Episode 3 - Zoe Levert

Zoe Levert talks about influences including Taylor Swift, Lizzie McAlpine and Noah Kahan. We discuss her growing up years in Louisiana and her time spent on Season 25 of NBC's The Voice. Amidst the conversation topics we discuss things including our favorite Noah Kahan songs, break up songs, Jesus the carpenter (not a random/mystery carpenter) and Ryan, her hubby. Oh, and Jonathan Mason!! Thank you Zoe for a great discussion! Recorded at the By Design Music offices in Franklin, TN. Good folks!!

Zoe can be found many times as a part of the worship team on any given Sunday at The Bridge Church in Spring Hill, TN. There is a link to a recent service with Zoe singing at the bottom...

The 10. (In no particular order, Just listen to them all!)

1.   Zoe Levert

   2.   Olivia Farabaugh

   3.  Alex Jude

  4.   Hunter Plake

  5.    Fielder (featuring Skye Peterson & Addison Agen) 

  6.    Cross Gray

  7.    River And Rail

  8.    Joseph O'Brien

  9.   Grace Graber

 10.   The Arcadian Wild

Dear Carpenter

Custody

Sharing Jesus With An Ex

The Bridge Church

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587050692684&sk=photos

https://www.instagram.com/therestthepodcast?igsh=MWN2d2JlZzA4aWduNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:12

The rest of the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

It is episode three. We are still in the infant stage, but I think before long we'll be the wobbly toddler. I am Jim, and this time around I chatted with Louisiana girl Zoe LeVere. She's now a Nashville resident, and just kicking off her recording career with the newly created by Design Music there in Franklin. Might know Zoe's name from season 25 of NBC's The Voice. She's now focusing on crafting songs that tell stories from the unique Zoe LeVere angle, and I am a fan. She has a great sense of humor, and we had a ton of fun talking, and I'm glad you are here to listen in on the conversation. So let's get going. This is the rest, the podcast. Hi Zoe.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Hey.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Thanks for talking to me. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

I look forward to the conversation. I thought a good place to start would be way back.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Like growing up.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Where where'd you grow up?

SPEAKER_01 1:20

So that's a loaded question for me. I so I'm a ministry kid. Both my parents are pastors, and we moved around quite a bit growing up, but I always claim Louisiana as my home.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

And so I spent most of my childhood living right outside of New Orleans. It's where I learned to play music. It's very special to me. So I always say New Orleans.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

So the bulk of the years of life or the that made the biggest impression on you, I would say, maybe what would this but have been like high school years, middle school years, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, just like teenage years growing up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

So outside of New Orleans. Okay. And let's talk about where you decided that you had a love for music. How far back does that go?

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Yeah, so I started to learn how to play music when we were living in New Orleans. Um we moved there when I was around 10 or 11. And I just kind of started to pick up piano. I grew up in the church and of course I was surrounded by music. My parents are musicians. Um I so I watched them lead worship my whole life, and my sisters and I loved to sing together. And so I don't know, I was I was always around it and I always loved it. I um I used to, you know, find little Pandora playlists on our like family laptop and just like listen to as much music as I could. And it wasn't until I started doing jazz band and theater and getting more involved in performing alongside leading worship that I really started to realize how much how much I loved it.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Okay. So the process of creating music as in writing music, how when did that start for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Yeah. So I I would say I've always been writing just little songs here and there. Like I think like age seven or so. Like I was writing and creating. Now, were those songs very good? That's another, you know, that's a separate question.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

I was gonna ask you to I was gonna ask you to sing one right now. No, I'm joking.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

I'm more maybe next time.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

I won't I won't I won't make you do that, but but that that's I mean I love hearing that. I love hearing it's funny because I think there's there's a few artists you can go back and you can literally follow them through their entire life. You know the band Nickel Creek? Well, they've been playing together literally since they were kids. And so you you can go back and you can't and they still uh play together. You can go back and you can yeah, either watch YouTube or find recordings of them. I mean, they actually recorded projects back when they were very young. And I wonder I wonder how they feel about that stuff still being out there as as you know grown adults. Um it's must be kind of an interesting feeling to go.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Yeah. I definitely have moments like that because I when I was in high school, I was I was posting a lot online, and it would be songs that I'd written or just covers like a Taylor Swift song or a worship song, whatever it may be.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

And the first time I ever went viral online, I was 16 and I did a rewrite of The Bridge of Oceans, like the worship song.

