Q&A: How to Be a Bitch that Bopz with Ashley Koehler, Taylor Mix, and Ellen Whelan from BitchBopz
From left to right: Ellen Whelan, Taylor Mix, and Ashley Koehler
The trio behind the music and lifestyle platform BitchBopz—Ashley Koehler, Taylor Mix, and Ellen Whelan—is like really creative. Read the Q&A from our interview available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
ZACK ORSBORN:
So I'm joined by the ladies of BitchBopz. They are taking the Memphis music scene by storm. They have their own podcast. They have their own aesthetic. They're really cool ladies. We have Ashley, Taylor, and Ellen. Thanks for joining me.
ASHLEY KOEHLER:
Thank you for having us.
ELLEN WHELAN:
Absolutely, this is so exciting!
ZO:
So I found y'all on Instagram, and I was immediately taken by how cool the brand was, how like in-your-face it was and like, touching on a very current vibe of music and aesthetics.
And I was very curious. How did you meet? How did all this get started?
AK:
Well, we all met in different points of life, which is really funny, but I used to work in restaurants, before I went to school for marketing and, like, graphic design and all that. And that is where I met Taylor.
And we met while they were working at a Midtown bar. I won't say the name. And we always bonded over music. A year and a half ago, we saw 100 gecs together. We took a road trip. And, yeah, we really bonded over that, and kind of always have bonded over music.
And then Ellen and I met at Arrow Creative because we were both working there. So I was doing like the social media marketing, and then Ellen was doing a lot.
EW:
Yeah. Programs, management, administration. One of my favorite things to do was just to go down and talk to all the artists, though. And since marketing was Ashley's gig, we ended up having the most sort of collaboration out of everybody that I worked with at Arrow. A lot of the times it was me that knew who was going to be in the studios at a given time for her to get content from, etc., etc. and we kind of bonded over the fact that being intimate with artists is so cool.
Being able to have a space where you could physically just walk down and say hello to people in studios in the middle of doing their thing was just really exciting for both of us. And so when we left Arrow on our prospective paths, we maintained a friendship over just the idea of being artistic community girlies. And, she's the main reason that I have been out of my apartment, like, for any other reason other than work or the grocery store.
ZO:
And what does it take for a bitch to bop?
AK:
Honestly, and the reason why they are a part of this team with me is, like, I've always really admired just authenticity when it comes to music. Because I've always felt like, who am I to, like, use my voice? Or, I feel like I'm so worried about being perceived sometimes, and I'm not always like, my most authentic self.
And yeah, I think that is really what BitchBopz represents is like celebrating femininity and like, femme music in general, because a lot of the time that is not always seen in a positive light. And also just like there is so much under the femme umbrella when it comes to femininity in music. And so, yeah, for a bitch bop, I feel like, you know, just standing on business and being like, yeah, this is me, this is who I am.
And yeah, being really authentic. What about you guys?
EW:
I mean, I'm feeling the main bop that we're dealing with is the ability to say, I miss being able to be a part of creating with other people.
I think that especially ever since the pandemic, it's been really easy to be individualized. And it gave a lot of people the chance to work on their own craft and really hone some skill sets that they were able to do. And we're now coming to a point where the lack of meeting with other people and creating a space for dance etcetera, it's something everybody's missing really, really hard.
And so how to do that in a way that's innovative and not the same old, same old expectation, just show up and be another person in a building? It's, how do you show up and be a person with your friends who are supporting friends, who’s supporting friends, who's doing things with friends? It's just like, how do you make that a continued, magnanimous kind of consideration?
I think that's what the bop is.
ZO:
What about you, Taylor?
TAYLOR MIX:
I definitely feel very similar in a lot of the ways that they've already expressed, but I definitely feel like us coming together, just the three of us and expressing all three different sides that we all represent and just opening up other people's palettes, you know, whether they're consuming as artists or people who are just listening and want to learn how to feel different things throughout different music.
You know, it's just nice opening up and getting everyone's different idea of what they like.
ZO:
Y'all are kind of reminding me of the Powerpuff Girls right now. I want to know, do y'all have three distinct personalities? Describe y'all's personalities.
AK:
It's actually really funny you make that comparison because I am Bubbles, 100%. That's like always been my GPOY character.
