The LA-based artist discusses 'RACEDAY' and how it feels to have people sing her songs.
After hearing her cover of Hall and Oates's 1982 track, "Maneater," for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, we instantly fell in love with Grace Mitchell—so much so that we spoke with her about it a couple of years ago. Almost two years later, she's back with her new EP, RACEDAY, and "NOLO," which has been gaining heavy rotation. While on tour with St. Lucia, we caught up with Grace to learn more about her. Here are 10 Things You Should Know About Grace Mitchell.
She's Learning to Expect the Unexpected, Especially on Tour
Grace has only officially been touring since December 2015. New to the road game, she's been learning a lot while hopping from city to city.
"You just learn things as you go," she tells Myspace. "I think the biggest thing that I've learned is to relax and go with the flow. It's been really, really soothing to know that everything is aligned. And if you just show up on time, everything will go the way you planned it to, essentially. And anytime things don't go right because of a screw-up or malfunction, you just become a better performer and get through it."
She's Getting Used to People Singing Her Songs Back to Her
With only a small collection of music out there, Grace was taken aback by the fact that people actually know her songs. "More people now know the words to my material," she says. "It's been kind of interesting. I've never experienced that before. That's been cool to see for the first time."
She Opened for Vince Staples
"I think anywhere else it would be nerve-racking," she explains. "But since it was Vancouver, they were pretty receptive to my music even though I was opening for Vince Staples. Otherwise, it would have been nerve-racking beforehand because we had to cater to the audience, but it turned out to be a really good show."
She Would've Loved to Collaborate with Andy Warhol
"Andy Warhol would have been a cool guy to ask opinions on music and arts and culture," she reveals.
"NOLO" is About the Ups and Downs of Life
"The song is pretty much about being empowered, and that life is hard. But there's a yin and yang aspect [to life] that make you enjoy those parts," she divulges.
Even Though the Track Has a Heavy Aspect, the Video is All About Fun
The lyrics might mean something a little more serious; however, the video for "NOLO" shows Grace running around LA and just having a fun girls night out. "The video is about having fun and going out and dancing," she says. "We shot in different locations around where I live in Echo Park in Los Angeles. The video is just about a good vibe."
She Now Lives in LA but Will record in Portland
Despite recently moving to Los Angeles, Grace still has her studio in Portland, OR, where still plans to work on any new music.
She Covered Post Malone's "White Iverson"
Grace likes to experiment. So when she and her guitarist and DJ, Diego, wanted to put a cover together, they went for something unexpected—Post Malone's "White Iverson." "We both decided together that it would be kind of cool," she says. "It's an interesting choice and diverse. We decided to go with a more EDM type of track but still a mellow vibe."
She's Working on New Music
While RACEDAY is only a few months old, Grace is currently working on a new LP. "I'm in the process of working on a full-length album right now," she reveals. "I'll probably be releasing new music pretty soon here. I don't know any specific dates at the moment, but it's all a process."
If She Looks on the Bright Side of Things, She's Successful
Grace defines success as the moment "when you have the ability to recognize all the positives in your life despite all of the negative."