When I met Donna Missal, the first thing that came to mind was, “Oh wow, I think we’re the same height,” right before she brought me in for a big hug. Hearing Missal perform her voice makes itself known to all who can listen to it; it is loud and bold. I couldn’t help but mistakenly think that it carried into her physicality. We are about the same height. For reference, I’m about 5’5, so I am slightly below average for your mental image. Some of the greatest voices in music weren’t very tall, such as Prince and Dolly Parton; its fitting for Missal. Missal wore a slitted black halter top with long denim jean shorts styled with black cowboy boots alongside her signature orange hair. She knocked in a frenzy, trying to find an empty room. After a voice said, “Come in,” we were in Banoffee’s dressing room, tonight’s opening act. Missal gave me a quick introduction, and in less than two minutes, I was in the room preparing for the interview. Banoffee welcomed me while doing her makeup and asked Missal if she could borrow her highlighter. Missal went to grab it and then found a different room for us. I said a quick “Good Luck” right before she was to leave to go on stage.
We sat cross-legged on the couch across from each other in a maroon-colored, velvet-lined room. I welcomed her to Brooklyn and asked how she felt to be back on the East Coast. I learned that not only is she a native, but she also has an ease of familiarity with performing here.
Donna Missal is a native of New Jersey, so while touring a few days prior, she had a show in Philadelphia. From there, she stayed at her parents’ house before she came to Brooklyn, where she had a show that night. Immediately, she explained how returning to the East Coast is “very homey.”
“As soon as we drove in, I felt comfortable, and it’s known. You know, so much of touring is like venturing into the unknown. The unexpected can be a little bit terrifying. Coming home, I feel more relaxed, I think. My dad is the reason that I make music, too.”
I learned that Missal takes comfort in performing for others she might know, especially her friends and family.
“Someone recently reminded me that your friends are not your demographic. Your friends are not your fans. And I’ve always thought, the more of my friends think that my music is cool and interesting, the more excited I am about it because I really try to keep people around me that are interesting, enigmatic, and thoughtful.”
With this audience, is there a familiarity with performing for people from the same coast as you who get the vibe and your energy?
“What’s cool about non-coastal places, though, is that they’re excited about things that coastal people are not excited about. New York City is such a city of culture. I almost feel like there is a level of importance that you need to be to be interesting here and that pressure I don’t necessarily feel in places that aren’t coastal. Like, every answer so far has been from every angle of how it feels to be somewhere that you have been, that you grew up, a place you know, a place where you know the people there. And then also a place that, while it’s so familiar in so many ways, you are up against these challenges that you might not be in other places. I’m both at peace and extra nervous. It’s a really interesting night. I think it’s going to be a really fun night, too.”
What’s your favorite song to perform live for this tour?
“I didn’t want to only play my new record. I also consider my new record as my first independent album. As I put it out, I knew that the likelihood of reaching people outside of the scope of people I have already reached would be harder. It was going to be less likely because it’s my first independent venture, and I’m doing everything by myself. When I had label support, you get tour support, and you get promotion. You get things that are built into this system that really help with things like marketing and promotion. So, without having those things, I just really wanted the show to be for the fans who have been here from the beginning. At the same time, my new music is so much more reflective of where I am now, what I want to represent, and what I care about. It feels like the most genuine expression of me and why I make music. I’ve gotten so much more exploratory with music over the last few years. So those are by far my favorite songs to play.”
Can you walk me through your decision to release some acoustic songs from your new album, Revel?
“There is a special and different feeling that comes with playing songs that are more foundation-based–stuff that I started out playing. I do really love doing the acoustic section of my set because it reminds me of when I first started making music. In the show, I play these acoustic versions to give the songs a new life. To reintroduce my roots as an artist to maybe a new fan base that has become a fan through my dance music. So that’s been important to me, to create a full circle and give a little bit of everything that I love to do. So, my favorite songs to play on this tour so far have been these acoustic songs because they most represent where I’m at currently in my songwriting, and also where I came from singing in coffee houses and in bars, at open lakes with just an acoustic.”
