Hi, everybody. Welcome to the Mark Mo Show Fireside
Chats. I'm your host, Mark Maloney. And joining
me this week is aspiring singer -songwriter Ayva
Rainwater. Welcome, Ayva. Hi. Thank you. Thank
you for having me. Oh, absolutely. I was very
excited to have you on Fireside Chats. Overdue
for one of my chats. So I am going to ask you
first just to introduce the world. to Ayva a little
bit. Yeah. Well, my name is Ayva. I am currently,
you know, going to school. I started really getting
into music. Well, I've really it's never really
been a question. I grew up very music oriented.
It's always been a really big part of my life.
You know, music festivals and concerts like music
has always found a way to like reach me in the
darkest moments of my life, as I'm sure, you
know, a lot of people can relate to that. But
that's really. kind of what's keeping me really
passionate about everything that I'm doing right
now. You know, I'm a full -time student. I work
full -time. You know, I'm really just kind of
hustling through life right now, and I'm really
glad that I could be here with you today to kind
of take it slow a little bit, slow down a little
bit, you know, get to sing a couple of songs
and have a good time with you. Absolutely. I'm
glad that's kind of the mindset because that
was the whole point behind all of this. Now,
just for audience perspective, I suppose, I'm
going to let everybody know how Ava came to sit
in this seat having this podcast with us today.
So I frequent an establishment called Buffalo
Wild Wings, I'm sure most of you have heard of
that or have one in your neighborhood or city.
So we have one here in Valparaiso, Indiana, and
I frequent it, go see games, et cetera, et cetera.
Anyway, Ava is a server and a friend, and one
day she's at the bar rail. I'm having a discussion
with our mutual friend, Jess, and all of a sudden
she breaks into song. And my eyes kind of opened,
and I was like... okay, where did that come from?
And I was just like, what are you doing here?
It's not a rare occurrence either. I'm sure Mark
can attest to this. I'm typically singing or
humming or whistling. And it just so happened
that one of my favorite songs came on and I felt
it necessary to serenade my friend Jess. And
she definitely appreciates that for sure. But
it was like the first time I really heard your
voice. And I thought, holy cow. Like, you're
really good. And so we just kind of had that
discussion of like, OK, is this just something
you break into song in restaurants and hanging
at home and whatever? Or is this something that's
a passion? Is this something you want to do?
And once Ava had said, music is. is everything,
and blah, blah, blah. I said, OK, well, I have
this old podcast, and I think we need to have
a chit chat and maybe get this thing going. So
that kind of brought us here. So I am grateful
she decided to sing that day. And now I've heard
her. Me too. Me too. Absolutely. I've heard her
more frequently now. And if you are listening
and you're in the Valpo area, this might be a
little bit of foreshadowing. But you may hear
Ava. in and around town this summer. So we'll
definitely check our socials. And we'll definitely
share all that info later on. But that information
will be on there. So definitely check it out.
I may be more excited than you are. I'm like,
this is so great. You're like, nah, I'm not,
buddy. I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't
even sleep before this podcast. Because I even
had a dream, Mark, that I was sitting on the
edge my bed playing my guitar and for the life
of me I could not get that thing in tune so I'm
just sitting there and everything that I'm playing
is the most like awful screeching noise and I'm
like I'm like having these nightmares before
this podcast but I think that's really just a
manifestation of how excited I am because you
know I've always loved to play music. I've always
loved to make it, but I've never really done
anything with it. You know, I have the Instagram.
