INTERVIEW: Kate Vogel talks about friendship, mental health, and her new album ‘SOFT’

After three years since the release of her debut album, Someone I’m Proud Of, folk/country singer-songwriter Kate Vogel returns with her second album, Soft, this Friday, September 20th. Based in Nashville, Vogel’s discography strong vocals and her raw, honest lyricism surrounding mental health. She re-entered the music industry with release of debut single “Reasons to Stay” in 2019 after nine years away. As she prepares for the release of Soft, we catch up with her to hear more!

B-Sides: I’ve been listening to Soft for the past two days. Sometimes music comes into your life when you really need it, and listening to your album was the perfect moment for me.

Kate Vogel: That means so much to me, because you just never know. As a songwriter, you write these songs by yourself a lot of times, alone, and you wonder if anyone can ever relate. You just don’t know, and then all of a sudden… I actually got really freaked out one day in June, because we hadn’t finished the album yet, but we were starting the roll out. The album wasn’t actually done, the mix and masters. I just freaked out. I stayed up for maybe 24, 48 hours with no sleep. Just ‘What do I do? Do I cancel this album and push it to next year?’ Then I decided I want to put this album out for myself. It’s just songs that I want to share. But I almost pulled the whole album. The very next day, I went to a photoshoot and outside the photoshoot were massive letters that said “Soft.” It was a crazy sign from God or the Universe. I have no idea, but it hit me like ‘Wow, I’ve been freaking out if I should do this or not.’ It was like ‘Yes, do it! You never know what’s coming next in your life.’ Sometimes you have to take that leap.

B-Sides: That’s such a beautiful experience! I’m glad that you’re releasing it when you are.

Vogel: It’s so soon! I have the countdown on Spotify! One day and seven hours!

B-Sides: So this is your latest album in three years. What experiences have you had in the past three years that led to this?

Vogel: My first album was something I had always wanted to do my whole life. I always wanted to do music. I thought I never could. It was a lot of dealing with pain, life challenges, and trauma. I was really happy to get that out. Then the next three years, I kept working at my job and I moved to Los Angeles. Then I worked at Mattel, they do Barbie. So I did Barbie finance when I was there, but I never stopped writing. I had more things happen, so I moved back across the country to Tennessee to make music. That’s what the song “unamerican dream” is about. It’s about realizing that you already have everything that you need, and you don’t have to keep chasing status or money or material things. One of the things I value most is my yard.

B-Sides: In the song, “unamerican dream,” you sing about a garden. What influenced you to start one?

Vogel: Well my friends have the garden, so I go to theirs. But I have a backyard of green grass. In Los Angeles, you don’t have yards and you definitely don’t have green grass unless you’re a millionaire and have a house. I realized how much nature means to me and being around my friends as they’re getting married and having babies. I want to be here in my home for that next part of life. The song “over you” is about getting over somebody that you really love and care about. That was really hard getting over him. The other song “when i feel it” is about having a maybe delusional idea about what you want in somebody that you marry. But I don’t think it’s delusional, I see my friends getting married to amazing people and that’s what I want. I want to be married to somebody that has all these amazing qualities, and that’s what I’m waiting for. It’s saying I’ll know it when I feel it when I’m falling in love instead of lowering your standards. It’ll just happen. Soft is about falling in love again and trying to remain soft after life just… I think most people have bad experiences with the people we date, and it can make you closed off from not trusting anyone again. People should earn you trust. I used to swear off love, but now when it’s right it’ll happen.

B-Sides: Yes, exactly. I think it’s a universal experience that getting close to someone is always hard for no reason. I also read your People interview where you mentioned that the opening lyric for “light at the end of the tunnel” calls back to “Reasons to Stay.” How was the writing process?

Vogel: That song, “light at the end of the tunnel,”… I think a lot of people wish they could go back to their younger selves and show them all the amazing that are going to happen. For me, I wish I could go back to the night I wanted to not be here anymore, and show myself the future of what can happen, that ‘You’ll heal and not feel like that anymore. You’ll do amazing things.’ So it says: ‘I didn’t know then that there would be reasons to stay.’ It means all the reasons I’ve stayed and it also means the song. I didn’t know that the song would get found by people. I get really touching messages about it. I’m so honored that my music can be there for people.

B-Sides: Does Soft feel like a rebirth?

Vogel: Soft is totally a rebirth of myself and my dreams as sixteen-year-old to be an artist/songwriter. I pushed [them] away my whole life. I recently saw this quote. It was something like “Someone out there is currently deciding whether or not to share the book they wrote. Not knowing that it’s going to be someone else’s favorite book one day.” That’s not the exact quote, but it’s the idea that you never know who is going to like the art you create. You have to believe in yourself, that your art is worth sharing. The pressures of the world, of being judged, especially when I was working in corporate. I don’t want my coworkers all knowing my personal life. I also didn’t want to be too vulnerable when they were so many people watching in business. In life, too. It’s very scary to be vulnerable. This whole Soft album is me realizing that vulnerability is a strength and it’s how we connect with other people.

B-Sides: What is the best piece of advice another musician or someone in your life has ever given?

Vogel: I don’t know how deep this is or not. This might not be deep enough, but my dad told me at a young age that half of the battle is showing up. A lot of times we’re afraid of even starting a project or starting something. So half of the battle is showing up day after day after day. Taking things one day at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Every day take a step to the life you want to have.

B-Sides: That is pretty deep! What was your creative writing process for Soft?

