What are you most looking forward to about your next set of shows with Chappell in LA?
Don’t get me wrong, I am really looking forward to playing for crowds; Chappell’s crowds in particular are very passionate, and the environment there is just so welcoming. It is different than other concerts I’ve been to—it’s a very queer-friendly space. But that being said, I get very anxious [beforehand], so I’m most looking forward to finishing the shows so I can look back at them in hindsight. I kind of black out during shows and am like, What happened?
Can you tell me a little bit about touring with Conan Gray?
It did feel like that Lady Gaga meme of: “Bus, club, another club.” It was my first bus tour and I was very honored to be able to join Conan and his crew. I was just watching a bunch of people having cathartic experiences, seeing these girls screaming, crying, and it was very touching. Everybody was just so nice and wonderful. I really like bus life; I was like, I need to make more money, I need to be on a bus. Bus life was awesome, so I cannot complain at all.
I know you have a master’s degree in health informatics from Dartmouth. Do you feel like that knowledge base is related to your music at all?
I definitely think there are things that overlap. In the same way that I’ve had to study for tests and stuff like that, I’ve had to study the music industry and what it entails. It is a dream and a privilege to do this job and to do music as a business, but it also is a job, and I feel like in the beginning, I didn’t really think of it that way. I need to make sure I know what I’m signing, make sure I know my rollout plan, make sure I know all the logistics that go into music that I feel like I didn’t know before. The same study practices I used in my youth, I’m able to employ them now, and that’s nice.