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Songwriting, Community, and the Power of Expression with Ashley Virginia #66
19 Plays5 hours ago
Description:
Ashley Virginia joins Shane Lucas and Daniel W.K. Lee to talk about how songwriting became a way to process emotions, express identity, and connect with others. She shares how queer community, folk music, and creative spaces have shaped her journey as an artist and activist. Ashley also opens up about the realities of making a living as an independent artist, choosing integrity over a job that asked her to compromise her values, and the role community played in helping her move forward. The conversation ultimately explores why creativity belongs to everyone and how making art can help us reclaim our power, joy, and humanity.
Guest descriptors:
Creative
Visionary
Community-minded
Episode tags:
#AshleyVirginia #QueerArtists #Songwriting #FolkMusic #QueerJoy #CreativeExpression #CollectiveLiberation #LGBTQCommunit #IndependentArtists #ArtAsResistance
Recommended
Transcript
Art as Expression and Lifeline
00:00:00
Speaker
I think if I didn't have the means of expressing myself and externalizing those feelings, I probably wouldn't be here. And I know so many artists that can say the same. It has a sort of reverberation effect.
00:00:14
Speaker
When one person shines their light and then someone else sees that, then It's a chain. It's a butterfly effect, which is also why it's so desperately trying to be kept from us. It has the ability to change minds, change lives, change hearts, and change the world.
Introducing 'Power Beyond Pride' Podcast
00:00:35
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Power Beyond Pride, a weekly queer change making podcast bringing you voices and ideas from across our fierce and fabulous spectrum to transform our world. I'm Shane Lucas, lifelong harm reduction activist, owner of a great idea and a collector of way too many records. And that's why I'm excited for today's episode.
00:00:53
Speaker
And I'm Daniel W.K. poet, author, and your hot dad's slam piece. We are your co-hosts for today's QueerCast journey.
Meet Ashley Bray Jr., Queer Singer-Songwriter
00:01:02
Speaker
In this episode, we are joined by an artist who doesn't just make music.
00:01:07
Speaker
They build emotional landscapes you can actually live in. Ashley Bray Jr. is a queer neurodivergent singer, songwriter, and activist. Her music has been described as the kind that cracks you open and somehow stitches you right back up at the same time. Welcome to the pod, Ashley.
00:01:26
Speaker
Thank you so much. And those are such nice words that you have to say about my my art. Thank you so much. It's beautiful. i've been listening to your your done streaming services. I've been listening to to your to music and it's absolutely as fabulous. So thank you so much for joining us for this episode of Power Beyond Pride. I got introduced to your work at the North Carolina Folk Festival. So again, I'm really just so glad that you're able to to join today. So thank you. Thank you. Yeah, of course.
The Evolution of Songwriting
00:01:51
Speaker
Your sound, like Daniel you said, your sound has been called raw contemporary angst that moves to hopelessness, healing, justice, and the community with a tenderness and honesty that is rare. i don't know where that's coming that's coming from, but somebody's bringing poetry to your poetry. That's what I'm saying right here.
00:02:06
Speaker
So talk to me a little bit about how you, how how would you describe your emotional tone and the and the language you bring together as an artist? Yeah, well, songwriting, before it became something that I shared in any sort of public or performance capacity, it was sort of my my safe place, my my means of emotionally processing and my means of communicating and putting and not just words, but sort of some feelings are a little bit more than words.
00:02:39
Speaker
And so it was really a therapeutic practice before it became something that i I shared performatively. And so i' I've been engaging in that practice since I was a child and over time started to kind of share it in pieces with people and realize how powerful it can be to share honestly those very heavy feelings, those very heavy emotions. And when you have found a way to put words or sound
00:03:11
Speaker
to it and then it resonates with other people. There's a lot of healing that comes from that and a lot of conversations that come from that. So that's kind of where it all started for me.
00:03:23
Speaker
Did the words or the music come first for you? well Well, I started playing both. I would say i started playing music in church actually, and that's not really a part of my belief system anymore, but I grew up with that weekly community singing.
00:03:39
Speaker
And I'm super grateful for that, for its role in my music education. And i had pretty decent English teachers in middle and high school who encouraged the creative language arts part of it.
00:03:54
Speaker
And so when I'm writing, to get a little woo-woo here. but i Go all the woo-woo and bring the Oxford comments. Yes. Yes. So i don't know. I feel like writing, I feel like creativity is this thing that exists in this liminal space that is around us, vibrating always. And It's like an ether that we can tune our frequencies towards. And there's a whole bunch of different doorways to get into that that ether. You can start with lyrics. You can start with sound. You can start with rhythm.
00:04:28
Speaker
You can start with a melody. And it's really just about attuning yourself to that. And then when you hear that creative inspiration in your brain, then accepting it and then seeing where it takes you.
00:04:41
Speaker
Do you remember your first, the this first song that you wrote?
From First Song to Songwriting Challenges
00:04:45
Speaker
Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that. Gosh, it's, it was really cheesy. It was like, i i think it it was like in the eighth grade and I wrote, a it was like, i want to be like a butterfly. I'll spread my wings and I'll touch the sky. Something something super corny like that. How is that not a Kelly Clarkson classic? I know. That feels very Kelly Clarkson out the gate.
00:05:12
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Congratulations. But I'm actually, right now, this will be the third year I'm engaging in a songwriting challenge that me and a couple of different songwriters around in my local community and also my online community have been doing, we'll call it 50 songs in 50 days. And we start 50 days from the end of the year and then try to write a song every day for those 50 days.
