Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Out singer Daphne Willis talks goggles, Meghan Trainor
NUNN ON ONE: SPRING MUSIC SPECIAL
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2016-03-30

This article shared 4647 times since Wed Mar 30, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Coming out of Chicago and landing in Nashville has worked well for singer Daphne Willis. During her time as a DePaul University student, she began performing in Chicago that eventually led to her moving down south. She recorded her latest EP, Get It, in Nashville. Her new pop-crafted single, "Done With Bein' Done," was written by hitmaker Meghan Trainor and herself.

This out and proud talented singer was featured on After Ellen and Perez Hilton recently as she heads into the big time.

Windy City Times: Hi, Daphne. You are originally from Chicago?

Daphne Willis: Yes; I went to Fremd High School in Palatine. I then went to DePaul University for a couple of years in the city.

WCT: Did you study music?

DW: No; I studied secondary education and English. I am a huge literature buff. I was doing open mics and writing on my own. I formed a band and we would play at aliveOne, Tin Lizzie and Lucille's back in the day.

Then things progressed and I made an acoustic EP. It got sublicensed through a company called DMX—like when you are at Kohl's and you hear music playing. It ended up playing on a flight that the president of Vanguard Records ended up on [the flight]. When his iPod died, he plugged in his headphones and heard my song playing. He looked me up in the pamphlet and saw I was unsigned.

He sent up A&R rep Gary Paczosa from Nashville to talk to me. I took the deal and dropped out of college halfway through. About four years later, I moved down to Nashville.

WCT: How did you meet Meghan Trainor?

DW: I have a friend named Chris Gelbuda who is also on the same publishing company as Meghan, Big Yellow Dog Music. He told me a few years ago that I should write with his friend Meghan. At the time she was not some big mega-pop star. We got together and wrote "Done With Bein' Done" in an hour. She is really phenomenally talented. Six months later, she busted through the wall of the record industry like the Kool-Aid Man!

Chris Gelbuda produced her recent song with John Legend. He co-produced my EP Get It. We wrote the songs "Take My Time" and "Get It" together.

WCT: Was it fun making the video for "Done With Bein' Done," with all that paint?

DW: It was not fun at all. I hated it.

We were partying and drinking. It was all of my friends. I told them to wear shit they don't care about. They said it would wash out but it did not. Everything was ruined!

The video was amazing, though. I love abstract and philosophical videos like that, with symbolism going on.

WCT: What is the story behind your goggles?

DW: I have collected them for a long time. I have World War II fighter pilot goggles, welding goggles and vintage goggles. It started from when I played six years ago. My sunglasses had broken and I stopped at a gas station to buy some cheap biker glasses. I had them on at a concert I played and felt like Superwoman.

After I was done, people wanted to take pictures with them on. It was a moment when people forgot about things and looked through a different lens for a second. It became a symbol for perception and perspective. I'm a philosophy nerd.

WCT: Is your song "TMI" about the age we live in?

DW: Yes. It is a song poking fun at everybody and social media in general, also how dating and meeting people has changed to be more online now.

WCT: You must like playing it live.

DW: It is fun to play for people that have never heard it. I want to write another one called "FML" because there are a lot more acronyms out there. It could be about the worst hangover ever.

WCT: You could keep going with these songs, like "LOL!" Do you have a full album coming out?

DW: I am in the process of putting together a Beatles project. I'm a huge Beatles fan and Sony has The Beatles catalogue so they suggested it to me.

I am writing for an album also and hope to record it in the summer. The Beatles album will come out in the meantime.

WCT: What is your favorite Beatles song?

DW: It is a tie between "Eleanor Rigby" and "Come Together."

WCT: Have you noticed how the LGBT bar scene in Nashville is all together and it is more separated in Chicago?

DW: Yes, I noticed. People go to bars like Tribe and Play in Nashville. There is also fun karaoke at The Lipstick Lounge. I do like that here in Nashville is not so segregated.

I think the whole thing started off where gay bars could be a safe, comfortable place but now that times are changing, in a really great way, that needs to come down. We need to have places where everybody hangs out together, gay, straight, bi, or whatever. Let's all hang out together!

Come together with Willis at Martyrs, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave., on April 7. Visit daphnewillis.com and martyrslive.com for more information on tickets .


This article shared 4647 times since Wed Mar 30, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground 2024-03-24
- At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Lollapalooza announces lineup; SZA, Skrillex among headliners 2024-03-19
- Lollapalooza has released its line-up for the event that's taking place Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park. Headliners include SZA, Blink-182, Skrillex, The Killers, Hozier, Melanie Martinez and Stray Kids, among others. Some of the other acts ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13
- The ARC Music Festival—an event celebrating house music—will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Park—less than ...


Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

'Always Olivia' celebrates Olivia Newton-John at Raue Center 2024-02-26
- From a press release: Always Olivia, a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John comes to Raue Center in Crystal Lake on Saturday, May ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.