Female Role Models, Festival Words of Wisdom, and Tour Alter Egos: A Chat With Grace Mitchell at Hangout Fest
Grace Mitchell might know how to write a damn great pop song, but man, she's so much more than just another indie-pop singer songwriter. A fierce and captivating performer and an advocate for girl power, Grace Mitchell packs a punch with her message, both on and off the stage. Although she's just made her festival debut at the likes of Coachella and Hangout Fest and she's gearing up to release her debut album, Grace is already no stranger to using her platform to call attention to issues that females face, both in the music industry and in everyday life. When we caught up with her during the last day of Hangout Fest, Grace not only let us in on some news about her upcoming album and how she kills time on the road, but she called attention to some badass females in the industry that she admires and respects. A name you're sure to hear much more of in 2017, get to know Grace Mitchell now!
Photo Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival
ANCHR Magazine: So your debut album is coming out this year! What can you tell me about the writing process or maybe your favorite songs on it?
Grace Mitchell: I can tell you that the writing process has been very, very long. At this point, some of the songs on the album are like four years old, so it’s been a long accumulation of many different trials, and evolving different sounds.
AM: Cool, and where’d you record it?
GM: We recorded it pretty much all in LA, with a few exceptions in New York.
AM: What songs have been going over really well on the road?
GM: I think the songs that people have been really reacting to super well are “Kids (Ain't All Right),” “Now,” “NoLo.” Those are the main songs I’ve released that have done pretty well.
AM: I saw earlier after your set you tweeted it’s crazy seeing people sing along to your songs. When was the first time you remember experiencing that?
GM: Actually, my first ever show that I performed at Apple Music Festival in London, three years ago, I saw a couple people in the audience singing “NoLo,” which was super surprising and exciting. Ever since, it’s kind of been a handful of people depending on where I’m playing. If I play in LA, it’s a lot of people. When I play in places where people are not as familiar with my music, it’s less. Today was like a huge turnout. I was super surprised at how many people knew my music.
AM: Oh cool! So I just saw you at Coachella last month. What were some highlights from playing Coachella? Did you get to see any other bands?
GM: Yeah, I think that a big highlight was just experiencing the artist lifestyle for Coachella. I went there once before because I was playing a private event outside of the actual venue, but I got to come to the artist area. This was the first time I got an actual trailer and everything, which was very exciting and felt like a level up. It was super fun. I loved watching Future perform. And Kendrick [Lamar] was amazing.
AM: What about here, anyone you’re looking forward to?
GM: Warpaint are some of my girlfriends so I’m excited to see them. Mumford and Sons- I love Mumford and Sons! I think that they get some slack cause they haven’t had an album out in a while, but I still think they’re top favorites.
AM: So you were just recently in Elle’s Women in Music Feature, and I saw that you posted the other day on Kesha’s article about recovering from an eating disorder. So who are some strong female role models in the industry that you really look up to and have inspired you?
GM: I think that a lot of the females that inspired me to make music were like hugely famous 90's powerhouses, like Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos, and Fiona Apple...Kate Bush. Some contemporary ones that I feel like are making a huge wave in feminism and supporting the LGBQT community and coming out about the issues they experience as women are Kesha, Lady Gaga….I think that I wish Taylor Swift would talk about it more. She has such a platform, and I’m sure that she experiences so much. Especially being how hugely famous she is, I’m sure she experiences just crazy, tumultuous shit all the time that she deserves to talk about and really advocate for. She has so many young people watching her.
AM: What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
GM: I think one of the things that I’m really trying to make people aware of and correct is that men in the music industry have a hard time believing the validity of women who are making choices in the music industry. It also takes women 10 times harder to work for the things that men get easy recognition for.
AM: Have you noticed anything being so young that you have that age prejudice too?
GM: I would say that yeah, people underestimate me all the time. Then once they get to know me, they see that I can deliver and expect more. I don’t really like that age dictates the way that people initially perceive me, so I try not to make it about the age at all. I think that anyone can create music at any age and it can still be fantastic.
AM: Cool, so how do you stay grounded and amp yourself up for shows when you’re touring a lot?
GM: Yeah, I think that I go into kind of an alter ego mode when I’m on tour. I have to lead my band, A, and B, I kind of have to fall into this almost….I just have to be like really powerful and energetic. In order to psych myself up for that, I take a little bit of down time before and after tours and stuff. I’m down to earth pretty much. Then when I’m out on tour, I switch into this alter energy.
AM: Cool, and then what do you do to stay entertained on the road?
GM: We actually love, as a band, to read serial killer’s wiki pages. It’s pretty fun. It’s fascinating. We also like to listen to podcasts a lot. We like Joe Rogan’s podcast. We all love to go out and go to bars and get dinners together.
AM: What’s one of the most interesting facts you’ve found out from your serial killer research.
GM: Serial killer research...Jeffrey Dahmer killed all the people that he did so that he could make a black magic shrine for his household. I don’t think people really knew why he killed so many people, but he was doing it for a very specific spiritual reason.
AM: What else are you looking forward to this summer?
GM: We have a couple international festivals. We’re going to Canada twice. Outside Lands is going to be really fun cause I have family in San Francisco.
AM: Cool, anything else you have planned to do while you’re out in these cities?
GM: Just kind of experiencing as much as possible. Going to as many new shows and new artists and female shows as possible!
AM: Are there any other bands you’re really into at the moment?
GM: I think the new MUNA album is incredible. The new Betty Who album is amazing. I was listening to new Harry Styles this weekend. It’s really good, he goes in a completely different direction.
AM: Any last festival words of wisdom while I have you?
GM: Yeah, festival words of wisdom are don’t wait around for your group to get their shit together. Go see the shows you want to see. I think people stress the buddy system way more than they need to. Go see the shows that you like and go see new artists.