Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/GwAnw5gTspA?si=SshQ_nXG5i9K95uR

Lily: Hello everybody! My name is Lily Davis, I am here with KCR College Radio and I am joined by the lovely Taylor Bickett! She is setting off on a new tour this month and will be playing at the House of Blues in San Diego on May 2nd. 

Lily: Taylor, we’re so happy to have you, why don’t you tell all of our listeners a little bit about yourself.

Taylor: I have been putting out music for a while but I am very excited to announce my debut album soon!

Taylor is looking forward to sharing her new work with her fans, which she has spent lots of time and energy perfecting. She is going to be playing new music on the road as the support act for Devin Kennedy, and can’t wait to bring her art to new cities.

Lily: This tour you are going to be supporting singer songwriting and producer Devin Kennedy, which is super exciting. How did you two connect and decide to tour together?

Taylor: We got connected through mutual people and we have the same agent!

Devin Kennedy is an independent pop artist who has over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. They will be meeting for the first time in person on the first night of the tour. I am so excited for these two artists to share a stage in the upcoming weeks.

Lily: So you have been releasing music for years now and have naturally gone through different eras sonically. If you had to describe your current era, with singles like Wild Dogs, in a couple of words, what would they be?

Taylor: Organic, narrative, introspective.

Taylor’s recent work has put an emphasis on raw acoustics and personal songwriting. The singles she has released recently seek to “tell a story,” involving intricate and descriptive lyrics and stripped-back instrumentation.

Lily: Your most streamed song, Quarter Life Crisis, went viral on Tiktok in 2022. As of yesterday the song had nearly 40 million streams on Spotify. What did it feel like to see your work become so popular so fast when it went viral?  

Taylor: It was literally the last thing I expected… I’m so grateful for that song- it opened so many doors for me.

Quarter Life Crisis is a song that describes the feeling of finding yourself in adulthood and the confusion surrounding that era of growing up. Taylor had posted this song on TikTok before and didn’t assume there was anything special about it, until it became a viral TikTok trend. She feels extremely lucky to have been on the other side of such an impactful trend and to have had the opportunity for her art to reach so many people. At the same time, there was a lot of pressure in going from being an underground artist to a bigger artist in such a short amount of time; still, this song is part of the reason she is able to be an independent artist and continue pursuing her passion for songwriting. 

Lily: Moving into new projects, what inspired your most recent, gut wrenching single, Wild Dogs?

Taylor: I gave this person so much power and I think for a while I was like, “They’re evil! They’re horrible”… well they’re actually not. They’re kind of a coward.

One day, Taylor was talking to somebody about a safari trip they had just returned from and was told that wild dogs eat their prey alive, rather than killing their prey first. Upon researching this behavior later, she discovered that they do this because they are frequently being preyed on by many other animals; so, if these wild dogs don’t eat their prey as fast as they can, they risk not being able to escape another predator. Taylor found this concept extremely interesting and realized that these animals are not eating their prey alive out of cruelty- they are doing it out of fear. She drew a parallel between this tendency found in wild dogs and the way humans will act cruelly to other people out of insecurity, especially in a past relationship she had. These complicated emotions of empathizing with the person you love but also being hurt by them inspired Taylor’s latest single. 

Lily: One lyric in that song that stuck out to me was, “Don’t wanna think a predator of a parasite, don’t wanna think the devil of a small man.” Please break down this lyric for me, what does it mean to you, was there something that inspired it?

Taylor: When someone tries to take your power, it’s like they’re showing their cards that they’re actually the weak one.

This lyric represents a main theme throughout Wild Dogs. Taylor explained that someone trying to steal your power actually reveals that you have the upper hand. Even though it is easy to get caught up and feel intimidated in the moment, you must have the power if somebody is spending their energy trying to make you feel smaller. 

Lily: You have played many many shows in many different cities. Is there one that you are most excited to be in for the first time or to return to on this upcoming tour?

Taylor: Well I am very excited to go back to San Diego…I also have never been to Vancouver!

Taylor has toured in San Diego before opening for Charlotte Lawrence and loved the area, but she didn’t have enough time to really explore. This time, she hopes to soak up more sun and relax before heading to another exciting destination: Vancouver! She has only been to Canada once and that was in Toronto, so she is looking forward to getting to cross that border again. 

Lily: Do you have a pre show ritual that gets you prepared for your performances, if so what is it?

Taylor: I do a lot of those YouTube vocal warmups…I guess there also is the ritual of I tear a page out of my journal, I write my setlist in Sharpie, and I bring it up with me.

Taylor likes to write her setlist each night and customizes her setlist depending on the show. She shared that she likes to change which covers she performs sometimes or add an unreleased song to keep things exciting. Taylor also joked that she should consider creating a more unique ritual just for the sake of having one. 

Lily: When you’re on stage performing songs like Quarter Life Crisis, which so many people have connected to, what is it like hearing a crowd sing those lyrics back to you?

Taylor: Oh my god, it’s crazy…it’s like, y’all all came for me AND you know the words?

Taylor happened to be home when she was writing Quarter Life Crisis and now gets to hear people sing the lyrics she wrote in her childhood bedroom. This experience is surreal for her every time. 

Lily: For someone who hasn’t seen you perform live before, how would you describe the atmosphere of your shows?

Taylor: I would say it’s very confessional and a little silly.

For many of Taylor’s shows, including her upcoming shows, it’s just her and her guitar on stage. Her lyrics are all very vulnerable and real, but she also likes to keep it light by cracking a joke every once and a while. Taylor also loves sharing the stories behind her songs because of the connection she has to her lyrics. 

Lily: Thank you so much for your time today, Taylor. Don’t miss her show on May 2nd at the House of Blues. I’m Lily with KCR College Radio, thank you all for listening!