Towa Bird is the Rockstar of a New Generation
Using songwriting as a form of therapy during her move to the US, each song is imbued with the kind of radiant clarity that can only come from uncompromising self-reflection. As Bird prepares for the release of American Hero, Office sat down with the guitarist to discuss the album, tour thus far, and the lost art of performance music on a short attention span generation.
How are you feeling about the tour so far? It's crazy that you’re almost done!
It's such a bittersweet feeling because I don't even understand what reality is anymore. I’m also so tired, but now I'm way past the point of tiredness that I'm now just like existing every day hahaha. I wake up and I feel like shit, but like, that's my normal you know, so, and then I just sort of feed my body with caffeine and hope for the best. But other than that, the tour has just been like the most fun that I think I've ever had in my life. So, it's like this bittersweet feeling of like, please, please, I need some sense of normalcy, but also I'm kind of away with the fairies and getting to do all of this cool shit, which I’ve always dreamed about.
Yeah I bet it’s a very surreal feeling. What's your favorite part of the tour so far?
I think just like between me, Alexander, and Reneé, we have a really solid dynamic between the three of us and I think that's fairly unique. So the hangs are just so good. It's like being around your friends every single day and you get to do everything together. It's pretty awesome.
I've been seeing these Tik Toks. You guys are having a blast.
Oh yeah, like dude, all of my “for you page” is just like myself at this point. I don't want to see this get it away from me. I need a break from myself.
When I saw the show, you just blew the crowd away. You have a way of moving a room and really amping people up. Do you have a strategy for how to read an audience and hype people up like that?
Yeah, I mean, thank you so much, first of all. I'm the first of three acts so people who are coming to see my show probably don't know who I am. So it's kind of like, I have 25 minutes to give them a little piece of what things could be. So I basically just give all of my energy to them and they usually are pretty responsive unless.
Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform the most?
One of my favorite songs is a song called Bills. I get to be off leash and I don't have my guitar and so I get to run around and be on the barricades, and actually interact with the audience way more because the guitar, although it's an expressive instrument, can be a bit of a barrier between me and the audience.
I know that you said before that one New York show you were like “I just had two shots of whiskey and I feel good!”. Do you have any other pre-show rituals?
Oh yeah. Me and my band we’ll have a little huddle and I'll usually give some sort of ridiculous speech, which has nothing to do with what we're doing. And then we start a slow clap and then we get in sync with each other and then it gets faster and faster and then you go ahhhhh and then hype each other up.
I love that- it never gets old.
I feel like we've been doing it for the last two months and it's still pretty funny. Yeah, it's so good.
Did you have other musical performances where you had a chance to get over any stage fright or anything like that?
I did like three shows in LA, just like small rooms, about 200 - 300 people. So the scale, the jump was pretty massive between those three shows. You know, playing like a sold out 7,000 capacity room, it's way bigger than that. It is a different animal but also at the same time, I'm playing my show the way that I know it and the way that I practiced and it seems to be translating into these bigger spaces.
So, to me, I'm just like, okay, that's like a sign of a good show and I can keep building on top of this and I don't feel like I have to backtrack, or make changes, I can just keep growing.
What was going through your mind when you first played that huge venue? Like you said, it was such a big jump from like the smaller venues to like a sold out room.
It felt insane like I remember the first show we played was in Houston and that was also a relatively big room. And I was like, holy shit. I honestly felt like I was coming up on mushrooms the whole day, you know, but that feeling where you never really get to the good part. It's like, the anticipation, you know what I mean?
Oh no - I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
Yeah and it started at 9:30 a.m, and our show was at 7:30. So it was just the whole day. But then as soon as I stepped out on stage, like, 30 seconds into the first song, I'm like, ok, wait, I know what I'm doing. I've rehearsed this. I got this. It's cool.
But, yeah, definitely, again, as you said- I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.
Did you have a musical upbringing as a kid?
Kind of, but it was pretty self-inflicted. My dad listens to a lot of music. My sister also listens to a lot of music. But neither of them are musicians. My dad had a guitar and he is able to play like, three or four chords. So having the guitar around the house, even though he didn't know how to teach me, I was still able to fiddle with it. I guess its a yes and no. But a lot of my inspirations came from outside of my family in terms of music. I was just like an ipad kid, you know. So I would go into youtube polls and watch all of those creators, and music videos and watch live music. A lot of live music shows and music documentaries. I watched a Jimi Hendrix music documentary and was like, ok, that's what I want. That was the switch. That was just the switch in my brain and it was really really inspiring. I just watched videos of Prince and videos of Led Zeppelin and people that could, like, really, really play the guitar and also really, really sing and perform. And I was like, wow, that's it. That's the thing.
