1, 2, TEAM WITH JENN WASNER
On Flock of Dimes, Bon Iver, and Wye Oak’s Every Day Like the Last
smART MAGAZINE | DURHAM | ALT.ITUDE
JUL 04, 2023 | ISSUE 12
Jenn Wasner - Photo by Graham Tolbert
“The rub is that nothing activates our shit and pushes our buttons more than being in a relationship.” Jenn Wasner
Jenn Wasner - By Ella Mazur for smART Magazine
Jenn Wasner in Flock of Dimes - Photo by Shervin Lainez
1: FLOCK OF DIMES
IDEATION
sM | What was the creative space you were inhabiting around the time you created the Flock of Dimes project?
JW ─ Not only do I remember it, but I am in the thick of it once again. It’s so funny, I’ve been doing this for long enough that I’m starting to be humbled by how much having a creative practice is just forgetting and relearning things you thought you already knew.
I had never really experienced the freedom of being outside of Wye Oak and understand a little better who I am and what I have to say, so I felt this call to step outside of that. And in the process of making that first Flock of Dimes record, If You See Me Say Yes, I had a total fucking meltdown. That was the first time in my career that I felt like I learned a lesson that I’m learning again now.
Being alone, you have all this power, this autonomy, this freedom. But you forget, or I forgot, all of the support, assistance, and inspiration that comes from being in a relationship. There has to be space for you to be this separate autonomous artist, but to try and create in a vacuum forever and to try and hold the reins too tightly is doing your art and yourself a great disservice.