Griefcat is a music/comedy duo from just outside of Washington, DC. Although they are political by nature, they are definitely way more relevant than, say, The Capitol Steps. They just released a new video to their song “Carbon Footprint,” which can be enjoyed just above this paragraph. They are releasing a new album on April 19th called Late Stage Capitalism, which can be presaved here. Yes, that is the same day as the new Taylor Swift.
Anyway, I had a lovely chat with Louisa Hall and Annie Nardolilli of Griefcat, which includes some Taylor Swift talk because that happens sometimes? You can read all that RIGHT NOW:
Spinning Platters: You’re a multi-genre political duo from DC. How does it feel to be Washington, DC’s only functional political entity?
Louisa: [laughter] We’ll take it. How do you describe functioning? I think that’s the other question.
Annie: Yes, behind the scenes, I’m literally wearing a boot right now. We’re doing our best.
Louisa: I sprained the same ankle 2 weeks before she did so we’re not totally functional.
Spinning Platters: That’s functioning as a cohesive unit, really.
Annie: Yeah.
Louisa: True. We’re broken in the same spots.
Spinning Platters: Were either of these injuries performance-related?
Annie: No, we were supposed just to get up to go to her kitchen, but I fell. I missed a step coming out of my apartment. We’re just…
Louisa: We’re just falling apart. I will say that Annie did not realize the extent of her injury until we were shooting a music video that same day. Annie had to sit down because the pain got too great right after the shoot.
Annie: I went to the ER.
Louisa: Yeah.
Spinning Platters: Oh, no. Which video was it?
Annie: It’s for the song “Carbon Footprint.” It’s a very punk video. I’m trying to jump around and move around Sex Pistols-style, and at a certain point, I was like, I couldn’t stand.
Louisa: Yeah. I like that it was footprint-related.
Spinning Platters: Yeah, I think you may need to move away from writing songs about feet.
Louisa: I think so.
Annie: We have a new song called “About Socks.”
Louisa: We do. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
Spinning Platters: Well, I highly recommend putting yourself in bubble wrap.
Louisa: Yeah.
Annie: Yeah. We’ll try.
Spinning Platters: I was impressed with “Love the Sinner” and the fact that you directly pulled out almost everything in the world I am upset about in a tight three minutes. But I also caught that Questlove felt similarly. So, you know how Questlove found you?
Annie: Questlove found us in another video on Instagram for our song, “Revolution (Poop at Work).” That is the one that really spoke to him. That was just the blessing of the algorithm. It was like, “Hey, Questlove, you know what you’re going to like about these two ladies from Northern Virginia singing about poop.”
Louisa: Yeah.
Spinning Platters: Poop is something that is the most relatable topic on Earth, and next to farting, the oldest humor is poop jokes. I feel like you’re also paying tribute to your elders there.
Louisa: Yes, that’s how we feel; we are just rehashing old territory. That’s what we do.
Annie: Yeah
Louisa: I’m just kidding. Unless, [inaudible] the fart. We’re just really being consistent.
Spinning Platters: Speaking of farting…
Louisa: Yeah, I love this interview.
Spinning Platters: How did you two find each other?
Louisa: Speaking of farting, I love that. Well, I smelled it, and she felt it. We were both solo singer-songwriters before, and in 2015, we were both pulled into a variety show called the Capital City Showcase. There’s comedy, music, and other stuff in that particular showcase. We were the two musicians that night in a sea of comedians. I had a song called “Barista Boyfriend.”
Annie: And I had a song about a hot park ranger that I called “Hot Park Ranger.”
Louisa: We were like, “Yes, we should be friends.” That’s how we met. We didn’t become a band until 2019.
Spinning Platters: A great year to start a band…
Louisa: Yeah. We released our first album in spring 2020. Our first album really just did nothing. It was just a whisper in the wind, even though we did have a song about anti-vaxxers and bidets on that album written far before the pandemic. It was very relatable, but it was too soon, I’d say.
Spinning Platters: In spring 2020, you recorded this when you weren’t allowed to share air with each other?
Louisa: Correct. Yeah, correct.
Spinning Platters: How did you stay creatively afloat during your time remote?
Annie: We didn’t. I feel like we did some remote songwriting for us a little bit. But it’s really important for us to be in the same room. I know that’s true for most people, but trying to bounce ideas off each other on the screen was not working for us. While other artists were putting on Facebook lives and stuff, we needed the audience to feel we’re funny. Not only do we feed off that energy, but we also take cues from the audience. It’s like a stand-up comedian trying to do crowd work if there’s no crowd and no work. We really just put Griefcat on pause a little bit until we could have our first open-air concerts when things started opening back up, and then, of course, we got back to playing live.
