How Tragic

After years of playing a supporting role in other projects and keeping her own creations close to the vest, Paige Campbell finally shared her first batch of original songs in 2020 in the form of a four-song EP called Past Lives. The coming out party for the New York-based songwriter, who performs under the name How Tragic, was anything but short-lived, as in the time since its release, she’s shared a series of eye-catching music videos and an apocalyptic follow-up single called “Goodbye Cruel World.” Just like the impressively catchy tunes heard on Past Lives, “Goodbye Cruel World” showcases How Tragic’s incensed brand of riot-girl influenced punk with Campbell tackling the complicated topic of environmental strife.

We recently caught up with Campbell on the heels of the release of “Goodbye Cruel World,” to chat about the origins of How Tragic, the process behind her cinematic music videos, and more:

Tell us a little bit about your new song, “Goodbye Cruel World.” How would you compare it to the songs on your debut 2020 EP, Past Lives?

This is completely different from the songs on the EP. “Goodbye Cruel World” is a bit of an old song, even though it just came out. The songs on my 2020 EP, Past Lives, are old as hell.

They were the first four songs you ever wrote, right? Yeah. I was reading that somewhere. 

Yeah, the song “Done” from the EP was written back in 2013. I wrote while jamming with friends. The other three are song that I wrote by myself from that time period. I finally put them out in 2020 because I was like, let’s get it out there, so I can move on to other stuff.  I felt like I wrote them in a past life, which is why I decided that should be the title of the EP. 

That brings us to “Goodbye, Cruel World.” I wanted to make an epic, melodramatic, doomsday song. That's been a theme for many years now, sadly, and it just becomes heightened every year. 

So, this was a newer song that you wrote within the last two years-ish?

It’s about four years old. It took me a while to finish. I have a ridiculous way of songwriting where I don't force anything at all. I really think about what I'm trying to say. I was just depressed with how the world was looking and so “Goodbye Cruel World” wound up being this environmental song. You know, you see all of these scientific articles saying how we don’t have much time left if we keep treating the earth poorly. But, it seems like as of right now, no one cares. It’s really bad, you know? People are apathetic and feel like they can’t do anything about it. 

It's always interesting to me when a songwriter tells me that they're releasing a song that they originally wrote many years ago. Was this song something that was finished four years ago? And if not, how do you think it's kind of changed since you kind of came up with the bulk of it?

The song started as the main riff in the chorus. I really wanted to come up with something that expressed my disdain with the world and the sadness of the current situation, so I went with all minor chords. Then one day, the chorus of “goodbye, cruel world” popped into my head. I liked how it can mean so many different things. It can mean you don’t feel like dealing with anyone anymore in a general sense. That’s melodramatic, but sometimes being melodramatic can help you get through things. More specifically, I realized that I was dealing with crippling depression over the fate of the world and how it seemed out of my control. 

Were you in any bands before you formed How Tragic? What was your relationship to music and songwriting growing up? 

I always knew I wanted to be in a band. I heard “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” by Joan Jett on the radio and I was like, I gotta figure out how to do this. I remember coming across a crappy Casio keyboard that had an effect on it that sounded like an electric guitar. I used that to try to write songs. I always wanted to play in a band in high school and college, but I was busy with other things. Like many people, I was also dealing with imposter syndrome. I thought I couldn’t write songs. I’d learn cover songs, but I avoided learning music theory or really diving into songwriting. I just kept putting it off. 

When I was done with college, I moved to New York to focus on being a make-up artist and while doing that, I was hoping that I’d be able to meet people doing music, which wound up happening. I met this girl Jenny Vee who needed a rhythm guitar player for live shows, so I joined her band. While doing that, I also met Richey Rose, her husband at the time. They were like angels and great teachers who helped me become a better guitar player. Those experiences on stage where I didn’t have to be front and center were really helpful in building my confidence. 

