“DIY Is All We Have”- An Interview With Boy Jr.
Kenzie Gay - @kenzwrites
One of the first things you ever learn, or rather, hear in life is that love is hard. Love sucks. Love hurts. Something along those lines. Now, whether you agree with that or not isn’t up for debate today but one thing that everyone concurs with is that breakups are never easy for anybody. I can’t speak from personal experience about any breakup but based on the several relationships I’ve served as an unpaid therapist for (some of which were what many call “situationships”), I’ve been able to gather that the best remedies for these things are as follows:
Ice cream. Doesn’t matter what kind, the sugar placates the nutrients lost in tears (don’t fact check me on that).
Cruddy guilty pleasure tv shows. Reality TV, Food Network, etc.
Music. Music is always the cure to bad moods and even if the song capitalizes off of sadness or anger, it still helps those feelings channel themselves in a healthy and understood way. Music heals.
With a brand new breakup anthem that “is all about that angry phase, the one needed after a breakup to move on”, singer/songwriter Boy Jr. showcases their comical yet poignant narratives packaged in experimental, expansive and charming indie pop-rock through their newest single titled I’m Breaking Up With You that comes straight off of their upcoming album I Love Getting Dumped.
In recent months, Boy Jr. has really revved up within their career, proving to be a striking influence amongst LGBTQIA+ crowds in music and elsewhere. In lieu of this new music, music I highly recommend you check out, we were able to pick Boy Jr.’s brain about being a non binary musician and how the business has progressed into further inclusivity —
Read it below.
Who are you? Introduce yourself briefly to give readers a feel.
Hey! I'm Ariel aka Boy Jr., I'm a nonbinary artist, songwriter, producer, silly little guy etc.
Can you tell us about your musical journey and how your identity has influenced your work?
I've been making music since I was a kid, and producing for close to 10 years. I think the most prominent way my identity has influenced my work is the way it's helped drive me toward carving out a unique sound and performance. I often used to lament, when I was getting started doing live shows, that I didn't feel like I fit into any of the pre-established molds for "women in music" and "female fronted" acts. I often related more to male performers who played with glamor and gender presentation, but didn't see myself strictly fitting into those molds either. I think a lot of this gripe has to do with the general discomfort of being perceived or rather the discomfort of being misinterpreted. But as I've come into my own in terms of identity, I've started to do the same with my music exploration. And they're very much related in that sense of exploration I think too.
Have you faced any specific challenges or obstacles as a queer musician in the industry?
Well aside from the specific slew of hate comments I get by being visibly gender nonconforming online, I think there's still space to be carved for nonbinary musicians or just anyone who is gender nonconforming in the arts. I think a lot of people just don't know how to categorize nonbinary artists yet since so much of our grasp on music and genre is gender based. I'm grateful to those who are open minded or just see me as I am first and foremost, just someone making art.
How has your understanding of music evolved since you first began creating it?
I'd say the biggest way my understanding of music has shifted since I started making it is in its role as a piece of emotional expression and something to make others feel related too. I used to be a lot more concerned with making things that sounded smart or mysterious. Like I listen back to lyrics I wrote as a younger writer and I'm like "what was I even trying to say here" and I know I didn't even know, I was just going for vibes and going for something that made me sound like a "good" lyric writer. But now I feel a lot freer to write lyrics that really hit the nail on the head and just shout like "I HOPE YOU FEEL TERRIBLE" which I probably would have thought was childish when I WAS child, but now feel like there is power in the simplicity cuz it's just like. How I was feeling. Very blunt.
Are there any particular artists or genres that have influenced both your music and your understanding of your identity?
I think every artist I've ever listened to or seen live has influenced me in some way both musically and identity-wise. I mean when I was in my early 20s I finally got into David Bowie and something clearly clicked there about playing with gender and genre and showing the love of multiple genres throughout the length of a singular artistic career.
What role do you think music plays in the broader LGBTQ+ community and its representation?
OH man I mean it can have so many roles. It can tell a story or let someone into a more intimate part of one's life or just provide emotive sounds to get through your life to. Obviously that goes way beyond just experiences of those within the community, I mean that's just what music is. But it can be especially important for those trying to parse apart a sometimes hard to put into words personal experience about identity or queer love. I know I personally haven't felt like I've seen anyone just like me to kinda look up to or get inspired by growing up (I mean even just in the sense that all the artists presented to a young person into like indie pop rock and stuff are generally conventionally attractive and gender conforming and skinny) but nowadays there's a lot more access to different kinds of music and different kinds of artists for people to learn more about the world or themselves or just feel connected.
What role does DIY culture play in your music and career?
I mean when you think about what the arts are to human kind, DIY is it. DIY is all we have. If the difference between DIY and not DIY is having commercial label support and/or money, DIY is just what art making was before there was a semblance of an industry. So I'd say it plays into everything I do really. It's the bones of making and distributing and performing and sharing music and art and will always be within the foundation of how I approach my career.
How do you see your music contributing to the ongoing conversation around queer visibility and acceptance?
Well I hope it is contributing at all! I want people to be able to come across queer artists, gender expansive, gender nonconforming artists etc. and just take in the art they are making first and foremost without the identity portion being too big of a hurdle for someone to get over. I hope that by just doing what I'm doing and being out here, whether I am talking directly about my gender identity or not, it will help to just kinda humanize more of us.
