Another day in quarantine starts with a group of teenage faces eagerly watching as Zella Day joins a Zoom call for an intern-led interview. The opportunity was presented by the Girls Rock Santa Barbara 2020 summer internship in journalism. Zella starts off by individually introducing herself to each intern, right off the bat showing her humble, down-to-earth personality. She gives us a glimpse into her everyday life as she sits in her living room with her mom in the background giving a quick “hello.”
The interview begins by diving right into a conversation about her newest single, “Only A Dream.” She explains the emotion and feeling behind it by describing it as her way of connection. “Emotions are so human and music is the way that I connect with myself and with other humans. It’s the most powerful connection that I have,” she states. Even from a young age, Zella has found that human connection plays a huge factor in her life.
Zella Day grew up in the small town of Pinetop, Arizona, where she was exposed to the Apache community. She reflects on having conversations with Apache men at her dad’s guest ranch. Day recalls those conversations of their culture and beliefs as being the start of a creative wave in her and one of the most beautiful experiences she had as a child. Growing up in the mountains and in the Church of God was only the beginning of what she absorbed as a kid. The childhood observations still play a role today in her songwriting. She even admits to countless metaphors that are present in her lyrics.
When diving deeper into the core of her process to prepare a song to share with the world, Zella was apparent on the “story that lives on its own, naked by itself.” When she first started writing, and even as the writer she is now, she admits it’s only her voice and her guitar that form a song. “If a song cannot live outside of the production, it usually doesn’t make it on the record… or whatever body of work I’m working on,” she shares.
Zella continues on to tell us how her newest song, “Only A Dream,” is a story that inspired the production. “When you’re listening to all of the production choices,” she says, “it really grows with the narrative.” The more we talked with her, the more she explained how the emotion and buildup of the lyrics could also be found in the string arrangements. She’s able to not only dig into listeners’ hearts with the lyrics but also flood their ears with the company of a beautiful arrangement.
To Zella, the process of writing “Only A Dream” did not feel like work. It instead felt like putting together a piece of art that was almost destined for her. “It was very much a song that almost fell out of the sky, came together quickly,” she explains. “But there are other songs, too, that you have to go to work for. But that’s, I think, part of being a professional artist.” As she continues explaining her journey as a songwriter, you can truly feel her passion for the art leap out through her words. Words that could almost inspire one to embark on one’s own artistic journey.
She then mentions how she is currently writing and recording her upcoming album in Nashville, Tennessee, a state most notably known as the capital of American music. “The first time I came to Nashville was for writing sessions, I was around 15 or 16.” She pauses for a brief moment, presumably reminiscing on those memories before continuing. “The first thing I remember actually saying when I got off the plane is ‘This is the last place I would come if I was trying to make it in the industry because there’s too many talented people and it’s totally overwhelming.’”
Since then, Day herself has experienced many successes with the release of two albums, as well as two EPs, all of which have garnered her critical acclaim. “I feel probably more ready for a place like Nashville now than I ever have. In this stage of my career, I really understand myself and my own voice, and how to utilize it.”
In one of Zella’s newest promotional Instagram posts, you can see the young singer sporting a big curly hairstyle and funky colorful makeup. On her body lies a silver top littered with sequins. With a caption that reads, “Groovy Baby,” the 70s aesthetic can be found throughout the promotional work for this EP. Day touches on what aesthetic means to her as an artist, especially in regards to her latest releases. “I myself really enjoy artists that have a visual narrative that runs throughout either a record cycle or, you know, a single release,” she shares. “I do really enjoy it now because, as I’ve grown and gotten to know myself more, what my tastes are and where I’m pulling inspiration, the creativity in all aspects outside of just songwriting becomes very exciting. It’s just another way that I get to tell you about the world that I feel, I can show you the world that I see.”
Having a social media presence is a huge part of growing your platform in the industry, though Zella admits she hasn’t always had the most loving opinion towards the practice. “My use and relationship with social media, I think, is going to be a lifelong battle for me personally because the thing that I do best does not exist on the internet. Sometimes I struggle with figuring out a way to share on a platform that can just devour everyone’s creativity.” At the same time, however, she acknowledges the positive impact social media can have, such as being used as a tool to reach a broader audience and meet new creatives within which to collaborate.
Zella is no stranger to the music industry since releasing songs in her early teens. However, through it all, she never had any doubt in her passion for music. “People that are in love with what they’re doing will always find happiness,” she says. When she looks back at the music included in her sophomore and major label debut album, Kicker (released in 2015), she reflects on the fact that she has grown tremendously since then, both in age and in experience. “I think that it’s so interesting to me and that, the further I get in my career, these documentations of the times in my life are being documented through song,” she observes. “And so, when I listen to Kicker and I look at some of the music that was released back then, it’s different from what I’m releasing now. At that time, when I was making Kicker, that was my truth.”
With the long-anticipated release of EP Where Does the Devil Hide, Zella is finally ready to open up once again and allow her audience to see how she’s grown and changed during the past few years. “I think songwriting should be a constant journey of finding yourself in your music and your art. Through the art, I’ve been able to witness how I’ve changed and am constantly changing even now.”
With that, we conclude our interview, thanking Zella for answering our flurry of questions. Her humble nature shines through once more as the singer says goodbye to each individual intern before signing off. A love of her art radiates throughout the aura of Zella Day. You can feel it when she talks and hear it in Where Does the Devil Hide. The curious young girl who found a love for music still exists inside her today. It’s a fiery passion that’s so inspiring to witness—and one that will surely not be put out anytime soon.
by Girls Rock Santa Barbara 2020 summer interns Katy Caballero and Emma Hogarth