Nabiyah Be: Hey sister! How are you?
Riley Keough: I’m fine, honey. Where are you?
NB: I’m at home. I’m in my small studio/office/bedroom. How do you feel? The show will launch tomorrow. Today is officially the last day we can talk about this and people have no idea what we’re talking about.
RK: I know, and the record came out, and apparently, it topped iTunes.
NB: Yes, it does!
RK: It’s really crazy. I can not believe it.
NB: How did you first learn about the show? How did it come to you?
RK: I heard about it through my agent, Ali Trustman. She said there was a program called Daisy Jones & Six. I don’t know what it’s about, but I liked the title so much that I had a feeling I would. I said, “I want to do it,” and she said, “You don’t even know what it is.” And then she said, “Okay, I think it’s based on a band from the ’70s. And I said, “I want to do that—get me all the information,” which I don’t usually do. Typically, I need to read a script and I need to see the director before I say, “I want to do this,” but I don’t know. There’s something about it that makes me feel like I know I know. is going to be cast. So it’s very strange.
Note: You mentioned this feeling a few nights ago in our panel, this cosmic feeling. Maybe it’s your explanation behind the phrase around that you were born to play this role. But I’ll let you put your own words into it. Would you like to extend this feeling?
RK: I think a lot of artists feel the same way, but when a role comes to you, there’s something very spiritual and magical about it, and it feels like… everything will come at a certain time. And that’s the exact moment for that, or there’s a part of me that I feel like exploring, and then I’m going to get a role that fits that somehow. I’ve done a lot of dark, intense indie films, and I really felt like I wanted to do something fun, big, entertaining, and not too dark.
Of course, there are moments in chrysanthemum it’s more serious, but overall, it’s like something you can put on to get out of your life, and that’s exactly what I really wanted to do in that exact moment. Then we tried because of the pandemic and everything. When we finish filming in 2021, I need it even more because I went through a really hard time during the pandemic when I lost my brother, and it was a gift to have. I couldn’t get away with that and my first job was with all the people I felt like family, people I got to know so well and people I felt so supported and loved. The universe has allowed me to have this to help get through a really difficult year for the country, for the world.
Note: I can attest that you are the embodiment of this healer by turning stones into diamonds. I certainly learned a lot from you and your sense of humor and your ability to be in the light. I‘I’ve heard people’s audition stories, but I don’t know what you did. Did you sing for your audition?
RK: Yes, I sang. No, I act first. They were like, “Make sure you’re right.” I did three or four scenes, then I went back again, then I went in, and they said, “Okay, we liked your performance for Daisy, but can you sing?” I sent a video of me singing very softly. I was singing “Wild Horses,” I thought, and they said, “It’s cute, but it’s too soft. You have to belt up and sing louder.” Before, I just sang fake vocals with my husband for fun, so I was very disappointed thinking, “I’ve come this far. I auditioned five times, and now, I won’t make it.” he made it to the last round because I couldn’t make my voice out and I didn’t know how to put my belt on.” I was in my car, and my agent called me, and she said, “Just go ahead.” try it. Try singing a Lady Gaga song,” and I went crazy. I said, “You can’t just try singing a Lady Gaga song. I have never sung in my life. I don’t know how to tie a belt!” Since I’m inexperienced, I don’t even know how to be loud, you know? So I sat in my car and I thought I was trying to buckle up. I don’t remember what it was, and it sounded so bad I just sat there and started crying.
NB: Oh, my God!
RK: I really don’t like the fact that I can’t do it, so I’m very frustrated. I sat there, and I was like, “I can’t tie my belt, and that’s annoying because if I had time, maybe someone could teach me,” and my agent said, “Well, why don’t you go to the vocal coach?” I always thought you had it or you didn’t. So in my mind, I thought, “I don’t have it.” Sure, people who can belt know they can belt or just sing louder or show more. They gave me a list of songs to try, and it sucked. [The coach] like, “Push from here and use this and breathe here and do that.” And I said, “Damn, I can’t do this. I don’t understand.” I got home, and suddenly, the universe dropped Lynyrd Skynyrd on my head, and I started humming that song. It’s the song “Simple Man.” It popped into my head while I was walking around the house, and I said to my husband [Ben], “Can you play Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’?” The next day, I returned to the coach. Ben learned the song and we recorded it. And I would have belts or large mats. So I sent it in, and they said, “Okay, great. She can go to Sound City Studios for the final round.” And I was like, “Ah!”
