Flamy Grant – CHURCH

By starrymag | December 10, 2024

By: Mariah Thomas

 

 

 

Q) How would you describe your music?

 

A) Differently every time someone asks! At the core, I’m a singer/songwriter, and have been since I penned my first tune at the age of nine. I grew up in an old timey Appalachian church that sang hymns acapella and I was only allowed to listen to music I could find at our local Christian bookstore until I was well into high school. So, there’s an inescapable gospel influence, with strains of mountain folk, country roots and good old rock & roll. I was also a theatre kid, so you wouldn’t be off base if you’re picking up some showtune influences.

 

Q) Who were the musical influences you had growing up?

 

A) Besides the aforementioned Christian music (I didn’t name myself Flamy Grant for nothing), I had a heavy dose of influence from Lilith Fair-era female singer/songwriters. It was Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow and Tracy Chapman who were my first introduction to popular outside of the Christian genre. Other favorites include James Taylor, Over the Rhine and Shawn Mullins.

 

Q) What was the moment you decided to blend drag and Christian music?

 

A) I never actually made the decision to do that specifically. I just started writing music as my drag persona during the “shelter-in-place” days of pandemic and the next thing I knew, we had a full album. When it came time to release Bible Belt Baby, it just made sense to put it in the CCM genre: it was a songwriter wrestling with questions of faith, hope and love. It felt like the kind of record I would have bought at the Christian bookstore growing up… only a little more fabulous.

 

Q) Why was it important for you to create this music under a drag persona?

 

A) Again, it’s really something I stumbled into rather than a specific vision I had. The global pandemic in 2020 gave me a whole bunch of free time, which I used to start exploring drag. I had been interested in drag for some time, and the more I did it, the more I wanted to keep doing it. I started to sing live in drag and realized that by writing songs as “Flamy,” it felt incredibly liberating and gave me access to a whole new side of myself that I might not have ever explored musically had it not been for drag. When it all finally came together, it just clicked. All my passions and hobbies collided in this art form and gave me the focus I think I had lacked up to that point.

 

Q) I imagine it is therapeutic to reclaim religion and create a safe/loving music environment for the LGBTQ+ community. Are there any standout moments for you seeing that positive impact? (i.e.: a special performance, being thanked by a fan, etc.)

 

A) It does feel extremely therapeutic, yes. The number of people who message me or wait after shows to tell their stories and how my songs and art make them feel seen, it’s what keeps me going. When I first started drag, it was just a way for me to heal myself. It was my own inner child work. But witnessing how it can translate to other people and speak to their own experiences is what compelled me to go further down this path. It speaks to folks my age and older who never had the chance to live authentically when they were younger, but it also speaks to young queer kids who are still navigating some of the same religious oppression that harmed me so much when I was growing up.

 

Q) With your newest project CHURCH what song was the most vulnerable to write?

 

A) This whole record is very personal, but there are a couple songs where I really tried to peel away the layers on some of my own pain. “How to Find the Words” came after an attempted conversation with a family member that played out the same way so many conversations have over the years: hitting an impasse and being unable to hear each other. “Hard to See Me Happy” is possibly my most autobiographical song and hits on some key moments in my own journey that sent me down one fork in the road or another.

 

Q) This latest album features a few different genres and tones. There’s disco, country, bluesy rock and more. What is your favorite genre to work with?

 

A) Oh, I don’t know that I have a favorite… probably whichever one I happen to be singing at the moment. One of the things I love about drag is how versatile it is. Your makeup and costume can totally change from day to day or even number to number. Musical styles work the same way: you’re just dressing up your songs in genre drag, and I love to sing a funky groove like “S.P.R.K.L.” as much as I love the swing of a throwback country tune like “Old Religion.”

 

Q) When going into a songwriting process? Do you need music before you can craft lyrics?

 

A) I usually have at least a rough melody or a guitar riff before I start crafting lyrics. Music usually, but not always, comes first. (“Last Days” was an exception. My friend and cowriter Karyn Thurston and I were trading lyric ideas back and forth on a shared Notes App before I started putting the words to music.)

 

Q) What message or emotion do you hope lingers with those that explore CHURCH as a whole?

 

A) I hope what people take away from CHURCH is the impulse to deeply consider the rituals we engage in, and how they serve us. Do our religious practices make us more whole and connected or more fractured and divided? What agendas are we playing into without even realizing it? And, mostly, is there really anything divine at all about participating in American church culture these days?

 

Q) Do you have a favorite song to perform live?

 

A) It changes, but right now I really love to play “If You Ever Leave.” It’s a song I can really sink my teeth into vocally, I love the steady guitar picking rhythm and it tends to hit an audience right where I want it to. It might sound a little sadistic, but I like knowing I can bring a third of the room to tears at any given show. Good tears, cathartic tears!

 

Q) There are many drag artists that also make music. Do you have anyone in mind that you would like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Oh my god, so many. Ginger Minj – Miss Southern Fried Sass herself, I love her so much. Ada Vox, Pattie Gonia… I would love the chance to croon with legends like Latrice Royale or Jinkx Monsoon, maybe even try my hand at something operatic with Monét X Change. And it would be an absolute dream to do something with Trixie Mattel one day if she ever decides to get back behind her pink guitar.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and the music that you make?

 

A) Thank you! I literally couldn’t do this job without y’all, from crowdfunding albums to filling up listening rooms, bars and church sanctuaries when I tour. I’m so grateful for this second act I’m living, and I take none of it for granted. I love reading your messages and meeting you at shows. Just thank you, thank you, thank you.