bludnymph - CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the alternative pop artist, bludnymph, shares one of her stories from being on the road. You can check out the story below:

I used to be in a group called “AntiJoy”. The group consisted of my ex-girlfriend Keaton, my brother Korben, and myself. We had only ever done two shows. Our first show was when it was still just Keaton and I. It took place at a cute little Italian restaurant in our hometown that I had never been to. We pregamed outside on the patio while restaurant patrons watched us from the windows, yelling and running around in our matching white skirts and corsets trying to hype ourselves up, no doubt disturbing their evening meal. Our stage was a yellow milk crate on which we took turns keeping balance, our audience made up of friends and strangers who were busy watching or being involved in the fighting that was beginning to ensue. We performed one song.

Our second show, including Korben this time, was a little bit more official than milk crate & mosh. A little bit. Our fellow music-making friends invited us to be a part of their concert they had put together. We were the last act, so once it was our turn to perform the audience had dwindled to a party of about 10 people, but we gave these 10 people a SHOW TO REMEMBER. They cheered and danced and sang along with us.

That was before COVID put the world on halt and AntiJoy parted ways musically. In march 2022, my internet friend from Utah called me and invited me to perform in his show in Salt Lake City. I had promised myself that I would take any opportunity presented to me to perform, so without ever having met this Utahn man, I booked myself a ticket from BC Canada, and went on my solo adventure to do my first solo show. Man, I was NERVOUS. I had never gone on stage on my lonesome in another country in front of a crowd with nobody there I knew. I spent most of the time backstage while the other acts went up reading my book and taking shots of pink whitney to calm my anxiety. My therapist had taught me to do the opposite of what I instinctively want to do when dealing with unwanted feelings. When anxious, my body wants to be small and hide, so before I went up I stood and stretched my arms and legs as big as I could and YELLED. I was up against a black bear of my own making and I wasn’t going to back down. Then they called my name. No rehearsal, no preparation besides singing along to my set list in my room, but I was going to make that stage my BITCH. There were around 300-400 people in the audience, much bigger than my previous experience, but that just made it all the more exciting. I sang, I bodyrolled, I rapped, I crawled, I told stories behind the songs, and started a chant of “tuna casserole”. I was thrown to the wolves so I became the alpha. After my set was over I walked through the audience with my post-show adrenaline and a sharpie, letting everyone who wanted to sign my painters overalls I wore. I returned home with new friends and new fans, excitedly waiting for the next time I get to cheer "tuna casserole" with a crowd cheering it back.

Keep up with bludnymph on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.