From the MUSIC SIDE A Q&A with YOUR SMITH

Megan Rolloff

brought me and my guitar around and taught me how to ask for shows and instilled in me a confidence that I’ll forever carry with me. She was and continues to be an incredible example of self-advocacy and insufferably perusing your passions.

Who/what did you listen to early on that influenced who you are as an artist? So much Jewel. She was everything to me. I started as a kid with her guitar and that was largely in part because I wanted to be just like Jewel.

I’d like to say that a woman’s physical appearance has no bearing on her achievements and successes, but we all know that isn’t true. It’s hard enough to deal with objectification when you aren’t in the public eye. Not to mention, the entertainment industry is notoriously hard on women when it comes to their appearance. What are your thoughts/feelings on this?

I struggle endlessly with my physical appearance. I think every artist socialized as woman does. We have been indoctrinated wholly into the tenet that we are only worth as much as our physical appearance. We’ve been taught it’s our currency as a female-bodied person. And all we can do is call it out, recognize it, address it within ourselves every day to combat it. Because I am more than my size, my frizzy hair, my big feet. And it is not fair that my physical insecurities are often among the first thoughts of the day. But there is a lot of great work being done by courageous figureheads that will hopefully change that reality for future generations of woman-identifying artists. And when I feel bad for not fitting into my pre-baby jeans, I remind myself of how healthy I am, strong my muscles and bones are, how miraculous my body is for creating and housing a human, and how as an artist with a platform, I would never want another new mother looking at my photos, seeing me (miraculously) back to my pre-baby frame and being angry at themselves for not “snapping back” themselves. There are almost NO celebrity new moms who embrace their new body in its rightfully robust form. And I am no celebrity but I would like to represent that which I would like to see myself. And I would love to see an artist take the stage proudly in her postpartum form with no shame and no excuses.

The Minnesota music scene is flush with outstanding talent. I’m constantly blown away by the diversity and high quality of the music made here, and made by artists from here. It is truly one of the reasons I love living in this state.

And, of course, I have my favorites. And when I say “favorites”, I mean there are artists that I listen to over and over again until I know their catalog (or at least a most of it) as if it were a part of me. They are with me when I drive to work to get me motivated for the day They are with me on my drive home to help me come down from the stresses of the day. They are there when I need a dose of self-confidence, when I need a bit of a cry, or when I just need to yell it out.

One such artist is Your Smith (previously known as Caroline Smith, or Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps). As with most artists I follow, I first heard her music on The Current. The gateway song for me was “Magazine” from the 2013 album “Half About Being a Woman.” This was during the “Caroline Smith” era.

I was so taken by the song, I had to go for a deeper dive. I bought the CD (yep, something most of us still did in 2013) and began my ritual incessant playing of it until it melded with my very being. A couple of EPs later (“Bad Habit” in 2018 and “Wild Wild Woman” in 2019), and I’m still hooked. Your Smith is one of my confidence-boosting go-tos. Her music reminds me to be strong, to be unapologetically myself, and that being a real woman is a good thing. The saying goes, “never meet (or in this case, email) your heroes”. But you know what? Sometimes they are just as gracious and smart and insightful as you hoped they would be. My objective for this interview was simply to ask one of my favorite musical artists in the whole world things that I wanted to know. So without further ado...

Did you grow up in Minnesota?

I moved to Detroit Lakes, MN with my mom when I was 9. Until then I lived in Columbus OH and still have family there.

How did making music start for you?

I grew up in a musical family, my dad taught me and my brother to play guitar when we were kids and my brother forced me to play songs on the guitar that he was learning guitar solos to i.e. Wonderwall and Free Bird. That kinda blossomed into me writing my own songs as an angsty pre-teen in lieu of keeping a diary.

How did you know it was something you wanted to pursue?

My mom found out I was writing all these angsty songs about unrequited love and bratty friend fights and really coached me on how to advocate for my artistry and run a small business. She

I had read, that when you “went solo” it was mostly just a name change and your band stayed primarily the same. Is that accurate?

Just Arlen and Jesse. They were with me for years. When I changed my artist name to Your Smith, we finally parted ways. They went on to pursue other projects and passions, and I needed to discover my own voice outside of the complete comfort and generous support of their company and companionship. We all needed to grow and find our own paths. They are thriving and we all still keep in touch. They’ll always be family.

What does it mean/how important is it to have the same musicians around for the long haul?

I think you could argue both sides. When I look back at my modest career with no big hits and no huge breaks, I look back with such gratitude and warmth at all of the memories I have traveling the world with my best friends. I have zero regrets. Maybe I missed some opportunities for growth either artistically or career-wise, but those boys were fundamental in the most influential years as a young person. Their friendship and the massive amount of hours we spent laughing, talking, butting heads, and hugging it out undoubtedly shaped the woman I’ve become and I’m so grateful our paths got to cross in this little lifetime. Truly excellent humans who blessed me with truly irreplaceable memories.

It seemed like you had a pretty solid thing going on in Minneapolis and then you made the move to California. What made you decide to make the move?

I signed with a publishing company out in LA and it just felt like the perfect time to grow and learn and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I am SO GLAD I did. I’ll cherish my years in LA as some of the best in my life while also being hands down the hardest. I got to become a professional songwriter and grow as an artist way beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. But only after a complete existential crisis and spiritual reckoning that lasted about 18 months. It was terrifying going through it but I came out the other side with a firm sense of self, boundaries that have since become sacred, and confidence that led to the creation of Your Smith.

According to your IG page, it was the pandemic that moved you back to Minnesota to hunker down with family. I know the pandemic was really tough on the live music industry. How did the pandemic affect your career?

It was tough when everything ground to a halt and being violently untethered from the only career I’ve ever known. Instead of trying to hold on tight, churning out tik tok videos and concerts from my couch and pedaling innocuous charities, I decided to just throw my hands up and walk away. I’m (now) so very grateful for the time and space I got to leave music for 3 years. I had been doing music professionally since I was 17 years old and getting to meet the Caroline that exists outside of a musical persona or social media presence was the most refreshing and amazing things. What a gift. I got to pursue other passions and interests—I went back to school, I got married, I renovated a duplex, we had a baby, we bought a bar, we moved to Stillwater. It’s been hectic and beautiful and crazy and unbelievable.

I was so excited to see that you were headlining Midwest Music Fest in Winona this spring. How did it go? Positives? Negatives? Surprises?

It was so fun! I was really extending myself grace in preparation for that show. Allowing myself to get back into music slowly and with no expectations. But that show went wayyyy better than I expected. I got to play with a band again and they were so amazing. Being on stage truly felt like coming home. The mic felt weightless in my hand and I felt like a collision of my pre-baby self and mother-self finally took place. It was momentous.

Do you have any plans to do more shows in the near future?

Nothing solid to share but there are shows in the works. The most important thing right now when it comes to music is trying to find a new path forward that holds space for my new identity as a mom. My family is everything to me right now and these are precious years I want to hold delicately. So finding a way music can cradle that truth is what I’m working on at the moment. 