Interview with Keyring about "super☆" (Single)

Hey Keyring, could you tell me a few things about yourself?

Heyy! I guess I’ll start by saying that firstly, I need to take a nap lol, but here I am filling out this interview, so first thing is that: I really love prioritizing self-care, and sometimes that looks different than what people might expect. Sometimes it’s a bath, sometimes it’s driving really fast in the express lane. (at the speed limit of course!) Sometimes both. At the same time?

I’m a bit of a loner honestly, though I used to go out to parties a lot more often before I began to focus on music, it really took me hiding away from everything to start churning out great material. I produce almost everything in my music myself and sparingly collaborate with other folks when it feels right, so a lot of my time is spent doing the jobs of multiple folks alone because of my commitment to DIY ethics and remaining independent.

Other than the music stuff, I really like cooking actually and I’ve been trying my hand at homemade sushi! I made a little seaweed salmon burrito thing yesterday with habanero hot sauce all in there with wasabi. If you aren’t sweating, is it even spicy? Lololol

What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?

My resolve to continue when shit gets real you know? Even outside of the music world in life, I’ve had to face some tough circumstances where I almost gave up but never did. Especially when it comes to maintaining my mental health as I’ve embarked on this popstar journey, not giving up is probably my greatest skill.

Especially as a transwoman in this industry, sometimes it’s difficult when a person might compare me to a flamboyant male artist and I’m like…. Love you but I am a lady lol, keeping your cool as a queer/trans person making music is so important, even though maybe 1% of the time I just want to scream into the abyss! Honestly, I’m to the point where I could care less what any naysayers are about, like, I’m doing the work and I know I’m worth it. And I’m so excited to be finally sharing what I’ve toiled away at for so long with my friends and supporters.

What does music mean to you?

Well as you would hope, it does mean many things to me, but more recently it’s been this major way for me to remind myself how far I’ve come. As both a listener and an artist, I wouldn’t be alive without certain songs, and certain albums that were there for me when I really needed a lifeline. I remember when I found out I was HIV+ I had just gotten the diagnosis after a really great first date and I was going to have to tell that person… I was sobbing in the car uncontrollably and then I plugged in my phone in the car, on shuffle “Alright” by A.G. Cook came on, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. In early 2022 that song was like, MY MOMENT. But this is just like you know, a small example of what music means to me. It’s not just the soundtrack to my life and moments I adore, it’s like a friend I can always turn to even if I’m alone. A reminder that life is meant to be lived, and music is sort of like the zest.

What could you tell me about your new single, ”super☆”?

So I used to work as event staff for a venue in Dallas, TX and they were hosting an MMA event of all things and I was positioned near a bar guarding it against being raided by people because it was a closed area, and I was bored out of my mind on a stool minding my business. I’d just gone through a breakup and the words for the song just sort of tumbled out of me. There were people down below literally beating each other up and I was like you know what? I’m a f#cking superstar.

I wrote the lyrics in my notes app, they sat undisturbed for a while and then I produced the beat in one day in December 2022 using some cute samples and synths I curated, and bam. I was inspired by Namasenda’s use of the ☆ for a song title and I was like wait: “super☆” It came together as one of the most quality tracks I’ve ever made so far! But yeah there are also notes in the song addressing my past having been in queer nightlife as a drag performer for a while and leaving that to pursue music.

Sometimes in the past couple of years, since I’ve left drag, I would go out in a cute look and folks that knew me before my music career would say “Oh but you will always be the blah blah blah queen I knew before” and attempt to deny me of the growth and evolution in my life. The director/producer of many of my music videos in 2022 (slayyy Christian) referred to “super☆” as my “Gay Bar Revenge” song because, in the lyrics, I reiterate that not only am I a popstar, and that I drive fast cars, but that my song plays in gay bars because the LGBTQIAs love to dish and I can’t help that I’m an enigma <3. Via “super☆”, I’m setting the record straight and simultaneously introducing the track as the lead single for my upcoming album.

Aside from that though it is a self-empowerment anthem and I use it to remind myself that I am worth listening to at the end of the day, and so is everyone!

What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?

I love that music has always played a pivotal role in social change, sound is a powerful force that can change minds and allow you to empathize a bit, you know, especially with all the anti-trans rhetoric going on I’d hope that conservative lawmakers would listen to “super☆” and they too can realize their inner star power? IDK I’m halfway kidding but seriously like, music is like a window into a snippet of emotion and I personally love using it as a force for good and activism. Certainly, I’ve felt like the best thing I can offer to help the movement sometimes is to be creative and make bangers, for myself firstly, because I needed an escape which is how this whole music thing even got started for me.

And you know that’s the thing I never even set out when I was younger to ever be a pop artist. I was doing experimental drag lip-syncing to whichever female pop icon (usually Charli XCX) and while I was living in Brooklyn during the pandemic and amidst the protesting and whatnot I creatively expanded and realized that repackaging a song through drag was not enough creative control for me and I wanted to start delivering unique ideas via original music. Music has always been there in my life, little did I know I’d be here talking about it like this in this way.

What are your plans for the future?

Sooooooooooooooo I’m planning to start playing a lot more shows. I’ve been really under a rock for a while so this is my “I’m here bitches” moment. At the time of writing this, I’m preparing a pop-up performance of “super☆” locally at a queer bar here in Dallas, TX, and I also have an Album coming out this summer during pride month that I’ve been working on for years. I’m super proud of the thing and I guess I’ll name-drop it here. It’s called “Solarpunk” and I wrote the project about climate optimism and my experiences as a transwoman in Texas during uncertain times as my rights and those of other marginalized groups are currently under attack.

The title track comes out as a single on May 19th so be certain to stay on the lookout for that one. I’m hoping to tour some sustainable communities maybe and start gardening or something in the meantime so I can live in the world of the project a bit more.

What important message would you like to share with our readers?

It’s never too late to start building community and looking out for the people in your life, we’re all we’ve got and a brighter future is possible, don’t give up! <3 IDK things are just a bit bleak from my perspective but along with fighting the good fight, I think that it’s important to remember that it’s 2023, and trans rights, human rights, etc. will prevail. Maybe I’m trying to convince myself too, but if that’s what it takes, fine. Also, stream “super☆” for a healthy 3-minute dose of escapism instead of doom-scrolling <3!

What do you feel is the best song that you have ever released and why?

Quality wise “super☆” marks the first track of my new era and is probably the best in that regard, but I think the song that took the most guts for me to put out was “Metal Bones”. For a lot of my prior streaming releases (actually all of them) I recorded the vocals on a USB podcast microphone and they have this grainy Myspace quality to them, which I adore. The track was literally like “I don’t care what’s happening I’m a bad bitch and I’m gonna survive” type shit. Though like in a very fun femme cutesy way of course I am not the Wolverine lolol. I was over here making the instrumental on GarageBand on iPad, I didn’t have a car, I was unemployed, I was riding the trinity railway express back and forth between Fort Worth and Dallas in August 2021, and it was hot and gross and everyone was still masking here.

The fact that I completed it was an accomplishment, but it took bravery to even upload it and be like yeah, and what. But it is my favorite, and the cover art for “Metal Bones” was actually a Polaroid taken by “It Girl”, who is the visual artist that drew the cover art for my upcoming album “Solarpunk”. Overall the best because of the memories I have associated with it. I can’t help that I’m sentimental!!! Also, the music video for it was very major: I used a lighter and a hairspray can! lolol (shoutout to my friend Havoc for helping me that day!)