King of Wands or Cassandra?: An Interview With the Unequivocal Artist Housewife
Toronto-native Brighid Fry, also known as Housewife, has been making strides in the indie rock community, originating with indie folk foundations in their 2017 EP Moscow Apartment to their 2020 EP Better Daughter, fused with melancholic lyrics and slight indie pop roots. Their first single of this year “Fuck Around Phase” sets forth the spirited tone listeners can expect with their new track “King of Wands” released earlier this month. As the singer-songwriter discusses a woman’s intuition and how it’s deemed measly in “King of Wands,” we can only expect more confrontational lyrics in the future, and THAT is something to await with pleasure.
Contributing writer Alyanna Moralda had the most lovely of chats with Brighid Fry on the ongoing process of adjusting to life changes, peculiar idolizations of fictional male characters, and a musical inspiration to this day.
Alyanna Moralda: Hi Brighid! Thank you heaps for your time! How is life treating you at the moment?
Brighid Fry (Housewife): “It’s good! It’s been busy, but great. Trying to balance being a musician with other parts of my life is always a fun challenge, so it’s mostly been work recently. I did teach my cat a new trick though, which is exciting.”
AM: Congratulations on the “King of Wands” track! It has been a long awaited one for your fans, and just in time for Pride month! You mentioned on social media that the song is about “suppressing women’s histories, not listening to their experiences and fighting back against that.” This is found through the analogy of the lyrics, “I wish I was the King of Wands (But really, I’m Cassandra).” Cassandra, representing harmony, is also physically displayed wearing armor, and in a power stance in the Dragon Age video game. Can you tell me a bit more about who Cassandra is, what she represents to you, and how her possible trials throughout the game series are paralleled to your life?
BF: “Thank you! I’m very excited about this song. I’m so glad it’s out in the world! I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know anything about Dragon Age, so I can’t really comment on that. The only video game I really play is Skyrim. It’s an oldie but a goodie. I was really into mythology and folktales as a kid, and the Greek myth of Cassandra is what inspired that part of the song. I think her story is one that a lot of marginalized communities and activists can relate to, trying to fight for themselves or others and not having their voices be heard.”
AM: Throwing it back to 2017 when Housewife first released their EP Moscow Apartment, when you were in your teens. What was your writing process? How did you juggle this artistic form while also handling your personal life and a plethora of responsibilities?
BF: “Fun fact: I was only 14 when that was released! While my music has changed a lot since then and I’ve changed a lot as a person, I don’t think my creative process has actually changed that much, as writing has always felt very instinctual to me. I come from a family of writers – my father is a poet and my grandfather is an author, so lyrics are usually the first thing that comes to me, shortly followed by melody. Then the rest is usually trying to fit the music around that. Obviously the process is a little more refined now after doing it for over six years, but I think the work going into my songs is still very often the same. In terms of balancing music with other parts of my life, boy, am I still learning! It can be challenging, but it’s worth it to me and luckily I have a lot of support from people around me.”
AM: Your sophomore EP, “Better Daughter,” was released on streaming platforms in January 2020, with the “You’ll Be Forgiven EP” following nearly 2 years later. A lot of musicians did undergo some struggles and/or accomplishments throughout their creative processes during the COVID-19 pandemic. How did the possible halt of performing and switching to home life affect your songwriting in a positive or negative light?
BF: “You know, I think it’s interesting because everyone who was an adult going into the pandemic can definitively say how they have changed as a direct result from that. And I know it has changed me, but it’s hard to pinpoint the details because that coincided with me graduating high school, becoming an adult, signing a record deal, and moving out on my own, which are all already pretty life-altering changes.”
AM: The music video for “I’m Spent” resembles a dream-like state, often reminding me of Sofia Coppola’s 1999 film, The Virgin Suicides. Fans, like myself, can even see the parallels to the costume design, where the Lisbon sisters were also all dressed in white. I also came across through social media that Housewife’s music was featured in the film, Stupid For You, premiering at an LGBTQ+ film festival. How does it feel to have your personal works clearly engage with another art form? What certain movie/movie genres do you take inspiration from, and how do you apply it to your works?
