The Comment Section with Drew Afualo - I CRY IN SITUATIONS Ft. Jensen McRae | Episode 158

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

Fellow Virgo twin Jensen McRae is here this week!! Drew and Jensen unpack the drama behind Jensen’s cutthroat college improv tryouts, how a Phoebe Bridgers parody song made her viral, Grammy Camp, fear of insects, their favorite comfort movies, being Ed Sheeran heads, and so much more.  Listen to Jensen’s new song “Praying For Your Downfall” out now everywhere! Jensen IG: https://www.instagram.com/jensenmcrae/ Jensen Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jensenmcrae?lang=en Follow The Comment Section on IG! https://www.instagram.com/thecommentsection/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

50-50 if my zippers up or down anymore. Take my pants off at home. They come off easy. I'm like, I thought it was four hours I was walking around. Netflix is a joke presents. Nate Bargatsy, Big Dumb Eyes World Tour, a special live taping at Into a Dome. I think it's because I'm peeing so much longer.

I watch young people come and go. I'm like, tell my family I'm okay. Nate Bargatsy, May 9th and 10. Live at Into A Dome. Get tickets at Netflix is a joke fest.com. Well, what I thought was I'm quitting music. That was really my thought was $3, $3.3 sweaty dollars for my troubles?

No thanks. You want to put them in my G string while you're at it? Get away from me. Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the comment section show. Sorry, me, your favorite. Everybody knows me. Who cares about me? On to the guest.

Today, we have the iconic, the legendary, the unbelievably talented, Jensen McCray. Woo! Thank you for having me, Drew. Oh, my gosh, it's an honor. Honor and a privilege. I'm so happy to have you. I'm like, I'm beyond excited to be here. like this is a little bit of a bucket list kind of a moment shut up i'm such a fan did you guys get that

like she got it on camera and the check will clear yes and it will clear and thank you for the plug i appreciate it i'm so excited to have you i've been a fan of you for a while we've been moots for a minute yeah you've been umph for a little bit yeah we've been each other's oomps for a while um and i discovered your music on ticot which i'm sure other people have too but i know there's a lot more to your lore So I would love, I actually have some fun facts about you, but we'll get into those in a little bit. Oh my gosh, is this Narduar? Did you get all the DECs? Yeah, I'm coming for his gig. I'm coming for his neck, Nard war.

I love him. He knows everything. I know, it's honestly kind of frightening. I know that's all I've made it is if I get the Nardware moment when he's telling me what I wore to my improv show in 2013. Right, right. I know that's why I said I got a little chill down my smile. I'm thinking about him looking into me.

But I'd love to hear more about your lure, how you got into music and kind of how you transitioned into the career you have today um i've like always been a musician i wanted to be a musician since i was really little and my parents stuck me in musical theater when i was a kid recovering theater kid i apologize um and it was really just like to get me out of my shell because i was which is like shocking now yeah that is shocking to hear i it's like my bit now whenever i like start singing to myself in public and people like oh my god you sing i'm like no i'm shy i'm a wallflower yeah i'm trying to be mysterious i when i was that's like an important part of my lord is being nine years old and like walking in the grocery store and like being like someone could be about to

discover me and I just start singing and it's so me and it's always Miley Cyrus Gianno. Oh, every time. What a banger. That's a good one. That was me so much like even walking around my elementary school campus, there's no talent scouts there. There's no talent scouts there. They're not coming for you there, girl. And I thought maybe I should just, just to be safe. I need to be singing all the time. So that was a big thing. I started piano lessons also when I was really young and I think Like every kid is stuck in them, but for me it really stuck. And I started writing songs through that. And I started writing songs for school all the time.

Like whenever we had like a creative assignment and I had the option to write a song, I just would. And I would basically hold my classmates hostage and like bring a full 88 key keyboard like into the room. Yeah, shy where? I'm not getting shy. It was and that was when it changed. It was the musical theater. I did Greece one time and I said spotlight on.

You said, my calling. I was like I found myself. I was doing the camp rock, the Disney needs. What's her name? Margaret Dupree when she saying, this is real. Yeah. Whatever. The star of like their talent show. Yes, the winner.

The true winner. The winner. Lights getting queen. Right. My girl. Wigged down. Mind you. Absolutely.

And we'll get to that. Right. But that was my thing. It was just like bringing in the keyboard and singing about like animal farm or whatever. Oh, kind of deep. Yeah. When I was in seventh grade, I remember. remember so clearly that it was also like, so we read Animal Farm, we had to do like a creative

assignment. I chose to write a song. It coincided with when I had to do the swim unit in PE. So my, my wig, not laid. My hair, not a good situation. And I was still like, I'm getting up in front of all of these people. Have to. And I'm going to sing this song about a pig doing propaganda. And how to go. And it did not go over well. I mean, the song's great. Turned my peers against me. Inevitably. They didn't like it. No. I had like a couple of shooters, who are still my friends now. haters well i had a couple people who were like really down for the cause and then everyone else was like when is she going to stop when is she going to stop bringing in that keyboard they said we got it

let me just say it that a that an 88 key keyboard cassio keyboard hated to see me coming bringing that into a little strapped to your back as a cartoon character damn you can't get next door i had the symbols oh you're just carrying that thing around like a gun you're like oh i'm so glad you asked I actually do have something. Like, why is she strapped? Why is she strapped with the keyboard? And so I was doing that forever. And then I did like talent shows where I would sing original songs,

not about books. We were reading for English class. Love. And then I went to Grammy Camp when I was 16, which is like, at the time, it was like a 10-day residential like overnight camp. Right. That's a fun fact we have about you on here. Segway?

Okay, Grammy Camp. It says for young music artists and she was in an improv group called the Scene Monkeys. Oh, that's a brutal one. That's actually so mean. Can we got that? It's actually so mean. And Nardward. Yeah.

No, the scene monkeys, wow, that takes me back. Yeah, I was that part of Grammy camp? No, no, no. That was my improv team in high school. Love. And I only did it because I was, I, so I did musical theater as a child. I stopped doing it when I was like 13, mostly for racial reasons. I just like wasn't getting parts.

Naturally. And I started to notice a theme as to who was. And I was like, let me take the hint and just stop. Right. And so, but I was friends with all the theater kids because they were all like the kids who were singing in the middle of the quad. and they were all like, you have to try out for improv. So I did, and then I was the only one who made the team, which of course was also a rift.

That was another, it was World War scene monkeys. Right. And so I did improv in high school. And then when I got to college, I tried to do it more, but I ended up getting cut from the college improv team. Damn, cold world. It was fine, though. Why are you in so many cutthroat situations?

I was like, damn, you compete in all your life. I literally caused my life I had to fight. All my life I've had to fight. I'm literally just. and I'm an eight mile with the hood up. But going into improv trials. Yeah. And college, mind you.

Yeah, my college improv trials. But that was, I made a lot of friends through that. But the college improv thing, I went to USC for music school, fight on. I try, I try. And the way that the improv tryouts worked for that, the team was called Comutus Interruptus. And they, like, they spawned like a bunch of like SNL cast members and amazing, like, comedy writers and stuff. Yeah. And the tryouts were like this big mass audition.

Everyone goes up and just like does improv. For the improv group? Yeah, and then it was very, very desirable. And then if you made it past the, there was like a first round of auditions, and then there were callbacks where they picked like six people to be like on the team like on probation kind of. Okay.

And twice a week you would go into like a gym at school and like do improv for you. You would be tap dancing for your life, basically. Why are they running it like an NFL team? They're like, this is the practice squad right here. We're going to workshop you. We'll see if you get out of preseason, you know. Like, why are they running it though?

I think they were trying to see, Honestly, if your first audition was a fluke. And in my case, it was. My first audition, I killed it. And then the whole workshop, I was kind of bad. What you do for your audition? Do you remember? I do.