What age do you think that clicked for you?
12.
It was like you knew the exact moment?
Yeah. Black and white.
What was the plan before you realized music was an option?
OK, the ridiculous one was that I wanted to be an astronaut, of course. But then I realized that's just not gonna happen. And space is scary. Actually when I was on my ipad as a kid, I sent an email to my sister that was in huge capital letters that was like, “If I go to space, I don't care if I die, because I will have seen it all” in like Comic Sans size 60 font.
That's so funny you should print that out and put it on a shirt somewhere.
Oh yeah Towa Bird merch.
I also played a lot of sports growing up, I played a lot of football or “soccer”. Then I was like, I could do that, you know, I could be a pro soccer player. So all really easy and attainable career paths. I chose either astronaut or pro-soccer player, just to set low standards.
What was it about Jimi Hendrix, and I know in other interviews you mentioned you are also inspired by Prince and Joan Jett. What about those artists really attracts you to this classic rock sound?
I think it's the way that how the electric guitar translates is almost as important as a vocal performance. I think that genre is pretty unique in that. You know, in the way when Hendrix plays his guitar, it's singing. As well as, you know, his voice singing. And I always enjoyed that. It's almost like there are two front people. The guitar and the voice. Because I'm a guitarist first, I really enjoyed the way that they mixed all of those elements into their music.
Do you think that we'll ever see a resurgence of like that long guitar solo in the rock scene?
If I'm being honest, no, I don't think so. I think at least in a mainstream sort of way. But I do want to be playing a 10 minute guitar solo and I think maybe, on a live stage, yeah, you can get away with it. With the way that music is going now, I think that songs are getting shorter, attention spans are getting shorter, so I think holding someone's attention for a really long time is getting really difficult and I don't think in a mainstream way it's gonna happen again.
Yeah. How do you feel about that transition?
Oh, I'm mourning it. I hate it. But also, it's also really fun to write guitar solos that are kind of quick and to the point. Like, you say your piece and then you're out.
Who are you listening to these days? Who do you think is gonna make the Spotify Wrapped this year?
Oh, gosh. I've been listening to a lot of LCD Sound System and Block Party. I listen to a lot of them this morning. But I've also been listening to people like Remy Wolf. I think she's really cool. my friend Holden Jaffe, his artist name is Del Water Gap. They're great.
We played in Charlotte together. Well, not together. But the way the venue was set up was like, there was like a smaller venue and then a bigger venue. So I played my set and Holden came over and watched me play and then we went back, played his set and then I came over and watched his set.
I've been, like, revisiting a lot of, like sixties classic rock, Simon and Garfunkel.
Always.
No always. Sad girl hours …
And the Kinks and some of their, like, slower cute songs. And The Beatles. Like, I know it's kind of annoying but I love them.
What was it like moving from the UK to LA and what do you think your biggest hurdle was like jumping into all this?
Kind of everything? But what's cool about it is that, that time is like now all documented in like this album because a huge part of the inspiration for this record is that transitional period. Of feeling completely isolated and alone in a new place. I had no friends, no house. I basically had to like, rebuild my life from, from the ground up. So, like going through all of those changes, writing all of this music. So trying to find any sort of comfort and security in a place where there's no comfort or no security. And you learn a lot about yourself and I also think being alone like that really gives you time to, like, introspect. I think artists need to be alone a little bit. Yeah let them cook up there. You know what I mean?
Yeah that's when the good stuff comes out.
Oh yeah when you’re real sad. But yeah, it was like one of the hardest time periods of my life for sure. I definitely was incredibly depressed and it was really, really hard honestly. But it's like every, it's like high risk, high reward. Everything that I've put into this building my community and building my life in LA was like, incredibly intentional, well thought through and now I have like the sickest group of friends and people who I can really, really lean on and I know have my back. And an amazing musician community, great collaborators, and just a really strong foundation. But yeah- it was really hard to be honest.
I mean, I can't imagine completely picking up your life and starting over is not easy for anyone.
Yeah not at all. And it's also like a massive cultural change. I’m not American, I didn't really grow up with anyone who was, so coming here and just like, even just like in the language, you know, I don't use any of my slang anymore. I speak very standard English. Which is fine, but the ways in which you communicate with people change and therefore you lose some stuff and kind of like scrap some of the things that you may say and maybe replace it with something else, so that you can actually properly connect with someone.
So your song, This Isn't Me is one of my favorites. I think it's just so real and vulnerable. And a lot of people kind of go through that feeling of oh I don't really belong here. When did that feeling really start for you?
