Get Lost with Guy

Geiger began to rise as a musician at the young age of 18 or 19, followed by a long break from performing her own music during which she focused on honing her production and songwriting skills. Her songwriting and production style has attracted many collaborators such as Shawn Mendes, P!nk, Leon Bridges, Maroon 5, Niall Horan, Christina Aguilera, DJ Snake and DNCE. She always wrote for herself on the side, and eventually felt it was time again to share her work. And we're glad she did.

Congrats on your new single, “Sharkbait”!

Thank you!

How are you and where are you?

I am in Los Angeles, and I’m good, and I’m sleepy. I just woke up, I was in Tahoe, so it feels really good to just wake up in my own bed.

Yeah, I bet! Where did the inspiration come from for this song?

Well, part of the music came from this thing I made a while ago, like maybe ten years ago. And then kind of just ditched the entire song. I just liked the drums and like one of the guitars. We were writing it for this friend of mine, Arly, it was me, him, and my other friend Evan. We were working on a bunch of stuff for Arly’s record. This was kind of one of the B sides, but the song’s about just doing what you love and what you’re passionate about even if it’s like… Like we were talking about, if you love surfing, even though there are sharks in the water, you’re still gonna go surfing ‘cause you love it. You’re willing to take the risk because you’re passionate about it. It’s kind of a song about that. When other people don’t quite get what you’re doing and they’re like, "That’s dangerous, you shouldn’t do that." And you’re like, "Yeah, but like, I love it, I wanna live how I wanna live, dude! Lets go!"

What is your writing process like?

Um, it kind of depends. It depends on the thing.

So you don’t really have an order of operations?

No, it’s usually following inspiration and however that comes. Sometimes it’ll be following a little lyric idea, sometimes it’s a little riff, or some chords, whatever it is just kinda gets started and the inspiration kinda just takes over.

How does this song differ from your last album, LilyAnna, from 2018?

I mean, I think it’s the funnest song I’ve put out. Even the album I’m working on now is a little more ambient. I wanted to put out a fun pop song.

In that album you talked a great deal about gender dysphoria and your experience as a trans woman and coming out. What would you say your upcoming music grapples with the most?

It’s kind of like, I feel like, it’s me growing into myself and having this second puberty, kind of coming through the changes I’ve gone through and the process of listening to myself along the way, and what my inner voice is saying, and kind of listening to that inner voice… The whole album is surrounding that inner voice and about letting that guide me somewhat.

What else can you say about your upcoming album, out in 2021?

It’s kind of a little ambient, but it also still kinda rocks. I wanted to have it so you can kinda relax to it, put it on in the tub, or you could crank it up in the car and go for a drive and rock out.

How did you get into production?

I was always interested in it. I was always into recording, since I was little, ever since I got my first tape recorder with a mic, I was just always making recordings and stuff. Then I got a four track recorder when I was 11, and started using that, and then eventually transitioned to ProTools, but I was always interested in it. Always playing with it.

Did you start producing simultaneously as you were becoming a musician?

Yeah, I started producing as I started writing songs when I was younger. Like making demos and stuff. Even my first record, like I demoed a lot of it out before I went into the studio, so there’s a bunch of early demos of that stuff that I recorded myself, which is funny.

You were a rising teen star for a moment there when you were around 18-20, and then you sort of retreated from that before rising back up in the last few years. What sort of transformation occurred during this time artistically and why did you kind of take that distance from the path you were going on?

I guess it’s just that, I mean, I always really liked making music, and more and more my artist project when I was younger became about trying to get more celebrity. It was more about being a celebrity and being out in front of people. And I just wanna be in the studio and making stuff. So eventually, it just wasn’t going to work out because I wasn’t passionate about being that kind of artist. I wanna be in the studio, I wanna be making albums. At the end of the day, as long as people find it and they wanna listen to it and they’re excited about it, that makes me happy. And whether I’m a celebrity or not isn’t really the point, you know?

So I spent a long time after that in the studio writing and working on those skills and kind of developing myself as a producer/songwriter. Eventually I had the opportunity to move out to LA and sign a pub deal, and that was kind of the beginning of this next kind of resurgence of me as a writer/producer vibe.

So you’ve been writing and producing for other artists for a long time.

Yeah, it’s been maybe since I was like 25, so it’s been the past 6 or 7 years.

That’s awesome. And what kind of let you know that it was time to let your own voice be out there again?

I’m always writing for me, too, on the side, so basically it just got to the point where I had enough stuff and I was like, I really wanna put this out and share this stuff.

I hear you.

It’s fun.

So, how would you describe your sound in only a few words?

Oh, my god. I don’t know, I guess it’s a little Lo-Fi, but also a little catchy and pop-y. Maybe not over-thought. I try to keep it kind of emotional.

What advice do you have for a young person trying to find themselves?

I don’t know, I guess just pay attention to what you’re feeling and what that voice inside you is saying. The more you find that voice and pay attention to that, I mean, that for me has been the most important thing. Especially the last five years, really finding that voice. And paying attention to it. Sometimes that voice is there, but there’s so many other people telling you other things. So you think, What I’m feeling inside, if everyone else is telling me to do this, maybe I should just do that. Instead of saying, What is this voice telling me and how do I need to express that to other people? Make sure you’re following that. 

It’s harder when you’re younger because everyone is telling you what to do and you have to do it. As you get more freedom, you get more room to explore that voice and listen to that. It’s taken me forever to really feel like I’m acquainted with it because there’s so much in the way when you’re growing up. Everyone has an opinion on what you should do and how you should live and what you’re supposed to be. A lot of that is right, but a lot of it isn’t right. It’s tricky. That’s my main focus right now in my life; the theme is always finding that voice and listening to it and having that be a part of what I decide to do, even if it’s not aligned with that voice. That balance of having that voice but still trusting other people but also trusting yourself. I don’t know if that’s any kind of good advice.

I think that’s great advice. That’s sort of what you were saying your upcoming album is representing for you.

Yeah, exactly.