00:05:37
Speaker
And each person gets to kind of define for themselves what counts as a song. Maybe it's finishing an idea that you already had, or maybe it's just poetry, or maybe it's just a riff. And there's not really any stakes to it. it's It's more so just like a creative practice that's keeping the the seasonal sads away. so And bragging rights. And a little bit of bragging rights, but it's also, I don't know, it that practice, I feel like there's freedom that can be obtained through limitation.
00:06:08
Speaker
And so time being a limiting factor, I'm not going to be super precious about and critical because i I literally don't have time to. It's like, I got to write a song today.
00:06:19
Speaker
so you know, sometimes some of the best ideas come out when you can put in a framework of limitation that maybe will block those internal criticisms. I love that. So Daniel is a poet. I certainly have a history in my own writing and we can all go back to those early poems.
00:06:36
Speaker
Mine, mine says, so yours was Butterfly. my Mine was like, ah, the sweet beauty of death. Because it it always had to be like, ah like Barry. I mean, it was like, ah, comma, right? It had to be this just very, don't know, Poe inspired or whatever. i was All the drama of high school that I could just throw in. And then it got better, i think, maybe a little bit.
00:06:56
Speaker
But like those early poems, always. But that yields like a butterfly. going to come bring it back to that. Like a butterfly, now you are flying. Now you are bringing in so much creativity and storytelling into your work that, we again, we need those places to start, right? We need those places to grow.
00:07:13
Speaker
And you do that through community so much of the time. It's what's so incredible about your feed. What's so incredible about the work that you're doing. And so i would love to know, like, how do you feel like you've helped build
Community Support and Career Impact
00:07:25
Speaker
community? How do you feel like you've been part of community in the role it's had for you in in that creativity?
00:07:31
Speaker
Yeah, well, I don't know. I think there there's like a... o I'm very grateful to community because I would, I owe so much to it. We owe so much to each other. And what's the use of all this channeling these messages, if not to reflect it back on something.
00:07:52
Speaker
And The world that we're living in right now meets, we were not made to be so hyper individualized. And so I got my start in the open mic scene.
00:08:06
Speaker
I have a lot to owe to my local community. A lot of the music that I've been able to make, I've i've crowdfunded for an album in the past. I've crowdfunded to do a songwriting workshop.
00:08:18
Speaker
So that kind of support, don't know, it it it gives back. It's not... Not to say that it's like a quid pro quo wo sort of thing. it's It's more just like a rising tide raises the shits together.
00:08:32
Speaker
If you look around podcast viewers at home, I am in a closet and I'm currently in the lovely city of Glendon, North Carolina. Only physically. Only physically.
00:08:47
Speaker
But I'm in the small town of Glendon, North Carolina right now, which is the home to this beautiful old farmhouse. And there's a songwriter that lives here, great community maker. her name is Laura Jane Vincent, and she hosts...
00:09:03
Speaker
Yes. Okay. she's I owe so much to this woman. She's such a dear friend and just a builder of community. And she has this big old house. And twice a year, she opens it up to the scene.
00:09:18
Speaker
And people come together and they pitch a tent in the lawn and flop on the whatever couches are open. And there's a stage on the front porch. And it's a music festival, but it's also a potluck. But it's also just a family reunion.
00:09:34
Speaker
Capitalism has no role in the existence of it. Everyone kind of pitches in and brings something. And it's a really beautiful thing. And just those kinds of connection, those spaces is really important in the face of fascism and despair.
00:09:53
Speaker
Queer joy, a space to uplift each other is what keeps the fire going. So really glad to be here. in the closet holy only in is only physically but queer joy i love hearing about queer joy for sure for sure you brought up your kind of queer identity and i'd love to kind of hear from you how identity shapes the way you tell the story your stories through music not just in themes but also in performance
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah.
Gender Fluidity in Music
00:10:25
Speaker
So i I consider myself gender fluid, i she and they pronouns. And i I like to think of...
00:10:35
Speaker
I don't know, my relationship with gender in general. I mean, and gender is a performance, right? And some days I want to go on stage and some days I do not. ah And so but that's that's sort of my relationship to my own gender expression.
00:10:55
Speaker
how it influences the music that I make, I think just inherently informs the music that I make that because it's informed by the music that I'm listening to ah You know, those themes of of love, those themes of belonging, healing are sort of woven into the music that I make, the poetry that I write.
00:11:21
Speaker
and Yeah, that's a little, so I hope that answers your question. it's very it's It's beautiful in the sense that there is such an an opportunity in storytelling to adopt a variety of roles, that did a variety of personas. and in and And again, so many of your stories hearken back to both folk from the past, right? It brings in some of that storytelling, some of that simplicity, some of the classic piece, but also some very modern storytelling. Again, I think about your flag decal that won't get you into heaven is such great commentary in the current moment, right? That does some really profound, you know. you.
00:12:00
Speaker
you know, commentary and critique of currently the kind of performative patriotism that that doesn't really line up to people's values. And it's doing it in such a way that certainly harkens back to, again, I think of Arlo Guthrie, I think of so many other people, but also queer identities within folk are so, have always been so present. I guess I think about what think about Armitrading. I think about Tracy Chapman, right? I think about so many other other people who have, I would say, either been in the sort of, before we considered it non-binary or or gender fluid spaces, lived within these spaces where they either defied gender presentation as it was provided, as it was presented.
