Gatlin | Interview with Lyndsey Parker (LPTV)

Hey there, this is Lindseay Parker at Licorice Pizza Records for LPTV. It is the day after Thanksgiving. It's Record Store Day, Black Friday, and what better way to celebrate than by having you here to uh perform. This is Gatlin, and we are here to have you perform uh songs from your debut album, The Eldest Daughter.

Yeah. Thank you for having me. I'm excited.

Thank you for coming. I just want to make clear your record came out before the Taylor Swift song, Eldest Daughter. it. Well, I announced it. I announced it before.

Conspiracy theory.

Well, I just I'm like I'm in the clear.

I announced it before. But no, it came out on the same day.

Our album's dead.

Your album came out the same day as The Life of a Showgirl.

Yeah.

Oh, man. Were you bummed about that?

I think initially I I was like a shock,

I think, cuz what a crazy thing. Same day

and the fact that she had a song Well, that she had a song called Eldest Daughter on daughter. Um, so it was initially shocking, but then I was like, okay, it is what it is. That's your own.

Yeah. I'm like, I'm It's not like I'm really competing with Taylor Swift, so it's okay.

Well, you're in your own lane. Or maybe you might have picked up a few streams maybe from people who were looking for Eldest Daughter and stumbled upon your record, maybe.

Yeah. And I've just in the past had a song like re uh resonate with a lot of Swifties. So, and I like grew up like loving Taylor Swift and I've been to so many of her shows. So, I was like, it's kind of

What era? I would imagine Folklore Evermore would maybe be your era.

Those are my favorites for sure. But like growing up as a kid, I went to I don't think I went to Fearless, but I went to Red and Speak Now and Reputation. Like, I was going to the shows.

You were full on a Swifty. Did you have like the cardigan and all that?

Uh the branded merch? I I don't think I quite did that. I think but my priority was seeing the show for sure.

Well, let's talk about you growing up because that there is a significance. I'd love to know the significance of the title eldest daughter because I know you grew up in a conservative religious environment in Florida. I definitely want to ask you about Florida man because I love that title as well. But what's the significance of your history and your upbringing and then wanting to call this album The Eldest Daughter?

Yeah, I mean I think I was in this

process of kind of, you know, really doing a lot of healing with, you know, my family dynamic and really a lot of things were coming to light. And so naturally, I'm going to write about it. And uh everything I was writing about was just pointing towards like being an eldest daughter and all of the pressures that come along with that. And uh

I'm an eldest daughter, too, but only of two. So I'm like an elder daughter. What how many siblings do you have? I have two younger two younger siblings

like separation

2 and 1/2 years younger and then 5 years. So the 5-year one he like felt like my little baby for sure.

So what was the family dynamic in terms the pressures you felt as the eldest of three?

Yeah, I felt like a lot in a lot of ways like the truth teller, the like protector, um the another parent. Did you feel you had more expectations placed on you for your success, your achievements because you're the leader of the pack? Like you're the f when you're the eldest kid, you're the one that does everything first. You're like the first to graduate high school, first to go to prom, first steps.

You're the guinea pig.

Yes. You know, and by the time the later kids come around, at least in my case, like they're much harder on us. Like the kids, the parents have kind of been worn down by the eldest daughter. And then when you know the the later kids come around, they're like, "Yeah, no curfew for you or whatever. Whatever grade you get is fine." You're like, "Wait a minute."

Well, it is crazy the difference. I think also because a female and the baby is was um is a male. So I think like that the gender of it all also was Yeah.

There was a big difference. I wasn't allowed to have sleepovers or like you know what I was consuming in media was just like very strict versus baby. It was, you know, free reign.

