Annie DiRusso Interview

Annie DiRusso’s newest single “Call It All Off” finds the singer canceling all her plans as the self-labeled flaky friend. Annie is based in Nashville after growing up in New York, where she first found her footing as an artist hitting upstate open mic nights courtesy of her parents. 

“We would go to open mics upstate and it was 13 year old me and a bunch of 60 year old men with acoustic guitars playing folk music. When I got to high school, I started to gig more in New York City and that's where I found a little bit more of my sound. Once I moved to Nashville for college, I bought an electric guitar and started listening to artists like Big Thief and Margaret Glaspy. I think the honesty and vulnerability of songwriting really inspired me, especially being in such a songwriting city as Nashville.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

The songwriting kick of Nashville has continued to thrum constantly through Annie’s music, especially within her latest release of “Call It All Off”.  Prior to release, Annie couldn’t help but feel excited as she inched closer and closer to release day. 

“I started writing “Call It All Off” in December of 2020, so it's been a minute waiting for it to come out. I'm so excited to have it out in the world and get to play it live with people singing it back to me. I loved writing it and  I think it's one of my stronger songs.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Through the stunning vocals and expressive instrumentation, “Call It All Off” at its core discusses the practice of self-isolation and flaking out on plans with friends. The relatable subject matter contained within the lyricism comes from DiRusso’s own personal experiences with utilizing the tactic in her life recently.

“A lot of the song is about the feeling of getting out of a relationship that was really, really all- consuming, and then trying to re-enter the world after that. The first verse touches on that feeling of not knowing anything anymore and being disoriented in the world you used to live in as an independent person. From there, the second verse then turns into being isolated from all your friends and family. The bridge, and a lot of the core idea of the song, is just feeling way too much. Having that moment where you try and reconnect to everything and just end up saying, “Okay, I don't want to do anything at all anymore, actually.” But the chorus, I think, is kind of an identity part for me more than anything else with, “so I'll call it all off / canceling is my thing / I never did get any better at committing.” I love my friends so much, but I do have a tendency to agree to things and then not really want to do them when the day arises. I think that that is like a fun layer for me to have been able to include because it's very confessional for me. My friends all think it's funny and also annoying.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Other than the confessional chorus, Annie told me about a few different lyrics that strike a chord as personal favorites within her songwriting of “Call It All Off”. 

“I love the first verse. The lyrics are “I guess you graduated, moved to Copenhagen / but honestly, I bet you didn't. / I guess there's things I'd like to talk to you about, like the redistribution of wealth / I guess I could just think about it myself / feels like I don't know anything anymore.” I really love that lyric. That was the first lyric that I wrote for the entire song and I feel like it really explains what I was going through at the time, that distinct feeling when you're out of a relationship and being like, “Oh, I want to have a discussion about this. I would love to talk to you.” Obviously, I didn’t actually need to talk to my ex about the redistribution of wealth. I needed to just use my own little mind and think about it, but I just felt like I couldn't do that anymore, because I was so in that situation.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

The way she builds her music into a fully fleshed out song may change between herself and the studio, but for DiRusso, a focus on lyricism is the most important part of her songwriting process. 

“I think as I've gotten a little bit older and been writing songs for a little bit longer it has become more of a consistent situation where I always start with the lyrics. I write down lyrics all the time, like, all throughout the day, whether it's in my phone or my notebook. As I start to build something a little bit more, and it's a little bit longer than just a single word or phrase, I will then pick up a guitar and then start to build the music around it. Like I always start with lyrics because that is, I think, by far the most important and hardest part of songwriting.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Another of Annie’s releases “Coming Soon” discusses her feelings of losing knowledge and being confused while being 22. Initially released last year while DiRusso was still 21, she now says that the song hits even harder for her a year removed. 

“I think this happens a lot with my songwriting where I say things that I either wish to be true or think could be true, and they make way more sense to me months after I write the song. I graduated college in December and I think that the bridge of the song tends to actually hit harder when you're actually graduated. Like, I used to be smart. I used to be nice. I didn't really like my last semester of school that much because I was touring, and I thought it was gonna fail out the whole time. Thankfully I graduated, but I feel very disconnected from my academic self now that I am eight months removed.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Juggling her final semester of undergraduate education and intensive touring proved to be the struggle for Annie, who prior to the semester had believed all of her classes would be online. When her school made the last minute decision to switch back to in-person instruction, DiRusso had just booked a month-long tour in October. After receiving some frantic approval from her professors, DiRusso set out on tour while also trying to accomplish work as a full time student in cities each night.

“I totally thought I was going to have a lot of downtime on tour, solely because I'd never been on tour before. I was like, “Oh, I’m opening. I'm playing a 30 minute set every two or three days. The rest of the time, I'll just do my schoolwork.” I had quite literally no free time at all. By the time you fly to the city, navigate your way to like where you're staying, and figure out show and location logistics, all the time just gets eaten up. I fell pretty behind on my schoolwork. I caught up after getting home, but that last semester was definitely a fight till the end. I was just so stressed out but I was doing what I wanted to do ultimately, which was touring. I’m happy that it is over now and I can just focus on music and touring alone.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Speaking of touring, Annie was incredibly excited to discuss her fall tour with Declan McKenna and the way she has manifested this tour for herself since she was 15.

“I've been a fan of Declan McKenna since I was like 15 years old, when he released “Brazil.” I used to like cold email his team when I was in high school to try to open for him. It’s just so funny because now it feels like six years later they finally got that email. It’s super cool to get to think of my younger self seeing this. I also can’t wait to get to see his show and play myself in a bunch of cities I’ve never been to before while also having more of an idea of what touring is actually like for me. I’m a lot less anxious about being on the road this time because I’ve got a few tours under my belt now and I think that I have a little bit more of an idea of what I'm getting myself into. I think I’ll have a bit more fun this tour.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

As for what’s next, Annie seems excited for the near future. Her face lit up with excitement on our Zoom call as she thought about her upcoming releases, and while she couldn’t give us many details, fans will be incredibly excited to hear the little bit she could spill.

“There’s definitely more music soon. It's been a long few years for people who have been listening to my music just because I don't really stuff that often, so you really have to grab on when I do. But…. I think that that will change in the near future. There will be a lot more to expand the discography, which I'm super excited about.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

Looking back over her career so far, I was curious to learn if there is any advice Annie wished she had when she first started out. In her own eyes, Annie was candid in stating that she wouldn’t change the course of her career thus far. 

“I don't think there's any advice I wish I was given. I'm happy with the way things played out, and with that, I think that there were some hard learned lessons that I needed to learn myself. On the whole, though, there's something to be said about just being really authentic with yourself. The entire time you're making music, or making any kind of creative project, you have to make sure it's all things that very much come naturally to what you want to say and do. Anytime I've ever released something that doesn't feel like me, that is the worst feeling ever. When it's a song, it's not something you can easily take back, so I think you have to make sure that everything you do is authentic. That it feels really right, at least in the time you're creating it.

When given the floor for any additional comments, Annie was incredibly excited to thank her fans for their support. 

“If you listen to my music, thank you so much. It means the world. Thank you for being so caring with me and all my personal stories as you relate to them. This has been like the coolest year of my life so far since I've started touring, and I can't wait to do it for a long time.” - Annie DiRusso, for Tongue Tied Magazine

We here at Tongue Tied also can’t wait to watch Annie keep making music and touring for a long time. Check out “Call It All Off” now on Spotify and see Annie perform the song live on her tour this fall with Declan McKenna. Keep up with Annie DiRusso on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter so you don’t miss a moment!