Interview: Faye Webster

Interview: Faye Webster

By Scott Bolohan

Faye Webster is having a breakout year.

After her song “Better Distractions” was included on Barack Obama’s year-end playlist in December, Webster’s fourth album, I Know I’m Funny haha was released on June 25, 2021, and named Best New Music by Pitchfork. It’s parts country, folk, and R&B, with a certain timeless quality, yet only could have been made now.

The 23-year-old Atlanta native is also a huge baseball fan, selling baseball–themed merch and often wearing her Braves gear. The new album features the song “A Dream With a Baseball Player” about the crush she developed on Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr, featuring lyrics like, “I could just meet him and get it over/Or I’ll just keep wearing his name on/My shirt.” 

And that she did.

The Braves invited her to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7^th inning on April 11, 2019, and she got to meet Acuna Jr. before the game. We spoke to her about Acuna Jr. a few days before his 2021 season-ending injury.

Proving her album title correct, Faye had us laughing throughout our conversation, which touched on the Braves, flaming baseball bats, and what makes a good walk-up song.

“A Dream With a Baseball Player” is about Ronald Acuna Jr. How did you become a fan?

I kind of just grew up with the Braves. I was a kid and Atlanta going to Braves games. I feel like it was just something my family always did. So I was always a fan. But yeah, I think it was like 2018, 2019, and I was just really, really invested. I wasn’t touring as much, I was living home alone, and I just spent what felt like every breathing second being into the Braves those two years.

How did you end up meeting him?

I was talking about baseball in a Pitchfork interview and this person DM’d me on Twitter. He was just like, ‘Hey, read your Pitchfork article, I work for marketing with the Braves and I would love to talk to you.’ And I looked at this person’s profile and he had like, 17 followers and I was very skeptical. So I looked up his name and, sure enough, he definitely does [work for the Braves]. He was just like, ‘I think it’d be so cool if you sang at the game next week,’ like it was something very spontaneous. And I was like, ‘Yes, please.’ I thought that was kind of the only mission. And he did mention I could go to batting practice before the game and watch on the field. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, of course.’ That’s when he was like, ‘Okay, he’s ready to meet you.’ I was like, ‘Who?’ Nobody really told me about this. After batting practice when everybody went to the locker room, they made him stay. They introduced me to him and he had his translator who was really cool. His name is Franco [Garcia]. He does a bunch of stuff with the Braves. And I just talked to him for like, three minutes. And then we took a picture and he’s like, ‘See ya’ and never thought about me again.

I’ve seen those pictures of you two. What do you talk about in a situation like that?

I was really nervous. And at the point where he wasn’t really that fluent in English. So you know, I’m sure anything I said to him I was just rambling. But I was like, ‘Hey, I would love to take your picture.’ I was showing him some I’ve taken before. Right before we left, he was just like, ‘Thank you for the music.’ And I was like, ‘What did somebody tell you? Like, who was talking to you? And literally, what did they say to you?’ It was very funny. But he was very kind. He probably has never thought about me again since that time, which is fine.

Did the Braves say anything to you after you released the song?

It’s been so weird with the pandemic. I haven’t really been as connected as I wish I could have been. But I have been to like three games this season, which still feels really weird, but it’s super cool, though.

Our fiction editor moved to Atlanta this year, and we went down to Truist Park last month. It’s a great stadium.

Yeah, I really do miss Turner Field. Truist Park is so inconvenient but once you’re inside, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is great.’ Like, once you’re parked, and you’re actually inside walking around, it’s like, ‘Oh, I see why they did this.’

Did you write the song after meeting him?

No, I’ve had it written for so long. It almost went on my last record in 2019 but it just didn’t feel like the right project for it. I think that’s why they let me meet him, because I think somebody said that I had written a song about him. I’ve never shared it with them. They probably think it’s like, ‘Yay, go Braves!’ And it’s not a love song. Maybe if they knew that they would not have let me meet him.

You got to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” I saw the video where you’re on the dugout.

Oh my god, how did you see that?

I Googled it.

Is it the real video? Real audio?

It’s on someone’s phone.

