It’s been just over a year since Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman passed away following an intense and private battle with cancer, yet even now his legacy lives on and continues to do good and bring hope to those who need it. The latest way the actor is changing lives? An endowed scholarship fund created in his memory that will cover the full, four-year cost of tuition for select incoming students at his alma mater: the College of Fine Arts at Howard University.
According to The Wrap, Netflix — along with the support of Chadwick Boseman’s wife, Simone Ledward-Boseman — has officially established the Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship, a $5.4 million dollar program that will help ensure artists and talented thespians are given the chance to attend a four-year university without the piles of debt that tend to come with it. The scholarship will focus on “students who demonstrate financial need and who exemplify exceptional skills in the arts reminiscent of Boseman,” and is set to begin this Fall, with four awards being given out to represent one student of each graduating class. The scholarship will then continue to be distributed to one incoming freshman each year. According to Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick, M.D, the school is deeply grateful for the scholarship that “embodied” the late actor’s values:
“It is with immense pleasure and deep gratitude that we announce the creation of an endowed scholarship in honor of alumnus, Chadwick Boseman, whose life and contributions to the arts continues to inspire. This scholarship embodies Chadwick’s love for Howard, his passion for storytelling, and his willingness to support future generations of Howard students. I am thankful for the continuous support and partnership of Chadwick’s wife, Mrs. Simone Ledward Boseman, and to Netflix for this important gift.”
Howard University also announced the inaugural class of awardees: Sarah Long, a freshman in musical theatre; Shawn Smith, a sophomore studying acting; Janee’ Ferguson, a junior in theatre arts administration; and senior Deirdre Dunkin, who studies dance. According to the press release, these are students who have demonstrated “a drive for excellence,” “leadership,” “respect,” “empathy” and “passion” for the art of storytelling.
Boseman was an alumnus of Howard University, graduating with a BA in directing in 2000. The actor later returned to speak at the university in 2018 for a commencement address following the release of Marvel’s Black Panther. In addition to the scholarship fund, Howard University is also celebrating the actor’s legacy by renaming a wing of the school after him.
Fresh off her NDA win against Donald Trump, former White House aide, and Celebrity Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault Newman is dropping more bombs about the twice-impeached president — including that he might not be fit to run for office again.
Trump recently lost a three-year court battle to enforce a nondisclosure agreement with his former supporter after Omarosa authored a tell-all book, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House, while he was still in office. The book contained some damning accounts of what life was like within the administration for Omarosa between 2017 and 2018 but now that she doesn’t have a lawsuit hanging over her head, the reality TV star is revealing even more insider information about her former boss which includes his questionable health status.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton, Omarosa warned that if Trump were to run for office again in 2024, he’d need to come clean to the public about his physical fitness.
“I don’t know if he will even be healthy enough to run in 2024,” she said. “I think he needs to come clean to the American people about where he is on that before deciding to get into a very stressful and strenuous race for the White House.”
Now, Omarosa didn’t offer any proof that the former president is ailing, just some vague statements about how she’s worried that he “hasn’t come forward and talked about his health” but, then again, Trump’s never been in the best shape, despite his personal physician claiming otherwise. He contracted COVID in October 2020 and spent three days at Walter Reed Medical Center. Much has been written about his fast-food diet — he loves McDonald’s and diet coke. And he had a pretty rough time of it when it came to publicly scaling the stairs to Air Force One during his presidency.
But the idea that his health might be so bad that it would disqualify him to even run for office again is probably pretty concerning for his party.
Matt Amodio’s Jeopardy! star continues to rise as he cruises through a new season of the syndicated game show. Friday’s episode saw the Ph. D student from New England cruise to his 33rd win, which surpassed James Holzhauer’s win total during regulation play.
That’s a big deal for a number of reasons, as Holzhauer was the current gold standard for outstanding Jeopardy! player. Consider that the sports bettor from Las Vegas was so good at the show and caused such a stir they literally invented a new tournament for him to play in, the Greatest Of All Time showdown that Ken Jennings won last year.