Spinning Platters: When did Griefcat actually get to put on their first live show in support of that 2020 release?
Annie: October 2020.
Louisa: No, I think it was September.
Annie: Yeah. Okay, September.
Louisa: Yeah. September was the first real big show. We did some other little things here and there, but the first headline show where we ran through content was in September of 2020.
Spinning Platters: Wow.
Annie: It was an outdoor show, masked.
Spinning Platters: Yeah. I would say that was still kind of before most of the world was doing anything. I live in California, in the Bay Area. I don’t think any music venues were remotely reopened at that point, not even outdoors. Wait, no, I take that back. I think San Francisco had a really weird law where everybody, including the performer, had to be masked so that you couldn’t have vocals, wind, or brass instruments.
Louisa: Yeah, and that makes it tough.
Annie: Yeah.
Spinning Platters: Yeah.
Louisa: We got to do an outdoor show, and it was magical. It’s also the first time we wore matching outfits because before, our outfits would be slightly matched. We had bought these silver sequin, silver, and black star dresses, and we’re going to wear them at the album release. We wore them at that September show and were like, “Okay, we can’t go back. This is so much fun.” We’ve been twinning ever since.
Spinning Platters: Okay, fast forward to 2024. What prompted you folks to decide to go big with this album, hiring a publicist and a nicely produced video? What made you decide to make that leap?
Louisa: I think that we’ve always tried to go big or go home with everything that we do. We’ve always loved recording in the studio. We love making really beautiful videos. Really, I think the big change was hiring a publicist, and I think part of it is that, like our last album and a lot of our music, we just want more people to hear it. Because if we’re just this tiny corner of the internet… We have more attraction online, so our corner is now a medium corner on the internet, but we really wanted help in getting our stuff more visible and are just really making a go of this.
Spinning Platters: Yes. I know you’re probably tired of the comparison, but Garfunkel and Oates have been going quiet for a long time. I’ve been missing that, and you somehow have that same “that,” except I don’t think they ever wore matching outfits.
Louisa: I think they did. Yes. We actually don’t get compared to them too often. We will never tire of that comparison. They’re our foremothers. We love them.
Annie: Yeah.
Spinning Platters: Somebody needed to inherit the mantle…
Louisa: Right.
Spinning Platters: With that question, if you found yourself in a scenario where you were stuck listening to only Art Garfunkel’s solo material or only John Oates’s solo material, which would you pick?
Louisa: I would do Oates.
Annie: What did Garfunkel write? Which ones did he write? Didn’t he write “Bridge Over Troubled Water?” I don’t know. I guess I would go with Oates.
Spinning Platters: Art Garfunkel’s solo has “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It’ll Be Forever),” though.
Annie: And he does have curls.
Louisa: Yeah, I think we might be split on this one, a split vote.
Spinning Platters: But they both have curls.
Louisa: True. I don’t know.
Annie: I don’t know.
Louisa: Yes, I would go with Oates. I am confident with Oates.
Spinning Platters: Okay. That’s still a thing and a reason. Oates has a wide array of solo material. At this point, I also think that Hall and Oates’ hostility runs deeper than Simon and Garfunkel’s hostility.
Louisa: Hostilities, yeah. Not great.
Spinning Platters: Yeah.
Annie: (Someday we will be) at that level.
Louisa: I know; I can’t wait.
Spinning Platters: Looking at the crystal ball, when do you expect your first restraining order against each other?
Louisa: Next week.
Annie: Let’s put in a 10-year plan.
Louisa: 10-year? 20-year.
Annie: Okay, a 20-year.
Louisa: It depends on how much I text. I’m the overtexter for the band.
Annie: If anyone’s taking out the restraining order, it’s probably me. I also used to work in law enforcement, and those were just a pain in the ass. I’m probably not going to worry about it.
Louisa: Let’s use brute force.
Spinning Platters: You’ve lucked out because the paperwork is tedious. That makes sense.
Louisa: Exactly. We hate paperwork. I’m the one who’s got the paperwork.
Annie: And the judge has to be convinced that you’re going to kill me.
Louisa: Yes, and I don’t seem very threatening.
Annie: No.
Spinning Platters: I don’t know. The sparkles could be razor-sharp, for all we know.
Louisa: Yes, that’s right.
Annie: Yes.
Louisa: I’ll distract you with my glitter.
Spinning Platters: Your live show and the tour dates seem to be pretty concentrated in the Northeast. What are your plans to broaden Griefcat and share your gospel with the rest of the country?
Louisa: Part of that plan is firing our booker, which is me. I do all of our bookings, and I still have a day job right now. I think we just need to plan it. We’re very willing and open to travel and tours. It’s just a matter of planning it, honestly. If you know anywhere that you’d like to see us play, just ring-a-ding, and I’ll set it up.
