Alison Stewart (5:20)

That took me everything not to sing along with you.

Jordan Miller (5:23)

Oh, my God.

Kylie Miller (5:23)

You should join next.

Jordan Miller (5:24)

We would have welcomed that.

Alison Stewart (5:25)

That's the Beaches. It's amazing. When did you first realize that that song went viral? How about you, Kylie? What do you think?

Leandra Earle (5:34)

I think we noticed when Leandra posted it, the original TikTok. And I think, like, you were away. You were in Florida or something, on vacation with your girlfriend.

Alison Stewart (5:43)

Yes.

Leandra Earle (5:43)

And then you gave. I think you were just, like, out all day. And then, like, I think we just saw the numbers kind of start jumping and jumping and then, like, we all went to sleep that night. The next day, it was like, it had, like, 1.1.5 almost.

Kylie Miller (5:57)

Yeah.

Leandra Earle (5:57)

It eventually got up to, like, 3, but it just ended up, yeah. Completely transforming our lives. And it's so wild that that's, like, happened over like, a year and a half. That's crazy.

Kylie Miller (6:08)

Like, that studio, like, that vocal booth has become sort of, like, famous within the Canadian music industry. It's like that's where the Beaches had their TikTok.

Alison Stewart (6:17)

Now that you've had time to sort of process it, what did it mean for your career to have that. That moment?

Eliza McDaniel (6:24)

It. It was incredible. I mean, it was. It kind of opened so many doors for us because obviously, being A Canadian band. It is easy to remain in Canada, and often bands do get stuck. So it really set us on a new trajectory to be able to come to new countries, you know, come to the States more and, you know, build our fan base in Europe and just introduce a lot more people to our music. So it's been amazing.

Kylie Miller (6:46)

It's a really cool opportunity because, like, back in the day, before these platforms were available, you would, you know, have to tour these places before you were able to develop a fan base. And now you can sort of grow your fan bases all over. Just because we're all connected online, it's. It's sick.

Alison Stewart (7:00)

Why do you think that song hit so hard?

Kylie Miller (7:03)

I've thought about this so many, so much, and I think we got lucky. I mean, no, we didn't get lucky. I think I got broken up with before a lot of the COVID Not lucky me. Lucky me. So I think I was going something that was about to hit everybody. Yeah, A lot of the COVID breakups happened, like, a year later.

Leandra Earle (7:24)

I also think that everybody has a brat in their life. Like, breakups are such a universal kind of experience that we all share. And I don't know, there's such, like, vulnerability in this, like, power in the lyrics in that song. So I think it's just very relatable to a lot of, like, young people. I mean, people of all ages. Honestly, like, breakups are the worst.

Alison Stewart (7:44)

So why did you post it? I'm just curious about what was going through your mind. You said, oh, I'll throw it up.

Eliza McDaniel (7:48)

It was. It was at a time when we weren't being very precious about things online. We were just, you know, filming ourselves in the studio, throwing it up there. See what stuck?

Band Member (7:56)

I think I posted a video of you in the same booth singing Everything is Boring a couple months prior, and that got up to, like, 300,000 views. But for our own original music, like, that had never happened. So I was like, oh, that's. That's a lot of views. Let's try another song. And it didn't even stick right away. It was a couple of versions of. Of that.

Eliza McDaniel (8:14)

Yeah, yeah.

Alison Stewart (8:16)

My guests are the Beaches live in studio. They're performing songs from their forthcoming album, no Hard Feelings, which drops on August 29th. And they're playing tomorrow night at Governor's Ball in Flushing Meadows. So you two are sisters? Yeah, yeah. You know that. When did you start playing together?

Kylie Miller (8:35)

We started playing when six. I believe you were six and I was seven. Yeah, yeah. And we. Honestly, we haven't Ever done anything not together? Like, we've never not been just individual solo artists. We've always, you know, performed together. This whole thing started when we started playing together.

Leandra Earle (8:53)

Yeah, we, we really didn't like guitar lessons. We didn't like learning theory. So we ended up just starting to write our own songs at a really young age. And because we were lazy, we learned three chords and we had a dream.

Eliza McDaniel (9:06)

What can three chords in a dream.

Alison Stewart (9:07)

Three chords in the truth. That's what country music's about. What were your earlier songs about?