As Jeopardy! has pointed out with a video game-themed video, Holzhauer still holds several records that will ultimately be extremely hard to beat: the most money won per game and the highest percentage of answers correct during regular play and on Final Jeopardy. There’s clearly mutual respect between the two competitors, but they’ve also had a lot of fun ribbing each other on Twitter to get fans talking.
The latest round came amid Amodio’s surpassing Holzhauer in games won, as the latter used some gambling terms to essentially call Amodio very lucky, rather than good.
Still haven’t seen anyone hit one for more than $2.46MM though. Stay hungry!
That came just after Amodio actually poked fun at Holzhauer’s performance in the GOAT Tournament, responding to a tweet about potentially doing a weekend edition of Jeopardy! where people who got steamrolled by Holzhauer, Jennings, and now Amodio could potentially have a second chance.
Amodio did say something very nice about Holzhauer and his level as a player amid all the trash-talking, so it’s clear that both sides are just having some fun.
I am so proud that a cursory glance of the #Jeopardy record books can now yield a wrong conclusion about which one of us is the better player https://t.co/wj0TnctJco
But it certainly has been a blast to see Amodio chirping back at Holzhauer a bit, and maybe imagining a new GOAT tournament where Amodio gets a shot at showing how he stacks up against some very lofty competition.
Facebook is not having a great week (and it’s only Monday). On the heels of Sunday night’s 60 Minutes episode — in which former FB data scientist Francis Haugen identified herself as the whistleblower who produced internal research to the feds — the social media platform is down. Since Facebook owns Instagram, that platform, too, has crashed, and WhatsApp (which is very popular on the global chat scene) has bit it as well. The timing is wild, since Haugen claimed to have witnessed how the Mark Zuckerberg-helmed Facebook used its algorithm to prioritize profit over civic duty. This, arguably, could have helped spark the environment that led to the January 6 insurrection. Now, the Internet is chaos at this time because Facebook has been inaccessible for hours and tweeted that they’re (definitely) aware of the issue.
We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
What, exactly, is going on? Journalist Brian Krebs (formerly of Washington Post) confirmed that the Facebook and Instagram DNS records appear to have completely evaporated from global routing tables. No one knows why; people have noticed.
Amid the ruckus, Twitter is still standing. And they want everyone to know that it. The main Twitter account even tweeted, “hello literally everyone” while the #DeleteFacebook hashtag increased in popularity.
CEO Jack Dorsey (who’s not at a silent meditation retreat at this time) definitely heard what’s up, too. Jack retweeted a user who remarked upon how the DNS records for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp got “nuked.” Here’s Jack’s take: “how much?”
Despite it all, the WhatsApp Twitter account did wave at Jack’s Twitter account, and he cheekily tweeted back: “thought this was supposed to be encrypted…”
We’re 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic and there are still travel restrictions between the United States and Canada. The U.S. recently re-upped its ban on nonessential travel by foreigners despite Ottawa’s decision to open its border to vaccinated Americans.
Unfortunately, this meant that Karen Mahoney from New York wouldn’t be able to have her 96-year-old Canadian grandmother attend her wedding south of the border.
The grandmother would be able to fly into America; however, Karen thought that would put her at risk for catching COVID-19.
“She’s my only living grandparent, the only grandparent I’ve ever known, so it was very important for me for her to be there to watch the happiest day of my life,” Karen told CNN. “The most important part of the day for us was the promises we told to each other, and we wanted my parents and grandmother to witness that.”
But Karen wouldn’t let border restrictions get in the way of having her beloved grandmother be there for the big day.
Karen and her new husband, Brian Ray, have a friend who works for the border patrol. Previously, he allowed for a meeting between them and her father at the border. On that day, Brian asked for her hand in marriage.
The friend then stepped up a second time and arranged for the couple to have a wedding ceremony on the U.S.-Canadian border in Burke, New York on September 25. The wedding took place in a spot that didn’t resemble an international border. There were no markers or fences; it just looks like a quiet meadow.