Annie: Yes, we accept invitations pretty heartily.
Spinning Platters: I’ll sneak this interview to the right people.
Louisa: Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.
Annie: Thank you. Yes.
Spinning Platters: Because I want to see you, really, is what it is.
Louisa: Yeah.
Annie: We will hopefully be back in California.
Louisa: Yes, we’re potentially hoping to return to California later this summer. We’re likely going to be in Portland in August. But again, we’re still framing the dates there. We might try to plan a tour if we set up those dates, but, really TBD. The center’s got a little bit of an influx right now.
Annie: I’m going to Warsaw to see Taylor Swift. That’s my anchor.
Spinning Platters: Wow. Questlove already knows you. What is your plan to become part of the squad? Is that what Taylor Swift calls her people?
Annie: Oh, maybe. Well, how do we get her to notice us? I tried yesterday because we have a song called “Benevolent Billionaire” on this new album about how there’s no such thing as a benevolent billionaire. And Miss Swift is now a billionaire, so I did call her out. I know she’s very philanthropic, but when you amass that much money, there are people who could have been paid more.
Louisa: Yeah [laughter].
Spinning Platters: Yeah.
Louisa: Gentle roasting is how we’ll get her.
Annie: Gentle roasting, yeah.
Spinning Platters: Yeah. Just be careful with that, Swift. I also love the idea that going to see somebody in another country can be a better deal. But then again, it’s not the only time I’ve done that math.
Louisa: Yeah. I hear that. I’ll say, though about the squad piece of thing and infiltrating. I think the serious answer there is that we’re just going to keep doing what we do and building relationships with other creatives. We’ll just see what happens. I don’t want to depend on gatekeepers to let us through completely. I want to make our own gate. We can block other people out. We have to keep building relationships, playing, and creating really awesome songs with my friend, and let’s see what happens.
Annie: Louisa is really good at building relationships, especially through Instagram and reaching out to people.
Louisa: I’m afraid.
Annie: She’s very charitable and good, so it’s not hard to make friends with her. Not that I’m an asshole, but it’s really helpful to have Louisa. She’s the asset.
Spinning Platters: Well, truth be told, it’s funny because I have a podcast side to this called How Did I Get Here, which is about talking to people through their career journey. Oddly enough, the one thing that comes up the most is just being nice to people and being willing to work with people. It’s the secret to longevity.
Louisa: Yes, we’re doing it right, Annie.
Annie: Yeah.
Louisa: I’m glad to hear that because you hear so much about people who are just complete dicks just making their way to the world, and honestly, it just takes too much effort like a dick. Being nice is inaudible. Get to know people.
Spinning Platters: Excellent. The name is so good—brilliant. Is there a story, or is it just the absurdity of the phrase?
Louisa: There is a story. Have you ever heard the word kummerspeck before? Kummerspeck it’s German for grief bacon.
Spinning Platters: Okay. I was trying to remember why I knew the term.
Louisa: Yes. It means grief bacon, or the weight one gains from emotional eating. Gosh, forever ago, I had a super traumatic breakup, and I realized I was going to miss the cat a lot more than I was going to miss the person I was dating, so I went out and got a cat, and I called it my grief cat. I told Annie that story, so grief cat, a cat you get after a breakup, became our band name.
Spinning Platters: That’s beautiful.
Annie: I went through a friend breakup in 2022-2023 and got a cat then. I didn’t even realize it until a couple of months later, being like, “Oh, you’re my grief cat.” It works.
Louisa: It really does. Grief cats are the best.
Annie: Yes.
Spinning Platters: Yes. It’s funny because I had a long-term relationship and ended up with the cat in the breakup.
Louisa: Nice.
Spinning Platters: I think she ended up getting three cats.
Louisa: That’s a lot of grief.
Annie: That’s a lot of grief cats.
Louisa: Yeah.
Spinning Platters: She lost me. I get it.
Louisa: Totally.
Spinning Platters: That was terrible.
Louisa: I like it.
Spinning Platters: Yeah. I feel bad that a year or two later, she moved across the country and returned to visit, and the cat ignored her.
Louisa: It’s really sad.
Annie: It’s really sad.
Spinning Platters: Yes, I kind of felt bad. What’s weird about the new person I was dating is that her cat really liked the ex. Everything’s complicated.
Louisa: Yeah. Wow, there’s a lot of layers there. So many cats.
Spinning Platters: That part is not going to be published in the interview. It just felt like something I should share with you. (OK. I kept it in.)
Louisa: Noted. That’s okay.
Spinning Platters: Remind me, when does the album come out to all of our ears?
Louisa: April 19.
Spinning Platters: So soon!
