Vol. 25
THE HOMIES
October 2022
Astral Emotion
DAYGLOW GAYLE & MORE
Volume 25 October 2022 Editorial
HAZZE MEDIA www.hazzemedia.com info@hazzemedia.com
Founder/Editor-in-Chief Ezzah Rafique
Design Director Mohja Filfil
Press Director Orchee Sorker
Website Director Camila Camacho Contributors Jewel Fiorillo Lauren Sanchez Kayla Saliman Stephanie Siau Maegan Grendell Creighton Stevenson
Cover Photographer: Jewel Fiorillo The Homies
HAZZE MEDIA
www.hazzemedia.com
SUBMISSIONS
info@hazzemedia.com https://kavyar.com/hazze-magazine www.hazzemedia.com/submissions
A Letter From the Editor
I want to start off by saying I sincerely apologize for the delay in the release of this issue. We have been dealing a lot on our end with projects, publishing, shop work, etc. But October's issue focuses on our interviews and coverage for shows we have done throughout the month. Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy this month's theme of "Astral Emotion" which focuses on fun plays with camera lenses, edits, and exaggerated poses.
Ezzah Rafique Founder/Editor-in-Chief
@hazzemedia
@hazzemedia
@hazzemedia
THE HOMIES
The Homies Photographer/Journalist Jewel Fiorillo @jewelfphoto Yellow The Photo Studio @yellowthephotostudio
An inspiring Louisville, Kentucky hip-hop group rising to their claim throughout the music industry. The group's members include 2forWoyne, Ace Pro, Quiiso, and Shloob. To get to know them a little bit better as to how they all came together and met, 2forWoyne and Shloob are actually fraternal twins. Ace Pro and 2forWoyne played ball growing up together. As for Quiiso, he moved to Louisville for college and that's how they all met each other. They started out just producing music but later on turned into a rap group together known as The Homies. Each with their own unique voice and style bringing each song a twist and easygoing flow. The Homies are making their name known across the globe just finishing yet another tour in the US with Jack Harlow. They have released a great amount of music in the last two years including two major hits “Leaf Wraps” and “White Lies” both featuring Jack Harlow. These songs alone are collectively hitting over 12,000,000 plays on Spotify. The last time we were able to sit down with them was back in May of 2022 at Forecastle Festival in their hometown Louisville, Kentucky. They had just released “Shake” and the music video for it. Now, since then they’ve released a whole new album with a fresh 13 more additional new songs, Shake being a part of the total 14. The Homies are a sensational new hip-hop group that will get you moving on your feet with their rhythms and beats. This group is not only an indie rap group but a tight-knit close friend group. The energy they bring on stage, during an interview, and when the cameras are off is just as genuine, hilarious, and inspiring. One of their most recent videos for the new album, I was actually directed by AcePro himself. The video is Out Here. It has clips of them during their trip to Australia in several different areas of the country. As a group, they’ve been making music for over four years. They are a part of and helped the development of the well-known Private Garden Collective. The Private Garden Collective is a group for Louisville artists. The collective also includes good friend Jack Harlow, photographer Urban Wyatt, and producer and writer Nemo Achida.
As an Indie Hip-Hop/Rap group what are some of the biggest accomplishments this far in your career as a group in the last 4 years? Group: “I think the biggest accomplishment for us would be all the tours we’ve been blessed to go on. We are all really grateful for being able to tour and go to as many places, cities, countries, etc. It’s all been a whirlwind and a great experience to get our music out there and explore and experience places on our own as well. We’ve been able to evaluate how our music makes people feel in person as an experience on its own. We’ve had people come up to us at every single performance saying they never heard of us but they’re glad they have now. So it's just so much to be grateful for. Another one of our biggest accomplishments would have to be that we signed a deal with a company and a lot of people starting out can’t say that. We literally get paid to make music. We get paid for our shows of course- but we also get paid to produce and make music. We get the pleasure to call ourselves professional musicians. There’s plenty of co-signs that have helped us behind the scenes and we are affirmed in our positions as artists.”
Tell me how the tour went overall as a group. What was different about this tour in the US with Jack Harlow versus the one you just finished up in Australia recently? Ace Pro: “Touring is always fun. I guess the difference between the Australia one and this one to me would personally be about the fact I got to visit cities I haven’t been to in over a year. And also see new cities that I’ve never been to. I think the major difference between the two is that in the US people are more familiar with our music. It’s great because when we can revisit cities where we made fans at the last first impression and they’re coming back to listen to our music live again it’s a great feeling. But with Australia when you’re going to places where people don’t know what to expect the energy is obviously different. Not in a bad way but it's like something I love is going where people and places don’t know our music and making an impression so they will.”
What were some of your favorite parts of the Australia tour? Quiiso: “Australia was very scenic. There were so many beautiful places to see. It was a personal experience for everybody. None of us have ever been there so it was really exciting to be able to experience that as a group as well. The US tour was only a first-time experience for a few of us and some of the cities but for the most part, we’ve been to every place already, so being able to go and explore a different country in different cities was definitely exciting. There are so many places we could go in Australia that we had no idea what to expect. So it was a really awesome and cool experience.
What were each of your favorite cities in the US tour? And why? Quiiso & 2forWoyne: “Phoenix for sure.” 2forWoyne: “After the Phoenix show, we were having an after-party but I decided to not go to it. I took a little detour and did this little art exhibit. It was a really interesting exhibit in it had two parts to it. It was some sort of scenic area with glass pottery, ornaments and then an older westernlooking part that reminded me of Sacramento. We had just been on tour there too.The show was definitely one of my favorite ones on top of it too because the energy was there. I am pretty sure we gained a lot of fans there too.” Quiiso: “I am going to echo off of that, the energy of the people that we met and the layout of the city just made me want to just go back. The nightlife had amazing energy as well. This definitely had a lot to do with why it makes it my favorite city. The energy at the concert as well as really reviving and overall a great time.” Ace Pro: “ I honestly don’t have one. It was honestly just great to have the scale of the tour that we did. Being able to go to 27 cities that we did. It would have 6 to 7000 people at each performance. Any city we could have even gained one fan would be enough for me. I’m super grateful for the experience.” Shloob: “ I would say Vancouver because we got to walk around a bit. The weather was really great and the fans were super energetic. Definitely one of my favorites.”
