AN INTERVIEW WITH AVA MORSE

“Be the good”

BTCF: How did you get started as a performer and how old were you when you began?

AVA: Ever since I was little, I would always be performing. Whether it was putting on concerts in the living room for my family or on stage I knew that this was what I wanted to do. Growing up in the acting world, I did my first professional musical theater show when I was 5 and been doing on stage, and on camera since then. 4 years ago, I started to publish original songs and continued to balance the acting and singing world.

BTCF: Who is Ava’s support team?  How important is having support to you and how does it help you in your daily life?

AVA: I have a whole team of producers, managers and agents behind me and they are all super amazing. While, on the less professional side, my parents are extremely supportive and really motivate me through everything that I do.

BTCF: There are so many young people who can relate to your song, White Space.  Is this a place you found yourself or is it you looking in or even looking out or both?

AVA: The song travels through all of that. The first part of the song is definitely more when I realized I was in the “white space” then transitioning through to the second verse it’s looking back in after coming out. I’m a very self-aware person so this song really shows the vulnerability of that and realizing I was part of the problem saying “I thought you were different but you’re not” reflects me talking to my past self, hypocritically calling myself out.

BTCF:  There is so much peer pressure, the compare and despair so many youths find themselves bombarded with while also striving to find their purpose, identity, a level of acceptance of others over an acceptance of themselves.  Why do you think that is?  Is your song, I Should Be Leaving a song that addresses this? If so, how?

AVA: I like to say I don’t care what other people think of me as more of trying to convince myself that is so. Putting on a front is something most people do and as I’ve grown up, I realize that if I didn’t let something get to me at some point, I probably wouldn’t be who I am today. Especially being in social media and super public with everything, hate and backlash is inevitable. When I wrote I should be leaving I just listed a bunch of weird things about myself, but that’s me. “if this is the party I should be leaving” and by putting on a front and trying to be someone I’m not is how I need to be to “fit in” then I don’t want to “fit in”.

BTCF: Do your lyrics ever come to you while you were sleeping in your dreams? Could you share a time they did and what that felt like for you?

AVA: I’ve never had lyrics come while I was sleeping, but I do sometimes get lyric ideas as I’m about to fall asleep. I keep my song notebook and a pencil in my dresser to blindly write these down as they come to me so I can see them in the morning. They also come to me as I’m just going about my day, so I pull out my phone and record myself really quick into voice memos or write it in notes. My phone is filled with them.

BTCF:  In one of your latest songs Games, were you inspired by a personal experience?  You use a lot of word coloring with different tracks playing behind you in conversations.  Do you create and envision these things or is it a process that is done with your creative team?

AVA: Yes, extremely. When I originally was recording the song the whole idea of the intro and the conversations during the bridge just came to me as the production team and I were just joking about the song and the people brought up. It’s actually layers and layers of me just completely going full mean girl on the spot. The intro “sorry I can’t hang out tonight I have… plans” when they obviously do was something that has happened before and that sucks. I think it set the tone for the whole song since the song is setting up for a new vibe and era of my music that I’m so excited about.

BTCF: What is your process when you sit down to write a song?

AVA: First, I start scrolling through my phone to listen back and revisit what I had come up with that day. Start to put chords behind it on my piano maybe blend a bunch of other songs that I hated to this new melody and idea, record it on garage band (nothing fancy) then eventually hate it again. And keep listening, re writing, singing it again and again until I finally post it on Instagram or tik tok and set it aside for future publishing.

BTCF: We have had the pleasure of having you participate in our artist series, “Elements of Expression” for two year now.  How does being a part of this series connect to you?

AVA: I think this series is so great and I’ve had the pleasure working with and meeting so many talented and inspiring people. Being able to be a part of it and share different aspects of myself through my music is incredibly special for me.

BTCF:  BTCF uses art to unmask the stigma of those affected by eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image relationships to create conversation as a bridge to recovery.  How does this speak to you as an artist?

AVA: For me, whether I am listening to music or creating it, it puts me in such an amazing place where I just get lost in it and the stress of everything goes away for 3 minutes and 15 seconds and I’d love to help someone experience that as well.

BTCF: At such a young age you have a lot to say about social media and pop culture.  Can you share more about this and why it’s so important to you?

AVA: I don’t really think of it as if I’m an advocate or like trying to stick up for problems as a whole. It’s a stage of my life where I realize that I’m part of a generation that lets social media influence a lot of things and I just write about it as it affects me.

BTCF: What are three ways that help you create balance in your life?

AVA: I use my creative side to write and sing music, I’m still a regular teenager who goes to full time high school so that bring my academic side. I also am very active; dance has always been a part of my life, but I also love playing tennis and snowboarding.

BTCF: How many instruments do you play?  What type of music inspires you?

AVA: I play a lot of instruments, but I mainly write songs and perform with piano and guitar. I also play the ukulele and in 4^th grade I played violin for a month. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the bass guitar though.

BTCF: You said before, “Music is my therapy”.  How do you connect with your fans with this mind set?

AVA: I am a very self-aware person and I’m just going through life and writing songs about it, and it connects with a lot of people who are going through the same things I have as well.