Since relocating from Kansas City, MO in 2017, Scout Gillett has become a fixture in Brooklyn’s music scene, playing in multiple live bands and even starting her own booking company to organize local shows. Her intrepid nature was borne of necessity; the product of a childhood spent running barefoot through rural Missouri and a coming of age in Kansas City’s DIY scene. Now based on the West Coast, she recently released her latest EP, Imagination, MO.
Marissa Nadler is a musician based in Nashville; Scout Gillett is a musician recently relocated from Brooklyn to the West Coast. Scout just released her EP, Imagination, MO — digitally and on vinyl — so to celebrate, the two friends got on a Zoom call to catch up about it.
— Annie Fell, Editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
Marissa Nadler: How are you doing?
Scout Gillett: I’m doing good. I just got back last night from Austin, and I’ve procrastinated on getting everything packed — as you can see by my walls. I got through a lot of my closet today, so I packed what I’ll need for the trip, and packed a lot of my clothes and got rid of a lot of stuff. So, yeah, preparing to move across the country soon.
Marissa: That’s very exciting. I love California. I’ll visit you all the time.
Scout: Yay! We gotta collaborate.
Marissa: I would love that. So you’re working on a new record?
Scout: Yes, I’m working on my second record, and just finished the vocals and dubs for it in Austin. I’m really thrilled about the result, and I’m getting everything packaged and together. This is one of my favorite parts, after the recording, trying to get the world together.
Marissa: Yeah, that’s really exciting. Your second full length record.
Scout: Yeah. What are you working on right now?
Marissa: I am also in the deep trenches of writing a record right now. I’m finishing up the finishing touches on my 10th studio record — or maybe 12th, it depends on how you count it. But I just want each record to be different and better than the one before. So I’m really focusing on bridges right now.
Scout: Yes. I love a bridge.
Marissa: I’m just really into the craft right now of the songwriting. I have disappeared from social media, but I’m going to force myself to get back on. It’s one of the tough parts of the job, right?
Scout: Yeah. We’ve talked about this before, and I definitely relate to it. I think that breaks are really good from it, but also we know there’s an algorithm and a system and it’s like, how do you play your part in that but also keep your sanity and keep your integrity alive with your art? Because it feels like such a different world compared to the writing, the touring, the packaging of of the artistic process. So it’s definitely a good thing to take a break from, I think. But, you know, others might advise differently.
Marissa: I’ve taken such a break. So I’m like, Alright, girl, you gotta remind people you’re still alive. But it’s hard because to really focus on writing [you have to] really cut down on other sensory overloads, and things still interfere with the creative process. So there is a bit of a disconnect because we just have to work in shifts. We’re both good visual artists, I feel like, and so it’s just part of the visual thing. In rock & roll history, it’s always been a thing.
Scout: It is. People have marketed themselves in many ways. I’m trying to figure out how to find that balance and similar to you, when I’m writing, and even when I’m touring or in the studio, I’m not thinking of media. I also am very pure in the ways of, OK, I’m taking these experiences and trying to put them into a sonic world that people can get into, and I need to be very intentional about where that’s coming from and my voice. So I think it’s really good to not be overloaded by all of those things.
But anyways, I have a question: Is there something when you’re on the road that you bring with you, like a little memento, or something that reminds you of yourself or your home?
Marissa: I have a really weird answer to that question, actually. It’s not a thing, it’s a feeling. I started touring, like, 20 years ago — and I can’t believe it because I feel like I’m eternally young. I don’t feel like it was that long ago. But I remember having a hard show, and I used to tour alone, so I was alone in Norway just in some crappy motel room, trying to make sure I didn’t miss the flight in the morning. I felt no comfort. It was before the time of iPhones — I had a cell phone, but it cost a lot to call people. The thing that brought me the most comfort when I was like, Oh, no, where am I? I don’t know anybody here, was my own body. I’ve never been really attached to material possessions. It’s kind of strange, actually. I’m just minimalist, maybe. But that feeling even now, when I get really anxious, it’s kind of like breathing exercises or something. It’s just a form of mindfulness or self centering.
Scout: Well, being minimal is something that’s great, and it leaves a lot of space for you to be just an artist. I think that’s very inspiring, and I’m going to have to bring that with me next time I go out.
Marissa: I have a question for you. Do you want to be a rock star?
Scout: [Laughs.] OK, so, the new record — I was listening back to it today, and I’m like, Do I rock? Is that what’s happening? And I think that a part of me definitely always wanted to have an era of that. Because the first secular music my dad ever played for me was Pat Benatar and just classic rock, and I thought it was so cool and powerful and made me want to kick butt. I wanna rock for a period of my career, for sure. And I grew up in the DIY scene outside of church, so in my early years of going to shows when I was 12 and 13 and starting out, I was seeing hardcore bands and screamo bands, and I think that definitely has found its way alongside all of the classic crooner stuff. I love Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers…
Marissa: I love the Everly Brothers, too. I feel like we should cover an Everly Brothers song.
Scout: That’s totally the song we need to do.
