We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teddy Grey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Teddy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I had been immersing myself in creative projects from as soon as I was able to form coherent thoughts. Whether or not they were any good is another story. But I was constantly writing, acting, trying to grow as an artist, and just get my work out into the world one way or another. I think it wasn’t until near college ended when I realized “Wow, I don’t think I could do anything else other than be an artist and still be happy with my life.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As a singer/songwriter, I currently front the Brooklyn power-pop band Wifey, which will be releasing music this year. I sing and write the majority of the songs. In the past, as a solo artist, I released a 30-song concept album in 2021 entitled “The Great Failed Romances of the Twentieth Century” on Mother West Records, inspired by many of history’s most famous doomed love stories. In 2020, I released the mixtape “Rock N Roll McDonalds,” and in 2019, I released the soundtrack to the Youtube cult movie “Garfeld: the Musical (A Garfield Parody).”
I’ve amassed a decent following on TikTok doing comedy skits and impressions of famous musicians such as Alex Turner, Morrissey, and Josh Groban. Other film projects include the music video “Film Majors Ruin Parties” (which went viral as a popular sound on TikTok last year), and the aforementioned “Garfeld: the Musical (A Garfield Parody”), a full-length, home-cooked movie featuring 14 original songs. I wrote, directed, and starred in it, and watched in horror as it amassed a fanbase of mentally-ill teenagers who like to draw disturbingly impressive fan-art and write graphic fan-fictions about the characters.
As an actor, I performed in the first national tour of “The British Invasion” as the frontman and rhythm guitarist. I also played the character of Jimmy in the popular Youtube Kids series “The Ellie Sparkles Show” for 3 years (as well as writing and directing numerous episodes, including musical episodes). I participate in numerous workshops and productions of shows around the city, and am currently working on a stage show at 54 Below showcasing my original work entitled “Teddy Grey Joins the 27 Club.”
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was in college, and we were about two weeks into the filming of “Garfeld: the Musical (A Garfield Parody),” and had roughly half the movie shot. Without going into specifics, there was a problem on the production end of things, and we were unable to access or edit any of the footage we shot, as well as use the equipment that we had been renting anymore. We had to start essentially from scratch, and accomplish it in half the time. After wallowing in misery for about two days (which is the longest that anyone should allow themselves to), myself and the rest of the cast hunkered down and decided that one way or another, we were going to finish the movie, even if it meant doing it on a much smaller budget. No more video camera? Screw it, I’ve got a camcorder back home. Everyone’s schedules have changed now that classes have started again? Alright, we’ll shoot around everyone’s class schedule. The editor’s gone AWOL? Okay, I’ll edit it. The end result may not have been as professional as we had hoped, but we got the movie done on our own, and still managed to make something that we were proud of. We all knew that the gut-wrenching, tear-jerking story of Garfeld in the epic drama “Garfeld: the Musical (A Garfield Parody)” had to be told. I guess I really do feel that if you want to make something enough, you’ll find a way to, regardless of budgetary restrictions, or any other obstacles you run into. That’s something I continually need to remind myself of when I’m making excuses.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Some artists will swear by the principle that you should be creating work for yourself first and foremost, and think of the audience second. I disagree, and it took me awhile to discover that. I’m constantly thinking of the audience. They’re the ones I want to please. I want to make things that people outside myself can enjoy. I mean, I always want myself to be proud of the work I make as well, but I think it’s selfish to make music exclusively for yourself and still expect other people to care about it. It’s good to be personal and put yourself into your work and all that, but it’s important to keep in mind that you may not be as interesting as you think you are. At least, not to other people. Especially in songwriting. I think a lot of songwriters these days have a tendency to be too naval-gazey, and focus on their personal lives too much. Remember that there is a world that exists outside yourself. And if you can’t be creative outside of mining your own brain and life for content, that could be trouble.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @teddygreyiii @wifeytheband
- Twitter: @teddygreyiii
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TeddyGrey