What is your name?
Greer Baxter
What is your genre of music?
Primarily pop but I also write lots of indie, singer-songwriter, pop-country
Give us a little bio about you.
I started playing piano when I was 5. And then playfully writing little jazz ditties and I loved it. I picked up the guitar too and wrote a lot of songs when I was about 11, love songs even though I had never been in love. I performed in musicals at school and at summer camp and then I started getting into poetry. I realized pretty quickly how much poetry there is in music. In college I did a TedX talk about the nexus of melody and poetry. It was in college where I wrote the song “Line In the Sand” for the brilliant Mandy Gonzalez of Broadway’s Hamilton. The song was on the album Fandango at the wall and which UNICEF picked up for two of their campaigns. I also was an assistant to the producer on a Grammy winning jazz album. And I have been performing at Sofar Sounds in Chicago and New York and with the songwriters circle and at The Bitter End. I put out an EP entitled Bleed before this single and during quarantine have been writing and producing as well as doing remote performances.
What made you go into music?
As a baby, lullabies in my family consisted of David Bowie and the talking head songs. That was my dad’s influence along with a ton of great jazz artists. My first ever song was based on a Thelonious Monk song. And my mom would sing Helen Reddy’s I am Woman, Tanya Tucker’s delta dawn and Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide and so many other greats to me often. So eclectic! But music was a constant. And I started making my own. Making music is an elixir for me.
Who are your influences?
Julia Michaels, Alanis Morissette, Lauv, Regina Spektor, Carole King, Diane Warren
Are you a signed?
Not yet, no!
You released your new single ‘Sleeping On The Couch’, tell us more about the single.
I wrote this song about suddenly being at odds with the person you love, and trying to make sense of it. We’ve all had a night sleeping on the couch and we wake up in the morning thinking: why would we let a fight keep us apart for the night? It’s about wanting to resolve it before falling asleep and wondering if the other person feels the same.
Describe the track in two words.
Kick ass
What was the writing and recording process like?
After graduating college in June, I was commissioned to write for artists including an American Idol finalist and British pop singer. This song came to me when I fell asleep on the couch writing one of those compositions. I started teaching myself how to produce my own music at the beginning of the pandemic. I tried using the isolation as a time to create and take my song writing to a new level. I produced 10 demo tracks of my songs and something about this one made me want to share it with the world. I think we can all relate to the storyline and when I couldn’t get the melody out of my head for weeks, I thought hey, maybe that will be the case for an audience!
Who did you work with on the single?
It was a solo project!
What else can we expect in Early 2021?
Two of my songs will be released by two known artists.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Fingers crossed writing for more artists and being in demand as a writer — and performing more. I’d like to learn the mixing and mastering side as well (which will probably take me five years to learn!)
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Do one thing every day that scares you- Eleanor Roosevelt
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
I always have to have a Vitamin Water and (venue dependent) an Angry Orchard hard cider. This one time I had one before a show and my voice felt the best it had ever felt when I sang that night, so I always make sure to have a few sips before each show. There is pretty much always a tropical citrus vitamin water and hard cider at my feet next to my piano so now I’m just waiting for those sponsorships to roll in…
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Instagram
Facebook
Website
