“[I must choose] if I will not listen to your criticism, I won’t accept your suggestions,” Gayle adds
Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd, 18, who performs on the stage as GAYLE, admits that she “personally, like, a reputation-era girlie.” She watched The Reputation Tour at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium when she was 14. The following day, she & Sara Davis, her best friend, & co-writing partner, discussed the performance.
Gayle said, “I believed Taylor to be the biggest name in the entire world. When we were 14 and 16, we were in my bedroom simply asking, “F*ck, exactly how do people do it?”
Gayle will hit the stage as the official support act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour 24 hours after our interview. She is now sitting at a picnic table at Glendale, Arizona’s Sahuaro Ranch Park. While sporting mesh tattoo sleeves on an Ed Hardy t-shirt.
However, She performed one of the most popular and divisive songs in the US last year, Gayle’s “abcdefu.” She is supporting her musical idol this year. She is a teen girl who would enjoy making music with her closest buddy throughout it all.
Gayle got no real publicity at a time when Taylor Swift wasn’t a recording artist. She seems to remember witnessing the “Picture to Burn” music video when she was around three years old.
“I distinctly recall thinking she was gorgeous. Gayle remarks in a voice that echoes some of the amazement from her childhood, “I liked her hair”, Gayle says.
Swift’s journey through Pennsylvania to Nashville and onward from country to pop laid the foundation for her own professional path. She got motivated to grab a guitar after Swift.
Gayle & Sara, a pair of girls who came to Nashville from various regions of the nation to create music, were brought together by Swift.
When Sara was approximately 15 & Gayla was 12, they first met in Music City. At the time, they both primarily composed country-influenced contemporary Christian music. Although they adored pop, they were unsure of their place in the system. However, they had a plan because they did watch how Swift changed course with 1989 a few years earlier.
“Oh my God, which is what we’re doing. We’ve become pop”- she adds.
Gayle continues,”[I must choose] if I will not listen to your criticism, I will not take suggestions from you”.
She realized that her emphasis on her craft and her desire to please others were opposing forces. She’s been wanting to write songs and share them with others for a very long time.
“I’m frightened that people won’t like it, therefore I can’t give it everything I’ve got. At some point, I want my music to evoke some sort of emotion in you. You’re still experiencing something if it’s hatred. I’m still somewhat ahead. I’ll accept it.”
According to Gayle, “I desired this journey to set examples: it’s okay even if you dislike it; I can deal with it.”
She & Swift spoke about how to deal with online hatred while seated next to one another at award ceremonies. “I related to her a tale about the inspiration for ‘Everybody Hates Me.'” Gayle explains, “I was simply talking about the internet and stuff that people said or stories that had happened. Swift gave her viewpoint on the situation.