But like you grew up in a pretty conservative religious home, right? Right. Um, and that is I'll I do want to get into specific songs on the record that address that, but like in general, like what were you revisiting or remembering or maybe even reinterpreting in your past when you were writing the lyrics for this album? I think it really started with uh my queerness and like figuring that out and then you know it was not only an issue with my family, my queerness, but then to talk about it publicly. Um, I think that's a very southern culture thing of it was almost more of a big deal when I decided I wanted to start talking about it, you know, and letting other people know because I think, yeah, that's a southern culture thing of like have this presentation of being perfect and everything is all put together and not wanting the judgment from other people.

So, it felt like I kind of had to just full send it and like go all the way there of being honest and being open publicly in my art and my songs. Yeah.

When did you come out? To your f I mean, not necessarily publicly, but to your family and friends.

When I was 19.

And how old are you now?

Now I'm 27.

Okay. So, well, it's been a while, but it was relatively re I mean, you know, some people come out when they're like 11 or something. It was a relatively later in life maybe before you.

Yeah. And it was it was bisexual. I came out as I guess oh I have a crush on this girl. But even at the time I was like but I'm not going to do anything about it cuz I was still in the church. And so it was yeah it was very interesting the way that I even presented it to my family and my community. It was like everyone start praying for me. I have feelings for a girl. Like I don't know.

So, it took me a really long time to process it and like be okay with it myself. And then I was still dating men. And so, I think for maybe my my family

would view it of I only came out maybe two years ago. Uh cuz that was when I was, you know, really dating.

Did they think it was a phase?

Yes.

And obviously wasn't a phase, Mom.

Wasn't a phase, Mom. Um, but in general, however long it took them, like did they accept it or, you know, are are they, especially when you started to sing about it, like what are where you stand with that now?

It's a process. I think they've come a long way um from, you know, when it

started and a lot of, you know, the song on my album, Love Me, is a song to my mom kind of right when I came out and she was saying extremely hurtful things. Um, but it has like come a long way since then and but I I still am struggling with it because I do think that there is a difference between tolerating something and celebrating something about someone. I like want this part of me to be celebrated.

I hate the term tolerance. I know you tolerate like someone being annoying next to you on a plane like oh this you know it's like basically you're you're you're dealing with it but you're not like cool with it necessarily. I don't like the word tolerance.

I don't either.

I don't either. We have that in common.

We have We're both eldest daughters. We have a lot in common. Um, how did your mother react to that song, Love Me? I assume she's heard it. I assume she knows it's about her.

Yeah. Yeah. I did, you know, show them all of the music before it came out. Um, and you know, I think it's a it's a hard thing that we've been having to navigate. Uh because for me it's just I'm this is my story too and I'm just trying to be honest and it's my way to process and I was like I'm not trying to hurt you through this. Um but I think it you know she did take it as like that's hard to hear you know. So

so we're talking about you mentioned this crush you had on a girl which was sort of your awakening and uh yeah so there's a song on I wonder if this is the song about it. It's called If She Was a Boy. Uh, not to be confused with Beyonce's If I Were a Boy. Just making sure people don't get your songs confused with other songs by other superstars. Uh, but yes. Is that Tell me about that song. Is this about your revelation that And I love the kind of title of it like, oh, basically if this was a boy, we'd be dating or we'd be together by now sort of thing.

Yeah. I mean, I wrote that, I guess, a year and a half ago, but from the perspective of 19-year-old me when I was in that place of everybody, I have feelings for a girl. Everyone start praying.

Did you really want to pray the gay way like the way Oh, man.

Yeah. Which is really I like truly believed that if I acted on that, I would go to hell. And so that it was a product of like the environment I grew up in and even was in. Like I was living in Nashville. I was at a Christian school um and surrounded by like other Christian kids and like deep in the church. So

which denomination?

Um I grew up Baptist and then we went to

um an evangelical Presbyterian church. So it was very much so like go spread the word of God. go like convert everyone.

Yeah.

But yeah, it was fear based. It was I didn't I didn't want anyone to go to hell. Um

I'm sorry I'm laughing about it.

I didn't want anyone.

