Playing both the main Bamboozle and Bamboozle Left in 2008 and the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, with 10 Million Listens on Myspace and over 300 live shows, Automatic Loveletter has earned their upcoming debut release . "Paramore is the female-fronted draw of the day here at Bamboozle Left, but Automatic Loveletter's Juliet Simms more than held her own on the Nokia Ticket Rush stage. Clad in an obligatory black hoodie and strumming an acoustic guitar, she wailed her way through a frenetic half-hour set split by a solo acoustic ballad. Get this band on a main stage and she’ll be receiving automatic love letters by the truckload." LA Times
Automatic Loveletter was formed with Juliet Simms on guitar and lead vocals, Daniel Currier on drums and brother Tommy Simms playing bass and producing, with bassist Sean Noll sitting in on occasion in Tommy's home studio in the Tampa Bay area. The band was first called Stars and Scars and recorded its first rock song together in December 2005, naming the song after the band but written by lead singer Juliet Simms. They also recorded "Tin Lizzy", written by Tommy.
Juliet also finally acoustically laid down all of the songs she had been writing over the last three years for consideration for her first major label album. Signed by Allison Hagendorf now host of Fuse TVs "The Pop Show", then working at Epic Records, Juliet went on to form Automatic Loveletter while Epic struggled with the 2005 Payola Scandal and internal problems finally dropping over 70 bands in 2007. With Allison as Juliet's champion, Automatic Loveletter was not dropped but was also not supported for the next year and 1/2 touring in the drummer's Ford Excursion and making feather hair clips and burning their own copies of their Epic Produced CD with hand painted slip covers to help fund their tours.
Automatic Loveletter did record their album in 2007 with producer Matt Squire (Panic at the Disco, Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, Cute is What We Aim For, The Cab, The Maine). "He challenged me and I challenged him," Simms said. "I felt very comfortable and that's when the best of me comes out. The entire time was playful and fun and that's what rock n roll's about to me -- having a good time." Simms took her massive songbook to Squire and narrowed down the right tunes and crafted them to fit together, sometimes taking songs in entirely new directions. "The Answer," for instance, was originally a ballad, but became one of the more upbeat numbers on the album. Daniel Currier and lead guitarist Joe Nelson both played on the album, Sean Noll officially joining just before some of their first tours together and big brother Tommy occasionally touring with the band to play lead, or rhythm guitar in larger venues and outdoor concerts filling up the sound and the stage.
But the Squire Album was never fully released, however tracks like "The Answer", "Parker", "August 28Th 3:30 A.M.", "Hush" and "Make-up Smeared Eyes (Acoustic)" were all released on an EP Recover' and sold through Hot Topic and on-line distribution.
Up to and while touring with 2008 Vans Warped Tour, Automatic Loveletter held #1 or #2 position on the Myspace Music Emo chart for 6 months, hitting 10 Million Listens, hit #2 on Smart Punk for three weeks and Artisan News Reported them as The Next Big Thing. But after the tour when Epic was scheduled to release the album Automatic Loveletter (acronym A.LL.) were told to continue touring and asked by then President Charlie Walk to write more upbeat music. Instead, Juliet submitted a fan favorite "Black Ink Revenge" which was rejected several times for re-write until it became "My Goodbye" one of the tracks off the upcoming Sony release. "I had been signed to Epic for going on three years, toured in cars with my completely broke band and was feeling like I disappointed my fans who had been promised music for over a year so I sat in my room for four days re-writing and re-submitting that song like 5xs. I like "My Goodbye" a LOT but it was the result of a lot of pressure and the desire to get an album released." "My Goodbye", "The Day that Saved Us" and "Hush (New Version)" were quickly released as another self titled EP just before the final chapter with Epic Records when they fired all the members except Currier before the first headlining tour, held auditions for new members, hired Jacob Fatoroochi, James Bowen and Wayne Miller then half way through the tour called Juliet and told her that all of the pay for the band she was on tour with was being withdrawn and the band was dropped. A.LL.went on to sell out venues like the Knitting Factory in LA and San Francisco.."It was very liberating. After crying my eyes out for a couple hours I had some of my best shows ever on that tour."
Almost immediately the band was picked up by RCA and Juliet asked to write for a new album produced by Josh Abraham (Weezer, 30 Seconds to Mars, Velvet Revolver). Automatic Loveletter's first full length album, "Truth or Dare", was released on June 22nd just before heading out on Vans Warped Tour 2010. In the summer of 2011, Juliet released an acoustic Automatic Loveletter EP titled, "The Kids Will Take Their Monsters On", on Paper + Plastick Records. Again, touring on Vans Warped Tour 2011 and promoting the new acoustic album.
In the winter of 2011, Juliet was asked to audition for the second season of NBC's, "The Voice". Juliet's audition wowed the judges and she chose become a member of Team Cee-lo. Juliet decisively won her Battle Round and will be performing live on April 9th for Team Cee-lo's first Live Round.
Simms' voice can be heard on records from LoveHateHero's "Theatre of Robots", Secondhand Serenade's "Fix You" / "Hear Me Now", All Time Low's "Remembering Sunday", and Cartel's "Lose It".
