NC music Venues

Q: In the past couple of years, I learned how many cool venues there are in North Carolina, Like the Cats cradle, Orange Peel etc and I wondered if you had a favorite one to go to as a fan?

(Also It feels so cool as a North Carolinian to see how proud y''all are of the state)

A:

I looooove Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill I have a lot of fond mems there. Will always probably be my fave non-DIY venue (other than the Mothlight in Asheville, RIP) to see shows cause I saw a lot of life changing shit there in highschool. Pinhook and Motorco in Durham rock as well. Static Age in Asheville rocks. Kings in Raleigh rox. Orange Peel in Asheville fucking SUCKS to go to as an audience member sometimes, their security is way too fucking serious. I’ve had some incredibly negative experiences there….. Would be awesome if they fixed that. I’ve seen a lot of good shows there too tho. It’s kinda one of the only spaces it makes sense for us to play in AVL atm tho…

My favorite shows to go to though will forever be house shows and DIY venues. There’s energy at those that are incomparable to any “real” venue. There’s a DIY space in Greensboro now called “etc.” and they are fucking awesome. That kinda shit is what makes good NC music possible. Def find out what those spaces are near u and go to some random shows even if you don’t know the bands playing.

Vintage/Food/Shopping etc Recs for Japan

Q:

Hey Karly!! I’m going to Japan mid may and have been trying to think of places to go for shopping, thrifting, bars, food, figurines, tchotchkes, etc. and was wondering if you have any recs for places that are a must see I will be spending about a week in Tokyo and then a few days in Kyoto!

A:

Boy do I got a list!!!!!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MAThPn8LGBJapte89

this is for the whole world but theres stuff in japan too

my faves of all time shops there are:

Nubian, Pin Nap, Funktique, GR8, Pat Market, Now2, The Four Eyed, Closet Child (the shinjuku location), Hitochigai and DC Bank. I suggest going to Koenji or Shimokitazawa neighborhoods for thrifting/shopping over Harajuku

Here’s food:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SvD8ZUYS5E93X5nm9

Literally though there is amazing food EVERYWHERE

I suggest BOOKOFF or flea markets (The Oi raceway flea happens every week I believe) for tchotchkes, I actually feel kinda weird buying too much new shit in Japan that vein cause there is sooooo much around already, I try my best to thrift it. The lil coin machines will have fun stuff like that too though.

For bars def walk through Golden Gai for the experience but my fave bar in Tokyo Bar 45 or Beat Cafe. Any listening bars will rock your world. Galaxie 500 is an awesome one in Kyoto.

structurin' time

Q: Hey karly,

Wanted 2 start off and say that the way you live n rock is an inspo to me (from ur website to ur art to ur knack for decor) makes me want to lifemaxx. That being said, i do a lot of different stuff like you (guitar, sewing, reading/writing and drawing mainly) but it's really hard to find the time to do all of that especially now that I work full time :( When i play guitar i think about my sewing projects, when i draw i think about the book im reading, la di da the list goes on. I find it hard to stay present in my hobbies and a lot of stuff remains unfinished. How do u go about splitting up your time and interests and staying present in one interest long enough to make something that you're proud of or feel like its accurately expressing yourself? Thanx :) <3

A: Okay, well to be honest I’ve never had a commitment like full time job other than school. When I did work outside of music I only worked part-time in retail or food service. So it’s a little hard for me to relate to ur specific experience!! But I’ll try my best to answer your question regardless.

With writing I used to structure that time very regimented…. no matter what, at some point in the day I sit and dedicate how ever long to writing 20 lines of potential lyrics. Sometimes it doesn’t create anything good enough to use in the song but what matters is you worked that muscle for the day.

The rest of my shit i just do when I feel the call. I sew when I wanna zone out and listen to music or watch TV while I do it. It’s my “multitasking” thing that helps me feel like I’m still being productive even when I wanna veg out. It’s nice to have at least one hobby that you can do to get in a flow state without having to think about it. Knitting or sewing accomplishes this real easy. Drawing or something might work for you too. Coding or adding to my website has accomplished this as well for me recently!