I've played for a couple of friends, but it's
never really been something like, oh, I'm going
to put myself out there. You know, there's always
been priorities ahead of that. So for this opportunity
to present itself, you know, I'm definitely.
if not more, equally as excited as you are. Yeah,
well, it is so awesome, and I'm just glad I can
help in any way. But I think once you guys hear
her voice and hopefully get an opportunity to
see her live, you will be just as excited because
you are very talented. I'm going to ask a series
of questions, and then we'll hear from you a
song or two. And so the first one I have here,
when did you start singing? And when did you
realize that you could sing? Because everybody
sings, right? Right, yeah. for many of us we
should keep that into the confines of our car
or our shower and that's that's it you know but
at some point you know you were singing like
everyone else and you know was it was it family
was it friends did you have that realization
that you're like wow i can kind of carry a tune
here yeah well for to answer that question i
actually have a story for you my grandma she
was probably one of the people that I was closest
to. You know, my mom, she was pretty young when
she had me, so we lived with them for the majority
of my upbringing. And she was telling me this
story one time because, you know, I was just
sitting there pretty young, just like singing
to myself one of the trendy pop songs that was,
you know, great at the time. And she tells me,
she's like, you know, Ava, the first time that
I ever held you. you were singing to me and she
said like fresh in the hospital you know like
the first time my grandmother ever held me she
said that i could already you were singing this
beautiful song to me within seconds of meeting
you So of course as a young kid, I'm gonna take
that and be like, okay. Well, I'm the best then
My grandma told me I'm gonna make it so I'm gonna
make it so I I mean it was never really when
did I discover because you couldn't Catch me
as a kid silent I was never silent. If I wasn't
singing, I was dancing. If I wasn't dancing,
I was making my parents watch me as I performed
on the fire mantle to a play that I just learned
about. I've always loved performing in any sort
of way. I've always been a very performative
person. In terms of when I figured out like,
man, I might actually, you know, like have something
here. This is something I don't really know,
you know, it's because it was always, you know,
I was always doing it. I was always singing and
everything. It was never something that I really
questioned. There have been multiple times where
my parents have told me to be quiet or shut up.
So it was actually, you know, I just thought
that it was everyone, you know, I thought everybody
was just always singing and stuff like that.
But, you know, in elementary school I was. Yours
truly mrs. Claus in the play so to get a head
roll like that in elementary school was a big
deal So this is some that Meryl Streep get started,
right? Yeah, yes exactly, but you know there
were a couple of talent shows Things like that,
but I first started actually Writing when I was
in high school, and it's actually one of the
songs that I want to play for you today It's
a song called my endeavors and I remember I was
watching a YouTube video And I saw somebody take
the words, or the word, I guess, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,
and he turned it into a rap. And I was like,
hold on. I want to try that. Sure. You piqued
my interest. Now I'm going to try to do something.
And it just flowed out of me. It was the first
song I ever wrote. I have ever written and I
wrote it within an hour. You know, it was that's
good. Yeah, I it was just the the lyrics just
kind of came to me a little bit. And then I played
it for one of my friends. His name was Rafi and
he was like, Eva, like. we need to do something
with this. We can't just sit on this. Like, this
is incredible. You have something incredible
here. And ever since then, I've been writing,
you know, just music for myself, for other people.
Yeah, it's just always kind of been there. That's
awesome. Who, as you were growing up and you
were singing, so it could be grade school years,
high school years, who were some of those...
Musical influence and I know you said that you
had heard the rapper use super gallop French
those days I don't even know if I can say the
word but anyway So who were some of your earlier
influences so I actually grew up on reggae so
oh, okay Yeah, like this sublime slightly stupid
311 in my all -time favorite is dirty heads.
Okay, so I really had that sunshine, happiness,
feel -good vibes. I was drawn to that kind of
music, sort of. And not all of it is strictly
reggae. I like to call white people reggae, because
they're all white and they're playing these reggae
songs. But that, I've always been really... You
know, I've always really gravitated towards that
kind of music and it always finds a way back.