When Covid-19 restrictions made it difficult for a Canadian bride to have her family at her US wedding, she did the… https://t.co/KBPkl1RRvQ
Karen’s family stood on the Canadian side while the wedding party and officiant were positioned in the U.S. Both parties were asked not to cross the imaginary line and break international laws.
“The minister asked them if they (my parents) acknowledge that Brian was vowing to love me the rest of our lives, and did they accept him into the Mahoney clan, and they responded, ‘We do’ and that was extremely emotional,” Karen said.
“I cried,” Brian said. “It was good for me, because I knew how much it meant to her to have her parents and her grandmother here and see us exchanging vows.”
COVID-19 restrictions kept her family from attending her wedding, so she got married on the Canadian border.… https://t.co/8ewimh2Y8Z
After the border wedding, the couple had another celebration in the States where they signed the official marriage certificate.
It has been a long trip to the altar for Karen and Brian. They met in 1985 when Brian taught her how to ski. They remained friends even though they both married other people. Both marriages lasted 19 years and each produced two boys.
The couple reconnected on Facebook when Brian was selling a car that Karen loved. They soon started dating and after a year, Brian proposed to her on a mountain in Vermont.
“Just an epic day of skiing and bluebird sky. It just was absolutely perfect,” Karen said.
“Forever and a day and then some. That’s our thing,” Brian said.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, singles lead the way for new releases in the R&B world. SZA and Kali Uchis are at the forefront with a bilingual remix of “Fue Major” that even catches the TDE singer flaunting her Spanish-speaking skills. T-Pain also steps forward with a remix of his own as he calls on BIA to join Kehlani for a new take of “I Like Dat.” As for the album side of things, JoJo returns with 12 vulnerable and honest songs for her Trying Not To Think About It project.
Kali Uchis & SZA — “Fue Major”
While she may not be releasing music that brings us closer to her upcoming sophomore album, SZA’s music outputs have certainly increased over the past year. She recently shared “The Anonymous Ones” for the soundtrack of the Dear Evan Hansen film which came after she delivered “random thoughts” in the form of three songs in August. Now, the TDE singer is back with more and it comes through a remix of Kali Uchis’ “Fue Major,” a new take that finds SZA flaunting her Spanish singing abilities.
T-Pain — “I Like Dat” Feat. BIA & Kehlani
T-Pain has earned himself a comeback record of sorts thanks to “I Like Dat” with Kehlani. The singer shared the record back in May and this past weekend, he delivered a new take of with a help from rising rapper BIA. T-Pain lays a new verse on the song while BIA contributes one of her own that brings new flavor to the song and extends the track’s overall experience.
JoJo — Trying Not To Think About It
A year after giving the world her fourth album Good To Know and its deluxe version, JoJo returns to action with her latest project, Trying Not To Think About It. The new effort, which is labeled as a “capsule EP project,” comes equipped with 12 songs and from start to finishing, JoJo beautifully tackles issues surrounding her anxiety, depressioon, negative thoughts, relationship self-sabotage, and emotional immaturity with honest, vulnerability, and transparency.
Eli Derby — “Gaslight”
LVRN’s youngest act is finally stepping out on his own. Eli Derby first caught this writer’s attention with his rendition of “This Christmas” from the label’s 2020 Christmas album. Since then, waiting for more music was all that one could do and it finally arrived. The 18-year-old arrived with “Gaslight,” a record he says is about making a person feel “okay not knowing what to call their ‘situation.’” He adds “sometimes uncertainty can be exactly what you need in the moment.”
Ryan Trey — A 64 East Saga
Three years removed from his debut project August, an effort that project attention to the Louisville singer/rapper, Ryan Trey displays his growth and maturity with his second body of work, A 64 East Saga. Across 14 songs, Trey only calls on one guest, that being Bryson Tiller on “Nowhere To Run.” Altogether, a homegrown story of love, success, positive and negative changes, and more through Trey’s point of view.
