Queer country music outfit Goldenchild’s Wiley Gaby has been performing for awhile as a solo artist, but has only recently begun recording under his own name. Now he’s got a new album on the way, and a major gig this weekend! [Cover photo: Hayley Rosenblum]
Thotyssey: Hi Wiley, thanks for finding time for us today! I understand you’re in Provincetown right now, how is it? Are you there solely for leisure, or will you have an onstage moment?
Wiley Gaby: Thank you so much for chatting with me! Ptown is beautiful, and filled with familiar faces from the gay multiverse right now; it feels really great to be in such a queer space. I’m here for my best friend’s birthday–no shows until I’m back [in New York] this weekend.
As a singer / songwriter, are you constantly thinking about or getting inspiration for music and lyrics? Does that inspo come to you randomly / suddenly, or is it something you usually have to sit down and concentrate to conjure?
I’m always trying to be on the lookout for a thought or line or piece of a conversation that resonates. It comes in waves a lot of the time, but I try to keep notebooks and phone notes nearby to capture anything that might make for a good song. When I’m not getting inspired as much, I have enough ideas stuffed into notebooks and apps to keep me busy when I’m concentrating on working on an idea.
For me, the discipline and concentration come in when I’ve hooked something I wanna work on and take into song territory. A lot of times, it’s me processing something I’m unable to say or express … or a tough conversation I’m struggling to have, or wrap my head around. Sometimes, expressing it in a song will get me to the other side of that.
I recall seeing you perform at GiantFest at 3 Dollar Bill eons ago! You’ve been writing and performing for quite awhile as a solo artist, but really only started recording recently, right?
Yeah, I’ve been playing for a while in and around Brooklyn. I was recording and playing under the name Goldenchild, a project with my friend Jeff Doker and a number of other Brooklyn musicians. It took me a number of years playing solo to figure out that I was ready to come out as myself and release a solo debut. Covid and some missteps in the right partners kinda got in the way… but I landed with a small label in Mississippi, Dial Back Sound. They’re working with me to release a solo debut LP coming very soon. Matt Patton, the head of the label, is a member of Drive By Truckers and the Dexateens, and sometimes Laura Jane Grace’s band.
More on the record in a bit. First, the origin story! Where are you from originally, and was music always a part of your life?
I grew up in Crawfordville, FL–just south of Tallahassee–the swamps of northern Florida, which is culturally southern and like South Georgia. They call the area the Redneck Riviera. My last name is Gaby, pronounced like “baby,” and I was the last one to know I was gay… so it was a real character building experience!
I grew up going to church regularly, and that is where I first started playing music and singing. In some capacity, it’s been a part of my life since before I remember. My mom used to tell me that I would make up songs to entertain and soothe myself in the stroller… and I have always tended to make noise! As soon as I was on stage for the first time and able to sing, I knew that was something that I wanted to do from an early age.
When did you start writing and performing your own stuff?
I did not really start writing my own stuff until my 20s. I’ve [now] been performing my own material for about 15 years, and really regularly for the past five, I guess. I started touring about three years ago, and I’ve been trying to do as much of that as possible and playing in front of as many new folks as I can.
Can you tell us how, when and where the Goldenchild experience came to be?
I was playing in a band with my friends Jeff Doker and Teresa Jiménez in Brooklyn, and Teresa moved away to the West Coast for a spell. Basically, I was too scared to release music under my own name for some reason… and I still wanted to work with Jeff and be in a band. And it wasn’t solely my music and ideas at first. So I felt we needed a name to get behind. It also helped me get more comfortable with writing and releasing music at the time, I think.
So I was hanging with my friends Melissa and Marlene at a bar in Greenpoint, and we were talking about our queerness (they’re married). Long story short, they deemed me a “golden child gay”–instead of a gold star guy, which was I believe the term they were trying to apply to me. I needed a new name, and that stuck. We released an LP in 2015, Bridges, which was my first time making a record; it was recorded mostly in Brooklyn.
Who are some of your major musical influences and inspirations?
Dolly Parton has always been my number one, since before I can remember. But I think Dolly has had more influence on my voice as a singer then as a songwriter, and just a blueprint for how to behave, lol! Coming in as a close second is Neko Case. The way Neko creates worlds and experiments with song structures and sounds … I’m just in awe, and incredibly inspired by her entire body of work. It’s aspirational.
