930club:9:30 INTERVIEW: Lissie For Lissie, the past year or so has been a whirlwind. In addition t
930club: 9:30 INTERVIEW: Lissie For Lissie, the past year or so has been a whirlwind. In addition to moving from Ojai, California to a farm in Iowa, the folk rock singer-songwriter independently released her third album, My Wild West. Ahead of her 9:30 Club return this week, Lissie answered our questions about the current album cycle, finding balance amidst the chaos of touring, and more. Madelyn Dutt [9:30 Club]: You’ve worked with a wide range of people, including house producer Morgan Page and Band of Horses bassist Bill Reynolds. How has working with people from such varied facets of the industry shaped your own music and career? Lissie: I have always written songs on just an acoustic guitar and that’s how I work out my melodies and lyrics. It’s a lot of fun to bring a stripped down idea to different kinds of musicians and producers. Hopefully it’s a testament to a well crafted song…that it can be imagined in different styles! It also keeps me feeling fresh, switching it up! I hope that over a certain amount of time, people can associate my voice as its own “style” without being limited to genre! Furthermore, it’s exposed me to lots of different listeners I may not otherwise reach! My Wild West is your first independent release. How have you approached promoting the album and your tours without the help of a major label? What are the successes/hardships you’ve encountered along the way? The main difference of being “independent” this time around is that I funded the recording, vinyl production, and PR. Also, I had no one to run anything by, [no] timeline or “strategy” going into creating, I guess! I have teamed up with Thirty Tigers in the US who have a great team of people who have the smarts and skills to roll out an album. There are some folks in the mix, too, that I hire independently for lengths of time as needed. I also have a great management team, lawyer, accountant, booking agent, etc…haha, so don’t let the term independent fool you! Basically, I own my music, though, and decide the pace at which I wanna work. I’m not really beholden to anyone now and it feels great! I started to solo tour, duo tour, and hire my opening acts’ bands to be my band, too, in an effort to spread the word in a more manageable way. For all musicians, social media can be both a valuable marketing tool and a distraction from live shows. How do you balance these plusses and minuses, especially as a now-indie artist who surely appreciates and benefits from fans’ posts? I try not to overthink it? I’m sure I could make more out of it actually! My preferred platform is Instagram and I just try and spread the word and thank people for their support from there. I have some help in marketing through Facebook and reminding me when to tweet! I think it can become addictive and distracting in general, but I use the excuse that I need to do it for my job! You’re a self-proclaimed “Midwestern girl at heart” who needs space, calm, and nature. How do you maintain or return to this center when you’re on tour, spending lots of time on a bus and stopping in bustling metropolises? I’ve been going nonstop, so I’m not sure I’ve found the balance just yet! I try and embrace the chaos on tour and sometimes get in visits with friends and family, go for walks and carve out alone time. Moving forward and settling into my new farm life in Iowa will be telling in how I wanna manage having a home life and being on the road! Work in progress! You recently played an intimate, sold out 9:30 presents show at U Street Music Hall ahead of My Wild West’s release, and you’ll be back in D.C. this week to headline the Club. How, if at all, does this current run of shows differ from the last? Last year when I was making My Wild West and preparing to leave California and move to Iowa, I was up in the air about what my career goals were. I love to sing and share, so it was nice to just get back to playing solo shows and simplifying the travel and setup. Now I’ve got a new experiment where I borrow my opening act’s band! It’s infused this fresh, fun energy into my live show and just made touring an adventure again, really! So the full band dynamic this go round will be different than any shows I’ve played in D.C. before. As you know from your history playing shows with us, we’re pretty big on cupcakes. So, we’ve got to know – what’s your ideal cupcake? Yes! I love your cupcakes! I cannot wait to have one! I’d say your cupcake is my ideal! Soft, moist and sweet but not too sugary. -Madelyn Dutt Tickets for Lissie’s 9:30 Club show this Thursday are on sale now. Really diggin’ My Wild West. -- source link