I don't remember exactly what it was. But I remember that I was doing like a voice, like a southern kind of voice. And I was talking about gaiters. Wow. And I remember that that got big, when I brought up the gaiters, that got big laughs. And then I, the whole rest of the time I was in the workshop, I just couldn't replicate that magic. And I did get cut.

But it was fine because it was like, it was twice a week from like 10 p.m. to midnight after I would have all my rehearsals. for my music school. Well, damn. What are you preparing for the Coast Guard? Like, why are you practicing so goddamn late? What's going on in the improv scene? I feel so uneducated.

I feel ignorant as fuck. I did not know it was that serious. I don't think it's that serious in most cases. Like, maybe that was a me thing. I think it was a little, I think it was a little bit extra. I honestly, a little, yeah. I don't think that they were doing. And also, there were other improv troops on campus that weren't doing it like that.

Right. They had work-life balance. But they weren't like the one, the group. Well, there was, so there was that, Comunus was the short form. I can't believe how much I'm talking about improv. I love it. And when you see Caleb tomorrow, bring it up.

Because he's an improv nerd too. He loves improv. It's like they're like the trouble tones. Oh my God, true. Right. Like there's other a cappella groups, but there's only one treble tone. This is kind of the truth. So Camasas was the short form and then there was a long form team.

They were called Second Nature. So they did like the long scenes. They did like a herald, I think is called. And so it would be like a really, really long scene that kind of started off kind of straight. They played a kind of straight. and then the comedy would come from just kind of sticking around and waiting it out. And that was when my best friend was on. So I would go watch him.

After I got cut for my team, I would just go watch him and lick my wounds. After I didn't make it to Hollywood like in American Idol. I did not get a golden ticket. They're like, you're going to Hollywood. Make it to the lives and the voice. That's crazy. But I do think that is important to, I do think that's important to my lore that I did improv derogatory. Well, obviously, I mean, you're a performer at heart.

That's really what you are, an artist. I live to, I love to perform. Don't make me sing. kind of energy. A good dance. That's one of me and my family's favorite SNL skits. It's a good bit.

Yeah. That's one of my favorite. We reference that skit all the time. And I feel like you're also a performer. You're an entertainer. And like I feel like anyone who's like constantly on like that you go to a party. And your energy is like you're always like a stone's throw from don't make me saying. Right.

Right. It's like don't look at me but also like I love to pull focus. And I know my angles and I know where my camera is. Exactly. And then that being said, I do love being the center of attention. that being said. So is that when you when you kind of pivoted away from improv, is that when you kind of lean just solely into music or? Yeah, I mean, I always knew it was music. Like there was never, I knew I never had like a future in comedy. Although it is, I think it was, I don't know if it was

Caleb that said this, but someone said like that all musicians wish they were comedians and all comedians wish they were musicians. That's actually so, I feel so red. And it rings really true. That's so true. I wish I was a musician all the time. And every time I'm on stage doing like my banter in between songs, it's me kind of like testing it waters a little bit. I'm like, could I do a tie five? No. I did not know that about you. I knew you were funny. I obviously, every smart woman I know is hilarious. This is true. And every smart man I know is, you know, a curse. There's a few men. I feel like a funny man is kind of like a handsome man. It's like when they get it right, it's really right. Yeah. And a lot of the times it's just not that right. Right. Right. Like

when it hits, it hits good. Yeah. Because it's so rare. I was just, I just had Sabrina Breyer on the show and we were talking about men who want to go into comedy. Like, and I always say like, if you just get if you give them one little laugh whether it's like through the nose or like an outright guffaw they're immediately going to be like I should pivot to comedy and also any man who's ever like sang a song if you're like oh your voice like they're like okay that's my future now I'm quitting my day job and I am Bob Dylan and I am I was like I was gonna say do you get mansplained a lot about music by men um or to have you historically sure I mean there's definitely been I remember one time I was on a dating app and I like had a picture me playing guitar and a guy message me and he's

like do you actually know how to play guitar? And I was like, yeah. Like I, why would like why would like why like unlike men, women are not posting with guitars to pull on dating. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't work. Yeah. That's not really how that works. That that reminds me I got a comment that was like when women make men laugh, make anyone laugh, they, they think to themselves, oh, I love making people laugh. When men make people laugh, they're like, I should, I deserve to be famous for this. Yeah. That's why I feel they think about music. Like yeah. Women do it for the love of the game and they're like, I just love it. I just feel good. It makes me feel good.

And then men do it, get one viral video and they're like, well, obviously I'm famous. It's really wild. I saw a guy, and I won't name names, but a guy wasn't even a musician, but a guy who just works in the music industry. He posted a video about like giving advice, unsolicited. And it went, I don't even know if I want to say viral. It got some attention. And then then proceeded to make a string of videos talking about, it's really easy to go viral. I do it.

Why can't you do it? And I'm like really, I need you to really look in the mirror. No, for real. I need you to do a moment of self-reflection. That's how I feel when men tell me I'm not funny, I'm like, well, if we were to check tape, one of us is clearly funny. One of us is getting paid for it. One of us has quite a few, like, licks under my belt.

I don't know if we want to check tape, we can if you'd like to. And in your words, one of us is working at AutoZone. Right, right, right, right, right, right, right. I was like, no, for sure. I take that kind of commentary very seriously. Not. Like, I'm like, no, I'm not listening to an unfunny bitch. tell me how to be funny.

I'll say I did find you. I think the first video I ever saw of your music was your song about, Boston. Oh my God. Yeah, that was the first one I ever saw of you. And then I was like, okay, T, period. And I commented on it. And then I went and saw you followed me, and I was like, and period.

Followed back. Immediately. I said, douche, right? Followed Jensen McCrake. Thorhammer. Yeah. I'd love to know when you felt like it was actually turning into like, oh my God, I could like really make money off music and keep doing.

for a living kind of the first thing that happened that was like a big like break for me I guess was at the beginning of my senior year of college that my manager who's here my managers are here um but one of my managers just like found me on instagram and just like booked me for a show and was like do you want to play this random show in west hollywood and i was like yeah sure and she's like you have to bring like 20 to 25 people and i was like babe i can't do that i don't have a draw i have my draw is none she's like can you bring three people and i was like i bet i can scrow and i can scrow up some well because i was like i can bring my mom i can bring my little brother and i can bring one friend from school. That's easy. Right. And so my mom came. My little brother had homework. He was in high

school. Couldn't go. And then none of my friends from school came. So I brought just my mom. And you said you asked for three. Brought you one. I brought one. And I played my heart out, mind you. Played my heart out. And then as it was over as I'm walking out the door, the guy at the door stops me. He's like, wait, I have to give you your money. And I was like, I didn't know I was getting paid for the show. And he's like, you get paid based on how many people you brought. And I was like, oh, no. And he gave me $3. Right. And you said this woman is worth so much more than that misogy. And I, well, I was just. And I was just. And I was just. This is misogyny. I'm witnessing it live.

Well, what I thought was I'm quitting music. That was really my thought was $3, $3 sweaty bills for my troubles. No thanks. You want to put them in my G string while you're at it? Get away for me. I left that venue. My mom drove me home and I was like, I think I'm done trying to be an artist. I can't do it anymore.

But of course, my future manager was like, can I send some of your music to a friend of mine who's a producer? And that ended up kind of being the beginning of the end, frankly. They're stuck with me now. But I went, I had a meeting with him and we had some sessions. And the first session that I ever had with him, I wrote a song called Adams Ribs. And then the second session, I wrote a song called Starting to Get to You. Both those songs ended up in my first album. And the third session that I had, my manager was there.