How might you describe your sound today as a solo artist, and did it evolve in a big way since Goldenchild?
I’m referring to the upcoming record as “fantasy country,” but it’s really just a sonic space where all are welcome. I like using nontraditional “country” sounds. On the upcoming record there’s metal guitar, drum machine, strings, lots of synths. But also plenty of traditional country and Americana sounds.
“IDGAF No More” is the first track from the record, currently streamable everywhere. It’s super fun, and Robert Maril did a cute dance pop remix of it!
Robert blew my mind with how he completely rebuilt the song with the remix; every sound is new, other than the vocals.
What inspired the song?
A couple of things–primarily, a conversation on the front porch with my father that went awry, as many political conversations do! And the more I thought about it, the more I thought about how so many folks like us have to diminish ourselves, or turn the volume down in order to be accepted or tolerated. It evolved into a “fuck you to the patriarchy.” But ultimately, it is about loving yourself, bringing all pieces of yourself to the table, and not trying to be something for someone else.
You play your fair share of both local shows and touring gigs. What’s it like being a queer country artist in NYC, versus on the road?
It’s interesting! I grew up in the rural south, but I’ve spent a lot of time in Brooklyn and its progressive bubble. I’ve been surprisingly welcomed in smaller towns. And some of the most moving exchanges with audience members and the queer community have been in smaller communities where there aren’t tons of queer events. It reminds me to get out of New York, but also to appreciate all the resources and community and diversity that we have in the city.
A lot of small town queers don’t want to leave–or can’t leave their communities–and just want to be left alone to live their lives in peace. It’s been incredible to discover and connect with thriving queer communities in unexpected places.
Famed NYC queen Bootsie LeFaris is a kindred sis of yours, right?
I LOOOOVE Bootsie! We share a mutual friend who brought us together. Being on the road, I haven’t seen her much as of late… but she’s always been so generous and funny. And she’s dropped a few truth bombs on me that I needed to hear.
One drunken night (years ago) after a Pieces show, she kinda praised my talent and read my hesitancy / laziness–and I took it to heart. And the fact that she works so hard and has been supporting herself in NYC solely on drag for years is an inspiration. She also gave me some great advice one night at Metropolitan when I was stressed about a Monday night performance during our queer country “Whose Boots” party, which was “girl, it ain’t that serious!” I think about both to this day!
There’s a small but mighty queer country fandom community here in NYC that would follow folks like you, Bootsie and Tammy Spanx for that sort of event anywhere! Might a version of that party pop up again down the road?
I would love that. We need to make this happen. I need to get DJ Save A Horse to dust off those boots and get the wagon wheel rollin’.
For now, people can catch you at Parkside Lounge this Saturday for a live show with John Pronto and Taylor Hollingsworth! what can folks expect?
A fantastic lineup. Taylor is an incredible guitarist, songwriter, and solo performer, and I’m so excited to meet and hear John. From me, expect a stripped down solo set of mostly all-new material from the upcoming record–songs that tackle intergenerational trauma and queer life / survival in a small town, and women’s and queer rights—but with some twang, wit, and tearjerkers. Some classic country and Americana, music and storytelling through a queer lens.
Anything to add?
I can’t wait to share [the new album] in the coming months. In the meantime get warmed up for the LP with “IDGAF No More” and “IDGAF No More (A Robert Maril Mix)” streaming everywhere now via Dial Back Sound. And get tickets for Saturday’s show!
Okay lastly: what’s the oddest thing or person or situation that may have inspired a lyric or full song of yours?
I was in Nashville and chatting with a guy on “the apps” who also happened to be a (pretty hot) trucker, on a run from Washington. He invited me to come stay the night in his cab. I chickened out, stayed home, smoked a joint… and wrote a gay country song about what might have happened if I’d have been more adventurous.
There are no doubt many new adventures coming your way soon! Thanks, Wiley!
Check Thoyssey’s calendar for Wiley Gaby’s upcoming appearances, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and across multiple platforms to download and stream his music. Also, check out this press release.
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