So, you know, I'll go through the phases where
I'm really into like pop music and things like
that or, you know, country, just trying out different
artists. Like I'm not, I'm not strictly... you
know a fan of one particular genre of music but
i always find my way back to reggae and dirty
heads has definitely been that band for me i
know you're looking at me like the name is like
who are these guys no i i actually know do you
i do okay they will be that song will be in my
wedding i don't know how it's going to be one
of the one of their songs will be in my wedding
i haven't figured out the you know details of
it yet but um other than that It's string cheese
incident was always a big one with me and my
dad Harry Styles I can't lie. I was definitely
one of your Textbook fan girls in high school,
you know, yeah, I went to the concerts, you know,
I watched the YouTube videos all of the different
So forms of media that you can consume about
him I did and probably every single one that
is out there on the internet. I loved him growing
up Yeah, I mean I can't really think of any more
no no no that sounds good now was there a moment
in your life that Made you believe you could
pursue something with your singing or and or
your songwriting I think it would have to be
that moment when I wrote that first song and
I took it to my friend and I showed him and he
just kind of had this like expression on his
face like he it was something that he had never
experienced before I think at that moment was
when I was like oh shit you know like this actually
this might actually be something but I've never
you know I've had a couple of friends who have
joked around about like you know signing me up
for America's Got Talent and all like this stuff
but it's never something been something that
I've taken really seriously. You know, cause
you know, the parents were always like, I mean,
obviously you're not going to drop anything and
do this. You know, I never really promoted it
that much. I've always been very school oriented,
work oriented. Just, I'm going to do what I have
to get done. And this is something that I enjoy.
This is something that like, I can meditate to,
I can find peace in my music. Like it's a very...
therapeutic thing that I do for myself, like
this hobby is. I've never really thought about
it up until this point about it actually being
something, you know, which is why I'm so thankful
for this experience and being able to let more
people hear it. But I think to answer your question
now. Yeah, no, that's that's great. And that's
a that's a great answer, because a lot of times
there are things that we are. exceptional at
and as you say that you know whether it's just
kind of your it's your happy place or you meditate
or whatever that case might be but it never dawns
on us that maybe we should share this gift with
others well it's also very intimate you know
it's a very you're giving a lot of yourself to
other people at least that's the case for me
It's a scary thing to do, you know? It's a very
vulnerable thing to do because, you know, your
voice is who you are. Right. And, like, you're
kind of just putting yourself out there to be
like, hey, tell me what you think about myself,
which is, like, it's scary for anybody, right?
Oh, yeah, for sure. You know, I've always not
been very... camera shy but but this is scary
it's a scary thing to do yeah oh no doubt and
and we are now uh gonna introduce the world uh
to your singing and uh the title of the song
you're gonna be singing again is my endeavors
okay coming up Supercalifagilisticexpialidocious
All my friends are stepping up and getting on
their whole shit I'm just trying to make sure
my head's lower than the ceiling It's daydreaming
smart endeavor cause I'm sick of how my life
is My lover told me stop you just being over
dramatic I wonder if he knows that he's the reason
that my mind's sick Damn that's kinda dark I
don't even know how I got here Let's just take
a break and scroll until we lose all our peers
I'm trying to remember how to get my shit together
Cause it's been a second since there's been a
storm that I could weather on My friends tell
me my music's pretty but I can't accept it really
If I tell my enemies they just say that I'm being
greedy Why do I have to have an anxious mind?