And then my producer's manager was also there. And they were like, we would like to make an album with you and for you to be a pop star now. And I was like, I don't have plans after graduation. It sounds perfect. You're oh my God, great because I'm unemployed. This is great. It was the fall of my senior year of college. And I had just started talking to one of my professors about getting an internship because I was like,

I don't have like a job lined up or anything. Like I feel like I need to figure out. kind of what's next. But you majored in music. Yeah, I majored in pop music with an emphasis in songwriting. Love. And so that was like the first cool thing that happened. And then I ended up signing to a label like right after I graduated. But like the first like really big like my first viral moment was in January of 2021, I went viral on Twitter for writing a Phoebe Bridgers parody. Love. That is also a fun fact on here too. It says her song immune was inspired by a joke she made on Twitter about Phoebe Bridgers writing a song about this. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein. The

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Right. And you know how like back, back when Twitter was, was banging. Every single tweet that went well, someone would link under check out my sound cloud. Right. And I was like, I need to do the Jensen McCrae equivalent of that. So I was like, let me just write this song. So I wrote it, I posted it and then it ended up trending, which was like completely baffling.

Like Twitter was already kind of on the way out a little bit at that point. Yeah. So to go viral in 2021 for a, for a song that I wrote was like completely shocking. But that was like, I kind of mark my careers like before and after that because it was all these amazing people that I really admired were reaching out and telling me that they liked it. And my following grew a lot. And it was like the first time that I ever felt like a lot of eyes on me. And it was every viral experience since has been like much less overwhelming.

I don't know if like you got scared the first time you went viral. But for me, I was definitely like, why are you looking? There's like two million people are looking at me? Like that SpongeBob thing with Patrick and he sees the eyes coming out of the rock. Who are you people? Yeah, you come back and what the hell? I literally was completely baffled. but that was there was a good like test run for future times going around including for massachusetts

which like when that happened a couple years later it was much less intimidating um well that's good then especially drug running it on twitter because twitter is real when you go viral there it could go either way and i was in i was kind of waiting for the shoe to drop honestly like the whole time i was like one of the negative comments going to start rolling in when are people going to try to docks me when's the racism and the misogyny going to come in and it just didn't happen miraculously like i got so lucky. Um, and now like it wasn't until recently that I actually started getting any kind of negative comments on my videos. Yeah, I was going to ask you about hate and ask you how, how that goes for you on any platform really. I, for the most part, I don't get a lot of hate. That's good. Which I don't really know.

I love to hear that. Every guess I have I ask, they tell me that. I'm like, that's so great. That's so cute. Hold on to that. Hold on to that. But I did get my first, I had my first kind of hate moment when I did, um, I did like a paid promotion for a company. And, um, I made the video for them. they posted it it got you know whatever like 10,000 views on TikTok or something normal small amount yeah and then they decided to push it and do promo right and when that happened I like open the app and I just saw like all these comments on like this one video and I was like that's weird that I'm getting comments on this video that I posted like a month ago right and I at first I couldn't even really like parse what they were saying so it was all this like it was just like all these like

disgusting sexual comments because I was wearing like a low cut shirt in the video which is like my favorite shirt that I don't wear anymore and um it was all these comments and I like could and even tell what they were saying because I never but then I started to realize like oh I've seen these comments on other girls videos before yeah oh I know what that means yeah and it was like it was like probably like a couple of hundred and I had never had that and it was in like something like a space of an hour yeah yeah all men no profile picture men ruin everything they literally everything they touch turns to fucking bullshit like everything fortunately the company was so great about it they're like you can turn off the comments we're so sorry they sent me flowers

to apologize they were great but it was just like that was the first time I ever felt like really like a lot of hostility right like I was like like why are you are you guys okay like on this ad i'm talking about like i was just talking about like music streaming like they're like like the stuff i mean i won't even repeat it it was so gross yeah it was great you know what's funny is recently i was talking to my fiancee about this but i was telling him my hate is like i fucking hate you fat ugly bitch which i'm like i'm cool with like that's fine you can volley that at me all day every day i prefer that whenever i would get that kind of attention or hate which is rare rare that meant ever objectify me rare because they hate me

But like when they do come up and they objectify me, I've like seen a couple videos of men making videos about me that are supposed to be compliments, but they're not. They're just, they're objectifying me. I literally was telling my fiance the other day. I was like, I'd rather get hate.

It's lowly worse. Like I'd rather you'd like you tweet me my address. I'd rather you fucking do that shit than then talk about my tits. I'll kill you. In fact, give me your address. I'm going to come and I'm going to come and take care of it. That's like it,

that kind of attention incites something in me that I, have tried to bury for a very long time. It's just there's something so weird about like, because you know that it's coming. Like you're like, I'm a woman on the internet. I know it's possible at any moment and I see it happening to other women every day. Right. But there's something about when it's really turned on you, like, you just, I feel like I forget sometimes that that's even possible because like I'm moving through life.

I'm having a good time. Like, I don't know, like I don't even really get cack called that much anymore. Like I feel like I've been able to, I haven't had to deal with sexual harassment for the most part in my day to day life recently for whatever reason, very fortunate. And so then have it kind of come back around. I was like, oh man, I'm going to have to think about this for a while. I forgot I had a body. I was like, I'm a brain in a jar.

I'm a head floating around singing my songs. And then I look down and I'm like, oh, right. Like men are going to see this and they're going to have opinions about it. Foul. Yeah. Yeah. A bunch of talk about unsolicited commentary. So, so bad.

Well, that's good. I'm glad. I'm glad that being said that it's minimal. Yeah, it's pretty rare. I'm glad to hear that. I have really great fans and like great people like following me and like, Most of my interactions with people, especially in real life, are so great. Like, I've, knock on wood, knock on whatever.

I have never had a bad, like, IRL fan experience. Everyone that's come up to me has been so respectful, so kind. Like, I'm so lucky to have the fans that I have. They're, like, in my YouTube comments doing, like, five paragraph essays, MLA format. Like, they're all nerds and I love them. I love it. I love it. That's so sweet.

I think that's so wonderful. And I would love to know, obviously, on here, which I already knew, another fun fact, that you've opened for Amuna and Noah Khan on tour. My people. But I would love to. to know how that came about and how that was for you, the experience. I think the Moona thing, they also went to USC. So they were there like, right. One of them, I think Josette was a senior when I was a freshman and Katie and Naomi graduated the year before got there. Yeah, because all three of them are

100 years old. They're all, they're all 49 BC. They're gen X for sure they are. Yes, absolutely. And in their, in their old age, in their common lessons, they passed a lot of wisdom to me. Yes. But I think that was kind of part of it. So like I've been, the first time I ever met them was when I was a freshman. I played in Femmfest, which is like the U.S.C. Feminist Music Festival. And they were the headliners. At that point, their big claim to fame, I think, was that they'd been in a BuzzFeed listicle. That was how I found them. I was like, wait, they went to my school and they're on BuzzFeed. It's 2016. They're famous. That's fame. Busfeed was that girl. Yeah. I love, but I wanted to be a millennial so

bad. Right. I wanted to be a millennial so 19. Okay. I graduated to 2017. I'm like, and I will claim my Gen Z status. Right. Because I'm like, right there. I'm with with my old claws you are i'm like i'm on the cusp of millennial so i'm still millennial but i wanted to be millennial so bad because of buzzfeed because they were making it look so cool right and they claimed muna pretty early and so that was how i found out about them and then i continued to follow them continued to be like truly the number one fan every time they played at la i was there they're so fantastic and then when they announced at the beginning of 2022 that they're putting out their third album i just immediately messaged my agent i was like this you're making this happen i'm getting on this

tour manifest manifest manifest he needs to happen i love that and um yeah i was very fortunate to get to be a part of it. And then like the third or fourth show, I think we were backstage and Jose came up to me and was like, hey, do you want to sing Phoebe's verse on Silkshfan? And I was like, oh, I've been preparing my whole life for this actually. I'm so glad you asked. And they were like, do you know the words? And I was like, do I know the words to Silk Chafon? I think I could like scrape up something and figure it out. I didn't play it cool at all. I was like, I've been singing this song every minute of my life since it came out. Boy, can I? And but of course the first time I sang it, I was standing still like arms locked, knees locked, like terrified.

