Gabi Sklar – I’m Sorry You’re Boring

By starrymag | May 14, 2020

By: Courtney Groom

 

 

Q) Congratulations on the new single “I’m Sorry You’re Boring!” What can you tell us about the inspiration behind the song?

A) Thank you! The song came to be in a super natural, organic way. JP Saxe had co-written it with me and Ryan Marrone worked on the production. I had been working with Ryan since I was fifteen years old, but it was my first time working with JP. We were just talking about life, dating, the usual. At some point we started bouncing back and forth memorable dating stories and that’s when we expanded on the idea. He asked me what I would tell someone who is boring and I said almost jokingly, “I’m sorry you’re boring?” Instantly, we had a hook.

 

Q) The song is very relaxed but also very catchy. Was this your intention from the start when writing and creating the song?

A) I just remember talking to JP and I guess we were so deep into thought we didn’t even notice Ryan playing around with a track until we heard a sound, we both really like. We stopped talking mid-conversation and were both like, “Wait, that’s super cool.” So, we built it up from there. I began humming a little melody which ended up being the post-chorus and now it is what it is! None of it was necessarily planned, it just felt right and naturally happened the way it was supposed to.

 

Q) As a young songwriter, what were any challenges you faced when writing and recording “I’m Sorry You’re Boring?”

A) It’s not so much the challenges I faced writing “I’m Sorry You’re Boring,” as it is just being a young female in the industry itself. At times I feel like people don’t take me seriously or show me the respect I know I deserve. It has definitely gotten better as I have gotten older, not because it’s diminished but because I’ve grown a lot… I’m just not as naïve and impressionable as I was, being a 14-year-old girl in an office dominated by men. I was constantly asked degrading questions that insulted my intelligence like, “Who does Gabi Sklar wanna be?” Well, how can someone who was barely a teenager tell a complete stranger who she wants to be when she didn’t even know who she was. I also heard questions like, “Who does Gabi Sklar want to sound like?” Gabi Sklar wants to sound like Gabi Sklar.

 

Q) The music video for this single was very fun. When writing the song is that how you imagined the music video to be or did the idea come from elsewhere?

A) The music video came to be in a similar way as the writing process. When JP and I wrote it, it began as a conversation about dating stories. My manager and I were talking about concepts and decided together that the video should be exactly that—a compilation of different types of dates. I asked my friends about their craziest, most memorable experiences and then narrowed down “types” of dates. I think we all know someone who is boring, tries too hard or is too self-absorbed. I think the humor aspect comes from the relatability factor. Dating is a struggle and the struggle is real.

 

Q) It’s a song that a lot of young girls and guys can relate to when going on dates. Out of all the different types in the video, which do you most relate to?

A) I don’t know what it is, but a lot of the guys I meet are very narcissistic…It’s one thing to be confident but arrogance and an ego are not cute. As for me, I am a hundred percent the “hot mess.” I get super nervous and it’s really obvious when I’m into someone. I’ve always had a bubbly, flirty personality and it gets me into trouble.

 

Q) What is your creative process like?

A) My creative process is always different. I used to strictly sit down at the piano and build melodies that way. Being in rooms of people with so many different preferences it changes with each individual session. Sometimes I bring in an idea and we develop it from there. Sometimes we start from scratch. Sometimes I write the entire song myself. I have notebooks with scribbles, song titles, lyrics, verses, choruses… I have thousands of voice memos with melody ideas and chord progressions. If you go through the notes on my phone, it’s filled with random lyrics and concepts. It really varies.

 

Q) During your career already, you’ve had some amazing opportunities to work with some extremely talented people such as training with Lady Gaga’s vocal coach Don Lawrence and working alongside multi-platinum producers such as Julian Bunetta. What experience have you gained from working with these people and how has it shaped you as an artist?

A) With each opportunity I’ve had, I’ve learned something different. Sometimes it’s the experiences that have shaped me and other times it’s the people around them. With both Don and Julian, they allowed me to break down my walls in different ways. I have been extremely fortunate to have had these opportunities so early on in my career. Now, Julian Bunetta is a different beast. There is nothing like him and I tell him that every time I see him. The first time we worked together we were talking and somehow he got me to this really vulnerable, emotional state. I just started balling. It was like being in a therapy session while also making some great music. He changed my perspective completely. The experience is always better when the people you are working with are not only insanely talented, but extremely genuine and down to earth. With Don Lawrence, he taught me so much discipline and the importance proper vocal training has is in the longevity of a music career. He really pushed me and in turn I learned to push myself even harder.

