Bonnie Bloomgarden, the lead singer and songwriter for the Los Angeles-based indie rock band Death Valley Girls, is connected to sources of creativity that stem from the outer-most cosmos. Her singing voice is part ancient spell and part stardust.
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The band, which recently finished a world tour, also dropped their latest single, “Magic Powers,” and the track has been blowing up the college radio airwaves for the past year (check out the fun video below). So, to celebrate all the mysticism that is the band, we reached out to Bloomgarden to ask five questions about 2023.
American Songwriter: When you’re going to co-write or collaborate with another artist, either for one of your songs or theirs, how do you approach the experience?
Bonnie Bloomgarden: My favorite thing about artists, and all people, is what makes them them. Any time I collaborate with in anyone, my main goal is to make sure we are both feeling good, and they feel comfortable to be as weird as they want to be.
AS: When you write lyrics, what thing or two do you keep in mind—either a technique like alliteration or a way of voicing a story succinctly? Another way of asking this is what tip or trick do you hold close when writing lyrics, if anything?
BB: I channel my lyrics from some type of cosmic source, so my process is a little weird—I don’t really invent the lyrics! The only writing tip I can give is to not take it too serious, or be too precious. Write lyrics for 1,000 songs, write more than you need, carry a notebook every where you go, and record stuff in voice notes all day. You don’t have to use it all, but wouldn’t you rather have 100 songs to choose from than 10?
AS: When it comes to news stories of 2023, what was one that really raised your eyebrow when it came to the world of music?
BB: Tina Turner passing was the only news I can remember right now. We have been on tour all year, I can’t remember yesterday!
AS What were your one or two favorite songs or artists or albums from 2023?
BB: We are super into Sextile, Joanna Sternberg, Spoonbenders, WITCH, and [the] upcoming Chastity Belt [record]!
AS: What are your hopes for 2024 personally, professionally or for the world, looking ahead?
BB: I feel like the pendulum has started to swing the last few years, people getting agitated enough to start making some real changes in this country, opening their eyes to the shitty systems that have been in place for way too long! It may seem like it’s one step forward, two steps back, but it’s not, we are moving exponentially forward, the little steps back will be nothing compared to the changes we are making, power to the people!
Photo by Daniel Boczarski/WireImage