Do you guys prefer the West Coast or the East Coast? I know you might have a soft spot for Louisville, Kentucky but overall what would you say what’s your favorite? Ace Pro & Shloob: “West coast for sure, most of our listeners are on the west coast for whatever reason so it was great performing there.Shout out west coast.” 2forWoyne and Quiiso: “No preference, honest we had a great time anywhere.”
What are some of your pre-show routines? Like what do you like to do before you perform? Ace Pro & Shloob: “West coast for sure, most of our listeners are on the west coast for whatever reason so it was great performing there. Shout out the west coast.” 2forWoyne and Quiisso: “No preference, honest we had a great time anywhere.” Shloob: “Dancing, I like to dance before getting on stage. I like to dance before shows.” Quiiso: “About 10 to 15 minutes before the show I like to go look on the stage. I like to look at the crowd. And just kind of visualize before I’m actually there. It helps with the anxiety of getting ready to perform. It’s nice to get an idea to hear the energy before I get out there.” Ace Pro: “We all just wait in our own space until Quiisso comes with a bottle that says Mikes Secret Stuff. We drink it and we all get together and say a few words and activate. *Group laughs*, we get all ready together like this before we perform. 2forWoyne: “I like to do a few stretches and pray to the God upstairs and get my head right before I head on stage.” Do you have any funny stories with city girls or Jack Harlow during the tour? 2forWoyne: “I wouldn’t necessarily say we had or have any. stories with them. We didn’t really do much together outside of touring, but there was one day I was just getting some hoops in. And I saw Yung Miami came in and saw me getting some in so she started on the opposite side of the court. I don't know for sure but at one point I made three in a row and I heard her go “Oooo” but I’m not saying it was for me for sure but maybe it was. *Group laughs*
Just released their second studio album “It's A Lot Going On”, with two of their new songs listed in their Top Five most played on Spotify. This album is versatile and showcases all of their different styles in hip-hop. It keeps the trend of an upbeat rhythm you can move and chill to. The group is not only unique for producing their music with beats and lyrics within themselves. They also pull inspiration from so many different styles and more importantly actual personal experiences versus artists. They want to make an original sound and emotion within their music. That’s something The Homies’ take a lot of pride in. They don’t want to have the same rhythm and vibe to each song. The Homies each bring their own style of rap and their voice with it. This is what really drives that versatility you hear between songs. You can hear each of their voices so clearly because one is not even close to sounding like the other. Whether it be the tone, the style, or the emotion. Each of them has a different way to express it. From your new album, what is each of your favorite song or songs from “Its A lot Going On”? Shloob: “My favorite song would have to be 'Situational.' But sometimes 'Before You Depart.' It just switches up a bit.” 2forWoyne: “Honestly my favorite changes all the time. I would have to say 'Goat Mami' for my favorite right now but I also really love 'Situational.'” Quiiso: “I have two that are tied. It’s between 'Penelope' and 'Goat Mami.' I can’t decide which one I like more. I like all of the songs so it’s hard to answer.” Ace Pro: “Honestly I feel like this question is hard to answer. It’s like asking who your favorite kid is. It’s so hard to answer this. I love all the songs equally. But if I had to choose I do enjoy sometimes more than others the song is 'Thirsty and even Trouble.'”
Each of you contributes to the music, where do you guys pull your inspiration from for writing, producing, and everything that goes into creating an album? Shloob: “I like to pull from scenarios. Whether I have gone through them or someone else has. I like to tell a story through the song so that people can connect to it. I drive from the emotions I feel in the moment when I’m actually making the music. I think when I am coming from a place from my actual emotions it helps my creativity flow as well. I don’t really have anything preconceived or preplanned. Unless it was already written and I kinda go back onto it and work off of it but for the most part, I like to work through the scenarios and experiences I’ve been through. I go based on how people make me feel and I dabble in it. Whether it be a good feeling or a negative feeling. All of it helps the creative process from my end.”
Group: “Overall all of us equally take a shot at writing songs asshole. We all write our own verses and bounce them off of each other. As a group, we all take scenarios differently since we’re all individuals. This really helps a collaborative part of our group.” Ace Pro: “When I’m writing and creating music I work with a chip on my shoulder. I definitely bring my sports background to the table and it makes me competitive to push out great products like our music videos and of course great music. I don’t want to push anything out that isn’t the best it can be. The music industry moves fast and is also a competitive field so you need to be on your feet and ready to work.”
