WR927: Sheena Legrand

WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Welcome to Witchpolice Radio. I'm here with someone who is, I was gonna say you're a well known name in the local music scene, but I think we'll get into it, I'm sure. But that name has changed. So I think maybe the best way to start this off is if you want to introduce yourself and give a bit of background about what it is you do as an artist. Because I think, I mean, when I heard your previous name and I made the connection, I definitely knew of you and I'd heard of you many times over the years. So, yeah, let's let you introduce yourself and we can go from there. SHEENA LEGRAND: Cool. Yeah. Well, my name is Sheena Legrand, and most people in the Winnipeg scene maybe know me as Sheena Grobb. I released three albums over the past few years of my earlier discography. I've taken a bit of a break and started a family, and I've been working on all kinds of new music and new sounds and playing around a lot more, so exploring lots of newness. And it just worked to have my new name integrated. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: So I guess maybe that's the place to start. And I'm sure people have asked you this ever since you sort of come out with this being the name you're using. But is it hard to start fresh with a new name just because there's so much connection to the old one? I mean, three albums, and like you said, you've been doing this for a long time, then there's a break, and now here you are again. But the name is different. SHEENA LEGRAND: Totally. Yeah. You know what? I put some thought into it before I made the change. In some ways, I knew that, you know, is this kind of silly? I've been putting a lot of effort into a different name for a long time, and, you know, there's a lot of freedom around letting go of that as well. And what I've noticed, too, is that a lot of the people that were true fans of my music, they've been following along, and they just picked up right where I left them, with a new change, and here we are. So I think that the adjustment is new and exciting, and it brings, like, a new spirit and a new energy to the music, too. It's been easier than I expected. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Well, that's a good thing, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, is sort of this new... I don't know if it's a new identity, but because you had, I think it was about a decade off, right, between the previous record and then what you're doing now. Is this all sort of part of reintroducing yourself, maybe in a different style or with a different sort of different sort of vibe to what you do than what people might know from the past? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, I would say. I mean, I think that my old music was such a signature part of my life. It was me working out my, like, my twenties, basically. I was just kind of purging and working my way through what it felt like to be a human being on this planet. And I think that there was a lot of important milestones for me, personally through that music, and now there's a lot more freedom to just play and have fun with it, which. Yeah, it feels like the new spirit of what I'm putting out, for sure. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. So how would you, I guess, how would you describe the difference, then, sonically, between what you were doing then and what you're doing now? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, I've really leaned into having some fun with pop production, and, you know, I did a songwriting course, actually, a couple years ago when I was sort of feeling flat with my. With my songwriting and not really sure. Like, well, what do I do? If I'm not just processing all my sadness all the time? How do I, you know, use music in a different way? And so my. My partner was sort of encouraging of the songwriting course that was focused more on sync licensing, and that's kind of, like a hot topic in the music industry, because it's one of the ways that musicians can actually, you know, maybe make a living for themselves is to actually find places for their music, to find a home. Right. With film or tv shows or lots of different places where, you know, industries are using our music, but we. We just don't always have that connection. So, yeah, I enrolled in the course just to learn and have fun with it, and I really. I don't know, I found myself at a new place of resonance where these were my people just hanging out, writing songs, playing with music, and finding purpose with it, too. It's really fun. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: That's good. I think that's maybe unexpected, right after having done that for so long, three records, and then having that sort of epiphany of how you approach songwriting. Where was the course? How did you find it? SHEENA LEGRAND: I think it was called through catch the moon, I believe. And it was just, you know, how right now there's, like, all kinds of courses floating around, but this one just caught our eye. It was focused more on sort of the perspective of what an industry professional is looking for when they're out searching through music. You know, I have. I have lots of. I have a really extensive catalog that would be great for all kinds of scenes and movies, but I've never learned how to make those connections, and I also haven't gotten in the mindset of someone who's doing that job. So I think being able to take that perspective sort of shifted my own mindset, and I want to make their job easier. So if I can write a little more with some aspects in mind without deviating too much from what feels natural for me or what feels authentic for my voice to sing or do. But, yeah, it was just really. It felt like I was getting in the game a little bit. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Well, I guess this is a good time period to be doing that, just because of the way, even over the past ten years since you've been active, that the music industry has changed so much. Not least of all because there was a big pandemic in the middle of that time period that changed everything as well, right? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I think, you know, when I was younger, I felt very tender around a lot of the material I was putting out. It was very personal, and I have no regrets about that. But now I can write with, you know, a certain authenticity within my own experience. But it's also, you know, bridging a need and having a place to put that, you know? So it's actually just been really, really wonderful to experience. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: I know you have a couple singles out with this sort of new. The new era of your music and the new name and the new sound. What is the sort of eventual goal here? Are you going to be. Are you working towards an album? Is this going to be sort of a big part of what you do now, like it was before your hiatus? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, I want to put out a record with this. I mean, admittedly, I became a mom a couple years ago, and so, you know, my toddler's schedule sort of sets pace. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Sure. I got two kids. I get it. Yeah. SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah. So, um, you know, we went on tour with him this past June just to kind of try it out and see what was possible. And, you know, he grew so much through the experience, and we, we also realized that like a toddler on a plane and, you know, traveling, it has its own set of challenges. Right. So, um, we're going to keep taking risks like that and trying new things. My, my partner is, uh, um, he, he was an ex heavy metal singer himself. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Oh, cool. SHEENA LEGRAND: Got a fantastic voice and lots of musicality in him. So we're going to be doing stuff together at some point, I know. And being able to do that versatile, have a versatile lifestyle that includes our son, that's kind of our goal. So moving forward, putting out this record and getting some of this material out that I've been working on since before the pandemic and sort of just getting back up to speed with everyone and then kind of hitting the ground running from there. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: So it's interesting you just said that about having material that dates back that far. Obviously, a lot of people are hearing, most people are hearing this for the first time now as you're releasing it. But how does it feel to you to sort of listen to those songs that you have written three, four years ago and now finally everyone gets to hear it? Do you feel like it's old material? Do you feel like you've moved past it in your own writing since then, or what is sort of your take on it now that it's out in the world? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, it's all a practice of self love and just accepting where you were at a certain point. And, you know, we can be so critical of ourselves as artists, you know, especially if we move past something or if we're. We're hanging out with different, you know, vibrations and song styles, and it's not where we are currently, but I just think it's a good practice to stay connected to all those different parts of ourselves and embrace all the angles of the diamond that make up the artists that we are. And, yeah, I mean, I'm definitely moving on to other things. I'm playing different music these days, but I'm still keeping connected because this hasn't been completed until I share it. It's not over. It's not even close to over. So this feels like it's been a long time coming, and I'm just happy to be doing it. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: You mentioned a few minutes ago while going on tour, obviously you have new material, but how does the old Sheena Grobb material fit in with this? I mean, is this stuff you're still gonna play live or have you completely shifted to this new style of doing things? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, you know what? Every show feels a bit different. There's always a vibe to every show that I play, and sometimes the sheen and grab vibe that it wants a little bit of a slower or more deeply felt emotional experience. And I still have that with the new material, but there's definitely sort of an era where I was playing just piano and guitar, and now I've moved into some live looping and using other ukulele and different sounds. So it's a little bit more upbeat, but nothing's lost from my earlier stage of things. It's just integrated differently now. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Do you find that coming back and changing your sound... Obviously, when you were in the thick of it with your first three records and your previous era of music, I guess we could call it, you obviously had a community, you had a music scene, a place where you fit in within Winnipeg, within Manitoba. As an artist, do you feel like that place is still there for you? Or do you have to find yourself a new home within the local music scene because your style has changed? I'm sure you still have lots of connections, but you're doing something a little bit different musically. SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, it's a good question. I think that. I mean, like, with any era that any artist puts out, there's going to be different records that resonate differently with different people. And, yeah, I definitely felt like. And I think this is also sort of like, post pandemic feelings for a lot of people. Like, some of us just feel like fish out of water sometimes. Our community experiences just shifted over the years, and so I think we as artists are also mirroring that to the greater population. There's some uncertainty, there's some just kind of reemerging with new eyes and new experiences. And so, yeah, I'm reconnecting with my community, although I have been my very close community, the ones that are following along on my mailing list, they've been the whole time I've been putting out messages over the years, and I just haven't, you know, made the efforts to spread my wings and attract new followers for quite some time. So in terms of, you know, breaking away from my old listeners, I think they've always sort of been there. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Yeah. SHEENA LEGRAND: The tried and true fans, I guess. Yeah. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: How did those people... have you had a lot of reaction from those people to the new stuff, the people who've been there all along and, you know, they're on the mailing list. They've been following you even when you weren't making new stuff? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah. I would say, like, my close community has always been very encouraging of my explorations, and they saw the changes happening. They noticed that I was wanting to do different things, and I always was met with a lot of just love and support. I'm sure there's people out there that are questioning why this or what turn did you take there? But, I mean, I also, I think that inner critic in a lot of us can always be there if we choose to feed that for sure. And I think it's one of the quickest ways to kill our authentic kind of exploration as artists is to listen to that part of our own brain too much. So, yeah, I always felt like if it was an action that was challenging me to be something different or opening up new possibilities in me, or if I was challenging myself to do something I was afraid of, that always felt like a win. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Yeah. SHEENA LEGRAND: So I. Yeah. And I think that some of the new, the new sounds, they're, they're a little more on the nose than I think I used to play with. I was a real fan of abstract writing, and I still sort of am. That's where my brain goes. And what's been different about these last few songs is that they've been collaborations. So this was the first time I actually opened my art form to working with another artist or another creative. And so in that collaborative space, I found that my partners were able to kind of take my creative, whatever that was, and help to guide it into a little more not predictable format, but something that was still different enough that it could be my statement, but it was what the music supervisors were really needing to get their jobs done. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Is it almost like a matter of making it more universally, like, palatable in terms of the subject matter you're singing about, or the way that the lyrics are being delivered? SHEENA LEGRAND: I think so. Like I always love, I cherish a good, unique melody line. I really love to play with my melodies. And if anything, some of my recent music, the lyrics have gotten a little. I would go really far into my own. My own poetry, my own inner poetry, to the point where if you were to read it, you wouldn't really understand what the heck I was saying. You'd maybe interpret it through your own lens and it would become its own thing. And I really love art that does that. There is maybe a little less of that happening in some of these other songs where it was a transmission, an honest transmission was still coming through, but the lyrics were possibly just a bit simpler for people, and that was easier to find a home for in the sync licensing world, if that makes any sense. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: It does, yeah. Is it easier to write like that? Do you feel more. I mean, do you feel more comfortable sort of doing the cryptic more, you know, within your own brain writing, or do you like. Is this a challenge for you to change? SHEENA LEGRAND: It's way harder for me to be. To be, well, simpler. And there was a real validation and happiness I felt in that too, because sometimes simple messages, they can connect you with more people and there's a different kind of satisfaction in that. I would have some really obscure lyric that I would hear one or two fans reference, and they would request that song, and I'd feel so attached that one or two, those two people really got it. And with this kind of music, there's just a little more accessibility for people, and I've really come to understand how wonderful that can be. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's definitely a different approach to focus on. I think that there's, like. I don't... I'm not saying that you're implying this, but I think that simple music, often people almost, they almost overlook it because they think it's too easy or it's nothing. It's not challenging enough as a listener. And I think that's. I don't agree with that, but I think there's definitely a time and place where simple, direct, to the point music is not only works, but is necessary. Right. I mean, I like. I spent all day listening to, like, free jazz this afternoon, and I love that. But I also like to listen to the Ramones, which is, like, you know, pretty much the most basic, simple thing you can. You could have. So I get there's an appeal to both, right. It doesn't have to be overly complex. It doesn't have to be overly cryptic or confusing or you have to analyze it. It can just be right in front of you, and you can love that as much as the next thing. SHEENA LEGRAND: Absolutely. And for me, I think the edge of my own personal development was looking at a little bit of what could be interpreted as music snobbery or something. I had to be really complex, and it had to be really hard, and it had to be really clear. And there was such a freedom and just for a time, letting that go and saying, well, what if we just did something really simple and beautiful and connecting? How about that? And it was really lovely. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: That's cool. Yeah. So where can people hear this stuff? I mean, I know that there's so many different ways people consume music nowadays. Where would you. If someone was hearing about you for the first time or hearing about your new identity for the first time? Where would you direct them to find your music now and in the future? SHEENA LEGRAND: I mean, it's always wonderful when people are interested enough to check out your website, because I feel like that's such a direct way to connect with the artist, sign up to their mailing list, be a part of their community. Even if they're not putting stuff out to the media, they can still be sharing with their inner cohort. And I really feel like that is. That's the number one for me. If anybody signs up for my mailing list, I'm like, you're with me for life. I feel it's a really big commitment, you know, these days. And otherwise people can find me on Instagram, still on Facebook, somewhat. TikTok is emerging. There's all kinds of things coming in the future, so those would be the easiest ways to follow along. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: And then as far as your, you know, we've mentioned a few times you have these three previous records. Are they still out there in the world? Can people still get those? Obviously you want to promote the new stuff like everyone else does. Even your new stuff is sort of what you're. What you're excited about right now. But is your old music still available? SHEENA LEGRAND: I love my first three records, and I still direct people to find them. That's just through my previous name, Sheena Grobb. And, yeah, it's lovely, beautiful music that a lot of heart and soul was put into. And if there's any extra energy that I get from what I'm putting out now, I always love to direct people there as well. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: And then the good thing about this being a podcast is someone could listen to it the day it comes out, or they could stumble upon it three years from now. I've been doing this for more than a decade, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. So this is going to exist for a while in the ether. If someone hears this at some random point in time, the website is presumably the best place to get information about you. But first of all, the people listening on the day it comes out, do you have any shows or any releases or anything in the near future as of today, in 2024, that that's happening? SHEENA LEGRAND: Well, you know what for, for the ladies and, you know, gender diverse folks that may be listening, I know I'm doing a raw women gathering that's happening in September of this year. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Good. SHEENA LEGRAND: And that's my next kind of show. I'm doing some house concerts. So if you're on my mailing list, there's sometimes private invites, that mailing list subscribers get invited. That's been my best way of connecting to folks. So I would always encourage you to sign up to mailing list for those inside scoops, and you can look for an album release in the spring. So I'll be pushing things until early next year. But that's what's on the books for right now. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Well, I guess the album release, I was going to ask about. You beat me to it. Do you have a lot of this already recorded for a future album, or is it still sort of piece by piece? You're working on it? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah. It's interesting. So I have the majority of it sort of done. I have a couple pieces that are still being... I just spoke today with one of the producers I'd like to work with on the last couple songs. And I guess one of the realities of being a parent and putting out music in this way is that I knew. So I knew probably last year that if I didn't start just putting stuff out and trusting that the next step is going to evolve for me, I just wasn't going to be doing it. There was no other way than to just hit the ground running and put it out. So I put the pressure on myself to complete it in time because I've started to release it and I'm just not going to not do that. So there are a few pieces that are still coming together this fall, and I'm really comfortable with that. I feel my release plan. I'll be releasing another single in the next couple weeks. I guess that would be beginning of September. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: Cool. SHEENA LEGRAND: And then another in November and then the full album in the spring. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: I know we've been talking mostly, like, big picture about sort of the change in the sound and then the fact that you're back and then all these things. But I know you do have some singles that are out now, so do you want to just plug those singles and let people know what to look for when they're trying to find your stuff? SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah. Well, Green Light was the first one that I released, and I recorded it and wrote it with Johnny Kerouac. He's a wonderful producer and musician in the city here. And that one can be found on all platforms under Sheena Legrand. And then this past June, I released a song called Heroes in the making. And it was with my, my late father inspired that one. I lost my dad last year, and that song was one of those songs that was sort of. I was so honored to be a part of it. It came together in such a beautiful way. But I admit, at the time when I wrote it, I was sort of thinking, when I was challenged to write a song about a hero, I immediately thought of Mariah Carey or Enrique Iglesias or people that have already blown that category under the water. And where is there room for another song about a hero? What do we. I had a skeptical mindset about it, and then I realized I just hadn't lost mine yet. And I realized that that song had a special place in my heart when I lost my dad. And so now it carries that for me. It's really special. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: That's great. Yeah. And I think a lot of people can probably relate to that, too, in their own. I mean, not directly to your situation, but they've lost someone and they feel the same way. Or maybe give them some hope or give them some positivity. SHEENA LEGRAND: Yeah, I hope so. That's the intention with it. WITCHPOLICE RADIO: That's great. Great to hear.