In March of 2020, I watched a hundred shows fall off my calendar within the span of a couple of weeks, like countless other musicians around the world. As someone who makes a living playing live shows, that was absolutely terrifying. When it became clear that Covid wasn't a short-term thing, I thought about going to therapy to deal with the creeping depression. But as it turned out, therapists weren't really doing a lot of in-person sessions at the time, and Zoom is about as comforting as an armchair made of barbed wire. Also, therapy is expensive. So instead, I turned to the thing that's always saved me in the past - music. Specifically, songwriting. I realized that I had to figure out a way to continue being creative despite the world around me being a raging dumpster fire - that if I didn't, the depression that had bubbled up when all those shows disappeared was going to get the upper hand.
I was watching a lot of standup comedy at the time, because I badly needed to laugh. And that found its way into the writing on my most recent album - with songs like Two Shots In and Daddy Don't Do Politics, as well as the title track, I Come From Crazy. On the other hand, my depressed side was responsible for the southern gothic arrangement of House of the Rising Sun. At the end of the day, I think my latest record is a reflection of the huge range of emotions that we were all feeling during the pandemic. It was my way of both channeling and escaping those emotions. Likewise, I hope I Come From Crazy can give folks a little musical escape, in whatever way they need it - whether that's to laugh, cry, or love. I'm very excited to share songs and the stories behind them with y'all during my opening set for Grouchy Like Riley at the Austin Acoustical Cafe on May 11th. Hope you can make it!
- Roxi Copland