But yeah, basically since I have free time any time i’m not on tour now I wake up and if I feel like writing, I write, if I feel like sewing I sew etc. I can tell pretty immediately what I wanna do based on the weather. Extreme cold, hot or rainy I’m more inclined to stay inside and work on visual art or mess around on guitar. I like to write outside on nice days, or go out to write. And if you’re in the mood for none of those things, it’s good to be around friends or go on a walk or read. As little time as I can spend vegging out without any sort of supplementary thing I usually avoid. It’s gotten 17 bajillion times easier since getting off socials. But I know not everyone can really do that.

Now how to do this with a full time job…? No idea sry. I wish I had better advice for that.

As far as your problem with being unable to devote your attention to one thing at a time, I think thats not always a bad thing. Transitioning between one thing and another when you feel like it is something you’re allowed to do! It always helps to not be so hard on yourself, or not going in already comparing your work to other peoples work. Maybe pick one thing rn to really dedicate yourself to a little bit everyday, the thing you most want finished pieces for, and try to do that everyday. Then do the others when you try to work on that thing but needed a break.

Hope this is helpful!

cookout order

NC born and raised, whats your cookout order Karly?

it’s crazy but… just a side of pups!!

They’re my fave, I don’t usually see the point in ordering much else.

southern gurlz

Q: Hi Karly, I love how your lyrics depict the southern grotesque - how did you come to accept letting your southern roots and own grotesqueness bleed into your work (especially growing up in the alternative scene)? Or was it always a non issue?
P.s. I work at a used record/bookstore in the middle of nowhere in Texas & I play records while people shop - I played Rat Saw God whenever it first came out on vinyl, and 4 people complained and walked out during Bull believer… it was awesome
Thanks for making music for weird southern girls like me <3 take care

I always kinda embraced my southern-ness, ever since I went to summer camp with kids from all over the US and realized how much I identified proudly with the other kids who were from near where I was from.

The more I travel away from the south the more I appreciate it and miss it when I leave.

Also much of my favorite (and the best imo) music and books are written by Southern ppl: Harry Crews, Flannery O’Connor, Drive-By Truckers, Vic Chesnutt, OutKast… of course many country singers and song writers.

I have always found the south easy to love in spite of its many many flaws. It has so much character and the landscape is so deeply inspiring to me, always has been.

down 4 photos?

Q: I don’t even know if you remember this but I met you in a Target the day after Christmas in 2023 and I so regret not asking for a photo BUT it makes me want to ask, how do you feel about autographs/photos/etc.? I never want to make anyone feel uncomfy or awkward by taking photos, especially when they’re not on celeb level, because I think photos can send a message of “oh I have to show people this famous person I met”

A: I usually don’t mind photos! I’ll tell people straight up if I’m not up for it, because like anyone sometimes I’m not in the ideal headspace for that sorta thing. Or if I’m with my family or something I might say no, just to like be there with them 100% and respect their privacy etc etc.

Ya’ll’re in general cool ass people and it is awesome to meet and talk with you 99% of the time. I’ll let ya know if that changes but for now I’m down for pix if ya see me out n about.

tour rider

Heyo, I’ve gone down a rabbit hole recently reading about bands’ tour riders. I gotta know what’s on the Wednesday rider. Anything fun? Hope you’re doing well <3

It’s funny because we loved to talk about what we would put on our rider before we were given one but when it came the day to actually make one we went with pretty straightforward/boring shit

For those who don’t know: a rider is a list of items (food/alcohol/necessities) you give to the venue to have for you when you arrive there.

Our rider on our last run was something like:

-a few Larabars

-Casamigos or some other type of Tequila (only if were in the Americas usually cause tequila in Europe is not very good in our experience), and a bottle of wine (Xandy requests a local natural wine and sometimes we get something extremely delicious if the venue people are into natural wines and know what to get)

-a pint of blueberries

-peanut m&ms or a bar of dark chocolate

-a box of mixed greens (we each just shove a few handfuls in our mouths if we get a chance because usually we don’t get enough greens during the day)

I think that’s pretty much it…. sometimes we get oranges and they sometimes provide chips and salsa or something like that. Nothing that interesting. Xandy and I have both worked at music venues so we don’t want to over complicate it for the people that work there etc etc

croc guitar

Who built yon amazing (black croc tears?) guitar? I’m building a JM now, and color me inspired. NO sloppy copies, I’m doing my own thing…still I’m channeling you. So far, I’ve got a mascis rosewood neck, a decoboom pickguard, and a set of strings…Sa’weet y’all.
All I need is a body.
When in Raleigh (and err’where lately), I’m bumpin’ Wednesday. Please come back to HOPSCOTCH?!?! If so, I’ll hook or crook from CT to get down.

