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INTERVIEW: Johney of Lilac Lungs

Interviews / Music News / May 31, 2017

If you’re somehow still not hip to Lilac Lungs, now is as a good as a time as any to get to it! With their debut album release, Eventide, taking the Internet by storm, they are positioning themselves right in front of the alternative/pop rock movement. We had a chance to talk to the band about everything from their music to how they got started and where they want to go. We foresee a rocket launch straight to the top for this foursome from Detroit!

First off, thank you so much for talking with me today. I know you guys are insanely busy! Things have really picked up for you!! How are you guys handling all of this newfound glory, if you will?

Hello! Yeah, it’s been pretty hectic lately…At this point it kinda feels like we’re just putting our heads down and running with it. We know that it will hopefully pick up even more once we get on the road, so we’re preparing for that as well.

I can’t wait for tour info! So, how long have you been a musician? What’s your musical background? Has it always been what you wanted to do?

Johney: Music has always been a huge part of my life. Both of my parents are musicians. They got me into piano lessons when I was about five years old. I grew out of that and then picked up guitar because that’s also my dad’s instrument. If it weren’t for music, I wouldn’t have anything to do all day. I know that sounds silly, but I live music every single day. Whether it’s listening or creating, I never stop.

Lilac Lungs

Emily: I first started out by singing a lot at church as a child. I did that for many years, and then when I was in middle school, I got my first keyboard and I started writing songs for the first time. Later, when I got into high school I was very intrigued by pop music, so I started writing pop songs and your stereotypical teenage love songs. Now, I take all those influences of pop music as well as the music that I grew up on that my dad would play, and apply it to the music right now with Lilac Lungs.

Terrance: Music has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up with my parents listening to tons of classic rock and bluegrass, but I used to steal my older brother’s punk albums like The Misfits, and Green Day, which got me into the more alternative scene. I grew up in choir, band, and theatre from a young age and was trained classically in singing. I picked up electric stringed instruments, fell in love with pop-punk music, and never looked back. I am super glad my parents built a respect for the classics in me, though.

Matthew: I started drumming in middle school and played in basement-punk bands in high school.

You all have extensive backgrounds! Who or what have been your inspirations in terms of music and what you create?

It’s kind of unfair to give one particular aspect of music credit for our inspirations. We gain inspiration from everything that we experience, whether that’s music, or a life situation. Personally, as I said before, was raised with piano lessons as my first experience of music. So, a lot of classical music I feel like I connect with.

My dad is a blues guitarist, so there was also that aspect of bluesy riffs and jazzy chords when learning guitar. For me, it’s honestly hard not to get inspired from something that I really enjoy musically. For example, if I hear an R&B song on the radio, I’ll go home and try to recreate that feeling I got when listening to it, because I think it’s fun to figure out all emotions in music.

I understand that. Music is one of those universals in terms of emotional and creative outlets. The new album, Eventide, has completely taken the Internet by storm. Personally, I have introduced a ton of friends to it, and I am listening to my copy right now. And, I love it! What are you proudest of when it comes to Eventide? What song(s) on there make you go, “Hell yeah. We did that!!”

Thank you very much! That means the world to us honestly. To be super cliche, all of the songs hold a very special place in our hearts. Every song on the album has a very specific story to us. It would be like comparing children, we just couldn’t do it.

We’ve tried many different and unique techniques on this album, and we’re super excited for people to hear for themselves what we are about. But, I will say that every single song on the album we are very proud of, and we all still listen to it on a daily basis. (laughs)

I am glad you listen to it yourselves! That shows you are proud of it and want to appreciate it, like you would any album from one of your favorite artists! So, the response to the latest single, “Next to Nothing,” has been incredible to say the least, and the video is one I keep coming back to. What was the process like making that video? Was it a collaborative effort in terms of concept?

That music video process was amazing. Our video guy, Ned Ingalls, is an absolute genius. We collaborate with him in terms of the basics for our videos. We give him the basic understanding of what the song means to us, and maybe some ideas that we have for the video. That said, Ned is the one who gets it all done and makes it the beautiful story that you see. We plan to do all of our future video work with Ned, so expect more visually pleasing videos coming from us in the near future.

Ooo! I can’t wait!! The first song on the new album, “Welcome to the Fallout” includes the lyric, “Listen to what we have to say…” So, I ask you directly, what is that you have to say? What message do you hope your listeners come away with from the album?

