Selena Rosanbalm

Selena

Yeah. Well, I live in Austin, Texas -- the live music capital, although not so much these past few months.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

I was born in Colorado into a military family --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

So moved around a lot as a really young person. So born in Colorado, and in the first 10 years of my life was in -- let's see -- Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, New Mexico, and then to Texas. And I've been here since I was about 10 -- 10 or 11.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

But still have family in Colorado as well and people in New Mexico so it's funny that the places I grew up are still kind of connected a little --

Skipper

At least geographically sort of in the --

Selena

Geographically --

Skipper

The middle-ish, bottom, the southern part of the country.

Selena

Mm-hmm, absolutely.

Skipper

Okay. So what's something, what's something about you that many people might not guess? Something you feel comfortable sharing?

Selena

I was asked a similar question recently and it was for a music publication, and I told them that I love yacht rock. Which is true.

Skipper

And what is yacht rock, for people who don't know what yacht rock is?

Selena

Yacht rock is the very best musical genre, of course.

Skipper

Of course.

Selena

Musical acts such as Michael McDonald, the Doobie Bros.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Bobby Caldwell, I would lump into this -- a lot of people may not know Bobby Caldwell -- and Kenny Loggins, of course.

Skipper

Of course.

Selena

Anyway, so musically that's something you may not guess but I usually for an interesting and strange tidbit about myself, I like to share that I have a fear of sunken ships. Which seems arbitrary and unlikely, but they freak me right out.

Skipper

So does this encompass things like scuba diving? Like, is that something that you would never do?

Selena

Oh, yeah, I would never ever scuba dive or snorkel. Really, anything that lives in the water I'm afraid of; and things that do not belong in the water that are there also freak me out, so --

Skipper

Huh. Okay.

Selena

Mm-hmm.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

That's fair. So, Selena, what are we talking about today? What is the topic in which you consider yourself very well versed?

Selena

Well, I made a record this year. So, we'll be talking about the making of the album and the process of finishing it up and releasing it in the middle of a pandemic.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

What a time.

Skipper

What a time, yeah. So I'd love to rewind a little bit. I want to get into the meat of that process, because being connected to you and being your friend, I've seen you doing the promotional things over the last few months. And I want to dig into some of those parts. What are the intricate parts of you know, releasing an album, what are the things that are unique to this year? First, I want to rewind and go back to how you started as a musician. You know, how did you first discover music in general, was it sweet, sweet yacht rock?

Selena

I wasn't quite into yacht rock yet when I discovered that I loved to sing. I was more listening to Disney musicals.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Naturally. So I was in the fifth grade when I did my first performance --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Me and a few friends did "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King.

Skipper

Ah, sure.

Selena

At our fifth-grade talent show.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

And that was the first time that I noticed, Oh, I really love doing this thing. I would like to continue doing so. And I joined the choir the following year. And that was kind of the beginning of everything.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

So what was -- and for some people titles are really important, calling yourself a writer, a musician, whatever that is -- the first thing that you made where you felt like a musician?

Selena

I think the formation of my first band is what made me really feel like a musician. In music school, I studied musical theater in college, and where I went to school there was a stark divide between the instrumentalists and the vocalists. A kind of a weird social and political thing inside the music school but --

Skipper

And what did you align to?

Selena

I was on the vocalist side just because I was one and I didn't play an instrument at the time. So it was funny. The instrumentalists wouldn't refer to us as musicians, they would say, Oh, it's the musicians and the vocalists and that always was just a little dig. So I carry that with me. I did some theater after graduating from college and when I decided to drop that and start a band, that was the first time I really felt comfortable calling myself a musician. Nobody can say that I'm not. I've made this band.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

I'm playing guitar.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

You know, that was the first time I felt like, I am a musician.

Skipper

Okay. And how long ago was this? Generally?

Selena

About 10 years. 2011. So, yeah, almost 10 years.

Skipper

About 10 years. Okay. I had a question around -- oh, you talked about how the musicians or the instrumentalists would dig at the vocalists? Is there a way that the vocalist would dig at the instrumentalists? Would you all invite the instrumentalists to karaoke parties? And --

Selena

I don't think they would have been caught dead at a karaoke party. But we loved it. Oh my God, we used to go out as a group, like a few friends of mine, I remember would go to this joint called City Walk and go to the karaoke room there and just like, fucking murder everyone in there, you know? It was so funny. I don't really remember digging back at the instrumentalists but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

My memory is a little selective at times, but yeah, I don't think so much.

Skipper

Okay, that's fair. So what's something that an average person doesn't know about being a musician? Or what's exciting for you about being a musician?