And we actually have a debate on this because they really go back and forth in terms of who's Buttercup and Blossom. But for me, I mean, and you guys can speak for yourselves later, but what I've always loved about Taylor is that they always speak their mind and they're always like, willing to be different and commit to listening to different genres or like discovering new things and being open to that.
And also I come from like a very, like girly pop world where I used to be like the Ariana Grande whatever.
ZO:
That's my girl.
AK:
Same. I’m a Cancer, so. But it was always really nice that these people who I felt like were so authentic and like Midtown cool. Like I never felt like I could do that authentically, you know, and having people like this support me and being like, no, we see you and we want to be a part of your life.
TM:
You can still be bubblegum pop and be Midtown cool.
ZO:
I think you're cool.
AK:
Thanks! I have a tattoo.
TM:
And besides, there’s levels to this shit. You’re more than that.
AK:
But, yeah, I mean, I do think they represent just authenticity. Artistic creativity, self-expression and just being a bad bitch, not giving an F.
ZO:
Who's Buttercup, who's Blossom over here?
EW:
Okay. Yeah. Look, just like with Ashley, I was prescribed Blossom when I was younger. That was my signature. Again, it's weird to go back and forth, right? But I do feel a lot more Buttercup now in my days of older.
But whenever I think about that, and this is actually a conversation Ashley and I have had, we have a really hard time prescribing Buttercup to me because of the, like, strong personality of a person that you [Taylor] are. I don't feel like I present myself in front of people as strong as you do. And I think that I enjoy being able to curate a presentation for myself, and I get a little bit more nervous about it sometimes. So in that sense, I think that I can retrospectively agree that, like your [Taylor] Buttercup and I’m Blossom, but this is a discussion that we have yet to have. I think that it should be had, though.
ZO:
So how do you all work together? When you have BitchBopz, which is its own brand, what's like the day-to-day? How do y'all keep the bitches boppin?
AK:
That's a great question.
EW:
It’s a constant effort.
AK:
A lot of prayer.
EW:
Little sleep.
AK:
And a lot of Canva.
TM:
Media consumption, oh my gosh. So much media consumption.
AK:
Honestly, it's a pretty collaborative effort. I would say, like I do social media marketing for a living and for me, like the reason I started doing BitchBopz was because I was doing so much work for local businesses and just bosses that I was like, this just doesn't resonate with me.
And I am sure that you have experienced this where it's like, I feel like I am using my talents to benefit other people, and I have yet to feel fulfilled from like the work that I've given others. And so I was like, not only do I want to do this for myself, but I feel like there are so many people, including my friends, who want a community like this where we can talk and, you know, like carve out a space for the girlies that is like cute and aesthetic and all of that.
And yeah, I will say that I committed from the beginning of like, I know how to plan a content calendar and do all that stuff. They were always 100% supportive of me and like, had my back through all of that. And I was really just waiting until—because I didn't want to bring just all of my friends on and like, let's all do whatever, because, I mean, this is serious for me.
I want this to be like, you know, a brand that is consistent with me for hopefully a while.
I was just kind of waiting for my friends to feel like they're in a place where they wanted to contribute and be a part of that. And so, yeah, I think that was around October, like November of this year.
EW:
I told you when we hit 1K [on Instagram], when BitchBopz hit a thousand, I would start actively participating instead of just being a soundboard.
AK:
I had to prove myself to her.
EW:
I also needed more time to make sure that I could show up for you, because I've had issues in the past in my life of having a lot of people want my creative participation in some way or form, and a lot of the times it was either that they didn't really know what they wanted.
And so it was hard for me, like I felt like pulling fingernails out to figure out what they needed, or the alternative would be that they would give me an idea, and then it would be my responsibility to run that idea. And I don't have the ability to do that. Like I am not organized enough and not focused enough on a day-to-day basis to be able to do that.
So I also really needed to—I saw BitchBopz growing, and I saw the work that you were doing, and I was like, okay, like I really need to take a deep breath and focus on how I can show up on a regular basis, like, what does Ellen have to offer really consistently that will mean something to the community?
And yeah, 1K. I was like, all right, that's my goal. It's just vague enough and yet just specific enough that I won't be able to run away from it. But it gives me a little bit of time to prepare.
ZO:
Taylor, what made you want to join?