Nija — “Finesse”
Back in August, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Nija took a step forward in developing her solo career with the release of her debut, “Ease My Mind (Come Over).” More than a month later, she returns with another taste of her artistry through her second single, “Finesse.” Compared to her first release, “Finesse,” flaunts a slower tempo while maintaining a bounce that makes for an enjoyable listen. This record is an emotional note for a past lover who continues to wriggle their way back into her life, despite her attempts to move on to something better and stable.
Mahalia — “Roadside” Feat. AJ Tracey
Two years removed from her career-breaking sophomore album, Love And Compromise, British singer Mahalia is back with a passionate groove with “Roadside” featuring British rapper AJ Tracey. The record finds Mahalia realizing a guy she once thought was better than the rest proved to be nothing but the same. A failed love left her on the side of the road with a bag filled with regrets and frustrations.
Tone Stith — “Something In The Water” Feat. Maeta
Tone Stith gave the world his first project in three years with FWM this past summer. The nine-track effort is a strong body of work from the singer, and it looks like he’s got more for his fans in 2021. With Still FWM? on the way, Tone Stith calls on Maeta for “Something In The Water,” a warm ballad that finds Stith reflecting on a past breakup while Maeta ponders a return to her ex or a journey towards something new. Both let their thoughts run over the piano keys of Carl Thomas’ 2000 classic track “I Wish.”
Samm Henshaw — “Chicken Wings”
British-Nigerian singer Samm Henshaw is just a few months from sharing his new album, Untidy Soul. The project arrives on January 28, 2022, and to build up buzz for it, Henshaw delivers his giddy new single, “Chicken Wings.” The track uses the fried meal as a metaphor for going after the things we love and satisfying life’s cravings.
Derrick Milano — “Die4It”
Last year, singer-songwriting Derrick Milano won a Grammy award for co-writing Megan Thee Stallion and Beyonce’s chart-topping “Savage” remix. This year, he inked a deal with Epic Records and began a new journey as a solo act with his new single, “Die4It.” The melodic and airy track is described as a record about accepting “whatever comes with the risks we take” when it comes to relationships. He adds, “The heart of the song protects us from whatever doesn’t serve us well and when we do meet the right woman, it is our responsibility to protect her.”
Elujay & Serpentwithfeet— “Luvaroq”
In just under two months, Bay Area’s Elujay will release his debut album, CRKMVNT. it comes after years of solid mixtapes that have only elevated his status. To begin the campaign towards the release of CRKMVNT, Elujay taps Serpentwithfeet for “Luvaroq,” a track that finds comfort in nostalgia and easygoing corners of life through reggae and dub-style production.
RINI — “Need It”
At long last, RINI is prepared to deliver a full-length project to the world as the singer confirmed his debut album, Constellations, will touch down on October 8. Supported by 12 songs and a sole feature from Wale, RINI gives us another preview of what’s to come with “Need It.” Riding steady kick and upbeat production, the singer confesses his selfish desires and wants for a special woman in his life.
Butcher Brown & Alex Isley — “Remind Me”
Releases from Alex Isley come far and few nowadays, but man, when she does give us new music, it’s always a beautiful thing. The latest example of this comes through “Remind Me,” her collaboration with Butcher Brown. The song itself is a tribute to the legendary Patrice Rushen, a cover they originally debuted last year, but its addition to streaming services allows fans like myself to enjoy it on repeat for however long we desire to.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Steve Bannon never learns his lesson, but then again, he’s never really had to face consequences over the past handful of years. Trump pardoned him for defrauding Trump supporters, and Bannon kind-of admitted that he did, as many suspected, have a hand in strategizing the failed MAGA coup on January 6. Bannon’s received a subpoena by the House select committee in charge of the investigation, but he’s somehow not putting a lid on how he broadcasts his calls for chaos.