No, like I mean this is this seems like it was traumatic and yet you seem very like untraumatized. I guess you're like laughing about it.

I think maybe that's just my way of uh coping with it. Uh and I've I've done a lot of work uh about all of this. I'm currently doing ketamine therapy.

Oh, okay.

It's uh, you know, really rocking my world.

Good to know.

Yeah.

Um, so this girl, I don't know if she if you ever acted upon your crushes or if she knows about it. I do believe I've read that you wrote about her in your diaries, and it was like your diaries, rediscovering your 19-year-old, I guess, diaries that maybe um,

spurred the song.

Spurred the song or maybe spurred lots of things on this album.

Yeah. No, I think it it did because that was like that was kind of the first moment I began to really question and maybe like because I wasn't living in Florida anymore. I was in Nashville. I felt like the space to start questioning and I was like, well, me, I'm as, you know, religious as it as it comes. I don't you know but I finally had the space to start questioning and uh these feelings and and then that just stirred up kind of an entire deconstruction of faith of like politics of like what my family dynamic was and gender and just yeah it kind of was the catalyst.

I assume you did not go home for Thanksgiving yesterday cuz you're here. I mean

I did not. Is it weird when you visit home? You know, is it one of those cliche things of like being around the table with people who totally don't share the same beliefs that you have now?

Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people are having a hard time during the holidays because of the political climate right now. Uh, no, I'm not going home for the holidays this year. It's my first time not going home for the holidays. Uh but I h like the beautiful

thing I think about it is I have this like chosen family and like a beautiful community of friends and like the queer community that uh yeah I had a wonderful Friendsgiving and it was yeah there was just so much love and acceptance and uh yeah I had a great Thanksgiving.

I'm glad I'm glad you did. I do think the whole notion of chosen family is very important. Um, not to sound cliche, but do you I don't assume you're not religious anymore, at least not the religion you were raised in, but do you still are you still spiritual or do you still have some kind of faith in your own way? How how do you define your faith now? Or are you just completely like agnostic, atheist now?

Yeah, thank you for asking that. I like love talking about it. Uh, I'm definitely very spiritual. I'm kind of like refinding God and like I think it's been for a while I had to separate from it because there was a lot of like pain attached to God and it wasn't God it was kind of like people and humans that you know would corrupt it. And so yeah I'm kind of in my journey of like finding out what that looks like. I've been, you know, just in a lot of discovery, you

know, looking into different religions and looking uh kind of reading the Bible again and seeing what do I feel about this now now that things have kind of calmed and yeah, I think I'm just searching right now.

Is your ketamine helping with that?

Yes.

I mean, I feel like you can't you can't do ketamine therapy and God not be brought up. Honestly, I don't know much about I mean, I know what ketamine is, but I don't know much about it being used for therapeutic as opposed to just purely recreational purposes. What does that entail?

I mean, I've been seeing this therapist for like 8 months and um I get went to this place, got prescribed the medicine.

We refer to it as medicine. And

it sounds like it is.

It It's been very helpful for me. I don't you know, I don't think it's for everyone, but she had suggested it. And yeah, I think it's just been a way for me to like reprocess things or, you know, create new neural pathways cuz I can logically know something so well, but my body would still react even like through this process of like doing interviews for this record and, you know, talking about the way that I grew up and family things like I was doing a podcast and I like fully dissociated like a mid podcast and so it's just like oh there's still like work to do and even though like maybe I like know

I mean I hope you don't do that during this you're welcome to if that's what you want to do but what would do you mind me asking what the question was that triggered that if you don't want to say it's okay

no it was just it was I think just something about like my parents and like what they thought about me and I just was like and I'm now no longer in my body and so yeah I'm I'm just kind of like okay there's some things that you know it's it's the the body keeps a score thing.

The body remembers.

Yeah.

Well, again, if I ask about anything that's bothering you or that would make you dissociate, let me know.

