The grunge-esque, folk rockin’, singer/songwriter vibes of Stress Dolls newest single, Nashville, is just the sonic boost I needed to get my office hours off to a great start.
Once described as “Joni Mitchell meets Nirvana“, I’ll have to say that’s a very apt description. The acoustic guitar driven single is fueled by upbeat, uplifting energy, the distinct vocal stylings of the lead voice and a jammin’ breakdown around the 2:15-2:20-ish mark.
Nashville is IMD approved! I was fortunate enough to get a few moments of Stress Dolls time for the below interview.
Full Q&A along with music and links below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m from Buffalo, NY and my sound was once described by someone as being “Joni Mitchell meets Nirvana,” which I thought was pretty flattering.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
My dad is a musician as well as a music lover, so I grew up watching him play and listening to many of his favorites (Tom Petty, Neil Young, The Doors, The Rolling Stones…) Around the age of 5 my parents signed me up for piano lessons, which I ended up taking for 10 years before stopping to pursue learning guitar. From a pretty early age I experimented with writing my own songs– some with lyrics, some without. Music has always been a release for me, whether it be through listening, playing, or writing, so I think that it’s something I will continue to love and do for as long as I can.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
When I wrote “Nashville” I didn’t necessarily have a clear vision for what it would sound like recorded; at the time I wasn’t really in a place where I was even thinking of what my next recording would be, I was just doing a bunch of writing. Lyrically the song deals with an incident that occurred in the Spring of 2018 where I wound up hospitalized and had to leave Nashville after having lived there for about 6 months, so it’s not the happiest of tunes. However, as time went on I really grew to enjoy the song and began picturing it with a more polished, “pop” sound.
My friend Jay Milton plays in a band called The Demos out of Rochester, NY– they’re an amazing band and also produce their own material. I’ve admired Jay’s songwriting and production skills for a while, so when he approached me about working together I was pretty stoked, and I knew almost immediately that I wanted him to produce “Nashville.”
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)
The internet has helped me connect with other artists and listeners not only in the US but in other parts of the world, and that’s been incredible. I have people in other countries who listen to my music, and I in turn have discovered independent artists from other regions that I enjoy.
That said, unfortunately I think that for the average music listener the amount of choice is overwhelming, and it’s easy to fall back on streaming services to choose your tastes for you (Spotify playlists etc) as opposed to seeking out new music for yourself. I don’t exclude myself from that habit! But when I can I try and be active in discovering other independent artists– sites like Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and BBC’s Fresh on the Net are great for that.
What was the last song you listened to?
“In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I’m a square who prefers CDs. It makes me sad that the future of music is purely streaming services because I truly love the experience of physically having music to listen to (the album artwork, the lyric booklet), and without interruptions by ads. Nothing ruins an album experience more than being interrupted every 3-5 songs with an ad for Olive Garden. Ugh. I don’t have a record player so I haven’t gotten into vinyl, but I imagine that reasoning behind loving that format is much the same for many people.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
As an musician I’d say that Bandcamp is definitely the most artist-friendly of all those choices as it enables you to set a price for your work, or at least have people “pay what they want” VS. purely earning money off streams (which is essentially nothing). I also love how BC does not bombard the listener with ads, only music. I’ve found some really cool artists via browsing on Bandcamp, I highly recommend it to any music lover.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
I’d say that I’m most active on either Facebook or Instagram, so you can check those out:
I also have my tunes up on Bandcamp, Spotify… etc etc
Bandcamp: stressdolls.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2L4MBngvappicW4avjknRZ?si=GBHh_KMUQy-xr-H6KoE5YA
And if you’d like to catch a show, I list everything on my official site: stressdollsmusic.com
Anything else before we sign off?
Thanks again for chatting and supporting independent artists!
