Hello magical friends, espeically my magical patrons who make these interviews possible. Welcome to episode 77 of WZRD Radio! I’m your hostwitch Bess, and I’m so sorry this episode is late! It turns out they’re not joking—Hogwarts really does mess up muggle tech. But Slytherspouse managed some tricky tech surgery and we’re finally back.
Let’s get back in the groove, with Gyantess and “King’s Cross.”
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That was “Kings Cross” by Gyantess [lyrics].
Time to get to the good stuff; my conversation with Lara of The Weirdos Are Out!
Welcome to the show, Lara of the Weirdos Are Out!
Lara: Hi! Thank you for having me on <laugh>. I’m very excited. <laugh>.
This is gonna be a lot of fun.
Lara: Yes.
You’ve always been a very, like, big, enthusiastic and like outspoken voice in the community, so I’m really looking forward to hearing some of your thoughts and perspectives and history.
Lara: Oh, yay. Yay. Cool. Thanks. <laugh> I mean, yeah, I’m stoked.
Which if you’ll notice was the perfect segue into your history with wizard rock.
Lara: Mhm, that was beautiful. <laugh>
<laugh>
Um, yeah, my history with wizard rock, um, I actually, um, came to wizard rock very late. Like, I, uh, didn’t like, I, I heard like one song back in like 2007 when it was first, uh, premiering and stuff. But then I didn’t discover more wizard rock until I started making YouTube videos around like 2013 or so. Um, and so, and then like ended up in the same spaces as like, cuz I was also doing like some ukulele songs, so ended up in some spa— same spaces with like Lauren Fairweather and that’s how I kind of got my intro into wizard rock and stuff. And so that just like immediately drew me in cuz I was always such a huge Harry Potter fan. And so I was just like “oh my god, people are making songs about this. Incredible.” So, um, yeah, like, uh, I think my first… what’s funny is my very first song was me being angry at JK Rowling for saying that she actually thinks Hermione and Harry should have ended up together instead of Ron and Hermione. And I’m just like “um, no, you were incorrect and let me explain to you why through song.” Um, and so, uh, yeah, that was… and then just kind of like went from there as far as like, started writing more and performing and uploading videos more and songs and whatnot, and just started like making connections and, with people and, and the, the rest is history, I guess. <laugh>
2013 means you were just in time for one of the big, uh, ebbs of wizard rock as—
Lara: Yeah.
—the Alexes and, uh, Ministry of Magic. Did that enter your sphere at all? Did that affect your experience with the community in…
Lara: Not in a like, wizard rock specific sense? I was very big into YouTube and like all the YouTube stars and things like that. Like, um, I went to VidCon several times, uh, during that, uh, those couple years. Um, and so I experienced it from that side of things of more the YouTube community rather than—YouTube and VidCon community—rather than specifically in the wizard rock community. But it, it, it hit me in the way of just like “oh, this is disappointing to hear about people that I watch on YouTube.” But luckily other than that it just sort of like, was like “okay, well shifting attentions elsewhere and let’s go.” <laugh>
Well, that’s really lucky.
Lara: Yeah. Yeah.
Do you know what the, oh, you said that your first song was, uh, arguing with JKR—
Lara: Yeah.
—which feels very on brand.
Lara: Oh, absolutely. So it’s like, it’s like full circle at this point. <laugh>
I also know that you’ve been through a couple of band names.
Lara: Mhm.
You wanna talk about them and why the changes, why you chose them?
Lara: Yeah, so, uh, my original band name was, uh, Losing Lara, um, which came out of a little show that I did when I was in college. I worked at my college’s TV news station, and so we would have like, I had a running, uh, sort of series that was called ‘Losing Laura in Denver.’ And so I’d talk about different places in Denver and, and or different events that were coming up and stuff and would go like, go places, um, like the local theme park and film there and stuff and talk about stuff there. And so when I graduated from college, I graduated with a degree in film and production. Um, and so I, and unfortunately couldn’t find a job, and that’s right when I was getting into, um, YouTube as well. And so I was like “okay, well I’ll like just start making YouTube videos until I, you know, find a job and stuff.”
