Gabrielle Manna On the Making Of “Call Out Post”
Is there a person/event that stimulated the creation of "Call Out Post?"
Yes, this song is about someone who manipulated and gaslit me – and then he died. I felt uncomfortable talking about it for a long time out of respect for the dead, and I repressed a lot of my trauma from the situation. It was only through a grueling process of self healing and inner work that I was able to realize I had to stop letting a literal dead man hold power over me. This song is me looking back on the situation, and telling him he doesn’t scare me anymore.
How do you feel this song represents your artistic identity?
I think the use of clever language and comedy is the biggest representation of my artistic identity because it stems from my background as a comedic actress and writer. I love songs that sound really light on the surface but has a super dark meaning when you listen to them. The Smiths and The Police are really good examples of that. Phoebe Bridgers has an amazing sense of humor in her lyrics and is super adept at making very specific lines/situations derived explicitly from her life sound universally relatable. I do admit that I feel like this song is a bit simplistic and a bit folkier than the other songs I have coming out soon, because that was just the mood I was in when I wrote it!
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
I was the quintessential annoying choir and musical theater kid, but in college I decided to put music on the back burner and focus on acting and writing, which ultimately led to a career in marketing and social media (the copywriting and storytelling skills carried over). I have always had melodies (and sometimes lyrics) come to me literally out of nowhere since I was a little kid, but I never felt confident enough in my own ideas. I just always felt like no one would relate to my experiences (which I’m now finding is 100% NOT the case). Then last January, Alex Houton of AHM Media reached out to me: someone in casting had sent him a musical theater audition tape I'd uploaded as an unlisted YouTube link in 2021, and he wanted to work with me. So he knew I could sing, but I don’t think he was expecting me to also know how to write. We had a lot of fun riffing off of each other! “Call Out Post” is the first of four songs we wrote together. The next one will be released in September, so stay tuned!
How do you balance crafting relatable stories with maintaining your unique voice as a songwriter?
Relatability has never been my issue. Being experienced with storytelling and writing dialogue, that is ingrained in me. I think the more unique and ‘personal’ a story is, the more relatable it is, because people can tell when it’s authentic. I mean, no experience is truly unique, is it really? I think telling ‘weird’ stories is important because just because no one else is writing songs telling stories like this, doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there currently experiencing the same situation. I think as artists and writers in particular, we hold ourselves back too much because we think people won’t “relate,” when it’s really authenticity that people relate to the most. Does that make sense?