TM:
Just because we've always had such an close relationship with music, it's something that we've just always discussed and have been, you know, just sounding boards for each other, what we want to listen to and what we're listening to at this current moment, blah, blah, blah, so and such. But I think, you know, I felt like I was going to be wasting something if I didn't join up with people I really care about and curate something so fun that people in the community, friends, like all my loved ones are able to see and participate in.
If you have such a strong love for something, I just don't see how you couldn't follow through with it.
I'm really lucky to have two people who I I feel they're going to help me prosper with this project and it'll turn into something even cooler than it already is. I just felt like I'd be missing out if I didn't do it.
ZO:
Yeah, I love that.
[Ashley wipes away a tear]
And you are officially the first one to cry on the podcast, so that is a huge honor.
AK:
That tracks.
ZO:
That's big Cancer energy right there.
That was very sweet. I can feel the bond between y'all and music is this common thread. So what is it that made you want to focus on music in the Memphis music community?
AK:
Yeah, I think music is something that can so easily connect people. And a big way to share perspective and like understanding with people. And again, with Ariana Grande, like, yeah, I love her and her vulnerability and her way that she opens up about things. And yeah, I think with music, it's like we can talk about bigger subjects through the lens of a specific song or through the lens of Glorilla or celebrating Brat Summer, Chappell Roan and things like that.
It's like, yes, those things have always happened and women have always been a part of the music space. But I think for us, we didn't really see a lot of that representation aside from girly pop music. And especially with local music, like we've seen just so much in the Gen Z area, just like non-binary, like femme, whatever.
Like so many people being authentic and using their voice.
ZO:
Girly pop is my number one favorite. I've always felt connected to that since my first cassette was Britney Spears “Baby One More Time.” And to see yall like really highlight femininity and girliness—like, I haven't seen that done in Memphis yet.
AK:
So you know what's funny is, the reason I listened to that album for the first time is my older brother was gifted it by like my Meemaw or something.
She was like, oh, this is a new pop star. And he was like, I'm not listening to this because it's for girls and he gave it to me. And I loved it. I was like, Britney Spears!
ZO:
Shout out to Meemaw.
AK:
She’s probably going to watch this. She’s a Bopper.
ZO:
What about y'all? What does music mean to y'all and celebrating it in Memphis?
TM:
So for me, I always grew up listening to a lot of music and grew up with wanting to go out to local shows. And as a teenager, I was lucky enough to be allowed to go to those shows and ended up meeting a lot of people who are still really close to me this day, and just seeing the way that the music community itself just brought people together of all different types, I loved it. It's hard not to. I met so many different people from different places.
And like, you [Ashley] were touching on earlier talking about the lens of artists. It's so nice meeting people and coming from different places and you guys all banding together and being able to see things from each other's perspective. And I love that music really does that for people, especially because it connects you on a common thing and it's like, oh, cool, now we can learn each other.
ZO:
Yes, I love the [idea of] learn each other. You really can tell people's personality by their music tastes. Someone might have like just one specific or you might be all over the place. And that can really show someone being a person.
What about you, Ellen?
EW:
All right, well, I mean—my parents are very academic and so, like, I wasn't allowed to have cable. We didn't have cable growing up and things like that. And so I would legally download the most random music. Sometimes I would pick albums or bands based on how weird the names sounded.
So, like, I know A Hundred Dead Rabbits to this day, is like this really wild, hardcore band that I don't think exists anymore. But they're still out there. Here We Go is a very good song.
Outside of that, let's see—I actually hung out with friends by doing art when they had band practice. That was a huge thing that I did in middle school and high school was they would get together to do, like, I think Ugly Girls was the one band growing up that I—
ZO:
That's a great name.
EW:
They were amazing. And I really loved being able to just go over to somebody's house, and they would make music and you'd hear all the mistakes and you'd hear all the successes, and then you'd take breaks together and you'd just chat about life and hang out as friends.
And I would just be in a different room at a dinner table, drawing and coloring and doing my own thing. It's always influenced what I've done is like what other people are doing around me. And then when I moved to Birmingham, I started—with a really good friend of mine—he wanted to do five albums in five years. And I was like, that's insane. Do you have someone to do the album art and he said, no. So I ended up doing, I think, three of the album covers for him in those five years. And then we also put on a couple of DIY shows together, and I had the same sort of feeling in Birmingham that I did in Memphis.
And so it's really cool to be able to copy and paste that feeling of going over and doing art and listening to people practice music, no matter where I was. And I maintain that as being like a core essence of what life is about.