Like, try and, you know, like, uh, uh, uh, rationalize having like all this equipment and stuff for film and whatnot. <laugh> um, uh, and uh, so I was like “okay, well what should I call my YouTube channel?” And it just sort of naturally became, uh, carried over from Losing Laura. And so that was originally what it was, and I was like “well, we can do like a, I can do like a travel thing or whatever where I go different places.” And then quickly I realized that I don’t travel enough to have a travel channel. And so I started figuratively getting lost in things. Ie like, we’re getting ‘lost’ in this topic today. And for—I realized I just did air quotes on a podcast <laugh> so no one can actually see that. But yeah, getting ‘lost’ figuratively in different things. And then a lot of that became like “we’re getting lost in music today, so here’s a new song.”
Um, and so, uh, yeah, just continued being Losing Lara for a bit. And then, I don’t know, after a little while I just sort of like grew out of that feeling and grew out of making YouTube videos. Like I just wasn’t doing it as much anymore. Like, I did manage to find like full-time work and whatnot and just didn’t have time and energy to film and edit and stuff like that. And so I kind of got to the point where I was just like “I don’t think I’m Losing Lara anymore. I don’t think that fits who I am as a person, I don’t think it fits what I do now.” Um, and so let’s just sort of like changed that up and kind of fit a little bit more of, of me now. And, uh, so my new band, The Weirdos Are Out very much goes into, um, one my love for like all things, uh, spoopy and <laugh> and goth and Halloweeny and stuff.
Um, which, uh, so it’s a quote from Hocus Pocus where it’s like, you know “no, I don’t wanna go by myself. It’s a full moon. The weirdos are out!” <laugh> Which like, it’s funny because that line is like coming off as like “oh, the weirdos are bad,” but also like all the people that were considered weirdos, uh, who come out during a full full moon were also people who were just sort of ostracized by society anyway. And so I felt like I related to kind of the weirdos a bit more than <laugh> than, uh, other people. Like it was also, I got diagnosed as autistic a few years ago. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD since I was a like a kid and stuff. And so like, I’m definitely one of the weirdos <laugh>. So, um, yeah, took, took the name weirdo out and that’s what I’ve been repping for a little bit now.
I do love that name. It’s super evocative.
Lara: Thanks! <laugh> Feels right for wizard rock too. Like we’re, we’re definitely kind of, you know, we, we found a nice little pocket of community, um, where we all were maybe, maybe felt a little weird outside of it, but then found these people and we’re like “okay, yeah, these are where, these are where the weirdos are <laugh>. So I’m gonna, I’m gonna hang out with them.” <laugh>
Yep. “These are our weirdos!” That comes up a lot.
Lara: Exactly. Mhm. Yep. <laugh>.
So you’ve been, uh, mentioning some of the, the bigger names, like beforehand we were talking about going to conventions, meeting Melissa Anelli—
Lara: Mhm.
—being grouped together with Lauren Fairweather. And you’ve been in the scene for like a decade, which is wild.
Lara: Oh my god. Yeah. Oh, that, I didn’t realize that until you said that <laugh>. Yep. Yes, I have! <laugh>
So I bet you’ve got some great stories.
Lara: I mean, like, you very nicely sent me the questions beforehand and I was looking at that one and I’m just like, oh, like what “like specific stories do I have then?” I mean, just like… there’s, there’s almost like nothing that I can really think of, like, specific just because it’s like every, every space is so different within, within wizard rock and stuff, but then also like the same at the, at the same time. Um, so I, you know, just like… I think my favorite thing about like my favorite memories and stuff to come from, like the wizard rock scene and things like that are, uh, like, just sort of like going into these spaces and people immediately knowing your name and you immediately knowing their name because you already talk to them a lot online and stuff. And just sort of being able to skip that full first like awkward “I, what do I say?” like small talk sort of thing and just immediately just sort of like going in with conversation that you actually wanna talk about.