Do I have to overthink my life? Do you like me
or are you just being nice? No, I never said
I'm not enough No, I never said I can't keep
up So then why do I make up these lies? It's
raining outside but I love it Crying is my nature
but I can't lie, it feels so nice Kinda like
the feeling when we accidentally brushed Lies
like love was in a movie Coulda sworn you looked
in my eyes Held me in your arms again I swear
these were the best nights But then the lights
turned on and I was looking at the sunrise My
sister came in banging saying that we're leaving
in five Told her I was coming with dark circles
under my eyes When's it start to feel like this
life's gonna be worth my time? I'm trying to
remember how to get my shit together Cause it's
been a second since there's been a storm that
I could weather My friends told me my music's
pretty but I can't accept it really If I tell
my enemies they just see that I'm being greedy
Why do I have to have an anxious mind? Do I have
to overthink my life? Do you like - It's raining
outside If you told me I was crazy I would politely
oblige My mind's never been this hazy I don't
even know the time Been going to bed too early
Waking up at 5 o' 5 Pop a couple ibuprofen So
I'll make it through this life I don't think
nobody notices When my hair needs a wash Or when
strolling through the hallways Look at my feet
when I walk But you feel the same way Don't you
feel a lonely little loss For sure there was
someone that could help you Guess we're all just
pretty flawed Why do I have to have an anxious
mind? Alright everybody, we are back. That was
amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Why don't
you just tell everybody a little bit about that
song, maybe the inspiration for it, or anything
lyrically. Oh, man. Where do I start? Wherever
you want. I was a million percent an age -D teenager
when I wrote that song. A lot of the times, all
of these songs, I struggle with just forcing
myself to write. I can't do it everywhere. I
can't do it at any specific time. A lot of my
songs really come from exactly how I feel in
a certain moment. And if I can find a melody
that I'm able to, you know, be able to portray
that emotion, then it just, it just happens,
you know? So with this song, I think I was a
sophomore in high school. You know, I was going
through You know your typical things that someone
of that age might go through I was having a lot
of trouble, you know with self -esteem I have
was I was having some family issues I was just
in a pretty honestly a dark place so You know
a lot of these lyrics in this song are About
me feeling like I'm behind, you know, like even
in that opening line. I'm just you know, I'm
trying to keep my Head under the ceiling while
everybody else is you know, like outliving their
life. I'm just trying to be a human, you know
sure and um It was about how self -aware I was
at that time and how I struggled with you know
Everybody's eyes being on me all the time even
if they might not have been Basically, this is
about my anxiety that I had in high school So
in that last little bit it talks about you know,
I don't think anybody notices when My hair needs
to be washed or you know when I'm strolling through
the hallways. I'm looking at my feet You know
it's really just about me not having that self
-esteem that I felt like a lot of the people
around me did and you know searching for that
and You know like when it talks about how? Crying
is my nature, but I can't lie it feels so nice
kind of like the feeling when we accidentally
brush thighs so that for me is I don't look at
crying as a negative thing. I think it's a release
that our body needs and I'm very, you know, thankful
for that. Sure. And the same with, you know,
it's about dreaming, right? Like you're dreaming
about this life that you could have, this life
that you want, but you don't have it. So I'm
having all of these warm, bubbly lyrics come
out, you know, about how exciting youth is and
like about how these like falling in love and
all of this stuff. And then it's like, oh, the
light turned on and I'm going to school, you
know? So it's about longing for something that
you don't have. The anxiety that comes with being
young. Honestly, that's why it's so hard for.
Well, not hard, but why I've never really gone
anywhere with this, because this is like the
very raw, unfiltered emotions of what I was feeling
at that time. And that's kind of what music is
for me. I'm not really looking for, in making
music, to produce something for other people.
It's always been for me. It's always been to...
kind of express in a way that I can understand
what I'm going through because I have a hard
time talking about these kind of things as I'm
sure we all do but I found that outlet through
music and this was the first song where it was
like okay this works you know and that's part
of why it is so therapeutic for me because it's
those deep down emotions that are really hard
to talk about but I can you know play the guitar
to it a little bit and all of a sudden I can
create something beautiful Yeah, most definitely.
And it kind of leads me to this question. Do
you feel it's more important to be authentic
or write and perform for the audience or for
maybe what is kind of in vogue or what is popular
right now? And I think you did address that a
little bit. A little bit. I mean, I'm always
going to be on the self -expression side. You
know, I don't... I mean, you can attest to this,
even when we're both at beat -ups and one of
those shitty pop songs comes on, I feel like
I'm gonna, you know, scream. I can't stand it,
that repetitive beat. I mean, I understand the
purpose for it, it's just not my thing. Everything
that I create is one million authentically me,
and that's kind of why it's so special to me.
I think there are times, like, you can dedicate
something to another person. or something that
you're passionate about, or if you're trying
to reach a larger audience about an important
subject, then I think it's okay a little bit.
As long as it's coming from you, you know? You're
putting your own emotional twist on it. You're
expressing how you feel about a certain thing.