Marissa: I also want to cover this song called “Tragedy” that was by the Fleetwoods. I think Connie Francis covered it.
Scout: Oh, I love Connie.
Marissa: It has this kind of doo wop theme. But I have another question for you: Who’s your favorite rock band of all time? You can list two or three if you want.
Scout: OK, I’ll list two or three. The Animals.
Marissa: Ooh, I like that.
Scout: Early Alice Cooper — like, first three records of Alice Cooper before “School’s Out.” And the third… probably Blondie.
Marissa: Oh, yeah. You got a little Debbie Harry vibe going on. You got the cheekbones.
Scout: We’re actually related, but not by blood.
Marissa: Oh, really?
Scout: People have said that to me, which is crazy—
Marissa: You have similar bone structure.
Scout: Oh, well, that’s very nice because she’s so hot. I actually got to meet her once in New York and confirm that we had [a relation] — she was adopted by my gram’s second cousins.
Marissa: That’s crazy. So does she show up at your holiday party?
Scout: No, I wish. I’ve tried to reconnect, but I met her at Bowery Electric when my band played.
Marissa: Debbie Harry, are you reading? [Laughs.]
Scout: Debbie, please! I tried to send her a record to her management company. So I love her. I grew up loving her a lot.
Marissa: Me too. She’s so good. Wait, before we go on — when I saw you at the Blue Room in Nashville, when we played that show together recently, I watched your dance moves, and the way that you commanded the stage — that’s why I asked you the rock star question, because you do have this fun energy. I’m, like, eternally a wallflower. I’m more than a little introverted on stage. And I can loosen up, but I’m certainly OK being a mystery, I guess.
Scout: You’re great. You’re super compelling and your shows are amazing. Wait, what’s your favorite rock band?
Marissa: My favorite band is Pink Floyd, I think.
Scout: Great. I love Pink Floyd.
Marissa: I happen to love the Beatles. How could you not?
Scout: Do you have anything that you would tell your younger self knowing what you know now?
Marissa: Trust your own instincts and don’t listen to anybody. [Laughs.] Value your own opinion as much as the random new manager you’ve met that has no actual musical training — no offense to music managers or whatever, or record labels. But at the end of the day, there isn’t that much money to be made in being a musician unless you’re in the very upper echelon of stardom.
Scout: Or TikTok famous.
Marissa: Exactly. So doing it for the right reasons makes it a lot better to dedicate your life to. If there’s a manager or a booking agent or anybody that’s saying, “Well, I think you should do this and this and this,” it’s really important to say, “Wait a second…” Because I was kind of a people pleaser a lot of my life, even though I had this strong aesthetic. And if I could go back — well, for one, the technology just wasn’t there when I started. My first record came out in 2003, and we had computers and email addresses, but nobody had the capability to make great sounding music at home. So you’d pay for a studio and whoever was at the helm of the dials… It’s just a bit of a different experience. So now that the tech is out there, I would empower every young person to learn the techniques. I mean, producers are a valuable entity as well if they’re good. But musicians also are artists, and they do have sonic worlds in their head. I used to use Logic, and I liked Logic a lot, but I found Pro Tools a little bit more logical—
Scout: Ironically.
Marissa: It’s a little bit more user friendly. But they’re very similar programs. It’s just nice to be able to be in a studio and see what somebody’s doing and be like, “Well, actually, can you change that reverb?” So as I finish writing this new record and set about to get the takes, I think about my favorite albums of all time and how performance for me kind of trumps fidelity.
Scout: Definitely.
Marissa: Like, I love fidelity. I love Fleetwood Mac, and I love great sounding music. But I also love Leadbelly, and I love Mama Thornton, and these crunchy recordings.
Scout: Raw blues, doo wop, old school R&B, garage. I love that too, it being like you’re there and you feel it and you hear it in the performance.
On that note of following your own judgment and instinct, it can lead to a lot of questioning, and I think I’ve struggled with that. After my first record, I couldn’t believe that people wanted to listen to my music. What mattered the most to me was when people said they liked my songwriting and my lyrics, and I’m like, OK, I want people to hear that more. I want people to hear my voice more. It gave me a bit more confidence in the ability to continue doing it. I started saying, “I’m an artist. I’m not just a singer, I’m not just a writer, [I’m an] all-encompassing artist.” I’ve really brought that to the studio the last few times, going in there and being like, “No, I’m producing this. I want this, and these are the records I’m going for, the references.” I would love to eventually get in on mixing again. I think that’s really cool. And with my experience before, being on a record label, and then finding a way to reassess and find something that works for me better… It was what was right for me, but I am used to doing a lot of things myself. I do want that support, but it’s just all about knowing your value and having integrity and trusting your judgment. It’s a big thing, doing all of this.
Marissa: You’re doing great, though.
Scout: Thank you.
Marissa: You have a really good, positive attitude.
Scout: Well, this was great.
Marissa: We did it!
Scout: This was so fun.
Marissa: I hope you have a great night. It was so good to talk to you.
Scout: I love you!