Yoooo, I picked up the guitar from Heyday Music in Asheville when I still worked there. It is a Italia Modulo! Here’s one I found for sale on Reverb… I think mine was about half the price of this one tho so maybe look around ffor a better price.

How 2 Rock

hello! I'm in a band but none of us really know what we're doing (not in a "no one ever knows what theyre doing!" kind of way but in the way that we all simply need lessons) - was wondering if you had any insight into how you write songs? Like do you come up with lyrics first and then try and work them into a melody or vice versa? i feel like im just not skilled enough to be able to write good songs - like how do you envision all the different instruments coming together? you're so talented and any insight welcome and thank you!

This is a HUUUUGE question, that idk if I can answer satisfyingly

I write a little bit about my process for lyrics here

As far as the instrumentals, getting a crew of people with good chemistry was inherent to how we actually formed the final versions of song. Everyone knew what our common influences were so they drew from those and their own tastes to write their parts. , I just come to practice with lyrics and my own guitar part. Experimentation is crucial though, so just trust each other, think of the emotion you want to capture with the music, and keep messing around until you mistakenly or on purpose find what your looking for.

It won’t happen immediately. It takes a loooot of work and you gotta really love expressing yourself with music to feel any sort of satisfaction from it. If it’s not fun or at the very least therapeutic I don’t see the point. Ask yourself what your motivation is for making music, and figure out what you want to say.

Dont go in thinking of the final product. Come with a loose idea and be open to it morphing and changing on it’s way to becoming the final version of the song.

Maybe listen to other artists that are self taught, self recorded, and accessible to your experience with your instrument to gain the confidence to believe you can do it too. I found this in Riot Grrl music when I was first starting out but you could also research the bedroom pop girlies, Guided By Voices, Daniel Johnston people in that vein. Incredibly important music from people that weren’t formally trained but that desperately had something to say. I could think of a bigger list of artists that make you think “I can do this too!” or if people want to suggest music in the comments below feel free.

Just listen to a bunch of shit that makes you excited to make your own shit! And write a bunch of bad songs until you inevitably write a good one

Hope this helps

Thrifting

hi karly! i was wondering if you do any thrifting at goodwill? if so, and with all your expertise, do you have a ranking of goodwills in the greensboro area?

urgghhhh I hate Goodwill kinda…. their prices have gotten so insane. I do go there once in a while though cause there’s a lot fewer charity shops in Greensboro compared to Asheville. If I do go I usually hit the one on Market and then go to Reconsidered Goods. I grew up going to the one on Elm street ! That’s further from me now tho.

I like Freedom House Thrift pretty good…. but they are heavily Christian music playing in there. Who knows where that moneys goin… I should probably look into that.

I like the place across from Red Collection off of Battleground too but I forget what it’s called.

Am I in Los Angeles......

Feel free to ignore this one, but I'm wondering if i saw you in LA this early afternoon. Saw a girl in cowboys boots in Hollywood.

okayyy wwtffff!!!

This is the second time this week that someone has seen my doppelganger in LA………. someone ask this person who they are and tell them to give me back my face

fr tho im not in LA… I will be for a few days in March tho

tattoos

Heyyyy! I always love ur tattoos and seeing the new ones you have! Was wondering how you think about placement/have thought about that over time and if it’s changed at all as you’ve filled more space. Also just how ur finding artists and inspo these days!

I'll be honest, i do not plan my shit at all. Tattoos are my way to take control of my body, so just the act of getting artwork I like tatted at all is the main motivation. I usually just look for someone in whatever city I’m in, decide what I want like a day before and book it lol.