What have you each learned about yourselves through being a part of The Homies or as performers? Ace Pro: “I have learned the I’m a bit of a sex symbol. A lot of girls give me attention while I’m on stage and they do a bit of a “woo” and “ahh”.cheer for me. I leaned into it more and I try to flaunt myself as much as I can on stage to give into the appeal. And it’s working so far.” 2forWoyne: “I think something I’ve learned through The Homies and as a performer is that I strive off vulnerability. It’s really comforting when people like to listen to my lyrics or listen to what we’re singing and they go “Yo I’ve felt that before.” And I’m just like Yep I can talk about it for you. It’s something I’m glad I’ve connected with.” Shloob: “I’ve definitely learned more voice control, and how to interact with the audience. Something we do at every show that I’m really happy about is the way we get the audience interactive and I think that changes the aspect of how the show is going to go. It’s taught me a lot about what I want for the future and future performances. Outside of music, it's been able to teach me as an entertainer in all aspects, not just music. Quiiso: “As an artist, I have to say it would be the same thing that Shloob mentioned. I think overall I grew more as an entertainer and how I want the audience to feel connected and involved. I’ve learned what’s good to do on stage and what works best for me and my personality as well as how to bounce my energy off of me to the crowd.” What are some personal sacrifices you guys had to make for your music career? It can be recently or just in general. 2forWoyne and Shloob: “ Since we both have the same friends we unfortunately had to miss our best friend's wedding. His bachelor party and everything. It actually happened right as we were on tour in Australia. And it really bummed us out that we couldn’t be a part of those special moments for him.” 2forWoyne: “Another thing I wanna say is that I had to sacrifice is moving out of my comfort zone. I had to move out of my house to Atlanta, to really realize what I wanna do. This is where I was really helping Jack with his music. And also how the development of Private Garden began. So although I was really uncomfortable I’m really grateful that I sacrificed being comfortable for all that I have now accomplished.” Ace Pro: “It wasn’t as recent as that but I understood that this is what I wanted to do pretty early in life careerwise. I had to sacrifice a lot of time with my close family and friends. They don’t share the same space with me so it can make communication difficult. It can be days or months sometimes before I realize I haven’t actually talked to them. I make a lot of sacrifices socially. To the point where I even can get home from the tour and I still won’t talk to people for weeks because of the workload, I still have and also just resting in general. I am so mentally locked down on music that it is sometimes hard to see those things being missed. I’m sacrificing so much now for the ones that I care for the most so that when my music and my craft is at its full potential that they can also benefit from it too.” Quiiso: “I definitely have to go off of what Ace said. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of family time. I just saw my mom for the first time and I don’t even know how long recently. But in order to get your dreams accomplished you have to wake up and choose that every single day. As a musician especially you have to wake up and choose music every single day.” If you weren’t making music today, what would you be doing careerwise? Shloob: “ I think I would be doing something that I did before and while I was starting out music, which is something working from home or remotely, in tech. Hopefully not working too hard.” *laughs* Ace Pro: “ If I wasn’t making music, I would do one of the other talents I have. Which include directing and design, really anything to do with visually and artistically. I’ve really been into music my whole life. I also play basketball but at the end of the day, music has always been a passion. I actually directed a few of our music videos and several other things. I just decided pretty early on that I was going to do music fulltime.” 2forWoyne: “I’ve always been into music, I was producing before The Homies. I was helping Jack with his career since around the beginning. So I think I’d only be doing something with the music whether it be producing or something around that.” Quiiso: “I think I would go ahead and do Sports journalism. I was already writing before. I wrote for the University of Louisville. It wasn’t what I was doing before we started the Homies, but it was something I was really into.“
Aside from all the times they’ve opened up for Jack Harlow, they have also been noticed by other well known artists in the rap music scene. Some of those people include Bryson Tiller, Lil Uzi vert and more So, what’s to come for the future for The Homies?
I know you guys just finished touring but are you guys planning on doing anything soon? Are you working on any music videos or new music? I assume you guys are gonna take a little bit of a rest break after getting off of a major tour but just curious. Ace Pro: “We’re gonna drop an album where we are only yodeling.” *Group laughs* Group: “We definitely have projects and ideas in the works so stay tuned and make sure you look out for new posts or any announcements from us.”
Don’t forget to stream on all platforms, purchase, or listen to “It's A Lot Going On” featuring 14 tracks that are guaranteed to get you moving and in a great mood
New Single “Not Another Rockstar”, Running Bookclubs and Touring On Her Own and With Ed Sheeran
MAISE PETERS Photographer Sonny McCartney Journalist Lauren Sanchez @lauren.sanchezz
Maisie Peters, the English singer-songwriter behind the album “You Signed Up For This”, sat down with HAZZE MEDIA journalist Lauren Sanchez to talk about the release of her new song “Not Another Rockstar” and the gear up towards her sold-out North American tour this November. After coming back from a 54-date European stadium tour support Ed Sheeran’s “+ - = ÷ x” tour and the release of new singles such as “Blonde”, “Good Enough” and “Cate’s Brother”, Maisie ushers herself into a new era of sound and songwriting.
Maisie Peters, the English singersongwriter behind the album “You Signed Up For This”, sat down with HAZZE MEDIA journalist Lauren Sanchez to talk about the release of her new song “Not Another Rockstar” and the gear up towards her sold-out North American tour this November. After coming back from a 54-date European stadium tour support Ed Sheeran’s “+ = ÷ x” tour and the release of new singles such as “Blonde”, “Good Enough” and “Cate’s Brother”, Maisie ushers herself into a new era of sound and songwriting. L: Oh my God, how are you? Maisie: I'm good. How are you? L: I'm doing well. Oh my God, it's so cool to talk to you today. I'm such a huge fan. So like, this is so crazy! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I know you're incredibly busy, so this means a lot. Maisie: That's all good. I'm really happy to be here and to be chatting. L: Cool! Okay so I have a couple of questions, so let's just get into it. I know you recently released your new single, "Not Another Rockstar". Congratulations on the release and I'm absolutely obsessed with it! I think it's so freaking cool. What was your inspiration for writing it? What was the creative process like? Maisie: It was so fun. I mean, it's a whirlwind of a story, so I wrote it with two of my best friends, a guy called Joe Rubel who made all my first album with, and then my best friend who's called Ines and we are like actually best friends. We go on holiday together. She basically lives in my house. She's an amazing songwriter. And so we were in the studio and I think it was the end of a chaotic summer. I think it was late September/ October. And we were just like playing around with an idea and I sort of sang the lyric, " Not another rockstar," and I looked at the guys and I was like, "Is that a bit on the nerve there?" and they're like, " No, I think it's cool." So we sort of wrote that chorus essentially just about being like not another one, not another. Like when you think they're different and then you were like, "No, no, no, they're the same." And then we wrote the chorus and then long story short, suddenly Ines had to go to the hospital, cause we thought she had appendicitis, so then she left. Then the next day, turned out she didn't have appendicitis when she came back and finished the whole song. But yeah, it was like so much fun to write and the song is really just about my terrible taste in men.