Vogel: About half of them I wrote by myself. I just wrote them on my guitar in my house. I had a really really bad breakup on my birthday, like the worst breakup ever. I went back to my parents’ house and laid in bed for a while. I was like ‘This has to end. I have to process these feelings of what he did to me. I have to write about it.’ So my creative friends flew out to Joshua Tree in January of this year, and helped me write “broke up on my birthday”, “soft”, “unamerican dream”, and “next thing you know”. One day, me and Kristin [Ronning] went on a walk and we’re were like “Let’s write this song!” It was really special and amazing, because my friends took time out their lives and flew across the country for me. To write for me because they believe in my music. They are amazing people who made this album come together. It wouldn’t exist without my friends. My first album I wrote completely by myself. Like you were talking about how somethings you just want to write by yourself. [With] this one, I have trouble writing the most positive, happy ones about myself. It’s harder for me to access. But my friends are like ‘This is more of who you are.’ I was happy to capture a fuller picture of who I am. I’m not just crying and sad in my room all the time. I’m having fun, partying, enjoying life, and I’m hopeful. The song “soft” wouldn’t exist without my friends saying how it should sound. Their input was so important.

B-Sides: It’s lovely how community brings people together creatively. I love how your friends were able to come to you, and help you process all of these emotions. How do you want to relay that connection to your listeners?

Vogel: I am so lucky! Two of my best friends in the world are coming to Tennessee. We’ve been friends for ten years each. On Saturday, we’re doing a little podcast sit-down to talk about our friendship and my music over the years. I want to talk about my music from [their] perspective. Sometimes I can get too in my head about it. They can really show me what the road has been. I’m really excited to share my friends with the people who like my music, because they’re a really good representation of me. These are two important people in my life who have always been supportive of my music. [They] made me sing for them, play songs, and send songs. They’re always the first to listen to my songs. I’ll send them at two in the morning. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be surrounded by people who care. Then again, I think about how I wanted to die. I struggled with it my whole life. It’s so sad that I didn’t know, it didn’t have to be that way. I didn’t know that there were resources out there. Now, I’m constantly talking about it. Some people are like ‘Oh mental health is trendy now.’ You don’t understand how many people out there don’t talk about it still and people don’t know. If we over-talk about it, I’d rather do that so somebody hears that it doesn’t have to always be this way. That there’s a light at the end of the tunnel than it be the other way around.

B-Sides: The stigma surrounding mental health is so dangerous. People who share their work whether it be poetry, books, or songs. They’re giving someone a chance to move forward whether that be a day, two, or weeks. It helps. I’m glad you’re one of the few artists who speak up about mental health.

Vogel: It’s definitely not easy. You have to really learn about it. I had no idea when I first started. Nothing gets me down. No one attacking me could affect me, because I know the truth. They just don’t understand.

B-Sides: Certain artists like twenty one pilots consistently speak about mental health and they have such a tight knit community. What they’re doing and what you’re doing is opening a doorway for newer artists to be honest with their listeners, and with themselves.

Vogel: Yeah, you see how many musicians and artists struggle with suicide because so many [creators] who do this for a living feel things very deeply.

B-Sides: Exactly, and society wants everyone to compartmentalize. It’s weird.

Vogel: Definitely!

B-Sides: Do you have any tour plans in the future?

Vogel: I do, but I can’t talk about them yet. I’m playing for the release show. I’m so excited. It’s a little private one in a backyard. It’s going to be the people who support me and my friends who’ve been here in the dark and happy times. It’s really amazing, because that’s what real friendship is.

B-Sides: Do you have a dream venue?

Vogel: The Ryman! I’ll die happy once I play the Ryman! It’s a venue in Nashville that has these beautiful stained glass windows. It’s a place where I’ve gone to see my favorite artists. So one day! That would be such a dream!

B-Sides: Aw, such a full circle moment! What are your favorite ways to decompress in Nashville.

Vogel: In the summer, I love kayaking in the river. I love going to Percy Priest lake and tubing in my little tube. I have a blowup pool.

B-Sides: Did you have artists you were constantly playing on repeat while creating soft?

Vogel: I played Ruston Kelly a lot. He is a Nashville artist. His songs are very hopeful about overcoming stuff. Also Megan Moroney, she’s amazing. Her songwriting is incredible. The way she can say things so simply, but beautifully and in ways you’ve never heard before. She’s really incredibly talented. Also, Kelsea Ballereni’s album Rolling Up the Welcome Mat was incredible. I was just listening to my favorite artists.

B-Sides: That’s always the best way to go. How much do the subjects of Someone I’m Proud Of show up on soft?

Vogel: I think that the concepts are completely new on soft. Except for “kids in ohio” which talks about my experience with the music industry when I was a teenager. That one fits right into Someone I’m Proud Of [as] a darker song. “light at the end of the tunnel” is full circle, a follow up song to “Reasons to Stay.” [It’s about how] there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that maybe the best days are ahead of you.

B-Sides: I really appreciate how hopeful this album is. We all need more, I wouldn’t say guidance, but to see someone else do it and follow along.

Vogel: I feel like I’ve followed other artists’ footsteps. It’s a dream to hear someone say that because that’s exactly what I dreamed someone would take away from this album. You never know what connects with people or not.

B-Sides: Do you think you will branch out into different genres or styles in the future?

Vogel: I feel like the way I write is pretty set. I will always love experimenting with different sounds. I’ll probably stay in the country-pop-folk world because it’s so big. It might sound different. More production, because that would be fun. I love Sabrina Carpenter’s new album. 

B-Sides: I love that album! I love how fun her lyrics are and how she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Vogel: Then she also cuts deep! “Lie To Girls” I was like ‘I’m attacked right now.’

B-Sides: This has been so fun! I can’t wait for the official release!

Vogel: Thank you! It was so nice to talk to you!

B-Sides: It was so nice to talk to you, too!