#thecreativeroutine

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

[Songwriting] is my medium of communication; if I didn’t have it, I would explode or rot or something.

http://thecreativeroutine.tumblr.com/post/42854744215/a-conversation-with-torres-mackenzie-scott-has-had

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

I’m elated to know the record is striking some sort of a nerve with people.

http://thecreativeroutine.tumblr.com/post/42854744215/a-conversation-with-torres-mackenzie-scott-has-had

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

“The themes portrayed in my songs are merely concise, linear versions of what I only wish I could convey in everyday conversation.”

*

Interviewer: Are there specific stories that you want to tell in your lyrics?

Mackenzie Scott: Yes.

—Interview #1 source, Interview #2 source

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

“It’s probably safe to say there’ll be a video of some sorts in the near future.”

*

“I think right now we’re looking at doing a video for ‘Chains.’ I’m looking to put out a couple pretty soon.”

*

[Scott has released several performance videos, but, despite these quotes from February 2013, no cinematic music videos. We must content ourselves with this seemingly unofficial one.]

—Video source, Quote #1 source, Quote #2 source

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

How does Nashville influence your sound? There’re so many different scenes and so many different sounds here.

I’m not actually sure Nashville has influenced my sound a great deal. There are a couple of bands here that I’ve certainly taken cues from in terms of showmanship, but the influences on the music itself come from a myriad of places and span an impossibly wide variety of genres and eras.

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

How does your musical style relate to your fashion sense? I see a little of Johnny Cash, both in your music and your fashion sense. Is that intentional?

I suppose they’re correlated somehow. I wear what makes me feel good. Johnny is one of my heroes, and he’s certainly influenced me in all aspects, musically, fashionably, and otherwise. Fashion isn’t necessarily something that appeals to me, though, at least not in the way that it’s been portrayed in America. I think it can be beautiful and is a really fantastic medium of expression, but consumerism kind of bums me out and ruins the fun a bit.

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

Interviewer: Is [your songwriting] all autobiographical?

Mackenzie Scott: Whether it is or not, it’s all relevant to the universal human experience.

*

“I do write from personal experience, that’s often where I draw from, but I always try to make sure that whatever I am writing about is something that can be interpreted in a lot of ways and mean different things to different people.”

*

Interviewer: We’re always interested in the effect of geography on songwriting – did Nashville influence the songs and the album, or is it a case that you could have written/recorded them anywhere?

Mackenzie Scott: I probably could have written them anywhere, but my experiences are what shaped the songs, and my experiences took place in Nashville.

*

“I tend to write autobiographically. Writing lyrics feels like having a conversation after the fact. What I mean is that a lot of the time, my lyrics are the words that come too late. They’re the unspoken things I should’ve said, the words that I wish I’d been able to articulate to someone face to face.”

*

Interviewer: Are these characters you’re singing about or are you writing about yourself?

Mackenzie Scott: It’s all there — I’m all there. I wish I were better at writing about characters [but] I tend to be really in my head when I’m writing songs. And it’s catharsis for me to just get it out. It’s all me… as devastating as that may be.

—Interview #1 source, Interview #2 source, Interview #3 source, Interview #4 source, Interview #5 source

[fuckyeahmackenziescott]

“I never ‘try’ to write anything anymore. I did that for such a long time and would constantly beat myself up over it when I failed. Ultimately, the result is horrible when I try to say something that I don’t mean. I hate when I listen to artists sing about things I know they don’t care about. If you don’t care, chances are others aren’t going to care either.”

*

“I’ll go months at a time without writing a song and then I’ll get manic for a few months. It happens a handful of times every year and I can always feel the songs boiling under my skin when they’re ready for writing. I’m not good at constantly creating—I like the way Sylvia Plath describes the predicament. I believe—and I’m paraphrasing here—that she referred to herself when she wasn’t currently writing anything as a ‘writer-in-waiting’. That term has stuck with me like a brother since I heard it. It gives me comfort when I get frustrated with myself for experiencing dry spells.”

—Quote #1 source, Quote #2 source