Will you continue fluidity in your genre, or will you return to some of your old roots? Or are you going to take a more rocker tone?
“Genre of fluidity is one of the most exciting things to me in music production and music creation. So, as an artist myself, I think this point is a cornerstone and a foundation of how I make music. When I was making my first dance EP during the pandemic, in the mirror in the light, the reason that it came about at all was because of my process of making music that I had used for all of my previous records. It was people getting together in a room to play instruments together. I would sing my heart out into a room with musicians, and that’s how I created records. When that opportunity halted entirely, it had to become about a different process. If I was going to keep making music, it was going to have to be in a different way. No one was doing sessions. No one was getting together to communicate music. I was finding myself in studio apartments and sharing housing situations with people that are right on the other side of a wall, doing their Zoom meetings for their jobs. The opportunity to sing with my full voice wasn’t available to me for about two years. I couldn’t sing. And I don’t know that there’s really been, from the fan perspective or from the listener perspective, much of a putting together of why that transition took place. But for me, it was very technical. I couldn’t sing loud anymore, so I thought, if I’m gonna keep making music, which I just have to, it’s an innate set. I have to do it. I had to sing under a blanket. I had only really been encouraged to make music that used my full voice, so I got to explore different facets of my songwriting and discover myself in a totally new way. It was a blessing in disguise.”
What has changed since Revel’s anniversary? How are you going to move forward with your next album or project?
“I don’t live in LA anymore, and I was making Revel living in my car in Los Angeles. I had lived there for eight years, and I was just trying to keep myself there. Luckily, through making that album with a bunch of my friends who were also all out in LA, I was able to find a distribution partner that funded the record and put it out. But, I’m still independent, and I have been since then. I’m now entirely free, and Revel was a single album distribution deal. I can do whatever I want now. Now that I’ve moved, I left LA and I’m going to make it in an entirely new place. I’m in a house. There’s no one around. It’s very isolated up there. It’s quiet. I have a studio there. I plan to bring people out to make music with me and see what the environment informs. That’s what’s coming—something informed by an entirely new environment. I think it’s going to be exciting. I’m really excited for what’s to come. I think it’s another adventure into the unknown that’s actually going to be really exciting for me.”
After our conversation, I took some time to reflect on how seamless and authentic it felt. Even though I only spent around fifteen minutes with Missal, it felt much longer. She was present and involved in every answer, exhibiting a sense of serenity before her show.
When Missal came out on stage, there was a hush in the crowd before the cheers came. When she walked on stage, all eyes were on her. We were introduced to background video as visuals, along with a drummer and guitarist, as additional production was played. Drinks in hand, the crowd was ready to experience a Donna Missal show. Missal didn’t get the chance to tour after the release of her second album due to COVID-19, which was a long-awaited five years. As a result, her setlist was a beautiful compilation of songs from her previous albums, EP, and her newest album, Revel, released last summer. There were times throughout the show when I jumped along with the crowd and could not stop. When she performed “Hurt By You,” I noticed two people in front of me who looked at each other, screamed with excitement, and began to sing along loudly. Missal herself was one to show her emotions like her audience. When she danced around on stage, the crowd did the same; when she got emotional during her acoustic breakdown, the crowd was also emotional. Despite the tears, Missal told the crowd, “I’m having a great time.”
Throughout the show, you could tell Missal was enjoying herself—not only performing for the crowd who loved her but also for a crowd she loved in return. I overheard two people leaving her soundcheck, saying, “I can’t believe how sweet she was.” Missal was meant for the stage, creating an atmosphere surrounding herself and her audience. Off stage, she is warm and lively, wanting to share herself with you—a rarity in the industry. There was only one downside to this experience, and it was entirely my fault—I didn’t get a chance to ask for a picture. Hopefully, there’s a next time. You can see Donna Missal perform at Governors Ball this year and listen to her on all streaming platforms.
julia falcone
yelling about something
daybreak 