by Liza Roberts
photograph by Nick Pironio
Rachel Hirsh, singer for the local power-pop band I Was Totally Destroying It, is excited to move back to Raleigh after a stint in Chapel Hill.“It’s a more vibrant place to be,” she says. “I feel more connected to everything there.” On April 23, Raleigh can welcome her back when Destroying It plays at Deep South the Bar. The 5-piece band will be playing some of the music that made it popular, plus new songs like Yours Truly. But Hirsh fans will have to wait to hear the music she’s been writing for a new project: a solo album she’ll record in May called Bruxes. The word, which refers to the involuntary grinding of teeth, points to something Hirsh wishes she didn’t do in her sleep, as well as her private creative output. “I have a lot of anxiety,” she admits. “I don’t really get out a whole lot, and I get kind of trapped in my head.” For the last two years, her music has been the same way. “I have all of these songs,” she says. “They exist, but no one knows about them.” Hirsh may be introspective, but she’s also funny. Before she sat down recently to have her Gibson Girl tattoo touched up, she gamely breezed through our monthly Snap Chat quiz.
Favorite N.C. musician
Nina Simone
Earliest musical influences
The Beatles, The Beach Boys
Current musical influences
Kate Bush, Kathleen Hanna
Lyrics I wish I’d written
“You make streets so straight that a compass does no good. The concrete has a weight, makes me feel like I should pack it up and follow it to the end.”- Milemarker
Lyrics I’m proud I wrote
“When we were young the world was not as grey, but it is getting dimmer every day, so instead I pretend me and them we are ghosts.”
Raleigh is great because
It’s full of people who genuinely want to see the city grow
Favorite Raleigh bar / cocktail
The Hemingway at Jose and Sons
Favorite Raleigh restaurant / favorite dish
Tinga Tacos at Fiction Kitchen
Coolest friend
My dog Indy
Secret weapon
A cynical sense of humor
Can’t resist
Dad jokes, bad puns
Always avoid
Family on social media
Secret hideout
The shower
Motto
“You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is ‘never try.’” – Homer Simpson
On my playlist
FML – Kanye West
Kill V. Maim – Grimes
Hungry – White Lung
Never without
Photos of my dog
Perfect day
Sleeping in. James Franco bringing me a latte from Videri. Speed reading and immediately comprehending Finnegans Wake. Paul Giamatti leaving me a voicemail. Hiking at Umstead with my dog. Time traveling.
Fatal flaw
Self-doubt
Party trick
Instantly ruining parties
In another life, I would
Be a forensic psychologist
If aliens had to describe me, they’d say
She really needs to calm down.
One wish
Worldwide rationality
One more
No really, I want a voicemail from Paul Giamatti.
Deep South The Bar
430 S. Dawson St.
Tickets
$5-$8; deepsouththebar.com