And then by the last time I sang it with them, because I think I sang it with the band like maybe six or seven times on that tour by the end. And by the last time I was loose, I was having a good time on stage. But the first time I was like absolutely just a wooden doll. I could not move my limbs. It was so special. And then I was just like a month ago, I was at Brandy Carlyle's music festival in Mexico. And they were also playing. And they had me come up again.

And I was like, it was like riding a bike, getting back up there with my boys. I literally, literally was, I was like, we needed this. We needed this so bad. But yeah, that was great. And then with Noah, he and I, similar, like, similar, we just like met through TikTok, I think. I actually, I heard him for the first time when I was in college. Because he had a song with Julia Michaels in, like, 2019. Love her. And that song Slays. And then I found more of his music kind of sporadically after that. And then I think when Stix season, like very first went viral on TikTok, that was when we started following each other.

A love. And he, so he announced his tour, I think, in like, fall of 20s. 23 and I DMed him. We deemed a little bit at that point. And I was like, hey, like, just you know, like, I'm so excited about this tour, if you need any opener. Like, even for just the LA show, like, I would love to be a part of it. And even if I can't be a part of it, I'm so sad. Like, just let me know. No response. And I was like, word, word, word, word, word. And then like a few months later, he swiped up on my story, like, of, like, I had posted my brother in the studio or something. And he swiped up. And I was like, oh, he's killing. And I was

like, so you did see my message. Yeah, I'll love you. Hey, no. Well, I know. Well, I have you for a second. Mr. Mr. Kahn. Any, but again, but I, I'm like, I'm very laid back when it comes, like, asking for your your stuff. And you know what's funny is I know you're a Virgo based off this. And that's the truth. Yeah. And that's the truth. Yeah. I like, I don't want to push it ever. Like, if it's meant to be, it'll be. Yes. And like, I was talking to someone like another person who had like, who's grown a following because of TikTok and stuff. And they, they had some collabs coming out. And I was like, how did you get that collab? Like, oh, I just message them like immediately.

Right. Like, as soon as they followed me, I messaged them asking to collab. And I was like, I could never in a million years. Like, I'd be so embarrassed. Right. So we even just sending that message. I was so stressed. And then when he didn't respond, I was like, oh, I completely like, I ruined this. He hates me. And then like a week after that, my manager's like, by the way, you're opening for Noah Khan. And I was like, okay, so I didn't. I didn't ruin everything. Yeah. So he does love me. He does in fact still love me. That's still Bastian. And I mean, that was like life changing. So exhilarating. When we were in, the first leg of the tour that I did with him was in Canada and we were playing arenas.

And I never played an arena before. So that was like the most walking out during sound check and seeing a room that's going to hold 20,000 people. I was like, this isn't real. Right. This is not real. This is a hallucination. I know. This is don't worry, darling, and I'm hallucinating.

Like, I can't believe that this happening. I don't be pissed if someone rips me out of the simulation. No one take, no one wake me up. No one pinch me up. And it was just like, it was so incredible. His entire team is so nice. Like every single member of his crew, like every member of his band and his crew, like, unbelievably kind people and like so welcoming and like he's so down to earth.

Like he just seems like, I mean, he is just like a normal, normal ass man. Like he is not, he has no ego. go like no agenda like literally just wants to make great music and is so good at it. I love that. Yeah. I was going to ask about touring. How do you like touring? It's a mixed bag.

Yeah. Because the travel is, I mean, you do a lot of traveling. It's punishing when you're on planes all the time. Oh yeah. I frequently talk shit on tour. And I'm just going up there and being a dickhead. Like I'm not, I'm not performing like you. I'm not exerting nearly as many muscles.

And I'm like, oh. Yeah. Like the hour, hour and a half you're on stage is incredible. And then you're like, and now I'm back to the Hampton Garden in. or whatever I am. The Hilton. Oh, I knew what Hilton hated to see me coming in the tour. And you know what?

Sometimes there's something. Sometimes they're an oasis. Sometimes it's manna in the desert. When you see that, especially when it's like the home two, the apartment style. Right. Exactly.

When you have the little kitchenette. Me and a home two go together. Bad. I love a home two. That's so funny. I literally told people I was like, I feel like I'm living on the run. I'm constantly,

yeah, I'm constantly packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking. And I'm, and, and, and I wake up in different cities every morning. I've heard too many horror stories of people being on stage. I'm, hello Dallas. Like, you're in Portland. So I'm just like,

I will just, I write the tour. I write the place that I'm in on the top of my set list a lot of time. Oh, that's good. So you can reference it. Yeah. Yeah.

I have one song, it's not like out like formally, but I did like a visual EP that I put on YouTube a couple years ago. And the first line of the first song is waiting for you in New Orleans. And so when I'm in a city where like the syllables match up, I'll change it to like be. So like when I was in Toronto, like,

waiting for you in Toronto. And everyone's like, oh my God, she's in Toronto. Like, that's where we're at now. That's where we are. The Leonardo DiCaprio thing. That's the title of the movie. Yeah, exactly. I know when we were going out, because my sister and I were doing a tour together, like, when we would go on stage, I'd be like, where are we again?

Yeah. You have to be like, okay, gut check moment. Right, right, right, right, right. Just like, recentering. Yeah, it's hard, especially because, like, on the NOAA tour in particular, we were in Canada the whole time. And, like, in the, I know most of the U.S. cities, not to flex. I know a lot of them, but Canadian cities, I'm. not as locked in on. So I was definitely like, am I in Saskatoon or am I in Calgary? Like I didn't,

I did not also. And they have a bunch of crazy names. It was also so cold everywhere. Like it was everything was just covered in snow because we were there in like the end of winter, beginning of spring. And so it was like, there were no landmarks. Like I was just like, I really had to just check the notes so that I would not say the wrong place. People, someone asked me like in a live the other day. Like, what was your favorite city? I'm like all of there are all, all the shows are so good. Right. All the, it's very rare that there's like a crowd that I'm like, oh, that was a bad crowd. Like usually. That's true. There's definitely cities where I'm like the weather was bad that day or I just wasn't feeling myself that day.

But the shows themselves, like for the most part, the crowds are so, especially I hate to say it in cities outside of LA. Because I'm an L.A. girl. L. L. is my hometown. I love it so much. I will ride for it forever. But I will accept the criticism that playing to L.A. crowds is tough. Yeah. T. That's T. Yeah. Also, too, when you go, like my manager was a tour manager for a really long time. So, like, he's taught me a lot about tour. And even he's told me when he was like setting up tours, he was like outside of L.A. or like new. York, they're really grateful. Like if you go to smaller cities because no one ever goes there.

Yes. So like when I was in Ohio, they're turning up. They're turning up. All the bitches in Ohio were too. Exactly. Because they were like, no fucking way you're coming to Ohio. So they're like, I think that's what you're talking about. It's like people in LA. Like my manager said they're spoiled. So they're used to having everybody come and do shows. So when you go to like those smaller ones, sometimes is like the best crowds. It's really, really special to go to a place where like people aren't going a lot or like, it's my first time being there. I have fans who like,

I may have been listening to me for a while and like this is their first opportunity to see me play. Like, that's always really, really awesome. And like, I still do love playing in LA though, because I'm a glutton for punishment. I'm like, I'm gonna win them over. It's like a man that one's like me back.

I'm like, it's okay, that's fine. No, I'll just, I'll just come to you. It's a toxic relationship. It is and I'm never leaving. I'm never like, that's my wife. LA is my wife. I love her so much. What would you say was your most memorable moments

on the Noa Con tour? Honestly, the first show in Vancouver was, it was like, couple months before I put Massachusetts out. And it was my first time playing it on tour with a band because I played it solo, I think maybe once or twice before that somewhere. All that people had was the snippet of the song. But as soon as I started playing it, people put their phone lights up.

And it was like, it was also the last song in my set. Like when I started playing, the venue's pretty full. By the end of my set, everyone knows Noah's about to come out. So the venue's now basically at capacity. Yeah. And so the entire arena, like 19,000 people has their phone lights up for a song that I haven't even put out. Yeah.