And so that’s one of my favorite things about wizard rock in general is just like, everyone is immediately like “oh, it’s you. I’m gonna talk to you and stuff.” And so it’s really nice, uh, to be able to kind of skip that. But one of my favorite stories I think is from when I was performing was from LeakyCon Denver last year. And, uh, I have a song about Molly and Arthur, um, that I really love, like a ship song. And so I always intro introduce it, like “this is a song about my favorite couple in the Harry Potter universe.” And one person yelled out like, “Drarry!” or another person yelled out, like, “Ginny and Luna!” And I was like “No, oh no, sorry. It’s, it’s canon.” And I just hear one person go “Oh.” <laugh> I was just like, I was just like “well, it’s about Molly and Arthur.” And then I just hear probably the same person go “Oh!” <laugh> Just like, like immediate disappointment with immediate approval. I was just like, that made me so happy. It was so funny. And it just, like, it was one of the best feedback sort of things that I got from an audience. <laugh>. It was super fun. <laugh>.
That’s incredible. I love that.
Lara: I mean, and I totally get it too. Like, I’m much more for the, the… I have songs about like Sirius and Lupin and stuff. I’m much more for like the gay noncanon, head canon ships, but Molly and Arthur holds a special place for me
That happens a lot. Like they, they’re not… I haven’t noticed, I mean in my area, corner of fandom that Molly and Arthur are particularly focused on, but wizard rock, especially like the, the queer wizard rock, which is sort of redundant mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, they just sort of have a special place in everyone’s heart.
Lara: Yeah. Well, and like specifically, I wrote that song for, um, back when Tumblr was still, you know, like popular. Uh, there was a whole group of Harry Potter role players and so they, like, they had their own sort of community just like wizard rock and stuff. And it was really fun. Like they would do collabs with each other and, and it was all through like gifs and stuff and it was just so much fun. And I had so much fun watching it. And they would do a lot either canon stuff or they would do headcanon stuff. And one of the headcanons was these two people did, um, a young Molly and Arthur story. And I just thought it was so cute and adorable that it just inspired this song immediately. Um, and so, and I know they did see it because they, like, I of course posted it on Tumblr and, and tagged them. And uh, the next day I woke up and they had like reblogged it and stuff and were just like “oh my god, it’s so sweet!” I was just like “cool, thanks. Glad you like it!” But yeah, it was, uh, like it’s so much fun to see where inspiration comes from, like, not only from original material but through other fan communities other than like wizard rock itself.
Speaking of, uh, original material, my patrons were curious.
Lara: Mhm?
As you, as you’ve said, you are sort of, uh, the, the queen of spook and my patrons are wondering if you were in charge of Halloween festivities, a la Lockhart and Valentine’s Day—
Lara: Mhm.
How would it look? What would you do?
Lara: I mean, yeah, I was looking at this question and I was just like “oh man, that would be very fun.” So for those that don’t know, my birthday is on Halloween <laugh>, so, uh, I actually probably would throw a giant party, but also I would probably throw it—also for people who don’t know, I am and so Halloween is gay Christmas, like <laugh> 100%—And so, like, I definitely think I would throw just like a giant costume party. People could come however they want and however they want to feel and be themselves that night. And I would make sure that like, it was super, super like open and accepting of anybody and stuff cuz you know, like some people lately might not feel super, uh, welcome at Hogwarts and stuff. Um, and so I would wanna make sure all my friends, all my trans friends, all my, uh, LGBTQ friends are <laugh> welcome and, and celebrated.
Like I would probably bring in some drag queens, um, and have a drag queen performance in the Great Hall and just like, you know, like go absolutely bonkers and stuff with that. Like, let’s change all the, all the house colors to some rainbows and whatnot, but also, of course still have the floating jack-o-lantern, like, uh, pumpkins. Basically my aesthetic, my aesthetic in life is Halloween and rainbows. Like that’s my entire wardrobe, my entire house, everything. So that’s kind of how I would decorate everything and just throw this huge party where everybody is welcome. Any anybody who didn’t feel like that couldn’t come <laugh>
Now historically, Halloween is also a a time of crisis.
