OFM music
Black Lives Matter, and the civil unrest that we are feeling these days, as well as the helplessness and defenselessness of it all. Feeling like, if you have a voice, how do you use it? Even if you feel like your voice is small. How have you stayed connected and engaged with your fans during quarantine? I have been making silly videos and did some livestreams. I did a whole photo series of me and my weird, paper-mache birds, just things to entertain people so they do not feel as isolated. I have stayed connected more on my personal accounts than my music accounts. As a musician, you spend so much of your life on the hustle and on the computer emailing and begging people to listen to your work. It has been kind of nice not having to do that. There are periods where I go weeks without posting anything, or I don’t want to say anything because I don’t have to. I constantly go back and forth between the idea of deleting everything or coming up with new concepts. Once the pandemic dies down, how do you think we can get back out there and do live music again? That is such a huge unknown. I think the reason why venues are not open right now is just because, when alcohol is involved, your ability to rationalize your behavior goes out the window. So, keeping people safe at music venues has been hard. People have a couple drinks; they feel super comfortable; they start hugging others, and it becomes a thing. It feels good to be reunited with everybody, but we have to remember that this is not an existential, emotional thing that we are going through. We are fighting a physical thing. So, I do not know what the safest way is. I do hope it will be a renaissance of sorts on the venue’s ability to take better care of musicians than it did before. I think there was a great disparity in pay, and some genres were not represented or booked as often. If we lose companies like Live Nation, I hope that those venues can become independent again. Pay structures can be renegotiated so musicians are more taken care of. What do you hope audiences and listeners take away from your music? I haven’t been asked a question like that in a long time [laughs]. I want to say comfort. A lot of times, we write music for us because we have something we have to get out. I have something I have to get out, or an idea 4 4 OFM J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1
I have to get out. Then, when I perform, I think about this statistic. I don’t know if it’s true anymore, but way back in the day, 84 percent of people would rather be dead than have to get onstage and speak to people, nonetheless sing. Part of my job is to express emotions, words, feelings, or comfort. I listened to so much sad music when I was a kid, still to this day because it is comforting. It tells a story that I relate to and holds me. That is truly what I hope listeners get from my music. Comfort can also be a happy feeling. It can be like, 'Oh, I love this song; I just want to jam out and take a drive.’ Anything as simple as that to a very dark, sad song that is also comforting. Comfort can look like a lot of different things. How is the Denver music scene unique? How does it stand out from other cities? I think it is very supportive and not cutthroat. I remember growing up in Austin, even the first few gigs I played when I was young and not knowing what I was doing, it was so competitive. The competitiveness here in Denver is healthy, and nobody is dragging anyone to get ahead. I have been here for 15 years and have done all the things, so it is more or less how I stay connected to the community and music. Overall, it is a supportive scene. I do think that hip-hop and Black artists in general definitely need more support from venues and booking agents in the city. Hip-hop is a $2 billion industry, the biggest industry in the world, and venues are hesitant to book hip-hop and Black performers. That is something that needs to be rectified. Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects you would like to mention or plug? I do have some big news coming out with Sarah Slaton, and before the pandemic hit, I started a queer music showcase. I am looking for a new venue for it. Also, I am going to continue to try to keep uplifting queer, Black and Brown Indigenous people of color, and believe it or not, it is very hard to find them. If you are BIPOC, please hit me up. I would love to showcase your art. I really hope to get that showcase rolling again. We were entering our third or fourth month, and it was starting to get some legs. I am constantly searching for people to showcase on that. To stay up-to-date with Korte, follow her on Instagram @jenkorte, or visit ladygangmusic.com.