Selena

The most exciting thing for me is the performance aspect. You know, the rest of it is difficult and tedious. My musical beginnings are in performance and when I performed, that was the first time it got me. I don't know, I think the thing that people don't realize is that the perception of a musician is always of a famous musician. So you think, Oh, this person is like Bono. They're out doing huge concerts and raking in the cash, blah, blah, blah. And no, we're doing five gigs a week and are barely making rent. And, you know, it's work. I think people don't see it as work.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Um, and that's not to say that it's a bad thing, not to make it a negative at all, but it's --

Skipper

Yeah

Selena

You know, it's a job. Absolutely.

Skipper

Yeah. Before we started recording, you had an offhanded comment about being nervous. Do you still get nervous before -- and we'll get into the particulars of how you're performing and showcasing your craft these days -- but do you still get nervous before you perform?

Selena

It sort of depends on the situation. If I have a show at a new venue, I will usually be nervous for the first time there.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

It's not so much the show that makes me nervous. It's the waiting, waiting around the house, the day of a show is just the worst, just waiting to get there, to go, and do the thing. But yeah, it's somewhere I've played before, then no, I don't have nerves so much anymore.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

So let's jump -- is there anything else you want to talk about generally as a musician that you think listeners are curious about?

Selena

I don't know. Another thought, something people may not be aware of, I think it's an assumption that every musician has a manager, you know, has a team behind them helping them do stuff. But for most people that I know, they're just doing it by themselves. So, getting the show, promoting the show -- and I know we'll get into this later but -- booking a show, promoting a show, doing the show, selling the merch, buying the merch in the first place, having it made. It's really a one-man show for most people that I know.

Skipper

Yeah. Because that's a cost normally, especially if you don't have a team of people or a team that helps support your output as an artist so that merchandise is often a cost that you as a musician have to carry.

Selena

Yes, exactly.

Skipper

Yeah. I'd love to talk a little bit about -- just so we have a little bit of comparison because we've talked a little bit about your beginnings, you know, in terms of doing work in university, you mentioned you didn't feel like a true musician until you started your first band -- could you talk to me a little bit about that process? That moment for you when you started a band, and it was about 10 years ago, what did that look like? What did that feel like? What's a day in the life for you when you would perform as part of your band?

Selena

Well, I had one of those big life moments that happens every few years, when I had decided I'm going to stop doing theater, pretty much completely, I went and got a big tattoo, which typed myself out of all of the roles.

Skipper

(Laughs)

Selena

(Laughing) You know, it just kind of shifted focus, I had become frustrated with having to always be a different person than myself on-stage.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

That was a big part of the shift to doing music only. The first thing was to try to find a gig, when nobody knows who you are, that was really a challenge in the first year, it was like, okay, what's more important to find a gig first, or to find a time to rehearse first? Who are the musicians that are going to play with me?

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

Nobody knows who I am, how will this work? Selena (cont'd): So I reached out to some friends, who were already in bands that I knew and told them, Hey, I am working on this thing that maybe that would be of interest to you?

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So in the early days, it was just about building the band, building a little team around myself, so that we could play these gigs. And then it was trial by fire doing the gigs. Because that's a whole different medium of performance. And the first year or two years was just lots of learning, lots of mistakes.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

You know, learning how to lead a band in rehearsal. More importantly, learning how to lead a band on-stage, cueing endings, learning how to talk about music in a whole different way. Selena (cont'd): Because for my whole life, it was reading notes off of a page. Like, these are the notes that you sing. And these are the words that you say --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Don't stray from that.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

And there's a whole on-stage language for musicians, like the Nashville number system, you're calling tunes. If someone doesn't know it, you say, Oh, it's just one, four, five. And most people would have no idea what you're talking about. But for musicians, it's like, Oh, yeah, those are the chords that I play. Okay, got it.

Skipper

And what did you call it? The Nashville number system?

Selena

Or just the number system. Like, what are the numbers to the chords of the song.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Um, yeah.

Skipper

Okay. And do you want to mention the name of the band -- while we're talking about it?

Selena

Yeah, it was called Rosie and the Ramblers. Should I tell you that the genesis of that name?

Skipper

Yeah, I'd love to, I'd love to hear it.

Selena

Rosie and the Ramblers, so I knew it was gonna be a country band. It's been my favorite music for forever. I was afraid of using my actual first name because I didn't want there to be any confusion. And for people to think that we were a Tejano band, or like a Latin music band. Because we live in Texas.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

We're not far from Corpus Christi. You know, I didn't want people to see Selena and then be devastated when they show up.

