Ash Tuesday Interview

Rapid-fire Questions

1. What have you been listening to lately?

LOTS of Los Campesinos and the new front bottoms album. its alex g autumn now so him too

2. Can we expect an “a’s and s’s” reunion tour anytime soon?

LMAO i think there were too many creative differences, but i’ll see what i can do…

3. Help me convince my friend Erin to listen to Mobo.

To Erin, please listen later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atsYjvp4uOY

((One of their best songs and they name drop u like are u kidding……))

4. Which cowboy bebop character would you start a musical duo with?

There are so many better options but SPIIIIIIIIKE idc idc hes so fine i needed him yesterday. Writing the fanfic in my head as we speak.

5. What do I have to do to get an Ash Tuesday + Samia collab?

no, what do EYE have to do?? I’m willing to do most things.

6. When can we expect an Ash Tuesday cover of Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”?

I’ll pull up the ultimate guitar tab tomorrow.

7. How do we get Modern Baseball back together for one final tour?

I think possibly quantum physics

8. Would you ever consider playing at the gathering of the Juggalos?

No, but nothing against juggalos. I just don’t think me and juggalos are on the same wavelength on the vibe spectrum. I could be wrong. Could i get a vibe check from any juggalos in my area?

9. Make me cry.

A girl gets into a bad car accident and when she wakes up the doctors like “we had to give you a heart transplant but you’re going to make a full recovery” shes like “ok but where is my boyfriend” and the doctor goes “who do you think gave you the heart?”

10. Any local bands that you think everyone should check out?

Girlpuppy and hey, nothing obviouslyyyyy

also!! Choir of Babble, Magnolia Moon, Sarah to Nine, & Dead Hand!!

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For those who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and about your musical background?

Helllooo i’m ashlynn. I was born 25 years ago and have been upset ever since. I'd say I’ve always been into writing to some extent or another and I’d been in choruses growing up but nothing super serious. I also have a pretty musical family, but when you’re a kid you don’t really appreciate how cool that is. I think when I was 16 or so I got a ukulele for my birthday and would mess around and post “songs” (in the very loosest of definitions) on tumblr. Then I got a geetar and refused to learn how to play it. Learning now though and its making getting the thoughts out a lot easier :-)

What was the first album you remember falling in love with?

Hmmm probably From Under the Cork Tree by Fall out boy or A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out by P!ATD. Very stereotypical. Both of those still hold up so well though so congrats on taste preteen me.

When did you first show interest in music, and what was the process of going from that to actually writing and recording your own songs?

Aw I love this question. Idk if i have a definitive answer… I just know concerts were always a spiritual experience for me. The most recent moment of like “wow this is what I wanna do” was seeing Slaughter Beach Dog at Aisle 5 in 2022. Just thinking like “I want to be exactly like you” when Jake was singing Gold n Green. I think ever since getting a guitar it’s just been an emulation act of trying to be like my favorite writers on earth or make music they’d listen to too, rather.

Personally my favorite song of yours is “No Blood, No Needles, Nothing” can you give us some background on that song?

Ahh thanks so much I like that one a lot too. The first verse in particular is kind of written around a scene from my favorite movie The Royal Tennenbaums. Very disturbing upsetting stuff… and then Needle in the Hay is playing over it as if its not miserable enough. In context to me though, that part of the song is more about wallowing in the pity you’ve made up for yourself and expecting everyone to go along with it. The second verse kind of is what I imagine the antithesis of a character like Richie (or myself) would act if caught in a bad situation.

Congratulations on your latest release “Big Sky”! Can you talk to us a bit about the inspirations behind the EP, and what the writing and recording process was like?

Thank you!!!! ✨🙈❤️💕🔆 Unfortunately if I talked about the inspiration I’d have to k*ll u. Mostly it’s just about people places and things not liking you back lmao.

All of the songs off the EP were written in my childhood bedroom. Most of them (Dreamt, little mermaid, fasting) were written before I knew how to play that well so they’re kind of just 3 chords max the entire time. A year or two after all of the songs were “finished” I went back one day and just added these extensions/bridges/outros to them. That part was really fun and cathartic because obviously you improve over time at the writing aspect but also the emotions behind the songs got to change as well. The first versions of Dreamt was actually really sweet and endearing but the undertones got a bit angrier with the addition which is always a good and cool thing to see.

