I adore the music video for ‘shut up and kiss me!’. What was it like filming it?
tiger del flor: Thank you! It was so low budget haha. Partially intentionally since I did want it to really feel like a 90s grunge music video, so we shot it on VHS in a real sketchy pay-by-the-hour motel in Los Angeles. When we arrived in the morning, no rooms were available, so we sat in the parking lot eating McDonalds and as soon as one opened we grabbed it, but we were already behind schedule so we told the motel not to worry about cleaning it. I still can’t believe I got in that heart shaped bathtub haha. Luckily I didn’t get any weird rashes or anything after so I’d declare it a win!
Has your own music taste influenced the music you make?
tiger del flor: I’m constantly being inspired by the music I listen to, sonically but also in terms of fashion, art direction, and more. With “shut up and kiss me!” I drew a lot of inspiration from the Seattle grunge bands I grew up on: Hole, Nirvana, The Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, The Fastbacks, Flop. Lately I’ve been listening to a ton of 60s and 70s music: Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Turtles, Fleetwood Mac, so we’ll see what the next record turns out like!
How is the recording process going for your upcoming EP ‘see me in hell’?
tiger del flor: In a lot of ways ‘see me in hell’ was a lonely EP to make. I think of my Los Angeles experience in “eras” since I’ve moved around so much, I don’t think I’ve stayed in any one spot more than a month or two. There were the three separate “Venice Beach” eras, the “Culver City” era, and the “Hollywood” era which is when I wrote the bulk of ‘see me in hell.’ I was living in a tiny studio up by Thai Town and wrote most of those songs sitting on my bed late at night. The songs came from a place in my life when I felt really alone and the process of bringing them to life was really hard. Being a solo woman in the music industry is not easy. Especially in a city like Los Angeles, it’s easy at times to feel like you’re one person chasing an impossible dream in a cold city fighting your battles alone. But that makes it even more rewarding when things come together, and that’s so true for this record I feel like every record is an imperfect snapshot in time, almost like a film photograph. For me, this record is a snapshot of a really dark and lonely moment in my life but that makes it even more rewarding to see it come to life and resonate with people.
I see that you have gained a large following on both Instagram and TikTok. How do you think social media has changed the music industry?
tiger del flor: Social media has definitely changed the industry since you can go direct-to-fan now which I think is a wonderful thing. It can be stressful to feel like you always have to be online, but I think it’s beautiful that there are more ways than ever to connect directly to fans, since they’re what ultimately make this all worthwhile.
What skills do you think are crucial for a career in music?
tiger del flor: There are a lot, but I’ve always believed the most crucial skill is grit. You don’t just choose a career in music once, you have to choose it again and again and again every time you face a setback that punches you in the gut. It takes grit, it takes guts, and takes a level of believing in this dream so much that no matter how hard it gets, nothing could ever shake that resolution in you that this dream is meant for you. There have been countless times in my music career I doubted if I was good enough to make it, countless times things happened that were so heartbreaking I wanted to give up, but there was never a single time I ever seriously considered giving up. To me, that’s grit, and that will always be the most crucial skill for making it in this industry.
Do you have a favourite lyric from ‘shut up and kiss me!’?
tiger del flor: “I hate to think you’re thinking of me biting her lip, but we both know your girl can’t talk sh*t like this.”
You can listen to tiger del flor’s single ‘shut up and kiss me!’ here: