A Conversation with Allison Staulcup of pizza4sluts

“I think if anyone told me my songs were ‘cute,’ I would die.”

Most of the hobbies adopted during the early stages of the pandemic have long since been abandoned. Lost weight has been regained. Sourdough starters have expired. And somewhere floating out in the ether is a sad little ghost town island with the truly inspired name of Johnsville. Once populated by happy-go-lucky animal characters who just want to talk to you, Johnsville’s citizens now surely feel dejected and devoid of hope, up to their necks in weeds and unwanted outerwear, wondering where that sweet family of four has gone. Don’t they know Tom Nook is offering a springtime special this week? KK Slider is gently sobbing monosyllabic squawks into his acoustic guitar while a concerning smell emanates from the cottage of Agent S.

Of course, not all quarantine hobbies have faded away. For Allison Staulcup of pizza4sluts, what started as an activity to help pass the time soon became a genuine act of self-expression that has blossomed into an ongoing solo project.

Recently, I was able to catch up with Allison to talk about her debut album Don’t Believe, her songwriting process, and the drawbacks to mentioning sluts in your band name. 

Our conversation follows.

What inspired the start of pizza4sluts? What was the first song you wrote for the project and how did it get going from there?

A couple of months into quarantine I decided to buy a ukulele. I never thought much about the ukulele before, but I heard it was easy to learn and affordable. I really don’t remember much more of my thought process. I wasn’t thinking about starting to write my own music, I think I was just looking for more activities. I learned a handful of The Beatles and Taylor Swift songs and quickly moved on to wanting to write my own. 

“Talk About the Moon” was the first song I finished.  I had a couple of other ideas I was toying around with, but that one was the first where I was like, “Oh, I wrote a song.”

Did you have to overcome any performance anxiety or doubts in order to start? Sometimes it can be hard to put yourself out there with a new creative project. Who were the first people you told about it or shared your music with before you put it out? 

Yeah, I probably had the whole album written for almost a year before I started sharing anything. I played a few songs for friends, mostly in a virtual setting, so that helped with nerves. But then I wanted to put them all out there. I was playing the album every night by myself, maybe hoping my neighbors or people outside were enjoying it, but I couldn’t keep them to myself anymore, so I started sharing more to family and friends. 

And now, for this next series of questions, I’d like for you to imagine you’re being badgered by your most insufferable, boring co-worker who just won’t stop asking questions, no matter how much you want the conversation to end.

So…did you use like GarageBand or some kind of home studio software to record Don’t Believe? 

**stares at the computer screen to avoid eye contact**  I used Studio One software to record everything and PreSonus recording equipment.

**nods and loudly slurps coffee** What was your set up like? 

I put a folding table up in my living room and went for it. I bought a bunch of classroom instruments and put them in buckets on the table, so I’d try to add in a tambourine or maracas whenever I could.  

For sure. How’d you learn to do that? Did anyone help you?

The software was pretty intuitive, but any time I had a question I would just look up a video on it. There’s still a ton I don’t know or could probably know better, but I didn’t really bring anyone else into the recording process. I felt kind of precious about Don’t Believe and I wanted it to be all my work. In the future I think I’d be more willing to collaborate, but I didn’t want anything to shake me this first go around.

Don’t you have a big project due? Maybe you should go work on that.

Cool. Cool. **does that finger tapping thing on the doorway** So, yeah, what was the hardest part to record? 

There wasn’t a specific part, more so elements that made recording challenging. For a couple of months, I was having trouble recording because cicadas were getting picked up on all my tracks, there were also air conditioners and fans. When all that was over, we got radiators. 

So, learning to work around my environment and figure out noise reduction stuff, felt like a big barricade in the beginning. But since everything was already written, actually playing and singing the songs was old hat by the time it came to recording.

I think I hear the boss coming. You should probably get back to your desk.

Whew. Close call. Okay, one of my favorite things about your music is how descriptive your lyrics are, you really put the listener in a scene to where they feel like they’re a part of it, how do you write most your lyrics? Do you write long and then edit them down or is it more of a First Draft is the Best Draft kind of thing?

I put a lot of lines in my Notes app on my phone throughout the day or maybe even sing it as a voice memo, but I don’t always think of them with a melody, sometimes I just like a line. So, when I’m playing I’ll try to fit lines from my Notes app into what I’m singing. Other times I find a riff I like, and I’ll start singing a sort of stream of consciousness and have these 10-minute voice memos I have to whittle down to a 3-minute song. I definitely don’t think the first draft is best, but once I have what I’m going for I don’t change it too much.

album art for Don’t Believe by Allison Staulcup, available now wherever you stream music

With how personal your lyrics are, has it been difficult to share these songs with people who may not know you like that? Like, I know for me, sometimes an older, kind co-worker will learn that I’m a musician or a writer and they’ll say they’re going to seek out my stuff so that they can check it out, which on one hand is so nice of them, but on the other, it kind of makes me uncomfortable because they really only know me as Work Dane, they don’t know the real me that I often try to share in my writing. It’s much easier to share that side of myself with strangers or friends/close loved ones than it is with acquaintances or older family members that have a very limited view of who I am. Of course, ultimately, I get over that and decide to put out whatever anyways, but still I cringe at the thought of some people who know me reading a love scene or something deeply personal that I wrote. Do you experience that at all? 