L: Relatable! You know, I get you! I know that you love to read books and especially because you have your book club, do you have any book recommendations for lovers of this song in particular? Maisie: What a good question. Oh, okay. This is a really potentially BookTok answer because I think a lot of people that love books have read this book. But the Patti Smith book, "Just Kids"-- "Just Kids" is one of them. And then "M Train" is another one. And that's about her and Robert Mapplethorpe in like the Chelsea Hotel and in New York in like the sixties, late sixties, seventies. And if you're a girl who loves a rockstar, you'll love those books. L: No, for sure. I've totally seen that book and I definitely get the references, and how they relate. Talking about your songwriting talents, is there a specific lyric or lyrics that you have written that have been your absolute favorite to write? Maisie: I mean, so many. I write a lot of songs. I mean new ones all the time and new ones come. "You Signed Up For This", "scared of everything, but I'm making it punk," I think that's lived a long life. Um, " Love Him I Don't" is one of my favorite songs I've done and I love the main hook of that which is, "Love him I don't, Love him I won't, Love him I did for a minute, but I'm finished," and I love what that stands for and it feels always relevant, so I love that too. L: So I know that you've recently put three other singles in the past few months. You put out "Blonde", "Good Enough", and "Cate's Brother", and all are very different from each other. I know that you said one time that "Blonde" and "Good Enough" are like sister songs and in general, I'm not lying when I say that these songs are literally for the hopeless romantic girlies. You are our voice entirely when it comes to speaking about how we feel and everything. Has it been fun to play with and write about the multifacetedness of love and heartbreak when it comes to writing songs about love? Do you find yourself drawn to one end of the love spectrum more? Maisie: Definitely. I've always loved exploring things in their fullness and getting to write about every part of love and of life. It's always been something I love doing and I make all the songs, so that's useful. I guess I've found myself drawn to the sadder end of that probably. I'm always so annoyed that when I am in love, I don't write nearly enough songs about it. I feel like I write way more when I'm like sad or, but not even sad. Just like when I'm not so much in the moment. I find it really hard to write when I'm like really in a moment. I think I write better when I'm like outside of the moment-- when I'm able to sort of draw a lot from it. When I'm in it, I don't make a lot of music, so unfortunately that's why there's not a lot of Maisie Peters love songs.
L: Out of all the four songs that you just released, do you have a specific favorite that was more fun to write or a song you are most excited to perform in your upcoming tour? Maisie: I love them all for different reasons. I kind of love "Cate's Brother" because it was the start of a whole new era for me. I wrote it on my first sort of proper trip to Sweden and that's become like a really important place for me and really important people for me live there. It just was the beginning of like a lot of this year and it feels like it was like the sort of the rocket that we start off on. So I'll always love "Cate's Brother", but I love all of them. I mean "Rockstar", we're preparing "Rockstar" for the tour right now, and I think it's gonna be pretty cool. L: I know you've been super busy with like releasing new music and going on all these tours, and it's absolutely insane where your career is at. But has there ever been a moment so far in your career that has reaffirmed music is the right place for you and that this is something you want to do for the rest of your life? Maisie: That's a big question. I would say I feel that a lot when I'm in the studio. I mean, that's where I am right now, and I feel like when I'm making new music, it's always when I sort of feel like, "Oh yeah, this is what I'm meant to be doing. Like this is what I'm good at, and this is what I work hard at and this is what I love," like I love music. I love other people's music and I love my music, and I love the making of it and I love listening to it and watching it and creating it and judging it. I just, everything about it, I love it and it's so much part of my life. So I feel like maybe that's the answer I found.
L: That's a totally valid answer. I know that you just got off the European tour for Ed Sheeran and then you're going on for the North American tour in early spring. What's it like to have Ed Sheeran be your mentor and friend? What was it like opening up for him for his recent tour and how excited are you to go on tour with him again? Maisie: It's amazing. I love him, obviously. He's like sort of a brother to me and such a close friend, and I've learned so much from things he's told me, but also more from just watching him and watching the way he conducts himself and the way he plays and the way he rehearses and the way he works. He works the hardest out of everyone I know. The tour was like the dream come true. You're just with your best friends all the time, making music and playing for like thousands of people. And I love all of the crew and all of our crew, all of his crew, and it just became like one massive family. So I'm so excited to go back next year and be with everyone again and in America as well. It's gonna be crazy. It's gonna be so much fun. L: Oh my God, that's so sweet. I'm so excited for you. I know that we talked about it briefly, but I know that you created your own book club on Instagram and it's literally been doing so incredibly well, and I know that each month you have a book that you're going to read. What's been your favorite book you've read so far in 2022 and why? Maisie: Oh, that's such a hard question. Okay, I can answer this though-- I'm gonna say two. There's a book, I think it's by someone called Maggie Nelson, but I'm worried it's not, but it's called "Bluets". It's really hard to explain. I just suggest you read it. But, I love "Bluets" by Maggie Nelson. Like it really impacted me and I feel like I came away from it very differently. I also really love, I think it's by Jonathan Franzen and it's called "The Corrections". I read that at the beginning of the year or maybe the end of last year and I loved that too. I loved Johnathan Franzen and I love everything he writes. L: So, I've been like watching your YouTube channel and you made like tour diary videos that documented what life was like on the road and what it was like to perform at the most insane stadiums around the world. I saw that you performed at Wembley Stadium five times at 22 years old, which is like freaking insane. What was it like to perform at Wembley?
