Name: Katy Guillen & The Drive
Members: Katy Guillen (vocals, guitar, keys), Stephanie Williams (drums, percussion), Megan McCormick (bass, guitar, lap steel, background vocals)
Interviewee: Katy Guillen
Nationality: American
Current Release: Katy Guillen & The Drive's new album Make that Sound is available for streaming October 17th 2025 via Are and Be. Physical editions will follow November 17th 2025.
Recommendation for Kansas City, Missouri: I always tell people to visit the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

If you enjoyed this Katy Guillen & The Drive interview and would like to find out more about the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, tiktok, and bandcamp.

For a deeper dive, read our earlier interview with Katy Gullen with the same questions but about a different album.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

The impulse to create has been ingrained in me from my earliest memories. It seems like some people are wired to create.

Since I was little, I loved to draw, paint, sing, play piano and guitar. It’s one of my favorite ways to communicate and express ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Inspiration comes from a wide range of beings, places, and experiences.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

My favorite way to create is to let it flow, stream of consciousness-style. I like to sit with the guitar and just play, sing, and write whatever comes out without a goal or parameters in place.

Although, there are times when I’m more disciplined about it and more deliberate with my time and energy. When creating anything I try to maintain a balance between total freedom and a more goal oriented process.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I like to have and usually need to schedule uninterrupted quiet time for creating.

I like to unplug and disconnect from my phone and computer, sit in a quiet space by myself with a journal, pen, an acoustic guitar, and a cup of coffee.

For Make That Sound, what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

Make That Sound is a batch of songs that came together over the last couple of years, when we had time to work on them in between being on and off the road. They developed practically, naturally, and went through a few iterations before they found their song homes.

There was no overarching concept through the writing process. The songs were written in real time over the last couple of years and are a reflection of and reaction to our experiences, relationships, and challenges.

The main goal was honesty.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

I love lyrics that are simple but telling.

I like coded lyrics, sarcastic, witty, sassy lyrics. I love the challenge of using as few words as possible to express a deep feeling or thought. I like lyrics that feel specific to the writer and their experience but are easy to relate to and apply to other situations.

I hope to continue to sharpen my lyrical skills and listen to my inner voice.  

What are areas/themes/topics that you keep returning to in your lyrics?

The people that inspire love- like writing songs for loved ones whether it’s my partner, my sister, my niece, my friends.

I like writing songs that encourage and inspire others, maybe self help songs. I also like writing self care songs. I like to focus on finding strength during difficult times and finding sources of light when things feel dark.

There’s aspects of mental health oriented themes in what I’ve been writing recently. It helps me mentally to write this way and I’ve had people tell me it helps them too, so it feels good to come back to as a topic.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

There’s an element of spirituality in creativity for me. I feel relief when I create, like it’s necessary for my well being. It’s a therapeutic and cathartic process for me.

I usually feel a high after a show, being in the studio, or having just sat down and written.  

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece?

I usually don’t overwork a finished song too much, but like to stay open to changes.

The refinement and editing is part of the creation and writing process, but things get altered in the studio, after you show it to your bandmates or a producer, and you have to be open to ideas and possible edits in the recording process.

I sometimes don’t finish a song completely until I’m in the studio and then it’s recorded. There’s an honesty and a freedom in not overthinking or tinkering and letting the initial and instinctual release live in peace.

How do you think the meaning, or effect of an individual piece is enhanced, clarified or possibly contrasted by the EPs, or albums it is part of? Does each piece, for example, need to be consistent with the larger whole?

For me- each album or release has been its own little world that was a snapshot in time and I think of them as being separate but from the same family. They’re like my kids, each with a different personality.

My favorite part of creating and releasing new bodies or chunks of songs is that they’re new, there’s no rules or pre-destined line that needs to be followed for them.

In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (including production, mixing and mastering)?  

The music and lyrics are the foundation of a song.

The song can be presented in a number of ways based on the arrangement, production, and mixing.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for Make That Sound and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

The visuals play a big role in the life and identity of the album. I love this aspect of releasing an album. It’s a whole other art project within an art project.

For the current album, we put the visuals together with a friend via a photo shoot. I had a vision in mind for the cover image based on one of the overarching themes from the album. Other visuals like videos came together a bit last minute, but all with a vision and goal in mind.

The visuals can function as another way to illustrate or enhance the story, mood, or sound of the song/album. They help pull people in even closer.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

We put everything we have into our releases, partially because we’re wearing all of the hats as an independent band.

We put loads of time, energy, resources, heart, and soul into the music, the process of recording it, the process of packaging it, releasing it, and touring on it. Usually after all that there’s a sense of exhaustion and the feeling of “I hope I did that record (that I believed in so much) justice.”

It can feel a bit daunting to come to the end of an album cycle because it’s such a condensed whirlwind of life and energy encircling your work and then it just suddenly slows down.

I like to think of this moment as an exhale, a moment to breathe, reflect, and feel gratitude. It’s nice to take some quiet time to rest your body and mind, and not put too much pressure on the next thing.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?  

Creativity is found in all kinds of different corners of our lives. Depending on the writer and the song- writing a song could be mundane or simple. I think it depends on what the song means to the writer and how much emotion is translated.

A great song is timeless and universal. There are transcendent, indescribable, and intangible qualities to music and how it affects us that are unique to music and nothing else.