SPEAKER_03 4:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

And obviously, you know, that was very sweet and special at the time, and it reached a lot of people. But every now and then I look back at these old videos and I'm like, I wish some of these weren't on the internet forever, but I you know, it's all part of the journey.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

It is, it's it's it is, it's all part of the journey. Listen to me talking like I know what it's like. I've never written a song or been around if you've got a lot of fun. I've never sung a song and put it on YouTube in my entire life. That wouldn't go very well. First of all, that would that would be bad.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Maybe that needs to happen.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Oh, you know, if if we wanted to maybe break the internet in a bad way, I mean, not like not like a good way. Um the next thing I'll ask you then is the influences, influences uh along the way. Back in those days, it was who Taylor Swift and who else?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Uh I think most people and most women in general have uh a favorite Taylor Swift song or Taylor Swift album. And so she's definitely on that list for me. Yeah. I think one of the first CDs that I ever got with my like allowance money as a as a kid was her debut album. So she's definitely um a huge part of you know the influences that I love.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Um, I mean, you know, worship-wise, like I grew up listening to Carrie Job, um, elevation stuff. I've always loved that. I but also I loved like Jars of Clay and Cademan's Call and um stuff that's a little like folkier or left of center, I've always really enjoyed, which I think you can see in my writing as well. Um, but then just teenage years, I mean Lizzie McAlpine, uh, she is one of my favorite artists to this day, and I started listening to her in high school. Um Noah Khan has been a huge influence for me, Gracie Abrams.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

There's a there's a line running through all those. I mean every one of them, all the way back all the way back to Taylor Swift. Yeah. There's a line running through those. So that makes sense when when somebody listens to your music, that that makes sense, at least it makes sense to me. So when did you start really performing? I know you said that in school you were in jazz band, yeah. What did you play in jazz band? I played piano jazz band, yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Um I was in sixth grade when I joined my school's jazz band, and I was just exposed to a great music program because we were right outside of New Orleans, and we would have these just jazz musicians come in and work with students just because they wanted to. And so I was learning from people that performed for a living.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

And obviously that's a huge inspiration and to be around that. But I also joined choir around that age, so I guess 11 or 12. Yeah. Um, and then I started playing on my church's worship team. I would play piano, and then at some point I started leading worship, I think maybe like seventh or eighth grade, and so that's I guess middle school years. That's pretty big.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

I mean, that's pretty young to be leading worship, I think. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

I I was grateful that I feel like there were a lot of adults in my life, you know, one of them being my dad, um, and then these teachers at school, and then um the worship leaders at my church. I think there were people that noticed that I had an interest in music and just wanted to make space for me really young. And I I learned a lot, and I was um I was mentored by people that are really good. So that's all you can ask for.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

The voice is a big thing in your life, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Yeah, I think you'd say that.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Definitely. Where how old were you when that whole process started?

