Artists Off Stage - Sophie Negrini
by LEXI MCCOY
Sophie Negrini of Janelane has been spending time at home building music video set pieces, feeling nostalgic about record stores - and watching a lot of Spongebob
Hi Sophie! If you had to pick an album to describe your current mood, what would it be and why?
In this very moment? Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins. I know that sounds comically emo, but I’m feeling pretty gloomy with everything that’s going on in the world right now…also incredibly nostalgic for Pre-COVID life. I was reading the comment section for a video about the Hollywood Amoeba location closing, and burst into tears like a psycho because of one simple comment about “all the years spent looking through those aisles”. It just really made me miss taking the train to Hollywood with my sister as a teen, sifting through albums and getting pizza, not a worry in the world.
Without being able play shows, we're asking artists how they've been spending their time during quarantine. What have you been doing to stay sane and busy?
My room is a disaster of acrylic paint, glitter, and cardboard because I’ve been making set pieces for a Janelane music video. It might look like garbage but it has been a wonderful distraction. I’ve also been demoing songs, eating bread my sister has been making (best focaccia of my life), and going on lots of walks with my dog. The highlight has definitely been baking cookies and watching Spongebob with my boyfriend, who is on tour most of the year. This is the first time in our relationship that we get to be lazy and its really nice. I do miss playing and going to shows so much though…it makes my heart hurt just thinking about it. I miss hugging my friends too. I’ve seen some from a distance for like, five minutes, but I’m too scared to do “socially distant hangouts” because I’ve been quarantining with high-risk people.
I'm in love with your single "14 Days" and the video - all of it is just so heart-wrenchingly beautiful. What inspired the song and video?
Thank you so much. I wrote “14 Days” after my (former) best friend broke my heart. The echo of his words, “give it two weeks and you’ll forget all about it”, rang in my ears for months…so I had to write a song about it. My sister Gina and friend Jeremy helped me conceptualize the video; we wanted it to convey the loneliness and isolation felt when a heart break flips one’s world upside down. My friend Danielle, an incredible TV and film costumer, hooked me up with a fancy shiny suit that I felt was necessary for conveying my heartache as well.
Music and lyrics by Janelane Directed, filmed and edited by: Gina Negrini & Jeremy Reynoso Costumes by: Danielle Sims Special thanks to Joey Oaxaca, Preston ...