Then again, one doesn’t exactly expect a refined approach to anything from the guy who called for Dr. Fauci’s head on a pike, and here’s what Bannon’s up to most recently: bragging to NBC News about his “fire and brimstone” speech at a GOP social club last week. His goal? To rally up “shock troops” to swoop in and fill federal government positions, should a Republican take the 2024 presidency. Yup, the former Trump White House chief strategist really said this:
“If you’re going to take over the administrative state and deconstruct it, then you have to have shock troops prepared to take it over immediately,” Bannon said in a telephone interview with NBC News. “I gave ’em fire and brimstone.”
Bannon, who ran former President Donald Trump’s first campaign and later worked as a top adviser in the White House, said that Trump’s agenda was delayed by the challenges of quickly filling roughly 4,000 slots for presidential appointees at federal agencies and the steep learning curve for political officials who were new to Washington.
That’s not all. Raw Story reveals that Bannon kept the party going on his War Room Podcast while increasing his goal number of those “shock troops”:
“We’re winning big in 2024 and we need to get ready now. Right? We control the country. We’ve got to start acting like it. And one way we’re going to act like it, we’re not going to have 4,000 [shock troops] ready to go, we’re going to have 20,000 ready to go and we’re going to pick the 4,000 best and most ready in every single department.”
Yikes. Supposedly, Bannon was speaking at the GOP event to some former GOP government officials, but where else does he plan on drawing the rest of these shock troops? The QAnon Shaman is no longer available for parties, so rule him out.
While some higher elevations in the nations various parks are already experiencing peaking leaves, the next few weeks are really the sweet spot for peepers. Here are my recommendations for parks to visit, when the leaves are estimated to peak, and activities to maximize your views.
Great Smoky Mountains – Tennessee and North Carolina
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is synonymous with Fall Colors. So much so that their Fall Foliage Prediction Map is the gold standard for would be leaf peepers. It uses NOAA precipitation forecasts, average daylight exposure, and temperature forecasts to interactively predict when colors will be changing not just in the Smokies, but across the United States.
As the most visited National Park in the United States, you can expect leaf peeping season here to be crowded, but luckily you have some time. Due to the varied altitudes within the park, the fall color season lasts a little longer than some of the other parks on this list. The higher elevations — like Clingmans Dome at over 6,600 ft — will start changing first, and the colors will work their way down the landscape.
Shenandoah National Park is just 75 miles outside of Washington DC, but feels like you’ve been transported to another planet. With miles of hiking trails, waterfalls, wildlife, and seemingly never ending mountain vistas — this is a perfect place to see some dramatic fall color.
There are 75 overlooks along the famous Skyline Drive — and while they are all awe inspiring, I recommend Old Rag and Hazel Mountain.
This is also a great park to visit in tandem with Great Smoky Mountains. In just over six hours, you can drive the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway from one to the other and experience the quintessential mountain fall of your dreams.
Acadia is known for fall. Before I visited this past summer, I would ask everyone I met who had spent time in Maine when I should go — summer or fall? Overwhelmingly the answer was fall. I decided to just aim for both, knowing that peak foliage season would be hard to predict and I was eager to see it.
Once I got back from my summer trip, I almost immediately started planning for another in the fall. Coastal Maine peaks a bit later than the rest of the state, so I’ve been obsessively refreshing the Maine Foliage Report for updates.
I can’t wait to live out my basic fall girl dreams surrounded by the leaves, quaint small towns, and surely a PSL in Maine.
Rocky Mountain National Park is a bucket list destination in any season, but it really shines in the fall. The golden aspens peak earlier than other foliage, due to the high elevation, and the prime peeping is over in what feels like the blink of an eye. The fleeting nature makes experiencing the colors that much more special and otherworldly.
There are countless great drives and hikes worth seeing this time of year, just be sure you have the correct timed entry reservation (they go fast!).
No National Park list of mine is complete without a mention of Grand Teton. There is just nothing like the dramatic and jutting peaks, the endless trails and lakes that are accessible to nearly anyone.
And fall is, in my opinion, the best time to visit this park. The crowds have lessened, the air is crisp, and the fall colors somehow make a magical place even more otherworldy. You can’t go wrong anywhere in the park or in Jackson this time of year. You have to see it for yourself.
