Curtis Everett Pawley: Conversations About Nothing

Interviews

Apr 24

When does this guy fucking sleep?

Front man of The Life (and new musical act Headless), one half of the Ion Pack Podcast, and likely behind any idea that’s taken off downtown, Curtis Everett Pawley does it all. This week the Radio talks to Curtis, in an intricate conversation, about nothing.

Who is Curtis Pawley?

An architect of emotional machinery, watching it all unfold from somewhere slightly behind himself.

First memory of music?

The sound of a ceiling ventilation system in a hospital bathroom. Made me learn how much I need a pedal tone very early on.

And also Elton John. When I was only 2 I made my first stage persona, based on him, called Lightbulb John.

What made you smile recently?

The way a particular girl said my name in a voice memo.

Define heartbreak:

The death of the future. But heartbreak is simply the withdrawals of being lovesick - so it’s always, always worth it.

Define happiness:

Being completely present.

Grace, both the original and the CFCF remix are constantly in rotation for us. What went into writing/producing that song, and how did the relationship and remix come to be with CFCF?

It actually started a very long time before it was released, i heard the rolling verse melody in my head and it felt like desperation. Desperation from what? Being lost? Then what happens? Now you’re found- Amazing Grace (which is probably the greatest song ever written).

In terms of process i just had a loop of that key pluck and a pad and walked in a circle listening to voice memos and trying them over it. Then I got to the bridge and merged it with this string part I had made just called “American Songbook”. It was a classic feeling of having no idea where all of the parts and movements came from when I sat down afterward and listened back. Didn’t even know what it sounded like really. But I fell in love with it in a way i have previously never felt about a song I wrote, so it’ll always have a special place in my heart.

Now jump backwards - before the song came out, I was in Miami to throw a party at Art Basel. Some crypto guys last minute gave me a bunch of money if I would use it to book more people on the show. So very last minute I wrote to CFCF, who I had never met, and asked if he would fly down to Miami the next day. He was in - flew cow from Canada to DJ a sports bar with sand floors, but the whole trip was a sleepless blur— one night somewhere right on the Atlantic, hanging with Ben Ditto, i played him an early version off my iPhone speaker. We have the exact taste in music in all different directions, so many moons later, when Grace came out, I asked him to do his thing in any direction, and he found a version from the other side of desperation.

What’s behind the name Headless?

I have a giant list of potential names and titles for anything. I’ve had Headless on it since maybe 2017. When me and Drummond wrote these songs, I started thinking about crushed beauty, emotional surveillance, modern myth, detached longing, and digital lust, and it seemed to fit perfectly.

Best party you’ve been to?

The best parties always happen by accident. Sometimes they’re just with one girl.

If I’m not mistaken, we both see throwing a good party as an “art.” What separates a good party from just another night out?

Sometimes at good parties, you can feel like you’re a part of a larger musical and cultural history. Being a part of that is important - there’s more to music than just songs. Also, a great night out is actually some kind of liminal space. There’s nothing that can be done about your problems in the moment, you’re moving forward from your past and getting out, and the future feels brighter than ever.