Drive My Soul: A Conversation with Lights

Lights is not the kind of performer that I usually cover at PCA. The reason? Well, in my work in chronicling the pop culture journey I become so focused on the icons of the past that I often seem to miss the icons of the present. Yet the truth is, the people creating the entertainment industry of today are also creating the pop culture of the future and when listening to Lights I believe that I have glimpsed at a part of that future. No, not because she has created a persona as a space adventurer via her music videos, comic book and weekly video blog, but because this girl is so unique, so endearing and so talented that it has even gotten a nostalgia addicted buff like me to sit up and take notice.

I first became aware of Lights’ music in the summer of 2008 when my cousin burned a track from Lights’ self titled EP on a mixed CD for me. The song, The Last Thing on Your Mind, was easily the standout of the tracks on the CD, and was discovered by my cousin after the song appeared in an Old Navy television commercial. There was just something about that song that really connected to me and where I was at that time. The song, both melancholy and blissful at the same time, was able to bring a feeling of joy to what often had the potential to be a lonely and weary heart. But that’s the beauty of Lights’ music. It is filled with a certain amount of joy. Her positivity is refreshing compared to what the majority of my favorite female performers offer. Less melodramatic then Fiona Apple, less pretentious then Tori Amos and less messed up then Amy Winehouse, yet more relevant then Kylie Minogue and more dignified then Fergie, Lights fuses pop music with meaning and joy.

Light EP (2008)

So when I found that Lights, who is based in nearby Toronto, was booked to play in a local ancient beer hall I quickly contacted her people to get an opportunity to talk to Lights about her adventures on the pop culture journey. However, something wonderful and special happened between the time that the interview was arranged and the night of the concert. While touring the US as an opening act for Copeland, Lights’ video for her first single, Drive My Soul, quickly started to shoot to the top of the Much Music charts, pushing the song into the Canadian top twenty. Suddenly Lights was everywhere! Upon arriving to the old beer hall two hours early to do the interview, a group of students had already arrived and was camping out in front of the small stage, and girls were beginning to arrive decked out in mini dresses and headbands, imitating Lights’ trademark style. It was obvious to me that Lights’ popularity had the potential to become a phenomena. But believe me, if anybody deserves to be a phenomena its her. Lights has a “no fear” sense of confidence without the sense of ego that goes along with it, and through this confidence, combined with her beauty and talent, Lights is currently laying down the groundwork on her own unique path as a pop culture icon.

Upon being introduced to Lights, the two of us retreated from the gawking public to a shadowy room on the second floor of the beer hall where Lights’ lap top was set up for a few hours of World of Warcraft before her performance. During my time with Lights she managed to completely charm me. Not just because she was beautiful and talented, but also because of her intelligence, her openness, her eccentricness, her energy and the fact that she was just so darn nice. And she plays the keytar! I mean, how can you NOT just love somebody who plays the keytar! Honestly, Lights is the kind of girl that pop culture dreams are made of.

So, just how much did she charm me? Well by the end of the interview she somehow managed to charm my collection of Wonder Woman comics out of me. Come and let us introduce you to a performer who has quickly become one of my favorite musicians, and who I truly believe represents the future of pop culture as

CONFESSIONS OF A POP CULTURE ADDICT PRESENTS

DRIVE MY SOUL:

A CONVERSATION WITH LIGHTS

I spoke with Lights in Peterborough, Ontario in November 2008.

back at me and it was like “This is nice. This is real nice!”’”]

"When we got back we played in Hamilton and people were screaming [Drive My Soul

Lights: Yes! With Copeland, who I’m a huge fan of.

Sam: That’s pretty cool. So did they approach you?

Lights: Well, this was one of their first big headlining tours and they had the opportunity to be able to pick the bands that they get to go on the road with. They got to pick three and myself being one of them. I guess the agency approached them and asked “Do you want to go on tour with her” and Aaron [Marsh], who’s the lead singer, was into it. It turned out that after a week into the tour they’d get me to come on with them every night and sing one of their songs, which was one of my favorite songs of theirs, so it was a complete honor of a tour!

Sam: How many cities did you do?

Lights: We did twenty six cities in a month. So it was pretty hardcore. We started in Philly and it took us everywhere from LA, San Francisco, Florida, Texas…

Sam: Was that your first extensive tour of the US?

Lights: Pretty much. We had done one tour before hand. It was a Verizon Campus tour with Boys Likes Girls and it took us basically to the North East of America, but not quite to the West Coast.