00:12:36
Speaker
I think about, oh my gosh, why am I blanking on her name? Blue. oh my gosh, it's such a classic album. Joni Mitchell. Oh, Joni Mitchell. I think about many other creators who were just profound in their ability to make wonderful critiques about where the culture is, but also recognize they could make choices that defied gender norms.
00:12:58
Speaker
Do you feel like in your own work, are there artists that you, you mentioned Laura Jean Vincent, who's here in North Carolina, certainly does, has a Great influence, is a wonderful creator, a very talented musician, brings so much into the conversation and support other artists.
00:13:12
Speaker
Are there other artists that you look to or have looked to that have influenced your work? Yeah, well, a great question. And one artist that is an absolute hero of mine, we're hearkening back to the 60s and 70s folk artist.
00:13:27
Speaker
Most folks have not heard of her. Her name is Judy Sill, J-U-D-E-E-S-I-L-L. And she was an openly bisexual woman in the 60s and seventy s She was signed to Asylum Records, the same label of the Eagles,
00:13:42
Speaker
Crosby, Stills and Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell. But she was not commercially successful. She had a very tumultuous life, grew up in a pretty traumatic household, ended up rebelling and running away, robbed some banks and liquor stores and learned how to play music in prison.
00:14:01
Speaker
And you sound like a song. I mean, she is. She's a. seasonable part She is a folk hero and led this very tumultuous life. And for music transcends all of it.
00:14:15
Speaker
It just channels this hopefulness and this beauty and strength. That is so profound. And unfortunately, Judy passed away at the age of 35, succumbs to addiction, and her music didn't get its flowers in its day. But there's so many artists of today. Some of your favorite artists, probably Judy Sill's probably their favorite. Like Big Thief is ah is a band that I adore. They also cite Judy Sill as as a an influenced
00:14:46
Speaker
But yeah, the she's a big influence on me, her songwriting style, and just overall the way that she used music to transcend the trauma.
00:15:00
Speaker
and the life that she has been through. And that's something that I try to bring into my own songwriting. Sure, I can write a song that expresses grief and woe, and there's a place for that. And and i I do certainly try to channel that emotion in the right and into a song in the right context, but there is a power in what we're doing with sound.
00:15:25
Speaker
in gathering people's attention. And so I feel very called to use that power to inject some hope back into the the world.
00:15:37
Speaker
It's what keeps me going. It hopefully keeps other people going. I feel like it's almost lost the artist's responsibility to, i don't know, not just make some noise to distract everybody.
00:15:50
Speaker
We have an opportunity to raise our collective consciousness a little bit. And that's what I'm trying to do. And that's some folks that inspire me. Beautiful. but Thank you for sharing that. We're going to take a short break now. We are here at Power Beyond Pride having an amazing conversation with the musician, the I'm going to say poet. I'm going to say there's so much poetry in the work you do. Ashley Virginia. I'm here with my co-host, Daniel, and we will be right back after this break.
00:16:22
Speaker
Welcome back. This is Power Beyond Pride, a queer change making podcast. And I am Daniel W.K. Lee here with my co-host Shane Lucas. And we're having the most insightful and amazing conversation with Ashley Virginia.
00:16:36
Speaker
Um, the next follow up question or the next question I have is what ways has the LGBTQ community carried you during your creative journey? And in what ways do you think our community has fallen short in supporting cultural producers, especially those outside of the entertainment, capitalist entertainment industry?
00:17:02
Speaker
Yeah, well, I think sharing community with other queer folks and supporting each other and especially, i don't know, it it's one thing to have ah a goal ah of of a career, right?
00:17:20
Speaker
But creating those spaces where it's safe to express, it's safe to experiment,
00:17:31
Speaker
There's so much we can learn from one another. and and so I would say that's a, that's one way that the queer community has has shaped me and supported me is, is being a a founder of a safe space for me.
00:17:47
Speaker
And. Yeah, I think maybe just in general, we let each other down when we kind of get a bit too individualistic in it and make it about some sort of capitalistic goal.
00:18:05
Speaker
Yeah, I said earlier, rising tide raises all ships and liberation is achieved collectively. So...
00:18:17
Speaker
Yeah, I think we let each other down when we are a bit too individualized. Yeah, it makes sense, right? Thinking about but our our collective sharing, especially at a time where people of trans experience are being talked about outside of our communities rather than inside our communities, that we really talk, their they their team they're part of our lone liberation movement, right? Like the when we when we talk about collective queer liberation, it is it is in fact our trans non-binary community.
00:18:47
Speaker
community member. And I think making sure that we think about ourselves collectively, right, and elevating that. And intersectionally as well. Queer issues intersect with racial issues, which intersect with capitalism, which intersect with colonialism. that's It's all tied together. I was going to say in terms of the folk work that you do do, you think that's what draws you to folk in many ways? Do you think that it has a history of that intersectionality?
00:19:16
Speaker
i think about a lot of people don't think about folk from a queer perspective. And I'm and I'm and I'm because it's so central to, I think, the the work that you're you're sharing. yeah Do you think folk is inherently queer? Folk is so queer. And i don't know, there's there's almost two folks.
00:19:33
Speaker
There's the the folk that has been co-opted and commercialized and it's a genre. And then there's folk, which is people, you know? So there's so many different kinds of folk music.
00:19:45
Speaker
there' There's the American folk music that we think of, the the Bob Dylons, the Joni Mitchells, the Joan Baez's of the world. And that that's still valid, but it it's through this lens of of consumption and genre-fying.
