Page 59 - ION Indie Magazine MarchApril 2024

TB: Your most recent single is ‘Marble Queen.’ What is the story behind the
song?

BJ: 'Marble Queen’ is an endearing song written about my houseplant, called a
Marble Queen Pothos, that I adopted when I moved to L.A. I watched her
beautiful trailing vines grow foot by foot until she rained down from the ceiling and
wrapped her arms around my piano. In a way, I felt like I'd grown myself right
beside her. Taking care of Marble Queen quickly became a sentimental journey
for me. There was even a time when I thought she wasn’t going to make it, days
passing where I considered giving up on her last few frail vines. Watching her
struggle, then nurturing her back to health, and eventually to flourish, made me
realize that my entire experience with her was a mirror. I, too, questioned my own
attachment with a plant, but I took a step back and understood she was a direct
reflection of my own levels of self-care and belief in myself. This clicked the day
I decided I wasn’t going to give up on taking care of her, which really meant not
giving up on the both of us. I spent an afternoon with the scent of earth, doing
everything I could to create the perfect environment to get her back to where she
was -- new pot, new soil, lavender hydrosol, better water, anything that would
make her feel healthy and supported. I was shocked by how quickly things
changed when showering her with care, and there was an honest moment where
I felt really guilty for letting things slip as far as they did. Fast forward to a day
where we’re both doing much better -- I was in a flow state while watering my
plants, and as I was tipping my watering can into Marble Queen’s soil, I randomly
began to hum what became the main hook of the chorus. My ease of mind and
connection with the plant in that moment allowed the melody to sprout without
me trying, and I eventually tended to the idea until it bloomed into a song! 'Marble
Queen’ is a celebration of the natural world and the ways we can nourish
ourselves through it.