…it's the most fun instrument to play with other people…
I still read music blogs, and that's a good thing because that's how I first discovered fellow bass player and songwriter Pictoria Vark, whose given name is Victoria Park. In early 2023, I discovered that she was going on tour with Maneka (hopefully a future episode), and I couldn't pass up the chance to see two indie artists I was into at the same time. Their tour was limited to the Northeast United States. I cashed in some frequent flyer miles, and made my first visit to Maine in April 2023 to see a show. The show was great. The people were great. Maine was great. The lobster was great.
I consider Victoria to be a friend now, so please understand that I'm not fully objective here, but even if I didn't know her, I'd think her new album Nothing Sticks is excellent. (If you don't trust my judgement on this, I've linked a review below written by Taylor Ruckle, official Friend of this Podcast and esteemed music writer.) It shows clear growth in writing and arrangement, and she's not afraid to sing about some deeply personal stuff.
Nothing Sticks is available for you to go get RIGHT NOW, having been released on March 21st on Get Better Records. Victoria is having two release shows to celebrate this album. The first is in New York City on March 30th, and the second is in the town she currently calls home, Chicago, on April 13th. We had a lively conversation for this episode, really getting into her songwriting process.
Want to hear someone other than me talk about what it's like to be an artist when bass is your primary instrument? Why did she choose to play bass in the first place? How does she know when a song is done? Wonder what Victoria's childhood smelled like? You'll get those answers right here in Episode 122.
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