. I feel a certain obligation to help people explore and understand the emotions that maybe they are having trouble with. If I can get you to breathe a little and feel like you’re not alone in this world than I’ve done my job and I’m content.
Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6XYwuJyWO6LkRZ2CuNECqh