Skipper

Selena is a state treasure if not a national treasure.

Selena

Absolutely.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

100%. I thought, Well, shoot, what am I gonna do? So I kind of stole my father's nickname, he was in the Air Force and so was his dad. And their call signs were Rosie, last name Rosanbalm so they went by Rosie.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

When they were flying. So I stole that and added a phrase at the end Rosie and the Ramblers, you know, sounds Western, Southern.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Sounds something.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So that's how I got that name.

Skipper

And you all, as far as I can tell, you all did release an album?

Selena

We did.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yes. In 2014.

Skipper

Okay. Okay.

Selena

Just the one.

Skipper

What was that process like -- and I want to set this up as a way to contrast against, and I know that your current work is, you have a backing band but as a solo musician, it might be a little bit different. But I'd also like to contrast the time of like releasing an album in 2014 versus releasing an album today. So, what was that process like? You were a band who've been performing for a few years and you all decide to release an album.

Selena

The Ramblers wasn't so much a collaborative project either, it was pretty similar to what I'm doing now. The songs were all mine and weren't written by the rest of the band. So, that aspect was kind of similar. But you know, at that time, it was easier. You know, I reserved the studio space, we went, and recorded the record. And then I set a release date. And it was easy. They just kept rolling along. And I printed CDs only. I didn't print any other kind of listening media.

Skipper

Like no vinyl. No --

Selena

No vinyl. No cassette tapes for the niche crowd.

Skipper

Is that still a thing? People still make cassette tapes?

Selena

Some people are doing it. Yeah, dude. Some people I know. They do like small run cassette tapes.

Skipper

Hmm.

Selena

I don't have anywhere to play cassette tape anymore.

Skipper

Yeah, neither do I. So --

Selena

No.

Skipper

Okay, cool.

Selena

Yeah. Anyway, it felt pretty easy. It just kind of rolled itself along. And in 2014, I set the release date, and we had a release party. And so many of my friends came and I sold a bunch of records at that. And it was seamless, felt like.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

This year was a little different.

Skipper

Yeah. How did the process for this start for you?

Selena

Well, I

Skipper

Let's rewind to not just the record, because I do want to contrast that but -- when did you decide... so, Rosie and the Ramblers -- when did you decide that you needed to own your name and be a musician in the world that used your name?

Selena

In 2019, I think is when it started. I was kind of writing some different stuff and writing some more opinionated things and just kind of drifting into non-country territory, whatever that means. I was starting to feel really pigeonholed by the name of the band and feeling like, If people come to see a band called Rosie and the Ramblers, they expect this, you know, X kind of music.

Skipper

Yeah. Did you do anything -- and this is probably not the right word -- but did you all do anything off-brand in that way? Did you have a song that wasn't necessarily country that came into your vernacular?

Selena

Um, yeah, we had a few of those. And I started to add some covers that were definitely not country. You know, we did like an Elvis Costello tune and doing whatever was of interest. And I was like, Okay, maybe we should change this.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Also, it gets tiring, explaining the name Rosie and the Ramblers, because everyone's like, Oh, are you Rosie? And I'm like, Yes, but no -- sort of.

Skipper

Right.

Selena

So by the end of the year, I was like, Okay, I'm just going to drop it. I didn't know how to transition be like, okay, so I'm not going by this name anymore, I'm going to go by my actual name, and have people not freak out, Oh, my God, is the band breaking up? And I'm like, Not really because it wasn't really like a collaborative thing anyway. So I was like, Okay, well, what would make it clear? I'll make a record. And I already had a good handful of songs that I needed to record anyway, that were written over, I don't know, the past five years or so and I needed a few more. So early this year, I finished up writing the rest for the record.

Skipper

Okay. Okay. Yeah, that sounds like it's it was a very natural thing, where not only did you own yourself as a musician, right? Getting the tattoo was part of that. But then also, you know, you went from using this nickname to then wanting to claim your own name.

Selena

Yeah, exactly.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Cuz Why not? The whole point of starting music was to be myself anyway. And it took me years to realize, Oh, I've created a character for myself. That was unintentional.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So.

Skipper

So you have a handful of songs in 2019 that you want to record, you write some more over the rest of 2019 and 2020. In the timeline of things that are happening in the world, I think it was the top of 2020 when we all became aware that there was COVID-19 out in the world right? At the beginning of March is when -- at least in California -- the shutdown happened in earnest, and in other parts of the country as well. What is your world look like alongside these current events?

Selena

So I've worked as a day job at a coffee shop in town for almost eight years. I think it's it's a great and flexible day job.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

So, I think it was, like mid-February, probably when we kind of started talking about COVID. And, everyone had heard about it and nobody really knew what it was.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

But it was being talked about. And then me and the band went into the studio the last week of February. And we're there for --

Skipper

And this is you and the Ramblers?

Selena

Me and -- My current band, so --

Skipper

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay.

Selena

Yeah, yeah. So we went in the last week of February and knocked out all the songs and got it done. And I think it was like, I think two -- Let's see, I think I lost my job at the beginning of the pandemic, because they laid off 30 employees.

Skipper

Wow.

Selena

And I think that was March 13th or 14th -- I think. So I finished recording the album, was starting to look at finding someone to master it, was still working on mixing it down. And suddenly, you know, COVID is in the US, and people are freaking out, things shut down, and I lost my job. And I was like, Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. Am I gonna get to finish this record? Like --

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

Where's my money gonna come from? Did I just do the stupidest thing I've ever done? Because I had just, you know, spent all of the money on renting the studio and had you know, paid the musicians. It was like, shi-i-i-i-i-it!

Skipper

So you're already planning a big life change --

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

And on top of it, life gives you a big life change -- taking away the stability that you had in your side job. And so you have many, many feelings.

Selena

Yes. Lots of feelings. Lots of worry. You know, it's funny, in the beginning nobody knew how long this was gonna last. You know, of course, none of us could have predicted the scope of this thing. So, the day I got the email that I had lost my job, I was like, Huh, okay. And I didn't cry. And I wasn't panicked about it. But a few days later, and maybe even a couple weeks later, I was like, Oh, no. Oh, no. This is getting real, real quick.

Skipper

Yeah. It's not isolated to your one, the coffee shop business where you worked, like you weren't gonna be able to find another job?

Selena

Right.

Skipper

In this way. So this is part of a much larger -- and to your point, timeline uncertain -- problem.

Selena

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. It's one of those things when you're really excited about something. And you know, I had just finished recording this project and so, you know, breathing a sigh of relief about that.

Skipper

I mean, talk about clearing your to-do list.

Selena

(Laughing) No kidding. Yeah, it did turn into too much time to work on album stuff. This is kind of jumping ahead -- so we had finished... usually, I would go into the studio and sit with the engineer. And we would mix it down in the studio. And be done with it. But we couldn't see each other anymore, of course, for safety reasons. And so --

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

He was mixing and then sending it to me and I was listening at home with nothing else to do so I just was obsessing over the mix of the record. I spent much too much time on it, like way too much time.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Yeah. So I had to I don't know if I was the one who stopped it. I think maybe my boyfriend was like, I think it's probably good at this point -- it's probably fine now.

Skipper

Right.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

For some of our listeners who don't necessarily understand the nuance -- and I don't understand it -- so you record, you go in, you have microphones, instruments are plugged in, you record the album -- what is the difference between recording, mixing, and mastering? What is that process?

Selena

So when you record... I like to record as live as possible. And what that means is having everybody at the studio at the same time and playing as if it were a live show, as opposed to everybody coming in separately and recording their parts and then like layering on from there.

Skipper

So like guitar recording separately, drums recording separately, and then sort of like putting it all together -- assembling it.

Selena

Exactly. Yeah.

Skipper

Yeah, okay.

Selena

So we recorded everything as live as we could, so there was an aspect of mixing at that point. The engineer, the guy who was recording everything came through, and he got levels on everybody and would adjust, you know, Oh, the vocals are a little too quiet, I'm going to pull them up here. You know, the guitar's too loud, I'll pull it down here. So that's like the basic levels at the time of recording. The mixing process is fine-tuning those levels. Because you can adjust everything afterward, everything is on -- even when you record all together -- all of the sounds you're pulling are on separate tracks. So it's like --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

It's really a lot of tracks because you think one for the drum kit, but no, the snare drum has a microphone, the kick drum has a microphone, etc. So, all of those levels are adjustable. So the mixing is adjusting those and making sure they sound as best as they can.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

And then after --

Skipper

And then what is mastering?

Selena

Yeah, so mastering is where -- my knowledge gets a little fuzzy, I don't exactly know what they do when they master. I've been in a mastering studio, I've watched someone master my record; I don't know what he did. But I do know that it came out sounding much better.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

So there is there's definitely a before and after.

Selena

Absolutely. Yeah.