Lara: Yes.
You know, chamber of secret, Sirius Black, troll in the dungeon. So what sort of like contingency plans would you have in place?
Lara: Oh man. Um, you know, um, honestly, probably what I would also do is I would hire Fred and George, um, or, or oh… <laugh>, the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, the Wizarding Wheezes company, um, you know, depending on when this took place, um, just to like set up a bunch of traps around the building just to make sure that nobody could mess up my very fun Halloween birthday party <laugh>.
That would definitely also add a little bit of spook for any, you know, students that were sneaking off.
Lara: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, lots of pranks and whatnot. Definitely the trick part of that. <laugh> If you get through the tricks, you can come to the treat, which is my birthday party <laugh>
What would the cake be like? I assume there’s cake.
Lara: Yes, of course. Um, so it’d be a chocolate raspberry cake because that is my favorite type of cake. But also I would probably have like vegan and gluten-free options for, um, other people as well. Um, but I think it would be… Well it would be bat themed because, uh, like of all the Halloween stuff, bats are like my thing. I am a bat. Um, my dog is a bat. Uh, she has giant bat ears and stuff, so like bats are my thing. So probably I would have like those little like folded bats, you know, like that you can put on your walls and they would just be like all around this like bluish purple, sort of like couple-tiered cake and stuff, but edible and so like the bats would be edible and stuff. And so that’s probably, uh, what it would, what it would look like. And actually, if we’re gonna put magic into this, the colors are probably really like moving and stuff. So it actually looks like a night sky. Well, it’s, um, and bats, the bats could probably like move around it too. <laugh>
You had me up until the bats were moving. I’m not sure I could eat a bat that was moving.
Lara: I mean, that’s fair.
I’d have to cut around those.
Lara: That’s fair. Once you probably, yeah, probably once you like cut it, like, once you start cutting into the cake, everything stops moving and then, you know, it’s not like…
It’s a good compromise.
Lara: Yeah. It’s not too uncomfortable. <laugh> The charm drops as soon as the knife comes out. <laugh>
Here’s our next music break! I think I see Into the Pensive and “Imperiused When I Left You.”
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That was “Imperiused When I Left You” by Into the Penseive [lyrics], “Come Out of the Toilet and Let’s Go To Bed” by Tom Riddle & Friends, Potterwatch with “The Beater Song” [lyrics], and Colours in the Cauldron singing “I’m a Ravenclaw (Gryffindor).”
So in the last, uh, couple of years, I know that you’ve branched out a lot with your, your fandom especially into—
Lara: Mhm.
Um, Our Flag Means Death.
Lara: Yeah!
Seen a lot of D&D stuff.
Lara: Mhm.
Was wrock your first, was Harry Potter your first fandom? Um, has your wizard rock background influenced and shaped your experiences with other fandoms?
Lara: Um, it, Harry Potter definitely was like one of my first big fandoms. Um, uh, my dad read me the books, uh, like up to book three, and then we started going to the midnight parties and I would read them all in one night. But also, like I I, I didn’t come into it so much as from my fandom point as much as other people. Like, I, I didn’t really like realize that fan fiction was a thing or anything like that. Um, so, but it was, I would say my first like big special interest, um, as far as like fun things or, or like books or movies or anything are concerned. And so, um… it, I I would say like, in fact I would, although I would even say like Halloween was really my first one, uh, special interest and then that sort of like bled into everything else.
So like, I don’t know if I would’ve liked Harry Potter so much or like been interested in Harry Potter as much if I wasn’t already a big Halloween kid. Uh, but with Harry Potter and kind of going into like, the community because like, yeah, like Star Trek was like really the first big fandom to like, start having like community meetups and things like that. But I feel like with Harry Potter, like it became so much more, and like it was not only available to adults to go like enjoy, um, fan based events and stuff, but really everybody. Um, and so because there was a little bit for everybody. Like Star Trek was, is pretty like adult centered, um, just in like their characters and things like that. And so, um, yeah, it definitely like going into wizard rock and Harry Potter and stuff, that definitely got me into more nerdy things and going to conventions and things like that and then wizard rock after that.