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah, so when I first got to college, so 18, 19, okay. I after like COVID and everything, they switched all of their auditioning to an online process and just kind of kept it that way. So it's actually really accessible to anybody who's interested. Um, and I sent in my little video. You do you have like a little audition window, you sing like 90 seconds, and then somebody, you know, listens to that and lets you know. There's a few rounds of auditioning, as we know. And um, I remember when I was like 19, I got like a producer call back and then didn't make it. And then a year later they had reached back out to me and they were like, Hey, we remember your audition. Would you want to do a producer audition? Which just means like you're past like the first round of auditions. Okay. And I remember I got cast on the show, which was super cool. And then, like a few months before filming, I actually got cut before it started. So it was like two different times I had um sought to do this thing, and then you know it didn't work out. And I remember the casting producer had said to me, like, we'll probably call you back for another season, and I was just like, whatever. And then like six months after that, they called me back, and I was like, I'm not getting my hopes up this time. Like, I have no idea if this is happening. And sure enough, um, it it happened that time, and so we filmed it when I was 20, then you know, there's pre-taped rounds, and then there's the live shows, and then we filmed the live shows when I was 21.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Okay. So you were on you're on the table to be a part for three different times?

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah. Wow. So about two years.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Okay. I I mean the easiest question would be what was that like? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

I first of all I love talking about the voice. It was such a it was such a special experience, and it's opened a lot of doors for me. And so I I am really grateful for that season. I mean, it was incredible, it was incredibly amazing and incredibly stressful at the same time, you know, other than church music and stuff I'd done at school, I'd never really performed before. Okay. And most of the people that were cast, especially on my season, because it was the 25th, were already musicians. They had managers, they had teams. Obviously, everybody's unsigned if you're on the show, but still have have got some reps in, have done some shows. And I felt, and I was one of the I was on the younger side in the cast. So I was definitely intimidated going in. They bring a hundred of us out to California, and you know, everybody, you make it onto the show, but then there's a little bit more casting that goes into it, and there's screen testing, and there's all these things. And I just remember there was this moment, I'm like in my hotel room, and I was like, I've got to get good at this, or I'm going home. Like, I just wanted it so bad. And I also didn't want to go back to school. I was like, I want to pursue music. Like, I don't I don't want to be in class right now.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

And so I would sit in my hotel room and I would watch YouTube videos of like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, all of these like pop stars. And I would just watch and study what are they doing that's so captivating? Like how are they delivering the story through their body language, through the through the lyrics, through all of it? And and then what can I do that feels like me? Because I'm I'm not so much going to be up there dancing on stage, but what can I do to to be captivating in the way that Taylor Swift is? And so it was like a crash course on performing and on music industry and working with a band, and I learned a ton and made some amazing friends, and it was great.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

How how much of that did they help you through the process with? Because you mentioned other people had managers and you so it's just me. It's just Zoe sitting in a in a hotel room.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

It's just me out there, you know, making all your decisions. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Really, really.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Yeah. You know, there's a lot of camaraderie within the cast.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

I was surprised by that. I expected it to be super cutthroat. And of course, there's always some of that energy, but for the most part, um, like there's one contestant, her name is Karen. She also lives in Louisiana, or she's from Louisiana, she lives out here. And um she would just, you know, talk me through things that she does on stage. And then I have a friend named Olivia who has booked so many shows. Like she is just so prominent in her local scene and would talk me through what she knows. And and then the voice team as well. They they knew who I was going into it, and so they knew that um I was gonna need some coaching. And so outside of your celebrity coach, there's band leaders and there's vocal coaching, there's choreographers, there are people there to help you. Um, because they're not trying to set you up to fail, like they want everybody here to learn and to do a good job, and so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Worship songs are a step ahead of where I am. The situation's not in solves, and this problem's not in proverbs. But if this book has taught me one thing, I won't feel this way forever.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Did you come away from that entire experience feeling like you were better at live performance, you know, the the the importance of people around you to help you be successful, those kinds of things?

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Totally. I definitely I think what I most took away from that was the live performance skills because what's so what's interesting about the voice is it's you get one song and then you're either going to the next round or you're not. So at the very least, like if I'm doing a show, like I've got like an hour to win people over, but for this, it's you do one song and it's not even your own. So I you have to just be that captivating. Like you have to be excellent and you have to be interesting on stage. And so I I think a lot of my live performance skills and just coming out of my shell, I think even before the voice, I was very socially anxious. Yeah, but every part of it, the interviewing, um, filming B-roll and just walking around the room with a guitar while 30 people watch you do it, like so much of that was anxiety-inducing, but it just felt like this massive exposure therapy, and it was really good for me to break out of my shell in that way.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Yeah, sometimes the best way to get past something like that is just do it.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Just do it. Yeah. I didn't want to go home.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

That experience was in tw what year was that?

