Q: Hello Lisa, how have you been?
A: I am well thank you, a little tired as I have just returned from playing in New York City. I did quite a few shows out there and they went really great. I also did a little bit of recording at a studio. I have been there 3 times now in the past year and each time I have been receiving some amazing feedback and am building quite a fanbase out there.
Q: First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: I’m a singer-songwriter from the UK and I also play guitar. My songs are acoustic based and I mostly perform solo too. They have quite an Americana influence as I love that style of music. It has been going really well, I have released 2 albums and toured a lot, played many countries and supported some great artists and bands that I admire.
Q: Your latest album, Lost Again has gotten some great response. What impact did it have on you, your life & your career?
A: I have been so happy with the response to Lost Again and it definitely had an amazing impact on my career. It received lots of radio airplay here in the UK and also a bit in Europe and the USA. My most exciting moment is being played on BBC Radio 2, by legendary DJ, Bob Harris. He has played many of the tracks from the record but he also played one of my most favourite songs of my own, Dragonfly, on his ‘Best of British’ show which featured many respected UK bands and songwriters, I was played next to The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Faces, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake and Radiohead so that was quite an honour! I was also a guest on Bob’s show, did a live session and long interview..that was definitely the highlight of my career! Lost Again also earned me a distribution deal for both albums with Proper, the UK’s biggest independent distributors, which means people can order the albums from the shops and online which is brilliant.
Q: Where did the inspiration for the songs on the album come from?
A: I write mostly from personal experience and my songs reflect what’s going on in my life at that time. Sometimes I just get a phrase, or set of words that I just want to build a whole song around. I also get inspired from books I’ve read and films.
Q: What are the biggest differences with your previous album, Slipstream?
A: The biggest difference is that it is more ‘produced’ with many songs having a band sound. Slipstream is much more acoustic. I’m really proud of it, it has some wonderful musicians playing on it and a beautiful lush sound. There’s a string quartet on there, pedal steel, dobro, piano, accordian, all sorts! even a theremin!
Q: It’s been over two years since Lost Again was released. Any plans for a new album yet?
A: Yes! I have a new album ready to record! There have been some of the acoustic demos posted on myspace and they’ve already had a great response, especially the song Call Me which has an accompanying promo video. I’m so excited about my new songs, they’re really heartfelt. All I need is a studio and some musicians! As I want to raise the bar each time, it has to be right. As I’m a totally independent artist though, I need to raise the finances myself in order to do them as well as I want. Sadly this may take time but I hope to have something out next year. I’ve had producers in the USA wanting to work with me so hopefully something will work out and I’ll get to make the new album..I know people want to hear it!
Q: Who are your biggest influences when it comes to your sound and song writing?
A: There are many songwriters that have inspired me. I admire many of the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s, what a golden age.. Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell. I have a really eclectic taste in music too though. I love Stevie Wonder, Morrissey, New Order, Massive Attack, so many genres that I listen to and my favourite is alternative indie guitar music. I’m also really inspired by many contemporary songwriters like Shawn Colvin, Josh Rouse, Ryan Adams, Neal Casal, Pete Yorn, Griffin House, Kathleen Edwards, Mindy Smith and Rosie Thomas. Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders is also a big inspiration.
Q: If you could pick any band or musician in the world, who would you want to tour with? And why?
A: There are quite a few I’d like to tour with, I love playing live..that’s my favourite thing! Any of the above!
Q: And if you could tour anywhere in the world, where would you really like to go?
A: I’d love to tour all throughout the USA. I’ve been to quite a few states but would like to tour all over there, I really like it out there. I love to travel, I’ve also played throughout Europe and played in Vancouver, Canada.. anywhere is cool!
Q: Is there a song by another band/musician that you wish you would’ve written? If so, what song, and why?
A: I think River by Joni Mitchell is a perfect song, lyrically and musically fantastic.
Q: Do you have any rituals or little things that you do before you go on stage?
A: Not really, just like a few moments on my own just to collect my thoughts and plan what I’m going to do. I like to have a little notebook to write songs I want to try and other things I need to remember! I like to be spontaneous though so often don’t even make a setlist..just see what happens when I get up there and what I feel like doing!
Q: What is the best thing about being a musician, and what is the worst thing?
A: The best thing is playing live, hoping to move people with my songs and having people coming over and saying how much they’ve been touched and enjoyed it. That’s a lovely thing. The worst – there are plenty of things! It’s a very tough business and you can encounter lots of let downs, people promising things that never happen and it’s so unpredictable.
Q: And if you could change one thing in the current music industry, what would you change?
A: I think that things are in a very changing, transitional state anyway. With the internet, often the artist can now take charge of their own careers and be pretty successful without the aid of a record company and this is a great thing.
Q: Where can we find out more about you and your music?
A: There is a lot on my myspace page: www.myspace.com/lisaredford. I also have an official website at www.lisaredford.com. There are also lots of videos on youtube so people can see me playing live! My albums are available to order online, on iTunes, Amazon, and many other online sites.
Q: Okay a few random questions now.
Q: Day or night?
A: I’m more of a night person, can really get more inspiration at night.
Q: Club venue or arena venue?
A: I prefer small clubs, more atmosphere!
Q: CDs or digital music?
A: I used to buy tons of CDs and still have so many, but downloading is so easy and instant that I do that more now. I get to hear many more artists and there’s a lot of good stuff out there right now.
Q: Okay, final question. What are your thoughts on people downloading music, both legally & illegally?
A: That’s a tough one because obviously I’m an artist myself. I think the key is getting as many people as possible to hear your music so I’d rather they get to hear me..whatever means necessary!
Thank you Lisa, for the interview. It was very nice talking to you!
