GRLwood’s Rej Forester & Karen Ledford On Louisville & Their Latest Album For sonaBLAST!

Louisville, Kentucky-based GRLwood released its sophomore album I Sold My Soul To The Devil When I Was 12 earlier this year to immediate critical acclaim. Rej Forester (guitar and vocals) and Karen Ledford (drums) may only be on their second full-length as a band, but they’ve been keeping up a full schedule between shows, travel, and recording. This is the rare sort of group that can premiere music via Kerrang!, play at Gathering Of The Juggalos and still be embraced by the indie world.

While in Louisville, Kentucky for the Louder Than Life Festival back in September, I was hipped to GRLwood by the group’s label sonaBLAST! Records. This led to me doing Q&A with both Rej and Karen, which you can read below. More on all things GRLwood can be found online by visiting www.facebook.com/GRLwood and/or https://grlwood.bandcamp.com.

I Sold My Soul To The Devil When I Was 12 is your new album. How long did you spend making it?

Rej Forester: We spent a month pulling all of the loose ends together. It was pulled together in a time crunch, but we work well under pressure.

I Sold My Soul To The Devil When I Was 12 was released by sonaBLAST! Records, a Louisville-based label. How did you first encounter the sonaBLAST! Records team?

Karen Ledford: We were playing almost 5 shows a week in Louisville and we kept pulling a crowd every time. A guy sent us an email telling us who he was, but we didn’t think anything of it. He said he would attend our next show at The Cure Lounge, and sure enough, there he was, and he ended up being the owner of the label.

Beyond sonaBLAST!, are there a lot of music industry people based in Louisville?

Rej Forester: Hidden, yes. Louisville is a bit of a hiding place that all sorts of creative people flock to, to escape the larger more expensive cities like New York and L.A.

Back to your new album, do you have a favorite song on I Sold My Soul To The Devil When I Was 12?

Rej Forester: “A-State.”

Karen Ledford: “Get Shot” and “F**k Me Up.”

Word is that you have a new 7″ single coming out soon. Can you tell me more about that?

Rej Forester: That is a false rumor. If someone wants to put the money upfront to help get that done though, we would be more than happy to. (laughs)

New 7″ aside, what is coming up for GRLwood?

Karen Ledford: We are touring machines right now and we are going to continue our focus on that.

When not busy with the band, where does your free time usually go?

Rej Forester: Bouldering, hanging out with my dogs, cooking, drawing comics, painting and video games.

Karen Ledford: Going to shows, marinara, my friends, and video games.

What was the last concert you saw for fun?

Rej Forester: Louisville local show: Buddy Crime and Wombo.

Do you have a favorite album of 2019?

Rej Forester: Bigsquatch by Mosquito — it’s not new but it’s a good’n.

Karen Ledford: I can’t give an album but I love Thelma & The Sleaze.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

Rej Forester: Believe in yourself.

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Tags: Gathering Of The Juggalos, GRLwood, Kentucky, Louisville, Mosquito, sonaBLAST!, sonaBLAST! Records, Thelma & The Sleaze

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."