About That Song: Lake Davi
About That Song #107
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
In the 107th installment of this series, I was excited to chat with Andy Goezler, singer and lead songwriter for the Minneapolis-based Americana band Lake Davi! With a sound that pays homage to classic country, ’60s pop, and indie rock, Lake Davi’s five members hail from all over the country (and from all over the musical map), but their stories come together in the debut full-length album Bloody Mary released in December 2025. We talked about songs that made a big impact on her songwriting journey as well as some of her own songs, and about her upcoming Country Queers Make Do show!
Andy Goezler of Lake Davi. Photo credit: Fio Adams @fi0film
Sarah: Hello Andy, and welcome to About That Song!! With local references peppering the scenes of love and heartbreak, your band Lake Davi declares their affinity for the Twin Cities, giving listeners ample opportunity to find their place in the catchy, relatable songs. You’re bringing those hook-laden melodies to our ears this month with an epic night of music at Turf Club in St. Paul celebrating Pride Month. I’d love to learn a little bit more about Lake Davi and the songs that have brought you to this place in your musical journey. Do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Andy: I literally ALWAYS wanted to be a songwriter!! For some reason, I spent years of my life listening to music and thinking to myself, “Wow, bummer I can’t write songs!!”
Sarah: Interesting! I spent years of my life thinking “songs are the coolest, and it’s too bad I can’t write songs,” too, but I didn’t have the desire—just admiration for those humans who could write songs.
Andy: I think Waxahatchee’s 2020 record Saint Cloud is what made me feel like I could actually do it. I was just starting to learn to play guitar when it came out, and it felt so huge that this incredible album was built around pretty simple chords and progressions.
Sarah: Katie Crutchfield’s writing hits me as almost Prine-like in that way.
Andy: The song that I remember coveting the most is “Can’t Do Much.” It is such an unsentimental love song. Every line is a banger—“My eyes roll around like dice on the felt,””‘Love you til the day I die/I guess it don’t matter why,” just to name a few
Sarah: Here’s to songs worth coveting! I love that! Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Andy: I did NOT feel like a songwriter immediately. I remember summer 2021, I pledged that I would write 50 bad songs. I felt so paralyzed by my own judgment that I thought allowing the songs to be bad might give me permission to just practice writing. By the 10th or so song, I found myself thinking, hey … that one is kind of good.
I think our first single, “Parsley,” is really the one that made me feel like a songwriter. I had a long layover and had been listening to “Crush” by Ethel Cain, and wanted to take a crack at writing a song that’s a profile of a lover. I just wrote out the lyrics like a poem, half-humming them to the melody of “Crush,” then a few days later went home and arranged it completely differently. I find this is the process that works best for me—write lyrics first whenever I feel the pull, then sit down with a guitar at a later date.
Sarah: Tell us about the formation of Lake Davi—was there a song that you wrote where you realized, “OH! THIS is the sound of a new band!”?
Andy: I have to credit my buddy, Sam Jackson, for the formation of Lake Davi. In 2022, I was attempting to record an EP alone with very little skills or equipment when I met Sam at a party. He told me he had a recording setup in his basement, and agreed to record drums for a few songs. I sent him a few tracks and then went over to talk about them, and we just clicked! He really believed in me and the songs, and I really needed that.
Sarah: Finding that person who believes in you, in your song—that is the biggest gift. Thank you, Universe!!!
Andy: I had never done anything like this before and still felt very scared of embarrassing myself. Sam told me I needed to get a band together and start gigging, and he helped me find the first members!
I think the track “The Exhibitionist” is when we stumbled on the Lake Davi sound. Sam had brought in his friend Adam to play guitar, and that’s when the country inspiration really arrived. I really believe that the genre you play most when you're learning guitar influences your playing forever, and Adam learned by playing along to country music. I had been listening to a lot of The Chicks and Waxahatchee and had been wondering if “The Exhibitionist” could lean that direction. When I heard the guitar and harmonica parts Adam wrote for that song, I knew we could pull it off.