Kylie Miller (9:12)

Sisters was our earliest one.

Eliza McDaniel (9:14)

Literally about being sisters?

Kylie Miller (9:15)

Yeah, about being sisters. We were listening to Old. We. Our, our old band was called Done With Dolls.

Eliza McDaniel (9:21)

Don't look it up.

Kylie Miller (9:22)

Feel free to look it up. It's a real trip. Go away. Go away. That's about getting, you know, telling your sister to leave your room.

Eliza McDaniel (9:29)

I don't want to be your friend.

Band Member (9:31)

I like the song. Those lies.

Leandra Earle (9:33)

Lies are lies.

Kylie Miller (9:34)

Lies are serious. They are.

Leandra Earle (9:35)

Lies are serious. It's really powerful stuff, really poetic.

Alison Stewart (9:40)

Eliza, how did you join the band?

Eliza McDaniel (9:42)

Well, so I, I knew Jordan and Ky Kylie from a very young age. We went to public school together. So I met them in grade one, went through, up to about grade six and then in grade seven, we were walking to school together and Jordan goes, I'm in this band. We kind of need a drummer. I heard you kind of play drums. I was very self taught at the time. I was like, yeah, I'll come jam with you guys. And that was like over 10 years ago now. And it just, it fit so well. It felt so natural. And we learned together, like we learned our instruments as we grew up.

Alison Stewart (10:12)

Leandra, when did you understand what the Beach's sound was going to be like?

Band Member (10:17)

I think I joined right after you guys decided to change your sound. I was a fan of Done With Dolls, went to their shows.

Alison Stewart (10:26)

I knew more about Done With Dolls in a minute, but keep going, she'll tell you.

Band Member (10:30)

And then they changed to the Beaches. I joined like a month or two after that and you guys were kind of like playing Black Keys covers and stuff. So it was going into like an alternative.

Alison Stewart (10:41)

Oh, that's interesting.

Kylie Miller (10:42)

Yeah, I think like we went through a lot, as a lot of young people do in a lot of bands. You sort of like try on a lot of different references. We referenced like the Pretenders in a record. I sang like Kara and O in the first two eps we put out. And then it sort of evolved into like more of a stroke sound. And then when I think we really landed on our sound with, like, our. The record that we put out a couple years ago, Blame My Ex, which Blame Brett was on and sort of, you know, happy, sad. We reference, like, Joy Division, the Cure, like, very moody, moody sounds, I guess.

Alison Stewart (11:17)

All right, I'm going to read to you from a previous interview. I'm sure you love that, Jordan. It says you wrote. When we started out being an all girl band, we really rejected that label and connotation and we wanted to make our sound as hardcore as possible in order to get male fans.

Eliza McDaniel (11:36)

Yeah.

Alison Stewart (11:37)

Is that still true?

Kylie Miller (11:38)

No, not at all. Not at all. And, you know, I think when we started, when we began our careers, we were, you know, young women, preteens even, and there weren't any bands that looked like us or sounded like us. So I think we were just trying to, you know, get the respect of our peers, which at the time were like all straight men. And nowadays, you know, that's not really the case anymore. And we don't really write music for them anymore. I write music for, you know, people like me. Like young, queer women, you know.

Alison Stewart (12:07)

Your last album, Blame My Ex. Kylie, when you went into this album, what mindset did you go into? Because Blame My Ex has got a lot of breakup song couple, half of songs, but mostly breakup songs.

Leandra Earle (12:17)

Yeah.

Alison Stewart (12:17)

What did you go into with this album?

Leandra Earle (12:18)

There's definitely some breakup songs on this record too. I think we're, like, consistently always going through breakups. I don't know. Going through one right now.

Jordan Miller (12:27)

I'm sorry.

Kylie Miller (12:28)

It's okay.

Leandra Earle (12:29)

But yeah, I think this record is just like. It's so special to us because it kind of like shares, like, individual experiences that we've all gone through. I think Blame My Ex was really Jordan's experience with her breakup and no Hard Feelings is kind of more about each of us. And it basically was like having therapy with your best friends. Kind of everybody, like, communicating with one another. And it was just a really collaborative experience. We had so much fun making this album.

Alison Stewart (12:56)

Jordan, was there something new that you wanted to try on the new album?

