Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in a very musical household; my dad was in a cover band that played dive bars around town, so band practice was often held in my living room. He would play bass to a lot of classic rock tunes, such as The Beatles, Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd – you know, typical dad rock stuff. He and my mom were also playing new wave and classic 80s tunes in the house as well. They noticed I was running around the house singing Disney songs and Spice Girls hits, so they decided to put me in choir to really hone in on this talent.I think the mix of musical influence my parents had on me, plus my ability to hear music and learn it quickly, really planted the seed that I needed to blossom into the musician I am today.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Lane Lines”?
A: For anyone who is about to discover Lane Lines, I hope you have your therapist on speed dial, because we are talking about music health and trauma and setting boundaries, and being 100% okay with it. Yes, we make bops to move and shake to, but we also challenge our listeners to be candid and upfront about facing some of the things that make us anxious: online dating, sobriety, losing a family member, walking home alone at night. The more we talk about these topics, the more awareness people have towards checking in on themselves and their neighbors. How do I plan to grow that? Simply by playing as many shows as I’m able to talking to folks about the importance of mental health advocacy in the music world.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: The most inspiring artist to me right now is Trixie Mattel. She’s a hard-working drag queen who goes after whatever she wants to achieve and does so with grace. Not only does she do drag, she’s an award-winning country and folk musician, a motel owner, CEO of her own cosmetics company, and tours the world performing in drag. In an industry that pushes drag queens to perform their own pop or dance hits, Trixie understands that her voice is best set to the music that raised her: country and folk. She has changed the game when it comes to performing a music genre that is not always the most welcoming to her: a cross-dressing homosexual man; yet she still chooses to occupy those spaces and challenge listeners with her sweet, sultry voice and fierce looks.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Time & Space.”?
A: A vast majority of my dreams at night are lucid. Because of this, a lot of times it’s hard for me to differentiate what’s happened in a dream versus real life. I try to recognize what’s actually “unreal” in my dreams and reassure myself that the experiences I’m having are part of a dream and will go away when I wake up. During the pandemic, I was experiencing a huge amount of depression that was flared up during the process of losing my job and having to move back home. My waking life was so mundane and purposeless, that I looked forward to going to sleep at night to see what exciting adventures awaited me. In most cases, it involved a dreamy figure who would accompany me on these adventures, and that’s essentially who I’m singing about in “Time & Space”.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Cozy.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Time & Space”?
A: I did – when I started Lane Lines, I was living in Phoenix and had a band that was composed of friends of mine who had expressed how much they wanted to be involved in the writing process of the second album, which is something I welcomed from them because I trust their musicianship and creative ideas. We started demoing, and then I got an opportunity to move back to Seattle, which is something I had been striving for since I had moved back to Phoenix. Since moving back to Seattle, my band and I continued demoing material for this song and the upcoming album, but by recording tracks ourselves and placing them in either Dropbox or Google Drive for review from the other members. This lasted for about six months, and then eventually I flew back to Phoenix for two weeks to sit in a room with my players and finish the album.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: My message is simply to not stay silent on the things that occupy your mind. Most of the topics I sing about are subject items that take up mental space, whether necessary or not, and my release is to sing about them and maybe someone somewhere is experiencing the same thing I am. Whether it’s about the anxieties I feel while going through my sober journey, or the uncertainty I feel in the online dating world, or the reassurance I give my sister to be okay with simply being a depressed mess when you need to be – I just need to get these messages out of my brain and into your ears.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: My dream artists I would love to collaborate with are Imogen Heap, Amber Bain, Robin Pecknold, or Matty Healy.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: One piece of advice I received in college when I was studying for my degree in music business that I’ve always carried with me is this: show up for people, because the music industry ultimately comes down to who you know and who is reliable. Show up to your friends’ shows, and promote them whenever you can. Volunteer for music organizations and nonprofits in your community. When you play a gig, make sure to introduce yourself to the venue staff and get their names – thank them by name on stage during your set. But above all else: be kind. People talk, and you want to be known for being a reliable, kind person, rather than the rude musician with an ego who treats the venue staff and other bands on the bill poorly.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: You may find that some spaces are not built for you, but are built to elevate other people. Don’t try to mold yourself to fit into those spaces; instead, create your own spaces to elevate yourself and help blossom the artists who don’t have their own spaces to grow either.
