Pet Dress Channels Her Existential Crisis in New Single, "Don't Go Home"
Written by Mackenzie Howe
Photographed by Grady Wenrich
“Don’t Go Home,” is about the commitment a touring musician makes to life on the road, and the inevitable denial of the comforts of home, that it entails. I wrote it in the middle of an “existential crisis.” I had a few months off the road for the first time in years and I was nearing my thirties, questioning every aspect of my life. It would be a while before I recorded it at Station House Studio (Echo Park, CA), along with four other songs that became the “Fear or Breakdown,” EP (due 6/18). My boyfriend turned bandmate, Grady Strange, took these behind the scenes studio photos, and played some guitar/bass on the songs. I played guitar/keys/sax/vox. Aside from he and I, it was just our drummer Kole Sharp and engineer Mark Rains, among with Mark’s dog Darkness, and our dog Dolly Parton.
This song is dear to me because I am proud of the years I’ve given to live music, and though it can be incredibly rewarding, it is a bit of a carousel that leaves you feeling dizzy once you finally stop moving. It also feels ironic to release this song during a time when we are all at home, and our own personal carousels have stopped. The music industry is a giant question mark right now and we all miss experiencing live music so much, but hey, I can finally grow a garden, and spend more time with my grandmother.
Find the premiere for Don’t Go Home below along with a behind the scenes photo diary of the making of the upcoming EP.
Darkness Rains and Dolly Parton.
Painting my face for a vocal take.
The man behind the camera jumps behind the keys.
Kole Sharp runs 10 miles a day.
After my sax was stolen Grady got me a new one for Christmas, you can hear it on “Real Girl,” out 6/18.
Found a tiny piano in the studio closet, had to use it whenever possible.
Mark Rains, owner and operator of station house studio in Echo Park. Father of Darkness Rains.
I don’t put my dog in pictures, she places herself there.
Successfully tracked vocals without crying.
Woops Dolly’s back.
More tiny piano please.
Tracking vocals in my lucky pants.
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