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4/16/2017 Greta Morgan on The Hush Sound Reunion and Predictive Songwriting - Inspirer

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GRETA MORGAN ON THE HUSH SOUNDREUNION AND PREDICTIVE SONGWRITING

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by : CARRIE COUROGEN | 11 MONTHS AGO | 246 VIEWS

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When most high schoolers were studying for their SATs and learning to

drive, Greta Morgan was embarking on her �rst arena tour, opening for acts

like Fall Out Boy and The All-American Rejects.

As co-founder of Chicago-based band The Hush Sound, Morgan lent her

heartfelt lyrics to the band’s mid-2000s indie rock sound with popular

songs like “Hurricane” and “Medicine Man.” When The Hush Sound went on

hiatus after three albums in 2009, Morgan pursued side projects both as

part of a band (Gold Motel) and solo (Springtime Carnivore).

The Hush Sound reunited for an EP in 2013, and recently announced a tour

commemorating the 10 year anniversary of their best-selling album, “Like

Vines.” We caught up with Morgan as she prepped for tour to

talk songwriting, inspiration, and de�ning success.



Starting out, your background was based in classical training. How did

you �nd yourself gravitating towards a rock band?

I was never a good classical musician. I took classical piano lessons as a

kid, but I would learn two or three bars of a classical piece, and then start

writing my own thing based on it. I was always naturally on the path to

composing my own music since I was a little kid. I started writing songs

and playing with various friends for fun, then I met Bob [Morris, singer and

guitarist for The Hush Sound] when I was 14 and he was 16 or 17 and we

started writing music together. It was pretty natural after that, but I was

focused on school at the time. I was in high school and studying for my

ACTs and SATs, and I wasn’t that focused on the band becoming a real

thing. I think the boys had more of an idea that it could take o�.

So when it did really take o�, especially when you were so young, what

did that feel like?

It was a really pleasant surprise. Being a full-time musician was a very

secret dream of mine, one I probably wouldn’t say out loud, because in the

Midwest, I just thought it sounded so silly. There’s this Midwest modesty



everyone is supposed to have. So, when we were signed, I kept it reallyquiet. I was going to this strict Catholic high school, and I knew I would

have to leave during my senior year to go on this huge tour for six weeks. I

think I told the other kids I had mono. I left for six weeks and we played all

of these huge places on a gigantic arena tour as the opening act. Then, I

came back to school, put on my uniform, and took my �nals and didn’t

make a fuss about it.

It’s been 10 years since the “Like Vines” record came out. What’s

changed since then?

Well, I’ve played in two other musical incarnations since then. I had a band

called Gold Motel, which released two records, and now I have a project

called Springtime Carnivore. Bob has a project called Le Swish, Chris

[Faller, bassist] has been touring with various artists, and Darren [Wilson,

drummer] went back to school full time. Three out of four of us are still in

music full time.

After The Hush Sound, what led you to pursue di�erent projects like

Gold Motel and Springtime Carnivore?

I think a band is like any relationship. Some can last a lifetime and be

renewed and recharged all the time, and some have a natural ending. I

think it can be really sad and can become cheesy when a band makes

music past the point where it feels really inspired. We were at a point as a

band where we weren’t having fun anymore and it was hard to creatively

refuel.

We love each other as people — there will always be this deep sibling type

of bond between us — but it seemed like it was time for everybody to do

their own thing. And I’ve noticed that a lot of fans can can connect with a

band almost the way they connect with a family. When they hear a band is

breaking up, it’s like a much softer version of hearing that their parents are

getting divorced. But the thing is, we would rather only work together in

ways that truly feel inspired and profound.



Ten year anniversary concerts have been really popular this year — from

Jack’s Mannequin doing “Everything in Transit” to Jenny Lewis touring

behind “Rabbit Fur Coat” — and everyone has their own reasons to

revisit an album in full. What were yours?

We had wanted to do some sort of tour like this, and we weren’t really sure

which record to do. Then, it just seemed pretty obvious that it should be

the best-selling one, plus, I think “Like Vines” might be the most beloved.

When you reread or sing songs you wrote so long ago, how does it feel?

Every writer has their own process. Do you think “Oh, I’m so much better

now,” or are you surprised by how good you were?

