INTERVIEW : talker - "Intimidated"

INTERVIEW + VIDEO : talker

We had the chance to catch up with one of our favorite grunge darlings - talker. Riding on the success of her debut EP “Horror Films” which takes you on an introspective ride of angst and love with songs like “Collateral Damage” and “Changes.” She’s already made a name for herself and is in production on her sophomore EP.

We loved having her play Valley Doll Festival and are excited to share with you this stripped down version of “Intimidated” live from the fest. Stay tuned for a new EP from talker later this year.

You're working on your second EP, what should we expect?

Plenty of soul searching, existential crises, general melodramatic nonsense. Nah but really it's going to incorporate a lot more of the high energy I put into my live set - so if you've ever seen me live, you can expect this record to match up a bit better. The next evolution of the sound, so to speak.

Do you think hardships in your own life are worth the music that comes out of it?

I guess so! I've actually tried to stop thinking about it in that light. I don't necessarily think of any events or hardships in terms of being able to write about them - in fact, sometimes I'm not able to write about certain things. There are plenty of issues I'm still working through that maybe one day I'll turn into something. But honestly, the more I was thinking about turning hardships into music, the more disconnected I felt from myself and my own emotions.
There's definitely a middle ground - writing is hugely cathartic, plus it can help other people who are going through the same thing. That said, I'm trying to just be a human and if a song comes out of it, awesome. But that's not the end goal. And I think that makes the songs that do happen all the more special.

What was the first song/artist you felt emotional about?

Oh jeez, I have been a melodramatic POS for as long as I can remember. To be honest, it was probably something from peak U2, because my parents were/are really into them. I've always attached songs to certain events in a really strong way, and have always been nostalgic for things I haven't experienced. When I was like seven years old there was a U2 song that I associated with moving to London after a family vacation, and I always cried when I heard it because I felt like I was missing something in my life because I couldn't move there. At seven years old. I have a problem.

What’s your favorite part about what you do? What’s the worst part?

My favorite part is performing. Touring. Playing live music. Shockingly easy answer. The worst part is all the in betweens - it's easy to feel like you're losing momentum, someone else is doing better than you, someone else has more Instagram followers. It's all irrelevant and unimportant and yet sometimes that all feels more important and drastic than the music itself.

What’s your average songwriting process?

It's really across the board for me! I love co-writing, so if I'm collaborating with someone else the first draft of a song will usually be done in a day, and then I'll go through and edit the song and live with it for a while before deciding how to move forward.
But when I write by myself, it's usually in smaller chunks as I flesh out an idea. When you write alone, it's easy to be hyper-critical and edit every line as you go, which makes everything really slow. With other people you don't have that luxury so you're able to be less hard on yourself - which ironically often produces better work.
6. How do you handle mistakes during performances? Honestly just through practice. I used to draw attention to my mistakes by making faces, saying "oops" like an idiot, stuff like that. Now I just keep playing and I like to think it's not noticeable. But that's after years of performing and breaking that habit.

Why “talker”?

My last name is Tauchar - try to pronounce it. Then, try to remember how to spell it. Not so easy. I love my name and my family's backstory, so I wanted to pay homage to it, but I knew that keeping it as is would be a branding nightmare. So voila - talker.