That was a few months ago. So, we have done a lot of work and I'm like much better.

But a lot of the things obviously asking about specific songs are going to get into this. And since we were talking about the religion thing, I did want to ask about Jesus. I have the list here. Jesus Christ and country clubs because um I love the line, I'm going to hell cuz girls are fun. That's a good line. Tell me. I mean, obvious sort of gone into what inspired that song, but like in general, is there anything else you want to talk about with that particular track?

Yeah, I think that song is more kind of like where I'm a little bit angry and I think growing up I wasn't really allowed

to feel angry or I didn't feel like I was allowed to be angry. Uh, and so it felt it felt good to get some of that out and be like, you know, it's about, you know, hypocritical Christianity, like MAGA Christianity and and the ways that like, well, the Jesus I knew like wouldn't be acting like this. So, it just I think it was really therapeutic for me to write that and get that out and to like feel angry about it.

Which song on the record is the most therapeutic for you to perform live? M that one's really fun. I feel like uh at shows like that's the one that people really respond to and get excited about.

Um Love Me is one that I think I have

not been able to sing live without crying. And I think it creates like

I'm very deeply uncomfortable, but I think that that is a good thing. And it also like has allowed for people who are there at the show to like I don't know like make me feel safe and like make me feel seen and it just I think it makes the space feel very safe.

I imagine you have a lot of fans that tell you that certain songs or the whole album um has really resonated or helped with them. Do you have any stories like that? Like oh my god like this song healed me or I saw myself in this

that sort of thing. Yeah, I I mean I've been putting music out now for six years, but I've like noticed an huge shift since putting this out and like the messages I receive or like emails or you know like letters. Um it just like means so much to me cuz it is it's that like this is like d like helping in my healing journey I'm going through like you know whoever is sending that in. And um yeah, I think it's just it's more like harder traumatic like deeply rooted things. And so I I think like music has that capability and it's just I don't know it's a lot uh deeper than

maybe in the past I've written a lot of breakup songs which people can heal through too but this is just so much

Taylor Swift wrote a lot of breakup songs. It's done all right for her.

Yeah.

That's a universal thing.

It is a universal thing. I I just think this is so like rooted in like identity um that yeah the messages have just been like really overwhelming in a good way. Now there's I mean I have a few songs that I wanted to ask about and I guess related to that is the hill which is obviously about religion as well but you had a quote in I actually wrote it down.

You had a quote that about walking away from Christianity was the greatest loss of my life and the hardest thing. Um, I hope I you don't associate dissociate. I I really am like I don't I want to be gentle.

That song is about walking away from

Christianity or the church or whatever that was for you before. So, um, do you want to talk about, you know, that song? I imagine that's another really cathartic or difficult one for you to perform.

Yeah. I mean, I think that Christianity

and like my relationship with God was so like tied into my identity and the way

that I grew up, I was very much so taught to, you know, I was born bad. I was born evil and like God is the only thing that is good. And so I think yeah, that's a really damaging way to grow up. And so like leaving that I had to relearn I had to not relearn I had to learn how to like trust myself and like believe that I was good and you know all of these things that were very difficult to do. It felt like I was completely losing myself. Um, so and I think a lot of people who grew up in Christianity, like that's why it's so hard to uh question it or to like walk away from it because of the way that you are grown up thinking life is. And then you're my whole family's in it and like you know I church is also like such a wonderful place for community. like I had so many friends and I felt so loved and so it was a really hard thing to walk away from and yeah it was a a painful song to write but I think a good one. It you know just kind of phrases it almost in like a Stockholm syndromey kind of kind of way.

What um town or city in Florida did you grow up in?

I grew up in Orlando. I was born in CMI and um and then I grew up in Orlando. Oh, I went to like a a private Christian school. And

I'm surprised you didn't go into like more pop. That's like the Disney pop Y2K90s capital of the world. It's where like all the boy bands come from.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that was before my time. In my time, it was a lot of um singer songwriters and like I guess like

like rock bands probably like garage rock bands.