Skipper

Okay. Okay. All right. So you have recorded the songs, you're mixing them. What's -- and you've talked a little bit about what's happening in your world, what would have happened like if you rewound to, and understanding the Rosie and the Ramblers was a totally different time and it was a different project, what would have happened at that point in the process for you in terms of the record, in releasing it, in touring it, like those sorts of things? What would have been the timeline in 2014?

Selena

If I had made another record, you're saying, or with the first record?

Skipper

If you were making your 2020 record, if you were making that back in 2014, what would the next steps be?

Selena

Got it. Touring is a great example. Certainly, I would have a tour ready to go after the record came out. You know, it's funny to think how I felt like it was so much work in 2014 when I did put out that first record, but now to do the same thing, again, seems so easy, compared with what's happening now. So yeah, I would have gone through the whole process that I've just described, gotten the actual album done --

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

I would have hired a publicist if I had done the second record at that time, which I did do this year, but we'll talk about that.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

I would have certainly tried to tour at least regionally, you know, at least to the state and, and maybe up into Oklahoma, maybe the Southwest a little bit.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Which is just a total nightmare when you're booking everything by yourself, whew, booking a tour su-u-ucks. It sucks. That's the side of the music biz that really blows.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

And that probably would have been it and there would have been hopefully some residual buzz around town about the record, you know.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Just trying to get some more high profile shows in town. You know, hopefully have some good press about it. So...

Skipper

Yeah. As a side note, wasn't one of the things that the company that put on the Fyre Festival, wasn't that something when they initially started, they were trying to solve for musicians and how to book shows easier.

Selena

Oh, man. I don't remember. I watched a (documentary) on the Fyre Festival. One of the two that were out. I don't remember a whole lot about that. But hey, that would have been great.

Skipper

I think the Fyre Festival definitely takes up most of the oxygen in that story so I'm having a very dim memory of it as well.

Selena

Yes. Very much.

Skipper

Maybe that won't make it in. Okay, so let's come back to 2020. You've finished the album, you finished Selena Rosanbalm, what are you doing and where are you in the year?

Selena

I think I finally sent -- well, when did I finish mastering? I think it took until May for me to get the mix and the mastering done. And again that would have happened so much quicker if I hadn't had so much time on my hands. Because even with the mastering, when you have all the time in the world, of course, you're going to listen to it obsessively and be like, I don't know about this little thing. So the guy who did the mastering was very patient with me. Because I kept going to him with little tiny tweaks asking, Oh, can you do this? And so I finished it finally, I think, in May. And then I researched where to get CDs printed cheaply.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

But it's pretty standard across the board. But I knew I wanted to do vinyl this time. Which is so cool, it's just so cool to have a vinyl record that you are on. That's like --

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

That's crazy. That's a crazy thing. So I did a lot of research on some vinyl companies, and I wound up choosing a local one --

Skipper

Cool.

Selena

Which was cool. That whole process actually turned out to be sort of a nightmare. But --

Skipper

In terms of juggling logistics or costs? Or what was hard about it?

Selena

Well, it was a little more expensive to use the local folks, but I thought, Well, you know, they don't have to mail them. I'm gonna go pick them up. Because I was concerned about shipping vinyl. It's like, Ugh. What if half of them are broken?

Skipper

They are delicate.

Selena

They're delicate, yeah, and expensive per piece, you know?

Skipper

So the cost difference between a CD and a piece of vinyl? Like, at-cost what is it?

Selena

Yeah, CDs you can produce for as low as around $1 per CD, like the disc and the jacket together. So you could do them pretty cheaply. Vinyl? I think mine came out costing about $11 a piece. $11 or $12 apiece.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So that adds up quickly.

Skipper

Yeah. You know, the margins are very different.

Selena

Yeah, they're very different. Yeah. I guess I glossed over the album artwork and all of that.

Skipper

Oh, yeah. Let's talk about because the artwork -- and we'll link to this in the show notes but it looks great.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

So, yeah. I'd love to talk about that creative process, because we've talked a little bit about the making of the record process -- and it's reminding me also, we haven't really talked about the things that were hard about the actual writing of the songs. So maybe rewind a little bit to that as well. I'd love to talk about the visuals for the album, like the design, how did those come about?

Selena

I knew I wanted a photo of myself on the record, as I knew it would be self-titled. So this is showing the world. This is my name. This is what I look like, here is my record. Right? So I scheduled a photoshoot. I did that in May. It was just me and the photographer in his studio. So it was very safe there but my original idea for the cover was -- I had brought a bunch of outfits to his place and I was gonna put all these different versions of myself on the cover because a comment that I get a lot is, Oh, you have a lot of looks. Yeah, why not? Why shouldn't I?