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Um, it aired my season aired spring 2024.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

When were you done with the voice?

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Yeah, so my season ended around May. I made it to the first round of the live shows, so I was done like first or second week of May. Okay. And so yeah, then I moved home.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

And then it was back home.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Yeah, I I I had just gotten married the January before that May. And I was in a tiny apartment in Denham Springs, Louisiana, working in my parents own an ice cream shop. I was working in their ice cream shop and trying to build a music career. Yeah. Trying to start from the ground up.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

We're gonna jump ahead. So I'm glad we talked about that. But and and the next questions, the next few questions are obviously let's talk about where you are now and how you got. Was the idea to move to Nashville an anyway thing, or was connecting with by design your your label, was that the thing that got you here?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

You know, I I have always loved Nashville. I remember when I graduated high school, I did my senior trip with my mom to Nashville because I just I wanted to go. I wanted to see what it was like. So it was always a dream, but in a lot of ways it wasn't realistic at all for a long time. Um, so I would do what a lot of artists and songwriters do. I would uh come out here and write songs and meet people. The first person I connected with was Jonathan Mason at Curb, and he was the first person that set me up in rights. He's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

We go to a Bible study together.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Oh, that's cool. We go to the same church too.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

And so Jonathan's one of the best human beings in the world.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

She's awesome. I've actually heard nothing but good things about him from other people too. But he was the first person that just set me up in rights and was like, here's what to expect. Yeah, go and do. And so every four to six weeks, I would come out here with like traces of a plan, like barely anything, and just looking for a reason to come back again. And I was I felt very welcomed with open arms, especially by the Christian songwriting community, to people just wanted to connect me with people that they thought were good to know. So someone would be like, you should write with this person when you get back, or meet this manager, or whatever it may be. And um on my that was like October 2024.

SPEAKER_03 16:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

And then around March 2025, yes, that's when I met by design. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

So yeah, because they've not been around this very long. I mean, they're they're they're new.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Well, they launched officially 2025. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

So Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Um I hope that's true. You should fact check that. Make sure.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

I will I I just know that they are and side note to listeners, they're they're very they're very nice people. We're sitting in their offices right now. They said come on down and and and do the interview. They let us in. Yeah. They said, Who's that weirdo out there?

SPEAKER_03 17:16

With the microphones.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Post the voice to now, do you get many opportunities to perform currently?

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Yeah, so since moving to Nashville, signing a deal, building out a team, I just signed with WME as well. So we're very much trying to book those things right now. That the talent agency conversation like just wrapped up. Okay. And so um, I haven't performed very much yet since living here, but um, we're booking some writers' rounds and trying to book some gigs for later in this year.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

That's cool. And I I I mean, I figured that was gonna be an answer. The answer was, yeah, we're working on that. Yeah. Oddly enough, this week we're we're recording at the end of a week. I've seen you twice this week. I saw you at church.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

And then uh Monday night at the the the showcase, the uh Jesus in a bar.

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

I want to ask you about writing. What do you write with other people? Have you had a chance to write with a lot of other people? Is that something new to you? Are they kind of is that a thing when you come to Nashville that they say, oh, you need to go into a room with these people? I think it'd be good for you.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

It's definitely a thing. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Yeah, it seems to be from the people that I know and have spoken with. People seem to like that process, but I don't I don't know. I might I'm wondering what you're you know.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Up to this point, you wrote your own music and that was your music, and you performed it, or you whatever.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Co-writing is a new thing for me.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Okay, that's uh maybe that's what I'm trying to ask you.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Yeah, that's okay. Yeah, there you go. This is what I'm gathering from the question.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