I was actually just having this conversation with Jenny Lewis when I went to

one of her “Rabbit Fur Coat” shows. We were talking about how interesting

it is that some songs, in a weird way, sort of end up becoming predictive of

the future. There are a few songs that I wrote a few songs that weirdly have

become true this year. The song “Hurricane” is about the end of a deep,

deep love and never being able to outrun the memory of a person. This

year, I had a breakup with someone I had been with for six years that was

that profound. I thought, “How did I write that song at 19, when I had never

really felt the depths of the feelings that are expressed in that song?”

The Hush Sound: Medicine Man [OFFICIAL VIDEO]



Some songs are certainly a little embarrassing. It’d be like if you had to

wear the same out�t you wore 10 years ago and walk around in it today.

But, if there’s a song I feel uncomfortable with for some reason, I try to

change my relation to it. If I think the lyrics are bad or I don’t relate to them

anymore, then I try to �nd joy in singing it, or playing the musical part, or

looking at my bandmates at that moment, or connecting with someone in

the audience. There are all these di�erent aspects to a song and to a

performance. If one doesn’t feel right or makes you feel uncomfortable,

then the trick is to focus on something else.

If you could tell your 10 years ago self anything, what would it be?

Don’t take it too seriously! There have been so many ups and downs. I’ve

learned to not take the ups and downs so seriously. If I’ve made it this far,

for 12 years, there are going to continue to be ups and downs. Chris Coady

[producer and mixing engineer for Springtime Carnivore, the Yeah Yeah

Yeahs, Beach House, etc.] said, “Having lots of ups and downs in your

career is the key to longevity.” Which I thought was funny, but true. You

have a success, you might have a failure. Those words — success and

failure — are so loaded that I would also say “De�ne what success actually

means to you and go for that.”

And what does success mean to you?

To me, it means being able to communicate openly, honestly, and directly

to anyone who wants to listen, and ideally being able to support myself

without doing harm to the world. I have such sympathy for friends whose

labels or producers control their creative output. The most simple part of

music is that you’re sending out your radio wave, and if someone else is

going in there and remodeling it and glossing it over, manicuring it and

turning it into something you’re not, then it really isn’t your true wavelength.

What artists have had the most in�uence on you?

Well, with the passing of David Bowie and Prince, I started thinking about

whose deaths would really a�ect me. I think Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell

would be really, really intense and profound for me. I know he’s already

passed, but I also love George Harrison. He’s a huge in�uence. As far as



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contemporaries, I really love Kurt Vile and Joanna Newsom. And, a lot of

my friends are in�uences on me, sometimes more than anything.

Do you have any advice for other young women?

The most important part of creativity in general is �guring out who you are

�rst and getting your spirit in line. Be cautious of expectations. Don’t relate

your happiness to the expectations you’re creating — just try to enjoy the

experience. There are a lot of young people who try to rush as much as

possible. Just enjoy the process. Each step of the process goes faster the

more that you enjoy it.

For more information about The Hush Sounds’s “Like Vines” 10 year

anniversary tour, visit the band’s o�cial Facebook.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

May 31 — San Diego, CA — The Casbah

June 1 — West Hollywood, CA — The Troubadour

June 2 — San Francisco, CA — Social Hall SF

June 4 — Santa Cruz, CA — The Catalyst

June 9 — Santa Cruz, CA — The Catalyst

August 3 — Allston, MA — Brighton Music Hall

August 4 — New York, NY — Webster Hall

August 5 — Philadelphia, PA — The Foundry Philadelphia

August 6 — Washington, DC — U Street Music Hall

August 7 — Pittsburgh, PA — Club AE

August 8 — Columbus, OH — A and R Music Bar

August 9 — Detroit, MI — The Shelter

August 10 — Chicago, IL — Thalia Hall

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TAGS : ARTIST . GOLD MOTEL . GRETA MORGAN . MUSIC . MUSICIAN . ROCK AND ROLL .

SINGER . SONGWRITER . SONGWRITING . SPRINGTIME CARNIVORE . THE HUSH SOUND . WOMEN

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Carrie Courogen

Carrie is a writer and social media manager for Condé Nast Entertainment in

New York. Her writing has been featured in print and online for publications like

Quartz, Teen Vogue, The Hu�ngton Post, Bustle, and the New York Daily News,

among others. Additionally, she maintains a Tumblr where she muses on things

like millennial issues, music, and, most of all, lady heroes.

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