INSIDE THE MUZIC: Lola Sola

Before heading out on a nationwide tour, singer-songwriter Lola Sola stopped by to have a chat with the Inside the Muzic crew:

Check out the video below:

Alex: Welcome to this interview for Inside the Muzic, we’re speaking today with Lola Sola.

Lola: Hey, man. How’s it going?

Alex: Good. You’ve just come over from Sydney?

Lola: Yeah, I’ve got my first show tomorrow.

Alex: How long are you over for?

Lola: I’ve been over for two weeks already, just chilling out. About three and half weeks in total.

Alex: You are doing a lot of shows, by the looks of it?

Lola: I think I’ve got about 11 shows. It’s quite a busy schedule. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

Alex: You were originally based in New Zealand. So what got you into music?

Lola: I started writing. It was mostly just writing lyrics and stuff like that and singing random tunes when I was about eight or nine, but I got given a guitar when I was about 10. It’s a bit of a release for me, it’s like my therapy. I need a lot of therapy (laughing). So it’s what keeps me stable, helps me. That is what started me and it’s just continued.

Alex: What drew you to the style of music that you do?

Lola: Well, I don’t really know how to describe my style. I was very heavily influenced by the acoustic guitar. I just thought that it sounded so beautiful. I was really young, listening to Tracy Chapman and Crowded House and I just thought it was really beautiful. A lot of my songs are, I wouldn’t say negative, but quite deep and dark. So I, yeah, I don’t know quite how to answer that question.

Alex: What music did your parents listen to? Did they influence you at all?

Lola: Yeah, my mom used to listen to a lot of Tracy Chapman, Celine Dion, Tina Turner,  Nina Simone and those classics. That’s what drew me in first. I’ve always liked a whole range of stuff. I have a really odd taste in music, I still have some Metallica, I loved Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for a while. I like melody.

Alex: So what made you make the move to Sydney?

Lola: I moved there about three years ago. I had a friend there, so I just decided to go over and see what Australia is like. I’ve been living all around New Zealand, so I was looking for something bigger.

Alex: Is the scene any different?

Lola: It’s a lot bigger. There are a lot more people. More places to play. I’ve done a few tours up the East Coast, around New South Wales and Queensland. For a singer-songwriter, it’s a similar scene to here. There’s a lot of really supportive venues, small venues, and musicians that are going around.

Alex: Any favorite spots you’ve played?

Lola: I really like Bellingen in New South Wales. I think it’s a really cool venue in a really cool little place. I really like Golden Bay and Hamilton. There’s a lot of people there that are really passionate about music, and people creating things. I really like that. I really like Auckland too. I like most places where I keep going.

Alex: Tell me about your songwriting style. How do you come up with your music?

Lola: I will just have a lot of ideas in my head all of a sudden and I write them down in a spurt. Sometimes I go a long period of time without writing. I think that is normal for a lot of songwriters, and then all of a sudden I’ll get inspired by something and I’ll write a whole bunch of stuff.

Alex: So you write lyrics first? 

Lola: It has changed a little bit in the last few years because I’ve become more confident on the guitar so I might come up with a few lines, like a chorus first or I might have a progression that I am really digging and I’ll kind of come up with a link to that.

Alex: Do you write it all on your own?

Lola: I’ve done a bit of writing with other people and I love working with other people as well, but I have found it a bit challenging, like letting go of that process. But it’s good. I think it’s really good to do that.

Alex: So what’s it like being like a solo artist? Having to sort through and coordinate everything yourself.

Lola: I really struggle with organization.  I am self-managed as well as independent, so I do all my booking myself and I’m constantly finding more work for myself. It’s gotten easier, the more I’ve done it, and I’ve been playing and touring around for a few years now. It’s been a lot of really steep learning curves which is quite difficult. But you have a lot of people helping you, I’ve had a lot of musicians help me out and put me on the right path, giving me tips. So that’s good.

Alex: Looking at your Facebook page earlier and you had interesting merch.

Lola: Really fun. I got back about two weeks ago just to chill out with my family. They are really supportive and get really excited when I go on tour. My brother’s a beekeeper so we’re just thinking of all the things that we could make. I thought beeswax wraps were a really cool idea. I saw Sam Buckingham in Aussie, and she was selling them as merch. It’s an odd thing to sell, but I think it’s good to have something to wrap things in instead of Glad wrap. I feel like i’m turning into a store. I’ve got some badges that I’ve been hand-painting that I can give away on tour, and I’ve got CDs and t-shirts as well.

Alex: I guess unique is good because merch is generally how you can make money as an artist these days?

Lola: Yeah it definitely helps top up what you make from the show.

Alex: What is the next item on your merch list? Cookies?

Lola: Or preserves. There was another musician touring around selling jams. I don’t know if you can actually do that. But I try to do things that I would buy myself. If I was watching a musician that I like and they had badges I’d totally buy one. The Wellington band Hex came through Sydney and they were selling badges, and I thought that was cool so I got one.

Alex: So where did the name Lola Sola come from?

Lola: I’ve played around with names a lot, and I’ve struggled with what to call myself. I was married for a little while when I was 18 and early twenties, and I didn’t want to go back to my maiden name. I’m open to a new name. Lola Sola rhymes so I went with it.

Alex: What are your aspirations as an artist?

Lola: To be able to support myself through my art. It’s peaks and troughs. I want to feel stable in my work and what I do. I love touring. I want to be able to keep touring and eventually record an album with a full band.

Alex: Any places you’d love to tour?

Lola: I’d love to do more of Australia and do the desert as I’ve only done the East Coast. I’d love to go to the UK and go to America. I spent a bit of time in Mexico before I went to Australia. I’d love to do some shows in Mexico. I don’t think I’d make a lot of money, but it’d be amazing. I just want to keep touring and keep playing music.

Alex: You are doing around 11 shows in the next 18 days. Any places you are particularly looking forward to? Or places you haven’t been to yet?

Lola: I haven’t played in Queenstown before; I have two shows there. I’m really looking to going there, the town is so beautiful. I’m looking forward to going back to Golden Bay and playing Onekaka. I love the Mussel Inn. I’m looking forward to it all. I love New Zealand. All of it!

Alex: Are you going to play a couple songs for us today?

Lola: I’m going to play a couple of songs from the All I Need EP. The first song is called A Place to Grow, and that is about finding grounding somewhere. The other one is called Perfect, and that is about being in a shitty relationship.

Alex: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

Lola: Thank you for having me.