Keeping It Real with Gia Woods: On Love, Heartbreak, and the Self
Take a trip to Heartbreak County by reading office’s exclusive interview with Gia Woods below.
How did you first get started in music?
I started in music when I was around seven years old, not professionally, but that's how I got into music. I taught myself how to play guitar, and I was always involved in a music class throughout school, whether it was orchestra or choir. I ended up being in choir from sixth grade all the way up until 12th grade. Crazy enough, the choir class is how I ended up where I am right now. My class had a talent show where we would perform. It was my senior year, about three or four months before I had to decide whether I wanted to go to college or not. Someone in the crowd ended up really liking my voice and got my information and we ended up meeting up for coffee and they asked me if I wanted to do music professionally. I was like, 'Yeah, I definitely do, but I don't know where to start.' I just thought the only way to get there was something like American Idol. She told me, 'I would love to develop you and basically manage you.' She was also very new to the industry, but I could tell she was a hustler. So it was crazy cool. From that point on, we started working together and I was put into the studio through her. I think that was the universe telling me I need to keep going.
Who are your musical inspirations or people you grew up listening to?
I grew up listening to multiple different genres. Madonna, Radiohead, Green Day, Kylie Minogue. Those were all my favorite artists. I also loved Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. That was definitely more in my teenage years. I loved pop music, but then I really loved indie music, like Björk. That's because my sister also, thank god, had good taste in music. So whatever my sister listened to and played in her room, on her boombox, that's what I would listen to.
I know that your newest EP, Heartbreak County Volume 1, is written from the perspective of a Los Angeles native. Does your upbringing in LA influence your music and your sound a lot?
Oh my God, definitely. I think it's just because growing up in LA, you're constantly surrounded by art. I feel like everyone here is either moving here to do something in the creative space or they're born into it. So I think that I've always been very aware of what kind of music I like and what kind of music I gravitate toward. That definitely influenced having an ear for music. I was also just friends with a lot of arts kids, and especially also in my family. There are two musicians in the family, me and my cousin. He was also a big influence on the music scene in LA for me. I've always been paying attention since I was a kid, so it's just always been around me. I knew I was in the heart of the city that's on the top in the entertainment industry.
What would you say is the biggest stereotype that people perpetuate about LA?
Everyone thinks that Hollywood is this big landmark and that it's the place you come and visit and maybe get an Airbnb or a hotel. I also would say, Beverly Hills, I feel like everyone thinks it's the nicest place to stay. But there are actually way more nice streets and areas in LA that are more humble and cool people. There are so many other areas in LA that are actually really fun to visit. People just think of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Malibu. But to me, those are not the places. Honestly, sometimes I feel so alone in the city because I barely meet people on a daily basis that are from here. I'm like, 'Where are my LA people?' A lot of my friends from school are spread out and they're doing their own thing. So it's really wild to go out and be constantly in the mix of people. The first thing you ask someone is, 'Where are you from?' And I never get someone from LA. And if I do, I know them already.
What does it mean to you to be an emerging voice in the LGBTQIA+ community? How does that feel for you, knowing that you can put out music and there are people listening who are thinking, 'This is someone that I can relate to’?
It's definitely so surreal because representation was something I never felt like I had growing up. I never had someone to look up to. I thought there was something literally wrong with me. I thought, 'How come I have feelings towards a girl?' You know? I would always be really, really internal. So I think being able to be that representation for people is so amazing. I wish I had that growing up. I get so many DM's from people who listened to my first song, which was my coming out, saying, 'You changed my life,' or 'You are the reason I left my husband.' And I'm just a girl from LA. So it's definitely really crazy, but I think it's so important. If I can be a part of anyone's journey or a movement in society, that is my life fulfillment goal. I'm just here to be a part of that and hopefully help anyone who's going through a dark time in their life, in a family that's not accepting, or even coming from really rural areas. Because I'm in LA, so I'm in a whole different bubble, but I sometimes forget that there are places that are still anti-LGBTQ. But being a Persian queer, it still wasn't something I saw a lot growing up either. I had never come by one Persian queer person growing up. So being able to be a voice for those people too, in Iran, that's insane. At times you forget that your music is actually reaching people and it's doing something. But even to this day we still have some work to do. Sometimes it fucks with my mind that we're still on this subject. No one should care who the fuck someone's into. Why are people still living through other people's lives? I never understood why people care so much.
Right, that song you came out in was called “Only a Girl.” How does it feel to know that music helped you show the world such a big part of yourself?
(“Only a Girl”) was the first thing that I ever did where I was completely vulnerable, ever in my entire life. When I look back, there were moments where I was still kind of afraid to only be known as someone that was from that community. But now that I've grown up more, it's like, 'No, that that's who I am.' So of course I'm going to always be vulnerable and talk about my relationships and my personal life. And it's probably always going to be about a girl. I don't really think I can be any less vulnerable at this point. I think going full throttle with that was such a big thing for me because I really was a closeted gay who didn't even really have that many friends or anything. I was so quiet and shy growing up. So I think music has always been my only outlet in life. My parents didn't always ask me how I am or what's going on in my life. So music is the only way I can honestly express myself. I think that's why I have a natural inclination to really say it all in the music. A lot of people, they'll write a song and it'll be something that happened to them years ago, or they base it on a movie they saw or a dream they had. My stuff is always written about exactly what I'm going through at that moment. It's like my journal, honestly. Being vulnerable and honest has never been something I had to think about. But I make it fun too. I'll start a song with some emo guitar, and it'll go from that to something more crazy. I love making music that has really deep lyrics, but then the production behind it is upbeat. That's the cool thing about music, you can have multiple feelings.
