Y’all this is a bucket list interview from us, like it’s actually so serious. Maddie Zahm has been such a comfort artist for us, her music has provided a safe space to heal and be ourselves, and getting to pick Maddie’s brain about that put us on cloud nine. We talked about Maddie Zahm’s newest single, ‘little me,’ as well as the tour and ‘Fat Funny Friend,’ among other things. We can’t wait any longer to share this chat with you all, so let’s dive in!
Stream ‘little me’ here!
Get tickets to see Maddie Zahm on tour here!
So to start us off, if you were to describe who you are as an artist to someone who has kind of never dove into your music, how would you describe your sound and your message?
I think I’m a religiously traumatized queer singer-songwriter that likes to make music that feels really brutally honest.
‘little me’ is your latest single! And the song kind of follows a theme that you see throughout your music of referencing your childhood and childhood trauma, have you found that addressing the things that you went through as a child has helped heal little you?
Definitely. I think it’s helped me come to terms with stuff in the past that I didn’t realize was actually a lot more universal than I thought it was. I think especially when we’re really deep feelers, it’s easy to feel alone or misunderstood. And I think that being able to say it out loud or connect with other people that have gone through the same thing has really helped me heal.
And on a similar note of healing, obviously your music comes from such a personal place, and anyone who listens to your music, us included, attaches themselves to the lyrics and they see themselves in them. What is it like hearing that feedback that as much as your music has helped heal you, it’s also helped heal other people?
I go back and forth. I mean, I’m deeply honored. I think that when I started writing most of these songs, especially from the EP, like I really didn’t have an intention of releasing them. I had kind of switched over into being a songwriter and trying to tell other people’s stories, And so the fact that all of this has happened and now I am in an artist position, I’m just I’m deeply grateful for it. There’s also another aspect of just maybe I feel the weight of that, that my music has impacted people on such a different level, whether that be deconstruction or body image I mean, they’re just not light topics. And so I think because of that, some of my songs have really been a part of people’s journeys in a way that I wasn’t expecting. And therefore I was a part of their journey in a way that I wasn’t expecting. And so I think there’s been kind of a conversation internally for me and in therapy of just really taking that seriously and knowing that I don’t want to let anyone down. And so finding that middle ground of allowing myself to be human and also making sure that I would never want to do anything that would disappoint the people that listen to my music and that have made it such a big part of their journey, you know? So yeah, I’m just deeply honored and also just very aware of the position that puts me in. And just making sure that I am a person that people are proud to have words tattooed of myself on them.
You’re currently touring Now That I’ve Been Honest, has there been a song from that record that has kind of taken on a completely new life, being able to sing it for a crowd?
Yeah, absolutely! I think ‘Lights On Kind Of Lover.’ It’s been so interesting, I feel like last tour, I was deeply sad the last tour I was really going through it, And it’s interesting because I have always said that I feel like my listeners are like eight months behind me when it comes to like the journeys that were going on because I’m releasing my music like a year later than when I wrote it. And so a lot of the people that were coming to my tour last year were people that were like just deconstructing or had just listened to ‘You Might Not Like Her’ and were kind of in it, and so I feel like last tour was a lot more sad or not sad but emotional. Like they were all really going through that EP.
And then I got to release this album that was like queer joy and ‘Lights On Kind Of Lover’ encapsulates that. It was super interesting because I honestly have been shocked at how much I recognize every single, like not every single person, but I feel like the connection is so deep that I can be like, oh my god, I remember you from last year. And it’s so fun to see them like just coming out last year to my tour and crying about coming out and then having them bring their partners and being like, oh my God, they found someone and get to sing ‘Lights On Kind Of Lover’ with someone that they love! And specifically the queer people it’s been so just magical, and I just think about like next year how much growth we’ll have. It just feels like each tour keeps getting more and more joyful.
(We did indeed attend the Seattle stop of the tour and can confirm the joy in the room was contagious.)
And speaking of now that I’ve been honest, there are obviously 13 tracks on the final record, was there a song you remember in particular really loving that didn’t end up making that final cut?
Yeah, there was one called ‘Hometown Letdown.’ I eventually would love to release it! One of the lines was “she was my favorite worship leader in the 208 until the bright city lights went and made her gay, and then she must have found the devil running down the walk of fame” I love that song, but it didn’t end up making the cut.
And in that same ballpark was ‘little me’ meant for the album? Or did you always plan to have that as kind of a standalone track?
Actually, I wrote that a day before I posted it online! So that was a standalone before the next stuff starts dropping. The next album, I don’t think people are going to be expecting the next album.
And we kind of touched on this earlier, but you’ve tackled so many scenarios in your music that are often heavy subjects that a lot of artists do tend to steer away from, getting that personal. Do you find that going into the writing sessions for those songs, they flow out easier or do you feel that the writing sessions become a bit more strenuous coming from such a personal place?
Definitely easier. When I’m not trying to be clever with the lyrics, it’s like writing in a diary. It’s just like you don’t think about it. I guess it’s actually more like throwing up where it’s like it just happens and then you feel better.
‘Fat Funny Friend’ kind of took on a life of its own and became a sort of NorthStar for people, what has it been like seeing people’s response to that song?
Oh, I mean, that song, here’s the thing, I am so proud of ‘Fat Funny Friend’ and the community that it’s built. I think for me, it’s so interesting because I was so afraid to talk about it. And then it’s like once you say it out loud and you find a bunch of people that are going through the same thing, you just don’t feel so alone. And I’m just so honored to be the ‘Fat Funny Friend’ and to be able to be a part of people learning to own themselves in that way. And honestly, I mean, I wouldn’t be out of the closet if it wasn’t for ‘Fat Funny Friend.’ I also wouldn’t be an artist. So that song really deserves every bit of love that I have.
And kind of playing on what you just said about ‘Fat Funny Friend,’ you wouldn’t be an artist without it. When you look even further back than ‘Fat Funny Friend’ on a song like ‘Family Reunions,’ (which THP covered years ago) what is the biggest difference, obviously besides coming out and being able to make music honestly, but artistically, what do you see as the biggest change from them to now?
For me, I think it’s the way that I sing. Like there’s something about the writing that feels, you can just tell there’s like a conviction. Like it feels very similar to when I was like leading worship, or like I really fucking mean what I’m saying. And I feel like you can feel that in my voice. And not only that, but I feel like I’ve really found my sound, like for some reason when I was doing like country-ish music, it was very strange. But I’ve noticed that I thought I was a country singer because I love to tell stories. But I wasn’t telling my own stories. And so country made sense. And so you can hear that in the way that I’m singing. And I think the difference now is that you can tell there’s just I’m singing from conviction.
To finish us off, what can fans look forward to as we kind of go further into 2024?
Oh, I’m ready for another album! I’ve been in the studio so much. I think it’s time for me to think of myself as an artist a little bit, meaning like being vulnerable while also really enjoying the music part of it. This has been such an interesting writing time and vocally, i just feel like people have given me the confidence to take my music seriously and try new stuff.
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