And that I definitely started crying. Be getting butterflies. No, I'll be listening to you. You're why. Imagine. It's an imagine. Right. For real, me putting myself in your shoes.

So I, but that was like, it was definitely like a, it was a pinch me moment. And like I'd had love that. Fans sing lyrics back to me before like at my shows, like at smaller shows, but seeing that many flashlights up. Like, because I can't see anyone's face. Like it's all darkness and just like the, the flares. And it's, it was really, really incredible. And that was like, I might have teared up on stage other times as well.

But that was, that was the very first night. And the one I was most scared for. And so like having being able to end that set, which by the way, kind of a rocky set. I had been sick the week before. And so we didn't get to do like our final tour rehearsals. So I went in ice cold. Like having not played the set in like a week. And also like again, in front of 20,000 people for the biggest crowd I've ever played for in my life.

And also my voice still not at 100%. And I'm just like, this is you being a Virgo because you're over criticizing yourself. Oh yeah. You're like, by the way, not my strongest set. Here's why. I'll go down the list. My manager is like I will literally come off stage and they'll be like, great show. Like how do you feel?

And I'm like, well, I was pitchy. and like the third measure of this one. And they're like, that's not what we meant. That's not all what we meant. No, I said great show. I don't think you heard me. I said great show. But that's why you're going to keep rising because you're a perfectionist.

Like that's the mark of a Virgo is perfectionism. Yeah, I'm like, yeah, it was not right. But I'm like, ah, not my best. But you know, you keep striving. You keep rising. What would you say it would surprise people about performing live? Like either a part that's more difficult than it may seem or maybe more interesting? I mean, I don't know if this would be surprising,

but when you start playing in front of larger crowds, like, I feel like it's become more of a thing of having, like, medical stuff in the crowds. And, like, that's definitely one of the hardest things to know how to handle, I would say, is like, especially at the Noah shows, because those were huge audiences. And, like, you don't ever want to be, like, an artist who's, like, oblivious and doesn't notice the people that are suffering in the crowd.

But you also don't want to be a person who's, like, stopping the show, like, every five seconds because, like, someone looks like they might be having a problem. Like, you have to be able to, like, kind of discern, like, do I need to stop? Does someone need attention? are they handling it? Because sometimes there's a commotion

and they're handling it themselves. So definitely one of the hardest things is like knowing like what you're, and like one time, the only time I've ever had to like stop a song fully because usually when I would see something like that happen I would like finish a song and then as soon as I was done I'd be like, hey, do you guys need help over here?

Yeah. But there was one show. I think he was maybe the second show in Denver or in Berkeley or something over the summer and someone had an issue during Massachusetts like in the middle of the song. And again, it's my last song that. So I stopped playing, got attention,

got like medical attention over there or whatever. And then I was like I was on the fence about like what I was supposed to do and I like turned to my band is just my brother and my best friend. That's the whole crew and I turned to them like what am supposed to do? And then the crowd was like start over. Everyone started starting like do it. Just start over and do it again. And I really was like, just start over again. And I really was like so I didn't finish my song. Sorry. Sorry. Anyways, as I was. And so I really didn't want to do it. Because I thought that that was like, I thought that was offensive. But then everyone in the crowd was like start over again again. So I did it one more time. And and then I fit and then I was done. I hate. to keep bringing it back to you being a Virgo, but once again, you're, you're literally mothering from the stage. That's crazy. And I'm a cancer rising, so it's like, I'm a cancer moon. Oh my God. What's your moon? Uh, Sagittarius. I'm a Sagittarius rising. Jensen, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, chills. I just pooped in my pants a little bit. Sorry. Virgo Sagittarius cancer, undefed. I'm telling you, that's two pretty best friends right here. That's, it's, it's too Virgo Sagittarius cancers telling each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Shit, that's crazy.

Oh my God. A good combo. Yeah. Hell yeah. Us just jerking each other off. It was just like two beautiful girls with beautiful long hair. That's why we're beautiful. That's why we're successful, clearly.

That's why we're tall. That's right tall. Jensen's tall as fuck. Girl, how tall are you? I'm 5'10. Okay. I'm 6 feet. Period.

My brothers like to tell me I'm 6 feet because they're both, I think one of them's like six two and one, six three, but they like to goose it. They like to add in a couple inches. They're like, no, you're like six feet. We're like six feet. We're like six four, six five. And I'm like, that's not true. They're like, well, because clearly you're 60, so obviously I have to be six.

And I'm like, don't put that on me. Don't put your issues on me. Also, stop lying. Six two is a great height. Why are you adding more? Like for those inches. I remember like they're both in relationships now, but when they're on dating apps, they would be like putting six four in their day.

I'm like, who are you lying to? It's not necessary. You already, you're a big boy. So you're coming out the gate a liar. You're a tall black king. Like just love yourself. That's crazy, bro. That's funny.

My dad, my dad is 66. My mom is 5.3. Oh my. So my older sister's 5'4. I'm six feet. My brother's like six one, six two maybe. When I was in high school though, I was like when I was 14, I was five, nine. Yep. Five nine, five, ten. Yep. So big as fuck, really. And I felt like my mom, anytime they'd be like, how tall are you? Which I got all the time. My mom would be like, oh, she's like six two. Hey, hey, hey, mom. Not too much. Hey, mom, not too much on me, okay. Yeah. And I'd be like, nine, five, six. Right? Because I just

hated being tall when I was younger. A doctor told me that I was going to be five, six. And I was sad. I, like, cried in the doctor's office. My mom was like, no, she's wrong. You're going to be taller than that. That's so funny. A doctor told me I was going to stop growing when I was a freshman in high school.

And I was like, do you promise? Do you promise? I'm bigger than everybody. Doctor, please. Did you play sports? Yeah. See, I didn't do any sports. I was a disappointment to all those coaches.

They looked at me with stars in their eyes and I said, not today. I'll tell you what. I didn't play any tall people's sports. Okay. So, like, the ones you were. would assume like basketball volleyball nope i played soccer you were just the tallest girl on the girl i was the biggest bitch alive you were like hey assistant coaches not a lot on the field i said i'm 14 too um so sorry about that oh were they birth certificate in you yes all the time oh my god because i

played travel balls so my mom would have to carry my birth certificate everywhere because they never believed i love that my little brother so he was so he like i said he's like six three but he played both my brothers were athletes and he always played with guys that were bigger like one of his friends on his high school team was six 10 damn big what they play uh basketball oh nice yeah yeah yeah They're like, you know, remember. I was like, no, I was like, did I have my brain just shut down? They, yeah, I think it was, those guys I know, pretty sure with my brothers and I'm pretty really bad.

I think I was there. But it was, those, those big kids, they really got, they had a tough run of it because it was always people, especially when they were like, in middle school that like the parents were coming out from the opposing teams. Like, there's no way. There's no way. Yeah. Yeah.

Exactly. When I was in middle school, I went one year, I was five, four, which is already ominous for a 10 year old. Extremely sin. And when I, like in a year, I grew four inches, so I was five, eight. Did you have the knee thing, the Osgood Schlaughter? What's, sorry? There's like, it's called Osgood Schlaugher.

Look it up. There's this thing where when you grow really fast, you have like, just like a lot of knee pain. It's like a disorder that you can have. Both my brothers had it because they both were like six inches in a summer. And it was like, your just knees are just messed up. Damn. No, I did. I grew four inches in a year, which is still scary as fuck.

Like, that's a little frightening. Like, I came back. date. Like they like came back to school and they were like, oh, built different. Who the hell is that? And like, I was thinking about that the other day. Because like, so both my brothers, I think were a size 13 shoe, which is like the biggest size you can get in a normal store. And like, I was just remembering when they were kids like every year, their basketball shoes becoming worthless because their feet grew. Yeah, there's no point. That's crazy when you're a kid. Like, you just wake up one day. You can't wear any of your old clothes. Like, can you imagine if as an adult one day you just woke up, your feet were bigger. You think you'd go to the hospital. Yeah. But that's just normal when you're like 13. Just start cashing in. I'm already. I'm already. I'm already able to do this.