ZO:
So basically your life was like Freaky Friday and you were like Lindsay Lohan.
EW:
Dude, do you know what? I'll take that. I've never made that connection before. But I will absolutely take that. But please don’t body swap me.
ZO:
No, we'll keep Jamie Lee Curtis out of this.
So outside of being online, y'all also are going out to the community. Y'all had the Grammys party. What does a BitchBopz event look like? I looked, I saw the pictures, and it looked like Hollywood. It looked like really cool Hollywood. Like the cool kids. What was that like? What else do you have planned in the future?
AK:
That was really fun because it was kind of a community led event where people were kind of asking like, oh, are you guys doing anything for the Grammys? We didn't know that people actually had an interest in that. And, yeah, we posted a story of like, hey, would you guys be interested if we held something?
And it was so nice that people were like, yeah, we would love to be a part of that. And I think that's kind of when I made the connection of like, oh, people want to come to a space that we can curate. And it just kind of got us excited. We reached out to Dru's Bar and they were like, oh my gosh, we've never had a watch party.
That's such a great idea. And shout out Dru's Bar.
ZO:
I love Dru's Bar. That's where I practice karaoke.
AK:
They were so accommodating and so excited to be a part of it. And that was what really like sealed it for us was the fact that the community wants this and we are just facilitating that. But it's so nice that we get to represent that.
But for us, I'm big on details and I just felt like the girlies really need a curated space because I love Memphis and we have a lot of great venues. But I personally want to be in a space where I felt like, oh, they did that for us. Like they want us to feel like excited to be a girl or excited to celebrate this aspect of ourself that we don't always feel like get celebrated.
And so yeah, we were really big on details. We did every table, like a different girl. So we had like a Chappell table, a Doechii table, a Brat table.
And then we had like art vendors because we were like, I mean, can we have vendors here? And they were like, yeah, sure. So we just like being able to bring together all different parts of the community that have supported us.
But also all of us are like naturally friends anyway, like all these people that are coming out to support us, like naturally support each other in the community. But what was really fun was that we had like over 50 people there on a Sunday night.
ZO:
That’s amazing.
AK:
And another thing that was really fun for me was the excitement that people had to see other people there. Like I remember Raneem [Imam] was there and someone was like, oh my gosh, Raneem is there. And I'm like, yeah, I'm also fangirling.
ZO:
I'm trying to get her on the show, and she's like, after my album.
AK:
Yeah, she’s a busy queen for sure.
It was just so fun that like, everybody was just excited to hang out and be together. And yeah, I think that kind of solidified us as being people that host events for the community. That was really exciting and special.
ZO:
Do y'all have plans to do more events? How’re yall going to bop along?
AK:
Well, we're bopping right along because we are almost at a year.
EW:
Happy birthday, BitchBopz in March.
ZO:
Oh my god. Birthday party.
AK:
Our anniversary is going to be, oh my God, I think it's the 26th of March.
So we are planning—we're currently in the works of planning an anniversary party. And really the focus is just like celebrating just BitchBopz as a community and having people perform and having vendors come out and just people that not only have supported us, but that we would want to highlight and say thank you for believing in us and for like, you know, being a part of this community.
So we're really, really excited about that.
ZO:
That is exciting. So outside of BitchBopz, I want to talk about each one of y'all personally. What do you do creatively and how do you stay creative?
EW:
Well, so I actually love that question because I have landed a job that is not in the creative section of life. I do research compliance and so it's literally federal regulations, which right now is a little bit—a big bit of a massive headache. But, I never thought about it this way. Doing a noncreative job has allowed me to be more creative outside of my job.
My creative juice, my creative flow is not wasted on my income. Which actually—I don't know why I didn't think about that previously, because even doing my visual arts degree with my art history minor and everything, I never, ever decided or made the decision: it sounds like a great idea to make my personal art what I make money on. The idea—I mean, anybody who's been a creative ever—you have a piece of your soul in that, right?
So how the fuck are you going to price your soul? How are you going to price a piece of your soul?
Like that just feels really weird. And so me, I knew I would never be able to cross the boundary of doing art that didn't include pieces of my my soul. Now I'm able to functionally do creative things and get in my creative flow that is so personal and intentional.
