Season 1 Episode 11
Ben Binversie:
Spring is here, birds are chirping, flowers are growing, and it might snow this weekend. But Grinnellians are back outside, and there's something in the air. Hog manure, perhaps, but also music.
[00:00:30] This is All Things Grinnell. I'm your host Ben Binversie. On this week's show, we'll talk to Ella Williams who graduated in December and set off touring around the world as her musical persona, Squirrel Flower. We'll also hear from a couple other Grinnell musicians while we're at it. This week show is coming up next after a word from Grinnell College. The information and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent the views of Grinnell College. [00:01:00] Ella Williams was born into a musical family, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. By the time she got to Grinnell, she had already released her first album but she chose not to study music academically at Grinnell.
Instead, she pursued a double major in studio art and gender, women's, and sexuality studies. Williams continued to play music though, and her songs show the influence of her time in Grinnell. She released another EP under her alias Squirrel Flower and one of her songs, conditions gained recognition [00:01:30] on NPR's All Songs Considered. I sat down to talk with Ella and reflect on her music and time in Grinnell, which was coming to an end when we talked back in the fall.
Ella Williams:
I came out of the womb basically singing, before-
Ben Binversie:
Some people would call it crying.
Ella Williams:
Fair.
Ben Binversie:
But your parents loved you so much they were like, "I like that beautiful voice."
Ella Williams:
I talked really early on and my mom has this hilarious story of my dad coming home from gigs because [00:02:00] he's a musician. Him coming home from gigs and me as an eight months old going, "Hi, Dad," putting my hand up and waving and I'm just so serious. Hi, dad.
Ben Binversie:
Hi, dad.
Ella Williams:
But even before that, I was a humming baby. And I think a big part of that was just how surrounded and saturated by music my whole life was. When my mom was pregnant with me, she was going to shows all the [00:02:30] time. And basically, I was just born into an incredibly musical family. My mom is not a musician, but she's always loved music. And that's how she and my dad sort of met. And my dad is a professional bass player, and his dad was an early musician and founded all of these early music groups.
Ben Binversie:
It's in the genes, for sure.
Ella Williams:
It's in the genes. And also I started singing [00:03:00] in a choir for the first time when I was in third grade. And that same year, I took piano lessons and just hated it.
Ben Binversie:
I agree.
Ella Williams:
I didn't want to practice, I didn't care about the music I was learning this. I also was taking violin lessons, which I stuck with a bit longer but also hated. It just felt like very confining. [00:03:30] And I loved singing classical choral music. But in terms of playing an instrument, I just wanted to play rock and roll. I listened to Zeppelin as an eight-year-old and wanted to shred.
Ben Binversie:
And you couldn't do that on the violin.
Ella Williams:
I couldn't do it on the violin or the piano at least the way that they were teaching me. At times, I definitely did like learn some rock songs on violin or I did a [00:04:00] little bit of jazz improvisation on violin when I was a kid. But definitely, wanted more out of it. So my dad got me like a tiny mini electric guitar for my birthday, I think for my like 9th or 10th birthday. And he started giving me lessons, and I didn't want to practice. I kind of dropped it. So [00:04:30] for a couple of years in there from age 10 to 14, my main thing was just singing in my choir. It was like a huge time commitment. And we toured every summer internationally and nationally. And I learned so much about music theory and music history.
And then I also was teaching myself a little more piano during that time and started a little bit to like write songs or like learn [00:05:00] songs, folk songs and pop songs on piano that I liked. But then it wasn't until my first year of high school that I picked up guitar in a serious way. And didn't take lessons, but I really just decided that I was going to teach myself all of my favorite songs. I started listening to a lot of folk music, like Joni Mitchell and a British songwriter named Laura Marling who's really amazing. And I basically just learned all of her songs, and [00:05:30] that's how I learned guitar. And a lot of her songs are in open tunings, really weird tuning configurations. So I basically learned guitar in a lot of weird tunings. So it took me a little while to then learn standard guitar playing.
