Music Q&A with Erin & The Wildfire
Photo by Christina Swanson
Last month, indie pop band, Erin & The Wildfire, released their sophomore album, Touchy Feely. In this Q&A, the band talked about the album, their favorite live band, and more! Erin & The Wildfire are touring this spring and summer. For dates and tickets, you can go to erinandthewildfire.com.
Congratulations on the release of Touchy Feely! What does the album mean to you?
This album means so much to us! It’s our sophomore baby and it feels very representative of the musical and professional journey we’ve made as a group in the last few years. Our first record was lovely and fun to make, but it felt like a mad dash to just get those tunes recorded without much focus on production and vision. We didn’t have much of a budget and it just felt kind of hasty. Whereas Touchy Feely felt very deliberate and fleshed out. The budget thing was still the same, but we made it work lol. I think we capitalized on our individual strengths on this record to make something very cohesive and powerful. The message is very different from our previous music as well - Touchy Feely is all about body positivity, crushing the patriarchy, family, and my personal journey with self love.
What’s your favorite song off Touchy Feely?
We each have different favorites for different reasons, but I think we collectively felt like “Ray of Sunshine” was a standout (that’s why we picked it to be a single 🤗). “Ray of Sunshine” had one of the biggest transformations from inception to recording. It began as an acoustic voice + guitar number that I brought into a rehearsal in 2020 and we workshopped it with our online writing process for several months before it landed firmly in the 80’s meet modern pop area. It was so fun to build and shape that song together. Also, it’s lyrically about getting out of the way of your own happiness, which most everyone can relate to.
Like a lot of bands, you all did things differently to work on the album during the pandemic. What is one thing you did during the making of this album that was new to you that you would like to carry into the future when creating more music?
Honestly, our whole writing process during the pandemic worked really well for us. We were able to spend more time on tracks individually and suggest ideas on instruments we don’t usually command in the in-person writing space. We ended up making like 20 sketches and narrowing it down to just 8. There were times when the online writing process felt very stagnant because it was so self-driven. It wasn’t like a scheduled rehearsal where we show up with an idea and plan to rehearse, it was way more individually motivated and sometimes we had weeks where no one was feeling it. Then we’d also have weeks where too many ideas were put in the “Hot and Fresh New Shit Every Week” google drive folder.
Who has been your favorite artist or band to see live?
We purposefully booked a tour through NYC in Sept 2017 so that we could see Vulfpeck as a group. It was at Brooklyn Steel and it was sold out and it was so epic I don’t even know where to begin. Rachael Price from Lake Street Dive sat in for a few tunes and we all lost our minds. We love that Vulfpeck doesn’t take themselves too seriously. They make incredibly creative music and then they have a blast presenting it to the world in skits and costumes and goofy lyrics. We love them.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
I stay positive by practicing self-care. I try to move my body in joyful ways a few times a week. I try to eat foods that bring me comfort and nutrients. And I try to surround myself with people who inspire me to be creative and benevolent. Also, therapy has been a huge help for me since the pandemic started. I’ve been going regularly and it’s a big part of my self-care journey now. ❤️
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Thank you for listening to our music! We hope that our live performances can provide a safe space for different kinds of bodies, genders, and styles. We want people to be comfortable and empowered when they hear our music. We are touring the album right now, so please come catch us on the east coast this spring/summer!