Kylie Miller (13:00)

Yeah, I will. I wanted it. I think that's Kylie hit it on the head there. Like, I didn't want it all to be about my experiences. I really wanted it to be sort of like a debrief about all of our experiences during breakup. So I was very influenced by Sex and the City. I constantly am.

Alison Stewart (13:19)

And I just did Sex in the City not end just like that.

Kylie Miller (13:23)

I don't consider that canon.

Jordan Miller (13:26)

Hot tea, hot take.

Kylie Miller (13:29)

Anyway, Sorry. Sjp. No, I Mean, I really wanted it to feel like, you know, in the original series, the girls always go to this brunch spot and they'll, you know, debrief about where they're all at with their relationships. And I really wanted this record to feel like a conversation amongst all of us.

Eliza McDaniel (13:47)

I think it's really special for the fans, too, because they want to be part of that conversation. They want to hear what we're talking about when we go out for a drink, a casual hang, you know? So that's kind of what this record is. It's like letting everyone into a glimpse of our lives individually, what we're all experiencing. And that's the cool part about it.

Kylie Miller (14:04)

Yeah.

Alison Stewart (14:04)

All right, we're gonna hear another song. This is called Last Girls at the Party. What do you want us to know about these girls?

Eliza McDaniel (14:11)

Well, they're never leaving the party.

Kylie Miller (14:13)

They're never leaving the party. We're the first. Well, we're not always the first.

Alison Stewart (14:16)

We're usually late.

Kylie Miller (14:17)

The last to leave for sure. But the party doesn't start until the beaches get there for sure.

Alison Stewart (14:21)

Here's the beaches.

Jordan Miller (14:27)

I know kind of slow down. I never look as hot as I do now? Cause I don't want to miss out as I pick myself up off the ground? Everyone's gone home? The lights are turning light? No hard feelings? We're not leaving while you're sleeping all night leaving? Gonna be the last girls at the party? Gonna be the last girls at the party? Gonna be the last girls at the party? Gonna be the last girls at the party? Need a smoke break? Cause you miss out on the shots that you don't take? And if you don't think straight they. It took a day I'm open late, so great. Everyone's gone home? The lights are turning love too hard evens. We're not leaving while you're sleeping? We're not leaving Gonna be the last girls at the party? Gonna be the last girls at the party? Gonna be the at the party? Gonna be the last girl at the party I don't wanna go home.

Band Member (16:00)

We should at some point.

Eliza McDaniel (16:02)

It's only one, right?

Jordan Miller (16:04)

I don't wanna go home.

Leandra Earle (16:06)

But we should.

Band Member (16:07)

So many hot girls here.

Eliza McDaniel (16:08)

It's only two, right?

Kylie Miller (16:10)

It's only three, right? It's only four, right?

Jordan Miller (16:13)

It's only five, right? It's only six, right?

Kylie Miller (16:16)

It's only seven, right?

Jordan Miller (16:17)

It's only eight, right? Gonna be the last girls at the party? No hard feelings? We're not leaving while you're sleeping? We're not Leaving gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party O oh, oh, oh, oh Gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party Gonna be the last girls at the party.

Alison Stewart (17:13)

You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Jordan, Kylie, Leandra, and Eliza. They make up the bleat, the of beauty, the bleaches, the beaches. Joining me in studio, we were just juggling things and wires, but hopefully we got it settled down a little bit. You guys are playing acoustic today, but you. You truly rock out. What's different? What's different? When you hear the songs acoustically, when.

Kylie Miller (17:36)

You play the songs acoustically, it's about dynamics, right? So when you're. When you're playing with acoustics, you have to think, like, okay, if you're just using your voice, an acoustic guitar or a shaker, you got to think, how can you add dynamics to the set? So adding claps in certain moments, songs have to have, like. They have to be quieter at some points and louder at some points. So it's just like sort of getting together and being creative and making it work with what you got.

Band Member (17:59)

Probably breathier vocals.

Kylie Miller (18:01)

Yeah.

Band Member (18:01)

Usually screaming on stage.

Kylie Miller (18:03)

It's nice. Yeah, it's nice not to yell. It's great.

Eliza McDaniel (18:06)

It's a nice break for me to have this single egg in my hand as opposed to an entire drum kit.

Alison Stewart (18:12)

What do you notice about your songs when you hear them acoustically?