BitchBopz is a huge one. BitchBopz has taken a lot of my creative flow in ways that are really satisfying and just, it's the cool thing of being frustrated about something and then having it work out because you worked through the frustration and that kind of moment, I'm obsessed with.
I can eat them up any day of the week.
And BitchBopz does that for me. And then I also get the ability to like—
[Ashely wipes away another tear]
—you're so funny. But I also get the ability to, like, paint and do things for like, just my friends and my family. I get to make things for birthdays instead of spending money, and that's really where my creative flow is right now, is just being able to find ways to support and encourage other people and celebrate other people.
Because it’s coming from me, right? It's all about me from the start. So it's nice to be able to cross a bridge and connect with other people that way.
ZO:
I love that. What about you, Taylor?
TM:
So I'm actually finally starting to learn how to make music. I've been playing around with Logic. I've been playing around with so many different programs.
EW:
Real Buttercup vibes.
TM:
Absolutely. And as of right now, I was telling them earlier it sounds like Tom and Jerry sound effects.
ZO:
That could be cool though. Nostalgic.
TM:
We can call it Hyperpop and call it a day. Like seriously it's been really nice to finally do something like this because it's like, oh, it's a part of—once again—being authentic and making my own authentic sound.
So it's nice to hear all the artists that I take a lot of pride in and do my best to poke around on my computer and make these sound effects. And I'm like, okay, that kind of sounds like Eartheater.
ZO:
What made you want to take the leap and focus on music?
TM:
I mean, I just felt like getting to my mid 20s and not pursuing something like this that I've always wanted to do my whole life was me holding myself back.
It’s something that makes me happy. It's something that I do every single day. So why wouldn't I do it for myself and make my own authentic sound?
ZO:
What would be the kind of vibe of your debut album?
TM:
That is so tough. Oh my goodness. I mean, I would say it probably like synthy and ethereal. Like harp sounds and lots of scary, haunting vocals.
ZO:
Ooh. Like scary fairy type stuff. I love that.
EW:
Let’s fucking go, Taylor.
ZO:
What about you, Ashley?
AK:
Okay, well, I'm going to be honest. I have a hard time turning off a BitchBopz. It's kind of hard to be, like, outside of BitchBopz, I [do] whatever.
ZO:
You can talk about how you funnel your creative energy into BitchBopz because you're an amazing graphic designer. Like really good honestly.
AK:
Thank you so much. And we've talked about this through the DMs, but yeah, again, it's like I do this for a living. And so there have been so many times in my career and just starting out to where I've worked with someone or worked under someone that just didn't really appreciate my artistic direction at all.
It was fine. And like, as I've gotten older, I've learned that not everyone has the same style. But I think when I was first starting out, I took that really hard and it was really personal because, again, art is so personal, and it really shook me. You know, I'm like, do I really have what it takes?
Or maybe my eye is wrong, you know? And for me, I think being able to connect with other creatives who I look up to—like for you to say something like that to me, I'm like, that means more to me than any critique—like negative—that came my way because I'm like, I respect what you have to say, you know?
And I think what keeps me inspired creatively is really being like a part of the community and going to things. And just like experiencing life. I think previously I was scared to do things alone or like, oh, I don't know who's going to be there or whatever. And now I'm just like fully open to going to a movie by myself or going to the park for like two hours or whatever.
And yeah, and that really inspires me a lot. I love spending time alone and, you know, listening to music. That really keeps me going. But also seeing other creatives also being constantly busy and it makes you so excited to see everybody just working so hard. And that also inspires me too.
ZO:
And with all of yall’s creativity, how do y'all balance kind of having jobs and doing these brands? That's what I've been struggling with lately.
AK:
Therapy. I highly recommend for everyone. Like shout out to therapy.
I definitely think being realistic with your time and your boundaries around creating and stuff like that, is it's definitely a learning process, especially when you care so much about what you're working on. It's like hard to focus on other responsibilities and seeing that as like an equal thing that you have to care about.
I will say they are great in terms of keeping me grounded, of like, you don't have to work 60 hours on this a week and people will still like you.
I think being comfortable with being a creative or doing BitchBopz is a part of who we are. It doesn't necessarily have to be one certain way all the time for it to still be a part of our identity. And I think having them support me and just being like, yeah, it's okay if you don't get a post out today.
EW:
It's okay that you worked only three hours on it instead of 20. That’s fine. That’s fine.
ZO:
As long as you did it.
