'Bad Luck': An Interview with Erin Kirby

[UNPUBLISHED:] So, do you want to introduce yourself?

[ERIN:] My name is Erin Kirby and I am a singer-songwriter from a very small town in North Georgia, and I just love music to death.

[UNPUBLISHED:] So, you've just so you've just got a new song called ‘Bad luck’. Would you like to tell us about some of the inspiration behind it?

[ERIN:] So, ‘Bad luck’ is a song that talks about being in either a toxic friendship or being in a toxic relationship. We all have that person that might be our so-called Bad luck. We just can't admit to it, we don't see that they are causing us problems. But maybe your mom or your friend says to you “hey, that person is not good for you”, but you just can't admit it. This song talks about how you are my bad luck, and it's time that I let go because I finally realised it. I feel like that's something that everybody struggles with, we've all had that problem. I personally have had that problem; I try to be as nice as possible and I want to hold on and just hope for good things. But this song is just something that anyone can listen to, and hopefully relate to.  We always have obstacles, it's hard to let go of those friends or that relationship. I know it was hard for me because I wanted it to work out but I had to come to the point where, you know, it's time to let go and see who's around me that really cares for me and has always been there for me. I feel like the song can help some people through that.

[UNPUBLISHED:] You did this collaboration with Zac Lawson, what was that like? 

[ERIN:] I wrote two of my songs with Zac ‘Half in love’, ‘Bad Luck' and another one that is not released, that we did back in February of 2020. I worked with Zac on vocals and him and his brother Jake or JVKE from TikTok produced it. So over FaceTime, in September of 2020, we wrote bad luck, and then another song. They sent me a demo back and Zac was on it. And I was like, this is really cool. So, I said let's just keep it this way, and it just kind of happened like that. We just kept going with it. We actually both got to write this song together and we saw the inspiration from the beginning.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you think your sound has developed since ‘Boomerang’ in 2018?

[ERIN:] I think that when I started writing, it was more of an acoustic feel. It was simple lyrics, but still, something that's a little bit stronger. Then I moved on to new songs like ‘steal your heart’, which was a pop-soul vibe. Now I'm just very straight pop. My lyrics are the top thing that I want to get across. So, I feel that I've just really developed into like a singer-songwriter and a pop singer versus somebody that's just singing music that she doesn't really feel confident about.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have a dream collaboration? 

[ERIN:] Oh, that's such a tough question, because there are so many amazing artists. But my dream collaboration has to be Ed Sheeran, for sure, especially after he put the album out with just collaboration. He is like a lyrical genius. His voice is amazing, and I love him so much. So, that would be my dream collaboration. I watched his movie on Apple Music, and I grew a whole new respect for him because you can really tell he just loves music. Because he gets to just sing and write all the time. And I really appreciate that. That's something that I really love about him as an artist.

Also, Jessie J. I love her because she's just very genuine and who she is. She loves music and she loves people. So, when I got to sing with her when she was here in Georgia, at the Buckhead theatre, and I watched her with her fans, she would spend hours just talking to her fans from the stage. You can tell she just loves people. And I think that's amazing. I want to be just authentic. If I ever blow up like that, I just want to be able to connect with people and not shut them off. And Jessie J totally gives love to her fans, which is great. That's kind of an inspiration for me.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s the story with Jessie J? 

[ERIN:] I got to FaceTime with her one day when I was in the studio, and she was going to the dentist. I was freaking out. Then I got to sing with her here in Atlanta. I went to her concert and she remembered my face because we follow each other on Instagram. Then she noticed me and announced “I have this girl here and she has no idea this is going to happen. But I would love for her to come to sing with me my next song” and I forgot everything. I wasn’t prepared. I knew every word that she was singing, but then she said my name and I was like, ‘yeah, I forgot everything’ But she was really sweet, helpful and so nice.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have anything in store for 2021?

[ERIN:] Well, I'm wanting to put more songs out, I have a bunch of songs that I have written over the course of 2020. So, I'm excited to put those out. Hopefully, an EP is on the way. Hopefully, COVID will go away and I can start doing shows again, I just want to perform, it's my favourite thing to do. Also, I’m currently learning new instruments. So hopefully, once those shows open up, I'll get to showcase some of that.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you end up meeting your bandmates?

[ERIN:] So, I had a friend that played at church and he reached out to me one day because he plays guitar and I sing and suggested we should totally just like jam or make some music. I thought that'd be so fun. Then the next day, I got a call to play a show, and I needed a band. So, I reached back out and I was like, “Hey, I know that we wanted to jam, what about a show? Do you have any friends that might be interested in like being in a band?”  and that is how those guys became my brothers immediately. We just kept moving along with it and now we're super close. We've known each other for about a year and a half and it's crazy that it's only been a year and a half when it feels like my whole life. We immediately clicked like; we have phone calls at like 3 am. We've watched stepbrothers a hundred times, and we're a family and it's great.

[UNPUBLISHED:] So ‘Bad Luck’ has already started to be put in people’s playlists. Where would you put it? If you had to put that song in a playlist?

[ERIN:] I would probably put it in like my car playlist. Because the base is very heavy and then the vocals are like up and he just mixes them perfectly. So, when you're in the car and your windows are like rolled down and you have the music turned up all the way. It’s just a vibe the whole way.

[UNPUBLISHED:] When did you start performing? Do you have an aspirational performance?

[ERIN:] So, I've been doing music for about eight years, I started in pageants, and within my third pageant, I signed up for talent. From the moment I hit the stage, I knew that music was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I loved it so, so much. And I still love it that much, probably a little bit more. But I continued with pageants for about four years, and I moved on to a national level. I competed at a pageant in Florida. I competed with the daughter of Justin Timberlake manager. So, her aunt sent a video of my performance to the manager, and he flew off tour from Justin to come in and meet me. He said, “I think you're really amazing, here's my card” We never really moved on with that because I was ten and we didn't know where to take it from there. So, it was then I understood that I can definitely do this. That exchange gave me confidence So, I've just been working hard on music since then writing, growing, learning instruments, kind of how it started. I don't care if there are two people in the room zero people 1000 people, 100,000 people, it's always fun. I love playing. So, I think other than that, like my dream would be the Grammys and then just touring wherever.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How would you describe your music?

[ERIN:] I would say that every sound is a little bit different. Every song has a different element. But it is all along the lines of pop. My vocals are a little bit full and a little bit soulful and the lyrics are probably the main thing that's carrying the song. Something that's really relatable if you're looking for something that that you want to relate to or something that that you need, then hop onto Erin Kirby's Spotify, Apple Music, whatever. That's where you can find it.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Lastly, how have you been spending your Lockdown?

[ERIN:] I was in LA and I live in Georgia. So, I was in LA with my band. We had to come home a week and a half early, which was kind of sad. But it's okay because we came home, and my family and I got chickens. And we started with like five chickens. We're supposed to only get three, but we got five, now we have about 10 or 11. So my quarantine has been buying a chicken every weekend. I learned how to record at home I do a tone of FaceTime sessions, which have become my new favourite thing. I've also eaten a lot of food, and yeah, that's kind of been it just a bunch of music and sitting outside when you can.

Stream ‘Bad Luck’ by Erin Kirby. Feat Zac Lawson