So Yeah, you got it right. I couldn't I couldn't seem to figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

That's okay. Um, co-writing is new. Um, I you know, I've learned a lot from co-writing. And it's it's very different. You know, I've I've written by myself my whole life. I still prioritize writing by myself because there's something special about I just love it so much. Like I just love to sit down and and sort through a concept, or it feels like problem solving to me. It's like, how can I land this hook perfectly? Or this line is really good, but how can I beat it? Like, I'm not the person that's like nobody listens to the second verse anyway. And like, no, every line in this song I have thought over and labored over. And um, so that's that component has always been there. Uh I've started writing songs seriously in like high school, and so, but I mean, co-writing is is something that's been available to me since working in Nashville and even more so since moving here. And um what I mean, what's cool about co-writing, it's it's just working with people that are better than you makes you better. And so um, I love getting to learn from people that have been writing for 10, 15 years longer than me. There's something really special about that, and I'm not gonna get that part of it on my own. And and also just to be able to, you know, if I come in with a concept, you have no idea what somebody else is gonna get from that. And so to get fresh perspective is just I think it makes songs better. And there are still some songs that I I can tell it's like I want to write this one start to finish alone. And my most recent song that I released is one that I wrote alone, but the two before that were from co-rights, and so I guess it just depends on what's gonna serve the song and and what I'm trying to say.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

And I'll ask you about the songs that are out there that folks can access now, uh, that people can go find on any of the streaming, go to YouTube and find them uh all kinds of ways.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

So hey, you're really easy to talk to, by the way. I wanted to tell you that. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Well, I'm glad you're not scared of me.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

No, like I was so like a side note, I was so nervous going into this, and really this is so chill.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Well, I'm glad to hear that because that's what I want it to be. Thank you for letting me know that. Makes me feel good.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

I want to ask you though, about Dear Carpenter. It's such a cleverly written song.

SPEAKER_03 21:14

Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

And I wanna I wonder, you that that was a song that you co-wrote with other people, but I mean, th was the bulk of that just you sitting down and and writing those lyrics?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Yeah, that that's an interesting one. I I remember it was a couple weeks after I moved to Nashville last summer, and I was just I I write on the floor for some reason. I don't know what it is. I just am always like on my living room floor or something. And I was sitting on the floor and I was just I was feeling like uh inspired by some music I'd been listening to that day, and I had written I think maybe first verse through first chorus.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Just in one sitting, and that was one that I rewrote a few different times. I remember on on social media we actually Released a voice memo of like the very first one. And it's it's quite a bit different than the one that came out. And um, but I just think it's cool to share the process. And so I had written about 50% of it by myself, and then I had a session on the calendar with um my Justin and Becca, and just from what I know about them, I was like, I feel like this would be good to bring to them just from what they do. And I sometimes when I'm writing a song, I'm like, I have a really good first half, but I have no idea where to go now. I'm really good at landing the hook, and then I'm like, well, what else do I say? And so that was one that I brought to them, and um they just breathed some new life into it. So we wrote that second half together.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Okay. Yeah, I mean, there's just there's just the the whole feel of that song is is very gentle.

SPEAKER_03 22:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

I think I think that's one way of putting it. Um tell me how you came up with the lyrics. Like what was were you just sitting there go thinking about Jesus? What were you what was going on? I mean, because obviously, uh I don't want to give it away, but I'm pretty sure the carpenter is Jesus. Yes. Okay, good. I got that part right.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Yes, it's not a mystery carpenter. Jesus is the carpenter. The mystery carpenter. Yeah, you know, I I love folk music so much. Like I I always tell people I do faith-based pop folk. And so um I will I shamelessly write Christian music and I also shamelessly write breakup songs. Like you're just gonna get both from me. And um, I think I was listening to a lot of Mumford stuff that day, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