And, uh, so yeah, like going into these spaces and just being able to sort of like branch off with all my inter—other interests is really nice. Like, that’s one thing that I love that LeakyCon is doing now where like just, I mean, one because like Harry Potter is a little uncomfortable for a lot of people right now. And so I like that I can still go to this place that I love with people like, uh, where people that I love are there and be able to sort of branch off into a lot of different interests. Like Lord of the Rings definitely became a huge interest for me, um, to the point where now that there’s gonna be Lord of the Rings guests at LeakyCon, I was like “I should write some Lord of the Ring songs. I haven’t written any of those!” <laugh> And so, uh, so yeah, it’s like, it’s, it definitely like, now that I’m part of the wizard rock community and have written songs and stuff, it, it definitely has changed how I approach other fandoms now where I’m just like “huh, could I write a song about this? Could I write a song about this one? Could I write a song about this one?” And so it’s kind of nice to be able to branch out not only in my music, so it sort of reflects, uh, also my fandom interests.
I’ve also been noticing a, um, a throughfare of, of wizard rock having come from Harry and the Potters who were a very punk based band, that not only are we very DIY as a community—so many people have come in and told me how to make patches, how to do shirts, how they design their own buttons—
Lara: Mhm.
You know, recording on your phone in your bedroom… Uh, but it also has that strong like mutual aid and like sense of justice and rightness that comes from the punk community.
Lara: Mhm.
You know, Fandom Forward, uh… the, the Trans Wrock Comp, everything that, that the community does. Uh, have you, have you carried that as well?
Lara: Absolutely. Um, I, uh, I’ve definitely done a lot with Fandom Forward and, um—not as much as I would like to, but definitely, you know, always try and, uh, join in on their campaigns. Uh, like I went to Granger Leadership Academy a couple years ago. The thing that is so fun about Harry Potter is it really did teach a bunch of kids how to fight back against the system <laugh> and stuff, which is so ironic, but yeah, just like, it, it… it taught people not to hate it taught people that hating people, a group of people, just because of how they’re born is bad and not okay. And so that’s one thing I absolutely love about this community and stuff. Like, I especially feel like the wizard what, like, in fact, one of the reasons why I still feel comfortable engaging in the wizard rock community is cuz everyone here is just like “no, this like, what JK Rowling is doing is not okay and we’re gonna like, one, maybe celebrate the things that we do love, but also make sure that people know that we don’t approve of this and stuff.”
And so it makes it a really safe space for me, um, to be able to come into and talk to and know that everyone around me, even if we are singing about Harry Potter, I know that like, well, I might be cis I’m still very much part of the LGBT community and they don’t, you know, my, like, don’t hate me or don’t hate my friends and stuff. And so it’s, it’s really nice to have that, um, in our community and stuff. Like, I’m, I’m not gonna lie, there’s sometimes when I go into fandom spaces and I see people dressed in like Harry Potter stuff, I’m wary and stuff like it, it sucks because it used to be like I would see somebody in Hogwarts robes and I’d be like “they’re friend shaped” and uh, now it’s just kinda like “okay, but like where do you land on on these things?”
And so it’s nice to be able to have the wizard rock community, have LeakyCon community pretty much, uh, in general. Like there’s, it’s more, uh, uh, further reaching a little bit, but um, and then also like Fandom Forward and things where I can go and, you know, like still have, still celebrate something that was formative in my life, but know that just cuz it was formative doesn’t mean that we can’t talk about what’s wrong. Um, and so yeah, that’s definitely something that of course I’ve been bringing it to my music that, you know, that, like, Tonks and the Aurors bring into their music. Like so many people in the past few years have like, have brought in like Totally Knuts, um, and things like that and just been like, yeah “I’m still here, but not you.” <laugh>
My ringtone used to be Hedwig’s Theme.
