Words by Danny Denial

The making of "I'm not your type" was a big experiment for me, from the lyrics to the production process. It was written at the earlier stage of working on the album, when I originally thought it was going to be like a "happy EP" and not a 10-track concept album. It was Pride season and I was feeling incredibly confident with myself for the first time maybe ever. And I wrote this song as a conversation with myself, telling myself that I'm great and even if no one in my own community appreciates me, it doesn't matter because I'm "worth it" - whatever "it" is. It's the antithesis of every song I've ever written. 

Musically, it was also very different. Instead of starting with the acoustic guitar like I usually do, I approached it like a pop song. I was hearing this video game-type melody and I knew going into the album I wanted to play with beats for the first time. I loved the idea of a "grungey-pop" song and listening to Hole, I felt like Courtney Love's guttural, barbed snarling would sound dynamic against a heavy pop beat. I was heavily influenced by what Michete was doing and "Yum Yum Big Slurp" was on heavy rotation at the time, and that led me to cutting my own beat in GarageBand. Then, I took that to New York where I worked with a producer named Bibz, remaking the beat with my samples, and the whole time he was cringing. I remember finishing our track, with the screaming and the snarling and the bass, and him asking me, "Is this....good?" and I said "YEAH" and he said "I guess people in Seattle have a different idea of what's good". It was a hilarious studio session but it all worked out, because the other song we did was "Scorpio eyes" and he liked that one alot more. Also, I heavily credit Bibz for the guitar on that, the surf-y leads on this track are all him, I can't play guitar like that.

Lastly, there was the void on the song where I knew I wanted a feature. DoNormaal is hands-down my favorite rapper from Seattle (now in Los Angeles) and I always loved the chance to play shows together. So, when I tracked the rest of the record at Pierced Ears Recordings in Greenwood, I had her come to the home studio and lay down a verse for this track. And, to my surprise, she just came in with this whole arrangement that was knocked out in like two takes and it completely reinvigorated the song. It made it more gleeful and carefree, and a little less melancholic. Whereas my verses focus on who's ignoring me, who's not seeing me, giving the anxiety and rejection so much attention, DoNormaal's verse is rooted in the ego and the self. Like, no one else matters but me, right now, having a good time. We had so much fun recording that, and shooting the video at Creature Hole's wedding show.
It's funny, I go through periods where I'll look back at this song like my little diamond in the rough, because I don't have many like it. When I hear the line "I know I'm worth it", which was initially just a riff on the classic makeup ad, I actually feel it. It's a reminder of who I am and what I can do when I don't let the bad things (anxiety, rejection, etc) get the better of me. And I think everyone can relate to that.