00:20:02
Speaker
but What if there's a couple of artists on the market today, right, that are pretty popular, we would consider kind of folk, rocky? blanking on his name. but Jesse Wells is is that guy who sings the news. I don't think he's queer, though.
00:20:15
Speaker
One queer artist that's a folk artist that I'm friends with and inspired by constantly is Olive Plugg, is an incredible singer-songwriter. They just are so raw and honest and...
00:20:28
Speaker
poignant and gentle, but powerful. Another artist of today that is a great queer artist and app activist is Willie Carlisle. I love his music and his shows are a party and queer joy, queer liberation, collective liberation is at the forefront of it. but But protest music is folk music.
00:20:51
Speaker
Folk has always been a sort of means of resistance, a means of storytelling. And the ability to tell one's story is powerful because when people know your story and they understand what has made you, what has shaped you, what has molded you, then something happens from that. It's either that you yeah like visibility and existence, understanding of someone else's struggle, ah ah call to action or revitalization of one's courage.
00:21:25
Speaker
That's all. That's all. inherently what folk is to me. And mainstream folk may not be seen as queer, but I think folk is inherently very queer because it is against the grain and it always has been.
00:21:40
Speaker
Would you say like the successive artists like Noah Kahn or Zach Bryant help or kind of hinder kind advancing the work you want? they they're They're doing their thing. And some people They're doing their thing. And it's there's some they got some good tunes.
00:21:55
Speaker
And somebody might hear a Noah Kahn and go, oh, I really like that. And then that brings them, inspires them to dig a little bit deeper. And then through realizing that they like the sounds of banjos and and acoustic strings, they might happen upon something else and someone else. And you can be invited into an inspired by by all kinds musicians. i wouldn't say it hurts. I would say, if anything, it's it's neutral to the cause.
00:22:24
Speaker
People have their own lanes and sometimes you're just inspired by their lane and be like, you know, I'm going to diverge some other place or whatever. The Exodus for me is over here. Yeah, but totally.
00:22:35
Speaker
mean, I have so many questions around the industry. We have so many. But one of them is making a living, right? but Like I think about queer artists and artistry and one of the biggest challenges is how do you make a living at a time like this?
00:22:48
Speaker
particularly where so much of what has been classically the pathway to economy, right? Live shows and selling recordings, stuff like that. But now we have streaming services and the big debate is, of course, do we stick with programs like Spotify and other things like that? Other alternatives that exist out there like Cobuzz are trying to be more community sensitive.
00:23:09
Speaker
Like, how do you navigate
Surviving as a Full-Time Artist
00:23:12
Speaker
that? Because it is about finding your audience too. How do you navigate that as an independent artist? Yeah, gosh, I'm still trying to figure out the answer to that question. i am. I'm a full time artist at this point in my life.
00:23:24
Speaker
And getting to this point was certainly a journey. There was a period of time where I did balance my work as an artist with a day job and or several day jobs.
00:23:38
Speaker
And there's no shame in that, I think. Your value and your, i don't know, identity as an artist is not inherently tied to how much of it keeps the wool from your door and how much money you're making off of it.
00:23:54
Speaker
I did have that job job for some time and I kept with it and was burning a candle at both ends. was quite exhausting. I did end up quitting. I had a job working within the industry.
00:24:08
Speaker
And i did end up quitting that job because the board of directors of the organization said I had to be neutral about Palestine in order to continue to represent their organization.
00:24:20
Speaker
And that's sort of a deal breaker for me. Ultimately, we're all just trying to survive. And so some folks maybe have to make those choices and those concessions to to be able to continue to survive. That certainly was a line for me.
00:24:39
Speaker
And so I kind of quit my job very abruptly without much of a plan or a safety net. Other than, well, the price of that is my soul and i'm not that's not for sale.
00:24:53
Speaker
So quit my job and got thrust into freelancing. And it was a sort of jump in the net appears moment. I mentioned earlier just how important community has been.
00:25:07
Speaker
And that's why I was able to make that choice to step out of line. Because I did have the safety net of freelancing. people around me that were like, no, I got you. We're we're behind you. i ended up picking up some, I have a bunch of side hustles and gig work. I do graphic design. I they edit videos for people. I make websites. like it it's It's a hustle.
00:25:34
Speaker
It's exhausting. system But ultimately, the wolf is not at the door and people step up and take care of each other. so I forget what your original question was. i started I think I maybe started rambling a little bit. Survival. Yeah. But yeah, we're all just trying to survive.
00:25:53
Speaker
And i got to i had I had a really cool opportunity a month ago to speak at my college to their class of upcoming popular music and technology majors. And they wanted sort of my...
00:26:09
Speaker
take on what it's like after college working in the music industry and in the world. And my advice is like it's messy. It's not easy.
00:26:21
Speaker
i don't have health insurance or i I don't know if I'm going to have health insurance but once the government reopens. I'm paycheck to paycheck sometimes, oftentimes. I'm hustling, but if you can find a way to keep the wolf from the door, if you can find a way to survive capitalism and not let that burn out your joy and your heart and your reasoning for existing,
00:26:44
Speaker
and then you're making it, that you're still an artist. I really don't, I try not to to give in to the whole illusion of making it.
00:26:57
Speaker
Nobody, we're all, we're all surviving. We're all trying. Speaking of students, you, you've you've been you've held like song, songwriting workshops and stuff like that, which kind of something that you mentioned earlier, which kind of is, can be a source of an audience. Right. But I'm kind of interested in how, okay. I mean, obviously music education and like, and like teaching individuals, not just young people, how to express themselves through songwriting and music is really central.