I think the part that has been awkward is more the project name, pizza4sluts. I was talking about how I was recording my songs at work and they were really cool about it and said, “we should put it in the company spotlight” or something like that. And I was like, “um… so the name is not actually work appropriate.”  

But you definitely don’t think about everyone that will hear or find it when you release your work. So sometimes when I think about it, I’m like “that person heard me say that!” and I wanna crawl under a rock or something. The whole thing can be embarrassing sometimes, because it’s like I put my diary out there for people to read. But ultimately sharing has been more rewarding than if I was still keeping these songs to myself. 

It definitely outweighs the awkward stuff.

Since releasing Don’t Believe last year, you’ve released a couple of excellent singles, “Glass 4 Breakfast” and “The Way,” can you speak to what inspired each of those songs?  

“Glass 4 Breakfast” is about a car accident that happened when I was in college. I didn’t intentionally set out to write about that experience, but I started playing chords that sounded delicate like glass to me. It reminded me of a poem I wrote in college of the same title and from there the song sort of wrote itself. I remember after the accident, I kept writing and writing trying to process it, but I think I was still kind of in it. So, getting to look back at that experience gave me some closure on it.

“The Way” came together pretty quickly and I was having a lot of fun playing it, so I wanted to release it and not wait for an album. I’ve written a lot of songs after calls with my therapist which makes sense because you’re processing so many feelings and I feel like that’s a lot of what my songs are doing– processing feelings. Sometimes my therapist will tell me, “go write a song about that” and I will, so a lot of music comes from our sessions. The opening track on Don’t Believe, “Trash”, came from her encouragement, too. 

The inspiration for “The Way” is how we tell ourselves we’re going to start doing something or maybe know what we should be doing, but we keep putting it off.  But maybe one day we actually do it and it sticks.

Albums can be such long projects, do you find it more rewarding to release songs as you write them? Can you share anything about the songs you’re potentially working on now?

I think releasing the songs help me let go of them, like I can move forward with other projects/songs. Don’t Believe was filled with so much longing and wishes and hopes. The songs I’m writing now are processing a lot of the past and working through anxiety. I’m also slowly learning how to make my own beats, so I’m hoping to incorporate that element into my new songs, too.

Oh, I like the sound of that. I am very much looking forward to your new stuff. Which, if I’m being extra self-conscious (which is most the time), I worry that may sound like I’m somehow putting down your older songs. Of course, that’s not the case, but with that in mind, what is the worst compliment you think someone could say to you after hearing your music for the first time where it seems like they think they’re being nice but really it hurts your feelings?

I think if anyone told me my songs were “cute” I would die.

Have you gotten to play live much? Do you want to play more live shows?

I haven’t played live at all. I was telling everyone when the world opens back up I’m going to look for some open mic nights, but now the world is opening back up and I’m pretending I never said anything. But I definitely want to do it at some point.

What does writing songs and recording music mean to you?

To me, it’s really about the lyrics. I’ve always been drawn to writing and in college I got really into poetry. Songwriting seemed like the perfect combo platter for my love of music and writing. It has allowed my poetry to take on a new form. 

Even if I never picked up the ukulele, my Notes app and voice memos would still be filled with ideas, but they would just stay there and never see the light of day, so recording gives them life. 

What are your hopes for pizza4sluts? What do you want to do next?

My current focus is on the second album.  I have a couple finished songs I’m itching to get out, and about a dozen half-finished songs or ideas. I need to figure out what’s going to make it to the album and then work on recording. Recording is probably my least favorite part of the process, so I just like to get it done. 

In the far out future, like 5 or 10 years, I would like to re-record Don’t Believe, with either me having more recording skills or having the bucks to hire someone who can do it, but we’ll see. 

And, yeah, play live someday. 

Bonus Questions / Top Fives (Bonus Points For Elaborating On Your Ranks):

Who/What are your All Time… 

Top 5 Favorite Books?

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - It’s such a rich story and it takes place in Chicago. If you tell me something takes place in Chicago, I’ll probably engage with it. I think I’ve read it two or three times and it’s always surprising. There are so many layers to it. I also love the author’s second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, just as much, if not more, but people didn’t take to that one as much and it doesn’t have a favorites vibe.