TM:
I'll be completely transparent. I drown a lot of the time. I still work in the service industry. So you know it's a very physical job so I get tired. And I love doing stuff all the time. But definitely there are days where I really have to sit and completely reset and think about my week and what I probably should be doing instead of lighting the candle at both ends.
So I will be totally honest and say hey it is so hard. It is so incredibly hard. The hardest thing I've done probably. But it's so rewarding.
ZO:
What about you, Ellen?
EW:
That is the flip side of it. I mean, how many times does any individual person in their lives decide to really push themselves in order to make something happen on a short term level?
I think anybody can think of something that they've really pushed themselves to get through, like just a temporary period, finish school, whatever it is. And that's the real thing is we're not looking at a sprint, we're looking at a marathon. We're looking at something that can be really big and really like beyond what we ever considered between the three of us.
So, being able to both look at that big picture and feel encouraged by it and feel excited by it, and not allowing yourself to get engrossed in the big picture to the point where you feel sad about it and overwhelmed about it. So it's the moments and it's the every day. And when a week goes weird, when a week goes whack and sideways and bad things happen, and it turns out that the previous times that we really intentionally and worked really hard to plan, like, okay, this is when we're going to get this done, it's not going to happen.
And how do you manage being a human being where shit just happens to you and you just have to roll with it, and then you also have shit that you have to get out at the same time?
And you can’t do everything at once. And so sometimes it's totally valid to take the 15 minute phone time or FaceTime to just get two brains together or whatever it is, rather than expecting 3 to 5 hours of work.
It really is, I think, a lot of forgiveness. It's a whole lot of forgiveness for the self. That's one of the things that I took my time to be a part of [BitchBopz] was that I have beaten myself up over not showing up for people. I have told myself that I wasn't worth it, because I said that I could draw a thing or sketch out something, or help someone make a decision, and I didn't.
And it really is just letting myself feel okay with the fact that yesterday or last year, I wasn't going to be able to do that, and I didn't. And looking at who I am right now this year, in this time, in this moment, and being really honest about who that person can be for any anybody else, that was really important to me.
Ashley is a really good friend of mine. I want to show up for her. I want to be able to say, yes, this is something that I'm doing and then I do it. So being able to have—I mean let's be real—external validation is always going to be a gift.
ZO:
Don't get me started on external validation.
EW:
So having three people who can work together and be like, oh my God, yes, like, oh, this is perfect. Like, yes, thank you so much. Like that—oh. Any bad day is going to be a better day if you have somebody being like, no it's totally fine. Yeah we'll get it done. I'll take care of this. You take care of that, it's fine. Eat some food.
ZO:
You can't say the wrong thing to the right person. Which is a mantra I had to tell myself.
EW:
Exactly. It's not easy. It’s a long term effort. But that's the whole thing is the long term effort always has some sort of consequence. People who have a general goal in their head about where they want to be and how they want to exist in the world, they come together and talk about it. And then that goal ends up being a shared goal. So that makes it a whole lot easier. It's never going to be easy, but it can always be easier.
ZO:
Yeah. Rewarding. So for each one of y'all, what have you all learned about yourself by being with each other?
AK:
Oh my God. I’m really going to cry over this one.
EW:
Yeah, Zack, you’re going hit her in the heart.
I think there's a lot going on in there. Based on the fact that I think we're all three in different places in our lives.
Both where we're at, maybe career wise and financially, and then also like, where we spend our time outside of BitchBopz. Like we don't spend every weekend and every hour together, which means that we all have very different existences outside of that. And so I think that allows for some really nuanced versions of what you learn because what I'm learning about Ellen in BitchBopz is different than what I'm learning about Ellen in life because of BitchBopz.
So like with BitchBopz specifically, I mean I'm healing the parts of myself that never showed up for creative opportunities in the past. And that's a huge thing that I'm doing. And it's not something that I've necessarily learned about myself. But it's a lot more about being able to prove to myself something that I wasn't sure of in the past, and learning that I'm actually very capable where I hoped I could be capable.
That's my favorite thing. I’ve been asked to do t-shirts, tattoos, album covers. Yadda yadda. And yeah, I got some of them done but they weren't consistent projects. They weren't something that was building into something bigger. And this is a consistent thing that's building to something bigger. And so showing up for that is just completely healing the parts of me that didn't think that I could show up for things and participate in a bigger project and be valued in that project.
