“To Be Human Is To Be Cringe”: The Holly Pocket Interview

I sat down with Hunter Azme of the local Orlando indie pop band Holly Pocket, and had a conversation ranging from unplanned life changes to mental health, and how embracing the cringe can lead to the most authentic and long-lasting music. 

Their most recent release, “Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” discusses how alternate life paths can emerge and take your life to a place you never imagined you’d end up. Azme candidly discussed how medical issues caused a delayed bachelor’s degree from UCF, and she ended up on a different path than many of the friends she had shared her life with. 

“It came from seeing, you know, all of my friends, graduating and feeling like, okay, I’m taking a different path,” Azme said. It’s an acknowledgement of “there is a different path,” but it's still that feel of being stuck and like, you know, “I don’t know what I’m doing in my life, but I’m going to keep moving.”

The University of Central Florida brings a lot of the local Orlando artists together, playing in parking garages or at the Arboretum Unplugged event. The Orlando local music scene, Azme says, is a tight-knit, supportive community of artists. Local venue spots like Will’s Pub and The Conduit offer independent musicians opportunities to play in front of crowds and to play together. Azme is a self-proclaimed heavy metal enthusiast and says that it definitely influences her favorite local venue. 

“I would say my favorite venue to play is probably The Conduit, because I'm a big metal fan,” Azme said. “So I'm going to see like my favorite bands at The Conduit and then I'm also playing there, so it's…like, [my] favorite bands of all time have played up there, and every time I played The Conduit, like, the thing that kind of motivates me for throughout the show is like, oh, I've seen Peeling Flesh. I've seen Fit for an Autopsy [here].” 

From Metal to Indie

Azme has gotten a lot of inspiration from an unusual source. Heavy metal has had a huge impact on how Azme views the instrumental scene. She often looks at the structure of heavy metal songs to study how they are constructed, and takes what she can from their work. 

“When I sit down and kind of break it down, I'm able to see these complicated shapes, especially on the piano, that I can kind of use in my own music,” Azme said. “It creates this dissonance that you wouldn't hear in your you know, stereotypical pop or…your average pop song.”

Image Courtesy: Vincent Smith 

Metal has influenced Azme lyrically as well. She credits bands like Cattle Decapitation for motivating her to look internally and find authenticity within herself.  

“I think the intensity of the emotion behind the lyrics is something I’ve kinda used more for myself,” Azme said. “Thinking about how I can dig a little deeper.” 

To Be Cringe Is To Be Free

When discussing the sometimes performative nature of indie music, Azme confesses that a big obstacle to being an artist is the feeling of being judged. 

“I feel like, especially this generation, like Gen Z, it’s like, we’re so scared to do anything that we think people are gonna look at us differently for,” Azme said. “The genre itself of music…has felt like it’s become so surface because everyone’s scared to seem cringe.” 

Cringe culture has been around for years, but it is especially prevalent within the music community, for artists and fans alike. The fear of rejection can really influence the pursuit of creativity and authenticity in these spaces, and it can feel like there is no room for niche or individual takes. In the process of developing a new EP and eventually an album, Azme said this feeling of being watched has stilted her songwriting process. 

“A big thing that has stopped me in the songwriting process is that feeling of like, is this going to be perceived as cringy, is this going to be perceived as, you know, not cool enough?” Azme said. “And it's such a stupid fear…in music, you can’t have the fear of like, what are people going to say.” 

Image Courtesy: Vincent Smith

In much of our favorite music as listeners, honesty and vulnerability are what make the music what it is, and there is an element of embracing “cringe” and embarrassment in order to do that. Azme discusses her background as a music teacher and how valuable music can be as a tool for connection. Allowing the fear of embarrassment and vulnerability to prevent authentic art is to lose a wonderful tool for self-expression and human connection. Azme summed this up perfectly in one sentence: “To be human is to be cringe.” 

“Vienna Waits For You”

Vulnerability and honesty are what make music that stands the test of time. For Azme, one way this surfaces is the rerecording of her solo EP. “It’s really fun to be able to translate the things that I’ve worked on years ago to what I’m doing now. It just makes it feel like my music is sustainable…like it can withstand the test of time.” 

The song Vienna by Billy Joel came up in this conversation as an example of how music with an honest emotional core can tie people together over generations.

“I listened to that song a lot growing up…specifically like, end of high school,” Azme said. “I was someone that...I went from a hundred to zero…I was pushing myself in every aspect, and I got sick and had to cut it all right there, and it was this feeling of “I’m not doing enough.” So that song, like I would listen to that on repeat to remind myself, like, I’m okay, I can relax, I can take a break. I’m allowed to.” 

This feeling is by no means unrelatable. In today’s hustle culture, it can feel like any moment that isn’t spent doing something “productive’ is a waste of our precious time. Billy Joel’s ballad from 1977 connects to Gen Z. Songs like Holly Pocket’s “Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” and Vienna, despite oceans of time between them, can connect to listeners in the same way.  Music is communication, and music is healing. If you open yourself up, let yourself be vulnerable, and embrace the cringe, you will receive a lifetime’s worth of intergenerational connection. Let’s reject the fear of judgment and start speaking from our hearts and minds. Holly Pocket’s Hunter Azme has begun this process, and now, it’s time for you. 

Holly Pocket has several upcoming shows in the Orlando area. Catch the band in local Orlando venues and witness this band’s open creativity and self-expression for yourself. 

Strike Out!

Orlando

Written By: Hadley Balser

Edited By: Delaney Gunnell & Arsheeya Garg

Hadley Balser is a journalist for Strike Magazine Orlando. A senior at the University of Central Florida pursuing a career in music journalism, they love writing about music almost as much as they like listening to it. In their free time, they love watching horror movies and attempting watercolor still-lifes. For any professional communication (or just to chat) reach out at hms.hadley@gmail.com, and follow on Instagram @hadleybalsersonpitch!