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 To describe Lourds as "vibrant" would be something of an understatement. For her interview with NY Rock, the singer-songwriter violin maestro arrived at NYC's Cloister Cafe decked in a day-glow orange outfit that did far more to wake me up than my steamed cappuccino. As she sipped her tea and chatted, Lourds proved to be affable and well spoken while discussing her music, her growing popularity and recent events in the world at large. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Tell me a little about your background. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | I started playing violin and piano when I was three. Inherently, I have this over-achiever mindset. I was practicing really hard, playing three or four hours before school and four or five hours after school. At seven, I played Carnegie Hall. So I was a little violin prodigy. But I was always more creative than my teachers would allow. They would give me a Bach concerto and I would always want to embellish, to go off and do my own thing. It was always in me to be a little rock and roll about things. When I was six, seven, eight, I really wanted my dad to take me to a Kiss concert. And my dad was like, oh cool, a circus show. He had no idea. So he took me to see the show. I was completely floored and my dad was horrified. I loved the glamour of it, the intensity, the emotions. Pretty soon after that I would do solos and I would jump off the stage into the audience at classical shows. The audience loved it. My conductor, however, was horrified. He said, Lourds, you're making a mockery of classical music. I can't believe he said that, still to this day. If he were cool, I'd probably still be playing classical music. But because there was this pressure to fit into a box, I started rebelling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
When did the current incarnation of Lourds come about? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | During my early teens, I started to delve into songwriting and so I created a band. At that time I was playing piano and keyboards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Did you always know you could sing? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | No, I still don't know I can sing. Seriously, it's one of those things where it's hard for me to even think of me as a singer. I don't know. I always thought of myself as just a spirit. People say, wow, you can sing. You're a singer. But I didn't consider myself a singer because I have trouble singing other people's stuff. I was in a chorus for a year or two and I remember my teacher told me I could sing. I was just like, wow... okay... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You mentioned the constraints of classical music. But the rock circuit has constraints of its own, doesn't it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: |
Part of the reason why major labels haven't snatched it up is because they want to find a mold for me and they can't. Their theory is we have to create a new box for you. They'll come down and they'll all like different songs but they'll say, we don't know what to do with you. Instead of saying, hey, this is great. And it's so weird because the fans don't care about that. The people who come to my shows love my diversity, and love the fact that I can go from one emotion to the other and take them on a journey, take myself on a journey. Some of the great artists that we all hearken back to like the Beatles, and Queen and David Bowie, they travel through a gamut of emotions. But we're not allowing for that anymore in this day and age. I have such a really beautiful, hardcore, wonderful team. I'm so appreciative of my band, my manager, of these people, these wonderful artists that come together just to help me out. When I find that family in an independent label, or a major label, then I'll move. Otherwise, I'm totally happy having a nice cult following, eking out a living. I got a lot of love around me. This is good for my soul. I'm letting everything manifest itself naturally. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
It seems that the labels are a little confused by the fact that you go off on a tangent. Meanwhile, it's what many of your fans seem to like most about you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | Right, that's what it's about. The bottom line is always touching the audience, connecting with them. If I'm gonna go out and entertain then it's a matter of synergy between audience and me and that relationship. I mean, at the last show I played it was the most amazing thing. First of all, my crowd, at the last show, they were so good looking. Everyone was so cute. And I'm watching the crowd. And they're smiling at me. And I'm smiling at them. And they're smiling at me. And I'm smiling at them. And they don't realize that I'm watching them as much as they're watching me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You did the title track for the soundtrack of And She Was. How did that come about? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | The director, Frank Rainone, saw the full-page NY Post article about me. He was a real guy. He came over to me after a show and was, like, you are so great. Next thing you know, he let me read his movie. I thought it was an excellent, quirky, fun flick about this free-spirited girl that I could really relate to. And I wrote the song, for the movie, within a day. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You often alternate between playing with a full band and doing acoustic sets. Tell me a little about that. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | Well, the good thing is that I can play acoustically. And that's great because no matter what, I'll always be able to play. So God forbid something should happen and my bass player can't make it, he's two hours away, my guitar player can't make it – we can still have a show. And people will still feel the energy that they feel with the rock show. It may be a little different but some people feel it's more potent. You can hear the words. You can hear the songs. And it's really great because this is me stripped down. No crazy hair. No crazy makeup. It's natural. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Speaking of your image, is there any thought process behind the different outfits you don from night to night? How does your look come about? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | It happens really organically. I don't do a lot of planning. It comes from the music. I'll think about the set. I'll think about the songs that I'm choosing. I'll think about the venue... maybe... and I'll say, all right, I'm feeling this. I'm feeling I need to spike out my hair. I'm feeling I need to have glittery eye shadow, or do a Kabuki thing. And sometimes, you know what, I'm feeling jeans. I'm feeling like a T-shirt - and no makeup. Art inspires me. Sculptures, paintings, posters. Life inspires me. I can look at leaves and say, there's something going on here. It's a fall thing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You've done some touring. What differences do you notice between crowds from place to place? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | You wanna know what's crazy? It's the same. And I feel really lucky about that. I haven't gotten a crowd that's apathetic and walks away and ignores me. I could go to the middle of some country bar where it's totally cowboys. And they'll still come close to the stage and raise their hands to [the song] "I'm a Queen..." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
The cowboys will? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | Yeah. [Laughs]. It's true. And motorcycle boys. The most unbelievable cross-section of people who you don't think will get, do get it. My crowd has this really amazing age, sexuality mix. And I think it's the coolest thing. There are a lot of teenage girls. There are a lot of young boys. A lot of older guys. And a lot of hardcore guys. It seems to be crossing all ages and all barriers. And I think that's because I don't put any rules on myself. I don't say, well, this is geared for teenage girls, this is geared for gay men. It's music for everybody. I have a great East Village crowd but I also have a great international crowd. People are latching on all over. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What do you think about current state of affairs in the world, particularly that of September 11th? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: |
The first show I did after the attack, I realized was very therapeutic for everybody. There were people in the audience who said you're the first music I listened to since the attack. You're the first music that I wanted to listen to. And I realized that it was my duty to get out of my head and stop feeling sad for the state of the planet and continue on with my life. I mean, you can feel sad for the state of the planet but you've got to keep on forging ahead and do what you would normally do. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What does your music mean to you? What would you like it to mean to other people? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LOURDS: | I live life. I feel things and I write my songs. And that gets me from a dark place to a happier place. And that's what it does for me. If it can do that for you, then it's great. If you can feel that uplift then it's great. You get whatever you want to get from my music. Sometimes people walk away and they feel sadness. Some people feel joy. The key is to feel. The message is to feel. Hopefully, you're not thinking about your laundry. Hopefully, you're getting there with me. November 2001
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