Blessings From Katie Gavin

Going solo can be a risky endeavor, but for MUNA fans, the release of Katie Gavin’s album What a Relief has been received with nothing but open arms. Coming right off the success of her band’s third album and their subsequent touring, plus a stint opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and an extremely popular All Things Go performance, What a Relief’s folksy sound has been adamantly endorsed by MUNA bandmates Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin. While this means little rest for Gavin, she’s been making music for more than a decade and fully embraces the chaos.

“I’m an overthinker,” Gavin tells the Cut. It’s not something you would expect, considering the singer seems so natural onstage, often wearing sexy latex ensembles as she sensually bounces around. But it’s something you can feel in her solo work, allowing Gavin’s fans to reach her in a whole new way.

What did creating this album look like?

The oldest song that’s on this record was written seven years ago, and at that time, I had no idea that it would be on a solo record. It was just something that was written for MUNA throughout our three records that just didn’t fit the band quite right, but I still felt it was a strong song. And that amount of those songs just got bigger and bigger, and around 2020 some friends of mine encouraged me and I started arranging songs for what could be a solo record. When I signed to Phoebe Bridgers’s label, I showed her those, and she was into the idea of putting it out as a solo record, but she wanted me to work with her producer, Tony Berg.

How did you bring up the topic of releasing a solo album to your bandmates? 

They’ve known about it for a long time. They are the most supportive friends and people and I’m just really lucky. I found it a little scary to assert myself in that way, but they made it easy.

Have you rested at all? 

No. I’ve booked a trip to go to the mountains by myself the week after this comes out.

Where did the name What a Relief come from?

So What a Relief is a line in the song “Keep Walking,” and the larger lyrics in that song are “What a relief to know that some of this was my fault.” When I wrote that song, I found it to be very freeing to see my own role in relationships with conflict and the harm that was done in relationships, because it just gave me a sense of agency. But songwriting has a way of doing this; it’s ironic because, you know, this week is OCD Awareness week, and I tend to focus more on what I did wrong in conflict because it makes me feel more in control. But there was another part of it where I just thought it was kind of a funny phrase, and the gag for me was like, What a relief. I’m 31 and I’m putting out a debut full record. I’m glad I got in the door before it closed, right?

You’re always talking about tough topics, and your band has been open about showing support for different causes, including talking about Palestine on stage and online. Was that ever something you were worried about doing?  

When Naomi and I met in college, it was through our shared politics and activism. We were very outspoken about politics from the jump. We have a fan base that is receptive and supportive of that, and we are held to a very high standard, so there’s a lot of calling in and education that has happened, between us and our fans. Part of that has to just do with getting older. I’m not always going to get it right, but for me, it is important to have a political home. But there’s no way of knowing if it put a cap on MUNA’s platform. I see somebody like Chapell Roan, who’s speaking out about Palestine and her platform has become so massive overnight. I don’t think there’s necessarily a way to avoid backlash. Part of it has just been luck that we haven’t blown up overnight.

Do you feel like that’s something that you wouldn’t want? 

I don’t know. What we want is financial stability and good lives. We want very concrete things like to be able to take care of our people and give them the quality of life that they want.

Now for the Rules to Live By questions. What’s your No. 1 rule for giving advice? 

I ask people if they want feedback or support because not everybody wants advice. I can remember a time when we were asked to do a MUNA advice column type of thing. My response was very much “I would never presume to know what’s right for somebody else.” It scared me. I’m slow at giving anybody directives.

Do you have any pre-show rituals? 

I have a voice teacher named Jeffrey Allen, and he’s really silly. I put on a half an hour tape of warm-ups that he recorded for me and everyone in the band does them. Then I put on a playlist. It’s about getting into the body. The best pre-shows are when it feels like we’re just hanging out and able to be present with each other.

Do you think your pre-shows will look different when touring solo?

I haven’t thought about that. I probably should. I’ll still do some vocal warm-ups. It’s a different crew of people, but it’s a lot more chilled out, though, in my fantasy, it would be like a tea ceremony or something like that. I think that could work.

What’s your No. 1 fashion rule?

I don’t wear cool colors, like the season. I don’t wear blue.

Do you know what you are? 

I’m an autumn girl.

You did the color test? 

I just know in my heart.

What is inspiring your current outfits? Everyone was talking about your All Things Go look. 

With the solo project, it’s a lot closer to what I wear at home, which is kind of like Celtic Witch-core. A lot of maxi skirts, browns and greens. I have these Frye cowboy boots that my mom gave me that I wear every day and I’ve been doing a ton of baggy pants into the boots. Like puss-in-boots energy.

What is your No. 1 rule for being a queer pop star? 

Don’t assimilate.

What is the last app you downloaded on your phone? 

[Laughs] The Amex application to see how many credit cards I have. We have like three different cards for different MUNA businesses and we just opened another for the solo … so I just have to keep track of everything.

Do you have any phone rules around your phone use? 

I was using a lot of social media recently throughout the promo campaign for this record and hit a wall. Now, these were not necessarily self-imposed, but Naomi and Jo took TikTok and Instagram off my phone, and I’ve enjoyed it. After going through withdrawal.

What do you sign your emails with? 

It depends on who I’m talking to. A lot of times it’s just xx. Sometimes I say, “Blessings.”

Do you gossip? 

Oh my God. I am not a big proponent of gossip, but I do need to process things with my best friends. I’ve tried to make it a rule that if I’m talking about other people, I try to do it with somebody who’s outside of that circle. I have a lot of best friends from different sections of my life, like childhood best friends and college best friends, so I try to not shit stir, essentially, but I’m not perfect, and I love to get tea. Like, if someone has it, I do need to hear it.

What’s your No. 1 rule for meeting other famous people?

I try to be forthcoming, especially if it’s an artist and I like what they made, I’ll share that because that makes me feel good. Some people are famous because they are good at their craft, so I’ll tell people if I’m a fan. I’ve tried to learn to not be weird about it, but it’s hard. A few years ago, I saw Sabrina Carpenter at a Grammy party, and it was after she had just put out Emails I Can’t Send, and I just walked right up to her and was like, “I think this record is so good.”

This final one is random but I have to know. I love the shirt that says “MUNA made me gay,” and I’m curious: Has anyone ever said that MUNA actually did make them gay? 

I have a P.O. box. It’s not currently in my Instagram bio, but it was for a while, and most of the letters that I get are stories about somebody seeing MUNA and realizing that they’re queer. It’s kind of shocking how many there are.