Ally Westover
I don’t often feature indie rock artists on my blog but when I do, I always make sure that the music is good (obviously) and honest. Ally Westover has just released her new single “Logistical Nightmare” and what caught my attention the first time I heard it was the beautiful melodies and the brilliant instrumentation. Ally also has stunning vocals :) “Logistical Nightmare” is a happy breakup song. It’s energetic, fun, poetic and authentic.
I loved discovering Ally through this interview, and I hope you will enjoy reading it. Thank you Ally !!
“Logistical Nightmare” is now available worldwide :)
Photo credit: Chiara Garland
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
My name is Ally Westover and I am an indie rock artist! I am based in Nashville, TN. I moved out here almost exactly a year ago today from Colorado. I grew up traveling all over the place with my family because of my dad’s job in the Air Force. I spent a lot of my life living overseas in Germany and Japan. It was pretty incredible to experience so much diversity at such a young age. It really gave me a deep appreciation for other cultures.
We grew up playing small percussion instruments and dancing around the house. My parents did a beautiful job of cultivating a creative space for my sister and I to express ourselves in every home in which we lived. We painted and cooked and sang and wrote songs and we always had music playing. My first instrument was the drum set which I began learning at age 10. I give my parents all the credit for encouraging a 10 year old to play the drum set in a home with wooden floors. My dad was in a rock band called Know Idea when he was in his early twenties. He passed on his love of the guitar to his twin daughters and soon we spent all of our time practicing the chords until our fingers were raw. I began writing music with my sister and we performed our songs in talent shows in grade school. When we moved to Germany, we were fortunate enough to connect with an immensely talented musician and songwriter, Paul Fogarty. He welcomed us into the songwriter scene and soon we were performing at coffee shops and intimate listening spaces. I realized after performing in these venues that I wanted to pursue music as my career. It felt really special to sing to people who were listening. When I graduated high school, I applied to Belmont University’s songwriting program, which I attended for a short 3 months. During my time at Belmont, I was battling an incredibly emotionally abusive relationship that sucked the life out of me. I completely lost my identity in music and as a person. I needed to step away to figure out what I needed in my life. I then went to Colorado State University where I studied sustainable fashion and philosophy where I learned the dimensions and depths of my interests. It was in Colorado where I slowly was able to shed my old skin and give birth to a better version of myself. Now here I am, one year into this my life in Nashville and I feel such a strong sense of purpose and clear sense of direction.
What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to Nora Jones, Dianna Crawl, John Prine, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, and Avril Lavigne. I was fortunate enough to grow up as Taylor Swift released each of her albums. She definitely was my greatest songwriting teacher.
When did you know you could sing?
When I wrote my first song about heartbreak and sent it to my first partner in grade school, the voice memo got passed around the school and everyone loved it. It could’ve been very detrimental if it had gone the other way! I have always had an interesting relationship with singing. I never learned how to do it “properly” but I feel like its helped me to develop my own sound because I sing what feels comfortable to me.
When did you start writing songs? What made you want to write in the first place?
It sort of feels like I have been writing songs my whole life. I remember making up songs to remember the different kinds of rocks that I was learning about in 5th grade. To this day I can tell you that a sedimentary rock is “a type of rock, made from pieces of other rock- dissolved minerals and plants and animal matter” because of a song that my sister and I made up. But aside from school, I remember writing my first songs without any instrumentation which was kinda chaotic and lacked any structure. Then Dad taught me guitar which made the writing process a little bit more fluid. I wanted to write down my experiences so that I could process them. And now I am really happy I did because we were constantly going through intense cycles of change and music really helped me come to terms with it all.
At what point did you decide to be an artist and release your original music?
It was always a dream of mine and I am pretty sure I decided when I was a little kid that music was what I wanted to pour my energy into – and I just kept doing it. I am so lucky to have friends and family that support me. I released some songs on Soundcloud during my early college years, but it wasn’t until 2019 that I released my debut single Lullaby. That song was so affirming to me in so many ways. It showed me how much people care about what I have to say. And it showed me the tiniest hint of how much work and fun a career in music would be. It also strengthened my relationship with my best friend and photographer and videographer- Chiara Garland who, since then, has shot and directed every video and shoot we have done together. Having a creative partner and best friend is truly the best combination.
Who was the first person to ever give you a chance in this career?
There’s a lot of different people/events that come to mind. I think of the little venues in Germany that opened their doors to a kid. Or getting accepted into a specialty program to pursue my passion. I think of my family who has never for a moment doubted my abilities. The spots in Colorado that let me put on release parties and shows. It all comes down to the community of people that have supported me and encouraged me to keep going. The people really bring the energy and I think that always rings true. Also- this blog! Thank you Virginie for interviewing me. You know how important it is for artists to have press so YOU are playing a huge role in helping my career. Thank you!