There are different forms in which a person is
able to do that. So in that way... You know,
I'm not for the cookie cutter. This is exactly
what I want you to sing here This is how many
beats per minute it has to be I'm very like let
it flow out And if it's something that you're
passionate about it'll come naturally to you,
you know There doesn't have to be a script for
it. Yeah, cuz that's how all of my songs were
made You know, I pick up a guitar and what I
do is I play one I'm no, you know guitar connoisseur
or anything I'm not super professional when it
comes to that. I play what I think sounds good
What I usually do is I pick up the guitar and
I put my finger down on just like one fret, and
I just play that one note. I'm like, okay, I
have this one note, let me find the next note,
and I build it from that. I really let it come
naturally to me and what I think sounds good,
what I think sounds right. If a lyric is too
cheesy, I will throw it out, because if it's
coming from the top of the head and it sounds
like it would be in a Disney movie, then I don't
like it. But yeah, I think that it's a million
percent more important to be authentic than it
is to fit in with. Yeah, yeah, and I really appreciate
that because a lot of times that you'll you'll
hear bands That'll you know, they'll be interviewed
and they'll have an album. It's a great album.
But there's always that like that that one hit
on that album. But that's the one that was driven
by the music companies. It was driven by the
producers and they hate playing it live. And
they would rather play all the other stuff that
had much more meaning. That's definitely always
something that I've had in the back of my head.
Like when I am going to these concerts and I'm
going to these music festivals, I'm like, how
pissed off are they right now that they have
to play this one song over and over and over
again. It's a song that everybody knows and everybody
goes crazy. But in the back of their head, they're
like, oh, my gosh. like I just created this you
know this was mine but you like this one more
you know right that's that's definitely always
been something like a topic of conversation with
my family because that's a very it's it's obvious
you know you can tell when an artist isn't passionate
about what they're doing and they're doing it
because they have to and I think that's a really
important differentiation to make when you are
creating music yeah absolutely now would you
say your your music. Does it fall into a specific
genre necessarily? I don't think it does on purpose.
Okay, all right. But I'm noticing a trend that
a lot of them because they are, it does come
on when I'm going through something and I need
an outlet. They all tend to have a pretty sad
undertone. I think I tried sitting down and writing
a happy song one time. It was really bad. And
it's not, you know, it's unintentional. I promise
I'm cool. Like I'm not depressed or anything,
but it's just, you know, when I am making this
music. it's serving a purpose for me, you know,
it's serving me. It's relieving me of some of
the heavier emotions that, you know, I sit with.
And it's a form of expression that alleviates
that for me. So intentionally, no, but it always
seems to be a little bit sad. Yeah. And you know
what? I think it's I think that's genuine, you
know, and I think a lot of people out there,
whether they're musicians or they're writers,
poets, whatever they do, There there is that
other side that we we typically kind of keep
behind a curtain that we don't let people see
each and every day But through our arts we kind
of let that out even even painters or anything
else like that Intentionally to which was so
beautiful about it. Yeah, it is for it is for
sure. Yeah now the be it that we haven't established
a genre for your music at this point, do you
envision in the future experimenting with different
styles or types of music? Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.
This is funny. There was even my uncle. He plays
guitar. My dad just got a DJ set for Christmas
and my brother just got a bass. Oh, that's fun.
So, you know, we were shooting the shit and we
were like, we're going to start a band. It's
going to be called Rainwater, Inc. This is going
to be great. And one time my uncle sent me the
sample of, you know, what he had played on the
guitar. He added a couple of layers to it and
whatever. Like all of a sudden I'm going, well,
you know, Jack and he had a heart attack. And
I was like, where did this come from? You know,
I like I heard the music and that's like. immediately
where I want. So, you know, it's interesting
because it is, I think it's really something
that just kind of shows up sometimes. So I'm
definitely all for experimenting. you know, with
any of the genres. Sure. I'm like, I want to
try everything that there could possibly be.
I want to see what my voice fits in most with
what I think is the most fun. I'm definitely
open for exploring. And I think it's just because,
you know, I don't have those tools yet to kind
of experiment with that. You know, I have my
guitar and I have myself. And that's where it's
taken me. That's right. Well, it like one song
immediately popped in my head. And that was the
song that Eminem did with Dido and, you know,
she had, she had her lyrics and they kind of
put that into his rap. And normally you'd be
like, you know, this is not a peanut butter and
chocolate kind of situation. This is really different,
but it works. It just works. So no, that's interesting.