00:27:30
Speaker
so I think our experience is just individuals. But thinking about it in connection with kind of systems and and and helping individuals And clearly you are interested in educating people and yes those kinds of things.
00:27:48
Speaker
What would be your kind of soapbox message on why the arts is so imperative to kind of keep on teaching and then especially two subsequent generations of LGBTQ people?
Creativity as a Healing Practice
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, music is so important. It's always been there for me, and it will always be there for you. And I think creativity is sort of a birthright. Music, we've we've kind of conceptualized it in our late-stage capitalism world as this thing that you're like either talented or you're not.
00:28:27
Speaker
And the talented ones get to go and have a career and go on stage. and But... Music, making music is what makes us human. Creating art is what makes us human. And so it's, you don't need to be talented. Talent is just time and focused attention.
00:28:48
Speaker
And in the age of constant consumption, your attention is such a valuable resource. So i think it's sort of a taking back your power when you,
00:29:00
Speaker
apply it to something beautiful and creative and present. And yeah, education is a huge part of, of my don't what's important to me because it's making music, being able to express one yourself creatively, whether that be through singing, writing, drawing, dancing, whatever. it it is a way to express our humanity and make sense of the world.
00:29:31
Speaker
I am neurodivergent and i feel things very heavily. And music was this way for me to channel that, that even when I'm going through tumultuous life experiences, when I'm weighed down by grief, that grief, that rage, that angst, that joy has a container that doesn't live within my body.
00:30:00
Speaker
Because when that trauma, when that those feelings come, are repressed and not expressed. you're Your true sense of being, when you're when we're covering that up, it ends up, it becomes a physical manifestation in physical illness and chronic illness.
00:30:22
Speaker
So finding a ah container for those heavy emotions and just externalizing them is so important. I feel often when I'm in teaching spaces and teaching songwriting and working with young folks, i'm I feel almost more like a therapist than like a a songwriting teacher because it really is, and don't know, in its purest form.
00:30:50
Speaker
I do think that is, a song is a spell. it's it's It's magic. and So, yeah, it's so important to focus your attention on creativity.
00:31:07
Speaker
I think it's it's reclaiming something that has always been yours. And everyone can make music. Everyone can. express themselves creatively, but there was probably someone along the way who discouraged you and then you internalized that voice in your head.
00:31:24
Speaker
This is also why I like to do these sort of songwriting challenges and workshops and classes, because through repetition and applied focus, that's how skills are built.
00:31:35
Speaker
So if you give yourself permission to be bad at it, you're eventually going to be good at it. My first songwriting teacher, his name is Mark Dillon, and he would always say, you got to give yourself permission to suck. You're just like, you got to write bad songs to write good songs. And if the worst outcome of all of it is writing a bad song, then like you never have to show that to anybody.
00:31:57
Speaker
I think songwriting can really be this very personal thing or this means of connection between a group of people. So go at it express yourself.
00:32:09
Speaker
You can so be bad at this. You'll inevitably get better at it if you continue to to work at it. It's what makes us human. And it can save lives. It's a skill that can save your own life.
00:32:23
Speaker
i Absolutely. i I think if I didn't have the means of expressing myself, I've at different times in my life, i'm I have a couple different acronyms of mental illness. And without that means of expressing myself and externalizing those feelings, I probably wouldn't.
00:32:41
Speaker
wouldn't be here. And I know so many artists that can say the same. It's saved my life. And I never know who else is listening when I am sharing those those terrifying pieces of myself.
00:32:55
Speaker
and It has a sort of reverberation effect, which is why it's so powerful. Because when one person shines their light and then someone else sees that, then It's a chain. It's a butterfly effect, which is also why it's so desperately trying to be kept from us because it's powerful.
00:33:18
Speaker
It has the ability to change minds, change lives, change hearts and change the world. I truly do believe that. Can I share something? Because in what you've just said is just mind-blown. I know we've got to go to break here in a minute, but I just want to share. it First of all, absolutely powerful. And I want to as somebody who has grown up neurodivergent as well, and really, i realize hearing you even share this, right? Like the permission to make noise, not just permission to make bad songs, but the permission to make noise.
00:33:47
Speaker
to take something and create something that all music, like you said, folk music was the creation of just noise, just sitting around with a drum and patting out a pattern, right? Or, or or I don't know, a flute or taking a reed and doing that while you're in the field if you're a shepherd, whatever the case, like all the different ways people have made noise in music to convey their feelings.
00:34:04
Speaker
I remember being a like a high school kid and like I would find times when no one else was in the chorus. So I was in the chorus. So I got to sing, which is fine. And for better or worse, yeah but but like I never learned how to pick up an instrument, but I would go in the chorus practice room and I would just sit at a piano, which I do not know how to play.
00:34:21
Speaker
And I would make songs. But I would make songs because it was the only, like it was for me, it was that alone time to just focus that energy, that moment to create something that was mine. That was just my way of feeling in the moment. It was just like these patterns and just, I mean, the the most rudimentary key changes, whatever key not even key changes, barely, right? Just the most arbitrary thing.
00:34:43
Speaker
But I would do that for hours. I would do it for days. At one point I got hired to just go into a place and like, it was like quasi Yanni to just play music in the background. hide didn I didn't I don't even know what a black key is in it. Like it was all the way because I was so afraid. ah Yeah, I was so afraid about the black keys that I was like, I can't touch those things, but I can touch all the other ones. But it was it was noise. And some of it was pretty, it like generically busy, whatever basic chords. But it was for me, it was a moment I didn't need to be great. I didn't need to be famous. I wasn't to be Richard Marks, which when I grew up, that was the that was the moment of all the Richard Marksiness of the world. I'm right here waiting.