Kylie Miller (18:15)

They're sad. It's true. Blame Brett particularly. Sounds like a funeral march for some reason. Acoustically, we. We played recently. We played that song acoustic in Belgium not too long ago, and we're very big in Belgium, and they crowd surfed to that version.

Eliza McDaniel (18:31)

There was about 10 people in the room. It was really crazy.

Band Member (18:33)

Literally like a funeral march.

Kylie Miller (18:34)

Yeah.

Band Member (18:35)

And they held her above.

Leandra Earle (18:36)

I started it too slow, so it.

Eliza McDaniel (18:38)

Was going so slow. This girl's just crowdsurp.

Kylie Miller (18:40)

I think you like when you. When you strip it down, like, you realize how vulnerable and sad some of the lyrics are. For sure.

Alison Stewart (18:46)

Yeah. You know, it's interesting because you guys are. You left your label.

Jordan Miller (18:50)

Yeah.

Alison Stewart (18:51)

Right. You went on an independent label. First of all, why was that important to you to go on an independent label?

Leandra Earle (18:56)

I mean, honestly, like, it's just great to have, like, some support from, like, someone, like, in the industry. I don't know. I think we were signed to, like, major labels when we were, like, since we were like, 15 years old. So we really kind of wanted to see if we could do this ourselves and, like, you know, not really have a lot of people to, like, kind of answer to. Like, we wanted to be fully in control of our project. And with an independent label, you definitely get, like, that control, which is so nice. And they've been really supportive.

Band Member (19:26)

So, yeah, it's not like they believe in us.

Kylie Miller (19:28)

Yeah, they believe in you and they believe in the project. And you're. You're not signed for, like, five records. You're signed for one. One record. So if you're not unhappy with, like, the relationship, then you're not stuck. It's like, I think the way the music industry should be going forward, moving forward, but that's just my opinion.

Alison Stewart (19:44)

What's something you did on the new record that you did because you were on an independent label? It wouldn't have worked if you'd been on another kind of label.

Kylie Miller (19:50)

Well, just like releasing, we basically get to pick the songs that we, you know, that become the singles. Usually, you know, if you're signed to a major label, you don't always have a say in which song gets selected to be, like, the radio hit or whatever. With this, like, you know, we can sort of of slowly premiere new music on TikTok and, you know, let the fans have a bit of a say and also which sort of gets selected to be the single.

Eliza McDaniel (20:13)

It's just nice to have so much. Have the label, have so much faith in what we're going to put out. It's very encouraging as an artist, we can swear. But not today.

Alison Stewart (20:22)

Not today.

Kylie Miller (20:23)

Not today.

Alison Stewart (20:24)

You know, Bruce Maroney was here last week, and he said that he really felt like he could put out the music that he wanted to put out, not just what the industry wanted, that he could write music that was meaningful to him. Did you feel that kind of pressure?

Eliza McDaniel (20:38)

Well, I mean, the latter basically, like, we, with our label, they're called awol. And what they've been so amazing for is, like, Jordan was saying, like, they didn't really put any pressure on us to put out a certain type of music or tell us what to write about. They're very just like, nope, we believe in you and what you're going to accomplish in the studio, and we're gonna back you 100%. And that's just like the most encouraging thing you could have as an artist, Especially from going from being signed to a major label to that. It's like Kind of the best case situation for us.

Band Member (21:08)

And when we were fully independent, that's when we put out Blame My Ex. And that's when we discovered this sound that we wanted to put out. That's like, music we were listening to. Because I think we being like, a rock band in Canada for a decade, we were a much more alternative rock band. And I don't think that resonated with us anymore.

Eliza McDaniel (21:26)

Yeah, it's funny. It's like the moment you have the freedom to kind of do what you want, that's when it hits. That's when it resonates, when no one's forcing you to sound a certain way.

Alison Stewart (21:34)

You know, I'm gonna read another quote from another magazine. Are you ready, Jordan?

Leandra Earle (21:38)

All right.

Alison Stewart (21:39)

It's a good one, though. It says, you told DIY magazine the people we're making music for are girls, gays, and theys.

Eliza McDaniel (21:47)

Yes.

Kylie Miller (21:48)

Yes. Heck, yes.