Ohio might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of National Parks or fall foliage. But there is a hidden gem just between Cleveland and Akron. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a great place to visit in the fall. There is a Scenic Railroad that shows off the underrated midwestern fall colors, and plenty of laid-back hikes for a warm fall day.
Zion National Park is not a secret in any sense of the word, but visiting during the fall is a great time to escape some of the hordes that clog the park mid-summer. Not only do you get a less crowded experience this time of year, but you might be surprised to find a beautiful display of fall foliage.
Utah isn’t known for its fall colors, but it should be. Zion has a whole different feel in the fall. The golden foliage mixed with the red and gold canyon is a sight to see. And you don’t have to deal with the oppressive summer heat. Win-win.
When I visited the United State’s newest National Park this summer for the first time, it was similar to my experience in Maine. Everyone told me I just had to come back in the fall. New River Gorge — sometimes referred to as the “Grand Canyon of West Virginia” truly pops in the fall. Yellows, oranges and reds abound in the gorge, with views at every turn.
Visit the third weekend of October for Bridge Day — a day commemorating the 1977 completion of the New River Gorge Bridge — the parks signature and impressive feat of engineering. The bridge is closed for the day and BASE jumpers, rappellers, and bungee jumpers fling themselves from the 876 ft structure. Who knew leat peeping could be such a thrill?
Mammoth Cave is known, of course, for being home to the worlds largest underground cave system — recently found to be even eight miles longer. But it is also a hidden gem for fall foliage. The red and golden-sugar maples light up in October.
Hike some of the more than 80 miles of trails, go underground if you dare, and then follow up your peeping with a visit to one of the many, many Kentucky distilleries. The perfect fall getaway indeed.
Hot Springs National Park is not your average major National Park. Located inside the town of Hot Springs Arkansas, much of it is dedicated to the historic bathhouses it is named for. But outside of the bathhouses in and around the park area there are so many great opportunities for fall foliage viewing.
Arkansas is truly unexpected and underrated, in my opinion. Go and see for yourself — preferably in the fall.
As The View continues to take its time searching for a replacement for conservative co-host Meghan McCain, former White House communications director Alyssa Farah had a chance to try out for the vacant seat, and it was a veritable trial by fire. If Farah’s name doesn’t sound familiar, that’s because of the Trump administration’s seemingly endless parade of communications directors, and the fact that Farrah did not stay in the position very long. In fact, Farah resigned her post shortly after the 2020 election after getting a front-row seat for the chaos to come.
However, co-host Sunny Hostin couldn’t help but wonder why Farah went to work for Trump so late in the game, and she didn’t pull her punches while asking Farah about working for the troubled administration. “I have to say, though, when I think about it, you join in April 2020, that’s four years in. We knew who he was, how do you do that?” Hostin asked a surprisingly cordial Farah who didn’t bristle at any of the questions, and actually agreed with most of them. Farah even complimented Sunny when she called the former comms director a “stormtrooper,” which is something McCain would’ve never done. It would’ve been DEFCOM MY FATHER. Via The Daily Beast:
“That’s a fair point,” Farah said, laughing nervously, saying she “didn’t have any illusions” about who Donald Trump was. When she noted that she was initially working under Vice President Pence, Hostin shot back, “So you’re not working for Darth Vader, but you’re a stormtrooper.”
Instead of pushing back, Farah conceded the point, telling Hostin: “That’s actually very well said.”
After surviving Hostin’s gauntlet of questions, Farah made it clear that she’s absolutely through with Trump. “I wouldn’t support Donald Trump again,” she said. “Our country needs to go a different direction.”
.@Alyssafarah looks back on her time working in the Trump admin, calling it “extremely challenging”: “I’m proud of what I did there — I always gave my best counsel to the president.”
