About seven years ago I met three sisters who were in this band Carson Drew. Since that fateful night at Bernie's they have each become very dear friends of mine. The youngest sister, Lydia, later became our first intern here at Dreadful Sounds before she got, like, famous and blew up. Recently I had time for coffee and a catch up with Lydia while she was on a day off from crisscrossing the nation by van with her husband/bass player, Ben. We hung out, and I emailed her some questions later that night.
Be sure to catch Lydia at her next Columbus performance on August 2nd at Columbus Commons!
K. You're finally playing a Columbus show again! What's your favorite thing about Columbus, or what do you miss the most while you're away on tour?
L. I would say the number one thing I miss is my family and our dogs. Also little things like sleeping in my own bed, showering whenever I want to, and not being around people every night. I'm shy and I don't like to go out all the time, so I get really stressed out from having to socialize constantly on tour. You have to be nice and polite too, or people will remember you as the bitchy singer lady, hahaha. And, my favorite thing about Columbus is probably the main library.
K. You've been touring non-stop for how long now, like two years? What was the first thing you wanted to do when you came home this week?
L. The first thing I always want to do is brush my damn teeth.
K. What has been in the cd player in the van? I know you and Ben have diverse tastes in music. Does that ever become a problem in the van?
L. It's tough to pick something we both like, but when it's just me and Ben there is a lot of bad hair metal and cheesy 80's music. It's something we've bonded over. We listened to the new Fiona Apple a lot, which Ben was kind enough to put up with. Ben actually has quite a sensitive side, ahhaha. But the one thing I will not tolerate is Joni Mitchell, sorry Ben.
K. Why no Joni Mitchell? Is it something she said?
L. I just hate her voice and her songs. I feel like she's a female singer that makes people say, "Oh, I hate female singers."
L. It's tough to pick something we both like, but when it's just me and Ben there is a lot of bad hair metal and cheesy 80's music. It's something we've bonded over. We listened to the new Fiona Apple a lot, which Ben was kind enough to put up with. Ben actually has quite a sensitive side, ahhaha. But the one thing I will not tolerate is Joni Mitchell, sorry Ben.
K. Why no Joni Mitchell? Is it something she said?
L. I just hate her voice and her songs. I feel like she's a female singer that makes people say, "Oh, I hate female singers."
L. I love the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz CA, and I just really like going there in general. Or anywhere in California really, they love us there. And Seattle. I love Central Square Records in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. They put us up in a beach house when we play there, too, which is awesome!
Stax was really inspiring and fun, and we don't get to do a lot of stuff like that on tour. People are always telling us to do certain activities on tour and most we don't have time for, but we spent about two hours in Stax reading every plaque and nerding out. Probably the best part was Isaac Hayes' cadillac. We smoked a huge joint and listened to Isaac Hayes later that night.
K. Um, that's awesome. Please attach a sweet picture of Isaac Hayes' caddy and you.
L. I wish I had one. It was RIGHT at that part of the museum that we saw the "no cameras" and "don't touch my ride" signs. OK, we're wimps and I should have sat in it.
K. Um, that's awesome. Please attach a sweet picture of Isaac Hayes' caddy and you.
L. I wish I had one. It was RIGHT at that part of the museum that we saw the "no cameras" and "don't touch my ride" signs. OK, we're wimps and I should have sat in it.
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L. Hahahaha. Any job gets old, I guess, but there are times on tour (usually when I am on my period, let's face it) that I wish I had just gone to college and become… something. People get mad at me when I get frustrated, and I really shouldn't complain, but when you're on tour I would say it is 90% work, and the other 10% is for sleeping or trying to stay awake long enough to do something fun. That and you're far from friends, family, and anything familiar. It can be very stressful, and it's not always financially rewarding, but then again, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know how lucky I am, for sure.
L. I wouldn't say marriage has affected my songwriting at all. I do wonder how people can be away from their significant others for months at a time. It's something I witness other people dealing with a lot and it looks frustrating, especially if the person at home is jealous and clingy. In the past I have been in relationships where my going away for the weekend was practically the end of the world. And for some reason the person at home always thinks the risk of cheating is higher for the musician, which is sort of presumptuous isn't it? The thing about marriage (or anyone who takes their relationship seriously and tries to tough it out) is it's difficult sometimes, but you just go in the other room or take a walk and hate the person for a while. You don't just get to drop everything when you're PMSing on tour though. That's what dating is for.
K. We talked about sexist reviews earlier, and I have also heard you talk about the way you get treated badly in some places as a woman musician. Can you tell me a little more about your experiences with this?
L. This tour had some particularly bad moments. I think no matter what anyone says we live in a sexist fucking world and there are a lot of men out there who look at women in a truly disturbing way. (Sadly when I talk about this, men act like I am discriminating against them, but, deal with it dudes). There are a lot of nights where I have to just lock myself in the green room or van, or I get into a screaming match with men who are disrespecting me or invading my personal space.
L. This tour had some particularly bad moments. I think no matter what anyone says we live in a sexist fucking world and there are a lot of men out there who look at women in a truly disturbing way. (Sadly when I talk about this, men act like I am discriminating against them, but, deal with it dudes). There are a lot of nights where I have to just lock myself in the green room or van, or I get into a screaming match with men who are disrespecting me or invading my personal space.
Being a musician, when someone asks if they can buy me a drink, I assume it's because they liked my set. Then five minutes into the conversation they'll notice my wedding ring and be pissed because they think my vagina is worth a $5 whiskey. I'll play shows where the promoter treats me like shit because I'm a girl with a guitar (particularly in cases where I'm touring just as acoustic guitar and upright bass), and then once they have seen my set, they'll kiss my ass.
Add the fact that my name is similar to "Linda Lovelace" and it really can get ugly. Sexism is just ingrained into our culture. Even people who are complimenting me don't realize how sexist they are being. "I love you, but I hate women singers." Really? You hate Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Gillian Welch, Etta James, Elizabeth Cook, Aretha Franklin, Johnette Napolitano, Wendy O Williams, but you like me?
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Buy Lydia's 7" - Bad Way To Go (with cover photos by yours truly, haha), her LP, or a T-Shirt - here
Rock on Lydia! Your whole band are great musicians and your songwriting abilities are amazing!
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