I've already got the clownery. I know my man is 6'4, so he, he's a size 13 shoe. And then my dad is a size 14. So like anytime I buy shoes, if I shop for shoes in the store, I say, do you have any 13s or 14s that are not basketball shoes? And do they ever? No, if they do, they're like, oh, I have like two. And then they'll show them to me and I'm like, those are ugly.

Never mind. Thank you, though. Thank you though. I appreciate it. that's the next business venture. Right. You and I. Yeah. We open big, big body, big money. Yeah, big body, big money. There's a market for it. Just all about the laugh. I love, I think that's beautiful, though, that you play music with your brothers. Both of them are just one. Just the little one. My older brother, unfortunately, cannot sing or play instruments. He's not a loser. Not a lot. I can't do it either. It's funny because

he's literally the smartest person in the entire world. Like, he went to Harvard undergrad Stanford law. Like, just literally like beautiful mind genius. Right. And. Not to say that me and my little brother also not smart. My little brother actually had the highest GPA of all of us and he'd want me to mention it. So you're welcome. But we, yeah, me and my little brother became, we were both musical from a early age. My little brother actually, he also, so he played basketball because our older brother did. He did music because I did.

Like very typical youngest child, like just copying what the older siblings were doing. And better than both of us at it. But yeah, it's really fun having my little brother on the road with me. Like, when I first started touring, I played solo. And it was, you know, it got isolating, like being on stage by yourself. like night after night. And like now that I have my brother and my best friend up there with me, like I look to my left and my right and like they're just, they're usually laughing. Like we're all holding in laughter as some inside joke that's like, no, that's so great. Like one of the funniest

performances we ever had was on the NOAA tour. We were in Wheatland, California, which is, I guess, Sacramento basically. It was 114 degrees. Nice. Love it. And so we were all wearing our sunglasses on stage, which I've never done before. I was like, that's so corny. You can't wear sunglasses. I was like, I can't see. So that's going to be necessary. And, Midway through the set, I start noticing bugs, like little tiny bugs kind of flying around. And I hope none of these fly in my mouth while I'm singing. Yeah. And my little brother, by the way, deathly afraid of bugs.

His biggest thing. He hates bugs. He only now is like starting to be able to kill them when he sees them like in the house. But terrified of bugs. A ladybug lands on him once he's creamed. I'm me with butterflies, to be honest. No way. You're scared of butterflies?

Yeah. I'm scared of most insects. Anything that flies. I'm like, I'm good. I kind of, I mean, I get where you're coming from. I do. I do love a butterfly moment. But, I mean, there's something, there's something a little scary about it,

especially in like a large groups right a bunch of bugs I'm like I want to admire from afar and so like we're playing these songs we get to the end of the set my little brother holding is motioning to me repeatedly like he's trying to get my attention every time I look over and I'm like get your keyboard stop working like what's a problem he's gesturing at the keyboard it's on and I'm like then we're just going to keep going and then by the we get to the last song and I like run over to like what are you keep motioning about he looked he gestures down at the keyboard covered in bug courses like maybe thousands he's like he has tears in his eyes he literally tears in his eyes and I was like we got a power We're powering through.

Yeah. We're powering through. So we play. You're fucking fine. You're fine. Jesus Christ. You're like, you would rake to me over.

I thought you had a medical emergency. And it, but we, we get to the last, the last, said the last song is Massachusetts, which we've been playing. I don't play to a click

when I'm playing with, with just them, because we didn't have drones. Yeah. And so we were playing kind of at whatever tempo. I just decided in the moment. And that night,

I decided to play it very fast so that we could get off station away from the bugs. So we're going, la- It sounds like it's on 2X. Literally sped up. It was a sped up edit.

And we get off stage and he's just like in champ. He looks like he should go back from numb. Like he has a thunder blanket on. There were dogs, so many bugs. So many bugs out there. We used to do that to our dog. We used to have a German Shepherd and she barked at our dad every single time he came in the room. And so we would put, we had a bark collar that we would put on her.

And it would just like spray like something that smelled bad on her. And she barked and she would just like freeze. And that was what he looked like. Like he just got, he had his bark collar on. Now like whenever we're on stage together like at any given moment, we're going to be thinking about one of those incidents and just like unable to hold back laughter in a serious moment, which is crucial. And now you guys are like, you're literally like Billy Elish and Phineas. So, so much so. I love that. I mean, I kind of know Phineas. He started following me in like

2020. He found my music really early. And so we've met a few times. And I'm still waiting for the moment when we can have our sibling collab. Right. The Spider-Man meme. Yeah, the Phineas ex-Billy X, Holden ex-Gensen. It'll come one day. I don't know when that'll be, but I'm rooting for it. I also just realized you're also a middle child, so am I. And there's only three of us. Exactly right. That's why I said twins. Twin.

Twin, where have you been? Also, I'm obsessed with twins. Are you? Me, my, in a weird way or? Me and my, so my guitar player, Kevin, my bestie, for some reason we've just become, that's like one of our early inside jokes was like, we just are fascinated by a specifically adult identical twins. Right.

There's something about it that's like, what do you mean you're still identical? Yeah, like grow up. Exactly. You don't need to be a twin anymore. We get it. I just says like how did that happen? Like how did you guys not kind of branch off and kind of find your own thing? Like you're still kind of playing the hits. Yeah. Yeah, we get it. I noticed you're a twin.

But we love a twin very much. And my, um, my, um, my, on one of my other friends put us on to the, there's a twin convention that happens every year, I guess. I saw where they dress the same. Oh, I didn't even know about that component. Oh, girl, like the twins, they have to dress. They dress identical to each other. That's beautiful. Girl, my nipples are hard. I love, I love making adult. And the reason it came about is so my friend telling you

about the twin convention, she was playing a show in a town, in the town where the twin convention was happening. She had a relative who was a twin attending the convention. He goes, oh, like, I want to come to your show. Can I bring a plus one? Actually a plus two. Right.

And she's like bringing like his twin and then another set of twins. And she goes, sure. And then he's like, can I actually get another plus two? Just starts trying to add on. She's like, how many sets of twins? What are you building an army? Like why?

Are you bringing so many twins to my show? You cannot be bringing that many sets of twins. The audience cannot just be rows of twins. You're going to freak everyone out. Especially if you're all dressed in the same outfit. Not you and your little twin uniform. Right. One of my really good friends from college, she's a twin, like an identical twin.

And like she comes like her, I think her mom is a twin and her like aunt is a twin. So they have twins that run like crazy. Wow. And one time she posted a family reunion picture. Oh, that picture almost made me gone insane. I felt like I was like I'm going to be committed to the hospital. It's like a Rorschach test. It's like whatever you see.

It's really like find the difference between these two pictures. They're the same picture. Like I messaged her and I was like, this is an insane picture. Like there's like 50 sets of twins in there. It's crazy. That's awesome. Right. I was like, so your fascination with twins.