Sam: How did you feel that American audiences reacted to you?

Lights: It’s definatly different then here because there hasn’t been as much exposure in the States, so it was real great because it was me introducing myself to these people every night. Then coming back here, it’s a whole awesome different experience because people actually know the music because its been getting a lot of radio play and video play. It’s a little quieter [in the US].

Sam: Well while you were in the US that Drive My Soul finally hit big, and by the time you got back suddenly you were everywhere!

Lights: Yeah! It was weird!

Sam: What was that like?

Lights: It was so awesome and so special! When we got back we played in Hamilton and people were screaming the lyrics back at me and it was like “This is nice. This is real nice!”

"It’s been building up and building up over the years and to the world it’s all new, but to me, I’ve been doing it forever."

Sam: I discovered your music when my cousin put The Last Thing on Your Mind on a mixed CD for me this summer, and I became a fan instantly. However, when I contacted your people to do this a few weeks ago, not many people I knew knew who you were, and now three weeks later everybody I know knows who you are!

Lights: It came really quickly once the video came out.

Sam: So what’s that like? How are you dealing with it?

Lights: Well its been a long time coming for me. I’ve been doing this for ten years and I’ve been in the industry for six years so I feel a bit like a frog in boiling water. It’s been building up and building up over the years and to the world it’s all new, but to me, I’ve been doing it forever. So it feel like I’ve been ready for this forever. It’s really special regardless.

Sam: So I watched your entire video blog in the last week and a half. It’s charming. It’s really wonderful.

Lights: Thank you.

Sam: Its such a new way of self promotion.

Lights: Absolutely. I’m taking advantage of all the great platforms we’re given today.

Sam: How do you feel that has effected the notice you are getting?

"I read space adventure comics, so I was really influenced by that."

Lights: I feel like it, a) gets news out quickly and its just utilizing some of the many platforms we’re given like YouTube or MySpace. But b), and probably more importantly, it gets people to know me and I think the more people know about me the harder it is for people to forget about me.

Sam: It seems that you’ve created this public persona for yourself and you’ve almost become, and I hope you’ll excuse the term, a character.

Lights. Sure. Sure. Absolutely.

Sam: How did you come up with creating that, or is it just naturally you?

Lights: Well, you see, it’s funny that you say that I’ve developed a character, and even so, I’ve created a comic and I’m in the comic, but it is my life. Essentially this character is actually me. And that’s what makes it easy for me because I’m not making up someone. It’s exactly who I am and that’s the beauty of what I’m doing. I feel so honored that I can be a character. My whole life is kind of a character anyway.

Sam: So would you say it’s 100% you?

Lights: It’s 100% me. I mean, even when I’m having a bad day or in a bad mood, it’ll come across in one of the video blogs. In one of the video blogs I talk about how the show went really bad and I was really disappointed and that was honest emotion coming through. I feel like you shouldn’t cut anything like that tout if you want people to know the real you.

Sam: How long has the video to Drive My Soul been out now?

Lights: It came out in September. The one for February Air is coming out December 9^th.

Sam: The video is incredible, and I know your next video is a sequel. How did these video’s come about?

Lights on the set of the "Who Will Drive My Soul" video

Lights: [For Drive My Soul] I was sitting on a train thinking about ideas and the thing that kept going through my mind was me building a rocket and to get to a planet waiting for me. That was the core idea that I had. So I met with several different directors, and the one who got it the most and who started bringing incredible ideas was Sean Michael Turrell who I ended up doing the video with. We brainstormed on the retro future idea because I love Logan’s Run and Barbarella and CQ and Tron.

Sam: Yeah, because it is kind of a Barbarella meets the Flash Gordon serials kind of thing.

Lights: Totally. Absolutely. I read space adventure comics, so I was really influenced by that. I also read Magnus, which is a also a retro future comic, and those were actually featured in the videos. Some of my prized collection was in the video. So, we kind of perfected the treatment and the day that I walked onto the set it was absolutely nuts how much it was like the way I had pictured it. It was like walking into my imagination. So the new video will be the continuation of that.

Lights' comic "autobiography" which she wrote and drew and sells at concerts

Sam: Now you’ve done a comic, which I’m really looking forward to buying tonight because I collect comics.

Lights: Do you?

Sam: Yeah.

Lights: Really? What do you read?

Sam: Well that was going to be my next question for you!