But yeah, I started then writing my own songs more seriously and playing at open mics. And had shows around Boston, recorded an album when I was [00:06:00] 16 with just original music. I've listened to it before and been like super embarrassed by it. But recently, I've revisited it and been like sort of impressed. Definitely a little bit of cheesy songwriting, but-
Ben Binversie:
You were 16, give yourself-
Ella Williams:
I was 16-
Ben Binversie:
A little bit of slack.
Ella Williams:
And then started getting more into a little bit of like an edgy or scene, sort of ventured away from traditional folk [00:06:30] music. Picked up electric guitar again, started playing DIY shows in Boston and then came here. I basically wrote an album my first semester here because I was so sad and didn't want to be at college and was like, "What the hell am I doing here?" I didn't not like Grinnell, but I just didn't really know how to be. And I missed Boston a lot, [00:07:00] and I felt like my people were there. I wrote an album all about that and then took the spring semester off to record it. And then toured a little bit with those songs, and then came back here. And yeah, just kept doing it and made another album and toured more.
Ben Binversie:
Nice. When you've gone on tour, where has your music taken you? I know you've traveled quite a bit by plane.
Ella Williams:
Mostly around [00:07:30] the east coast. I have been like as far south as Nashville and Asheville, North Carolina playing shows. And as far west as Iowa really. And then like up to like Canada and Montreal, so sort of like big chunk of like the eastern part of the country.
Ben Binversie:
Do you enjoy the touring life?
Ella Williams:
I love it. I mean, I [00:08:00] feel like I can't really say that until I've been on a tour that's longer than a month because the longest I've been on the road is two weeks. And I do love it, but at the end of those two weeks I'm always so tired, so ready to go home and just have a normal life for a bit. But I really can't imagine myself doing anything else. I mean, I'm really touring [00:08:30] in like a serious way for the first time really or going not just around the east coast for the first time when I graduate. We'll see how that goes. I'm looking forward to it.
Ben Binversie:
Yeah. So here at Grinnell, you are a studio art and gender, women's, and sexuality study major, notably not music.
Ella Williams:
Notably not music.
Ben Binversie:
When you first came to Grinnell, did you plan to study music?
Ella Williams:
No.
Ben Binversie:
Did you plan to not study purposefully?
Ella Williams:
Yes. [00:09:00] Well, I had no idea what I wanted to do.
Ben Binversie:
As is the case with a lot of Grinnell students.
Ella Williams:
Yeah. I knew I didn't want to go to music school, I think I knew that I didn't want to be a music major just because I was afraid of it becoming a chore and sort of sucking the joy out of it.
Ben Binversie:
That [00:09:30] makes sense.
Ella Williams:
I don't know if that would've happened or not, but-
Ben Binversie:
It could have.
Ella Williams:
It could have, and I really wanted to be involved with music in a nonacademic way really. I mean, I've been in singers all four years, so that's like the closest to the music department I've really gotten. I haven't taken lessons, which I know I'll regret as soon as I graduate. It's like free lessons, it's such an amazing offering. [00:10:00] And then I sort of just gravitated towards studio art, and then had actually an independent major for a bit combining studio art and GWSS looking at feminist art history and feminist aesthetics. And then dropped that mostly because I didn't want to write a thesis. And then decided to just do GWSS and art double.
Ben Binversie:
Just, just do this.
Ella Williams:
Just [00:10:30] this. And it's been amazing, I want everybody to major in GWSS. I think it's the best major, it's so interdisciplinary. It's so flexible, and it just changes you. There's nothing like learning theory, there really isn't.
Ben Binversie:
How do both of those things, studio art and GWSS kind of fit in to your music and vice versa? How does your music fit into maybe the way that you think about both of those things?
