Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daisy Turnmire. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Daisy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

I have been living with fibromyalgia for most of my life and often get told that I look fine what’s the problem, when I have to sit out a song or stop and take a break from molding a song. Usually when I explain that I have fibromyalgia, I get a blank stare or told that it is a lazy made up woman’s disease. Depending on the person’s reaction will determine if I continue to collaborate further with the self anointed internet doctor. There are days that I can not play music because of the intense pain and fatigue that usually comes with a side of tension headaches or migraines that make me lose sight. I can’t play live anymore because I never know what horrors await me everyday. I also sing in a death metal band and I am slowly unable to continue to do this because of the exhaustion that comes with it. Luckily in death metal, vocals can be slurred or unrecognizable so I can roll with the punches on certain parts and at least sound sort of the same as if I was having a good day. I feel like my own body has betrayed me. This is an invisible disease that many folks do not understand even doctors.

Daisy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I write music about my queer experience. These songs can be a calm instrumental or an eradicate messy scream fest. Some of my song are old poems I wrote down in the darkest of days, like the song, Junior Varsity Suicide Survivor. This song is about how I almost took my own life as a 15 year old while staring at a Mother Mary statue, which is located in Indian Lake, OH. I was a young queer teenager stuck in a small tourist town in Ohio where everyone was fake and hateful towards anyone that wasn’t a plain Jane white christian/catholic girl. I was a goth jock and no one knew how to treat me because they all thought I was going turn all the youth in town into satanic lesbian cult. I wish I had that much power! I did my best to stay alive and it was a struggle to live in the 90s in a small town as a baby queer. I was grounded my senior year of high school because my mom and step dad found out I was gay and they were not supportive to say the least. I am here to remind folks that bigotry and hatred still flows wild through Ohio. Take a drive around and you will see it pretty easily still today.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

When I used to go to concerts and see all my favorite song writers, I would hope they would sing that one song that cuts like a knife and they would and I would see the pain in their eyes and not understand that they were in a way, in that moment, feeling all those feelings over and over each night they did these sad songs. After I started writing music and performing, I felt the heaviness and horrors pool into my thoughts. I then would see these songs in a different light and saw them as being re-traumized. I was also deep into trying to find out why I was so tired and having insane muscle pains like electric shocks pulse through my body. So it was an all around painful experience.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I didn’t have many people like me to look up to growing up in the 80s & 90s. Prince, Trent Reznor, & Dennis Rodman might have been the closest for me but still they were men not a lil queer teen from sadville Ohio. I want others to be able to listen to the stories I am telling so other queer people can have some sort of feeling like they belong and can also speak up and share their experiences. I offer for free all my music, plus some not released on my Soundcloud so everyone can have free access to these songs.

Contact Info:

• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/goldenghoul
• Other: https://linktr.ee/goldenghoul