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

Yeah, that's fun.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So I was like, I'm gonna lean into that with this album cover. And I'll be in the same pose, but wearing all these different things.

Skipper

Ooh, nice.

Selena

So we took all those photos, but the photographer -- his name is Daniel Cavazos, he's awesome -- he had all these colored backdrops.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

So he had this yellow one hanging when I walked in, like this marigold color kind of striking yellow. I was like, Oh, wow.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

That's really something. And I had brought this green jumpsuit. And I pulled it out of my bag and held it up against the yellow. And we were both like, Oh, yeah, that looks so cool. So I just put that on. And we took some pictures there. And we didn't know until he was done fixing up all the photos what we're going to use, but that the photo is super striking -- It was just -- Oh, I just have it right here. Oh, my new final record. Wow.

Skipper

You have a piece of vinyl there. Yeah.

Selena

Wow. Yeah, it just was so cool. The color combo, we just had to use it.

Skipper

So I wonder that -- yeah, the art is striking. I love the way it looks. And it looks and feels different, and especially feels, I think, very optimistic in this time of we don't have a lot of things that are feeling good in the world. So I love the way that it looks.

Selena

Mm-hmm.

Skipper

I'd love to back up a little bit to -- because for someone who's been working as long as you have as a performer, as a musician, you threw off the thing of, Yeah, I had five songs written. And then you know, I wrote a few more, but for a lot of people, that's an inconceivable task. This idea of not just writing lyrics, but then writing music and writing, all of the other pieces of it. So, can you talk to me a little bit about what songwriting was for this album?

Selena

Songwriting is such a funny thing. It's, I think it's really different for every songwriter. So I almost always -- there are exceptions but -- like 95% of time, I start with lyrics. Usually, I'll have a phrase, like if I hear a phrase throughout the day, or if I think of something interesting, I'll keep a note in my phone. So just have a list of phrases, you know, whether in a notebook or on my iPhone. Or whatever. So usually, I have a jumping off point there. I historically haven't really had any framework in mind when I've started a song. I just sit down with the phrase, start elaborating on it and see what happens. You know, almost without exception, the things that I write are super personal, very much pulled from my actual life. And most of the songs on this new record are that -- a lot of them deal with the kind of fallout from a breakup, but also the eventual death of an ex boyfriend of mine. He died in 2016. And that was --

Skipper

And what is that song called?

Selena

Well, there's a lot of them...

Skipper

Okay. Okay.

Selena

There's four or five on the new record --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

About that. But "Can You Really be Gone?" and "Inventory Your Life" is another one. But they, you know, that that was like a huge and shocking life event, he committed suicide. Um, so that was --

Skipper

I'm sorry.

Selena

Thank you. You know, something like that happens and it's completely shocking. And you're just kind of a mess for a while. So --

Skipper

Even if you're not connected to them anymore.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

It's still really jarring.

Selena

Very, very jarring. So these songs on the album that are about that are, you know, they're therapeutic for me to write just one of those things where you just have to, you just have to get it out, you have to write about it, you have to make something out of it. I think part of it was still trying to make there be a reason for it, to create that after the fact then that's a weird idea. But yeah, I think a lot of the writing that I do is therapeutic for myself, so it's sort of inward-looking. But with this record, too, I wanted to kind of try to steer away from that. And there are a couple of songs that are more outward-looking and considering people as a whole instead of just considering, you know, the inner workings of my brain.

Skipper

What's an example of one of the more outer looking songs?

Selena

There's one called "Patriot".

Skipper

Yeah, that was the lead single.

Selena

Yes, it was. And it was meant to be a big F.U. to Donald Trump. And everything around that. It's really self-explanatory, that tune is. It was fun to be able to do an angry rock song, you know, it's super fun in the studio. It's so fun to perform that one. You know, I spent the weeks leading up to the recording listening to some of the bands that, you know, from my youth or that I wanted these songs to sound like, you know, I think I was listening to a lot of Foo Fighters for that song.

Skipper

Nice.

Selena

Yeah, just some stuff that was definitely different from what I had done before.

Skipper

Yeah, yeah, there's definitely a little bit of -- now that you've mentioned it, I can hear a little bit of -- "Everlong" or "Monkey Wrench" in "Patriot".

Selena

Totally.

Skipper

That's nice.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

What's the song on the album -- if I'm not mistaken that the two singles that you've released so far are "Patriot" and then "Inventory Your Life" — what's coming next?