BF: “Thank you, that’s a cool comparison! I’ve actually yet to see ‘Virgin Suicides,’ but I’m a big fan of other works by Sofia Coppola. We definitely had a lot of fun going for that dreamy vibe. While I personally have no visual skill/talent, I am a really big film nerd so getting to do videos is really cool. My friend Tegan Armstrong DP’d for “I’m Spent” which was a lot of fun. I’m always excited to work with female artists in other disciplines. I love the connection between different artforms – a dream of mine is to someday work on a soundtrack for a movie or a video game. I also directed the music video for “King of Wands” and took inspiration from a lot of occult films so I’m excited for people to see that.”
AM: On the slight topic of movies, I appreciate that once listeners see “Patrick Bateman,” they know from the get-go what the song may entail. Your lyrics, “You offer what I’m missing. Stable but so sadistic, I love it.” Do you believe that entertainment nowadays serves as a good warning from these red flags or boosts them?
BF: “Oh god, that’s a hard question to answer. I think there’s a lot of really great TV/movies depicting bad people – I feel like we’re kind of obsessed with the idea of anti-heroes in media and entertainment. While I think it makes for really cool stories and art, we also need to make sure people have the media literacy skills to actually take away the right things! “Patrick Bateman” is obviously partly inspired by my own interpersonal experiences, but I also wrote it at a time where I was seeing a lot of young men idolizing Patrick Bateman online (or other characters like him) which is weirdly insane! Obviously on a basic level, he’s a murderer, but we shouldn’t be idolizing any other parts of him or characters like him either. That hyper-masculine capitalist vibe you get in American Psycho or Succession, isn’t cool or an ideal to strive for. You look at characters like Patrick Bateman or the Roys, and not only are they terrible people, but they’re all also really sad and lonely. So, it’s weird and a little worrisome to see people missing that point.”
AM: I came across this one TikTok where you mentioned that you were an Aquarius, while also admitting defeat to spilling feelings as a songwriter! I’m a fan of astrology and love to bring it up constantly when meeting new folks! I wanted to know—what placements do you have that resonate with you the most?
BF: “Yes! I’m a double Aquarius, sun and rising. I definitely resonate with that the most. I feel like I’m a very stereotypical Aquarius. I’m also Capricorn cusp, and I feel really connected to that too.”
AM: Seeing that it is Pride month, who are some musicians that helped you feel comfortable in your sexuality, while empowering you simultaneously? How did their works influence yours in return?
BF: “I feel like my answer to this might be a bit disappointing. While there are obviously tons of great queer musicians, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up with lots of queer family members and family friends. I’ve never really felt uncomfortable with my sexuality, which I know is a really big privilege. But I guess the first one that comes to mind would be Ani Difranco. I have lots of memories of playing my dad’s Ani cassette tapes in our old Honda Civic that only had a tape player. I always loved her weird guitar tunings and that's something I still draw from today. In terms of modern artists, I think most of the artists I listen to are queer, so it’s hard to pinpoint just a few!”
AM: Although “King of Wands” was dropped recently, are there any upcoming projects or live shows we can look forward to in the near future?
BF: “Yes! The “King of Wands'' music video will be out very soon and I’m really excited about that. There will also be a new song out at the end of July!”
AM: Where can Periphery readers find and support you through Housewife’s journey?
BF: “I’m on all the streaming platforms, and social media at @housewife_band! Come hang out with me! And thank you for such lovely questions!”
Periphery Magazine thanks Brighid Fry for their contribution and wishes them luck with future releases! You can find them on social media and streaming platforms here:
Instagram: @housewife_band
Twitter: https://twitter.com/housewife_band
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@housewife_band
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2IwSOO9bV4ZwvpnNk9f6lN?si=UwPc1OC8QC6FCeMDGtaKYQ
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/housewife/1263630079
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@housewife_band
Cover photo courtesy of Luke Rogers (@lukemrogers)
If you are interested in being featured in Periphery Magazine’s interview series surrounding interesting people in creative roles, please contact Madison Case at: theperipheryzine@gmail.com.