Genre blending artist Taryn Hadfield has been building a strong following and community over the years and has recently released her album, Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Taryn has been mixing the stylings of folk, acoustic pop, and rock to create her unique sound. This has helped her in gaining a solid following on Twitch that continues to grow. BareBones Ent got the chance to sit down with Taryn Hadfield and discuss what is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, her music, Twitch, and much more.
BBE: What is your earliest memory of making music?
TH: I got my first guitar for my 10th birthday, as a gift from my dad. He and my mom had heard me singing along to my mom’s Alanis Morissette CD, and I knew every line. He thought it was only fitting for his aspiring rock singer to have a guitar to go along with it.
When I opened the box, I wasn’t sure what to do. I had never asked for a guitar, and I didn’t know if I was going to be any good at it. My dad found a music shop down the street and I started taking lessons.
I learned everything from Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac to Jack Johnson and
Florence + The Machine. It didn’t come easy. I didn’t come from a family of musicians, just music lovers. I sucked at keeping a beat. It took forever to build calluses. I cried in frustration that I couldn’t learn “Blackbird” by The Beatles at first. But I kept at it.
When I was 13, I started writing my own songs. I always loved writing stories, and writing songs allowed me to create entire worlds and storylines in a matter of minutes, rather than pages.
But it was a secret, at least, for a long long time. My songs were like diary entries. They were the way I processed living in the world. My parents would always put their ears to the door and listen without telling me.
BBE: At what moment did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
TH: I was 22. I was working a start-up job that I had grown to hate. I was living alone for the first time. I had very few friends at all. I was dating lots of people and getting heartbroken.
One of my old friends took me for a walk. I was sobbing about something or another. He took me to a car window and asked me “If you could do anything in the world, right now, what would it be?”
I didn’t have an answer.
But a day or two later, I was at Treefort Music Fest in Boise, watching songwriter Laura Veirs. It was just her, her guitar and her music. She commanded an entire room with just that. My sister turned to me, whispered, “She reminds me of you.”
I had said no to going all-in on music many times throughout my life. That was the time I finally said yes.
Music was that one thing in the world I wanted to do. Music was my answer.
BBE: What is a manic pixie dream girl?
TH: A manic pixie dream girl is a vivacious, appealingly quirky female love interest who helps a male protagonist find a deeper appreciation for life.
You see her in tons of indie rom coms, if you think about it: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, 500 Days of Summer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State.
But there’s often a problem with the way indie filmmakers portray the manic pixie dream girl. The only time we learn anything about her, it’s to help the man realize who he really wants to be.
In the end, we learn nothing about her. She’s really just a means to an end.
And honestly, it’s bullshit.
BBE: How do you feel that relates to your music?
TH: I’ve been the manic pixie dream girl a lot in my life.
In my relationships, I was the girlfriend who’s trying to help her partner find deeper meaning in life and process their trauma. Same goes for many of my past friendships. Same goes for even being that person in the workplace.
During these last few years, I was just sick of it. I realized I had learned so much about other people…but I knew nothing about myself.
The manic pixie dream girl is kinda like a chameleon. She changes. She shifts. She finds inspiration everywhere. She’s constantly evolving to fit the situation and what people need in that moment.
Much of my music on this album is the same way. It’s eclectic. Yes, even a bit manic at times. If you shuffle the songs, it might feel like you’re listening to someone else or even just a different radio station altogether.
But that’s the point. All of these different phases and creative styles and influences all helped me become who I am today.
BBE: You recently released your album by the name Manic Pixie Dream Girl. How did the creation of the album go for you?
TH: When I wrote these songs initially, a lot of it was done in solitude. I lived alone, and the walls in my apartment were thick so no one could hear me practicing. So, for the first time in my life, I was able to truly experiment, get weird and try everything with my music.
I wrote what I felt at the time. I didn’t filter the lyrics to be something more normal. I didn’t try to fit the songs in a certain storyline or aesthetic. I just did what felt right.
When I got into the studio at Studio X in Seattle (the same place where some of my childhood legends like Nirvana and the Foo Fighters and Dave Matthews Band all recorded albums), I really had very little direction on the album. I didn’t formally study music in college. I had only played in some bands for short periods of time.
I gave the musicians we worked with (such awesome genuine musicians from Seattle) some general guidelines. I had a playlist that acted like a mood board for the album. I had super crappy demos recorded on GarageBand. I had a general idea of style, rhythm, form and groove for each of the songs. The rest of it was some huge jam sesh, and we had a hell of a lot of fun.
I let the musicians and my producers Jeff Baker and Andrew Ching work their magic. In the end, my songs came to life. It became this eclectic collection of neo-retro pop-punk indie rock. It exceeded every expectation I had on what we could create, and I’m incredibly thankful to everyone who was a part of the collaborative process.