00:35:20
Speaker
It was just a moment to create something. And I think hearing you say that was like, people need permission to be able to create something that isn't for consumption, that isn't mapped against this idea about, can I market it? Can I create it in such a way? But actually, am I able to feel better about the world, connect to something tactile, tangible, human, and really move into that? So I just want you say how powerful that statement
Singing, Healing, and Community Joy
00:35:44
Speaker
was. the like i I heard it, and as the young group did, like,
00:35:48
Speaker
hows yeah Thank you. and And on that, if I may, before we go to break, there' there's science that backs up why this works. Your vagus nerve is the nerve that is responsible for your parasympathetic nervous system.
00:36:01
Speaker
This is the way that your body processes trauma, the way that your body reacts to trauma. And part of the process of healing any sort of trauma in your body is through stimulating the vagus nerve. Singing an incredible way to stimulate the vagus nerve. Sound in itself. There are a whole people that study sound healing and different tuning forks and vibrations that can be used to break up that energy stored in your body. But you are literally healing yourself from trauma when you are using your voice
00:36:37
Speaker
and and making sounds. I think it's even more powerful when it's done in groups of people. This is why many major religions utilize music. it That's why group singing is such a big part of worship and in so many organized religions. They don't own that.
00:36:55
Speaker
And so any space that we can reclaim that that magic, it's so important. And it has the power to save lives, change lives, heal people. And you have permission to do it.
00:37:08
Speaker
Oh, beautiful. And I know we are going to go to Brett saying hi. Thank you for sharing all that. we'll We'll be right back after this break with the amazing, talented, the healing. oh Ashley Virginia here at Power Beyond Bright.
00:37:25
Speaker
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride. I'm Daniel W.K. Lee, and I'm here with my co-host, Shane Lucas, and we're in conversation with the talented Ashley, Virginia.
00:37:36
Speaker
all right, it's it's time for the speed round questions, which means we're going to ask something. you can't spend a lot of time thinking about it. And then we're literally going to tear it apart. as But like in theory, we're just going to get one answer. But Daniel and I are totally going to stay on it for the duration of the entire race.
00:37:54
Speaker
So are you ready? I'm ready. All right. First question. What's a dream collaboration with someone living or dead that you would set your heart on fire?
00:38:06
Speaker
Hmm, Collaboration. i absolutely adore the band Big Thief. And Adrienne Lundker specifically, who is an incredible artist, also queer artist.
00:38:20
Speaker
I love the, I'm about to soapbox, sorry. Adrienne Lundker is dream collaboration, living, dead would be Judy Sill. 100% makes sense. And Adrienne Lundker is amazing. So we all we're all we're all on board with that. They they continue to share such amazing, and but independently and as part of Big Thief. So yeah, again, go and check out their catalog a lot because they're they're prolific and brilliant.
00:38:44
Speaker
Agreed. What's a lyric of yours that still surprises you every time you share it? I have a song called Habit Forming, and it talks about first my relationship to alcohol, which I am i'm sober from that these days. My relationship to smoking and how am I turn towards maybe these substances in moments of numbing.
00:39:11
Speaker
And then the second half of the song talks about I started singing again. I started the the last verse. It gets to this big build and then the the lyrics are, I started praying again, but I'm not sure quite to who.
00:39:26
Speaker
I'm not interested in arguing. It's whatever gets you through because I am higher power. And the same is true for you. We are ripples in the water. We are currents passing through. And i just love every time I get to perform that and watching that kind of sit with folks and then the conversations that end up resulting from that afterwards.
00:39:54
Speaker
Constantly surprising. And yeah, it's it's it's a joy to to share that reflection. beautiful that's I'm saying when the world feels heavy what's something you do that brings you back to yourself And the world feels heavy.
00:40:14
Speaker
And bringing me back to myself, the the phrasing of that I think is is very key because when it is a storm outside, those are the moments when I find myself going inward the most, going deeper.
00:40:30
Speaker
So that can look like a number of different things. It can look like picking up a guitar and just noodling, or maybe picking up a pen and just writing. And again, there's no destination in mind.
00:40:44
Speaker
It's just a practice of going inward. Sometimes that looks like taking a freaking nap. Sometimes that's the the most ah incredible thing that you can do for the process is just taking care of your vessel.
00:40:58
Speaker
Sometimes it looks like cooking myself a meal that is nutritious and Whole foods. Sometimes it's taking a walk in the sunset, getting lost.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah. But most importantly, it is when it, when it is crazy outside, going inward brings me back to myself.
00:41:21
Speaker
And then taking that, what I've learned in those moments of being inward, taking that outward, I think is where the real magic exists. So I can't entirely forever.
00:41:33
Speaker
I mean, I could live inside my head forever and always, but that would eventually maybe get a little bit sad. There's there's there's some balance to be struck. Absolutely. Great answer. Most romantic gestures someone could do for you?
00:41:47
Speaker
e writing a song um writing writing a song for me i've I've had a friend write a song for me who was actually performing at this this here porch music festival and it was it was a platonic expression but such a a romantic gesture being able to categorize someone into a song and express a feeling I think is It's the way that I make sense of my emotions. So when someone else can do that back towards me, it's incredible.
