On a peaceful rainy-day Grace went on IG Live for almost two hours, wearing a sweater “because it’s the vibes”. As usual the notes here will focus on what Grace had to say of relevance for her music.
About training her “falsetto voice”
She sang “Sign of the times” – a Harry Styles cover: “I should work on that more. I like signing that song. I am just learning it though. What I like about that song is that it has the falsetto part, and that’s kind of been a goal of mine: I have very little control over my falsetto voice, so it’s been a goal of mine that that’s the next thing I want to tackle vocally, and this is a great, great son to practice that.”
A viewer said: “You should do some punk songs” and Grace answered, “That’s actually my plans tonight”. She never did, but she did talk about how she wanted to venture into Rock-music:
Grace and Rock-music
Imagine Grace Vandwerwaal as a Rock singer… “Dude that’s my path, I’m really serious about this. I at least want to experiment in genre. See how it goes. I’m really attracted to it. I just wrote my first kind of punk-infused song, and it’s honestly I think one of the best songs of Letters Vol 2. Its easily the best one, and it kind of inspired me to kind of want to keep going into punk. Is that crazy? I just feel like, Jazz and Punk are [laughs] not my “calling”, but just like, you know, something that I really want to fall into more. [I think you can blend into that well] Dude I think so too, I really don’t think it’s going to seem strange. I don’t think people are really going to think twice, because it really suits me, and seems really natural.”
“Lately I’ve been really into like rock. I really want to make rock music guys and I think I’m going to do that today” (again, she didn’t). She played a bit of “Pinky Pinky” by the Taiwanese band “Sunset Rollercoaster” from their first album “Bossa Nova” (2011). “Dude I want to make music like that so, so bad. But it’s such a different genre than what I usually do, and I know it’s going to be such a challenge to not only write like that, but making the production … I would have to make my own production for that [she was in quarantine during the Corona-pandemic] and it’s going to be a nightmare, but it also might be super fun, so I am really going to try. [talks about who she has improved in producing – se below] So, I think my next challenge is going to be a rock song, which is going to be so, so, so, so challenging, especially because I don’t have a live electric guitar, that’s my main challenge. And even if I did, I can’t play [unintelligible] as authentic as possible. Because I feel it’s so important for rock-songs to sound live and authentic which is a very hard thing to do, in quarantine.”
About getting better at producing
“I have love key been getting so much better at producing, I feel like I have been improving so, so, so much. Listen to what I just made recently. It’s not the best [production?] I am about to play you. I personally think it’s going to make the EP, but I just think that it shows growth, which is kind of cool. [Plays about a verse and chorus of “I Love You”] I feel like that specific project has shown my growth more than anything else I have done in production. … I started out with Garageband and just recently switched over to Logic.”
About making her band more of a band
I want to make me and my band more of a band. I was thinking about that today, because I was like dreaming about tour, like I always do. I am always like planning out tour and what I want to do, and … it’s always like eew – I am “the singer” so I am always in front of them and I don’t like it. I don’t like the way it makes me feel on stage. So, I Want them to be really like up on the stage with me. I really want us all to be like really close.
For the rest of the live, Grace Played and sometimes sang along with (some very different) music (not her own) from her computer, chated and gave advice – on jealousy in relationships, about the awkwardness of first kisses and about her first kiss (“It was just amazing man – and not awkward at all)”, on labels for different sexualities. About how she “really, really wants to make a sequel to Stargirl so, so, so bad”. How annoying Bluetooth is – and why we can’t just plug in a chord. How people want you to maintain your child-like spirit and then, if you, as a young adult, act playful and silly – than that is wrong, and they think you are high or something. And she talks about people graduating during Corona. They will miss the ceremonial part, but the most important part, Grace tells them – is that they will never have to go to high school again.