Maybe you should look into her. And I will. And I'll be locked in on my random friend from college. Okay. I'm going to read some fun facts about you. Let's see. It says you have Back to the Future listed as one of, your top four on letterboxed. Oh yeah. What are the other three? Um, I don't, I don't

if I finished filling out the whole thing. I know before sunrise is on there. Okay. So the back of the future trilogy and the before trilogy, which don't go together thematically at all, other than they're both trilogies. That's all four. Um, I just, yeah, I have six movies in my top four and it's two trilogies. I think I have obvious child, the Jenny Slate movie, which I don't see enough people talking about. It's this movie. Jenny Slate is like, she's playing a struggling stand-up comedian who gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion. Okay. And it's like a great, dark comedy like quiet little film i watched it like when i was visiting my brother in college at like two in the morning i was sleeping on his couch and i was like this is a perfect movie um but yeah i'm like

not good at this is the first time anyone's ever asked me about letterbox because i'm like not good about cinema like i keep seeing people on red carpets getting asked their letterbox top four and i'm like i won't be prepared i haven't seen enough movies i definitely have enough good movies and you are me because i don't watch anything so when people ask me like oh have you watched this like and they're all new movies i'm like oh you know for a fact i haven't watched that i have i just don't new things. I don't watch prestige. I love watching stuff over and over again that's going to bring me comfort, which is why I've seen Back to the Future trilogy so many times. I've seen New Girl so many times. Me too. I just so I criminal minds is one of my comfort shows. Okay too. And there's,

I just only like last week finished watching the two new seasons of it. I was rewatching the first 15 seasons over and over and over. I knew every criminal. I knew every unsubs name. Me as fuck. I was on the case. Yeah, I could I could recite them from memory. Like that was me with like the office with New Girl. What of what were the modern family? Anyone who slander's new girl, I'm immediately like untrustworthy. I swear to God, me too. I'm like, you don't get it. You don't get the art form.

And I still, I was talking to someone yesterday in a session. Like we were talking about like, I said, I said one of my dork facts about how like laughing is mostly socially performative and it's not actually about something funny. And he was like, do you, so do you laugh when you're alone? And I was like actually, yes. I laugh out loud alone by myself all the time, especially when I'm watching New Girl. I will laugh. Even though I've seen every episode seven times, I will laugh at him.

I've seen some where I was laughing so hard at deposit because I can't. here. Yeah. Because I'm fucking laughing out loud. The episode towards the, it was like towards the end of the series when Winston's accusing Nick of being a procrastinator. And he's like, you drove across the country to see me at college to ask me if I had seen a bug's life. And every time we hear that line, I have to pause it. Because I'm like, a bug's life. That's how I feel about the Prince episode. That's like one of my favorite ones. But the cold open when he's like, what are you just hanging around the dryer? Like some sort of panty hop. That's comedic genius. You're out of your fucking mind.

That's me with like, are you ever like pitching movies and you're like, I promise it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen in my life. And then sometimes it hits and sometimes it doesn't. I can always, I feel it when I feel myself losing it, I feel really, I'm like, I panic and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Because I'm like, if you're not laughing already, you need to be laughing already. Yeah, you're not laughing already. It's over for me. You don't get it. It's curtains for me. I take my recommendations very seriously. But I don't honestly, I'm not a person who's because I don't listen when people recommend stuff to me.

I honestly don't try to recommend stuff that often. No, me too. I never listen when people recommend to me but if they do say like what's a funny movie you know and I tell them and I'm like let's watch it and they're not laughing I get mad it's well it's rude it's offensive it's mean and it's an indictment of my character

yeah I'm acting like I'm in that movie yeah I made that movie it's my life's work like one of the movies I pitch all the time that I think is one of the funniest movies ever made is The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy highly recommend highly recommend that fucking movie to the room anyone should watch that movie

I laugh my out every time I watch it I laughed my fucking ass off. And so many people have never seen that. It's just sort of stupid like buddy cop. Yeah. Slapsick comedy. I'm el-a-oing the whole time. But that's the best.

That's the stuff that's actually funny. Like honestly, one of the movies I laughed out loud in the theater into the Spider-Verse. T. I also cried. I laughed and I cried. That movie took me on a journey. And I'm not ashamed to say it.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. You're actually beautiful. I will watch the heat because I trust a recommendation from someone who doesn't listen to other people's recommendations. I really do. And watch us the same things thousands of times. Yeah. Yeah.

Because that means you're locked in. You've studied that. You're a PhD in that film and I trust it. A silly ass movie. Like sometimes I won't watch anything new that's popular. But then sometimes I'll watch the silliest one-off terrible movies because I'm like, well, obviously. Yeah. Like my sister was like, we should watch Ricky Stinicki.

You ever heard of that movie? Yeah, exactly. So I'm prime starring John Cena. Okay. And a bunch of other comedians. But like, I was laughing my fucking ass off. I was like telling people, you got to watch it. You fucking got to see it.

And then everybody I told outside of me and my family were like, yeah, I mean, I think I need to watch it with you because I just like didn't really get it. I was like, forget it. But you know what? That's actually a part of it. It's like who you're watching it with. Like there's some movies that are going to hit alone and like they're just that good.

But then there's some movies that like I and like TV shows, whatever, like things that I've experienced. I know it was funny because of who I was watching it with or like consuming it with. That's like it's their commentary. It's us going back and forth. Like during the, I'll give you an example, the Olympics, summer Olympics. Not a comedy routine, but watching the Olympics with my family, very funny. Right.

They've got notes. They've got jokes. They've got running. I got a lot of criticisms. They got a lot to say. And that's what makes like I was talking. One of my friends is like, I don't really get the Olympics. I don't like watching it.

I like watching it because my family is staying on the sides. That's why I feel about the Super Bowl. I'm like, I don't give a damn. But if like when I'm watching with funny people like my family, I'm having a blast. It's going to be good. I'm enjoying it. Yeah. Are you a big crier at movies?

I cry about everything. Right. I cry about everything all the time. I was on a date one time I've told the story before but I was on a date one time with this guy and I said I was a big crier and he was like oh yeah

I cry a lot too and I was like oh it makes you cry and he was like movies and situations right and that was kind of where I was at the kind of the silence and I said buddy everything's a situation so like just general things but honestly and I think about it every day

and it rings so true because I also be crying in situations yeah movies and situations movies and situations that tends to do it for me I literally cry about everything I cry yeah I cry I think I cried watching back to the future probably like at this point

I mean, the second one, when he goes to the grave, no spoilers, 40-year-old tone, when he goes to the graveyard, I definitely cried about that. The before trilogy will make me cry. Those are like beautiful. It's like a beautiful romantic drama. But like... This is just an ad for the back to the future. Well, but I, yeah, I cry.

I cry at music too. One time I cried so hard to a song while I was driving that I couldn't see, I had to pull over. Right. It was the cause by Tommy Lefroy, by the way. Great song. Tea. And it's not even that's out of a song.

There are just certain songs that move you two tears. Yeah. Like even, and I feel like you're a big, would you say you're more of a lyrics person or like a melody person? Definitely more lyrics. I think so. I remember, you're a poet. Yeah.

When folklore, the Taylor Swift album came out, like I listened to it, obviously the second it dropped. And the whole time I was texting one of my friends, like we were doing live reactions. And I was like, can you believe this line? Can you believe this line? And she's only a melody person. So she's like, I don't even know what song you're talking about. Like she had heard none of it. She was only hearing like the melody and the music and stuff.

and I like barely noticed that. And I loved folklore for the same reason. I love just sitting and like letting. Her lyricism is really good. She, I mean, listen, I love Miss Taylor Swift. And I, when, when her lyrics are hitting, they're really hitting. I agree. And I, especially on first listen to, like, to new Taylor Swift, I'm blocking everything else out.

And I am just focused on the writing because I want to get the like, you only get to hear it first, you only get to hear it for the first time once. And I like really want to soak it in. Yeah. And well, and like I said, you're a poet at heart. So like, you really enjoy. really well put together lyrics like i think that's beautiful and symbolism and you know what i say this all the time i talk about ed shearing people are mean to him he's a good writer he is a good writer

i love his like the way he writes his songs like the shit he writes i think it's beautiful he is a good writer and he i think the reason that people love to hate on him is because he got he was so good and became so successful he's a meme it's like he's not even a person anymore he's like a stand-in and a symbol for a certain kind of music right but it's like you don't get that successful without putting in the work. And I was saying he was behind the scenes for fucking years, writing hits for everybody else. He's really, I mean, I saw him at Staples Center when I was like 16 or something, I guess. And he was up there by himself in an arena with a loop pedal. That's what I'm saying. You know what? I should have known that my twin's going to be a sheer head like me. I should have known that you were

going to be a sheer head like me. I am constantly fighting his battles. I'm like, you'll be nice to him. You are Godstrong and soul. Yeah. I was like, yeah. You'll be nice to him. He's nice. He, no, he's, And he also seems like a great guy. Like, I'm friends with this English singer-songwriter named Macy Peter. She's amazing. Oh, no, Macy Peters. Yeah, Macy's amazing. And she's like his protege.