In what ways does your newest EP diverge from your debut EP, Cut Season?
I feel like it's just so complete opposite. The first EP was more alternative and dark and it had a lot more guitar in it. Then I transitioned from that to dance music. I would say this new EP is a lot more dance, it's a lot brighter, but the lyrics are darker. I think that's always going to be something I'll carry through. My writing will always be on that spectrum of really happy to really emotional. Musically, I was influenced by different styles. The first EP was a lot more from my alternative background, again, growing up on Green Day and Radiohead. So I was pulling a lot from that. And then when I made this EP, I was re-listening to Madonna and Daft Punk, which goes back to all my different musical influences. I think that's why I wanted to transition to a different sound. And that's the thing, I'm always going to do that. I'm not married to one genre or one overall sound. I want each EP to be its own story. I love conceptual albums. I love when something has a whole deeper meaning behind it and I also love things that are just fun and spirited. All of my favorite artists, it's always conceptual, like Lady Gaga, every album she put out was, you know, a whole project. It's so thought out and there's such a vision and story behind it. I just get so inspired by that. So I think I'm always going to be experimenting with my sound and doing different things. The next EP, I'm hoping it's probably going to be a lot more like Heartbreak County Volume 1 — maybe a little bit darker — but who knows? It just depends on where I am.
What is your favorite song off of Heartbreak County Volume 1?
Mine always changes based on my mood, but right now I would say “Fame Kills.” I think that song is so on-point right now. When I think of October, I think of “Fame Kills.” I wanted to make sure I put out that song by October because that song always reminded me of Halloween. We referenced the producer, Kavinsky, and his entire soundtrack is super Halloween. And the meaning behind it too, it says a lot about the behind-the-scenes of fame.
The meaning that lies behind Heartbreak County Volume 1 is that if you can overcome the facade of Los Angeles, you can actually see the city and its people for what they are — you can even fall in love. What is your best advice when it comes to finding love or mending heartbreak?
I'm still figuring out the mending part. I would say finding love in the city — I think it's finding someone who doesn't take away from your life but only adds to your life. Because I've been in situations where it's been really hard to navigate a relationship while I'm trying to pursue my dreams. I have a busy schedule and I have a very big goal. Sometimes when you're in a relationship, I've noticed, they take away from your time or you end up missing out on so much life experience. And I think my biggest thing is, 'If it's broken, don't fix it.' If it's not working, don't spend your early years trying to fix a relationship. You're going to have more, you know? I think people get so fixated on these intense relationships in their younger years. You waste a lot of time and you forget that you're so young and you're going to meet people. You're going to have so much time to be in the right situation. So that's my biggest advice for finding love; it should be easy. And then heartbreak, I mean, I'm actually going through heartbreak right now, weirdly enough, while Heartbreak County just dropped. I manifest this shit I swear to God. Every single time a project comes out, I manifest a breakup. It's the weirdest thing. But the way I'm dealing with it and handling it is going to therapy. That's been really helping me and honestly talking to a million people until you're so sick and tired of the same person's name. Just get it out of your system. Because if you keep it [in your head] it's never really going to go away. Even when you think of trauma, the more you endure it, the more it's going to come back later in your adult years. So I let myself feel everything. Anytime I'm sad or upset, I'll cry it out or go on a drive. I love going on drives and listening to albums, like Coldplay or Billie Eilish's “Happier Than Ever” right now — I fucking love that song; it's the perfect breakup song. I also think journaling is the best way because you can look back on your journey. I'll go back to my journal entries and read about my old relationships and it's like 'Where was I? Of course this didn't work, this was the worst relationship ever!' I think it's also good to go back and read to see, 'What did I do that was wrong?' Because I think people always expect that it was your ex that fucked up. But I think relationships are kind of a mirror to see yourself too. Every time I date someone I'm learning more about myself. The best advice I've ever heard is you won't be ready until you're satisfied with yourself and you're in a place where you're confident — and I don't think you'll ever be fully confident in life; I think it's really hard — but I think until you're secure and at a place where you're not needing anything from a partner. I think a lot of times people date because all they crave is validation. Sometimes relationships are validation rather than real love. I've had my fair share of that, so that's my advice.
How do you plan to grow in your music and future releases?
I mean, I feel like it's always going to be going off of Cut Season and Heartbreak County. They both have exactly the sounds that I love. I love guitar, but I also love dance music — so I think blending that world a little bit more. I definitely want to keep getting more experimental because I think, if anything, right now in music, people are like accepting it. I want to experiment more and I think I'm doing a Heartbreak Volume 2; I feel like it's time for that. I basically already have all those songs ready to go, so it's now just continuing with Heartbreak Volume 1 and promoting that. I think I want to continue in the dance world. It makes me so happy even when I'm so sad. Usually whenever I go through a breakup, I'll go straight into the studio and I'll write a song that makes me feel good about the situation rather than being sad about it. And then later I write the sad songs, but the first initial moment is like a 'Fuck you' song, you know? That's the best feeling in the world.
Heartbreak County Volume 1 is now available on all streaming platforms.