Oh, cool.

Yeah. So, when you talk about the community and did you lose a lot of friends or family members when you I don't want I was about to say changed your lifestyle, but you know, I didn't mean it like when people call being queer a lifestyle. I mean, I hate I hate that term, but what I meant was um yeah, when you basically changed the way you were living, you know, uh and walked away from the church, did you lose a lot of support? Did you have to make new friends or

Yeah, I mean I had been it was a process. It was like a years process. Uh and I was living in Nashville at the time and and some of it I guess was here but so in Nashville a lot of my friends were kind of coming we were all kind of coming out of it at the same time which was really nice and felt less isolating. Um, it felt more like, you know, my church in Florida kind of being like, you know what, I think this was actually like not good for me. Um, and yeah, family relationships changed definitely. And it's sad and heartbreaking, but also okay. You know,

you do treat things with a bit of humor.

Like the like I said, you have a song called Florida Man, which I love because if you ever read The Onion or whatever, or not even The Onion, like real news, it'll be like Florida Man does some crazy

Have you done the thing where you put your birthday and then Florida man?

Wait, no. I've heard about this. What is it? You put your

You Google your birthday and Florida man, and there's always going to be something.

There's always going to be some crazy news story that's actually not The Onion. So, yeah, Florida, I guess, does have a little bit of a reputation that's probably somewhat deserved. But I think there's a comma, at least an implied comma in your title, Florida man, because you basically say, "I'm never going back to Florida man, which I love.

I love the play on words." But tell me about that cuz there's a lot of humor in this. But there's also a lot of anger in this, too. It's kind of like an FU Florida. At least that's how I'm taking it. Like I live in a bluer state now, that sort of thing.

Yeah. I think now retrospectively I I view Florida man

as kind of this metaphor of almost who I

was when I was living there, you know, or the, you know, kind of in this playing my role in my family dynamic and, you know, not being who I was and not questioning and being in the closet and all of these things. I kind of view it of, okay, I'm never going back to that. Um, I've, you know, since like through honestly the writing of the album, like kind of got to reclaim Florida as mine and, uh, I've been back a few times. I'm like,

wait, this is I actually really like

there's a Taylor Swift song called Florida, too. Florida

with Florence.

With Florence.

Yeah, that's really funny. Um, so yeah. Is there anything more you want to talk about the lyrics of that song? Because there is a lot of like kind of screw you Florida, but there's also a lot of humor to that. And I do like the fact that this for anyone watching this interview unfamiliar with Gatlin's music who would think that this is like a sad mopey

or angry record. It's got a lot of humor to it as well.

Yeah, I guess there there I can't help it. It's just the way that I I process things. Um yeah, I I think I had the

title first. I was like, "Okay, I'm going to write this record about growing up in Florida, so Florida man." And then I was like, well, I don't want to write about a a man. So I, you know, just kind of was like, I'm never going back to Florida, man. I'm never going, you know, back to that, I guess, like state of mind and um kind of trying to to fit in and be who my parents wanted me to be. I'm I'm I'm not going to do that anymore. Yeah.

So, speaking of humor, and man, you do have a song called Man of the House. My favorite line on the album is from Man of the House. I definitely want to ask about what inspired this song. My cats can be gay if they want to. That's a great line. I'm all for gay cats. I'm all for cats living their best lives.

Their truth. Let

the cats be gay.

Let the cats Is that Did I get the line right?

Oh, yeah. I did.

Okay, cool. Yeah. I'm all for cats and animals of all kind living their truth. But there's a lot of humor in the song. But what is this song man of the house about? Because, you know, that's a loaded term. You know, patriarchy, gender roles, all that.

Yeah. I was kind of like claiming that for myself in the in the visualizer I did. I was in like male drag and I was like, "Wow,

you were drag king."

