Kylie's Journal

By Kylie Rowland

October

You may know me as “Kylie from Ground Zero Radio” or recognize me from our Instagram stories or even our YouTube channel, but allow me to introduce myself. I’m Kylie Rowland. I’m from the suburbs, 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia, and I moved to Seattle back in October 2020, which was basically on a whim to explore and try something new. 

After joining GZ Radio, I decided to stay in Seattle a little longer because I wanted to be closer to the local music scene and community here. As someone with multiple interests, GZ Radio offered me the opportunity to learn in a multitude of ways. I love all things music, art, film, and fashion; these topics will be the center of my entries. By starting a journal series, I wanted to share the highlights of the month that were either really awesome or vulnerable in maybe not-so-great ways. With that being said, here is October! 

Well, it’s fall again in Seattle, meaning it’ll be raining 75% of the day, and the warm bliss of the sun fades behind rain clouds. This time of year is famously not my favorite time. I get it; everyone loves the leaves changing, the breeze in the air, and pumpkin spice. But, I come into fall in full hater mode. I enjoy how pretty the leaves are, and I do enjoy a pumpkin spice latte. However, I HATE being cold. Every time I think of fall, it reminds me of freezing temperatures and being forced to wear a million layers despite it still being cold. Not to mention, Winter is next?!! It’s just not for me. Luckily, this October hasn’t been super cold, and despite my attitude, I actually had a fantastic month. I have done a lot of reflection this past year, and I can’t help but feel relief and gratitude for the space I’m in now. 

For those who don’t know, I work in various event spaces and have the privilege to witness and be a part of many cool shows. At the beginning of this month, Weezer was touring their “Blue Album”, with support from The Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr. I’ve seen Weezer perform before with my family in 2015. My parents really enjoy the Weezers, and we have many good memories of their music. My mom likes to tell a story about when I was a little kid when I would sing along in the backseat, “I got my hash pipe.” Which she finds hilarious. 

I was also pretty excited for The Flaming Lips; I am a big Miley Cyrus fan. Wayne Coyne, the lead singer, worked closely with Cyrus on “Her Dead Petz” album and tour. The band walked back and forth from the stage to their dressing rooms a few times, where Wayne and I exchanged head nods. It was even the drummer’s birthday! Their set was pretty cool, with a bunch of lasers and inflatable props. My favorite was the inflatable eyes that turned left to right during one of the songs. They performed one of my favorite songs from their discography, “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song.” 

 Weezer also did not disappoint. They played all my nostalgic favs, “Beverly Hills,” “Island in the Sun,” and  “Buddy Holly.” I really like their vibe; they seem like great guys, like my uncles I never met. 10/10.  

I also got the opportunity to be a part of the pre-production of a new Fox 13 podcast, called “We the Game Changers.” I was privileged to attend the first two recordings with the guests and the Fox 13 Women in Leadership breakfast. Seeing the filming process was pretty cool, and I was very impressed with Beth’s interviewing style and ability to flow quickly to the next question. 

It was a refreshing experience attending the Women in Leadership breakfast, where different women from different positions talked about their experiences, good and bad. Although it wasn’t something to bond over, I connected with these women while they shared their experiences of being downplayed and navigating workspaces. 

Interestingly, we had similar experiences even in such different fields of work. It’s sometimes a sensitive topic for me because it is exhausting to show up. It’s discouraging to be dismissed or harassed; to show up as yourself and then have people make comments about you just proves how unsafe it feels as a woman. 

However, in hearing women and men express the importance of women in leadership left me feeling hopeful. It can be hard to feel that way, but I am super proud of refusing to regress backward during our current political climate. Panelists also discussed the importance of kids seeing people who look like them, whether it be their gender or ethnicity, in positions of power. Even though I am a woman, I am a white, blonde woman who saw lots of representation of myself growing up, especially being brought up in the suburbs. Representation is important, not just for children but for adults as well. Seeing yourself reflected in real life, in real-time, is empowering. We all deserve to live the way we want to live. The Women in Leadership breakfast left me feeling hopeful for our future and proud of what we can build. 

In other exciting news, I was an extra in a local artist’s music video. I’ve worked with this artist before and met some new faces and a few people in the last video with me! It’s always fun getting to goof around and be silly for the camera, and this group absolutely knew how to do it. Everyone was super fun and nice and looked gorgeous!!!!!! I am really excited to see the final project. Stay tuned ;) 

In addition to Weezer, I saw Wisp, Kehlani, Charli XCX & Troye Sivan! Wisp was an artist I didn’t know about before the show, but left a fan at the end of the concert. Their music was haunting but still cute somehow. They had live glitching during the show, which I found super cool and creative. At one point, she had a fan come on stage to do a backflip, and he did it twice! For Kehlani, I saw she was going on tour and knew I had to go. She is one of my favorite artists; weirdly enough, I had not seen her perform before. I got row 10 and decided to go by myself. I had made a playlist of the setlist so I would be READY. I got to my seat, and it was the girl next to me’s birthday party, so I asked how old she had turned. She turned away in shame and then looked at me and said, “24”, and I was like, “oh, I’m 25.” To which she responded, “Yeah you’re old” OOP. 

Kehlani came out singing “Next 2 U,” and I knew it would be a fun show. The band and the dancers were so great. The lights and the visuals really added to each song; it was a fantastic time, and I had so much fun. Towards the end, she invited some kids to dance on stage with her, and one of them did a backflip! I was surprised that I saw two concerts in the same month where a fan did a backflip on stage. She also mentioned coming back soon, so I will absolutely be seeing her again. For Charli XCX and Troye Sivan, I had to work, but I saw my favorite songs be performed that night. This was my first time seeing Troye Sivan and my second time seeing Charli XCX. I got to see her and meet her in 2018 in NYC at a smaller venue, so seeing that growth was really cool. The show actually had a great crowd; everyone was singing along and jumpin’. It was an entertaining atmosphere and show. I really liked the set and how Troye and Charli traded off taking the stage. 

Well, at the beginning of this entry, I may have spoken too soon about the weather because as I finished this up for the end of the month, it was RAINY. Halloween was a downpour. I ended the night with sushi while watching “Fun Sized,” a silly Halloween movie. I wasn’t too festive this year, but I feel like I had the perfect ending to the night. I’m looking forward to the election being over, hopefully for the better. With that being said, I will see you all on the other side. See you next time!