Selena

We did put out a third single, it was "The Old House". That's an older song of mine but we recorded it there. So this whole record is out now but I've got a couple tunes that we recorded in the same recording session that didn't make the cut for the record. I had gone in and rerecorded some bits of those. So I'll be putting those out as singles who will probably do them both at the same time. Not really sure. Probably in the spring, like early spring, next year.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

A couple of new songs from the same session. Yeah.

Skipper

Yeah. So, Selena, what is your world look like right now? Because the record is out. Right? You've done that work. I know because we're connected on Instagram so I can see you've done some appearances here and there. What is your world look like, as a musician today?

Selena

Um. Well, my schedule is very open. I don't have a whole lot of gigs. I've been feeling a little bit guilty because you --

Skipper

Do have gigs right now?

Selena

Well, that's not entirely true. I do have a few gigs. I also sing in a Western swing band. My boyfriend plays guitar in that band as well so it's nice we get to do those shows together.

Skipper

Nice. And what is that band called?

Selena

It's called Hot Texas Swing Band.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Yep. And I've done a few gigs with them. We've done some outdoor things where the stage's away from people. It's so -- there are shows happening. There are a few venues in Austin that are having shows indoors right now so I'm not trying to book any of those. I don't really want to be inside with people at this time. So I'm mostly staying away. I've been asked to do a couple gigs that I've said yes to because the venue is outside and they've been really strict about social distancing protocols.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

So I feel okay about those kind of shows. But mostly, I'm not doing a whole lot. I was gonna say earlier that I know a lot of people have been writing furiously, this for the whole pandemic, just like writing, writing, writing.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

I have not written shit. I haven't done anything. I haven't done anything. Everyone's handling this differently and I just started journaling again. Like, I have not put a pen to a page. But in the last month, I've been journaling again, and I sat down to try to write a song didn't go well. But I'm trying to ease back into it. Yeah, it just feels -- I don't know, cuz usually I get ideas when I'm out like observing people. You know, I don't like to talk a whole lot, typically. So usually, I'm just watching things happen. And I enjoy doing that. And that's where my ideas come from, you know, so the well's a little dry, but we'll get there.

Skipper

Yeah. So is there anything else that we can talk about, in regard to your record, and, we'll have a thing at the end where you can talk about where people can find you, and where they can purchase the record on vinyl or CD. What haven't we talked about yet that you want to get into?

Selena

I did hire a publicist for this record -- which I have not done before. It's been really helpful because the last time I had sent out a bunch of CDs and info sheets, just kind of blind, just sent them out to this press list that I had gotten from a friend and --

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

And hope for the best, hope to get some reviews, hope something sticks. But I hired a publicist this time. And she's been very diligent about getting some write-ups and I had a little write up in the Chronicle, the Austin Chronicle, which is nice and getting it to like some national outlets so that they'll recognize the name for next time.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

So that was nice. It was nice to have someone else doing something for me. Instead of just blindly flailing trying to do something by yourself.

Skipper

And the effort to do it yourself. That's a lot of effort.

Selena

It's a lot of effort. It's really too much for any person to do by themselves. But --

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

But they do it.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

In another print interview I did recently, someone asked, What was the most interesting thing that happened in the studio? And I didn't really have an answer, because it was like, Well, we went in and everyone who played on my album is a stellar musician so we went in, we averaged like four songs a day, and we knocked everything out.

Skipper

Is that a good, is that a good sort of rate?

Selena

It's good, it's really good. Because you're doing multiple takes of these songs, and especially when everyone's together, the potential for mistakes is a little higher.

Skipper

Sure.

Selena

So we were doing very few takes on these songs and then we'd finish a take and be like, I think that was it. It's like, Yeah, I think that was it. I was just so pleased with how the studio work went. It was just, man, it was easy.

Skipper

Sounds like you all were really buttoned up in that way --

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

Be able to come in, do the songs. I mean, you all had such a clear sense of each other -- It also sounds like some of the stories we hear about bands recording records. You hear about the drama, right? Like, Ah, that's not the way it should sound or like someone's instrument is higher in the mix than mine is or then the grumpiness or then you hear the other side, which is like, I think I'm probably going to get this wrong, but there are a few albums that you hear about where they record the entire album, like one-take, I think Ozzy Osborne's first album (with Black Sabbath) was like that. Like, apparently the band went in and in one take did the entire album in one go. But that's also not the norm. Right. So the dramatics and the the one-take wonder like those are not the norm, but four songs a day sounds like a really good bead.

Selena

It was good. Yeah, it was a good little clip. I do want to mention the musicians. I'm glad we took this time.

Skipper

Yeah.

