Meet Grace McKagan, the Alt-Rock Darling Striking Out on Her Own

"This might sound cheesy but I always knew I wanted to be a performer," 23-year-old Grace McKagan tells L'OFFICIEL. "When I was about three, my mom’s friends would come over before they went to dinner but they couldn’t even leave the house because I would put on my little sunglasses and a dress and put on a show to the No Doubt album."

McKagan, whose dad is none other than Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, has been performing in bands since she was 15, most notably fronting the grungy synth-pop band The Pink Slips. McKagan became known for her over-the-top live shows where she performed as Grave, the singer’s musical persona who ends each set by sacrificing herself to the rock ‘n’ roll gods. Lots of fake blood is involved.  

After several years of writing and performing with The Pink Slips—with notable gigs at legendary venues like LA's Troubadour and the Viper Room—McKagan decided it was time to strike out on her own. “With The Pink Slips I was much younger, and this is my new chapter,” she says. “I’ve changed so much every year, both as a person and an artist.” 

McKagan debuts her solo project with “Surrender,” a stripped-back anthem that still has plenty of alt-rock influence. The music video features McKagan covered in butterflies, signaling the young musician's transformation from pop-punk frontwoman to spellbinding solo singer.

We caught up with McKagan on her musical inspirations, discovering her sexuality, and her obsession with Miley Cyrus.

L’OFFICIEL: Tell us a bit about what your creative process is like and where you find inspiration.

Grace McKagan: I don’t play any instruments but I know exactly what I want to write and how I want things to sound. I write with my boyfriend Blues Williams and our producer Isaac Carpenter [of Awolnation] who’s this amazing drummer. We’ll go over to Isaac’s garage and I’ll usually say, “I want to write a riff like this, this is how I’m feeling,” or make a reference to a song and then we’ll build from there. I’m always writing lyrics but it’s easier for me to write when I have a riff to go off of.

L’O: Who are your biggest musical inspirations? 

GM: I love Nancy Sinatra—her whole ambience and confidence and vibe both sonically and visually. I’ve always loved David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust; I think he embodies a free spirit and a genuine artist. Iggy Pop is my number one favorite of all time, and I also love Peaches, M.I.A., and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I love anybody who creates beautiful music and has a very strong sense of who they are and what kind of persona they wish to convey.

L’O: Your new song “Surrender” has a very empowering and strong message. What does the song mean to you and what was the process of creating it like?

GM: I wrote the song almost two years ago, but I think now is the perfect time for it to come out. I hope some people can relate and won’t surrender to how crazy this year has been. I wrote the song when I was going through a really hard time. I was depressed, I gained 30 pounds, I was not treating my body the way I should, I was in a relationship that turned emotionally abusive, and I had lots of band members I thought were my best friends. I just felt really bad. And I felt guilty for my obvious privilege. I felt like I didn’t deserve anything that I had, like who am I to have all this? What is my purpose of being here? Why am I alive? I was having a crisis. So I wrote the song because I was suffering from heartbreak in many different ways, and these lyrics represented how I wanted to see myself and how I wanted to believe in myself again.

Writing the song was very therapeutic, but the process was actually pretty happy and I had fun writing it with Blues and Isaac. In the process of writing all these songs I was so fortunate to fall in love with Blues at the same time, and we bonded and connected over these lyrics so it ended up being a beautiful process. I’ve been really eager and excited to share this song and the other songs we have to come.

L’O: “Surrender” is a bit more dialed back than what we’re used to hearing from you with The Pink Slips. Is that something we can expect from your solo work moving forward?

GM: Definitely! I just feel like I’m a bit more mature now. With The Pink Slips I was much younger, and this is my new chapter. My old stuff was definitely more punk, and I love punk music but I think I’m in a place in my life now where I feel a bit more vulnerable and even a little more sexy. I wrote these songs when I was 21 and discovering my sexuality and not only feeling empowered within myself but in my body and being a sexual person. It’s fun. It’s liberating!

L’O: Big, energetic live performances was a big part of your persona as Grave with The Pink Slips. Do you have any special theatrics planned for your solo shows?

GM: I’m sure there will always be because that’s just who I am. I want Ziggy Stardust! I love the theatrics, I love being extra, and I love the wow factor, that’s so much fun to me. Maybe the blood will come back one day and maybe it won’t, but there will always be some sense of theatrics and it’ll always be fun to watch.