Laura Elliot Talks Her Latest Release, "Grass Stains"
LAURA ELLIOT ON HER NEW SONG, “GRASS STAINS.”
Laura Elliot’s new song “Grass Stains” is one of the most exciting releases of the year. Her knack for writing specific lyrics makes listening to this song feel like taking a trip down memory lane. The 21-year-old artist is going places—both literally and figuratively. I got the chance to ask her a few questions about her latest release while she was in the car in LA. You can read our interview below.
“GRASS STAINS” IS OUT! HOW ARE YOU FEELING NOW THAT IT’S BEEN RELEASED INTO THE WORLD?
It feels really good. I've been sitting on it for a little bit and it's a different sound from the other stuff I've put out so far. I was a little nervous about how people would receive it, but it's doing better than my previous releases, so I couldn't be happier.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN THIS SONG AND YOUR PREVIOUS RELEASES?
My other two releases were way more stripped down. I wanted this one to have more of a rock sound, so I just kind of went for it with the guitars. I don't know much about guitar tones, but I went into the studio with my friends who do know a lot about that stuff. We were just messing around and one of my guy friends had me play this heavy metal guitar. I started playing it and I knew I wanted that sound in the song.
SO WHEN YOU WROTE THE SONG YOU DIDN’T HAVE THAT PRODUCTION IN MIND?
Not at first. When I first wrote it, it was an acoustic song. I had a finger picking pattern and everything, which is usually how my songs start. Typically, they’re more folky. This song has quite the story to it. One day, I was feeling a little angry and so I started chugging away on the guitar. I kind of decided then that it was going to be a rock song.
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG?
It's kind of about a relationship, kind of about old friendships. I started the song back in April. I had this dream about these people that aren't really in my life anymore, but we used to be close. I dreamt about the first time we met. They were also musicians, so of course in my dream, we were hanging out and singing. It was really great. The first line, “saw some old friends in my dreams and they’re just like I remember/singing songs in houses built too tall,” stemmed from that dream. Then I just started to reflect on that friendship.
DO YOU WORK AT YOUR LYRICS A LOT OR IS IT MOSTLY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS ?
It kind of depends. I don't work well if I try to force something. Sometimes a line will come to me and there will be a week that passes by before I think of another line. Then it’ll roll from there. It's not initially a stream of consciousness, but once I have something, it just kind of comes. I try not to go back too much and change the words because the first things I say are usually what I want to say.
HOW OFTEN TO DO YOU WRITE?
Constantly. I write every single day. There’s always a new idea.
WHAT WERE YOU READING/WRITING/LISTENING TO WHILE YOU WERE MAKING “GRASS STAINS?”
I wish I was a reader, but I’m not. I wasn’t reading anything. I had just started listening to Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail. Lyrically, I'm hugely inspired by Phoebe Bridgers. I was going through a huge Phoebe Bridgers phase. I started watching “Shameless” around that time too—I don't know that it was inspired by that—but I feel like I take things from everything I consume, so in some ways maybe it was.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LYRIC OR PART OF THE SONG?
It's funny because when I write, I don't usually start with a chorus or a hook. I normally start with the beginning of the songs. I love this line in the first verse, “the walls were painted red/your name was etched into the armchair/you said it’d last forever/but we never seemed to get there.” I think that line might be my favorite. It was also something that I took from a real-life experience. I was hanging out one day with friends and my friend Nate was carving someone's initials into his chair. I asked him why he was doing that and he was like, “It's going to be there forever. That’s kind of dope.” I thought that was cool to think about. Who knows where we'll be in a year or two from now, but those initials are going to be on that chair forever. It's kind of cool to think about.
WHY IS THE SONG CALLED “GRASS STAINS?”
The initial title was “Nostalgia,” but it didn't feel like it fit. It was just a placeholder for a while. I liked the idea of calling the song “Grass Stains” because it made me think about when I was younger and would get grass stains on my pants. Although the song isn't about when I was younger, it still implies the same feeling of nostalgia and is a little more specific.
I LOVE THAT YOU FILMED THE LYRIC VIDEO IN A BIG GRASSY FIELD. WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE VIDEO LIKE?
It's funny because that was the second video that we made for the song. The first one didn’t make sense because we were filming on a rooftop in NYC and the song is called “Grass Stains.” I ended up going back home to film the video. My family lives in upstate New York. There’s this abandoned prison near me, and for some reason, I spent a lot of time there growing up. It has a very homey nostalgic feeling to it. In the background of the video there are these two water towers. I have a thing for water towers. I have one tattooed on me. Once I figured out that I wanted to film at that location, I asked my friend Alanna Floreck if she wanted to record a video for me. My dad ended up coming along to help with audio stuff, so it was me, my good friend, and my dad in this big grassy field. It brought me back to the way the song started, on an acoustic guitar, and I think it's cool that people get to hear that version too.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE SONG?
This might sound a little cheesy, but it's also true. Even when you feel low and you feel like you can't pick yourself up, you always will. And once you do, you’re better for it and you end up learning a lot. That’s what I take away from this song, and I hope others do too.
“GRASS STAINS” IS OUT NOW. YOU CAN FIND THE SONG ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC. GO STREAM THE SONG AND MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW @TWENTYMINUTES LATER TO STAY UPDATED ON FUTURE INTERVIEWS.