00:42:22
Speaker
That's great. Now imagine yourself in the mixtape era. y Now, what song of yours could you use to end situationship?
00:42:34
Speaker
I have a song called Change is My God. And the the chorus Change is changes my God, and I'll kneel at the altar, take hold of the reins without fear or falter. No promise remains of some heavenly father. This change is my God, and I'll always exalt her.
00:42:52
Speaker
Which is also a reference to Olivia Butler, if you have ever read Parable of the Sower. Great book. you know Give it a read. Oh, yeah. I think they're turning into a movie.
00:43:05
Speaker
Ooh, okay. I think it's been long overdue. And I think they're finally, i think they're finally exploring that as a movie because it's a finale. It's a classic. It's a classic. It is. It is. It's almost prophetic in sort of predicting the way of the world.
00:43:19
Speaker
It takes place in 2025. Really crazy book. But yeah, Changes My God, Ending a Situationship. Perfect song. All right. Keeping in the theme of music because we I'm a music nerd. So I want to know.
00:43:35
Speaker
What is your guiltiest pleasure, Bob? Oh, so. The opiate, guiltiest pleasure that you're like, no one no one knows this, but now we all do. well We're all going to keep it secret. Everybody listening, we're all going to agree to do this. Keep it a secret.
00:43:49
Speaker
So when I was growing up in the small town of New Bern, North Carolina, I used to work at a bakery. And the music they would play at this bakery was like the twoth that early 2000s absolute trash country music. The very commercialized told her way up beyond her past the caution line is a little country store. Like those kinds of tunes.
00:44:15
Speaker
There's there's a song think it's called Ticks. I don't remember who it's by, but it's like. I'd like to kiss you out in the moonlight. I'd like to walk you way back in the sticks. And I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers. And I'd like to check you for ticks.
00:44:36
Speaker
There's like a a genre. I know, right? um There's like a, I don't know. shot Country music can get a little bit, I don't know. it Country music has definitely been commodified, but there's a campiness to country music that I think is so queer and so fun. i have a i have a little playlist on my phone that's called Super Yeehaw. And that's my my guilty pleasure is that. i mean that us Super yeehaw.
00:45:03
Speaker
It hargons me back to those days of working in that bakery, which connects me to my childhood a little bit at a time where I was not more freely expressing myself.
00:45:15
Speaker
And it's it's silly. It's campy. it's It's fun. those are my That's my guilty pleasure is that trashy pop country. I love it. But that pop country era, right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, ri again, very oftentimes so tropey between patriotism and heteronormativity and all of it. At the same time, I think about this sort of outgrowth of artists like Orville Peck.
00:45:38
Speaker
And i want to say it's Maggie, not Maggie Rogers, but there's a number of queer Maggie Mora, right? who Who I think are all queer artists who have kind of come out of that movement, really kind of adopting some of those pieces and re...
00:45:53
Speaker
kind of queering them in their own right? Yeah, because there are queer kids in the country too. They're just existing a little bit quieter for safety reasons sometimes. So, yeah, I love all the queer country that is coming out ah these days.
00:46:08
Speaker
It is beautiful to see folks being a little bit more loud and proud. Maybe we'll bring that tick song for a cover. We'll get it. We'll get good. Yeah, I mean, it's so campy. You've really got it.
00:46:22
Speaker
Such a campy song. I don't remember who it's by. You should. You should. I'm going to steal one of the questions here we have on our list. Stick with lyrics because I i'm i ah definitely want to hear the answer to this one.
00:46:34
Speaker
What's the pettiest you've ever been in a song lyric? And would you do it again? Yeah. I've written some diss tracks. but Let's see. There...
00:46:48
Speaker
I exited a relationship and upon exiting this relationship, this this ex of mine was kind of hanging around some of the places that I would frequent.
00:47:03
Speaker
And i wrote a song about it and then played it at that place to all of those people. And the lyric was, I heard that lately you're hanging around all the places in town that I usually attend. Your motivation's unclear as you hug the veneer and smoke cigarettes on the stairs with all of my friends.
00:47:22
Speaker
So that's that's a little petty moment. I also have a song. This is this one's not out, but it's a it's a song about sort of clout chasing, ladder climbing individuals. And the the title of the song is, Do You Love Me or Do You Love the Idea of What I Can Do for You?
00:47:42
Speaker
And oh I'll recite a little bit of the lyrics of it, but it's, I'm gearing up to explode just like a supernova and you have the stars in your eyes. Thicker than honey is the praise you've been pouring. You're ready to catch you some flies.
00:47:57
Speaker
I'm oh oddly flattered by the sweet little lies. You see a ladder and you're ready to climb. But tell me the truth. Do you love me or do you love the idea of what I can do for you? Hmm.
00:48:08
Speaker
There you go. There you go. mean, the songs are... yeah You can... yeah All that honest you just want to take out that moment and then share with them and you just hope you wait for them to listen to it somewhere. and you're just going to be like, yes, it's about you. This song is about you. As Carly Simon said, this song is about you.
Collective Liberation and Intersectionality
00:48:26
Speaker
it's It comes in the territory dating a songwriter, I suppose. a little mentally for me. Well, let me ask, what does power beyond pride mean to you? yeah Well, I think we were talking earlier about collective liberation and intersectionality.
00:48:46
Speaker
in activism and the importance of that. And I think it is so important for folks to be spending their time and energy developing their identity, feeling comfortable in their sense of self, feeling loud and proud of who they are, having a community that supports them, that reflects back to them.