A: I am well thank you, a little tired as I have just returned from playing in New York City. I did quite a few shows out there and they went really great. I also did a little bit of recording at a studio. I have been there 3 times now in the past year and each time I have been receiving some amazing feedback and am building quite a fanbase out there.
Q: First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: I’m a singer-songwriter from the UK and I also play guitar. My songs are acoustic based and I mostly perform solo too. They have quite an Americana influence as I love that style of music. It has been going really well, I have released 2 albums and toured a lot, played many countries and supported some great artists and bands that I admire.
Q: Your latest album, Lost Again has gotten some great response. What impact did it have on you, your life & your career?
A: I have been so happy with the response to Lost Again and it definitely had an amazing impact on my career. It received lots of radio airplay here in the UK and also a bit in Europe and the USA. My most exciting moment is being played on BBC Radio 2, by legendary DJ, Bob Harris. He has played many of the tracks from the record but he also played one of my most favourite songs of my own, Dragonfly, on his ‘Best of British’ show which featured many respected UK bands and songwriters, I was played next to The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Faces, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake and Radiohead so that was quite an honour! I was also a guest on Bob’s show, did a live session and long interview..that was definitely the highlight of my career! Lost Again also earned me a distribution deal for both albums with Proper, the UK’s biggest independent distributors, which means people can order the albums from the shops and online which is brilliant.
Q: Where did the inspiration for the songs on the album come from?
A: I write mostly from personal experience and my songs reflect what’s going on in my life at that time. Sometimes I just get a phrase, or set of words that I just want to build a whole song around. I also get inspired from books I’ve read and films.
Q: What are the biggest differences with your previous album, Slipstream?
A: The biggest difference is that it is more ‘produced’ with many songs having a band sound. Slipstream is much more acoustic. I’m really proud of it, it has some wonderful musicians playing on it and a beautiful lush sound. There’s a string quartet on there, pedal steel, dobro, piano, accordian, all sorts! even a theremin!
Q: It’s been over two years since Lost Again was released. Any plans for a new album yet?
A: Yes! I have a new album ready to record! There have been some of the acoustic demos posted on myspace and they’ve already had a great response, especially the song Call Me which has an accompanying promo video. I’m so excited about my new songs, they’re really heartfelt. All I need is a studio and some musicians! As I want to raise the bar each time, it has to be right. As I’m a totally independent artist though, I need to raise the finances myself in order to do them as well as I want. Sadly this may take time but I hope to have something out next year. I’ve had producers in the USA wanting to work with me so hopefully something will work out and I’ll get to make the new album..I know people want to hear it!
Q: Who are your biggest influences when it comes to your sound and song writing?
A: There are many songwriters that have inspired me. I admire many of the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s, what a golden age.. Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell. I have a really eclectic taste in music too though. I love Stevie Wonder, Morrissey, New Order, Massive Attack, so many genres that I listen to and my favourite is alternative indie guitar music. I’m also really inspired by many contemporary songwriters like Shawn Colvin, Josh Rouse, Ryan Adams, Neal Casal, Pete Yorn, Griffin House, Kathleen Edwards, Mindy Smith and Rosie Thomas. Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders is also a big inspiration.
Q: If you could pick any band or musician in the world, who would you want to tour with? And why?
A: There are quite a few I’d like to tour with, I love playing live..that’s my favourite thing! Any of the above!
Q: And if you could tour anywhere in the world, where would you really like to go?
A: I’d love to tour all throughout the USA. I’ve been to quite a few states but would like to tour all over there, I really like it out there. I love to travel, I’ve also played throughout Europe and played in Vancouver, Canada.. anywhere is cool!
Q: Is there a song by another band/musician that you wish you would’ve written? If so, what song, and why?
A: I think River by Joni Mitchell is a perfect song, lyrically and musically fantastic.
Q: Do you have any rituals or little things that you do before you go on stage?
A: Not really, just like a few moments on my own just to collect my thoughts and plan what I’m going to do. I like to have a little notebook to write songs I want to try and other things I need to remember! I like to be spontaneous though so often don’t even make a setlist..just see what happens when I get up there and what I feel like doing!
Q: What is the best thing about being a musician, and what is the worst thing?
A: The best thing is playing live, hoping to move people with my songs and having people coming over and saying how much they’ve been touched and enjoyed it. That’s a lovely thing. The worst – there are plenty of things! It’s a very tough business and you can encounter lots of let downs, people promising things that never happen and it’s so unpredictable.
Q: And if you could change one thing in the current music industry, what would you change?
A: I think that things are in a very changing, transitional state anyway. With the internet, often the artist can now take charge of their own careers and be pretty successful without the aid of a record company and this is a great thing.
Q: Where can we find out more about you and your music?
A: There is a lot on my myspace page: www.myspace.com/lisaredford. I also have an official website at www.lisaredford.com. There are also lots of videos on youtube so people can see me playing live! My albums are available to order online, on iTunes, Amazon, and many other online sites.
Q: Okay a few random questions now.
Q: Day or night?
A: I’m more of a night person, can really get more inspiration at night.
Q: Club venue or arena venue?
A: I prefer small clubs, more atmosphere!
Q: CDs or digital music?
A: I used to buy tons of CDs and still have so many, but downloading is so easy and instant that I do that more now. I get to hear many more artists and there’s a lot of good stuff out there right now.
Q: Okay, final question. What are your thoughts on people downloading music, both legally & illegally?
A: That’s a tough one because obviously I’m an artist myself. I think the key is getting as many people as possible to hear your music so I’d rather they get to hear me..whatever means necessary!
Thank you Lisa, for the interview. It was very nice talking to you!