Ella Williams:
[00:11:00] Yeah. I mean, I think both of those things for me are more than just learning an academic subject. Like in the studio art major and the GWSS says major, you're learning how to live your life in a way that feels good if that makes sense. Reading queer and feminist theory changes the way you [00:11:30] like view your life and, and your relationships with people. And similarly, being an artist and majoring in art, you are learning how to live possibly like an alternative lifestyle and basically communicate visually for a living. Both of those things have been super important to me [00:12:00] and ingrained in me. And because of that, I think it just automatically affects my music and my musical practice. And then with art, that's something that's been a little more challenging for me to figure out how my visual practice fits in with my musical practice because I've tried to combine the two, and it's really hard to. And I know that I'll continue to make art, specifically painting is really what I love to do.
Ben Binversie:
Mixing the visual with [00:12:30] your music. The music video for conditions, which we should mention was featured on All Songs Considered. I had heard you play beforehand, and I had heard your music. But when that song popped up on All Songs Considered, I was like, like that. I mean, I was excited. I bet that had to be exciting for you as well.
Ella Williams:
Really exciting, so exciting.
Ben Binversie:
The music video that you made for [00:13:00] that song conditions, you shot here at Grinnell and it's a really well produced video.
Ella Williams:
Helena who is currently a third year, she's abroad in Prague right now. She directed it and produced it and filmed it, and she's just an unbelievable filmmaker and editor.
Ben Binversie:
Tell me about how you chose to make that video here in Grinnell, and what went into that?
Ella Williams:
Well, I made it here because I was here.
Ben Binversie:
Easy.
Ella Williams:
[00:13:30] Yeah. We didn't have to pay for a space and we could just do it very low budget.
Ben Binversie:
Just use the racket ball courts and the bear.
Ella Williams:
Exactly. We also filmed in the, what's the running place called?
Ben Binversie:
The field house.
Ella Williams:
The field house, yes.
Ben Binversie:
The running place.
Ella Williams:
There are a couple different reasons we did such a sporty themed video. One of them is that I used to be a varsity athlete, and [00:14:00] actually I was going to be on the soccer team here at Grinnell. And just have really missed playing team sports since I've been here because I haven't been able to just because of time. And I've had too many concussions and just can't really do it in a realistic way anymore. So I wanted to sort of pay homage to that part of myself and my history. But also it's sort of a cheeky comparison [00:14:30] comparing love and relationships to a game of sports.
Ben Binversie:
Yeah. Lots of connections there. How did Squirrel Flower come about, and where did you come up with the name?
Ella Williams:
The name, I came up with it as a kid. I wrote a ton of poetry as a kid and little songs. And just made art. [00:15:00] It was sort of this weird alter ego name from my artistic self. When I recorded my first album as Squirrel Flower before I had thought of reusing the name, I knew I didn't want to use my name because it just seemed almost like too much of a promise or too much of like a commitment to make the music like super truthful to myself [00:15:30] and be authentic, whatever that even means. I wanted to use a moniker, just sort of give myself a little more freedom to experiment and then also like pursue other projects that come up.
Ben Binversie:
That makes sense. It's a good name.
Ella Williams:
Thank you.
Ben Binversie:
Do you find Grinnell to be an inspiring place to write music?
Ella Williams:
Yeah, I definitely do.
Ben Binversie:
No just when you're a first year and really sad? I mean, that counts too.
Ella Williams:
Over [00:16:00] the past four years, most of the songs I've written, I've written here and not other places I've been like in between school sessions. think part of that is the slow pace of life here. I know a lot of students move really, really fast and are really stressed. While I definitely experienced that a fair bit, [00:16:30] I don't know, I make a really, really conscious effort to make myself have time to be bored. I think boredom is the most important thing for the creative process, and it's an incredible privilege to be able to have time to be bored. And it's kind of crazy because all my friends and Nate, my little brother are always like, "Ella, we [00:17:00] never see you do homework." And I do my homework, I do most of my readings and do my homework. But somehow I find time to do nothing a lot of the time even though I work at Peace Tree 20 plus hours a week and do a bunch of other things.