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin - This is a really beautiful book. You expect Steve Martin to be all jokes, but he’s a brilliant writer. Shopgirl’s great if you’re not ready to commit to a whole novel.

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb - This book looks at the relationship between a grandmother, mother, and daughter. It’s a short little book, but it’s filled with a lot of laughs and the end leaves you sobbing. I read it while my car was getting an oil change, so I had to hold back a lot of emotion at the auto shop. Read it in a safe space so you can really let out all the laughs/cries.

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin - This book looks at all the people we meet throughout our life. It’s also about music and writing. It takes place in the 90’s, so it's a great throwback to a time before cell phones.

Funny Girl by Nick Hornby - I love most things by Nick Hornby, but I already filled up my writers list below, so I’ll pick this book as it has a great cover, too. As a bonus, check out the album he wrote with Ben Folds.

Top 5 Favorite Writers? (lyricists, poets, & authors all count)

Taylor Swift - She could be under Albums or Artists, too, but I know she values her songwriting most, so I’ll put her under writers.

J.D. Salinger - I didn’t read the Catcher in the Rye until college and I was, of course, very taken by it and then had to consume everything else he had ever written. I’m partial to his stories about the Glass Family.

Nora Ephron - I’m including every inch of her work: essays, novel, films

Billy Collins - He’s my favorite poet.  He has the ability of capturing familiar moments that are hard to put your finger on and he’s also very funny.

David Sedaris - I’ll read anything he wants to write.  It’s all brilliant.  

Top 5 Favorite Albums?

Grandpaw Would by Ben Lee - I think this is a perfect album, especially for summer.  It’s not too fussy; it’s just good music.  Honorable mention to Awake is the New Sleep which is probably Lee’s best work, but it’s not as fun.

Tails by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories - This is probably the most formative album to me. And “Stay” is a classic karaoke song. 

Rockin’ the Suburbs by Ben Folds - Anything by Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five could make this list, but his first solo album seems pretty special.  

Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack - Again, anything by this band is good stuff (the best stuff), but I love this album the most I think. Actually, I can’t think about it too long or I’ll second guess everything.  

The Front Bottoms self-titled album - The day I miss a Front Bottoms show is the day I’m dead.

Top 5 Favorite Artists?

St. Vincent - The most powerful artist. I have a playlist of her songs I put on if I’m ever feeling self-doubt and it changes everything.

Ben Folds - My relationship with his music is probably the longest one I’ve been in. I remember buying Ben Folds CDs with the money from my first job. He’s one of the best we have.

Taylor Swift - I know I said I was just gonna leave her under favorite writers, but not listing Folklore/Evermore under favorite albums kinda hurt. The majority of my day is spent consuming Taylor Swift theories from the internet.

Lady Gaga - It’s weird it took me this long to mention her. I once had a Lady Gaga themed birthday party and it’s my biggest accomplishment.

Lisa Loeb - I had to stop going to Lisa Loeb shows because I was afraid she would think I’m a stalker, but even if she did think that she was real nice about it.

Least Favorite Artists? 

I’m gonna tell you the ones I change the station on when they start playing.  I haven’t really looked into them much more than if their song comes up, I gotta skip it.  

Orville Peck - I really think this is just because he hides his face and I don’t know why I’m so bothered, but I don’t watch The Masked Singer either. 

Father John Misty - I think he must’ve done something to me in a past life and I’m not ready to forgive him.

Favorite Pizzas?

(I don’t know if we’re going for toppings, brand, or style, so I went style)

Thin Crust - A very controversial thing for a Chicagoian to say, but I like my pizza to basically be a cracker with cheese and sauce.

Deep Dish - I do this like once a year with friends from out of town.  It’s a good time, but you soon realize why you only do it once a year.

Personal Pan Pizza - This is perfect because I’m an only child and I hate sharing (This is a joke and an awful stereotype.  Only children are just as good at sharing as everyone else, but personal pan is smart and efficient.)

Favorite Sluts?

Joey Tribbiani (Friends)

Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)

See, what I did there?  I turned the tables and picked men.  They can be sluts, too.

What’s the Most Annoyed You’ve Ever Been In Your Whole Life?

I don’t know about the most, but I can’t stand walking behind someone walking slow, people “shhh”ing me, or anyone but me making incessant noise.  

Have You Ever Seen A Ghost?

Sometimes if I wake up in the middle of the night I think it’s happening, but then my eyes adjust and nothing’s there.  So, I don’t think so, but I have freaked myself out about it.

Thanks Allison!

You can download Don’t Believe by pizza4sluts now on bandcamp, be sure to check out “Glass 4 Breakfast” and “The Way” while you’re there. Don’t Believe, and the other excellent p4s songs, are also available on Spotify, AppleMusic and wherever else you stream music.