Maisie: Yeah, it was really crazy. It was definitely something like a whirlwind at the time and it's still something that's kind of hard to absorb. But I got to do it with my best friends and my band, and with Ed and with my parents and my friends, everybody came and so I think I'm so lucky. It was like the most insane experience. It sort of feels like something that didn't happen, even in my memories of it is sort of cloudy. It feels like this dream. L: I couldn't even imagine. Oh my God. That's so insane. Not a lot of artists can say that they performed at Wembley five times. So that's just like, a huge career milestone for you. Going back to the tour documentaries, what's been the best part about documenting these tour diaries? Not a lot of artists do that, and I think it's really cool that we get to see an inside look into what you are like on tour with your friends and everything. Maisie: It's so fun. I love the tour diaries! It was my best friend, Dominique did those before she moved to New York and now she goes to Julliard. We had the best time making those, and we watched them back. Like when we were on tour in Europe, we all watched the American ones back and we all just were just absolutely dead at how much it made us all so nostalgic and they're like the craziest thing to watch back. I'm so lucky. It's like watching a film of your life. It's so cool. L: No, and it's so cute because they're all kind of like filmed very nostalgically with film. It's very personal, it's not as editorial with the big cameras and everything. I think it's really intimate and I thought it was really great. Do you plan on continuing those during your upcoming shows across America and the UK? Maisie: I would love to. I don't know for these American shows because we're not bringing anybody to do that. It might be hard to sort of make continuous tour diaries, but maybe I'll start cooking something up, who knows? I would love to and I'm always big on documenting and trying to make sure everything is there for the world to see. L: Yay, I can't wait! I know that you're gearing up to perform your sold-out headlining tour in North America and the UK, plus you're going back with Ed in the spring of 2023. What's been your absolute favorite thing about performing? What have you learned as an artist through performing? Maisie: I guess I love connecting with people. That's a really boring answer, but I love getting to bring the music that I make so alone to so many people, and seeing how other people have brought it into their lives as well is really cool because you don't really think about that when you make it but it's amazing to see how important it is to other people. L: What's been the best piece of advice you've ever received for your music career? Maisie: People always ask me this and I can never think of anything, which is funny because I've received a lot.
L: Or maybe just something that sticks with you. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best thing, but it's just something you kind of remind yourself why you're here and why you're doing this. Maisie: No one's necessarily said it to me, but I feel like maybe me and Ed have spoken about this. There's definitely something to be said for just taking the highs with the lows and making it into the middle. Like, you're gonna reach such highs and have times of your life and feel absolutely unstoppable and like you're the shit. But, you are also gonna have times where you don't feel like that, and you feel like you're behind your peers and you feel you've lost it or you are out of your moment and it's over. I think it's important to just remember that neither of those is true and that it's just important to find a middle between them and walk that path. I think it's important to remember that it's just music. It's not life or death. No one's dying. L: You know, just taking inspiration and advice from everything and putting it in your artistry, who have been your biggest inspirations in music? I know like you're a hardcore Swiftie, but are there any others that you find inspiration drawn from today? Maisie: Yeah, definitely. I mean, so many people. I don't know if people know this about me but I'm a huge Sara Bareilles fan, I always have been. Her albums are so important to me and I listen to them all the time, and I think she's just like a hero and exactly has the career that I would like to have one day.
L: I think she's really underrated. She's a really good songwriter and everything and I think she definitely needs to be more appreciated, more! My last question, I gotta know, will your fans get any new music before the year ends? And what can we expect from your second album if you're in the process of making it? Maisie: They will. There is one more thing you're gonna get this year, but it's not what you're expecting. In terms of the second album, Yes! I'm making it, I'm finishing it. I'm very much on that right now, which is really exciting and I'm having the best time. I can't wait for you to hear it, but I think you won't hear that until the beginning of next year. L: Will the four singles that you just released, plan to be on the new album? Maisie: I think they'll end up not being on the album because I just have a lot of music and I wanna put the most new music out as possible. And I love those songs and I think they're definitely part of the journey. And if you wanna see the MP1 to MP2 pipeline, you should look at those songs. But I don't think they'll make the album just because I want to have more new stuff. L: Oh my God, I'm so, so excited. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me today!
Interview & Photography Kayla Saliman @ksalimancreative
DAYGLOW Playing Festivals, "People In Motion" Album, and track "Second Nature"
KAYLA: So you've been doing a bunch of festivals all summer. SLOAN: I have. KAYLA: How are you doing? SLOAN: I'm doing good. I'm like, yeah, just like going with it all. It's been really fun. Yeah. I feel like festivals are so cool. A lot of fashion. Um, I wonder what it used to be like before social media, like festivals, Like was it the same vibe? I don't know. Probably not. Coachella changed it. KAYLA: So how do you like playing festivals? SLOAN: I love it. I mean, it makes total sense. Like I knew when I made my first album, I was like, Oh yeah, like, This could really do well at festivals. And I grew up going to ACL in Austin. It's just like festivals are really fun and exciting and a cool thing. Like there's really nothing else like it. Um, it's exhausting, you know? Uh, and weird, like playing in front of a lot of people that don't know your music, but also really fun. But I'm excited to be on tour, basically like next week-ish! KAYLA: So you have an album coming out? SLOAN: Yeah. Early October. KAYLA: How would you describe the vibe of the album? Who are your inspirations? SLOAN: It's a very like, dance-focused album. It's LCD Soundsystem-Esque, Passion Pit-ish. There's Phoenix stuff in there. I think Fuzzy Brain was a very indie, like early two-thousand-ish kind of thing. Uh, Harmony House is like a very eighties record, and then People In Motion kind of combines the two, and it's like a more modernized, pop attempt at like making pop songs, you know? Yeah. Music people can dance to, the show's gonna change a lot after this show, actually, this is like our last one before, like everything changes.