So if you do that in the future, we're all going
to be very excited to hear what's coming next.
So when thinking about that creative process.
What comes first for you? So is it like, is it
like a melody? Do you just start strumming? Or
is it something lyrically, like you start doing
writing and then you kind of fit the melody into
that? Or is there some sort of chord progression
with that? It is never the lyrics first, is what
I've found. I think I've tried a couple of times
to just sit down and write to begin with, and
then it just never really flowed with whatever
I could come up with on the guitar. It just,
that doesn't really... It's not really the way
my brain works, I guess, but kind of like about
what I was telling you earlier. Like when I'm
in that mood and I'm like, I'm looking at my
guitar across the room and I'm like, all right,
I'm going to go pick this thing up. It usually
starts with me just, you know, going over the
some of the stuff that I've created in the past.
And then, like I said, I'll just play one note.
and from that one note I'll immediately just
get this like vision just from that one note.
I'll be like okay I know exactly what I can do
with this and then I'll find that you know the
coordinating note and then the other coordinating
note and from there it's just a matter of what
kind of melody do I want this to be and what
do I want this to be about. And honestly, Mark,
it's I'm never really thinking about what I want
the lyrics to be. It's always immediately what's
at the top of my head when I'm writing comes
out. And, you know, I'll play with it a little
bit naturally. But it's every time that I'm writing,
it is one million percent authentic, which is
why it's so like which is why I'm putting so
much emphasis on like I do this when I need to,
because it really does just. Snap, you know,
there's not a lot of thought that needs to go
behind it You know I've worked pretty hard on
a couple of these songs and I put a lot of effort
into a couple of these songs But it was never
like I was searching for it It was like I'm waiting
for it to pop in my head if that makes sense.
It's really hard to explain does Yeah. It totally
makes sense. And I think of one story off the
top of my head where Black Sabbath, so Tony Iommi,
is they're just sitting around, he's just playing
the guitar. Yep. And he's playing something from
a composer. Gustav Holst starts playing Mars
the bringer of war. That became Black Sabbath,
Black Sabbath. So I love how the way you explain
that because I think that's so true for so many
artists that they just get that sound and then
everything else just kind of... It kind of just
falls into place. It falls into place. Okay,
so now I'm excited because we're gonna hear more
music from Ava Rainwater. What do you have for
us? I have a song called Do You? to you. Okay,
coming up guys. Renegade, daddy's been gone for
days But you've still got blood in those veins
Cause Friday turns to Sunday blues You haven't
moved, not much to do Only when you grace the
bruise can you tell What was meant for you I
think I'm drowning and the only thing I want
is you But how can you save me when all you can
do is do you Flowers bloom from the trees Strong
like the evergreens Can you stand tall and still
bleed? Mama said sit up straight Daddy's been
gone for days But you've still got blood in those
veins Cause Friday turns to Sunday blues, you
haven't moved, not much to do Only when you graze
the bruise can you choose What was meant for
you? I think I'm drowning and the only thing
I want is you But how can you save me when all
you can do is do you? All right. We are back.
And that was the second song from Ava Rainwater.
You are listening to the Mark Mo Show Fireside
Chats. And why don't you tell everybody a little
bit about that one? Oh, man. This one. Yeah.
A lot there. Oh, yeah. It's a pretty heavy one.
I wrote this song my freshman year of college
when I was going to Purdue. And it really, I
was pretty alone. over there. I'm not, I'm not
going to lie, you know, I was working and I was
working full time essentially and going to school
and that was pretty much it. So there's this
song embodies that sense of like drowning almost,
you know, like I feel like I'm working and I'm
working and I'm working to like stay afloat,
but it's just not enough. And that's kind of,
this song was synonymous to me reaching out and
being like, hey, something has to change. I need
a little bit of help in that it's kind of like
that call and no return is what this song essentially
is. I'm going through all of these really heavy
emotions and I'm not really finding this help
or assistance that I needed. And it's also, this
song, I will say, it touches a little bit on
the storytelling aspect that we were kind of
talking about earlier. Because when I was writing
this, these lyrics were just coming into my head.