Pillows
Automatic Loveletter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To somewhere far and somewhere safe
So scared of this place
Cause you don't even know me
And you don't even care that I've been lonely
And tired of fighting in the den of the lions where I won't even try
And in the dead of the night I wait
Early morning and I still haven't got some sleep
Call me baby
You can call me weak
You don't even know, no you don't even know
That the weight of the world on me
I've been there and back again
And it seems to me
That a promise isn't something you keep
And a secret never lasts
It only sees what you see
Cause it's a cruel cruel ride
And if you want to come inside
You better sit up and shut your eyes
And hold on for dear life
Cause if you don't then you will surely lose your mind
But I won't
I wanna hide my face
I wanna find the strength to get through this
Oh I know I can do it
It's the taste in my mouth
It's the nauseousness
It's my stomach in knots forming cascades of gunshots
Leaving me holding a pen and this page and these words filled with rage
In the dead of the night I wait
Early morning and I still haven't got some sleep
Call me crazy
Call me baby
You can call me weak
Because you don't even know
Cause it's a cruel cruel ride
And if you want to come inside
You better sit up and shut your eyes
And hold on for dear life
Cause if you don't then you will surely lose your mind
But I won't
I won't
"Hello, can anyone hear me?"
"Oh, does anyone know me?"
"No, can anyone hear me?"
"No, can anyone love me?"
"No, can anyone, can anyone hear me?"
Cause it's a cruel cruel ride
And if you want to come inside
You better sit up and shut your eyes
And hold on for dear life
Cause if you don't then you will surely lose your mind
But I won't
But I won't
I won't
I won't
The lyrics of "Pillows" by Automatic Loveletter convey a sense of loneliness, insecurity, and the struggle to find a safe space. The singer expresses her desire to escape from where she is and go somewhere far, possibly to find emotional safety. She is afraid of being in a place where nobody knows her and nobody cares about her. The line "And tired of fighting in the den of the lions where I won't even try" hints at her feeling weak and hopeless in a challenging environment. She is sleepless and lonely and feels judged by others.
The second verse of the song seems to touch on broken promises and secrets. The singer has already been through that phase and feels that promises are not worth keeping. She feels that secrets don't last long and they reveal themselves eventually. The lyrics "Cause it's a cruel cruel ride, And if you want to come inside" suggest that the singer is warning someone not to trust her feelings or what she says. She feels that any attempt to understand her will only be a cruel experience, and one must hold on strongly to avoid losing their mind.
The song's chorus repeats the previous lines, emphasizing the danger of the experience mentioned earlier, but emphasizing that the singer will not lose her mind. The concluding lines, "Hello, can anyone hear me? Oh, does anyone know me?" indicate the singer's desperate desire to be accepted and recognized by someone.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna run away
The desire to flee from the current situation that brings fear and insecurity
To somewhere far and somewhere safe
The longing for a place that is far from the current situation and brings safety
So scared of this place
Feeling of fear and apprehension towards the current place
Cause you don't even know me
Feeling unacknowledged or unnoticed by someone else
And you don't even care that I've been lonely
Feeling of isolation and lack of concern from someone who doesn't acknowledge one's loneliness
And tired of fighting in the den of the lions where I won't even try
Exhaustion from constantly being in a dangerous or difficult situation where giving up seems like the only option
And in the dead of the night I wait
Waiting for something to change or improve while feeling helpless or alone
Early morning and I still haven't got some sleep
Insomnia resulting from overwhelming emotions and thoughts
Call me crazy
Self-doubting or self-deprecating behavior resulting from lack of confidence or validation
Call me baby
Desiring to be noticed or cared for which reveals vulnerability
You can call me weak
Feeling of being powerless or vulnerable
That the weight of the world on me
The feeling of being burdened and overwhelmed by life's challenges
I've been there and back again
Having experienced and overcome life's challenges before
And it seems to me
Observation or realization of a pattern or occurrence
That a promise isn't something you keep
Lack of trust in others who make false promises
And a secret never lasts
Belief that keeping secrets ultimately leads to negative consequences
It only sees what you see
The belief that hiding or keeping secrets limits one's personal growth and connection with others
Cause it's a cruel cruel ride
Life being difficult and harsh
And if you want to come inside
The choice to participate or be involved in life's challenges
You better sit up and shut your eyes
The need to be prepared and endure life's difficulties
And hold on for dear life
The will and determination to overcome the obstacles in life
Cause if you don't then you will surely lose your mind
The consequence of not enduring the harshness of life's challenges and ultimately succumbing to them
But I won't
The singer's determination to remain strong and endure, despite the difficulties of life
I wanna hide my face
Desiring to escape personal struggles or conditions
I wanna find the strength to get through this
Desiring the willpower to overcome personal struggles
Oh I know I can do it
Believing in oneself to overcome personal struggles
It's the taste in my mouth
The sensation or feeling resulting from personal struggles
It's the nauseousness
Resulting physical and psychological symptoms resulting from personal struggles
It's my stomach in knots forming cascades of gunshots
The feeling of intense physical tension and emotion felt internally
Leaving me holding a pen and this page and these words filled with rage
Using writing or other expressive mediums to convey intense emotions, particularly related to frustration or anger
"Hello, can anyone hear me?"
The desire for connection and acknowledgement from others
"Oh, does anyone know me?"
The desire for others to understand and empathize with personal struggles
"No, can anyone love me?"
Feeling unlovable or undeserving of love
"No, can anyone, can anyone hear me?"
The desperate plea for help or support
But I won't
Despite the difficult life challenges and struggles, the singer remains determined to endure and overcome
Contributed by Kennedy P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.