From there I met Steve Dios, who is my current drummer. I met him through Lorne Behrman, who replied to a Craigslist ad I put up in 2013 looking for people to jam with. We all got together at Smash Studios in Times Square. Lauren wound up putting us in a movie.  So, we wrote songs and worked towards that initially.

It's great that you put yourself out there and kind of eased into being the front person of your own band. It seems like you started doing what you were comfortable with and then worked towards something bigger. With that said, how’d your current lineup come together?

So, I guess it starts with the fact that I never really learned music theory. I'm strictly a rhythm guitar player. For a while, I was just writing songs with my rhythm chords by myself and I felt like I needed to round out my sound. I pulled in people to add drums, bass, and whatever else. I really give them the freedom to do whatever feels right. I put together songs that way. 

These songs are an outlet for me and they’re very personal. I felt like I didn’t really need help being the leader of a band anymore, so I wanted to find people who were okay with that. How Tragic is kind of a solo thing in that way. I’ve had a few different incarnations of the band that just fell apart for natural reasons. Currently, I have Jason Yamauchi on guitar and Steve Dios on drums. We were functioning without a bass player for a bit, but then Richet Rose suggested Jessica Louise Dye from High Waisted since he played in her band for a bit. She’s great and has a tremendous work ethic. 

I love the music video for “Spare Me.” It’s really well done. It’s very different from the video for “Death Wish,” which was really eerie. Take me through the process for making those videos, what it was like shooting them, your vision for each of them, and what inspired you. 

So, because I did makeup for so long, I have a lot of creative friends who are willing to pitch in. For instance, I have friends that have great cameras that they let me use. It’s awesome. “Death Wish” was directed by my friend Kirsten Bode. We had planned to shoot it on March 13th, 2020, which was Friday the 13th. We booked the Silver Sands Motel in South Hampton to shoot it. The COVID situation was just starting to get really serious. 

It was literally just me, Kirsten, and our other friend Amy who helped with outfits. The motel is like this pretty little 60s-themed motel. We took a Canon camera and had a loose idea. We made sure the lighting and vibes were on point and kind of shot it off the cuff. We were there for about three days and since no one was there, we had free reign of the place. We got so many more locations than we had planned on originally. We were able to get those Hitchcock, femme fatale, scorned lover vibes. The song is about someone who doesn’t want to be with them, so you kill them and keep them in your house so that you can have them all the time! It was the first song I ever wrote. I was on this Alice Cooper, shock rock kick. I didn’t know how to write a song, but I did. Let that be a lesson. Anybody can write a song! 

For “Spare Me,” my friend Chris Vernale directed it and came up with the concept. He filmed, directed, and edited, too. We shot it over two days. It focuses on an old topic that’s sadly still relevant today - sexual harassment. I wrote it because I was going running all the time - wearing like a garbage bag and sweats - and I was still getting hollered at. I kept thinking, when is this going to stop? It was a song that I knew girls wanted to hear… and guys too. it's not just a girl issue. It's an everyone issue. I'm so happy with how the video came out and it was super fun to make. 

I was reading this article in Alt Citizen from a couple of years ago where you talked about how New York had influenced you and the music scene, particularly past music scenes. Were there any particular bands or people past or present from New York City that have been particularly influential to you?

I loved the whole CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City scene. I’m lucky to be living in New York now and I have some friends that were there for some of that. It’s cool to hear their accounts of it. I was obsessed with the history of the Chelsea Hotel, too. One of my friends lived there, so it was cool to spend time in their apartment. As far as bands, I love the Plasmatics, the Ramones, and the Cramps. Patti Smith, of course. I gravitate towards the Plasmatics so much because they were so punk, but also really showy. They were all about their performances and putting on a show. That inspires me because I want my shows to be a cinematic experience. Kind of like performance art.

You can watch the brand new video for “Goodbye Cruel World” below. You can listen to How Tragic’s entire discography on Bandcamp and Spotify. Keep up with the project by following them on Instagram.