I usually find ppl on Instagram, but I guess that’ll be a lil more difficult now that i’m off of there ha

If ur reading this and know other artists w/ this general scratchy style comment below<3

heres a running list of artists I have divided by city

Authors I'm Into

I'm a big fan of yours and so are a lot of my good friends. i feel a lot of connectivity between my creativity as a writer and yours as well as a songwriter and musician. i love how you write about love and life...reminds me of Frank O'Hara (idk if you have gotten that before) and Eileen Myles.
i was reading the notes on RSG on Apple Music and loved hearing about your process but i was wondering if you have influences that go beyond the scope of music. i know you're a big reader so id be curious to know how/if anything you've read has influenced your songwriting style&practice

i also wanted to mention that your music means a lot to me. i'm a black girl from the Midwest/South and even though I didn't grow up listening to rock music i have a real connection to it now in my adult life. Makes sense because blues and rock are connected and i grew up on blues/soul. listening to your music reminds me of the very special times in my life with my friends, growing up in Texas. and some of your songs feel like thoughts i've had, being actualized. just wanted to let you know!

First of all, hell yeah glad you are able to extract all that cool shit from our music. That is so special.

I like Frank O’hara but I actually struggled to get into the Eileen Myles book I got a few months ago. If you have any suggestions on a good place to start with her let me know.

As far as authors that have really affected my lyricism I’d say initially Tom Robbins and Richard Braughtigan were big ones. More recently I’m into Mary Karr, Harry Crews, and Lynda Barry. I read Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen recently and it blew my mind in a big way. I’m reading Joan Didion “Year of Magical Thinking” right now and I can tell its gonna stick with me for a long long time. I have a toooon of books piled up to get to also that I’ll be reading and probably talkin about on here

I’m glad I’m getting back into reading more recently cause I did NOT have the brain space for a minute to ingest anything, art or music, that challenged me to think or reflect. Was too exhausted by the chaos of my life for a bit, but now I’ve really rested and settled in and can read again. It has been a huge relief.

I’m reading a lot of graphic novels and comics recently though too, and those are super inspiring to my writing recently as well.

Indie video games have some really incredible story telling too. There’s like so many cool mediums to be inspired by rn, it’s so exciting.

Movies for laughin and cryin

what movie do you watch when ….
- you need to laugh?
- you need to cry?

Laughing:

I feel like movies are hard to rely on for laughs, cause after the first time you watch em you kinda know the jokes…

I’d probably watch Norm McDonald standup or his Netflix interview show. Duncan Trussell’s podcast has been gettin me too. I watched the first couple eps of English teacher too and they were real goofy funny.

this girl on Youtube has been cracking me the fuck up recently. It’s very brain rotty tho.

Crying: Steel Magnolias, Grave of the Fireflies, Haunting of Hill House made me cry recently. Random shit makes me cry if I’m feeling sentimental though.

Bootleg Recordings

Hi!! Was wondering what ur opinion was on bootleg recordings was. I know it would differ from artist 2 artist, I like to record concerts I go to and make little cassettes / CDs for myself and friends that like the bands (not selling them or posting online, also subject to requests from artists at shows if they ask for certain things to not be recorded and such), but always am worried that artists wouldn't like this :/ What's ur opinion on bootlegs, do u vibe with them or not :3

Nah I think that’s cool. Bootlegs mean u have fans that wanna listen to bootlegs. Which is awesome.

TV Boyz

hey karly, are you team dean, jess or logan? also wait are you team edward or jacob..... have a nice night :)

girl….. there is only one answer anything else is stupid and WRONG

also I wasn’t a big twilight girl but if I had to pick I gotta go Edward…

but might be just because I am a Pattinson-a-holic

Editing Software

Q: I love your website! Im wondering what you use to edit your youtube videos? You inspire me a lot(sewing, music, videos, decorating) and i just watched how to with john wilson so now i want to film everything hihi. I had premier pro through my old school, but i don't go there anymore:(
<3
Also maybe this is an annoying question sorry, but i wanna know if you ever got my letter? Because if you didn't ill try recreating it. (It had a drawing of the band and it was from sweden and i sent it in november maybe?)