Lara: Oh yeah.
And now it’s Tonks and the Aurors’ “Fandom Autonomous Zone.”
Lara: Yes. Amazing. Fantastic. Yeah.
That’s very much the energy shift as you’re saying.
Lara: Oh yeah. No, I very much feel like, like Harry Potter is so culturally saturated—and like so many people have said this—Harry Potter is so culturally saturated that it is hard to escape from it’s, it’s also if, especially if it’s formative for you, it is hard to escape that with it inside yourself and stuff. Like I, I am the person that I am today because I read the Harry Potter books when I was a kid, and I’m not gonna deny that and I’m not going to try and erase that. But also I know when it’s time to take a new road. Um, and so I’m very much a person where I’m like, if you wanna celebrate this thing you love, that’s great. Support independent creators. Give your money to people who are not going to give it to, like, people who are gonna hurt people and stuff. Like, you want, like you wanna celebrate this awesome. But like do it in a way that is smart <laugh>
So that sounded an awful lot like advice, which is another excellent segue.
Lara: Oh, yeah! <laugh>
Uh, what’s your best advice for newcomers? There’s a bit of, bit of a, an ebb in the community right now where people, you know, don’t wanna be connected with Harry Potter or ashamed of it.
Lara: Mhm.
For people who are still trying and, you know, willing to make the effort. What kind of advice do you have?
Lara: Yeah, um, well I think, like I said about kind of the wizard rock community in itself is that it is kind of branching out a little bit. So even like our wizard rock like Facebook group or something, I’m not on Discord a lot, only because, uh, it stresses out autistic brain and I get overstimulated <laugh>. Um, but, um, as at least on the Facebook group and stuff, you know, there’s so many rock—wizard rockers who are doing different fandoms right now, but then still staying within the wizard rock community. And so I think that’s maybe what, um, we are sort of evolving towards where we have this like, nerdy community that was maybe based in wizard rock and stuff, but it is more, it is a little bit different now. There’s a lot of different, a lot of different fandoms coming in and things like that simply because of the culture and sort of, um, environment of the last few years.
Um, and so I think best advice for newcomers coming in is like one, you know, there’s so many people who are just like ‘what do you need? Like, what equipment do you need? What do you,’ and I think really coming from a person who is autistic, I would say the best advice I can give is coming into this community knowing that there are so many different feelings here about wizard rock and about what has happened, that the best way to come in is just being very open, being very open to what people have to say to what feelings are going on and stuff. And just being open to hearing everybody, what everyone’s feeling. And if you wanna make specifically Harry Potter music, great, we are gonna listen to it and be there for you and support you and cheer you on and stuff. But also if you wanna come in and be like “well, I’m like, I liked, uh, other bands before, but I kind of wanna make music based on like Our Flag Mean Death.” Um, or like, I recently just watched The Owl House and I love it. And so now I’m obsessed <laugh>. Um, and so like say it’s on the top of my mind, so like, say you wanna make music for The Owl House, like bring it, it’s great and stuff, but like, just sort of like maybe recognize that this isn’t necessarily as much of a very like Harry Potter focused place anymore and stuff. Even if it is kind of like the roots from where we came from. <laugh>
I’ve been hearing that from a few people lately and as an exclusively wizard rock podcast that does pain me.
Lara: I mean, yes, fair. <laugh>
But you’re not wrong that, you know, branching out is exactly as supported in the community as—
Lara: Absolutely!
—sharing your feelings and experiences through the lens of a Weasley or a Malfoy.