That's probably the one that's relevant.
ZO:
That's so sweet. I'm gonna start crying with Ashley.
EW:
We cry a lot. We all cry a lot.
TM:
I would definitely say I've learned that I have an excellent team behind me. Not only spending time like doing our thing with our project, but just being friends and spending time together—it's opened up so many different aspects of me.
You know, it's just really cool. And I just really appreciate having people that are still here to expand me as a person, because I feel like that's kind of hard to find. I likey!
AK:
OK, well, I don't know how to follow that. Honestly, the hardest thing for me was starting it.
Using my voice has never really been my strong suit when it comes to talking about myself. It's a lot easier for me to advocate for other people and use my voice to, like, spotlight others. I don't know.
I've gotten older. I’m almost 30.
ZO:
30s are awesome. It's been the best year in my life, honestly.
AK:
Yeah, I was in my Saturn’s return. And I was like, I want to do something like impactful. And I want to do something that has meaning to me. And I have kind of always been the sensitive, empath crybaby, pink, whatever, yadda yadda. And that's cool.
But I feel like a lot of the time over my life like I've been made fun of for that or you know, I've been made to feel small for crying about things or whatever. And another thing about me is that I have this flip side where I love Hyperpop and 100 gecs and rap. I love rap.
And so I have struggled with like being seen fully where it's like, I'll show these girls my Ariana Grande side. I'm not going to show them my Young Dolph side, whatever. Or I’ll show these people that I listen to rap and then I won't tell them that I cried myself to sleep to Drake, or you know, whatever.
And yeah I think just putting myself out there in that way of like, I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, and I am not doing this just because I care about other people knowing my opinion.
I want other people to feel like they are seen and valued, and that those things that have made them feel small or made them feel not included in the music scene, or made them feel like they didn't have an opinion worth expressing, like I wanted them to feel seen and be like, hey, you're not the only person that feels like that.
Something that I've learned is that the community here is just so special. Like, I am blown away every time someone likes a post or someone like DMs me. Like, that's so funny because I've been here my whole life, but I have always tried to hide and make myself smaller. You know, I didn't want people to know who I was when I went out.
And now something I have learned is that I love going out and like, representing BitchBopz and people coming up to me and like, knowing me. And I know them. I see them for who they are and they see me for like, exactly who I am and like it. That's been so rewarding. And it's also made me realize that I can use my voice in a way that supports other people and gets a message and a platform to people that deserve it.
And yeah, I think it's allowed me to see things in a bigger way to where I'm okay with using my voice, because I know the end goal is for other people.
ZO:
I love that. Y'all are so cool. So my favorite question to ask artists and creatives is if you had all the time and all the resources, what would be your dream project for you personally—each one of you personally and for BitchBopz.
AK:
Me personally. The reason I went to—and hopefully she sees this one day, no, I’m kidding—but I literally put myself back in school because of Rihanna. I'm not kidding. When she dropped Savage Fenty, I was obsessed with the marketing. I love lingerie. I love the way that she expresses femininity.
It's strength and being sexy. And the way that she can look like a dude one day and then fully have her nipples out the next day, and you respect her equally for each look. And I was like I want to work for her. And I went to school for graphic design and did fashion merchandizing specifically to like do collage work and do campaigns to work for Savage Fenty. So my dream would be to like do a marketing campaign or be involved with anything that Rihanna does. For real.
ZO:
Rihanna, get at your girl. What about you, Taylor?
TM:
I would definitely say my dream project would probably just be being able to work with a lot of the interesting producers that you see nowadays. Charli XCX is a very strong femme representation that's really awesome. I love Dylan Brady.
He's an excellent producer. You know, just working with people like that who show up for artists and not only just like help them with their music, but actually support them. I think that’d be awesome. And for BitchBopz, I just hope we keep getting to hang out. I love what we do. Even if we stop doing events and stuff like that, like I'm cool just posting playlists.
You know, I love what we do and getting to hear each other's music and our opinions.
AK:
Hey fun fact, did you know that Dylan Brady was on FKA Twig’s last album. He helped produce Strip Tease, which is one of my faves.
ZO:
I'm still in EUSEXA. I am EUSEXUA.
EW:
This is actually—BitchBopz is literally in the vein of my dreams. It's so weird how that works out. But for a really long time, I developed in college, I had this whole thing and personally—again—didn't want to do my own art for money.