Lights: My top three are Wonder Woman, Magnus and Space Adventures.

Sam: So why Wonder Woman?

Lights: Well, she’s beautiful, she stands for all the things that I would love to stand for and she does it beautifully. You know, justice and peace and she’s pretty much a perfect being, and she has great style! It does reflect in my style. I wear headbands and in the video it does translate into little tiaras which I definatly ripped off of Wonder Woman. And little tight outfits and sweet boots. She definatly kicks ass with that.

Sam: I’m a big Black Canary collector.

Lights: Beautiful. Would you say you collect more then you read?

Sam: No. I read more then I collect.

Lights: Really?

Sam: Yeah, but at one point I collected more then I read, so I kind of switched. How about you.

Lights: I read before I collect, but I could see that change over time.

Sam: Do you follow different writers?

Lights' favorite comic character - Wonder Woman: "You can go anywhere in comics. The most crazy storyline becomes a reality. It think that’s the beauty of comics and its inspired what I do."

Lights: I mainly just follow Wonder Woman right now. I have probably two hundred of them, which isn’t that many considering what’s in print, but I’m working at it. Comics is a new thing for me. It’s not something that I read as a child. I just discovered comics a couple of years ago.

Sam: I will give you my entire collection of Wonder Woman comics from the 70s and 80s.

Lights (gasps): No you wont. No. You have to keep that.

Sam: No. You know what? They’ve just been sitting there for years and collecting dust. I’m not giving you my books from the 60s. Your not getting that. But let me know where I can send them and their yours.

Lights: That’d be insane. Really?

Sam: Yeah.

Lights: I may have to take you up on that offer.

Sam: If this is new for you then you can have them. I love giving comics as gifts, and they’d probably find a better home with you then me.

Lights. It’s such a good gift.

Sam: So how did you get into comics?

Lights: I don’t know. The art caught my eye. It was simple, but their something so descriptive about it. Its all these solid lines, but all these bright colors. And you can go anywhere in comics. The most crazy storyline becomes a reality. It think that’s the beauty of comics and its inspired what I do.

Sam: Now you said in your last blog that there is a new album coming.

Lights: Yeah. I’m working on it right now. It’s in the works for sure. I’m actually doing two of the new songs tonight that I’m really proud of. It’s about half way there. I’m hoping towards the end of 2009 it’ll be there.

Sam: So beyond the new video and the album, what else do you have planned.

Lights: Well, I have a lot of collaborations in the works right now, besides my new album. I have a duet on my friends Ten Second Epic’s new record, which will be out in January, and I did a song on a Billie Holiday tribute album which I think is due out in about a month. I did a song called Crazy He Calls Me. It was a very cool stretch for me because the chord progressions that were used in the music are incredibly difficult and my songs tend to be more basic.

Sam: Do you know who else is going to be on the Billie Holiday album?

Lights: Word on the street is that Bjork might be. Cheryl Crow and Corrine Baily Ray are.

Sam: Those are pretty big names!

Lights: Yeah. So when I was asked I was pretty honored. It’s being released by Universal/Motown. In January I’m going to be doing a Canadian tour, and I am hoping to take my music overseas in April, to Europe and Japan.

Sam: Have you been to Europe before?

Lights: Oh yeah. Plenty of times. Most of my family lives in Germany.

Sam: So I guess that’s all I got. Your management told me I only had ten minutes so I sort of streamlined this.

Lights: Well thank you. You made this easy and fun.

Sam: Thank you!

A Pop Culture Addict in love. Lights is what pop culture dreams are made of.

The performance that night was possibly the last of its kind. I doubt the next time I see Lights perform that it will be in such a small and intimate venue. The crowd huddled so close to the tiny stage that Lights completely got lost to the point that most of the audience couldn’t see her, and she couldn’t see anybody past the first three rows of fans. In order to see the show myself I was forced to nearly climb on top of a gigantic speaker or risk being crushed by the crowd vying for a first look at Canada’s newest musical sensation. Yet afterwards, as the crowds dwindled down, I stopped to talk one last time to Lights, get a CD signed and got a picture taken. See that dumb ass smile on my face? That, friends, is what you call a real smile! Lights’ concert is the type of show that leaves you with a glow that lasts for days afterwards. I can honestly say that I hope that we’ll see much more from Lights in the years to come, and I hope that one day our paths will cross again on the pop culture journey. Until then I got some Wonder Woman books I need to dig out and box up…