Alison Stewart (21:49)

Heck, yes. Tell us, if you don't mind, tell us how your identity factors into your songwriting.

Kylie Miller (21:56)

Well, I mean, I think, again, where we really started to, like, hit our stride with our songwriting is when we really just were vulnerable and shared, like, real. We weren't really trying. We were just sort of, you know, trying to be ourselves and trying to. Sorry, I'm all. My brain's a little dead today.

Band Member (22:14)

Yeah, no, like, in Covid, I came out as a lesbian. Big surprise to everybody. And then it was like, okay, well, we have all this music that, I mean, written from Jordan's perspective, but she was like, we should start writing from other members perspectives because there's so many more identities in this band, which then resonates with our fan base. So it's been really helpful for all of our queer fans to hear, like, their stories shared.

Eliza McDaniel (22:41)

Yeah, yeah.

Kylie Miller (22:42)

It's important to share, like, that's how you, like, make real change, is that people hear their stories shared in all forms of art.

Alison Stewart (22:49)

You know, that's sort of. That's really interesting. That's really sort of big of you to think, like, everybody should be included, not just my songs.

Eliza McDaniel (22:58)

Like Jordan was saying, like, we write music for the girls, gays and theys. And when. When they weren't hearing enough songs about their experience, we hear those. We hear, you know, from that, and we learn from that. And so I think it was really important to us to include some queer storytelling on this new record. So on the next one, unlike the last one, where there was. I think there were two songs about a queer relationship in this next record, it's like, the majority of the album is about that. So. Yeah, we just want to make sure that everyone feels seen and acknowledged and part of this big Beaches family.

Alison Stewart (23:33)

My guests are the beaches. Jordan, Kylie, Leandra, and Eliza. You're playing governor's ball this weekend. Well, who are you excited to see? I mean, I hear you're playing Tyler. The creator. Who else?

Band Member (23:46)

Role model.

Eliza McDaniel (23:47)

Yeah.

Band Member (23:47)

I want to be Sally.

Leandra Earle (23:49)

Backseat lovers. And McGee.

Eliza McDaniel (23:52)

Yeah, McGee.

Leandra Earle (23:52)

Love McGee.

Kylie Miller (23:53)

Yeah, I was gonna say McGee as well.

Alison Stewart (23:55)

What can people expect from yourself?

Kylie Miller (23:58)

A big party for sure. Like to get ready to dance, get ready to cry. Get ready to dance while crying.

Eliza McDaniel (24:04)

And here a couple new singles.

Jordan Miller (24:06)

Yeah.

Band Member (24:06)

New song.

Kylie Miller (24:07)

Yeah.

Leandra Earle (24:08)

Yeah. We're playing this next song that we're gonna play on the radio. We're playing that for the first time live at gov ball, so hope it goes well.

Alison Stewart (24:16)

Well, first time you're gonna play it is here.

Jordan Miller (24:19)

This is exciting.

Alison Stewart (24:20)

Let's take a listen. This is. Did I say too much? From the beaches.

Jordan Miller (24:33)

You led us right to this place you kept me around just to wait you see all your reasons everyone's secrets Was I just a change of view? Cause he could never leave you maybe break up with your boyfriend? Did I jump the gun? I really thought this time I found someone why did I speak too soon? So real to me, girl, is it real? Did I say too much? Gave you my stomach to choose I get it, you were confused. I believe that. Did you even mean it? Every time I almost call you I just. Just take a drink? Was a whole relationship just your boyfriend's game? Did I jump the gun? I really thought this time I found someone why did I speak too soon? So real to me, girl, is it real for you? Did I say too much? Even in the breakup you can make your mind up to the extra measure Gave me back my sweater soaked in your perfume what the hell is wrong with you? This one's for you to cover. Sing it to your lover Now I've seen the whole world heartbreak it's a rich girl we both know the truth that I'm a lot to lose and I ch the gun I really thought this time I found someone why did I speak too soon? I let my guard down yeah, I trusted you. Did I say too much?

Alison Stewart (27:37)

That was great. My guests have been the Beaches. No hard feelings. Their new album is out on August 29. They are playing tomorrow night at Governor's Ball at Flushing Meadows Park. Thank you so much for coming in.

Kylie Miller (27:50)

Thank you so much for having us.

Eliza McDaniel (27:52)

That was so fun. Thank you.

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