Like, she's open for him on a bunch of tours. And, like, I think they wrote together for a couple of her albums. And, like, she just says he's the nicest guy. And, like, I've only heard good things about this man. And talented as fuck. So talented. Okay. I was like, that one lyric where he talks about laying together in bed, just like a drawer of cutlery.

And he's talking about spooning. Yeah, fuck all you. No, that's genius. None of you just could write that shit. None of you could, except maybe Jensen. I wish. No, he's playing four-dimensional chess. I'm playing checkers. I'm playing go-fish. I'm so glad you're a sheer head like me.

Okay, on to more facts. Let's see. Oh, it says you have a poetry account on Instagram. I do. Jensen McCrae writes. Yeah, I love poetry. I just love words. Like, I just love a, I, I'm always really impressed by people who are able to say things in a new way. Because, like, so much stuff is cliche. So much stuff is like overdone and oversaturated. And when I see something that I've never seen before, I'm really blown away. although I looked back at like a bunch of screenshots I'd saved right after I went through like a really brutal breakup and I was like the things I thought were profound when I was in the trenches not that profound not that profound so actually it's pretty superficial take it was like pretty dumb and I was saying thousands of them and you're like this was meant for me like every time I was like they're speaking directly to me and I look back you know two years later and I'm like girl it wasn't that serious like my hands were covered in blood was it you yours or mine, who's to say?

And I was like, what? It's like she, she liked, you know that one like, he lied? She believed he lied? And I was like, like a stoner. I was like, oh my God. Like, damn, that's so true. Retweet, retweet, repost. And I was just, I like shuddered to think about what my reposts from that era

looked like. Like, it was just not, it was not good. But some stuff stands up. Some stuff stands up to the test of time. Right. Where would you say you pull most of your inspiration when you are writing? I mean, I write a lot about my life. And I like to write about things kind of like out of time.

Like I when I'm writing a song like even if I'm writing about a specific situation, it's not going to be like it's not the news. I think that's important for people to know. Like for I think for a lot of songwriters like we're not the news. It's not facts. It's like I'm taking the seed of a personal experience that definitely happened. And then I'm adding in moments from other experiences. I'm adding in moments from things that other people have told me about their lives.

Yeah. And I'm trying to tell us like the big thing that I always say is I'm trying to sell something. It's not factual, but it is true. Yeah. Like I want the feeling to be true and I want the feeling to be true. and I want the principle and the premise to be true, even if, like, the facts of the story

are not, like, exactly as they happened. Yeah. Because ultimately, like, I think because of how, like, popular, like, dioristic songwriting has become, I think people have come to expect, like, that they can go on, like, a scavenger hunt and, like, find out exactly what happened in someone's life by listening to their songs.

And I think for most people, even the people who claim to be doing that, like, they're writing fiction. Like, it is a form of, like, kind of creative nonfiction or, like, auto fiction, where it's like, yeah, I am the character in this story. But this isn't exactly what happened. So I like combining things and like combining events from different periods of my life,

especially because like I feel like we all have experiences where like we're experiencing the same thing over and over again. Like you get taught the same lesson in different ways and different fonts. And so when I come to a point where I am writing a song about something, it's me reflecting on all the different times the universe has tried to teach me a lesson. And it's not just ever about the one thing. It's about all the repeated times that I've been exposed to it. Well, and also because you're such a talented songwriter, it's like it's making it more applicable to everyone. Yeah.

Like your unique experience cannot always apply, but the feeling can most times apply to most people. Just to kind of wrap us here, like any advice, like what your best piece of advice would be for any upcoming like singer, songwriters slash improv experts, all of the above. Any advice you may have for them if they really want to get into the music industry, maybe we want to start writing, maybe want to start playing, maybe want to start posting their. songs, any advice you may have for them. I mean, one of the biggest things is to keep a journal. Like, it's really good to be an observer of the world and, like, write down the things that are happening to you and, like, just start paying attention. Like, that's one of, like, I think one of the things that disrupts people in their writing

process is that if they feel like they don't have ideas, it's because they're not paying attention. There's stuff happening everywhere in your own life and other people's lives you can latch onto. And then with regard to, like, posting and stuff, like, we have to, one of the things that helped me a lot was no longer viewing my social media as, like, an extension of myself. Like, I no longer felt like it was, like, an appendage. like it's a business card and it's a it's a factory frankly that I clock into and I clock out of

every day it's my nine to five yeah and like people will not post stuff because like well I don't want to be annoying and post all the time or what if it flops and people don't like it's like who cares you'll post another one tomorrow exactly and like that was how I got to the point of growing a following was I was flopping for days and weeks and months and then one day something got 100,000 views and then one day something got a million views and suddenly people were asking me for advice about how to do well on social media I'm like we could have started at the same time and you just like we were both flopping and you gave up and I didn't because I wasn't embarrassed I have no shame exactly you're so I've literally told like whenever people would say things like well why does she have these things

I I get hate and I delete myself well it sounds like you have no follow through it's not for everyone yeah that's right trust me and I've told people before I'm like if you care at all about what people think about hate don't do it absolutely that's not the place to do it like at all if you're worried people are going to think you're annoying if you're worried people are going to think you're embarrassing if you think it's embarrassing to post on social media guess what you shouldn't be have a social media. You shouldn't do it at all. And also like I know that there's a lot of artists out there who want to be above social media and I get it. I get that you're like it cheapens the work, it cheapens the art. But I think that the two things can coexist. I don't think that my art is

cheapened because I'm able to be funny on TikTok. I don't think that my art is cheapen because I'm able to get more people to listen to it by doing like a stupid gimmick. Like yeah, you're not a social person turned artist. You're an artist that is utilizing social media. Exactly. And like you said, it's like it really is how you look at it. Like how you perceive it and how you use. And how you. utilize it and like use it to your advantage and the same way that you said like I was a flop too is like that's not the point of it I think the same way about it negates the point of making art if the only reason you're putting out is to go viral yeah well I think you're fucking amazing I am obsessed of you and we're literally a paper doll look at us we're fucking twins literally literally literally

different literally you're literally freaking me out and I also wear glasses too I should have worn my I should have worn my fucking glasses damn well thank you for my jens McCray Halloween costume you That's right. I'll wear this exact. And if you think I'm playing, it's on camera. So you watch me run this back this October, this coming October. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. I fucking love you.

Oh, my God. I can't wait. I do want to say really quick, I do want to give you your flowers. I think you're so fucking talented. And I can't wait to see how far you keep going. I've been a fan since day one. Where the fuck were y'all at? Exactly.

Not with me. I've been in the trenches for a while with Jensen. Yeah, you and I, moots, moots, moots. Oomps, for real. Well, thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the comment section show. Thank you to my amazing guest, Jensen McCray. Where can everybody find? I'm at Jensen McCray, most places, I think.

And I think when this episode's coming out, you can listen to my new song, Praying for your downfall everywhere and watch the music video. And I, once again, I'm going to say I was on the ground floor of Jensen McCrae's fandom. Okay, anyways, thank you so much to my amazing guest. Thank you so much, Tullaby for tuning in. And don't forget new episodes of the comment section drop every Wednesday. You can stream the audio on all streaming platforms but the video list for free and exclusively

on our favorite platform Spotify, which is perfect because then you can go stream Jensen's entire catalog and her new single and you can go and follow her on everything, obviously. Do it because I said so. Anyways, thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you to my amazing guests and I'll see you next week. Bye!