Well, I was uh I had like a beard and like the camo and and yeah, I felt like I felt awesome and I feel like it unlocked something in me. But yeah, I think it was a I wrote it. I was living in an apartment by my own by my by my own by myself and paying the bills like from music which was like crazy and like

that's wild and uh

congratulations that's more than a lot of musicians could ever claim you know.

Yeah it was. And I, you know, at the time wasn't um talking to my parents cuz I you go through breaks, at least I do with them. And um I was just having

to now.

No, not right now.

Oh, I'm sorry. Well,

it's okay.

I don't mean to interrupt you. I might want to ask more about that, but yeah, tell me about Let's continue with the man of the house.

Yeah. So, I think it was the first time that I was like, "Okay, I'm a little bit on my own and let me figure this out." And I did. And I really learned how to

like I just felt powerful. It was a it was a time in my life that I was like I'm like a strong person and yeah. So I wrote Man of the House and I was like I get to live by my rules. My cats if they want to be gay started they can be gay. One of them definitely is gay.

Like for sure gay.

My friend Lisa is convinced that her two male cats are gay and that they are a couple. So, I'm all for gay cats.

My My partner kind of says that I project a little bit. Like, I'm almost like forcing them to be gay when they might just not. But,

you just got to let your kids be who they want to be, whether they're gay or not. That's what we've learned.

Be gay. Be gay.

We learned one thing from this interview. Um, and then the last question I specifically or last song I specifically want to ask a question about is Soho House Valet because your press release called it the north star of the album. So, it's an important song and it's kind of I don't exactly know what's happening, but it seems like there's some kind of actual very specific story about a conversation you had with a family member or someone at Soho House. I assume the Soho House here in LA might have been the new I don't know. Soho House Valet, but yeah, what's that song about? Why is it the north star this album? Yeah, it was well, it was a song I wrote like a week after I had this kind of like fight with my dad walking into Soho House Warehouse in downtown LA. And uh it was I wrote it to

process it. I kind of was very honest in a way that I hadn't in my writing before and kind of viewed the song as, well, this is for me. No one else is going to hear it, so who cares? I'll just say everything. And then I sat with it for a while and I was like, you know what? I think I do want to put this out and I want to make an entire album that is this honest, you know, and and this for myself for helping me process things and helping me heal through things. And so, yeah, that's I guess why it's the North Star. It was like the catalyst of, okay, I want to start making music in this way.

I don't know if you want to divulge what the fight was about. That's totally fine if you don't, but um you know, don't want to pry too much, but um the song does intentionally leave it vague what the argument was about, but

has your dad heard this? Much as like me asking, did your mom hear Love Me? Has your dad heard this song? Does he know it is about him or about this specific incident? Yeah. I mean, he's heard it and I think that, you know, the conversation we had was just this happened and like this is my way of processing it. And I think they've always been really supportive of me doing music and me writing and, you know, pursuing this career. So, I think they were like, okay, you know, like this is what you're doing. So,

do you mind me asking why you're not speaking with them right now? to again totally fine if you don't want to tell me this

I mean I'm just kind of I think it's a a

roller coaster you know like relationships change and I think just right now for me as this album's coming out and I'm like talking about it and there's like been fights and the political climate and just it's it's just a lot and I'm kind of like you know one thing at a time and I think sometimes space is good for healing as well. I think it's part of the process. Um, when things are like really emotionally charged, sometimes it's like, okay, everyone needs to

take a break.

Take a break like and breathe for a second.

But see, it's interesting. I was going to ask about that. That even though you may have differences of opinion, different beliefs, different political beliefs, religious beliefs, they've always been very supportive of you of being an artist in music like from very young age, right? So, that's interesting. Maybe some people would assume that they were like, "No, be a wife. don't do any you know don't pursue a career but they always really encouraged you to be a musician.