KAYLA: Are you excited for that? SLOAN: I'm very excited. Yeah. I program all my stuff myself, so like I've been working really, really hard. I'm excited to finally change it up. KAYLA: That's probably a lot of work though. SLOAN: Yeah. KAYLA: But it makes it feel more personal. SLOAN: For sure. Yeah. KAYLA: Okay. So which songs are you the most proud of off your new album? SLOAN: Ooh, um, there's a song called Second Nature, which actually came out today. Um, so that's like a really, really fun, long format song. It's six minutes. It's just like a dance song. Like a really fun, dance song. I'd be really proud of that one, if I had to pick one. But honestly, the whole record I think kind of speaks for itself and like every song is kind of like its own little single, you know? So, Yeah.
KAYLA: I love that. That's awesome. Okay, so this one's a little bit sillier. What is your favorite candy? SLOAN: Let's see. I honestly don't eat candy anymore, but if I had to pick a favorite, I love chocolate, like dark chocolate I love. No like specific brand. But typically like, you know, That's like the one candy that's like, "oh, I know where this is coming from". But there's some candies where I'm like, Yeah, I think, Sour Skittles. They, they terrify me. What just happened? I don't know if it was in the U.S. It might have been in the US and somewhere. I think in Europe. In Europe, they just deemed it inedible, so like they can't sell 'em anymore. It's like, they're like, this isn't even edible. They like, eat your tongue. Actually, it's pretty weird.
Interview & Photography Creighton Stevenson @creizycrei
STARCRAWLER New Album "She Said" & Touring
Los Angeles based rock'n' roll band STARCRAWLER chats with HAZZE MEDIA before the Brooklyn show to talk about the new album She Said and touring so far. Go listen to their new album below!
How does your new album compare to your previous projects? It feels like the most mature version of our music. It’s our first album on a major label, so it’s most exciting. Favorite songs off the new album? Collectively our favorite songs are She Said, Broken Angels, and Thursday.
What was the most memorable show you’ve played? Melbourne really blew our minds. It was packed and everyone was singing. You could hear everyone literally singing over us. Advice to up-and-coming artists/bands? You have to love and want what you’re doing truly. Stop striving to be someone else and find who you want to be. Treat your dream as a full-time job and prioritize it over everything.
GAYLE Interview & Photography Kayla Saliman @ksalimancreative
Inspirations, New EP "A Study of the Human Experience V2", & Goals
KAYLA: How did you get into music? How has your music journey changed throughout your career? GAYLE: I first started singing after I learned about Aretha Franklin. I'll break it back...I was in school, and I was learning about Ella Fitzgerald. I was learning about scatting and then I went home, and I started scatting, like everywhere. My mom was like, "What are you doing?" I was like, "I'm scatting cuz that's soul and that's jazz." She was like, "I'm gonna show you other music, just so you know it exists." Then, I found Aretha Franklin. I was like, "That's exactly what I wanna do when I grow up. Like that's exactly who I wanna be." I just think I really fell in love with like her passion, and the way it like translated to live performance and the way she was able to like invoke emotion into people. I just really admired her from a young age. I believe I was seven, when I kind of made that discovery. When I was 14 / 15, I found Alanis Morissette and found rock music. I would say that was a really like monumental change for me and my sound, finding alternative music and finding the energy of alternative music live. It made my heart flutter, and I incorporated to my life performance and then the music I make today. Also, Julia Michaels, Oh my god. finding her and her songwriting. The iconic, iconic songwriters and pop music changed my life.
KAYLA: Do you have any goals at the moment or any you proud of reaching recently? GAYLE: I'm trying to think if I have any goals at the moment. I guess my goal is to tour more next year. I would really love to get on another artist's tour. I'm putting out a second EP in October. I'm excited for that to come out. I'm kind of doing these festivals for the rest of the year, and then I'm gonna spend more time working on the music. I recently just did a 22 day run in Europe, and we played around seven festivals, and it was so fun. We went to Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and Israel for the first time.
KAYLA: Did you like it? GAYLE: It was beautiful. The sunsets there, the beach was stunning. I was actually doing a guest appearance for this artist Noa Kirel, and it was a show for 33,000 people. It was absolutely insane. I played ABC and they knew it, which was crazy. It was just so fun. It was such an honor for like a young woman who was such a huge platform in Israel to invite an 18 year old girl, to go on stage with her...like she could have invited so many other people. The fact that she cared to get me at her show really meant the world. That was fun! Awesome opportunity! KAYLA: I feel like most artists, they don't even think to go to Israel. GAYLE: Literally! I already crossed it off my list, It was amazing. It was very obviously like a once in a lifetime opportunity. She literally put me in front of a platform that she spent years and years building. It was in honor that she used incorporated me into that show. KAYLA: You have an EP coming out. GAYLE: I do.
KAYLA: What was your biggest inspiration for the record and what feelings do you hope to share with your audience? GAYLE: I've kind of been writing for the two EPs for the past four years. When I was 14, I started going by GAYLE and I really want to get signed by Atlantic Records and to put music out through them. Then, I did everything that I possibly could writing-wise to try and get them interested in me. Well, obviously now we're here, which is absolutely insane and blows my mind. This is kind of before I got signed. I probably wrote 200 songs just specifically for this project. Lorde was for sure an inspiration. I mention Lorde actually in one of my songs. Wet Leg was a really big inspiration. I would say Wet Leg is more of an inspiration for music I've yet to put out. For the music I'm writing right now, Sasha Sloan, I would also say is a really big inspiration. Julia Michaels obviously, Alanis, Joan Jett. Billie obviously. Still Woozy, Oliver Tree. Just kind of like pop music with alternative inspirations. KAYLA: Last question. This is a silly one. GAYLE: Ooh. I love a silly question. KAYLA: If you could speak with animals, but only one animal, what would it be? GAYLE: Dogs. There's so many dogs. Dogs are everywhere. There's so many dogs in houses. Like imagine if you could go to anybody and just talk to the dog. They gotta have secrets. They have to, they've seen so much. They have seen things. What people are okay with dogs seeing, I'm personally not okay with. If somebody could talk to your cat, like imagine if you're like seeing somebody and then they have a dog and then you can just be like, Spill, spill. I can only talk to the dog. So the dog can't talk to anybody. Yeah. Cause if I can just walk into anybody's home who has a dog and just be like, What's up? I also wanna know what's going on in my dog's brain. We rescued her- and she's had three owners before us, I believe. Oh, she has stories. I wanna know and also like, I'm always like, Are you waiting out for that one owner? Are we that owner? I hope we're that owner. We've had her for like three years. We got her and she was three and she had like three owners. So like we've had her the longest, but I'm like, Are you holding out? I love how petty I am. Even with my dog. I'm like, are you thinking of your exes right now? Like, what is it? What is it? Are you thinking of anybody else? Excuse me, I feed you, I give you water, I pet you. When you sleep at night and I'm sleeping right next to you, who do you think of? Are you thinking? Who are you thinking of? Or like dogs say something and then I'm like, I heard that. And then they're like, What? Whoa, what's going on? Like, what's happening? Have you ever seen Dog With A Blog?