BBE: What has the fan response been like?
TH: The fan response has been so incredibly sweet and humbling. We did a live release show on Twitch. We peaked at over 2000 viewers and ended up having 77k unique views by the end of the night.
My day job is marketing, so it’s been hard not to focus on the data (streams, views, plays, downloads, etc.) Honestly, I feel the most proud when friends, family, my followers and internet friends share stories of how they’ve connected to the songs.
One of my long-time family friends called me to say she was going through somewhat of an existential crisis and was jamming out to “Not Sorry” on repeat in her car to keep her going. My mom’s receptionist fell in love with the album and made it her workday soundtrack. One of my followers uses “Not Sorry” as his go-to workout song, and another loves to put on Manic Pixie Dream Girl while she’s shoveling the stables on her farm.
It’s all these little stories, these bits and pieces, that make me feel like the record achieved what I wanted it to do.
That’s the reason I really got into this. When I got incredibly depressed or anxious, certain albums honestly saved my life. To think that any of my songs could help someone at all, is huge.
BBE: For this album you did a Story and Sound video. How did you come up with this type of video for the release?
TH: The idea for a Story + Sound video came from my producer at Next Music Company, Jeff Baker. He and I both have always been interested in the stories behind a song.
And if you think about it, every great album really follows a storyline. There’s exposition, rising conflict, climax and a resolution. Everytime.
Rather than just releasing a single (which everyone seems to be doing a ton these days), we decided to release this behind the scenes footage with interviews, stories and some live performances. We wanted to drive home the idea that this album is a story.
BBE: You’ve actually been very active and building a following on Twitch. Do you
play any of the new songs there?
TH: Yes. All of them, actually, along with my 20+ other originals. Most of my Twitch streams are really just me, playing my electric guitar, banjo and mandolin. I usually play stripped down versions of the songs, just the parts I had composed originally. I also play a wide variety of covers (with a heavy dose of Fleetwood Mac and other 70s hits).
BBE: What made you first want to go on Twitch?
TH: Back in January 2020, I met up with an old college friend. At the time, he was working at a food truck back in our college town of Moscow, ID. He was making a hella decent living off tips, and it was largely because the food truck (Grub Truck) was livestreaming on Twitch.
Yes, literally just livestreaming drunken college students grabbing mac and cheese after hitting the bars and frat houses on the weekends.
When I told him about how I had signed on with Next Music Company and needed to start crowdfunding ASAP, he told me I should start playing music there.
My first stream was January 2020, and I’ve been livestreaming almost weekly ever since.
BBE: How did people initially respond to the content you were making on Twitch?
TH: For the first 6 months of streaming on the platform, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to grow a following there. I was originally streaming from a crappy 2013 Macbook Air with just its built in mic and webcam.
I had 7 very loyal people watch me about every night. That’s it. And I was ok with that, it gave me something to do during the pandemic.
One day, I got discovered by a fellow music streamer. He helped me learn the platform, connect with other awesome streamers, find my mods and grow a following. I finally got affiliated.
Then I started making more money at those livestreams than I made at my best bar gigs back in Boise. So I decided to launch my kickstarter live with a performance on Twitch. We surpassed our goal in 54 days.
Today, I stream 3-4 times a week, usually at 6:30pm PST Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturdays. I now have about 6k followers on the platform.
It feels like I’ve built this whole little online community there. We have inside jokes. We do fun events and themed streams. People share stories in the chat, ask me questions about my life and music, and make me laugh.
Sure, we do get the occasional internet troll, but for the most part, I’ve found an entire community of musicians and fans who are positive, genuine and kind. I hope that Twitch always stays this way.
BBE: What advice would you have for other musicians or people that would like to stream on Twitch?
TH: Heck, where do I even start?
I would say a few things:
- Start by watching other music streamers. Talk with them. Chat with their followers and their mods. See what they do. Get inspired. (But NEVER self- promo. That’s a big no-no and it looks so sleazy.)
- Be yourself. Play the music that you’re best at. Play your originals. Live loop if
you want or don’t. Play your all-time favorite covers. Make it your own. - Interact with your chatters. Ask questions. Share about your life and what
inspires you. - Create a vibe. You have no idea what a small amount of good lighting, a nice
camera, some mood lights and cool decor can do to create a sweet hang out
space. - Always raid at the end of your stream, especially other music streamers. Easiest
way to grow.
BBE: Aside from Twitch, what is the best way for fans to stay up to date on your
music and connect with you?
TH:
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/taryn_seattle
Streaming live Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays 6:30pm PST
Instagram: https://instagram.com/taryn.hadfield
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarynhadfieldmusic
BBE: Anything else you would like to add?
TH: That’s basically it! Hoping to book some shows in Seattle soon, but with the pandemic, who the heck knows.
Thanks!
