Candace In Wonderland On the Making Of “Tom & Jerry (hail mary!)”
What was the creative process like for this particular "Tom & Jerry (hail mary!)?"
The creative process was a rollercoaster haha. My fiance/collaborator Keyler Matthews was messing around with a lyrical idea that was super silly and nonsensical. “Bloody Mary with the zing-zang, Mary Jane with the zigzag” and we were all in the mood to write something upbeat, and it kind of unfolded from there. Tony Chetta produced the song, and he built out the whole instrumental while we were messing with concepts. I remember telling him to “make it weird” and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy shop!
Could you discuss the lyrical themes or messages conveyed in "Tom & Jerry (hail mary!)?"
The lyrical themes started out with the play on words relating “Bloody Mary” to “Mary Jane” to “Hail Mary!” and we kind of found the common ground to be the concepts of duality, chaos, and escapism. I’m often struck by the realization that the world can be a very scary place, and the day that we wrote this was one of those days. The news was bleak, we were all struggling in different ways but I got the sense that none of us were in the right headspace to talk about it, so we made a hard pivot and wrote an upbeat (possibly slightly sarcastic) song to cope with it all. It was extremely cathartic.
What did you enjoy most about making this track?
I had a ton of fun recording vocals for this track. We pretty much used all the demo vocals from the day we wrote it. Singing the “YEOW” idea was really funny and recording the gang vocals, featuring all of the songwriters (Chuckie Aiello, Michael Aiello, Keyler Matthews, and Tony Chetta) was definitely a magical moment.
Could you share some of your musical influences and how they have shaped your sound?
My earliest main influence would probably be Paramore, who really shaped my idea of confidence and expression through writing and singing. These days I am heavily influenced by artists like Remi Wolf, Billie Eillish, UPSAHL, Benee
Can you share a memorable experience from a collaboration that enriched your music?
It’s hard to pick just one! I truly love my collaborators and I feel so lucky to have them in my corner. My “write-or-die” Keyler Matthews (...whom I’m marrying next month!) inspires me every day. Ever since we started working together I have felt seen and understood as an artist and that is a very powerful thing. I can’t wait to see what crazy idea we cook up together next :)