When I wrote “The Exhibitionist,” I felt like it was too silly, but now the bratty melodrama of it all kind of feels like a Lake Davi signature. I think that’s when I discovered the fun of playing a character. The Davi character is kind of me, but with various dials turned up to 100. I might feel like throwing a million caveats and qualifiers into a song, but she can just boldly sing “Don’t you see how lovable I can be????!!!!”
Sarah: Ah! I love the idea of turning various dials up to 100. Letting that ring out in a stage persona. “I may be a child, and I may still be learning, but you used to wanna kiss me in the morning”—these lines in the chorus of “Bottlejack Blues” convey an ache, sung to a melody that would sound just right on an old jukebox. I love how they, in essence, ask a question of a paramour—without really asking. Can you tell us about that song?
Andy: “Bottlejack Blues” was my first experiment with the Loretta Lynn songwriting method! I was reading her memoir at the time, and she said for almost all of her songs, the words of the hook would come to her, then she’d just sing them over and over until she found a catchy enough melody, and then she’d build everything else off that. That’s what I did with the line, “you used to want to kiss me in the morning.”
That song is really about doubting yourself. Are things changing in my relationship, or am I overanalyzing? Are we falling out of love, or are things just cooling down a bit with time? Do we have a future here, or are we kidding ourselves? Is something wrong, or is this all in my head?
Sarah: Self-doubt—that level of questioning—is incredibly relatable. On the dreamy, lush song “Winter,” you begin with a bit of a wink and a nod to anyone who turns their feelings into recorded music (hi, songwriters everywhere!): “The single will come out whether I want it to or not.” What can you tell us about that song?
Andy: I think I was grappling with the embarrassment of putting my love life out in the open via music!! This is a small city, and most of our listeners are people who know at least a little about my life. Not to overestimate the space I occupy in other people’s minds, but I was nervous about becoming a topic of conversation. I even change details sometimes on purpose! Our first EP took us a long time to make, so when I was writing “Winter,” we were finishing up recording “Parsley.” I was like, oh god, am I going to have to put out this love song after we break up? It’s too good to waste!! I ended up doing it and, ya know what? no one died.
Lake Davi. Photo credit: Fio Adams @fi0film
Sarah: Sometimes the song IS too good to waste. Indeed! Now … can you tell us about that SHOW? The one on June 26 at Turf Club? The lineup is incredible! Emmy Woods, Pine and Fire, Tomboyy …?
Andy: Yess!! The second annual Country Queers Make Do!! I had the idea for this show last year—all queer country bands, put it in June, call it a Pride event. I had the lineup with us, Pine & Fire, and Tomboyy, and had previously asked Emmy to play, but she wasn’t able to. Then Emmy came back to me and was like wait… I’ve got Turf Club in June. Why don’t we do it there? Turf Club was such a bucket list venue for me, I couldn’t believe it!!
Country Queers Make Do was probably my favorite show of last year. I had an absolute blast. This year, Emmy talked them into giving us a weekend date, which is HUGE! I think it’s gonna be even bigger and better than last year. We’ve got some goofy covers lined up and are ready to two-step all night long! Tickets are already on sale. I am determined to sell this thing out, so please come check it out!!
Sarah: Alright, readers, Andy is determined to sell this show out, so you should probably go get your ticket STAT. Andy—thank you so much for stopping by About That Song! It was a joy to listen to your music, and I can’t wait to catch Lake Davi live in the future. Have so much fun at the Turf!
Get your tickets to Country Queers Make Do at the Turf Club in Saint Paul on Saturday, June 26!
Listen to “Winter”
Bloody Mary Album Credits
Lyrics and melody by Andy Goelzer
Musicians on this album: Adam Moskovitz (guitar and pedal steel), Alex Griffin (guitar and banjo), Stella Drapkin (bass and vox), Ren Berglove (drums), and Andy Goelzer (guitar and vox)
Engineered by John O’Brien and Ren Berglove
Mastered by Abe Anderson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
