Crystal Trench: The post-EP-release show interview with Vanessa DeCouto

Local Spins’ Enrique Olmos interviewed Vanessa DeCouto after her theatrical and fan-energizing New Year’s Eve performance and her EP-release show at Four Star Theatre in Grand Rapids. Here are her takes on the special evening; read more about Crystal Trench at Local Spins here.

THE INTERVIEW

What was it like to just play New Year’s Eve and explore this space?

It was honestly pretty surreal.

I kept having like moments where I would like become very present and like look around and see what was happening and be like, oh wow.

But yeah I don’t know I was really like trying to I was really like channeling like being on like a theater stage because we’re like in a theater and like trying like I was trying to be very like expressive and like I don’t know really just like getting into the theatrics of everything.

Definitely like St. Vincent vibes.

The drama and the like being a little over the top.

Being a little like a little extra.

Well being an artist and especially in a theater gives you agency to do so.

What were some of those theatrics that you did like specifically?

I wasn’t here.

I wasn’t really I wasn’t really planning this but I ended up having everybody who dressed up like come up on stage.

Like the last song we did like a cover of Prince’s I Will Die For You.

I got sick.

And right before I was like okay if you dressed up and you want to show your shit off like come to the side stage.

And so everyone was just dancing over there while we were singing the song and then like at the end we like had them all like walk like do a little runway strut.

Across the stage.

I love this.

And then I ran around and slayed everybody with a sword.

Oh my god.

And it’s like you just can’t really do that like in a bar.

Like I could.

No.

But like it hits different when you’re like oh I’m in this historic theater and like.

That’s amazing.

And it was really cool to be able to like bring the audience on stage and be like okay this is like this is an exchange.

Like this is.

Like I’m up here like doing this thing but like if the audience wasn’t here.

It wouldn’t work.

How do you feel about the energy in the audience and did you feel like it was like extra magical being like New Year’s Eve being Breaking into a new year.

I feel like there’s a lot of like pressure on New Year’s Eve.

Yeah Or a lot of like expectations and like there’s all this like build up around it Which I was even having to like check myself on that.

Yeah for the show Just kind of like letting go of control Yeah, but I feel like Everyone was just like had a very like grateful attitude and they were just like very excited to have a space to like express themselves Yeah Be a little freaky That was really get a little weird.

Yeah, like be like, okay, I’m gonna I’m gonna decorate the stage and then I’m like Yeah, no, it’s perfect.

Congratulations on your first leg, especially your first show being Here in for New Year’s and headlining.

I really wanted to do it and like Out of the box.

It’s the best thing Yeah, we love the people like I feel they’re all everyone people all the time Like I wanted something really special and this was like, I mean we like brought the lights in Yeah brought the sound in we brought like we brought the couch in like Yeah, the space is huge to and like it’s an amazing like canvas Yeah, it’s a kind of play out like I really just wanted to like play off of what was already here.

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