Well, it was a lot like what I said earlier about just being in a space where I felt like a complete outsider. As well as transitioning into this country. I was also becoming an artist and growing, filling those boots. And going to these parties and these events where, you know, I didn't grow up in LA or New York, I grew up in Thailand. So I didn’t know anyone. I didn't really know any of the names to like the big fashion houses, I grew up out of touch from that world completely. So then going to like fucking fashion week and being put up in like this five star hotel and I’m wearing Saint Laurent, and it was just something I was never familiar with. And then going to these parties and being like, who the fuck am I to be here right now? Like I shouldn't be in this room. But then also, maybe I should be? So then it was the dilemma of self worth and insecurity but also strength and trying to find courage to do those things because I know they're cool and I wanted to be there but everything in my brain was just firing off.
I get that, it can be an intimidating environment. You said you grew up in Thailand, how does it feel like being able to represent both the Asian and the queer community in the rock scene?
Pretty slay.
Yeah it's like one of those things where it’s a double edged sword. Sometimes I do feel like a bit of a token, you know, I feel like I'm a box checking person. I'm queer. I'm Asian. I'm a woman. I'm an immigrant. I'm androgynous. Whatever words you want or labels you want to assign to me, it does feel a bit like a diversity thing which I know is super hot at the moment. Whereas, in my heart, I'm just Towa. And I just do my thing, I write my music about my life and yeah my music is about queerness and queer love, but it's also just love. But then on the flip side, if I can, if there's like a young queer kid, like in Hong Kong or like in South Korea or like in Japan who sees me and is like, oh shit they kind of look like me and they play guitar, I could be like her. That's really cool. And if that inspires anyone, even one person to some degree then, that's the best thing in the world and I've done my job. I think people see me as all of those things, all of those words that I said earlier but I don't feel like I'm that. I think I'm just me, just simply me.
Now that you’re getting more involved in the music industry and learning more about it, how do you really want to see the music industry change in the next few years?
I would love for there to be more space for more diverse artists. There still is a lot of nepotism happening. Happy for them, that's great, that's none of my business. But I think bringing in artists with different backgrounds and different upbringings and who come from different countries. It's not just UK and US anymore, let's bring in people who can bring in a different worldly view, a different perspective, rather than a rich kid from Orange County, you know. Yeah. I would love to see that and more space and more access to facilities for people from those kinds of backgrounds. And just more guitar solos, dude. Because I'm also seeing it a lot in live sets. For example, Doja Cat, in her live set, like she has these in insane gospel, R&B players and I'm hearing a lot of ripping guitar. It’s a really lovely translation to bring in these like insane instrumentalists into these songs whereas in the studio version it's just kind of a beat and a loop. So now taking it and expanding it into this real musician art form is really cool. I’m really enjoying that. There was a period maybe four or five years ago where artists were just doing a track with no live musicians with their band. So it’s nice to see that people are doing four or five piece bands again. Hire live musicians for your live music.
Agreed. That's how you bring in more talented people into the space, and give people a platform.
Yeah. Exactly. Because first of all, you're doing them a solid, but you're also doing the audience solid because that's so sick to watch a full band, right?
Yeah that's why you're paying for a performance.
Exactly. I can sit at home and listen to the fucking studio version all day. I want a live experience as a fan.
Okay so I want to talk about your debut album, American Hero. Can you tell me just a little bit more about the inspiration behind it?
Yeah so the transitional period from moving from the UK to the US was like an incredibly tumultuous and volatile time. I was leaning on songwriting a lot to get me through that time period, just as a form of expression and introspection. And then a lot of my relationship is in this album. The album serves sort of like two things. One is like an introduction to me. And the introduction is songs that are high energy and fun and a little punky. But then you also have this sort of like the back half of the album is like really, really vulnerable songs. Songs like This Isn’t Me, where I'm just really pouring my whole heart out and showing parts of myself that no one has ever seen before. So it's about going through that volatile time, leaning on my partner, and leaning on the people I know I can lean on and finding security in that.
Do you have a favorite track?
That's really difficult. It's gonna change as soon as I say it. But one of my favorite songs is called Mayflower. And I'm actually not going to say anything further about it, I want people to see for themselves.
Okay one last fun question. If you could perform with anybody living or dead, how would it be?
Well, I have to say Hendrix. I can't not. I've said his name so many times already. And then I think I'm gonna go for one of my friends, her name is Deb Never. Even though she's like one of my best friends, that'd be so fun. We literally have a matching tattoo and it's like, she's like a homeboy for sure. So I'm manifesting that here today. You know who would be sick? Mozart. Like rock and classical, why not? But he’d be like uh what is this…
I also have to say Radiohead. I could really go on and on but I’m gonna stop the list there.
I love that. Those are really solid choices.