And it kind of created this story, touching on
aspects about a mom and a dad and this significant
other from this song. And not all of it. it really
doesn't have full truth all the time. My music
doesn't. It's really creating this emotion that
I'm trying to portray through the lyricism. So
a lot of this was me trying to come up with these
metaphors and experiences that are equivalent
to what I was going through at that time. No,
that definitely makes sense. It is definitely
deep, but I... Yeah, it's a heavy one. It is,
it is, but I love it. And the way you present
it, once again, as we talk about the melody,
it's just, it was perfect. Thank you. I appreciate
that. No problem. Do you feel it's more important
to be... Well, I think I asked this question
already. Sorry about that. Where... Do you typically
find inspiration? Is it solely through things
that you've had happen in your life? Is it through
a walk in the woods? Is it through, is it just
a variety of different things? Okay, that's,
huh. I've never really thought about that one
before. I think that the majority of the time,
this inspiration comes from experience, you know,
heavy feelings that I have been through, but
that's not strictly, you know, like, shortened
to these negative experiences. Like you said,
a walk in the woods, sitting at the beach. Being
with my brother walking down the street and thinking
like oh this would probably you know make a good
song a lot of these poles are From real life,
you know experiences, but they also like I just
added a little bit of whimsy to them You know
like I wanted to elevate what I was because I
I'm a person who feels emotions very deeply You
know, I'm a deeply feeling person. So when I
am creating and writing and all of these things
I Listen to this melody And I'm like, I want
to talk about how this melody makes me feel and
what kind of emotions I can harness through this
music. And then the lyrics sort of just, you
know, they can be pulled from vacations or moments
with friends or moments with family or even moments
with myself, you know. On the way home from school
and one of my favorite songs from when I was
a kid kicks on and all of a sudden I have this
like Urge to get behind the guitar and create
that for myself, you know so I'll be listening
to this music that I love because I I Love a
lot of music and I'll hear one and I'll be like
I want to create that I think that's it might
be a little bit of an ego thing But it's like
I hear something like this beautiful art and
I'm like I can do that I'm gonna go do that really
quick, you know, so that's kind of it just kind
of comes from a little bit of everything. With
your writing, now it seems like a lot of your
writing comes from experience in life, experience
and stuff like that, but do you also write in
terms of storytelling or imagination or fantasy
or things like that? If so, then do you see that
transitioning into music? Sometimes. Sometimes.
I think like getting into that storytelling and
imagination and fairy tales and everything like
this. I think the way that I approach that when
writing music is to make it a metaphor almost,
you know, like make it symbolic of something
else. Sure. So there was this project that I
was working on a couple of months ago, and it
was called The Eggs on the Stove, No Year's Secrets.
So that kind of stuff, that kind of symbolicism
like that, that's what I, I love that stuff,
you know? So what that kind of means, what that
phrase kind of means is, you know, there's this
woman who is cooking breakfast for her family.
And they're in this. This is a little bit from
experience or what I imagine to be the reality
of my situation. But it was about this woman
and she was, you know, it was a tradition to
make breakfast every Sunday morning. And she
took so much pride and happiness in doing it.
But there was this underlying, you know, film
of emotion and heaviness that she wouldn't Share
sure with her kids and I think that you know
being able to Express that through lyricism is
really important because it's also You know the
same as the reality of the situation The eggs
on the stove know her secrets because you know
she spends this personal time in the kitchen
But she's never willing to really you know talk
to anybody else about that and i think that you
know being able to capture that is a beautiful
thing so within this fantasy and storytelling
and creating these narratives for these songs
i think it's really important that it means something
you know of course it can be fun and it can be
upbeat and you can be talking about like this
guy who goes into the big city and he can suck
it to the people in his hometown. It serves a
purpose, but as long as it means something, I
think that's all that really matters. I would
like to experiment more with it in the future.
