Amanda McCarthy – Normal

By starrymag | December 11, 2023

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My sound is fully a culmination of my biggest influences. I sonically and lyrically draw influences from pop, rock and country. However, how much of each genre that comes through fully depends on the individual song and what it naturally calls for.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) My influences are all over the place, ranging from Taylor Swift, Green Day, Aerosmith, Mayday Parade, Kelsea Ballerini, The Veronicas, Michelle Branch, Fall Out Boy, Secondhand Serenade, Kalie Shorr, Sasha Sloan, Lauren Weintraub and many more.

 

Q) You’ve been compared to Michelle Branch and Kacey Musgraves. How does that make you feel?

 

A) I take both comparisons as huge compliments, as both artists definitely push genre boundaries and create amazing music doing it.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Normal.”

 

A) “Normal” is about how I kind of did life… backwards. Not wrong, but backwards from what people consider to be the norm. Most people go to college, develop their career, get married and then have a child. I dropped out of college, had a child, developed my career and then got married. It has certainly been a challenge, but I would not have the wonderful life I did with the amazing people in it, if I’d taken the more traditional path. So, I chose to celebrate that through this song.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) Even if the exact circumstances aren’t the same, I believe this song reaches people who either have also taken a less traditional path in their lives, and also people who may just feel a little different or “not normal” for other reasons. This is one of those songs where I hope people can take something away from it even if their story doesn’t look quite like mine – because that’s what the song is about, that our stories do not and aren’t supposed to look the same.

 

Q) The song was co-written by Marcus Brown and Sam Ferrara. What was your experience like working with them?

 

A) I believe Marcus and Sam truly helped make the song what it is. When I first pitched the lines in the first verse and what I wanted the song to be about, they both had their own perspectives of why their lives also do not look “normal” that were entirely different from mine. And it really opened my eyes to the fact that…Most of us, regardless of how things look from the outside, are not living “normal” lives, but that doesn’t make our lives any less beautiful. Seeing two prime examples of that right in front of me in the writing room, I feel, helped bring the magic that day.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) I don’t have a full video for the song, but I did film a short promo clip of me riding through our neighborhood on my daughter’s scooter. I just wanted to do something kind of fun with “kid at heart” lighthearted energy. It was funny because we had just moved and that was the day that all the parents decided to come outside and introduce themselves to me. [laughs]

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Lyrics always come first for me. I know what I want to say first and foremost. It’s actually very challenging for me to write lyrics to pre-existing music, although I have done it several times. The process certainly differs if I’m writing alone vs co-writing, writing for me vs writing for another artist or for pitching, etc. When I’m writing for myself, it’s very, very intuitive. The songs often write themselves.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) My producer, Kristian Veech, is also my best friend. So, he hears exactly what I hear in my head and is able to create it through his song production. In that sense, even though he’s doing the hard work, I do feel like I have full creative control and a strong sense in the production. However, there have been some songs where I haven’t had any idea of what I wanted the production to sound like – and what he created for it was simply perfect. He truly is a musical genius.

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future?

 

A) I’m currently working on both a fully produced EP and also an acoustic album. While “Normal” will be part of the acoustic album, the EP will be released first. I released “Normal” out of order as a celebration for my 30th birthday.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) I love listening room environments. Obviously, a major one that is a favorite of mine is The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, along with Live Oak for writers’ rounds. However, a small art gallery in New Bedford, Massachusetts provides a fully inclusive, listening room environment that I feel is truly special. The music performances are the Stove Boat Concert Series at Interwoven Art Studio. My favorite bar is the Traveling Gypsies Kava Den in Rome, GA – a small earthy bar with mystical vibes and one of the most welcoming communities I’ve ever met. Finally, any venue that is oceanside is automatically one of my favorites.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I would die to collaborate with Taylor Swift, Steven Tyler/Aerosmith, Mayday Parade or Fall Out Boy.

 

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I have been huge on Hardy’s work lately as I feel he is another prime example of artists who push genre boundaries and sound amazing while doing so. I am also a huge fan of Chris Stapleton’s latest record as the songwriting is just brilliant. Finally, I recently dove back into The Veronicas and have really been taking in a lot of their work. They bring female-driven pop/rock to perfection.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Whether you’ve liked one song I’ve written or every song I’ve written, thank you for caring about what I have to say! And to those who have loved and supported me no matter what genre of music I was creating at that time, thank you for allowing me the flexibility to create music in different ways that showcase different parts of myself and who I am.