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We’re super-excited to have some time today with acclaimed and genre-busting duo Griefcat; welcome to Vents Magazine, gang! Before we meander down the proverbial musical Q&A pathway, could the two of you say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?
Louisa: We are so excited to chat with you today! My name is Louisa – I’ve been a ukulelist-singer-songwriter for the last ten-ish years, and the last five with my dear friend and musical soulmate, Annie. I have a deep love of cats, friendship, and coffee.
Annie: Howdy! I’m the curly haired, guitar-playing member of Griefcat. I’m a former cop-turned-musician and I have a penchant for good bagels.
Annie, at the tip-top, we described Griefcat as “genre-busting” simply because your music seems to defy any typical categorization. Though, we hear some sweet refrains of folk dripping off of your beautiful music, would it be fair to call Griefcat “folk”, or would you go for another moniker altogether?
Annie: While we definitely take a lot of inspiration from folk groups like Simon and Garfunkel and Peter, Paul, and Mary, musical comedy definitely fits a bit more.
Major congratulations on your freshly-minted new single Love The Sinner which is set for a March 29 release! Louisa, what inspired one of the best new music releases of 2024?
Louisa: I think many, many people have had the experience of working in a toxic environment, and having felt pretty powerless to do anything about it. Love the Sinner was inspired by Annie’s experience as a cop, when she was ostracized after standing up against a coworker making racist comments about how another deputy dressed. She brought her feelings to rehearsal, and we were able to process her experience into a relatable anthem for anyone who has had to work with (or be related to) someone terrible.
Annie, who was the producer on Love The Sinner and what did the collaboration between Griefcat and producer look like in the studio while working on the new song?
Annie: Our pal Ben Green produced our whole album at Ivakota in Washington, DC. Ben takes us seriously as musicians first and foremost and helps us feel extremely comfortable. It was hard at first to figure out the direction we wanted to go for “Love the Sinner” but once we got the ball rolling, Ben really ran with our ideas.
Louisa, in your humble opinion what differentiates Love The Sinner from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music landscape?
Louisa: I’ve never heard a song quite like this one! It’s lyrically driven, meaningful, self-aware and funny, and it has many percussive elements (including a trashbag), sweeping violins, and madrigal style vocals in the bridge. It would be perfect to play with classroom instruments. It’s also a protest song against rampant hateful ideology masking itself as holy and virtuous. Music and laughter are great forms of catharsis, so we hope this brings that release and recognition for our listeners too!
A question for the both of you: Who inspires you musically?
Annie: I love the tight harmonies you often find in folk music from the late 60s, but I also love iconic divas like Donna Summer and Beyonce.
Louisa: This answer changes slightly daily. My biggest inspirations today are probably The Divine Comedy, The Decemberists, Elbow, Lord Huron, Flight of the Conchords, and Neko Case.
Annie, word ‘round industry campfire has it that Griefcat will be releasing the new LP Late Stage Capitalism on April 19; congratulations! Can you give readers and fans a hint or three as to what they can expect from the new LP? And what’s this we hear about some well-deserved Wammie Music Awards nominations already for the new album?
Annie:
Folks can expect surprising laughs, clever lyrics, and a surprising amount of keys. In regards to the WAMMIES, it’s always an honor to be nominated! We were nominated for Best Music Video, Best Country Song, and Best Pop Song. While we didn’t make it to the finals, we did recently garner a win for the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) for best video for our song Cryptobro!
Louisa, with the release of the new single Love The Sinner and the forthcoming LP Late Stage Capitalism, can fans look forward to catching Griefcat on the touring/performing circuit in the coming weeks and months?
Louisa: We have a lot of shows coming up, and are working on more! We have a short mini tour run in late March with stops in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California, and our big full band Album Release show in Vienna, VA on April 21st at Jammin Java with our dear friend William Hinson opening the show.
Annie, what’s the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on how Griefcat came together as the tight duo which we hear on the crackling new single Love The Sinner?
Annie: We met at a variety show in 2015 in DC as solo artists and after years of getting to know each other’s clever writing style, we decided to join forces!
Louisa, what does the creative process generally tend to look like when you and Annie are working on new material? Is there a certain method to the creative madness?
Louisa: Our favorite way to write songs is to get together and start improvising. One of us will typically start playing an instrument, and we begin riffing vocally together. We’ll usually hit a funny idea, or a nice harmony, and we’ll ride that wave til we have a song or the start of one. I always record our rehearsals, so we don’t forget the ideas we came up with. We also keep a list of ideas that we refer back to every once in a while in case we need extra motivation.
Annie, at the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-spin to the incredible new Griefcat single Love The Sinner as well as the upcoming new LP Late Stage Capitalism?
Annie: Join the revolution and seize the means of production – through laughter of course!
