Interview by Darby Vandeveen

The self-described “rock and roll glitter princess” Maddy Wood explores a more vulnerable side of herself with her latest single, “If I Could Move.” Focusing on a deeply toxic and problematic relationship in which the protagonist wants to leave, but can’t seem to find the strength, Wood uses her writing prowess and powerful vocals to convey the emotional struggle as she decides whether to leave or stay. We got to sit down with Maddy Wood and discuss the beginnings of her song and what projects she has coming up.

What led you to start songwriting and your music career?

“I started playing music when I was really young. I was around 8 when I started playing guitar. The story that I always tell is when I was 8 and the Love Story music video by Taylor Swift was playing on Disney Channel and I was obsessed immediately. I remember going to the family computer and googling her, finding the Fearless album, and burning the CD. I then told my dad that I needed a guitar. I needed to be her. And so, my parents got me a kid’s guitar and I think I learned all the songs on that album. Then, I started writing music. I don't remember writing real songs yet though.”

Oh, that's awesome. The thing about your music is that your sound and voice are so powerful and unique. Are there any artists - like you just mentioned Taylor Swift - that you specifically took inspiration from in building your sound? 

“I feel like in the last two years, my song writing has developed and matured a lot and also my general artistic presence. I'm a massive Phoebe Bridgers fan and I think I take a lot of inspiration from her. I'm also huge fan of Stevie Nicks and the band HAIM too. I take inspiration from a lot of people. I think first and foremost I’m such a big fan of the people I admire and the musicians that I follow and I’m sure I subconsciously take pieces from all of those people. I’m also a huge Harry Styles fan too.”

Those are all fantastic artists, and I can definitely see little pieces of them in your songs. About “If I Could Move” more specifically, one of the first things I noticed in the song was the lyrics and how detailed and poignant they are. Did you write the song about a specific situation or more generally? 

“It’s weird - So the way that a lot of my songwriting happens is I write a song and sometimes it’s months later when I really fully realize what I’m talking about. I think that songwriting’s my main outlet of processing the things that I can't really understand and come to terms with. Often it helps me figure out what I'm feeling about a certain situation. I think with “If I Could Move,” I started out with the first lyric about a relationship that I had when I was in high school. But as the song kept going, I realized I was taking pieces from a lot of different experiences that all kind of had the same overarching theme. I definitely think it didn't all come from one person but it did come from multiple real situations.”

I was blown away like looking at the lyrics and you really cut down to the core of the situation.

“I find the lyrics to be the most important part of what I do. I think my songs are very lyric forward, and writing is the craft, so that's definitely my biggest focus. I think it’s the most important part of the songs that I listen to also.”

Yeah, I agree. There's also a bit of a shift from your first song to this one. The first one was more rock infused with the drums and the guitar and this one's more of a power ballad. Was it a conscious choice to have that little switch it the type of song you released?

“It wasn't intentional at all. “Too Old to Play Pretend” came out in 2020 and I recorded it the year before, but I wrote it in 2017. I love that song. I’ll always love that song and I’m very proud of that song. At my core, I’m a rock and roll girl, and I think that comes through in everything even when I'm writing more folk or singer/songwriter style music. In the years between “Too Old to Play Pretend” and “If I Could Move,” I grew a lot as a person. As a musician, I feel like I acquired a lot more range in my songwriting and then I went through a lot of emotional growth. There's a lot of different things I discovered that informed the way that I make music and I think that shift kind of just happened organically but yeah, I still think both of those songs are me, but “If I Could Move” is more the direction of how I've evolved. I think you'll see that in my newer stuff, that's not out yet too.”

I definitely liked the juxtaposition of the two. Having the rock song and then a ballad showed that you have incredible range. What's one thing you want people to take away from listening to “If I Could Move?” 

“The most amazing thing for me with this song is seeing how much it's resonated with people and even with people that I don't know. I hope people can take away anything from it that makes them feel something, or makes them feel seen or understood. If they can see anything important or themselves in there, that's really important to me.”

It's almost easy to connect to this song in a way even if you haven't experienced that exact scenario. Normally, the more personal a song is to an artist, the more people can just relate to it in some way, shape, or form.

“That’s something I learned about songwriting from Phoebe Bridgers. She writes incredibly specific details into the song but those ones hit so hard. I don't know exactly what it is but it feels so much more real and you can think of your own version of that detail. I'm really huge on honest songwriting. And I think that's why I used to be scared to include details. Cause what if people know what I’m talking about? What if the people in my social circles figure it out? But then I thought that it’s kind of awesome if they do. The more vulnerable the work is for me, the more real it is and the better the song is because it’s 100% coming from me. There really is something to be said about this like incredibly detailed lyrics. And how hard they hit anyone listening to it.”

Absolutely! What’s something that people might not know about you just from talking to you or listening to your music?

“I am a banjo player. There’s not any of it in what I’ve released so far, but I’ve been playing banjo for the past 4 years. I’m in a banjo class in my college with my best friend which is super fun and I’m definitely going to incorporate that into some of my future stuff. Honestly, I’m pretty open so if you go find me online, I think I’m pretty obvious about everything.”

Why the banjo? Did something draw you to it?

“I don’t remember. When I was like 18, I really wanted one and I got an old $40 one for Christmas. I took it to college, learned there, and got good at it. I then asked for a really nice one for my 21st birthday.”

That's really cool! What's next for you as an artist? Are you looking to start playing shows or release more music?

“Now that live music seems to be safely back, I'm open to finding shows. I obviously like writing new music, and recording is really fun, but the live show is really my favorite part about being a musician. Right now, I play with a couple of my friends from school. I’ve also been recording an EP this summer which I’m hoping to release in the fall with 5 new songs. I’m recording it with some of my friends in NYC and in Saratoga Springs. I’m very excited for everyone to hear that! We also have a few side projects that go along with it.”

LISTEN TO “IF I COULD MOVE” ON ALL PLATFORMS NOW