“My duty was to serve the American public and serve the country and I did my best to do that.” pic.twitter.com/SO0jqUpAJS
Seasons are crucial to me when it comes to my listening habits. If a record that sounds like summer comes out in the winter, that feels to me like poor planning. This is not the case with Hovvdy’s new album, True Love, which was released on what is, for all intents and purposes, the first day of fall. (For context of how important this seasonal demarcation is in my family, we promptly attended an outdoor jack-o-lantern carving showcase on October 2.) True Love is the perfect album to throw on a fall drive with the windows down, hearing the leaves crunch under your car tires. It’s the soundtrack for a walk around the neighborhood when you find yourself in awe of our planet’s natural ability to create beauty, for now at least. You get the idea.
After a string of lo-fi releases that were focused primarily on vibe and melody, the Austin duo signed to a new label home in Grand Jury, and enlisted producer Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver) to help bolster their sound in the studio setting. “We were just able focus on the performance and songs, and then let him really take it,” Will Taylor explained over Zoom from a Portland hotel room on a day off from tour, nursing a coffee next to bandmate Charlie Martin. The resulting effort is twelve tracks that stay true to the bare-bones aesthetic that made Hovvdy special in the first place, but with access to studio wizardry that creates extra space for the band to blossom and evolve. “I think that we have both become more confident in our songwriting and organically leaning into our more pop sensibilities,” Martin elaborates. “This was a really fun step, to have fun with those pop influences while still keeping the core of it centered on strong, emotional songs.”
As touring returns and the rooms continue to get bigger for a band like Hovvdy, the unique ability to continue drawing upon the initial inspiration points and using them to reflect the current situation is surely what’s going to set the duo apart from the pack. True Love is one of the rare “return to roots” albums that build upon the band’s lore and set them up for further success. To celebrate the new album, I spoke with Taylor and Martin about the new resources afforded to them by a larger label, and the beauty of DIY, and more. The below conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Both of you guys had a lot of big life moments since the release of Heavy Lifter. You both got married, and Will, you had a baby. Did you ever think that the band might be over?
Will Taylor: The band has to adapt in ways to make our lives possible. We haven’t crossed anything crazy yet, but we’re certainly flexible and ready to adapt to any situation that comes. But so far we’ve been able to kind of keep our heads down and finish the record and have this surprise tour [with Dayglow] really last second, and it all works. So far, thumbs up — all is well.
This album sounds a lot more polished and less lo-fi. Was that a product of more resources readily available to you on Grand Jury, or something you’ve been working toward throughout your career?
Charlie Martin: I think we tried to take a big step forward with Heavy Lifter. It still ended up being like pretty low-fi, but it felt like a step forward. Whereas with this one, we went full-steam with Sarlo who co-produced and mixed it. We kind of knew from the jump that it could be as hi-fi as we wanted it to be. I think we maintained a lot of the texture that we always go for. But yeah, it’s super satisfying to finally have something that feels like it’s really up to standard in terms of, like, fidelity.
What was the writing process like before you guys put anything to tape? How did the songs come together?
C.M.: We always start songs kind of independently, then started sharing demos. We ended up boiling down like 25 or so songs down to 12, which was more than previous records. This is a very fresh batch of songs.
W.T.: I don’t think either of us write the lyrics outright, then try to put it to music. I’ll play the chords and sing until I find a melody that sits nice. Then sometimes I do the terrible game of trying to fit lyrics with that melody that I did.
C.M.: He usually just starts with a chord progression and then I start with just the first verse and it kind of just builds from there. But writing on piano, most of the time I write the melody first. The last song on the record, “I Never Wanna Make You Sad,” was actually an instrumental piano, something that I had been playing for months and kind of struggled with whether or not I even wanted to add vocals to it. Then for our last session, I ended up hitting something that I liked, and it ended up being like a proper song.
Last year you guys released that standalone single called “I’m Sorry,” which seemed to incorporate more electronic tones, which made it seemed like you might be heading in a more experimental direction. Then True Love jumped back into the Hovvdy bread and butter with expansive and folk sounds. Was that a song you just needed to get out because it was in your head?