This band carries a very specific vision of hope and purpose. This world that we live in does a really good job of bringing people into a place which is very scary and frustrating. When we write songs, we base everything off of personal life experiences, or what we feel needs to be talked about in this world that necessarily isn’t that common to speak of.

Mental health is a huge aspect of what we talk about in our songs. How important it is to have good mental health, and take care of yourself when you need to. It’s inevitable to go through very tough and confusing times while living on this earth, but we hope to bring some sort of peace to our listeners with our music.

Every person on this planet has a meaning to this life. It’s our mission to show people that everyone is valuable, everyone has a very specific purpose in this world.

Oh, man. I love that message and live it myself! As one of the hardest working bands in the indie scene right now, what is an average day like?

First off, thank you for recognizing that. We appreciate that recognition a lot. haha. Well, to sustain the financial aspect to our band without a label’s help, we all have “day jobs” while also juggling everything that needs to get done within the band. So, most of us work at a job for three days or more out of the week. But, it feels like the rest of that week is straight working for this band.

When the weekend comes, it doesn’t really feel like we get a break because that’s when we play shows, or go meet people or other artists in the scene. That usually means traveling a few hours to another city in order to make that happen. So, there’s a lot of driving (laughs), and a lot of late nights doing things that our manager tells us we need to get done. We’re just very ready to get on the road and get these tours going for the summer.

You guys truly work your asses off! With music being one of the biggest avenues for us mere mortals to make sense of this crazy world, as artists do you feel a responsibility to make music and experiences that others can relate to?

As a band, we write from experience, so if other people can connect with what we say in our songs, then that’s amazing. But if they don’t, then “oh, well”, because we’ll never write something that we don’t 100% believe in. So, responsible, not so much, but a little pressure, sure…

In one of our songs it talks about how we love the feeling of people getting to connect with our songs. However, at the same time we hate it because we know that the people connecting with our songs have probably gone through rough times just as we did. But there’s nothing like connecting with other humans. Everyone needs humans in their live to connect with, and we try to be that for whoever wants it.

Yes! That human connection is so vital, isn’t it? Even if it’s through music, it’s that comfort you get that makes you realize you’re not alone. Speaking of the human element of things, coming out of a place like Detroit, that has many similarities to my hometown of Canton, Ohio, in terms of blue collar, salt of the earth people, how have your upbringings and life experiences helped shape you into who you are today in terms of artistry and creators?

Every single one of our friends is either at a blue collar job, or graduating college to go into an internship for a job…So, it’s very inspiring to see so many people work hard for their lives. It was kind of expected for all of us to go to college and get a degree to secure a solid job.

Eventide Cover

But, instead we chose the difficult path. The one that takes extremely hard work in different ways than if you were to just get a job at the factory or something. At this point in our careers, it feels like we are working at the “collegiate” level of hard work. Meaning that we are working just as hard, if not a little harder, than the people who are going through college to earn a degree.

Everyone thinks that being a musician is so easy, and you just get to live this rockstar life. But nothing could be further from the truth. We all work 24-7 for this, and we’re very proud of it.

As well you should be! Your lyrics are beautiful and haunting, yet relatable, and I can completely immerse myself in them and feel like I am listening in on any one of many conversations I have had with my friends. What is your writing process like? How do you decide what stays and what goes in terms of putting lyrics into music and then taking it into the studio?

Emily is very much into poetry, (she writes all of the lyrics) so she has like tons of little poems going at a time. Constructing words to communicate feelings is her outlet of creativity. I can tell you that she takes A LOT of time constructing a very specific vision for what she says in the songs. Every single word is intentional and goes through a process to get where it’s at.

She plans everything out so perfectly to herself so that she’s satisfied with everything that is said. In music now days, it seems like there’s a lot of pointless things being said in the songs. That is so far from what Emily wants to achieve with our songs. Every song has a purpose, and a meaning, just like every person has a purpose and meaning in this life.

That made my heart get all warm. I love a band who cares for their fans and wants them to know they matter! Do you have anything you’d like to add that we haven’t touched on? I can’t wait for you guys to come to Cleveland!!

Yes we can’t wait to come to Cleveland! We better be seeing you at a show! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us! We appreciate you and hope you have an amazing day!

I wouldn’t miss it! Thank you so much! I am so glad I found you guys!! Enjoy the ride; I’ll be here cheering you on!