KAYLA: I have seen Dog With A Blog. GAYLE: I want that. I want that to be my life. Like only talk to the kids. Like it was a vibe. KAYLA: And you could just like, have your best friend be a dog. Or like, would you have to bark or would you want them to explain that in English? GAYLE: I would want them to, Mm. Maybe both. I could bark and they would get it maybe in private. Then we, then we go into English. They know, they understand the vibe. Or maybe I'm like, I turn into a crazy person. Yeah. And I'm like, I understand these dogs, but in reality nobody knows what's happening.
DAISY THE GREAT Musical Process, New Album, & Unpopular Opinions
Interview & Photography Kayla Saliman @ksalimancreative
KAYLA: Why don't y'all start by telling me about yourself? So, how'd you get into music? KELLEY: I started singing when I was really little. My mom was a singer, so I basically have just always been singing and writing songs. I told a story in the car on the way up to Firefly yesterday about the song Unwritten, where I remember I have like the clearest memory of seeing it on my kitchen TV, and being like, “Whoa”. As a little kid being like, “Whoa, this is how you write a song”. This is a metaphor, honey. And so basically, I would say since I saw Unwritten, I saw the video on MTV. I made some connections. I don't know if I was learning about metaphors at the time in school or something, but I was like, “Oh, I wanna write songs”. I started, then my mom taught me to harmonize and sing with her all the time when I was little. She was actually an opera singer, so I started there. I studied basically loose opera, not opera, but faux opera growing up. Then, I switched. I really wanna sing rock and pop rock stuff. When I was 16, I switched to having a pop-rock vocal coach. Then, I think that just gave me a little more confidence in writing pop-rock stuff. Mina and I went to school together at NYU for acting. We did an acting moment hiatus. Then, after school, we started working together on some projects, and we were like, “we wanna make a band”. It just happened naturally, like out of it being fun to hang out with each other. MINA: Similarly, my mom was a singer. She is a jazz singer. I kind of grew up watching VHS tapes of Wizard of Oz and Singing in the Rain. Honestly, my mom was obsessed with musicals and really wanted me to do them. With musicals, I really loved performing, but I didn't feel like my voice totally fit singing in that way. Then, I started making up my own songs. I like doing that more than singing like this more than singing in musicals and stuff. That's kind of how it started for me.
KAYLA: What is your guys' creative process like for your music? How do you work together? KELLEY: It changes depending on the song. The earlier stuff, a lot of it we wrote individually, would bring to the other, and then work on. Eventually, we arrange it with our band. More recently we've been either one of us will have a seed of something that we're kind of like, “Oh, I don't know what to do with this fully yet, or it's like partially worked out in my brain. Then, we'll work on that together. Sometimes, we'll just have a day where we're like, “let's write something and start from kind of nowhere” and just open our notebooks and be like, “I've been feeling chaotic. Have you been feeling chaotic? “ MINA: I'll come to Kelly's house and be like, I have these chords, or this guitar part, that I feel is good, and like this melody. Then, we sing until words form. We're like, “Okay, what do those words mean?” Then, we build things that can fit those meanings. KELLEY: A lot of the time I used to just write like a little hook and then just sit on it for years because I didn't know, like I felt like that was the best thing I have written and I don't know what to do with it. I started to muse on whatever I think it's about and it kind of leaves me with a big pool of just words that I can then be like, “Oh, okay, like this part is kind of boring, but like this thing I actually didn't even realize was in my head. That's actually an interesting, you know, road to go down.” MINA: There's also times where like, I'll be like, “Kelly, I started writing this song. It's like this verse or whatever, and it's kind of like a meandering verse or something that's nice, but doesn't have a hook.” Kelly will be like, “Wait, I have the hook.” KELLEY: I have so much stuff that is not part of anything that's just like, that is the best thing I ever wrote. It's just not done. KAYLA: You guys have an upcoming album! So, what albums or artists did you draw inspiration from for this project? KELLEY: I would say we are definitely spanning a few genres in the album and there are some moments that feel kind of like Simon and Garfunkel-y. There are moments that are like a Bowie-Queen moment. There are moments that feel really like housed in indie rock and then there are some glossier, more silvery, groovy-feeling songs. MINA: I think the through the line of the album is more based on the meaning of the songs, than like the sonic elements of the songs. We try to go to a lot of different places sonically, and I think two of our voices being together grounded us. It kind of allows us to do whatever we want outside of that. KELLEY: The album's called "All You Need Is Time", and I think it's largely about time and how you relate to the world with the time that you have, and a lot of our stuff is like kind of reckoning with where you are in life or what you're expecting or, I don't know, just kind of like confronting reality, and what your reality is. I think that album is also kind of connected through just that idea of being introspective. MINA: We tried to put it in an order where if you listen closely, it kind of follows a story.
