Singer/songwriter Mackenzie Scott, who records and performs as Torres, always has felt more kinship with the hare than the tortoise.
It’s a trait that revealed itself in everything from her high school track pursuits (she specialized in the 100-yard dash rather than distance running, saying, “I’m pretty fast, but I have no endurance at all”) to the restless feelings that surfaced the instant she finished writing songs for her excellent sophomore full-length, the combustible, cathartic “Sprinter” (Partisan Records).
“I’m really impatient,” said the Georgia-born, New York-based Scott, 24, who visits Empty Bottle for a concert on Thursday, May 21. “After the songs were written, I wanted to record them and put them out immediately, but there was a lot of waiting. I had to get the finances together, find a label [and] get a producer. It feels like a solid year I’ve been sitting on these.”
The wait, as they say, was worth it.
You described your approach to working on “Sprinter” in terms of a day job, which reminded me of something I read about Nick Cave putting on a shirt and tie and going to a designated office space to write.
I don’t know if I read that somewhere or just heard about it, but I did know that about him, and there was definitely some inspiration there. You just look at the greats, and you look at their process and their approach and see what works for them. That’s very helpful for me because I’m still very young and very green in this industry. This was the first time I sat down to write a record with the intention of it becoming an album. The first record I put out [“Torres,” from 2013] was written over the course of four years, and I had so much time to work on it and tweak things.
This time it was strange to sit down on that first day. It was the beginning of January last year, and I woke up and thought, “OK, how do I start this? Where do I begin here?” It was something I had to do intentionally. Every day I woke up and made myself put on pants — even though I wasn’t going to be seen — and made myself a pot of coffee and breakfast. I had a rule for myself that I was not allowed to write in my bedroom. I was not allowed to sit on my bed at any time in the day; the bed was only for sleeping. So I sat out in the living room on my couch and wrote at a table. Creating structure for myself without anyone there to hold me accountable was always the most difficult part of my day.
In the spirit of the song “Strange Hellos,” what’s the most awkward greeting you’ve been a part of?
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Oh God. Hmm…
It sounds like your run-in with Brandi Carlile at SXSW would be difficult to top.
[Laughs.] OK, that’s a really good example. She’s been my hero for half a decade or something. The first time I met her was in 2010, and I’ve met her several times since. But as an artist I can imagine meeting people every night like that … you really don’t remember names, or faces even. I was too afraid to reintroduce myself because I thought, A). she wouldn’t remember me, or B.) she’d remember me as a sweaty 20-year-old college student, which almost seemed worse. Anyway, I was about to walk out of the green room … and I stepped into the hallway and she was right there. I immediately looked at the ground and then stepped back into the dressing room. Had I actually tried [talking to her] I think it would have been a lot worse. [Laughs.]Your Twitter feed is filled with mentions of Amy Schumer, Rob Delaney and Sarah Silverman. Did you ever consider a career in comedy?
If I could I would. I just love all of those people. I love watching standup. I love the Amy Schumer show and “Louie” and Chelsea Peretti, and I think Sarah Silverman is probably the funniest person alive. I’d love to be able to act, and not only that, but act in a comedy. That would be a dream.
Do you have a favorite joke?
I don’t think I know any jokes, actually, which is terrible. But there are certain types of humor I just eat up. I think Twitter is an incredible platform for comedians because of the 140 character limit. If it’s being utilized correctly, then it’s going to be something concise and hilarious, and nothing more. You can scroll through a comedian’s Twitter … and it’s a stream of 140-character punchlines.
Do you find you use Twitter and other forms of social media to highlight the more playful aspects of your personality so people don’t think you’re this morose person kind of shuffling your way through life?
Yeah, actually. That’s exactly why I love social media — especially something like Twitter. I like being able to talk about things that are not music … and just generally let people know I have a sense of humor. The music is merely one method of communication for me, and it happens to be a dark one at this juncture in my life. Having those other platforms available is really fun for me.
Andy Downing is a RedEye special contributor. @andydowning33
Torres, 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21 at Empty Bottle. $10 in advance/$12 at the door