Bishop Briggs on new album: Travis Barker Collab, Grief as Inspiration

Pop punk music from the early 2000s seems to be back in vogue these days, but for Bishop Briggsthe choice to adopt a new sound with a punk tendency was personal.

“I was really drawn to the music that my sister introduced me to growing up,” Briggs, 32, exclusively said. Us weeklyfrom Backstage Pass ahead of the release of their new album on Friday, October 18th, Tell my therapist I’m fine. “I actually lost my sister unexpectedly and I wrote a lot of sad songs, wanting to feel close to her, and it just didn’t happen.”

Briggs continued: “When I wrote songs that I hoped would be played on Warped Tour or Summer Sonic or maybe a collaboration with My Chemical Romance, then suddenly I felt like I could see her screaming the lyrics at me and I felt closer to her than ever before.”

Briggs, whose real name is Sarah Grace McLaughlin, grew up alongside her sister, Katein London, Tokyo – where she discovered her love of music in karaoke bars as a child – and Hong Kong before moving to Los Angeles to pursue music professionally.

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In 2021, Kate died at age 30 after battling ovarian cancer. For Briggs, music became an outlet for overcoming her pain and suffering.

“If it was any type of therapy, it would definitely be exposure therapy,” she said. Us to make his latest album after his sister’s passing. “There’s a song on the album called ‘Growing Pains,’ and that’s really the theme of the whole album, which is just the experience of life that has these pits of despair and sadness and knowing that it comes in waves, and I think that The biggest thing I’ve learned about grief is that it lives with you and you find healthier coping mechanisms as you grow.”

To achieve that nostalgic pop punk sound in honor of his sister, Briggs worked with Blink-182. Travis Barker.

“I have no idea how Travis Barker got in touch with me,” she joked. “But somehow he did. And I didn’t keep calm. I tried, but it didn’t last long.”

“Isolated Love,” her song with Barker, 48, on the new album, was the first song she recorded and set the tone for the rest of the album.

“The title of the album is Tell my therapist I’m fineand I think that sums up the album,” Briggs explained to Us. “It’s really, more or less, the experience of childhood and humanity.”

She continued: “I feel like I’m saying I’m fine when I’m not. And that felt like the universal experience of not just being a woman, but just being human. And I would love to undo that, and I would love to change that and share how I really feel.”

Keep scrolling for more behind-the-scenes info Briggs shared exclusively with Us weeklyBackstage Pass – including your craziest tour experience:

Tell my therapist I’m fine It’s out now.

Pre-Show Ritual

My pre-show ritual involves a lot of back and forth, a lot of worrying questions. My anxiety is at an all time high and I really recommend this to anyone who wants to feel crazy.

Ideal dressing room vibes

Ideal dressing room vibes definitely include a place for my baby to play. A local once did this and they put a ball pit in the corner of the room, and I thought, ‘OK, maybe I need to request that.’

So I would say anything that is calm, calm. And I love a good M&M moment after the show.

Craziest tourism experience

One of the craziest concert experiences I had was – one of my songs is called “Wild Horses,” and it gets really emotional during the chorus, and I was in a really sweaty place. We were all sweating and I saw someone faint at the front so I asked security to check if they were ok. And then someone else on the other side passed out. And then there was a third person who fainted, which is the most I’ve ever seen anyone faint at a show.

Fortunately, they were all fine, and I was able to talk to them afterwards, and they had a great time, so everything was fine. But I would say this is on the same level as really crazy experiences.

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Favorite song to play live

My favorite song to play live would most recently be “Mona Lisa on a Mattress.” I can talk about this situation I was in and really go crazy on stage in honor of him – or in spite of him.

Ideal afterparty

My ideal afterparty would include a mommy curry and just hanging out with my crew and eating. For some reason there are several drinks. Like, we drink tea, we drink water. If I’m in tour mode, it’s just all liquids. Ah, throw some kombucha over there. That would be ideal.