Recording was so much fun. My producer Lia (Nectarine Girl) and I did Little Mermaid together over facetime, but I got to fly out to boston to finish the rest of the songs in her studio. That was such a fun experience especially since I’d never had musician friends growing up. It was my first time making something in person like that. She’s a genius so all I really had to do was explain how I wanted it to sound and she did pretty much everything else.

Did you have an idea of what you wanted the EP to sound like before writing, or did it kind of take shape as you went along?

A bit of both I think. We just happened to start with Little Mermaid and I knew I wanted that one to be twinkly and like what a teenager in space might turn on after being ghosted or something. A lot of the sounds in that one just really spoke to us and after I figured out a title for the EP we decided to really go for that sound and have it be more intentional. Especially with Dreamt and Fasting I think those are sister songs in a way just because of how much they share sonically.

What are you most proud of on this EP?

Hmm probably the fact that its out LMAO. Idk I’ve been saying I’d release an EP since I was a teen so really this was the longest time coming. I think I’m most proud of how complete it sounds to me. There feels like a beginning, middle, and end not just subject matter and theme wise but also sound wise too. I was always a big fan of like when you hear something at the beginning of a book or movie and it comes up again at the end and I feel like this EP even has that. Just really cool to feel as if there’s nothing missing from the project, you know? To be like, “this is done.” Yeah, just completion in general.

What did you personally take away from the process of making this record, and what do you hope other people get from it?

It’s been so cathartically healing for me. Dreamt was one of the first songs I’d ever written and the feelings I felt then are so different to what Fasting felt like or how I feel now even. It’s just really cool to have a sort of time capsule of what I was going through and to come out on the other side being like “its fr not that deep.” I hope people by the end of the EP can realize that life goes on (not only that but usually gets BETTER) after that thing you thought would end it.

I think something that stands out to me about your songwriting is how immensely vulnerable the writing feels. I think it allows your listeners to connect/immerse themselves in your music. What is your songwriting process like? Is there anything in particular that you like to focus on the most?

Thats so nice wow thanks :-)

Hmm so usually I’m inspired by a book or movie or life experience I’ve just had or been adjacent to. I try to match the feeling to a chord progression that is simple enough for my intermediate fingers to play and also exudes said feeling. Then (the fun part) it’s just me freestyling really til something sticks.

How I like to look at is is there’s only so many “new” thoughts and ideas in the world, so making a lyric specific enough or saying it in a way thats unique to me and my world is how I think a song gets immersive and relatable. I think that also comes from listening to a lot of punk and emo too

I got to catch your show in Dallas when you were on tour with Leith Ross! Talk to us about that tour experience?

Omg all of the shows (and Texas specifically) were insane. I hadn’t (and still havent) played THAT many shows and to basically start at those venues was something so surreal and something that I’ll forever be aware of how lucky I was/am to get to do something like that. Indebted to Leith and their crew 5ever. Those were probably some of the most stressful and most fun moments of my life thus far. All i ever want to do really. <3

Any plans to tour again anytime soon? (Specifically in Texas)

Nothing in the books YET. If ur reading this let me open for you specifically in Texas (but also elsewhere)

Do you have a most memorable on stage experience?

A PERSON WHOSE NAME I FORGOT BUT LOVE VERY VERY MUCH SHOUTING THE LYRICS TO SCAB AT THE LEITH ROSS NY SHOW!!!! ITS INGRAINED IN MY MEMORY ILYSM THANK YOU!!!

Ideally where do you see Ash Tuesday 5 years from now? And what is something that you’d like to accomplish with/through your music?

5 Years from now I’ll be 30, so hopefully my subject matter will be a bit more fleshed out and concept based instead of always about me and what I’m going through. I hope to be shredding and just an all around better performer (if I still happen to be performing). I’d like to be on Album 3 by then. My dream is to have a song or 2 in a cartoon I really like!! Also to maybe have opened for one of my all time faves (like Death Cab or The Front Bottoms or Phoebe!!!)

What are some ways that we as listeners can show support to you and other of our favorite artists?

Buy our merch and our songs on bandcamp if you can!! Come to shows!! Keep listening!!! <333

Is there anything that you want our readers to know? (It can be about anything. It doesn’t have to be about music)

The universe is expanding at all points.

To wrap things up, do you have any questions for me?

Whats your favorite MOBO project and why is it The Perfect cast EP?

I'm torn in between Sports and You're Gonna Miss It All. I'd have to with You're Gonna Miss It All, only because it came out at the exact season of my life where I really needed it. I really connected to it.

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