Ben Binversie:
You're busy.
Ella Williams:
I'm busy but somehow also not. I really value my alone time. It's also I think [00:17:30] something about balancing like time with friends versus time alone and being like slightly introverted.
Ben Binversie:
Yeah. I mean, I think most artists are probably slower creatures because you're taking in what's around you, and that's the inspiration for what you do. So you have to be slower, you know what I mean? You can't go through your life stressed out about everything and let everything fly by a hundred miles an hour-
Ella Williams:
And I think I go through phases [00:18:00] like that. And when I am that way, I don't write.
Ben Binversie:
Are there any specific places that you go to in Grinnell to be bored or to slow down?
Ella Williams:
Well, my apartment. I've lived in the same apartment for like two years. Yeah, two full years now. So it's really become like my home, which is really nice. So that's a really, really important place for me. Yeah, [00:18:30] that's a good question. Whenever I'm able to, I love to bike or drive out. But I don't have a car and it's cold now, so I don't really do that anymore. But some of my most special memories and moments here have been when I'm just alone biking out into the fields and experiencing this very cliche pastoral piece, which is cliche but also very real.
Ben Binversie:
[00:19:00] I agree. I mean, a lot of my favorite parts of Grinnell are the people, but also the ability to have that like solitary, the first snow that comes, it just coats downtown. And when I'm the first person to put my footsteps on that snow-
Ella Williams:
It's just so nice.
Ben Binversie:
And there's no cars, it's just the roads.
Ella Williams:
Walking like home at night from my shifts at Peace Tree is always really nice [00:19:30] or like going on walks in general I think around town just being alone and moving. But I also just love, I love the people in the town of Grinnell, and I'm going to miss it a lot when I leave. More so than the college community, I think it's just that the community in the town. There's so many amazing musicians here, and the music community here is so supportive. And I think because it's not really good competitive, [00:20:00] a lot of people try really hard to make it a really inclusive community. And because of that, there's just better music that comes from here.
I just feel really grateful for the town of Grinnell for being such an amazing place to have a home for four and a half years and having such a tight music community at school. It's been really good.
Ben Binversie:
Yeah. Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me and look forward to hearing you one last time and then hopefully [00:20:30] go on to greener pastures and keep doing your thing.
Ella Williams:
Thank you.
Ben Binversie:
Get to keep on listening.
Ella Williams:
Thank you so much.
Ben Binversie:
Ella Williams graduated from Grinnell in December with a degree in studio art and gender, women's, and sexuality studies and big plans for her music career. Since graduating, she went on tour in Europe with Adrianne Lenker playing to sold out crowds all over the place. She's returned [00:21:00] state side and is working on finishing up a new record before she starts touring again this summer. If you want to see what she's up to, make sure to check out our website. squirrelflower.net. Check it out and see if she's playing somewhere near you. Some of the shows for this summer have been announced already including a gig at the 8035 Festival in Des Moines on July 12th. You can find links to her music as well as some pictures from her last concert here in Grinnell on our website, grinnell.edu/podcast.
[00:21:30] Continuing with them musical spirit, I want to share some music from another Grinnellian who has shaken things up on the musical scene. Will Bennett graduated from Grinnell in 2013, he's also from Grinnell born and raised, Grinnellian through and through. His band, Will Bennett & The Tells put out their debut album a few years ago, Wichita. That album captured the sound of Will moving away from Grinnell, their new album, All Your Favorite Songs marks the confidence sound of Bennett coming home. And also of note playing bass on [00:22:00] this album is another Grinnellian from the class of 2012. Ethan Kenvarg. The album comes out July 26th, but Will sent me some tracks and you can get a little sneak preview of the album here on the podcast. Here's what Will had to say about his new album.