Lara: Yeah, 100%. And like, yeah, I think a lot of people came into this like, or like I, the different ways people come into this have changed over the years. Like through, you know, very early on everybody was like a, you know, Neville and Longbottoms, Luna and uh, Luna and the Lovegoods and stuff. It was very perspective based and it kind of went on a little bit to not being as perspective based, but still Harry Potter. And now I feel like’s kind of getting into, we’re kind of a little bit of everything, which is even better. Like honestly like bring in the soup! It’s great. But I think maybe like, it’s good for people to recognize that this is, it’s a soup. It’s not like it, it’s just like any other community where you’re gonna find a whole bunch of different people with a whole bunch of different opinions. And as long as you are welcoming, accepting of everybody, then we’re gonna cheer you on.
You had a brief moment, uh, mentioning, uh, equipment and—
Lara: Oh!
—listeners will know, I do really like to get like a practical thing, like…
Lara: Mhm.
Voice exercises, recording advice, what you need for a performance, how, how to book things. Just something that might help someone who’s just starting out.
Lara: Yeah. Um, yeah, I mean I have the, you know, there’s of course the very general answer of like, just do it whatever you have, like, it’s fine, just do it! Which is very true and stuff. But also like, I feel like that’s not super specific and, and helpful. A lot of the times <laugh> it’s like, so a few like very like specific tips that I can give is like one, if you’re gonna record music, make sure that you have an enclosed space. Closets are great because there’s a whole bunch of clothes and they, uh, they help with acoustics and sound and everything. Um, when you do that, turn off your air conditioning, turn off your heat because it will get picked up. Um, <laugh> and if you have pets, take off their collars. <laugh> I didn’t realize this one until I was like maybe a couple years in and I was recording and I was like, what is that sound? Like, I didn’t use a jingling sound on this?”
And I realized it was because it was my cat jumping off the counter or something and I was just like “oh.” So yeah, uh, if you have pets and you know they’re gonna be running around while you’re recording, take off their collars unless you want ambient jingling noises, um, during that. Um, and also as far as booking and stuff, like just email people, just email people, uh, tell them your name, tell them the experience you have, send ’em an example of your music and just wait to see who will respond because somebody’s gonna wanna want somebody to perform at their event and it could be you.
That’s perfect. The collar thing made me laugh cuz there’s an old, old How Airplanes Fly song that I was listening to like with my headphones for the, for an episode,
Lara: Mhm.
And I realized you could hear his dog and his wife like in the background?
Lara: Mhm.
Which was such a fun Easter egg, but probably not what he intended.
Lara: Mhm. Yeah, no, I definitely have a couple songs where I just like kept something in cuz it sounded fun in the moment of the song or like… there’s a definitely a song I did where at the very end I think my dog was like acting up or something or whining or wanting some sort of attention and I just sort of turned around at the very end of recording and I just went “it’s okay baby.” And it ended up working really well with like, the tone of the song and so I just kept that in <laugh> and so I was just so like, it, it’s kind of interesting to see what little sounds, uh, pop up. Or also you could do it on purpose, such as on my last EP that I did for like the holiday, uh, EP that I did, um, Hogwarts Therapist and I did the, uh, parody of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and instead of going like Mrs Nor— Filch is outside, there’s Mrs. Norris or whatever. And so I recorded my cat meowing and put that in the song. So just depends like yeah. You, you can find sounds that you need everywhere. <laugh>
And now she’s a star.
Lara: Exactly. She’s super famous. I mean, she, she always thought she was, but now she really is. <laugh>
So we’ve covered a lot of the creations that you have made in the past, including the YouTube channel and some of your music and the holiday album. What is The Weirdos Are Out working on now?
Lara: Yeah, I… I don’t have anything specific, uh, at the moment and stuff. I think I’m much like this community and maybe the Harry Potter fandom in general. I’m trying to kind of figure out footing a little bit of like what I want to cover, what I want to do next and stuff. Um, and so I have a lot of ideas. Like I said, I maybe wanna write some Lord of the Rings music. I definitely wanna keep going on Our Flag Means Death, uh, and maybe seeing if I can, I, I have one song that I haven’t or… or two songs I have, I have a couple songs that I haven’t recorded yet for Our Flag Means Death and so I wanna put those out. And so I think I ended up making the EP like very abruptly last, um, November cuz right after LeakyCcon Denver I was like very inspired, you know, being around so many like other creatives and things like that.
