By: Stephanie Espaillat & Denise Ojeda
WRGP’s Stephanie Espaillat and Denise Ojeda were able to sit down with the band members from La Luz, an all girl band consisting of Shana (lead vocals, guitar), Marian (drums), Alice (keyboards), and Lena (bass). Their notable surf-inspired tracks that are also reminiscent of 50’s doo-wop have had an escalated hype after their 2013 release, It’s Alive. The girls hail from Seattle Washington, and are finishing their current tour in the States before continuing on towards their 2015 European tour.
La Luz discussed their anticipation for their upcoming shows, finishing up their latest album, working with Ty Segall, and what it’s like being an up and coming band.
Denise (WRGP): So with the new record that La Luz is working on releasing in 2015, what kind of headspace are you guys trying to place your listeners in?
Lena: I would want them to get psyched. Just stoked and excited.
Marian: Even when listening at home?
Alice: Yeah definitely. There’s so many records that I’ve totally listened to at home and just danced around. It’s almost better when you’re by yourself.
Shana: That’s how Ty Segall’s records are to me. That’s like my number one dance around my house artist.
Steph (WRGP): We actually heard that you guys were working with Ty Segall on this new project. What’s it like working with a garage rock legend like Ty?
Shana: Yeah he actually recorded the whole album. It’s fun he’s a goofball.
Marian: He has a lot of ideas and was really excited. He kind of had us try different things and go out of our comfort zones. Not too much but it was good.
Steph (WRGP): The record you released in late 2013 had a retrosurf vibe; with the new one you’re releasing are you experimenting with new sounds or instruments?
Alice: Well there’s definitely some of that with the guitar. I mean I feel like the new record has a little bit more grit to it.
Lena: Still in the same vein though.
Alice: Still similar for sure.
Marian: Definitely got some Ty Segall infusion. Impossible for it not to, which was really welcome.
Shana: He would be like, “That all sounds great, but can we do another take but with the fuzz pedal?”
Denise (WRGP): I find it interesting that you cite the Shivas, Shannon and the Clams, and Ty Segall as inspirations. These are bands that you’ve now toured or worked with. What’s it like going from being a listener or enjoying a scene to becoming a part of it and contributing to it?
Shana: It’s the best and actually pretty incredible. The Shivas, Shannon and the Clams and Ty Segall those three particular bands really inspired me so the fact that we were able to work and play with all of them at this point is a great honor. It has just been really fun and surreal. I’ve always had the kind of drive that “I’m going to do this and it will succeed.” I always kind of feel that way whenever I start something. It’s weird to look back and think, “wow that really did happen.” It’s exciting because we’ve been going at it so fast that time has flown by and it feels like we just started.
Steph (WRGP): It’s really interesting that as a band you guys are growing in popularity. You guys
are playing Burgerama and have played at South by Southwest. These are really big festivals and now you’re going into smaller scenes while going on tour. How do these shows compare?
Alice: It’s a little hard to get to know a scene in the brief time we’re there but it’s definitely still enriching to meet people on the road and catch a small glimpse at what’s happening in other cities.
Marian: I kind of prefer it because at these bigger shows people are there to see artists like Ty and they may have known who we were but it was still kind of his crowd. It’s kind of nice to play shows where people know who we are and our songs so I kind of prefer that honestly. Also all the scenes are usually the same throughout the country if that makes any sense. The same people listening to us here are the same kind of people listening to us in other cities. If you guys were to meet them you’d probably be friends which is kind of crazy to think about.
Denise (WRGP): Every night you guys get to meet fans that feel connected to you and your music. Do any experiences stick out?
Shana: It’s kind of hard to come up with on the spot but I feel like every night there’s a few people that we all walk away excited to have met.
Lena: For instance the girl that ran backstage at our show in Nashville. She was just ridiculously cool and introduced herself as our number one fan from Alabama.
Shana: It’s always really cool to meet people that have connected with our music that we might not have otherwise been able to meet if we hadn’t been putting stuff out there.
Steph (WRGP): Since you are visiting these local scenes and within these local scenes they have their own artists that are trying to produce their own music or develop their own projects, it is actually really nice to see how a group of girls formed a band and became so big. In a sense it gives a form of empowerment to female artists that are starting out. We wanted to know what you would say to aspiring artists who are trying to pick up an instrument or a project?
Alice: I just always feel like aside from practicing is just don’t give up. You do have to have a lot of disappointments, and not letting the disappointments keep you from pursuing that.
Shana: It’s so important to be yourself, and to be kind to people. Everyone you are going to meet in the music industry you are going meet at different points during your career. You’ll meet them at the bottom, when you get bigger, and when you go back down again. you just have to be kind to everyone that you meet. And if you are trying to put out something that is not you, then i think it shows, and it doesn’t resonate with people in the same way.
A big thank you to La Luz for giving WRGP the opportunity to speak with them. You can follow La Luz at https://laluz.bandcamp.com/ and keep an eye out for their new album, set to release later this year.
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