--Ada Wofford
----8 May 2020
In this installment of Life During Quarantine we chat with Gina LC, the singer and guitarist for the Philadelphia band Dear Forbidden. She tells us about her work with Dear Forbidden, her friends’ bands/projects, and the emotional impact of the pandemic.
MLU: Tell us what instrument(s) you play and what project you are currently working on—If nothing current, what have you worked on recently or in the past?
Gina: I mostly sing and play guitar. I’ve played bass here and there for friends’ live shows, and I can play a whole two rhythms on drums! Right now, my bandmates and I are finishing up mixes and mastering for the latest Dear Forbidden EP, plus figuring out artwork, a release date, promotion, etc. We’re a little bummed that we weren’t able to finish drum tracks for a few more songs we wanted to include before everything shut down. So, the EP will be a bit shorter than planned.
I’ve also been working on a handful of songs with my boyfriend, Scott who plays a bunch of instruments (primarily drums and keyboards), writes, records, and mixes. He mixed my band’s last EP and our last two singles. I feel a little spoiled to have someone like him in my life, whom I can go to for help at any time with manifesting any music project or idea I may conjure.
Beyond that, I’m still working on writing, finding odds and ends of songs and trying to make them into something, and collaborating with my friend and bass player, Ryan Young on some new Dear Forbidden tunes—Working remotely that is, until we can back with Steph and flesh them out more.
MLU: As a musician what have you been doing during quarantine?
Gina: Besides the things I mentioned, I’ve participated in a few music livestreams. My friends, Tiger Castle did one last Friday to celebrate their latest EP release. And another friend, Matt Riggle who fronts the band, This Kills Me, has been hosting livestreams on the last Sunday of every month. They’re a continuation of Sunday brunch open mics that he and his friends started hosting in person in January of this year. It’s honestly really helped with the isolation I feel to be connected with that group, and have something to look forward to at the end of the month.
Last thing I can think of - I got a looper pedal for my birthday so I have been messing with that, trying to get the hang of all the different things you can do with it. It’s so fucking cool!
MLU: Do you feel that quarantine is affecting your productivity as a musician/writer? If yes, how so? If no, why not?
Gina: Yes and no. The extra time has helped, though sometimes the inertia can make it harder. And the fear and uncertainty about the world right now can be downright paralyzing at times. Music is one of the few things that’s helped me to stay connected with others though, and it’s one of the few things I can go to when everything else feels so unhinged. I’ve been more emotional lately too since being in quarantine, crying way more easily, (I cried at the fucking Great British Bake-off show the other day, and I was like wtf is wrong with me), so I feel like all of those emotions are going to find their way into my music at some point.
Gina LC, her studio-mate, and her home studio.
MLU: Lol, I've cried at the Great British Bake-off pre-quarantine!
--What records have you been gravitating towards during this time?
Gina: I’ve been enjoying listening to my friends’ stuff - Tiger Castle, Slophouse, Marine Todd, Valentina Janie. My friends, Last Full Measure just put out an acoustic EP that I still need to dig into.
Another friend recently showed me the band, Slothrust whom I absolutely love and I have been listening to their album, Of Course You Do. Their song “Crockpot” is my new fav thing. I recently found the band, Guster (late as usual to the party) and have been listening to their album Ganging Up on the Sun. And I love, love, love the new Fiona Apple album, which has been kind of a balm for this insane time.
MLU: Do you think you’re gravitating towards them specifically because of the quarantine?—If so, how?
Gina: I guess not necessarily. I think I tend to like what I like regardless of the circumstances. Then again, I do make my fair share of Spotify playlists that will transport me back to whatever time during which I made them when I listen to them, so maybe there is some emotional tone in whatever I’m listening to that resonates with whatever I’m going through at the time. None of this is necessarily conscious to me though while I’m doing it.
But same as with working on music - with the quarantine, I do have more time to listen to music and find new stuff to dig into. I’ve been enjoying taking long walks and listening to music.
MLU: Writing a song about quarantine/the pandemic—Cool or Cheesy?
Gina: Depends on the execution I guess! There’s a lot of potential for cheese.
MLU: What’s the first thing you plan on doing once this is over?
Gina: Probably hug my friends and family. Plan a beach trip. Definitely band practice!
MLU: Cool. Yeah band practice seems to be the popular answer to that question, lol.
Gina: Lol, I bet! Not necessarily looking forward to how rusty we’ll prob sound but it’ll still make us laugh. I miss them so much.
MLU: Just for fun, if you were to write a song about quarantine or the pandemic, what would you call it?
Gina: “Isolation Breeds Oversharing.” I’ve had to really keep my boundaries with social media in check; what I post, how much time I spend on there—for sure. I think having more time to myself to ruminate about all of my bullshit with few to no normal, healthy in-person interactions to help balance me out, makes it harder to avoid broadcasting personal things online that I’ll probably later regret.
Listen to Dear Forbidden’s recent single, “Smile Dropper” below and read our write-up of the single here: