The Beaches Release Anthem for the The Young, Dumb and Broke with “My People”
Before they were about to leave for their headline North America tour beginning on October 7th in Atlanta, we managed to catch Toronto-based rock group, The Beaches, for a quick call regarding their new-wave rock track, “My People.” Named after the neighbourhood they lived in, The Beaches is composed of Jordan Miller (lead vocalist/bassist), Kylie Miller (guitarist), Leandra Earl (keyboardist/guitarist), and Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drummer).
After recently celebrating two sold out shows at Toronto’s HISTORY, a concert venue that sits in the middle of the neighbourhood from their childhood, the Miller sisters gush over this current state of their adolescent life. They remind us that this stage between being a teenager and being a full-grown adult is all about embracing all the dumb things we do because we’re all still trying to figure it out. The Beaches stand as a prominent voice for Canadian songwriters, especially as an all-female rock band - we discuss why representation in music matters in reflection with the undertones of their new single, “My People.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] “My People” is about being young and broke in Toronto - why do you think enjoying this state of adolescent life is an important message?
[THE BEACHES - JORDAN:] I think the members of our generation often feel a little embarrassed that we haven’t gotten as far as, like, maybe your older siblings or parents had at our age, because circumstances are so different. I really wanted to create a song about being in a state of being a young adult where you're not a teenager anymore but also you’re not a functioning grown adult yet. I thought it was a resonating message for people our age. I also think it’s a really funny time to be alive and people in this state in their life do a lot of dumb shit that I think really lends itself well to the lyrics in the song.
[THE BEACHES - KYLIE:] I think also, coming out of Covid and really wanting to get out and explore nightlife again. It’s such a different time to be doing that. The cost of living in major cities, especially in Toronto, is so high - so finding ways to make money and save it, while still being able to go out and have fun.
[JORDAN:] Also people our age, if they’re given the choice between saving money and going out - they’re putting their money towards rent, food and partying - if we’re being real!
[UNPUBLISHED:] Can you walk us through the writing process for “My People”?
[KYLIE:] I think it was last year, we spent a couple weeks in LA with our really good friend and collaborator, Jacknife Lee and we showed him our little demo. He transformed it and just the song into what it is now.
[JORDAN:] I think he just made us change the chorus.
[KYLIE:] Yeah, and he pulled a little bit from The Strokes but also added a little bit more of a modern touch to it with 808s and the electronic drums. So it still has that dancy feeling to it but it is that classic ‘beaches’ rock. It’s a little more elevated of a sound sonically than the other one’s that we’ve done before.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s one thing you hope listeners take away from this song?
[JORDAN:] That it’s okay to be a sloppy bitch! It’s totally okay to be in a state of arrested development.
[KYLIE:] Yeah, it’s definitely about giving yourself a break. We’ve all gone through so much, especially with Covid and now we’re coming back into the real world, it’s an adjustment. We’re all learning to find that balance again - and if you’re a little off balance, that’s totally okay.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you feel the city of Toronto still impacts your creative process as musicians?
[JORDAN:] I guess in the same way for any other artists when you’re writing songs, you’re taking inspiration from where you are. We’ve always been Toronto girls and we’ve spent most of our time here, so I think the city lends itself a lot to our music. Whether it’s growing up, going to a downtown arts high school in Toronto and having access to people from all over. I don’t think there would be The Beaches without Toronto.
[KYLIE:] It definitely ends up lending itself to a lot of our songs, especially in the songwriting, because we tend to write from our personal experiences. It’s a pretty extensive key component to a lot of our songs, including the messages behind the songs. It’s just also nice if you’re Canadian, or you’re from here, you can find little easter eggs [in the songs].
[UNPUBLISHED:] Your last album was described by Elton John as “the best rock album of last year.”Can you describe how it feels to be recognized by a legendary musician like Elton John himself?
[JORDAN:] Ah yes, he said that about Late Show! That was incredibly flattering! I heard that he was actually playing “T-Shirt” in his pre-show playlist, like right before he went on stage. It’s hard to put it into words but like, that experience is so humbling and so cool that a man of his esteem and talent is giving us a little bit of a voice. It’s definitely something that we would like to pass on if we ever had the privilege of making it to that level that he has. But, it’s really hard to put into words, he’s so cool.
[KYLIE:] It also feels really good because we’ve been doing this for a very long time and to receive that kind of compliment from someone with so much fame and someone who is just an incredible musician himself, it means a lot. It feels like we’re doing the right thing. Whenever you’re having a bad day, you can just pull that out of your back pocket.
[JORDAN:] John thinks I’m cool!
[UNPUBLISHED:] As women working in the rock genre, can you comment on what it means to you to represent women in a heavily male-dominated industry?
[KYLIE:] I mean, you hit the nail on the head. It is a very male dominated genre and when we were first coming up, it was even more so. Now, we’re starting to see a lot more changes and a lot more progressive kinds of ways that the industry is evolving, which is amazing to see. I think for us, we do this just because we love it and we just happen to be all female. But if it gets other young women to get out there and form bands with their best friends - that’s the ultimate accomplishment.
[JORDAN:] I also think there’s a lot more work to be done in terms of queer people and people of colour being missed and under-represented in rock. I know that there are voices in those communities that are being perpetually ignored. It’s not just women that are being left out of the conversation. So, I think there is still some work to be done. Rock n’ roll has always been a type of music that lends itself to outsiders and marginalized people. So it’s great now that those voices are just starting to become more reflected within the individuals in rock.
[UNPUBLISHED:] With the release of your latest three singles, “Grow Up Tomorrow,” “Orpheus” and now “My People” - do you feel you’re entering and exploring a new era of adolescence as a band?
[JORDAN:] It’s definitely showing a bit more of an evolution of our sound and how we’re moving into a new territory where we can begin to experiment more sonically, and lyrically. We did “Orpheus” and “My People” with our longtime collaborator Jackknife and we did “Grow Up Tomorrow” with a new producer out of Toronto. So, I think for us it’s a way for us to branch out and try on a couple of different new looks. As independent artists, you do have a lot more freedom and creative control. We can finally for the first time in like 13 years do that, and put out a weirdo song like “Orpheus” and it’s all kind of in our hands now.
[KYLIE:] I would say, I think for us it’s going to be a time to explore and work with a lot of different writers. We have room to figure out exactly what kind of sound we want our next stuff to be like. It’s definitely a period of growth and exploration for the band.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s the most memorable show you’ve played thus far into your careers?
[KYLIE:] The last few shows in Toronto were pretty epic. We headlined this venue in the beaches called History. So it was really crazy to play our little neighbourhood after being in this band for almost 13 years. It definitely felt like a really big career milestone for us. What about you, Jordan?
[JORDAN:] We were in Denver - this is why I hate playing in Denver, something always goes bad there - but some dude broke into the theatre and smeared a jar of peanut butter all over the stage and all over our gear. Eliza is also allergic to peanut butter, and I was just like ‘why do this’! I mean, I want to say the shows that are meaningful are the ones that I remember most but I guess I really remember when our gear breaks or when we were playing in Red Deer and we used too much power so we could only play for half an hour.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I love the peanut butter story, that’s so funny. And I’m guessing he just got caught and got kicked out?
[JORDAN:] I don’t think he was ever caught. I think he came in with speed and left. Maybe he just did it for kicks or maybe he didn’t like Passion Pit because we we’re opening for them. We’ll never know.
[UNPUBLISHED:] He’s out there somewhere with his reasons.
[JORDAN:] Yeah, maybe he’ll see this interview and get in touch with us.