Will Bennett:
If you listen to country music on the radio today, you'll hear a lot of illusions to small town rural America. You've got back roads tractors, hunting, fishing, et cetera. And while those cliches might be true for some people, they don't accurately reflect my own experience growing [00:22:30] up in Grinnell and attending Grinnell college. With All Your Favorite Songs, I wanted to create an album that was true to that experience.
Ben Binversie:
Written in the wake of an unexpected visit home after Will's father suffered a stroke. All Your Favorite Songs immerses the listener and the world of small town Iowa, the inevitable march to the town's dive bar, Rabbitt's. [00:23:00] The unending conflict between longing to leave, just looking. And rationalizing stain, linger on. [00:23:30] And ultimately why we come back, on All Your Favorite Songs.
[00:24:00] All Your Favorite Songs is a celebration of a forgotten slice of fly of our country, a love letter told through three minute bursts of country tinged rock and roll. And while their new album's heart is in rural Iowa, [00:24:30] the band has its sights set much wider. With All Your Favorite Songs. Will Bennett & The Tells are gearing up to hit the road once again returning these songs to the bar rooms and basements where their sound was forged. If you're around the Midwest, Will's got a few concerts coming up, Chicago on Wednesday May 8th, Cudahy, Wisconsin on the 9th, Minneapolis on the 10th, and Saturday May 11th in Des Moines at Vaudeville Mews. Check out their music and tickets for the show or find links on our website.
Will's biggest fan, his sister Kate works here at the [00:25:00] college in dining services and is also a huge pioneer baseball fan. So I wanted to give her a little shout out as well. I know she's as excited as anyone about Will's new album. Eager young high school students swarmed Grinnell last weekend, and they'll do so again next week for admitted student days. It's great to see all these awkward, [00:25:30] nervous, excited high schoolers coming to checkout out Grinnell even if it means the line for chicken parm at lunch is a little bit longer than usual. In honor of the occasion, and since we're playing Will's music anyway, I figured we should throw it back to a class. If you were around when Will was on campus, I'm sure you've heard this song.
[00:27:00] Spring is [00:27:30] in the air here in Grinnell. I don't want to jinx it, and I've heard there's snow in the forecast for this weekend. But I'm all aboard the spring train, and there's no turning back. In honor of the seasons changing, I wanted to play another song from Seth Hansen. We've had his music on the show before, but I like it so I'm bringing it back. Here's Spring from his album Not Too Deep.
[00:28:00] Speaking of spring, the spring issue of the Grinnell magazine is available now. If you didn't get a copy in the mail, check out the magazine online at magazine.grinnell.edu. There's a story on Grinnell grad, Marshall Poe from [00:28:30] the class of 1984 who was a podcast of his own, The New Books Network. Check out that story and a bunch more on the website. One last thing, I wanted to take a moment to welcome some student workers who have started to help me out with the podcast. I'd like to give a shout out to Gabriel Schubert and Alec Wood for their help with last week's care package story. As my other comrades begin to contribute, I will make sure to highlight their work as well.
And [00:29:00] with that, we'll wrap up this week's episode. Next [00:29:30] time we're going to talk to Gina Caison and Sebastian Braun, two scholars who work on issues surrounding indigenous communities. With Caison, we'll talk about misconceptions about native American identities in the US south about which she wrote her recent book, Red States: Indigeneity. Settler Colonialism, and Southern Studies. With Braun, we'll discuss the Bakken oil boom and the impact it's had on native and non-native communities and the environment especially at the Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota where he's been researching [00:30:00] since 2011.
[00:30:30] Music for today's show comes from Brett Newski, Podington Bear, Will Bennett, and Seth Hanson. If you'd like to contact the show, email us at podcast@grinnell.edu or check out the website, grinnell.edu/podcast for more information about the guests from today's show. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast whenever you listen. I'm [00:31:00] your host Ben Binversie. Stay weird Grinnellians.