Yes. Yeah. That is I feel like such a gift like cuz I've had so many friends who parents were like okay be practical like doing music is not practical like it's it's a hard thing to go out and pursue and especially my parents are like not creatives and and not in this world and so they didn't really understand it but you know they were willing to learn with me and figure it out which I'm like okay see you can do that with music you can do that with me being gay too.

There you go. How young were you when you started music? Is it a situation where they were like buying you a guitar when you were age six?

Yeah. Yeah. I think it being now in my mid to late 20s, I'm learning, you know, a lot of my friends and I were like just returning back to like how we were when we were young kids. I think, you know, it feels like you're on a a good path if you do. And when I was young, it was always what do you want to be when you grow up? Singer. I want to be a singer. I want to write my songs. And I, you know, maybe in middle school thought I would do something practical. And um and then in high school I like was got diagnosed with like an anxiety and depressive disorder and I was like okay this is the only thing that makes me happy and I was really supported in that.

Did they support you in your mental health journey like you know get you help and all that?

Yes they did.

So yeah. See they're not

Yeah. They

No, there's so many redeeming qualities. I had a, you know, a lot of great things in my childhood.

I'm glad about that. So, let's end things on a positive note. You were obviously unpacking a lot of things from your adolescence when making The Eldest Daughter that maybe wasn't that was painful or dark or whatever, but there's nostalgia on this record, too. What were the things that you revisited that you were like, "Ah, that was nice to remember that." Yeah, I mean I think

child like the the last track is CM which is where I was born and and I had you know gone back to Florida and was able to you know go out with some queer

people and like discover you know so many beautiful people in Florida and uh

be with family in like a really positive way. And I was like, "Oh, I just like have this nostalgia for childhood again." And and then, you know, coming back and being able to like be who I am and really love who I am like in Florida, I think was really good for me cuz I kind of had had this like view of and, you know, of loving a place so much and it not really being loved by it. And I think maybe that's a generalization, but you can like find pockets and find people anywhere, you know? Well, I'm so happy for you that you've been on um this great journey with K with or without ketamine or it this interview has been a journey. I'll ask you one last question for people watching this who maybe are going through something similar whether it's coming out or

just in some way breaking away from their upbringing in terms of breaking away from how they've been what they've been raised to believe or whatever. Like what advice do you have for them to get to be as grounded as you seem to be now?

Oh wow. Thank you.

You seem very grounded. Well, I am a Virgo.

So am I.

You are.

What's your birthday?

Eldest daughter Virgo.

We're eldest daughter Viros.

Wow.

We like gay cats.

Yeah.

What's your birthday?

I'm September 8th.

September 21st.

Wow. Go us. September viros.

Go us.

Um what was the question again?

Uh just in term, you seem grounded. And if there's other people watching this, other kids or whatever, who are struggling with maybe a similar situation, family dynamic,

whether it's because they're coming out as queer or just in somehow their family's going this way, they're going that way. What's your advice for them?

Um, I think being honest with yourself

and like learning how to love yourself is such an important thing. And I think a way that I was able to do that was spending a a lot of time by myself and doing a lot of work, but also like finding community and like finding people who celebrate you for exactly who you are. And it doesn't need to be a lot, you know, it and I I just think like that has made all the difference um with me is like having my few friends who are just like, I see you. I love you. I'm here for you no matter what. Uh, yeah.

Go us.

More importantly, go Gatlin. Forget about me. Go Gatlin.

Go you. Go everybody. Go licorice.

Wait, what do you call your hair color?

Uh, magenta or fuchsia?

Magenta.

That's what I usually say.

Icon with a magenta hair.

Oh, well, thank you so much. I appreciate uh this love fest we got going on. Uh, we should wrap up because you're about to play songs from the eldest daughter here at Licorice Pizza. I'm very excited about that. It's a great way to spend Black Friday Record Store Day. Thanks everybody for watching and I'll see you next time. Yay.