Natalie Claro is a new alternative rock voice coming out of Nashville, Tennessee. Claro wrote her new single, ‘When Alcohol Tastes Like Juice’ (WATLJ), over the course of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Her overall message is to encourage young people to not lose themselves within their transformative years, and as she put it, “Finding joy is being grateful for the journey.” In Claro’s interview with Jejune, she discusses the creation process of WATLJ, her advice for those struggling with mental health in the pandemic, and her volunteer work with “Girls Rock Camp Alliance.” Read on to learn more about this Rockstar!

Where are you based?
Nashville, TN!

What inspired you to get into music and your style?
I saw Paramore and Hayley WIlliams, for the first time when I was 14 years old. She is the sexiest and most talented woman on earth. She was running up and down these ridiculously steep ramps on stage. I had never seen anything like it, and just thought, "wow, okay, I want to be that cool."

You have toured the stage with acclaimed acts like Plain White T's, HalfNoise, Public, Hunny, Hawthorne Heights, and Grizfolk and performed at events such as Hollister’s High School Nation Tour 2019, SXSW, Sofar Sounds LA, Sony's Balcony TV. How were these experiences?
Each of those shows were all so different, but that's what I love about concerts. Sometimes the crowds go off into a horizon and everyone's jumping in unison, sometimes people are moshing in a 50 capacity dive bar. It's constant variety.

It looks like you like taking complete creative control because you are the sole writer, producer, and instrumentalist of all your music. What are the difficulties of this?
It's basically ten jobs in one, and as much as I love it, I somehow always end up pulling my hair out. It involves writing, composing several layers, striving to be as good as a band with four people who master their own instruments, hours of tracking, harmonies for lead vocals, doing the audio cleanups, and creative mixing before I send it off to be mixed for quality. Then, somehow, throughout all of that, I always end up restarting it once it's almost done, because I'm annoying!!!

You dropped your new song “When Alcohol Tastes like Juice”(WATLJ). We liked this modern time metaphor. What is the story behind this song?
I wrote and produced WATLJ over the entirety of the 2020 pandemic, many people were in a nihilistic state, worrying work was useless. We had no clue what to expect of the future. I realized I had spent the past few months partying each day, since it brought a much quicker form of gratification than my long-term goals, and now I had no game plan. I want to use this song to remind young people not to lose themselves in the process of making themselves. Finding joy is being grateful for the journey.

How was the creating process?
I started off with inspiration from the lead synth of Day n Nite by Kid Cudi, and then just kept detuning and changing up the synth until it kept evolving. I threw on some electronic drums at the beginning, and recorded sounds of me tapping a pencil on my desk and slamming books on the floor, you name it. Once I was done with the basics, I really wanted a huge instrumental section and a big choir throughout the song. There's layers upon layers of vocal harmonies, and live drums in that guitar solo section. Speaking of those drums, they aren't even the rhythm of what I originally tracked. I eventually chopped up every bar and moved them around until I liked it. This song was so fun to do, honestly, I geek out about it still.

What do you do when you feel a never-ending hangover like in the song?
I snap out of it. I'm grateful for whatever wiring was given to me in my mind, because it's really easy to get my head on straight whenever I'm doing something detrimental.

We learned that you created WATLJ over the entirety of the 2020 Covid pandemic, when you had no idea about your future. You turned this negative time productive by making a song. What would you recommend to people to help them get through these times?
Life is full of hardships we can't control, and while it can be defeating at times, we do have control over how we handle these hardships. At the end of the day all we have is gratitude for the positive things. In some ways you may lack, there are privileges you may possess that someone else doesn't have. Look for the light in the dark as hard as you can, and find opportunity where it may be hiding. I've been so much happier since doing so.

The pandemic has been a really hard time for a lot of people. What advice do you have for anyone struggling with mental health and/or addiction during this time?
I truly believe in livable wages and more resources available to American people. I think almost all of these types of struggles could be resolved if people had better means to take care of themselves, the way they deserve. The advice I have now is to not give up — pain is temporary, but the fight is ongoing, and progress is on the way.

Jejune loves that you volunteer for “Girls Rock Camp Alliance”, which is an international membership network of youth-centered arts and social justice organizations. Can you talk about this project more? What inspired you to get involved?
I actually was asked to do it by the head of the location I worked with, and I said yes in a heartbeat. I just like the idea of passing on the same motivation that was given to me when I was young onto the next age of people. It was so much fun, and I stay in touch with a few of the students I had to this day. I also will shamelessly forever brag about being called the "cool teacher".

Do you have any future projects we should look out for?
Yes! Whipping up a lyric video for WATLJ right now, and next up is more music.

How have you been staying positive during a shelter in place? Are you back to normal now?
Honestly, I'm just in a lucky situation. I'm not big on going out right now unless I absolutely have to, or it's show related, just because things are still a bit rough. My closest tight nit friends are also in the same boat, so we all just hang out with each other. It's nice having people around who go with the flow, it keeps my spirits up.

What is your motto in life?
I like this quote that's like, “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.” I might get a tattoo of a bird on a branch for this soon.

To learn more about Natalie Claro, please follow her at the links below:
Instagram: @natalieclaro
Twitter: @natalieclaro
Facebook: Natalie Claro Music
TikTok: @natalieclaromusic
YouTube: Natalie Claro

Natalie Claro On Encouraging Others to Find Joy in the Journey