What biggest lessons have you learned since the beginning of your career?
People try to assert their opinions of what I should do and say in the music I make and in my life in general. But I just have to do what is best for myself and use my inner voice to guide me. Ultimately, I know what I need. Also- I have heard this before and it is so true. “No one is going to work harder for you than you.” It feels good to do the work and see the reward. Also things usually do not happen overnight. They happen after months and years of persistence. That is usually because we aren’t ready to receive all the goodness that we are capable of until we make the right moves towards our goals.
How would you define Ally Westover, the artist?
Ally Westover is energetic and genuine. She makes people feel comfortable and seen in both the music she makes and in her presence. Her rock music captures the energy that she has bubbling inside of her and her earnest lyrics keep her grounded. She really just wants to be your friend and get you dancing.
"Logistical Nightmare" is your new single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
I was sharing an idea about promoting my music with my partner at the time. He referred to the idea as a “logistical nightmare” which evoked a rage inside of me HAHA. We got into an argument about it over the phone and the relationship ended pretty soon after. I think it’s really important to see the world in a similar way as your partner. Especially if you tend to look on the bright side of things. All that to say, we had a super mature breakup but man, it was great inspiration for a song.
When did you start working on this song? Could you describe the songwriting/production process? Who helped you create it?
I was hanging out with my friend Josh Bastone back in January and we were working on a song that I had brought to him. We started chatting about life and I mentioned to him about the relationship that had passed and told him about the “logistical nightmare” conversation. We just started flowing into a new song and pretty soon we had this super energetic fun breakup song. I then brought to my friends Kelcie Winningham (drums) and Armando Bonnet (electric guitar). I told them my vision of a surf rock breakup jam and they helped me create the feel. John Eldridge killed it with the bassline and Mike Fahey from Starbird Sound engineered the track in April. Chiara Garland was on the scene taking pictures of the process. “Logistical Nightmare” is the first single on my debut EP Painted Gold which is dropping later this fall.
I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the process of filming the music video. Chiara flew out to Nashville from Colorado to shoot the video on my birthday (April 14). At first we rented a Super8 camera and got a few rolls of film. We shot the entire video in a day and the film got overexposed so we had to do the entire thing over which included baking a cake from scratch and smearing it all over my face. She flew back out in July and we bought more film $$ ☹ and she brought her newly bought Super8 camera. We re-filmed the video and it turned out beautifully. But you could certainly call this a logistical nightmare.
What's your favorite thing about this song?
This is the first super energetic song that I have ever written. I have been writing songs since I was 10 years old and I feel like I am finally in a place where I can write genuinely fun upbeat songs that don’t sound too terribly cheesy. I also love that it’s a happy breakup song. Those are the best.
What made you want to release "Logistical Nightmare" as a single?
I wanted to start off my new project with energy! Everything I have released leading up to this point has been acoustic folk music and I wanted to capture this new space that I have been floating around in for the last few months. Visuals also came really easily with this song which made creating content super fun.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part is that there is always something to be doing. It feels like I am getting behind if I am not posting on all of my platforms constantly. There isn’t really any “downtime” BUT the best part is that the work is super fun and rewarding. Being able to wake up every day and try to make music my career ends up being the very thing that I am working towards. As long as I do it every day, I get to do it every day!
*I am sure that answer will change as I evolve lol*
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
It is pretty wild. TikTok makes it so that anyone can get discovered which is incredibly powerful. With that being said, it seems that music isn’t devoured the way that it used to be. Artists are expected to be marketing professionals and must capture the attention of millions of people in the first 2 seconds of a video. My concern with that kind of music marketing is that it doesn’t seem to have longevity. There is nothing better than developing a relationship with an artist by buying their album and listening to it how it was intended to be heard and going to their shows. But music is all about evolving. I am sure there are ways to bridge the gap between both. If I could change one thing it would be that streaming services would compensate us appropriately. It’s honestly unreal how they get away with paying $0.004 per stream. If music is such an integral part of our culture and lives, why are artists not able to survive off of making music unless they go viral?
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If everyone would take care of each other. We each have the ability to make such a positive impact on each other and yet so many people choose to be rude and even hateful. If white people would acknowledge their privilege and actively work towards being anti-racist every day- not just when it is trending on social media (myself very much included!!). If we could make other people feel seen and loved and included who are marginalized and othered. If we could respect other cultures around the world instead of taking pieces of them for our own media consumption. If we would look after the environment and support local businesses instead of buying from massive conglomerates. If we could purchase used and ethically made clothing and hold fast fashion brands accountable for the mistreatment of their workers and the destruction they are doing to the planet. Love and kindness are certainly the answer, but also accountability. ALSO IF EVERYONE WOULD GET VACCINATED SO WE CAN BE DONE WITH COVID ☺
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