Selena

Everyone on the record are working musicians in town they play with a ton of people, you know, have so much experience. They're all better musicians than me -- by a longshot. Cat Clemons III played guitar. He's also my boyfriend. So I'm a little biased, but I think most people would agree -- he is one of the best guitar players in town. Lindsay Greene played bass. He's been in town for forever, just a stellar bass player in so many genres. Just perfect. He treated each song as its own thing. And it's just beautiful. And James Gwyn, great friend of mine, great drummer. Same with him. That was such a cool thing about the studio too, is how sensitive the players were to everything. Because like, these are some super emotional songs. Some of them --

Skipper

Super personal for you.

Selena

Yeah. Where some people might just kind of plow through and play with they always played these guys were really sensitive and sympathetic to what was going on.

Skipper

That's great.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

So I want to close out the show and ask you two questions. And this might be something that we've already talked about that you want to elaborate more on, but what's one of the most important lessons that you've learned so far in your work? Or in your life in general?

Selena

Good question. Um, I think this does apply to music, but also just to life. That unless you are actively on your deathbed, nothing is the end of the world. You know, if you make a mistake, Cool, great, you get to learn from it. It's not like -- I remember being a child. And every mistake I made was like a huge devastation to be it was like, Oh, my God, I can't believe this. What am I good to do? Or like, when I was auditioning for musicals, I was auditioning for professional shows when I was in high school. And like my second audition, I didn't get it. I wasn't cast. And I was like, How am I going to get into college? Oh, my god. It has taken me so long, so long to figure out most stuff really doesn't matter. Like, if you don't get something that you thought you wanted, it's okay. Because something else will happen. You'll get to do something else. And it's fine. So it's not holding on so much to your idea of what something is, and just letting it be the thing that is, just like letting your life be the thing that it is -- with a few little guiding points, you know? Yeah.

Skipper

Yeah, there's a version of that question that I like to ask myself and maybe other people in my life, but especially when we've landed on something, you've tripped over this hole in the ground and it's this problem that you're like, Oh, I've got to figure this out and I've got to get it right. One of the questions that I ask myself, or I asked others is, Is this going to be important next year?

Selena

Yeah!

Skipper

Is this one of those things it feels like I have to solve this or else? Or is it just like I need to figure it out and move on? Because next year, I'm barely gonna think of it.

Selena

Yeah, that's a great way to see things. I'm gonna steal that from you.

Skipper

So Selena, where can people find out more about you? There's the record, of course, and we'll link that in the show notes. Where can people find out more about you and what you're up to?

Selena

Yeah, well, there is my website: Selena Rosanbalm dot com.

Skipper

Also my last name and your last name is spelled ROSANBALM.

Selena

Yes, it is a tricky one. All of the assumptions you would make are incorrect about my last name. Yeah, ROSANBALM. What else? I've got a Facebook and an Instagram page, same name, of course. The record is available for purchase on my Bandcamp page.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

You can just search for me on Bandcamp. Yeah.

Skipper

Well, thank you for making time today. Selena.

Selena

Yeah.

Skipper

And just making the space that we've known each other for years. I feel like I've learned so much about you as a person and then also as a musician, so thank you.

Selena

Yeah, thank you so much for asking me. That is very kind. And I appreciate it.

Skipper

And thank you for listening to how this works. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo. Please subscribe and leave us a review in your favorite podcast app. We're just starting and so it'd be super helpful if you could tell just one other person about the show, and why they should listen to it. You can find how this works online at How This Works dot show. It's three words, no dashes. Again, that's How This Works dot show. We're also in the places where social media happens. Thanks so much for listening to my episode with Selena. I hope that you got as much out of the show as we have in making it. And we'll talk again soon.

[Outro music] Is that something -- as a note and I don't know if this is gonna end up in the show but -- because you're playing with a band and you know these guys that you're playing with and it sounds like from the way that you describe it, you're taking into account things like social distancing and the venue's being outside, are you all testing as a group? Just curious?

Selena

Um, good question. No, we haven't been we've been wearing masks as much as possible when, when appropriate. I think most of the band is wearing a mask when we play live, except for me.

Skipper

Okay.

Selena

Because, you know, we're also concerned about setting an example for people. You know, we don't want to be out there acting reckless or being seen as reckless, you know, when the stakes are so high, especially, oh my god higher every day.

Skipper

The numbers are hard to fathom.

Selena

It is really awful. But, yeah, you know, we're just trying to stay as safe as possible. And I am I'm getting tested today, actually. So that'll be fun.

Skipper

Exciting.

Selena

It'll be my third test. Yay.