W.T.: That song was paired up with another other song called “Runner.” We did those with Sarlo as our first… I can’t find any word for it, but we wanted to work together. We knew we wanted to do something new-ish so we both had songs built around drum machines and added stuff like that. To be completely honest, we thought that may end up being the record too, or, like, a good chunk of it. Then we met up for the album sessions, and Sarlo encouraged us to bring our most heartfelt songs. So just with our limitations on actual gear, and also just trusting our initial skillset, and the acoustic guitar, we kind of just stuck there.
C.M.: I remember coming into that first session [for “Runner” and “I’m Sorry”] honestly being a little intimidated. The first time working with a kind of hope high-profile producer, and maybe we both have the inclination to go bigger with the production. Then leaving that session, we had all gotten comfortable with each other. We had sort of a new confidence in ourselves that maybe led us back towards our roots, versus pushing forward with like some glossy, pop stuff.
Can you tell me a little bit more about working with Sarlo?
W.T.: There’s a lot that goes into the work that he’s doing for us. He’s at the computer the whole time so that we can be standing up, walking around, working on things, which is great. He’s a really good encourager, so trying to get the best side of us, which is really helpful. Just his expertise in recording, engineering, and mixing is a bit deeper than us.
The promo materials for this record say that True Love is a return to writing for yourselves, instead of writing what you think other people want to hear. Can you speak to that a little more?
W.T.: I think you’re always kind of juggling both. Ideally, you try a song and you can just, like, live in it. We tried a bunch of stuff on [Heavy Lifter] and had a lot of fun. But I think on this one, we really just wanted to serve the song as best as we possibly could with as little to no frills as possible. Which I think is a big difference of working for the song rather than working for the vibe, if that makes sense.
C.M.: Even with Taster, it was just me and Will staying up late, just trying to make something that sounds really cool and working really hard to do that. Whereas with this record, we knew we could come in with the most bare-bones, three-chord song, and Sarlo could make it sound as expansive and atmospheric as we wanted it to be. So it was really, like Will said, all about the song and the story and the message.
Is there a story or a thesis statement that you’re trying to embody with this album?
W.T.: I think the title is pretty good. Those two words are kind of heavy or just up-front. but they can mean a lot of things. Each individual word is also powerful in itself. These songs are lyrically more focused than usual, so it’s really all there. Whereas in the past, we almost didn’t want you to… I mean, kind of joking, but the lyrics were less important. I think now you can listen to this album and create your own story to associate it with your own life.
C.M.: Yeah. There’s really nothing cryptic about this record, which is a fun, kind of new thing for us.
Did you have a moment as a music fan when you were listening to a song and you thought, “oh, I can do this too”?
W.T.: For me, the Orchid Tapes-type stuff. Alex G, R.L. Kelly, Elvis Depressedly, and stuff. Seeing those bands the limitedness of it… they just did it themselves. It was kind of the first time I heard the term DIY. So I feel like they really made it feasible for us to make our own recordings and not be insecure about it.
C.M.: Yeah. Just realizing that, as long as you’re kind of decent or can fumble yourself through some stuff on guitar and keyboard and drums, and realizing that it’s about the layering and the chemistry of a recording. That was, I think, something we both discovered in that early bedroom pop phase.
W.T.: I think the limitations helped us in the beginning. There’s just kind of a certain charm to that. It just felt really wholesome. And I hadn’t heard a lot of music like that.
C.M.: There was just a real buzz about it, too. So it was just cool to see that possibility. It’s been interesting to see those artists, especially Alex G, all growing together.
It’s an interesting point of how creativity can actually be fostered by that bootstrapped mentality. It’s probably more rewarding to make something that’s completely on your own, and to add on those layers of resources as you keep building.
W.T.: It’s funny, we were talking to Sarlo because we weren’t sure where he heard our music. He said he heard Cranberry, which is the last record that we did all ourselves. And we both think that record sounds like shit. But we’re also proud of it in other ways. But yeah, he said someone was playing on that record and it kind of pissed him off. He was like, “This doesn’t sound good. Objectively, it doesn’t sound good. But I love it.”
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(@jack) 
hello!