But I had the very well-rounded ability to see what it took other artists to make things happen. Whether it was going to markets, whether it was selling in galleries, whether it was getting your art into other media forms like album art or set design, etc., etc. There's so many different branches that you can go into, and it oftentimes does interweave with music in some way, shape, or form.
And the musicians have similar issues. Doing it on your own, doing it for other people, doing it as a part of some sort of company. There are so many branches, and it's not easy. It's not easy also to keep yourself safe and protected from being taken advantage of. And I really wanted—my dream was to create something that allowed musicians and artists to not only collaborate with each other.
For example, you need an album cover. Guess what? I have five artists who want to do album covers right now. Like that was a dream of mine. And then also to be able to allow education to be given to the community in like the freest way possible to save them from that gap between amateur and professional.
That's where everybody gets eaten alive. You don't know who you are, you don't know what you're doing, or maybe you do, but at the same time, there's so much you don't know. And I really, really hate seeing story after story after story, whether it's in, you know, a big publication or in a friend's story of their lives, just people getting eaten up and taken advantage of.
And I was like, I want to build something that allows these people to not be taken advantage of so frequently. And so BitchBopz literally, like, not the exact same thing, but in the exact same vein—it's the ability to give people voices in education and communities so that they're less likely to be put in situations they don't want to be a part of being taken advantage of.
Something that we talk about frequently is that venues have less power than they think they do when it comes to the artists. It's really the artist that has a lot of the power. And so how do you give artists the culture of the community to feel that they have that power is a way that we're able to keep artists from being taken advantage of?
So that’s a dream. A full dream for me. So it's hilarious that it works so well exactly with what we're doing right now.
And then like, no holds barred project in general. I would love to create like an architecture grant for artists who don't do architecture. Of artists who do like metalwork, woodwork, etc. tile work, stuff like that. And like, how do we add to current buildings, stuff that works with the architecture that's currently there and is functional in some form, but like adds the beauty or the magic or the whimsy back to it.
So instead of rain drains, get a metal artist to like devise a metal dragon that's actually a rain drain and put that on a building. Like that would be a dream to have like an architectural artist grant to be able to give to people in different cities, to add to buildings, to be able to add some whimsy to neighborhoods that don't initially have them.
ZO:
That is so cool because everything is so rectangular and white.
EW:
Yes, Bauhaus is everywhere.
ZO:
And Ashley, your dreams for BitchBopz.
AK:
Oooh, my dreams for BitchBopz. Honestly, I would love—I mean, I love that it is so like local community led—but I would love for it to expand across the country. It would be really cool to have like, Bopperz that are represented on the West Coast and like how that music scene is versus ours.
And then being able to cross-promote like, oh, well, the BitchBopz headquarters in LA has an artist that needs to come to Memphis. And how do we facilitate that? Yeah, things like that. Honestly, I always had the dream before I even started BitchBopz of creating some sort of label, like a music label, or some sort of PR because I feel like right now a huge disconnect for artists is that if you're independent, you don't have the backing of the marketing, the money, the PR and stuff like that.
One thing that I see us expanding at is being that for artists.
ZO:
I totally see that.
AK:
And it's like I'm trying to figure out a way to like scale it in a realistic way because I also have a 9 to 5 and I have to like, go to the grocery store and stuff. So yeah it would be really cool to be like the facilitator for independent artists to still maintain that independence, but to have a team of people that are like, hey, we will help you promote your show, we will help you get a photoshoot together or, you know, do some sort of like album artwork and things like that because we have a collective of artists and creatives that all want to work together, and we are all aligned with the same values and mission to where it's like we don't have to worry about, oh, is this person a weirdo? You know what I mean? Because we've vouched for these people, essentially.
ZO:
I would love to see a BitchBopz record label.
EW:
I mean, the future is full of opportunity.
ZO:
It is. Final question. Can I be a bitch?
AK:
Yes!
TM:
Of course!
EW:
A bitch and and bop.
ZO:
Okay. Awesome.
AK:
I would like to say bitch is gender neutral. To all the dudes or non females that are Bopperz, I feel like people are scared to say bitch to us. So you could say, “hey bitches.” I want to make that very clearly.
EW:
“Hey bitch” me all day.
AK:
We're reclaiming the word bitch and we're reclaiming the word bop.
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