And so there was a mood going on.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Yeah, I think there was a folk mood, maybe some Noah Con. I think I was just feeling because I always say to people, like, if Dear Carpenter, if I sang it with an accent, it would probably be a country song because I think it's structured in the way that country songs are, just the storytelling aspect.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

They are.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Oh, I love writing with country writers for that reason, because the ability to tell a story and even say something very simply, it's still very intentional. And because sometimes, you know, especially a faith concept, I I just wanted it to feel approachable. Like I wanted to lead with my own vulnerability and my own conversation with Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Which it is a very approachable song.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Good. I'm glad.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

I mean, it's just like so if you want to talk about a song that invites people into faith, that's very much just so well made to invite somebody in.

SPEAKER_01 24:20

Thank you. Yes, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Dear Carpenter, I am not doing all right. I've got some new bruises, and I can't count them all. You're looking well, can't say the same for myself. I'm sorry to party. I just needed to talk. You smiled at me because I didn't even need to ask.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Total love turn, which what's your favorite Noah Khan song?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Ooh. Okay. I think my favorite is Come O from the Stick Season album.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Um, I think that song is so well written and beautiful, and then maybe Growing Sideways is my second.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

But Main is really good too. Main's not on the Stick Season album. And that's the song that introduced me to him, so that one's special for me.

SPEAKER_00 25:23

Yeah. Do you know Orange Juice?

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Yes. It's so good.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Orange juice is my favorite song. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

It's just a good story.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Oh my word, what a story. Yeah. I think somebody's running a vacuum.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

Somebody is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

They're cleaning here.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

I don't think they'll be able to hear it. That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

They're cleaning here by design, which is a good song. Yeah, it's good. They cleaned it, they clean the place. Good job, guys. So we like that. Um okay. Your first song. It is called Custody. Where'd you dream that one of?

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Yeah. Honestly, I think I was just watching Gilmore Girls and there was like a breakup happening. A little bit. Um, but I mean, like, obviously, like I have gone through breakups before. I'm married now, so I'm not currently going through that.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

But um He's a nice guy, so I'm glad to hear that.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

He's a great guy. Ideally, we're not gonna go through a breakup. Um, you know, fingers crossed. But you know, I didn't get to release music when I was going through a breakup though, and when those songs were really raw. And so I I'm trying to honor all of the things that I've been through by pulling from those past seasons and kind of rewriting some of those songs. And so custody is also about going through a breakup with a guy that we lived in the same town, and I saw him in everything. And I think girls, not just girls, but obviously I'm writing from a female perspective, but I think girls my age know what that feels like. And so um custody, um, I don't even remember where that came from. I found it, I sat down to write and I saw the word custody in my notes app.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

The last song that you've released so far.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Sharing Jesus with an exharing title.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Here's another one of those breakup songs, um, which they're real, these things happen.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

What's cool about that song is you tell the story and it's it's just then it's kind of over.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

It's short and sweet. Uh, I think it's a minute 58. I also I like to write that way though, in general. I love to say as much as I can in the shortest amount of time. Like that's one of my favorite things to do. But yeah, yeah, I mean, that song, um, I so I wrote it kind of as a joke. I really like um certain elements of Sabrina Carpenter's songwriting. I like the humor of what she does, and I was like, what's my version of that within like a faith space? Like, what's my version of that cleverness? And so, you know, I remember going through a breakup with a guy that didn't treat me super well, and I had this thought of like, I feel like Jesus would be on my side about this, which is questionable, which is not totally fair because Jesus is for all of us, of course. But I had that thought, and I just, you know, I was like, if I've had that thought, I'm not the only one who has. And it's a complicated thought, and I honestly I felt a little guilty for having it.