A: So basic but I use iMovie cause it came predownloaded on my computer.

Also yes I did get your letter!! It takes me a minute to get the energy to respond to the stuff I get in the PO Box, it gets overwhelming sometimes! I actually jussssst sent your letter like a week ago so you should hopefully get it soon. I kept forgetting to get international stamps.

Small Venues

Q: Recent fan (newport folk transformed me from causal listener to big time fan) and i was wondering if you intend on staying in smaller venues? you guys are definitelyyyy big enough to play places like hob boston but i would kill for another 3sartspace or space in portland show (i was front row!!). i loveee smaller shows whether solo or not and would kill for you to play 3s again (i missed it the first time)

A: Hell yeah, Newport was cool!!! I was feeling so dissociated that day, and for some reason when I feel that way I Ill do some experimental make up, hence the clown face. I had a great day though and it was so surreal to be there.

We’ll definitely play smaller venues when we can, sometimes you can play multiple nights at a smaller venue instead of one night at a huge one. You can’t do that all the time though or else your tour will be sooooo long. Regardless, we simply sound better in a smaller room, and it feels much more connected.

We recently played this huge room in Tokyo at a convention center to like 3,500 people… and it was a cool experience but also it didn’t feel real in a way I wasn’t super into. We were also INCREDIBLY jetlagged to be fair. Not saying we wont play stuff like that again (especially inevitable at festivals) but I will always prefer the feeling and sound of a smaller room over something like that.

Lyric Writing Process

Q: hey karly, i wanted to ask about your lyric writing process. i love the way you weave small moments and unassuming images into a meaningful collage. i know you’ve mentioned richard brautigan as one of your influences in this before!

i’m wondering how you go about your writing? does it just flow when you sit down to write? do you pick an image/line/theme and go from there?

lots of love from manchester, uk. wednesday songs mean so much to me and my girl friends over here :)

A: Yooooo the writing process I most suggest is something I stole from Jake which he stole from David Berman. Everyday (or in my case whenever I feel like song writing, usually once a week or so) write 20 lines. They dont all have to be usable or good because once youve done this 5-10 times you can just pick out the best shit and weave it together for a song.

Doing it this way really takes the pressure off yourself to write a complete song in one sitting, and also makes it so you can really hone in every line until they’re all words you’re truly proud to be singing. It takes dedication and patience, but if I’m being honest I think patience is something a lot of songwriters lack. Really sitting with and caring about your words makes all the difference in the quality of the lyrics.

I suggest starting by writing everyday just to build the muscle and then after a while you’ll be able to just sit down and write when you feel “the itch”, which you’ll become sensitive to the longer you write.

As far as writing specifically about memories, the way I do this is by picking one memory I want to talk about and try to write all 20 lines of a sitting about that memory. I write out every possible thing I can remember spanning across all the senses. If it is a painful memory it can often be a painful process to re access that stuff so prepare for that. Usually whats left is a really vivid and visceral description of that event.

Then I’ll go back in and weave in some unrelated lines from other writing sessions that fit the tone to keep it fresh and not suffocate the memory.

I also collect a lot of lines from other books, movies, and stuff I hear my friends say and can weave that in as well when it fits the tone. I’ve found references to be a really good method for listeners to relate and empathize with whatever I’m singing about.

Hope this helps !

Bath County Bumper Stickers!?

Q: You sent me a letter reply a few weeks ago and it came with a bumper sticker that says "every daughter of god has a little bad luck, sometimes bath county, VA" and I NEED to know if that was custom merch or if somewhere in bath county actually sells these and that's where the song inspo came from???!? I'm assuming it's custom made tho. Btw I plan on getting a frame for it soon (can't put that on my car, it would get ruined and it's precious to me) so I'll send pics when I get it framed!! Love from Raleigh!!

A: Hey!! That was actually fan made! Someone sent a bunch of those to my PO box and once I gave some to my bandmates and fam I sent a few out to people who wrote me! I think Alan and my mom both have one on their car rn :)

I wish I remember who made them!! If you are reading this and made the Bath County bumper stickers message me in the contact box so I can credit you!! Plus if you have an Etsy link or something I’m sure more people would want them <3