KAYLA: What is a silly, unpopular opinion that you have? MINA: I don't like dill, but I like pickles. I like dill pickles, but I don't like dill as a seasoning. KELLEY: I love pasta. I don't like pasta with tomato sauce with the parmesan that's tiny. I like it when it's shaved, I like it when it's bigger, but I really am against the powder. It tastes like vomit. It's like something about the powder mixing with the tomato sauce does not work. KAYLA: Is it a texture or a taste? KELLEY: It's definitely the taste. Knowing that it's supposed to be separate, but that it's not.
MINA: I feel like everyone likes the videos of people getting their ears cleaned out. I love them. I don't think that's gross. I will show people. I feel like there's too many videos of it though, for it to not, for it to be like a unique hot take. KELLEY: The algorithm is giving it to you. MINA: Yeah. My Instagram explore page is like only that and blackhead videos.
Interview & Photography Kayla Saliman @ksalimancreative
THE BACKSEAT LOVERS Growing Up with Music, Staying Motivated on Tour, & Mood of the New Album
KAYLA: So why don't you guys just go around and say your names first and your role. JONAS: This is Jonas and I play guitar. JOSHUA: My name is Joshua and I play guitar and sing. JUICE: My name's Juice and I play the drums. KJ: My name's KJ and I play the bass.
KAYLA: Beautiful. Okay, so what is the first album that you guys remember loving as a kid and how has this shaped the way you make music now? JOSHUA: The first album that I ever bought, like myself, and wasn't just something that was already on my parents' computer was El Camino by the Black Keys, and I bought it on iTunes, and I was absolutely obsessed with it for quite a few years. I feel like that definitely instilled a love for guitar music. Before that I was, and I always have been, obsessed with the Beatles, but I just didn't really know as a 13-year-old that there were like, new bands making music that had a very classic sound, and it was very guitar-driven, and it was just like so exciting to me that there was this band that was like still doing this and it opened a lot of doors for me in my mind. JONAS: I think my first favorite album as a young child was the All-American Rejects. KJ: Yo, I actually love that album too. JONAS: I think that, uh, planted the like emo roots for me, and then I went from there. JUICE: The first time I was really impressed by the music, at the moment. I'm thinking of My brothers, they had Beatles CDs all the time and they would just play it on their little CD, portable CD players with their little headphones. I would take it sometimes and listen too. KJ: My first record, I don't think I bought it. I think it was just in like our CD collection in my family's house, but it was Thriller, the Michael Jackson album, and I was really into like hip hop dancing and like dancing in general and I'd like watch videos of Michael Jackson and like put the CD in our CD player and like try to moonwalk and like I had the glove and everything.
KAYLA: Did you get it? Could you moonwalk? KJ: Yeah, I got it down.
KAYLA: Wow. Okay. So how do you guys keep yourselves motivated while you're on tours at festivals and things like that? JONAS: Sometimes just like showing up, getting up, and doing it is the best thing. Especially on tour, the little things that you do at home that are easy to keep a routine, like waking up at a specific time every day. The stuff that sometimes you take for granted. I function best as a person when I'm like when I have a consistent thing going on. JOSHUA: I just wanted to say sometimes it's like, for some reason, easy to lose perspective on why you're out on the road and like, you miss home a lot and feel a little bit directionless, just kind of being like part of this mapped out a route in the country. For me, just sitting down and reminding myself, what this means to somebody that bought a ticket and is gonna be there watching us play, and really going out there and giving it every single ounce of what we have is very inspiring. Today, I'm feeling pretty exhausted and tired and ready to go home, but I'm honestly so excited to play just because I'm really excited to share something that we care about with people. JUICE: Like Jonas was saying, it can blend together on the road, and so you gotta have a good mix of doing extracurricular activities outside of just doing the mundane, like the routine. Also, spending time for myself personally, just like spending time on my own even, and just kind of just chill by myself and decompress. KJ: I honestly listen to motivational podcasts all the time, but I do that when I'm home too. It's just like a part of my motivation. I'm just like, I gotta hype myself up, you know? So that helps me out.
KAYLA: So, you guys have an upcoming album. How would you describe the energy? How would you describe your inspiration and the vibe? JONAS: It was like we were exploring a lot on this new album. I think that was a really long process and in some ways, The making of it was long, and in some ways it was meticulous, but I think we had a lot of fun trying new things and trying to continue to just be ourselves and just be genuine. JOSHUA: I feel like in terms of energy specifically, a big part of this album was just kind of realizing, it wasn't necessarily like a conscious realization, but we really do have a very intimate side to our songwriting and you know, when we play live it's generally like pretty loud and energetic and crazy. But I think on this album, and for albums to come, we've really found a new side of ourselves that is a lot more soft-spoken and intimate and, um, introspective in that way. And I think we embrace that a lot in terms of energy. And, just going back to what you were saying, like it really felt like going on an adventure, like in a way, setting out, not knowing where you're gonna go, but really feeling motivated that you're gonna complete this journey. And I think that so much unexpected stuff happened, and we grew a lot and it was really fun and like really hard and really intense as well.
KAYLA: So the last one, the last question I have is a silly one. If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be, like your shirt, your shoes, it all has to be one color? JUICE: Probably black. Stone cold. I'm wearing all black. JOSHUA: I would choose red like a burnt red. I don't know why, but I've been drawn to the color red recently. JONAS: I would choose blue. JOSHUA: Jonas is a blue guy. I think it's funny. We're all choosing what we're wearing. It's very telling. KJ: I would probably choose cream. It's kinda whimsical and godly.
VOL. 25
ASTRAL EMOTION
HAZZE MAGAZINE VOLUME #25 OCTOBER 2022 COVER The Homies Photographer: Jewel Fiorillo