SPEAKER_04 28:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

And the number one thing I want to encourage people to do when they're feeling these things, whether it's the anger or the guilt or all of it, just talk to Jesus about it. Jesus wants to hear about the boy problems or the first date you just had. Like, none of that is trivial to him. And so I wrote this song, and if you listen to it, you know, all the way through.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Um It's easy to do, it's only a minute and something minute 58, you see.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

You know, yes. Um, I get to a point where I say, like, we can share him. We can share Jesus if you need. I'm I'm not trying to be mean. Like, um, I'm also like very much calling myself like the selfish one in that song. Yeah but um just wanted to be honest, yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

And you know, the other thing I'll say is that you you definitely I hope people can figure out your pretty good sense of humor. Yeah. I hope so. That comes through. It comes through in in your lyrics. I appreciate those angles, those interesting angles, because I think that those make people I I hope people listen to it uh i in in a way as to you know kind of go, oh you know, I hope people listen to music that way. I realize not everybody does. It's background of what a lot of people not everyone's gonna love it. Yeah, but I but I I hope that people realize that it's there. Yeah, and if they want to really listen to it, maybe they'll pull some some pretty neat things out of it. So that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Yeah. Thank you for your time again.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Uh I've had a good time talking to you.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

And yeah, same.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

So what's up? Where were you going?

SPEAKER_01 29:30

What's up?

SPEAKER_00 29:31

What's going on what's going on over the next uh uh little bit of time for you?

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Yeah. So, you know, signing with Buy Design, I've released my first songs under them. Like I haven't released music other than within the context of this deal. I've just never had the opportunity to do so. So because of that, we're starting from the ground up. Yeah. Other than, you know, I've I've got a bit of traction online and because I've posted videos since I was a teenager, but you know, in my artist career in the streaming space, like we're starting from ground zero, which is really, really cool. So we are recording right now. I'm I'm writing still and just kind of releasing one song at a time and just um paying attention to what people gravitate towards. I'm wanting to honor the the followers that have been there since I was a teenager, and but I also want to honor the people that saw me on the voice and and honor the people that know me as a worship leader. And so we're trying to um authentically blend those worlds and be again shamelessly follower of Jesus, but also shamelessly like really likes breakup songs. And so um, yeah, we're just um I'm trying to book shows, trying to release songs and um learn as much as I can from the people around me.

SPEAKER_00 30:47

Is the idea somewhere along the way there will eventually be a project?

SPEAKER_01 30:52

I think so. I think, you know, I grew up like the end of the CD generation. And so like I'm an album person. Yeah, I'm an album listener. Yeah and like and so um, you know, I think my inclination is to eventually end up where this all ends up being an album, um, where it's just these are just pages out of my journal. I think that's how it all works together, too. I think I'm gonna have songs about Jesus and songs about my life on the same album because I think this is just about my life and Jesus is part of it, and everything else is part of it too. I have like hundreds of songs just like sitting there because I write so much.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

You sang uh going back to uh was it Monday night? Monday Monday night, downtown Nashville, Jesus in a bar, which I love the name of that. Yeah, you sang some really good songs on that. I was like, oh, I hope you're gonna record those.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Yes, we are recording as we speak. Very good.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Well, that's good to know. Write a song about your husband.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

I do. Very good. I have many. Okay, and those will be released as well.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Very good. Yeah, Zoe LeVere.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

You said my name right.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

And I'm still fighting for custody over all the things that you stole from me. And I'm still crying myself to sleep, thinking about what we used to be.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

So much fun talking to Zoe, and a big thank you to Elizabeth and Cam at Roundtable Management for helping set this all up, and Josh Bailey, Rod Riley, and the rest of the team at Buy Design Music for letting us hang out and talk. A reminder: if you haven't listened to episode one with River and Rail, or episode two with Alex Jude, you are missing out on some amazing folks. I'd love it if you would subscribe, and it would be beyond awesome if you would tell someone about the podcast. Working on so many future conversations and genuinely excited about every one of them, and I cannot wait for you to hear them. I have links to Zoe's music and a fresh list of 10 artists you need to listen to, including my next guest, who will be joining me on the mid to late April episode. It's gonna be good. I'm Jim. Thank you for taking the time to listen. God bless you, be nice. The rest.