Cocksure, Laura Stevenson’s newest album shares the spirit of its bold title. There’s a comfort that comes with hearing the maturity and courage to make sure statements on common feelings. Laura can take situations, such as the feeling of smallness and the struggle of friends, and assure us that it really is going to be okay. The clarity in thought and beauty in her musicality holds something that we never knew that we needed, which proves this record one of upmost importance. Taking the fact that she is in her thirties as an opportunity for some strong-willed growth, Laura gives the rest of us some awing insight.
On her way through Olympia, W.A, soon after she passed the ‘Sleater-Kinney Rd.’ sign on the highway, Laura shared some wisdom and excitement for Cocksure.
Allston Pudding: This time around, Jeff Rosenstock produced your record. How has working with a former bandmate affected your instrumentals?
Laura Stevenson: Well, he was a touring member in my band and I was a touring member in his band (Bomb The Music Industry!), but neither of us have written on each other’s records. He was definitely helping me write my guitar solos. It was really cool to hone in on guitar lines with him one on one in his apartment.
AP: Cocksure feels like a celebration to me, of milestones and things that are overcome. What does the album, as a whole, mean to you?
LS: I was kind of just trying to write the best songs that I could, and I’m at a place in my lie when I’m fully an adult. There’s no question about it. I’m 31 now. I was 30 when I was writing the songs. It’s just a step in the direction of “I just can’t just walk around, going in life trying to figure out where my place is. I have to be more self-assured and assert my position a little bit more.” It’s a growing thing as a woman. There’s no part of me that is a girl anymore.
Also 30 was weird because you just think, “I am a woman,” it’s just crazy. I’ve always felt like I was kind of creeping about and I felt like it was just shitty. It was because I was so self-conscious, so I am glad to be saying things with more assurance. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m trying.
AP: Have you felt that people perceive you differently, since you’ve turned 30?
LS: The change has been gradual, but at stores I am called “ma’am” more. [laughs]
I don’t know if other people have changed, but I know that I have to be an actualized human being and it sucks that this has come about so late. If it happened in my twenties, I would have done a lot more growing, but it’s never too late. Thirty is the new 25! [laughs]
AP: On “Diet of Worms” you detail interactions with people who don’t care to respect others’ work or as an individual. How do you suggest handling this type of situation?
LS: I guess just giving it back to them. Don’t give them the time of day. I think that if you are seeking approval from people who are just stuck in their own heads and can’t respect someone else’s work or thoughts, what’s the point? Don’t try to waste your time trying to connect with those people because at the end of the day, they’re missing out on things that are going to help them grow as a person. Learning other people’s experiences is a way of growing and becoming a person of the world. Don’t worry about those people because they’re unattainable and lonely, and they’re going to have to realize that and reach out in the future. If they don’t reach out, I feel bad for them.
AP: All of your songs are very personal, but how does the act of writing and performing affect the way that your relationships evolve?
LS: I had a lot of issues with my relationship with my parents and I think writing about stuff that I went through, writing about them, although I do use a lot of metaphors so that it is not so directly about them, it has definitely helped me detach a little bit from wishing that I could change something about what went on when I was growing up. Now I realize that these are people, these are flawed people. I can now look at these people and not feel sad or hurt anymore, I can realize that they are just as confused as I am.
AP: Usually, I hate to ask about album titles, but why Cocksure?
LS: Well it is a really good record title. [laughs] My friend, Chris Farren, just said, “your next record, Cocksure,” and then I was like, “that’s crazy.” A year had gone by and Chris and Jeff Rosenstock are in a band called Antarcitgo Vespucci, and they were working on their record at the same time that I was finishing up what would be Cocksure with Jeff, so we were all living at Jeff’s apartment at the same time. Chris just said, “what about Cocksure? That’s such a good record title” and I had totally forgotten about it by then. There’s nothing else that I could call this record, it’s so perfect. It was kind at the urging of two of my friends over the course of about two years time, but now I’m like, “oh yeah, this is what it had to be called.” [laughs]
AP: Those are true friends!
LS: Yeah, there’s really nothing else that I could call it. I was toying with other titles and they were all serious or stupid… naming anything is weird, but I am really excited about this because it’s just perfect. I don’t know, it’s kind of serious, but it’s kind of funny. I just really like it!
AP: Most of your songs have really upbeat, bright instrumentals with contrasting lyrics, which makes for a really satisfying sing along. Is this intentional?
LS: I think that it’s myself trying not to be so heavy ended. I try not to be so melodramatic because life is just so much happiness and sadness juxtaposed. I feel like it helps me embrace what the song is about more so than if it were to be set to sad music because it would just be too much. The contrast makes it more fun and easier to deal with. Life’s going to be hard, but at the end of the day, it’s going to beautiful and fun.
AP: If you could say something to the Laura who was just making her first record, A Record, what would it be?
LS: I would say, “this is the thing that you should pursue,” because when I made A Record I never thought that I was ever going to make anything in my life. I never thought that this was going to be a thing that anyone would hear or care about. I was convinced to make a record. I didn’t even care to record the songs, but my friend, Mike, who is now my fiancé, told me that I needed to share it with people, so I made that record.
Honestly, I was a person that battled with depression and I didn’t really see myself having a future. I didn’t see two years down the line for myself, ever. It gave me a reason to want to be alive. Yeah, so I would say, “keep living and making music because it will eventually help other people.” People come up to me at shows and say, “this helped me through this” and “I played this for my partner who ended up dying and this is a part of our acceptance of their leaving.” That was one of the biggest things that someone told me on this tour and I was just floored, but if you can make a difference in someone’s life in any way, even if it’s just a selfish thing like writing a song about yourself [laughs], keep doing it.
AP: Out of curiosity how did your wrestling craze begin?
LS: [laughs] I’m pretty deep in it now! My fiancé, who plays bass… oh god that’s so weird, but we’re engaged, so I guess he’s my fiancé… “Boyfriend” was always a weird word to me and fiancé is… I don’t know whatever… but my partner in life loved wrestling as a little kid, so I bought him a subscription to the WWE Network, so we started obsessively watching and started to go watch RAW with three of his friends. He’s bought all of the WWE merchandise, he’s, like, crazy! It’s insane.
I follow them all on Instagram, so I know where they are all of the time because they’re always on tour and we’re kind of trailing their tour right now. They were in Colorado Springs yesterday on SmackDown…[laughs] Why do I know this? So hopefully our paths will cross. We lucked out on this tour.
AP: Well, I’m crossing my fingers for you!
LS: Well thank you!
Catch Laura Stevenson at The Middle East Downstairs on Thursday, 11/19, as she opens for Matt Pond PA. Tickets are available here.