GRXCE New Single ‘Pretty Boy’ Interview

Written by Robert Hume

Sydney’s GRXCE released their first single back in October and it dives into stereotypes and the insecurity that they can bring. Sitting down with Jamila, Emily, Jono and Alex from the band I got to ask them some questions and delve into both the song and the band as well.

Rob: Tell me about Grxce and its founding.

Jamilla: Initially it was just me in like 2020 and I kind of didn't have a big plan of where anything was going. I was like, oh like I have the ability to make music may as well release it, see how it goes and then kind of through that process I found out that it’s what I wanted to do, and I always liked the idea the sound that bands have so I went on a little search for everyone!

I knew Jono for years and convinced him to join and then I found Emily and Alex on a Facebook group, didn’t really put much thought into it and just picked the first people, which in hindsight could have been risky but it ended up perfectly and we’re all here to tell the tale. On top of that due to lockdowns last year, we never actually all met each other and had rehearsals together until late last year

Rob: Has it been a bit of a surprising journey in jumping from small shows to having something recorded like more professionally.

Jamila: When we started the band, I think everyone could attest to me being very organised, like when I was on my own, I didn’t care as much but when I brought the band together, I wanted to solidify that we would always be giving it our all and acting professionally so that mindset has always been there. However, the growth that we’ve had, accompanying that, was so fast. Our very first gig that we played as a headline was a year ago and I think we sold like 70 tickets and now a year later we have a single out and at its launch event we had a 250 ticket venue sold out.  

Jono: Just from ticket sales alone in a one-year period and how dramatically the numbers changed has made the whole thing surreal.

Rob: Do you want to talk a little bit about that process and the new single ‘Pretty Boy’?

Jamila: It existed before we came together as a band 'cause I found the old voicemail of it on my phone the other day. I was staying at my mum's house at the time in lockdown and was just playing around. No one was ever going to hear it back then, however when we were coming up with setlists much later there was a lot of time that needed to be filled and it ended up getting added. In the beginning, it was very serious, because the whole kind of storyline is about being insecure around looking at someone else and realising that you could never be together but after playing it live over and over it became more of a song poking fun at that.

We ended up changing the entire instrumental from RNB to the punk rock sound that it is now. There are all these new little sounds that we added, and it really became this kind of anthem of like self-confidence rather than the insecurity that it was before, and we love playing it

The confidence and empowerment that it has is also a personal growth for all of us as individuals and as a band – going from not knowing what we were doing to having a lot more confidence in who we are and what we represent together.

Rob: Is pop punk a genre that you are wanting to get into more?

Jamila: Pretty boy is such a good starting place cause it's so fun and it's something that immediately like people like it, can connect with and get into and headbang in the car but the lyrical content, when stripped back is a very different feeling. Our tagline that we always say is that we make sad songs that you can dance to.

But I also think it’s unfortunate when songwriters get boxed into different feelings. We’re never 100% happy or sad in life and I want to show all the facets of life, whether that be celebration or depression or anywhere else.

We've got many, many layers of grace to unravel in upcoming releases.

Rob: What are your musical inspirations?

Jamila: I made a playlist of sonic references that we refer to often.

beabadoobee is a huge one. I think it's very much like the soft vocals rock background, even like Olivia Rodrigo when we like a more pop sound, and then on top of that Holly Humberstone and her work means so much to me, I started listening before she got picked up by Lewis Capaldi, Spacey Jane, Ocean Alley are also influences for us. However, as so many bands are male lead I struggled at first because that’s not us. Finding other bands that have women at the front and championing that in our sound has been really important.

Rob: What have been your big band moments so far?

Jono: Back at the start of the band we had a couple goals and one of them was to play at the Oxford Art Factory and in February this year we got to play there as Part of Breaking Sound Sydney. Getting the ability to play at the venue that we thought would never be in our reach for years was very big for us. I hold that show so highly because it’s what led us to where we are now, and it filled us with so much hope for the future of the band.

Jamila: We played at a battle of the bands at the start of 2022, and we were the only female lead band on the line up.

And after we played, this little girl came up to me and she looked like the spitting image of me when I was young, and out of nowhere she said to me that she wanted to sing like me when she grows up, it was just so crazy and gave me so much hope.

Alex: Like Jamila, I’ve played in quite a few bands and the biggest compliment that you can ever receive as a musician is to inspire other people to play and express themselves. Having someone come up to me after a gig and saying that I've inspired them to play drums is bigger than playing in front of 250 people. It’s the little things that stick with you and I think those moments will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Rob: How important is it being a band with women at the front?

Jamila: My parents have always really supported my creative ambitions but when I haven't been around them, I can think of so many times in my life where I’ve been told that this isn’t something I could do. Growing up in a small town there was never a huge number of opportunities in the arts.

I think creating space for myself in the industry was so important because so many people doubted me and not just because I'm a woman, but because it's a creative field and even more when you're also trying to take on a management role in music too. Many of the great managers that I have met have happened to be men, and they're fantastic at their job but it's been so hard to find other role models and I'm lucky to know Nat, who manages The Buoys but it's such a male driven industry.

I’m joining the women in music mentorship program next year and I just want to make space for other women and show that they can do whatever they want and make sure that the opportunity for them is available, because it isn’t always there.

Rob: What might we see next from you music wise?

Jamila: We have two new songs that are coming out early next year. The next one we’re putting out touches on family values and the way that your relationship with your close circles affect the way that you love others. The next couple of songs are sad ones, rather than what we have out already with ‘Pretty Boy.’ On top of that we’re going to have some fun visuals for the music that we’re going to make ourselves, and then just touring. Looking forward to being able to visit other cities and see their scene now that we’re at the scale we are now.