Exclusive Interview with YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE

Your best nightmare would be Erin Porter. A musical endeavor born of Porter’s deep life frustrations and love of horrifying literature. Your Best Nightmare, armed with a ukulele and determined to “frighten” the masses, is tackling the world head-on. Erin Porter, who was born and raised in New Jersey, has been surrounded by music her entire life. Every year of Porter’s childhood was a nonstop concert, whether it was singing show tunes, dancing on stage, or having too many CDs playing in her living room.

The conclusion of Porter’s horrifyingly romantic love story can be found in the newest single from Your Best Nightmare, “Ghost Town Love.” Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I’m from New Jersey! When I say that people typically think of Newark or Jersey City, which are both awesome. But I’m from the other side of the state. If you’ve seen the original “Friday the 13th” that’s just about where I’m from. It’s really green and good for my incredible hermit vibes. I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to whatever I could get my hands on, and I have memories of sitting in my living room with CD lyric packets and learning lyrics to songs. I’m now classically trained and a multi-instrumentalist. Your Best Nightmare started almost a year ago at this point! I wrote my first song, “Really Cute,” after meeting someone I couldn’t stand. It’s been a great year of making music and performing.

2. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I love both, don’t get me wrong, but working in the studio is so exciting to me. I have a very clear idea in my head of what I want things to sound like to support the story I’ve made. The challenge of creating a sound that tells the story in my mind is rad. I also love playing instruments. On Your Best Nightmare tracks I play almost everything!

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE’?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I love Joni Mitchell’s approach to music and art, and I feel she inspires me greatly. Some of my other musical influences are Streetlight Manifesto, MCR, Ludo, and the Carpenters. It feels like genre whiplash, but I feel like it explains a lot about me. I chose Your Best Nightmare because my first body of work has been about committing crimes of passion for a vampire. When people look at me I don’t think they expect me to sing the songs I do. I think it scares people to see an unsuspecting blonde spit out dark commentary.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I think I touch on themes and experiences that people have experienced. We’ve all probably been on a date with someone truly appalling, and we’ve all probably had a love that makes us question how far we’d go to maintain it. I also hope that people get interested in the ukulele from my music. It’s such a neat instrument that deserves more attention! I would describe my sound as cute and dangerous. Like I feel there are shades of punk in there, but it’s a very indie-pop sound. The ukulele makes everything sound really happy, but my lyrics are rather dark.

5. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: Music has always been a fulfilling realm for me. I’m having a great time making music and sharing it with the world! If it stops giving me the same tingly feeling I’ll go do something else.

6. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I had both! I remember teaching myself to play the piano as a kid, and my parents eventually got my lessons; I’ve been playing since 2003. I’ve tackled a few instruments (bass, guitar, and uke) all by myself. I am a classically trained soprano. I graduated from Montclair State University with a bachelors in music.

7. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I feel in music school I spent a lot of time trying to emulate this persona I thought I needed to have, but I was also younger. I was constantly worried that my voice didn’t sound right, or that I wasn’t good enough. Now, I’m really comfortable with myself, and I’m happy with the voice and skills I have. When I started Your Best Nightmare I didn’t want to sound like everyone else: I wanted to make music that felt like me.

8. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I think music can change the world if we let it. There’s a lot you can say in a song that gets the attention of an audience more than saying it. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but if you organize a few words and put it to a catchy tune you can have everyone singing an anthem of change.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: Before I started work as Your Best Nightmare I was pretty sick; like I was sick for months. At some point I started forgetting how to read music and sight read because my brain felt so foggy. I also had lost a lot of my breath support in the same time frame. Going from 100% to what felt like 0% was devastating. It took a lot of extra practice and patience with myself to get myself back on track.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE: I’m sharing music I actually wrote! I’ve spent years performing the work of other people, and felt too in my head to share anything I’d ever created. It’s really cool to sing my own songs.