Red Bird is a wildly soulful band that communicates through powerful, vulnerable vocals and mind-bending guitar features. Bre Gregg (vocals) and guitarist, Dan Gildea have written songs and performed together for many years, which has melded them together musically and allowed them to share the lead on-stage in a way that is both powerful and organic. “Real” is the latest single of Red Bird leading up to their forthcoming album release. As much as groovy the track is, the lyrics pain the need of real, human connection, where often people today avoid their real feelings and create an online persona to mask their insecurities and fears.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Red Bird. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
I think my greatest strength as a musician is my ability to be really vulnerable with my voice. Singing is certainly about vocal tone, but it's even more about being present and communicating real, authentic emotions. It's scarier because you don't have a lot of emotional protection - you just feel it all while you sing and let it out. However, I feel like the audience relates more to that kind of authenticity and vulnerability. And for me, it's quite therapeutic!
In a non-musical sense, my ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward even while I am scared and insecure might be the most important.
What is your dream project?
Probably something with lots of vocal harmonies! As much as I love singing lead, harmony singing is pure magic to me. I like the kind of harmonies involving three lead singers - at the same volume where you can really experience their particular blend and how the character of their voices changes when they sing together.
Growing up, my dad (who was also a musician) taught me about singing harmony along to the radio everywhere we went. I was also in choirs for many years, singing alto, which is a rich experience for learning vocal harmonies. I LOVE them!
Your latest track is 'Real'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
"Real" came to me after a conversation with a friend, who was devastated by her relationship which was falling apart. Hours after that conversation, she posted something online that had pictures of them smiling and the accompanying message sounded like her life was perfect.
It makes me sad how hard we work (myself included) to convince people that we are doing great when actually we should be honest, so we can get support from people and so we all realize we aren't alone.
All our lives are hard (and beautiful and joyful), regardless of how perfect they appear. "Real" is about needing true human and in-the-flesh connection with each other. We all know this is true deep-down, but we really need to prioritize it - we need each other.
What makes you angry?
When a student comes into a lesson and has been told by somebody in their life that they "can't sing." This sticks with people forever, please don't ever say this to somebody!
Singing is one of the greatest joys and releases we have, and it's available to everyone. Singing is magic - it floods the body with happiness and stimulates the Vagus nerve which helps us feel more calm. Singing is therapy that everybody deserves!
What is the most surprising fact you've learnt about yourself?
That I am a great mom. I wasn't sure I wanted to have children and wasn't sure I would be very good at it. It's by far the hardest thing I have ever done and I work at it constantly, but I am a great mom!
What do you dislike about your work?
Dislike isn't even a strong enough word...I HATE the worries of whether enough people will come to our shows. It's quite difficult to focus on the musical aspects of your work if you are in the weeds of constantly trying to figure out how to market yourself. I truly hope some day, I can offload that part of the work!
What is one message you would give to your fans?
People are still so good! Turn off the news, put down your phone and say hello to somebody - make eye contact. You will see yourself in their eyes and remember that most people are just doing the best they can.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
I do actually think the artistic life can be very lonely, though my situation is a little different from most artists as I also teach vocal lessons, and have two young children. Lonely is definitely not how I would describe my life. :-)
I do feel, however, that I have to make most of my professional decisions alone. I would love the opportunity to work on a team of people. Before I delved into music so heavily, I worked in various non-profit organizations and I loved having mentors and regular evaluations to let me know I was on the right track.
Sometimes, it's tough to know whether you are going forward or backwards in music. More collaborators would feel really great, although then I would have to listen to others too, which has its own challenges. Ha!
What do you think is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen or experienced?
The time in the hospital after I gave birth, where my children were just figuring out how to be on this planet. It was very surreal and also the most real feeling I have ever experienced.
What are your plans for the future?
Red Bird is in the process of releasing our album, Live It All. We are releasing each track as a single, which will culminate to a full live album release at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland, Oregon on January 14th, 2023.
It will be available on all streaming platforms then, and after that, I have many shows dedicated to the work of an organization I helped start during the pandemic called She's Speaking, which creates platforms for women's artistry and voices to be heard.