Paisley Fields brings humor to heavy subjects on 'Are U Mad At Me'

For some songwriters, keeping it light is actually a way to talk about the heavy.

Country musician Paisley Fields speaks broadly on their new fourth album, Are U Mad At Me, specifically on the album's lead single "Straight Panic Defense." It's a song that uses a metaphor of murdering someone over their socks and sandals, among other similar examples, to show how ridiculous gay panic defense is.

"I think humor can help people feel a little lighter when approaching heavier topics," Fields said in an interview with KAXE in July. "And maybe makes them feel a little more empowered to talk about it."

Underneath the humor, however, is the harsh reality that gay and trans people face higher rates of violence than heterosexuals, and their sexuality is still used to justify that violence in courtrooms around the world (attempts to ban this legal defense at the federal level in the U.S. have failed).

"It's not really to make light of it, but it's more to just make it seem like something more approachable," Fields said.

Presented as a country-rock tune with a punk spirit, it's part of Fields' expanding sound on the album, with disco, pop and classical elements showing up across the 12 tracks. The new directions are a welcome addition to their queer country sound.

Although country is what they're known for, it wasn't always a love. Growing up in Iowa, the genre was everywhere, but Fields sought out music like punk and alternative that had more of an outsider perspective. It wasn't until living in Japan after college that the dual aspect of missing home and realizing country music also has outsider and rebellious figures that they began to explore it.

Kari Hedlund

/

KAXE

One of those figures had at least a little something to do with the writing of "Straight Panic Defense." While touring through California, they had a chance to stay at the Graham Parsons Room of the Joshua Tree Inn, where the legendary alt-country pioneer with The Flying Burrito Brothers died from an accidental overdose in 1973.

"I was like, 'Why don't we just, you know, try writing a song in the room?' And we ended up writing "Straight Panic Defense" in the Graham Parsons Room late at night," Fields said. "And I'm very convinced his ghost helped write a couple of lines at least."

Early on in their career, another country music pioneer had a huge impact on Fields — this time while they were living.

In 2019, Fields was asked by Patrick Haggerty of Lavender Country to join his touring band. Fields would go on to play on the queer country legend's second album after the band re-formed in the late 2010s.

Lavender Country's 1973 self-titled debut is said to be the first openly gay country album, and although it landed with little fanfare and Haggerty soon called it quits, it has taken on a mythical quality that would eventually lead Haggerty back to the public eye in the late 2010s.

Haggarty would pass away in 2022, but not before he had an immense impact on Fields.

"It changed my life," Fields said. "It was really incredible to be able to work so closely with Patrick and become his friend and learn about his artistry and his vision and his politics, and just see how his vision was very community-based, and that was really influential to me."

Another standout track from Are U Mad At Me is "1984," where Fields calls attention to the story of Bobbi Campbell, a public health nurse and early AIDS activist in San Francisco. It was another piece of gay history they learned from Haggarty, and something they wanted to share with people today.

"I thought it was important to kind of share that history and hopefully continue educating people about him and that time period, because I think a lot of it gets lost because a lot of that generation died from AIDS," Fields said. "So I think it's kind of our duty, as the younger generation and younger generations coming up, to share that history and continue telling people about it."

For more on Fields and the new album, listen to the full interview above.