BACKSTORY: Three celebrated child actors get disenchanted with the film and TV industry only to face similar hurdles as a music group
FROM: Los Angeles, CA, Columbia, SC, and Westchester County, NY
YOU MIGHT KNOW THEM FROM: Jadagrace Michiko Gordy-Nash’s appearance in Terminator Salvation, Coy Stewart in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Tyrel J. Williams in the recent Party Down reboot
NOW: The trio has created their strongest work to date with their second album, an ode to finding your true calling and tuning out anyone standing in your way
grouptherapy. coined their name as a literal representation of their artistic philosophy. The trio consisting of Jadagrace Michiko Gordy-Nash, Coy Stewart, and Tyrel J. Williams have a unique backstory, having united as musicians after becoming disillusioned with the film industry. As former child actors, the band—who go by Jadagrace, SWIM, and TJOnline—united as friends first, which helped them navigate the music world; if work, money, or industry ever got in the way, they’d step back and preserve what matters most.
But on their new album i was mature for my age, but i was still a child, the group reemerge stronger than ever. After 2020’s there goes the neighborhood., the trio almost disbanded. The toils of independent music seemed even worse than the days of torment on sets, isolated from their peers as children but still having to share the stage with adults. They saw how quickly they could grow apart, and they had to take a step back before they could create the defining work that is i was mature.
“You make sacrifices here and there and cut a few corners, and before you know it, you’re seeing the people you love the most completely differently than you ever have before—and for no reason,” says Stewart. The entire point of grouptherapy. when it began was to avoid these pitfalls, to create a safe space for art that’s antithetical to the pressures that came with being professionals from a very young age. Adds Williams, “The genesis of all of our relationships is the reason why it works so well. It started as a safe haven away from the industry, so it was a place where work didn’t matter and what we did at work didn’t matter.”
“It started as a safe haven away from the industry, so it was a place where work didn’t matter and what we did at work didn’t matter.” — Tyrel J. Williams a.k.a. TJOnline
When the group decided to get back together and work on music—the songs that would eventually become i was mature—they decided to abide by one solitary tenet: “What would we want to listen to?” asks Gordy-Nash. “What project would we want to run top to bottom every damn day? And we literally made that.” It turns out, the stuff they wanted to listen to every damn day is the same music that a lot of people want to hear every damn day. grouptherapy.’s new LP is a stunner, built around an eclectic blend of pop, rap, R&B, electro, punk, and more experimental genres. Those styles are apparent on the album’s first non-intro track, “American Psycho,” an edgy, post-JPEGMAFIA rap track that explodes toward stadium status with Jadagrace’s soaring vocals.
Elsewhere, the trio dives into the sultry tones of ’80s house and soft pop—think Crystal Waters on the group’s “how i’m feeling.” On “HOT!” they dive into the acid house phenomenon of UK dance culture, with Stewart and Williams trading bars over Amen-break-inspired drum grooves and Gordy-Nash’s melodies. These are just three of the album’s many instances in which the trio are fully locked into each others’ styles, leading the way while still allowing space for their collaborators to shine.
“It’s a project that we can return to years from now and be like, ‘This was perfect for that time in our lives.’ But at the same time, it feels timeless.” — Jadagrace Michiko Gordy-Nash
i was mature is indebted to the group’s feelings about living in a specific moment while wanting to create something that exists in any number of contexts and generations. “It’s a project that we can return to years from now and be like, ‘This was perfect for that time in our lives,’ and we really wrapped it up, put a bow on it, and we moved on,” explains Jadagrace. “But at the same time, it feels timeless. It feels like it can last forever, and I’m really proud of that.”
While they’ve always aimed to expand their sound and widen their audience, the group will forever feel indebted to their unique formation—namely, a bond over the world of child actors. “I want a point for the child actors. I want people to understand us a little bit more, because I think there’s a lot of stigma around what our lives are like, what we’re like as adults, what our experiences were and now are,” Stewart says. “It’s awesome to add something different to that conversation that maybe hasn’t been added before, and do it in a creative way.”
“I want a point for the child actors. I want people to understand us a little bit more, because I think there’s a lot of stigma around what our lives are like.” — Coy Stewart a.k.a. SWIM
When they first formed, grouptherapy. were wary of broadcasting their connections to the world of acting. After all, audiences tend to roll their eyes at actors turning into pop singers. But after some deliberation, the group wanted to create an outlet for anyone else who may recognize their experience, either directly or in relation to their own particular struggles. Being doubted when they began releasing music would only make it all the sweeter when they proved just how talented they were—individually and as a band. Says Stewart, “Our duality is a superpower, because we get typecast as actors, but also child actors. We are so much more than that.”
i was mature is a brilliant album, whether you want to qualify it or not. “We just love music,” Stewart concludes. It doesn’t matter where grouptherapy. has been. They’re here now. FL