 

Q) You’ve grown up in a family full of music lovers. Was becoming a singer/songwriter a career that you always wanted to take or did you have something else in mind?

A) I remember in elementary school my teacher asked the class what everyone wanted to be when they grow up. I have no fucking clue why, but I said a lawyer…I was five years old. I think I was seven years old when I completely fell in love with the idea of doing music forever. I would come home from school and sit at the piano for hours of the day from 3PM until my parents had to go to sleep. I would write these terrible songs about all these feelings I heard about, but never experienced…All I knew was I never wanted that feeling to go away. Then, I began growing, experiencing, feeling all these things I hadn’t before. That’s when the songs became stronger, more real.

 

Q) You’re also currently attending college. How do you manage to balance college work with your career and make time for yourself as well as friends and family?

A) I think a lot of it goes hand-in-hand. I find a lot of my inspiration from being with friends and family, going out, living, experiencing. I actually go to school for music. So, although it’s a lot of work, everything overlaps. I have also been balancing school work and music since I was thirteen years old. Throughout high school I would travel back and forth from my hometown in New York to LA and Nashville for sessions and meetings. In the beginning I was so nervous about people from school knowing that I would lie and say I was sick or that I was visiting “Aunt Debby” and “Uncle Ryan” in California… I don’t have an Aunt Debby or an Uncle Ryan. I was working with a producer named Ryan! It sounds so stupid now, but being a teenager, you are so caught up with the bullshit—what everyone thinks and says, the judgments and questions. It’s always been a lot to handle because, yes, the schoolwork is hard, but mainly because I could never relate to people my age. I felt like I was hiding this huge part of my life and even now, with social media and everything, I still feel misunderstood at times. Being twenty years old, I now look at it as an achievement. I never missed an assignment because of music and I never allowed school to get in the way of developing a career. I am extremely proud that I am working to get a degree while making a name for myself. Education is the one thing that is just as important to me as music.

 

Q) One of your songs “Stay True” was featured in the Marvel Animated series “Marvel Rising.” How did it feel to hear your song featured?

A) I grew up being both a big Marvel and Disney fan and just a movie fanatic in general. Having a song in a Marvel project on Disney, that’s just another level. “Marvel Rising” was one of Stan Lee’s last projects, so it was a complete honor to be a part of something so special. I wrote “Stay True” and recorded it with Jonas Jeberg in 2015. I was out of town when my manager got called into the Marvel office in 2018 about the song. He called me later that day and told me they wanted it for sync. I screamed. I went back and re-recorded the vocals, changed a few words. It’s crazy how things can resurface and come back. I always had so much love for the song but it was put on the shelf. I’m happy that it found such a perfect fit for such a special project.

 

Q) Your second single is getting released in the coming weeks. What do you think it is about this song that you think fans will connect to?

A) For all my friends who have heard the EP, this next single is their favorite. It has a cool flow and R&B vibe to it and you just want to blast it in the car. I think fans will see this song as a point of growth for me, personally, and in my music. It’s super conversational and really is everything you’d want to say to a person that hurt you; all the words you think in your head but never say and in turn, everything you wish they would say back. I think we can all relate to that.

 

Q) What advice would you give to a young artist who is trying to get into the music industry?

A) I think there are a few things that are extremely important to consider. The first is this something you really want and are you willing to work for it, are you willing to sacrifice and dedicate everything to your craft? I think it’s so easy for people to judge artists and creatives like we’re machines. All we have to do is sing and perform and look good and say the right things. It’s way more than that and there is a lot of bad that comes with the good. Personally, every single moment the good and the bad are entirely worth it because this is something I want for the rest of my life. But, damn, it’s hard work. I would say to treat people with respect because then, they’ll want to work with you and it may open opportunities. Be willing to learn because that’s how you’ll grow. Stay true to your brand and your values. Do not, ever, ever, ever, take no as an answer. Trust the process and that everything works out the way it’s supposed to. The work you put in is what you’ll get out.

 

Q) What can fans expect from you for the rest of this year? An EP or full album?

A) I’m releasing my EP, A Hot Mess, really soon. I have my next single coming out May 1^st called “All the Things You Never Say” leading up to the EP. I have so much new music I’m writing and excited about. I feel like it’s a new chapter and new era for me personally and professionally. I’m even more excited to share that with the people who have been with me since the start.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and your music?

A) I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive and patient. It does not go unnoticed and I’m hoping to reciprocate all the love in this upcoming EP.  It’s so cool growing and evolving with people who understand you. I want everyone to know that I understand them and, at the end of the day, I want to write and create for them.