I just haven't done a whole lot with that, but
I have done a lot of the symbolism within my
music. Yeah, that's amazing. I have this question,
and I was trying to find the best way to ask
this. But like, because it's almost like an interview
interview question. Where do you see yourself
in five years? Yeah, there you go. But I mean,
that's that's pretty much it. So, you know, if
you see yourself as as the singer songwriter.
Yeah. Like five years from now, where could you?
Where can you envision yourself or where would
you like to see yourself in terms of like, yes,
music's important to me, but maybe there's this
professional side of you that wants to accomplish
things and personal accomplishments and things
like that. Man, shoot. I think that honestly,
wherever this music wants to take me, I'm going
to let it. I don't really have like a, I'm gonna
live in this place, I'm gonna have this many
records, I'm gonna have this many fans. That's
not important to me, the statistics don't matter
to me. I think that my music has the potential
to speak to a wider audience than myself. And
if that audience is reactive in the way that
I think they are, then I'm going to let them,
you know, decide whether they want to hear more
of me, what kind of music they want to hear.
But also, you know, touching back on what we
were talking about earlier, make sure that it's
still authentically me in that. I am doing this
because I love to write and I love to make this
music. I don't want to get lost in the... sauce,
essentially. I don't want to get distracted by
all the big and flashy lights, like I'm doing
this because I love it. Not to gain anything
out of it. I love that. I appreciate that. That's
amazing. Ava, thank you so much for joining Fireside
Chats. I'm so excited for your future as a singer
-songwriter. Is there any message that you would
like to leave in closing? Any shout outs, anything
like that? Just be kind. Be kind? I think everybody
could be a little bit more kind. We need that
now. Big time now more than ever. Shout out to
you for having me on the podcast. Thank you.
Thank you for, you know, taking a shot after
you heard somebody singing in a bar. Who knew?
I know, right? Who knew we'd be here? But yeah,
I think that... I'm just very fortunate for this
opportunity, and I'm so excited to work with
you in the future and see where this goes. Absolutely.
And I think everybody needs to be a little bit
more kind, and I'm going to end it on there.
I love that. Now, I appreciate that. And I want
to thank all of you listening so much. Thanks,
guys. Thanks for listening in to this edition
of Fireside Chats. I am Mark Maloney. Make sure
you listen to fireside chats. Make sure you listen
to the Mark Mo show Like subscribe share all
that good stuff Because this music's mom so you're
gonna want to do that, right? So We are going
to close this show With one more song from the
very talented Ava Rainwater. What do you have
for us in closing? This song is called the lady
in the dress. Okay, and we We will not get that
opportunity to kind of explain the song afterwards.
So why don't you just tell everybody what that
song is about? Well, I wrote this song for my
mom a couple of years ago they went through a
divorce and I think there was a lot that I was
internalizing as well as she was that we never
really Felt comfortable talking to each other
about so this song is essentially I see you,
I hear you, and I love you. And that pretty much
sums it up. That's great. That's a great message.
Alright everybody, one more time. Ava Ringwater.
We haven't talked for days My mind's in a different
place Things aren't the same as they used to
be I'm trying to live On coffee and rest But
if you ask if I'm okay to hide they're always
by my side the painter in the sky you are the
lady in the dress who dresses her best to hide
from what's inside she lays in In the sun for
that summer feel Do you know how she feels? Lost
in trepidation I'm hanging on the line Do you
think I've lost my mind? All of our conversations
running short Every little thing you say Makes
me feel some sort of way Let me articulate what
to say The coffee in rest Is giving me unrest
I know I should be your You are the lady in the
dress Who dresses her best To hide from what's
inside to be her best but there's nothing that
she wants more than someone to hold her hand
nothing has felt real there's nothing to be compared
because every new experience feels like the last
there's tears on her pillow She wants it to go
away But she knows better than that She wants
it to go away Says the feeling will never pass
But she knows better than that I'm on the countdown
Can't see two feet around One day that'll be
all she needs