It was just like “I have all these ideas in my head now and so let’s get ’em down.” So I have not been to a convention like that in a minute or been a part of a like super, um, creative like event like that in a little bit. And so I, um, am hoping like one LeakyCon uh, uh, Chicago, um, will help, uh, get those juices flowing a little bit. Um, but then also, you know, I wanna start gonna open mics a little bit so, you know, we’ll see, we’ll see kind of what comes up here and there. But, uh, yeah, I have a couple songs that definitely they need recorded, um, and uh, be put out there. Um, and we’ll see when I might have time to do that with my life being the way it is. But, uh, yeah, it a lot of, a lot of like different, uh, bubbles are kind of flying around right now and I just kinda gotta pick one and go with it. <laugh>
We haven’t mentioned it, but I have noticed that there is another creative outlet that you have been, uh, utilizing a lot, which is cross stitch.
Lara: Mhm.
Do you have anything going on with that right now?
Lara: I mean, I… Constantly. In fact, it’s probably the reason why I haven’t recorded music in a while, <laugh>. Cause that’s been a lot of my focus. Um, but yeah, like I’m constantly putting new patterns up on Etsy and whatnot and so, um, but, and that is also very branching in fandoms, whether it’s D&D or uh, Halloween stuff or I have a couple Harry Potter things on there. Yes, there is. Uh, my, uh, well the wizard rock one, if people want that, they might have to contact me just cuz I couldn’t afford to keep it on Etsy anymore because like, you know, just sales. But I, yes, I have a lot of stuff on there that uh, if people like doing fiber arts stuff, uh, they can check out BatStitchNerdy on <laugh> on Etsy.
The last music break has arrived, bringing “The End” by Infusion of Wormwood.
~*~
That was “The End” by Infusion of Wormwood, the Nifflers with “Made to be a Gryffindor,” and Weasley Sweaters singing “Your Home” [lyrics].
Thank you so much for talking with me today. I had a feeling this was gonna be a lot of fun and it really has been.
Lara: Yeah, it’s been so much fun. I’m so excited. It was so nice to like, I feel like we haven’t had a super lot of chance to talk like face-to-face just cuz like, you know, we live on different sides of the country. Yeah. And so it was very nice to be able to finally get to do that, which yes, for people because there is a podcast we’re like on video chat right now.
But we will be in the same place in a couple months.
Lara: Yes.
Which leads into my final question, which is where can WZRD listeners find you?
Lara: Yeah, so yeah, I will be at LeakyCon. Um, I, I don’t know about any sort of like performance if we’ll have Wizard Rock Cafe. I mean I’m sure we’ll have our like wizard rock filtering sort of circle, um, one night. But, um, they, you can at least come and like hang out and stuff like I was, I’m always good with making new friends. Um, and then, um, as far as like digitally, uh, yeah, you can find me. I am usually the wizard or—the wizards—The Weirdos Are Out <laugh>. Um, The Weirdos Are Out on most social media. I also have a link tree, so if you find me on one social media, you can find me on all of them <laugh>. But yeah, no, we’ll have a panel at LeakyCon <laugh>
Yes. So come and talk more about, uh, nerdy… I mean specifically fiber arts.
Lara: Yes.
But you know, in general just creating.
Lara: Yeah. Mhm, mhm. Being creative through like visual means.
Uh, and your band camp, is that just The Weirdos Are Out?
Lara: Yes. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It should just be the wizard. Uh, oh my god, I keep saying “the wizards.” I mean now I kind of like it. But anyway, TheWeirdosAreOut.bandcamp.com is where you can find all of my music.
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And now, here’s The Weirdos Are Out!
Lara: So this is my song, “Molly and Arthur.” We talked about it a little bit before and it’s just a very sweet song about two people falling in love. So I hope that you enjoy.
WZRD Radio Podcast 