An Interview with Bryce Menchaca

Sienna Garda: Do you need special pens, your phone, lucky socks, snacks, specific gear?

Bryce Menchaca: I almost always write with a pen because if you write with a pen you can’t erase it. That usually helps me think a little harder about what I write down on paper. I use a pen my father gave me a long time ago. My handwriting could definitely be improved but it’s never been amazing.

SG: Do you take writing trips, do you meditate, need vocal or guitar warm ups, tie your hair in a ponytail?

BM: Lately I’ve been writing very early in the morning. A lot of the newer songs I’ve been working on have started around 6am with a hot cup of coffee and the windows cracked open. It sounds cliche but it’s true. I’m not a morning person usually, but melodies have been hitting at the crack of dawn lately.

SG: When you write are you usually neutral, gloomy, processing, retrospectively re-telling?

BM: I tend to write my best songs when I’m so incredibly sad and I’ve never known why. In my experience, if life is great it’s like, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix”. So I typically feel more gloomy or emotional when I sit down to write. Whether it’s about love or anger it’s usually when I’m down oddly enough.

SG: Do you ever re-purpose dreams, previously written lyrics, other people’s songs?

BM: I find little lines in old journals from time to time and bring them back. If I wrote down one line on a page it was because I really liked it. I’ll obsess over old lyrics or one-liners I rediscover all the time and it jolts a new excitement for sure.

SG: Co-Writers—yes or no, and who?

BM: I always recommend co-writing at least once. I’ve had some incredibly memorable and successful collaborations that I’m proud of. I was a part of a duo years back and I’ll stand by those songs forever. My good friend and old roommate Cayden Wemple is one of the better songwriters I’ve met and we’ve collaborated plenty. I always recommend picking someone else’s brain in that kind of creative space.

SG: Do you write in the shower, on walks, your bedroom floor, in the car?

BM: I write in my living room area usually with the paper on the coffee table. It’s such a familiar space for me anyways, and it definitely helps me stay in the zone for longer.

SG: Are you inspired by eavesdropping, historical figures, your own life and inner world?

BM: I will frequently be inspired by movies or TV shows. But my number one biggest inspiration for songs is other people’s songs. Mostly hearing something and wishing I had come up with it. An example would be after flushing out every Beatles, Paul Simon, Nina Simone, Willie Nelson, or Phoebe Bridgers song, I will discover a band like the Strokes and just get jealously jaw-dropped. Those little “whoa” moments inspire me most.

SG: Do you write in the morning, evening, autumn, summer, at school?

BM: Early on I would try to write songs later in the evening but nowadays I write very early in the morning.

This interview has been lightly edited for context and clarity. Originally published in October of 2023.