TPL: JORDY Tour Diary

Featuring coverage from:

Nov 1st 2024 - Christina Hall : HOLOCENE @ Portland, OR

Nov 12th 2024 - Seana Adame : The Foundry @ Philadelphia, PA

Nov 14th 2024 - Samantha Davidson : The Sinclair @ Cambridge, MA

Oct 21st 2024 - Allie Loven : Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL

The Photo Ladies: I’d love to get started with how life on the road has been. Do you have any favorite memories or fan interactions from this tour?

JORDY: There’s been so many lovely fan interactions. Last year, when I put out my song "Story of a Boy," there was this trend on TikTok that happened where a lot of trans creators were using the sound to showcase the original song to my version. I've been able to meet some of those creators at these shows. I had a really good interaction in Philly the other night with someone who was front row. To see how much of the song meant to them means so much to me. I want to provide that safe, happy, and warm space for people to express themselves as truthfully and as authentically as possible. After every show, I have come out to see everyone who wants to give a hug. That’s important to me too because these are the relationships that keep you moving forward. I have this crazy career because of them. It’s the least I can do to come out there and give them hugs, and make sure they know that I appreciate them so much. 

TPL: I can imagine that the energy from those shows is the same for all the shows because your confidence is infectious and empowering. What inspired you to make such joyous music and specifically, what that messaging means to the LGBTQ+ community?

J: I've been out for a very long time. I came out when I was 15. When I started putting out music in 2018, a lot of people asked, "Did you ever think about starting as an out artist?" To me, it was never a second thought. I always was immediately writing music that was personal to me, honest to me, and real to me, and that meant all of my music would have a queer perspective because I’m queer. I am so proud to be a voice for the community. I know my coming out experience is not necessarily the norm. I had a really supportive family, I had a good community around me, and that's very much not the case for everyone. It does feel like a responsibility for me as a queer artist to create those spaces as I was saying earlier. Now I'm at a point in my career where being queer and my identity is a huge part of what I do. Earlier on, I was worried that it would pigeonhole me as "that gay artist," and now, I'm at a place where I love being "that gay artist" because it's so important to have gay artists. We deserve to be represented just like every other cis heterosexual person. Queer people deserve to hear themselves in music, they deserve to be themselves represented in film, and in art. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being on tour and seeing that most of these crowds are queer is the most beautiful thing ever. I’m so proud. 

TPL: That was so well said. How would you describe your art to someone who is tuning in for the first time? What are some words that come to mind?

J: Someone years ago described my music as songs that sound like cotton candy which I really enjoyed. Lately we’ve been dipping more into sexy beats which has been a huge part of this new chapter. It’s all feel-good music. It's all boppy, catchy, straight-up pop music. At the end of the day, lyrically always very on-the-nose, heart-and-sleeve kind of stuff, and dance-pop production. If you're into dance-pop, I'm your guy.

TPL: I love that.

J: "drinking of me." is definitely an homage to my roots as more emotional pop.

Which I've never given up. I always want to continue making more emotional pop songs. I am a Pisces sun, Cancer moon, very emotional boy. I went through this very toxic relationship.

It wasn't a romantic relationship. It was someone who was in my life for five years. He struggled with addiction. It was really hard because it wasn't a space where he would admit it. Because of that it turned into a lot of lying and a lot of gaslighting. After I let go of the relationship, I got into the studio the next day. It’s a sad and angry song but I love the production and you can absolutely dance to it. I feel like that dichotomy is really important to me in this song in particular. I wrote this song after letting go of it. A part of me felt that weight lifted off of my shoulders and I was able to let go and feel free. It was this tough relationship. For me, I want this to be the focus of the deluxe. It just felt very cathartic.

TPL: If I wasn’t already sold, I’m sold now. That was great. I love the cotton candy imagery. I read that you went to college in Boston. Do you have any favorite spots in town or places where you could write songs? 

J: My songwriting journey started a little bit in college but it didn’t really start until I moved to LA. I went to BU and I had a friend at Berklee who I would write some songs with when I was first digging in. I have memories in that tiny apartment with him at guitar and me doing my best to write. I lived in Allston for three years. I used to love seeing movies at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. That was always such a cute date spot. Me and my friends loved going to this place called Hojoko at the Verb Hotel. They have amazing Japanese food and It’s always a vibe. I think they have karaoke. I love Boston, it was the best place to go to college. I had a fucking blast. I'm so happy I went to college here.

TPL: You’re releasing your deluxe album at midnight tonight. Congratulations! I love the cheeky play on words for the title. What can we expect from the new tracks? Any hints?  

J: We've put out two singles off the deluxe, "BREAK MY!" and "BREAKUP SEX." "BREAK MY!" is a sexy bop. I wrote that song when I had actually injured my back, and I was like, "there must be inspiration that comes from this, let's spin this and make it sexy." In "Sweat," the line going into the chorus is, "even if we don't work out you can make me sweat." We might not work out, but we have some good sexual chemistry. I like that play on words a lot. "FUCKURFRIENDS" is funny because I feel like people will look at the title and it sounds like, "Fuck your friends, I hate them." But it's actually, "I could fuck your friends if I wanted to." That was to this guy who was kind of bad boy vibes but he treated me like I was too much of a good boy for him. I was like, “I need to write a song that's kind of like, I'm way more wild than you think.” Kind of just like a villain, fun, sexy track.

TPL: It sounds like songwriting is definitely a tool for processing everything into your life.

J: Yes, with this project in particular, I've always said I've had the most fun writing this project. This was therapy in a lot of ways because It was stepping outside of my comfort zone. I was writing songs about things I had never written about. Sex wasn't always the most comfortable thing for me to write about. That was therapy for me. It was exposure therapy. I think it's important to remember that the internet and social media is not real. It's easy for me to post sexy pictures and stuff but I'm working through my own traumas and sexual shame. This project really lifted me out of that and liberated me in a way that I'm so grateful for. With a sexy project like this, I still wanted to let people in. I want them to ride the ride with me.