Oh, really? [She pulls up the video] Oh my god I’m watching. Because my dad—oh my god [laughs]. My dad knows one of the people with the Braves—oh my god this is so bad [laughs].  They sent him the Jumbotron video with audio direct from the mic. We have this perfect video, perfect audio. And it is so bad [laughs]. I was so nervous. The whole game I’m Googling and just reading the lyrics over and over. And I was like, ‘Why am I doing this, everybody knows the lyrics,’ but I was so nervous. I thought I was going to forget the lyrics. And then I was like, ‘Um, can I go like meet the organ player and make sure we’re in the same key?’ They were like, ‘Okay, that’s weird, but okay.’ I went up to meet the organ player. The Braves have one of the best organ players I’ve ever seen in my life. But I went up there and he was just so busy. He was playing and looking at me and talking to me and telling me his schedule while he’s just like, fucking smashing this organ [Laughs]. It was so crazy. I was literally screaming into the mic and not singing well at all. There’s one point in the song where you say the team name. I didn’t know if they’re going to say Braves or Bravos so I just pulled the mic really far away. And I was like, making shit up. It’s so bad. There’s one point in the Jumbotron video where, because I was on top of their dugout, Ronald Acuna Jr. turns around and looks at me, like, ‘What the fuck is this horrible music happening right now?’ [Laughs]

I want to talk about the music video, it’s awesome. What was the idea for it?

I have been working with Matt Swinsky in Atlanta for a while. We’ve done “Better Distractions” and “Cheers” and all these projects together. I kind of just got to the point where I just really started to trust him. I was like, ‘Okay, whenever we do stuff, like, just do it and tell me when to show up, I will be there.’ We were kind of like working on treatments together and I really wanted to go to Truist Park and be there during batting practice and be completely ignored by the players. That was my ideal vision—just like, nobody gives a fuck about me because that’s kind of what the song is about. But obviously, that was not possible. So we were just like, let’s do it Sandlot vibes, like whoever wants to be in it can be in it.

So I have to ask you. I’m worried you’re going to break my heart right here. The flaming baseball bat. Was that real?

[Long pause] Hey, I don’t want to break your heart.

Oh no!

Yeah, it was funny. When we were doing this video, Swinsky would be like, ‘Do this, and I know it feels weird, but we’re going to edit it in post.’ We were so late—like the video was due in two days and comes out in three days. Every scene he’s like, ‘Don’t worry. That’s going in post.’ We’re like, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ Like there’s no real baseballs when we were filming.

I’ve watched this video a bunch. Do you have shoes with baseball seams on them?

I do. And I used to wear them every day for three years until my friends bullied me to stop wearing them.

They are awesome. What kind of shoes are they?

They’re Keds. But they don’t make them anymore. Well, they make them now but they’re canvas and they’re not as cool, but mine were leather. I got my first pair on eBay and wore them until the baseball stitches wore off the shoes. And then I got another pair two years later and wore them for another year until I got bullied out of it. I literally wear those so much.

 Do you have a favorite piece of Braves clothing?

Yeah, I have this jersey that I wore when I met [Acuna Jr.]. I randomly got it from the Braves shop. One time I went with somebody who they gave super special attention or whatever, like, they spoiled us. We were on the way out and they were like, ‘If you want anything from the shop, it’s 75% off for you guys.’ And I was like, ‘Um, okay, I’ll take the $300 jersey and I’ll pay not that much, please.’ So I’ve been wearing that a lot. But I have so much vintage Braves stuff that I don’t wear anymore. Every time I move it gets its own box.

I read an interview where you’re talking about getting a batting cage in your backyard, that didn’t happen, did it?

No. And I moved from that house. But at that time I was going to the batting cage like every day, whether I was alone, or somebody would go with me. This was pre-pandemic so I kind of lost my steam for it. But that would be sick. They’re not that expensive? I’ve done a lot of research.

Did you get pretty good at hitting?

Yeah. I would get the nicer batting cages where it has like the CGI wall. I’m always hitting it, but where it goes, I cannot promise you anything [Laughs]. Hitting is very therapeutic. It’s really such a satisfying noise.

Last question, and it’s one I’ve thought about many times in my life. What would your walk-up song be?

Hmm. Sometimes I sit at the games and I Shazam walk-up songs. Ozzie [Albies] has some of my favorite walk-up songs because I never know any of them. [Johan] Camargo also has cool walk-up songs. I don’t know. I definitely would not choose the Freddie Freeman route, which is just like fucking “Eye of the Tiger.” [Laughs] Yeah, not doing that. I don’t know. It has to be I feel like mine would be something that only hypes me up, like it would literally be a song from Animal Crossing or something. It would start playing and people would be like, ‘What the fuck?’ But I would be like [makes a club beat] walking out getting ready for this shit.

Faye Webster’s I Know I’m Funny haha is out now. She will tour the US in September.

Mark Bolohan is an illustrator based in the Detroit area.

Scott Bolohan is the founder of The Twin Bill. He’s planning to see Faye Wabster with his brother when she comes to Detroit.