00:49:08
Speaker
That is very important. But if that's the end goal, there's so much beyond that in terms of work that needs to be done. Because then there is a collective gathering of resources, of of collaborating across ideologies and identities that builds even more power.
00:49:29
Speaker
Because when there are more folks that are working class, that are struggling and struggling, and ultimately beyond our identities have some of the same wants and needs, which is to live a happy life, to have loved ones, to have food, to have shelter.
00:49:52
Speaker
And when we can look beyond identity and see that it's really a fight of up and down versus instead of maybe left and right, I think that's when some real change can happen.
00:50:07
Speaker
So identity is so important, comfortability and your sense of self in community. So once you find that, where can it go?
00:50:20
Speaker
What change can you impact in your world and our systems of existing? Absolutely. And ah our final two questions.
00:50:30
Speaker
yeah Where can people follow you, follow you and your work? And do you have any upcoming projects that you feel like is that you're turning the page into something new? Yeah. So you can find me on the Internet. Ashley Virginia is my name.
00:50:44
Speaker
actually worked really hard to make it so that when you Google Ashley Virginia, it does not give you directions because that is a place. I've been there. and Didn't have find anything cool. There was like a yard sale I bought a pair cowboy boots. Anyways, Ashley Virginia, Google me. AshleyVirginia.music is my at on all of the social places.
00:51:05
Speaker
AshleyVirginiaMusic.com is my website. I have a link on there to subscribe to my Patreon if you want to support me beyond my social. I share a little bit deeper in that space.
00:51:16
Speaker
And some projects that I have coming up. I'm always writing. I'm always recording. ah So I'll have some new releases in 2026 that are coming out. And I'm currently in the midst of planning a tour in ah March and April of this 2026 that is in partnership with North Carolina by train.
00:51:37
Speaker
I'm going to be taking a tour from North Carolina to New York and back by train. So that's just a fun little side quest here. I'm happy and excited to be partnered with a public transit system to take this journey.
00:51:53
Speaker
I think public transit is such an important part of accessibility in our society. And it's not great here. It could be a lot better.
00:52:05
Speaker
So I'm hoping that this project will help. highlight and maybe generate some interest and love into that area of our society. We don't need all of these fancy self-driving cars. Just bring back the trains.
00:52:20
Speaker
So that's a little project I have going on next year. And I'm taking a class on mixing and mastering right now. So I the music that I'll be putting out next year is I've already I'm already a producer on all of the music that I put out, but I am pouring more of my attention and energy into developing my skills as a producer. So expect to hear some new sounds for me next year.
00:52:46
Speaker
I'm also ah going to be hosting a songwriter round that I've been hosting around North Carolina for a number of years. I call it What the Folk Songwriter Sessions. And i have myself and then two other songwriters sit in the round style with me and we take turns sharing a song and swapping stories.
00:53:07
Speaker
And I love this series because it creates a very intentional listening space. And I yapped a whole bunch earlier about how important and powerful it is to tell your story and share power of song. So I'm very excited to be hosting those. That'll be in Greensboro, North Carolina.
00:53:24
Speaker
And then who who else? Who else knows what's going on? The world is changing very quickly. And so I'm just along for the ride, writing a lot of songs. That is a packed schedule. That's a lot of amazing stuff in the mix. Are you kidding me? That's great.
00:53:39
Speaker
I stay busy. Undoubtedly. And again, the people could follow you at at at your site. Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, Virginia Music, right? Or Ashley, Virginia. It's Ashley, Virginia. Ashley, Virginia Music is the website. Yep. Okay.
00:53:52
Speaker
And then also on all your social feeds, look up Ashley Virginia. You get to see great performances. I'm a follower. You should be follower. Everybody here listening should be follower. So thank you, Ashley, so much for being here today. just means the world. You've shared so much insight, so much, again, just in your own journey, but also really reframing even the idea of music and queer collaboration and what that means, I think, for artists that are independent, but also how we work collectively to create community. So again, thank you so much for sharing this today. We would love to have you back in the future. Thanks for me.
00:54:24
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. Thanks, y'all. Yes, everyone, please give Ashley a follow and check out her work at AshleyVirginiaMusic.com. I'm your co-host, Daniel W.K. Lee, and you can follow me at StrongPlum on Instagram and upscrolled and DanielWKLee.BSky.social on Blue Sky.
00:54:46
Speaker
And I am your other co-host, Shane Lucas. And I am the owner of a Great Idea, a lifelong harm reductionist and activist. I'm a collector of records. You can follow me at shanelucas.com, agreatide.com, any of those channels. You'll find me there. And you can remember to subscribe and get your friends to subscribe to Power Beyond Pride on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. And you can check out more information at our site at powerbeyondpride.com.
00:55:11
Speaker
Power Beyond Pride is a project of A Great Idea, a queer-owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at agreatidea.com. This episode is produced by Shane Lucas. That'd be me.
00:55:24
Speaker
Maddie Bynum is the project developer. Hi, Maddie. Our editor is Jared Redding. Hi, Jared. And with support from the fantastic Ian Wilson. Hi, Ian. We are both part of this podcast. Awesome host team. And we invite you to send in your questions and comments at powerbeyondpride.com.
00:55:42
Speaker
For our mail slot section. For our slot. For our slot. we Enter our slot with your questions. Please enter our slot. Check out new episodes each week. And we look forward to career changemaking with you next time. Thank you from all of us at Power Beyond Pride.
00:55:59
Speaker
We'll see soon.