Interview: Know Your LA Bands with Lex Land

BeatCrave brings you insightful singer-songwriter, Lex Land, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. At the age of 21, Lex Land has already become successful at crafting well-written songs that completely trump those of artists who sell millions. This gem of a musician comes with a soul that sounds like it will always be 21 but also echoes sagacity for the good of everyone who listens. With vocals that are soothingly familiar as Judy Garland or Ella Fitzgerald but refreshingly inviting as Meaghan Smith or Adele, Land is bound to be welcomed into every listener’s iPods these days.

With a few of her songs already placed in hit shows such as Private Practice and iTunes calling her debut album, Orange Days on Lemon Street, as one of the top singer-songwriter albums of 2008, her fan base will continue to grow in the warmth of her melodies. Catch a show of Land’s and discover your effortless attraction to her performances! She will be performing at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on February 4th. Afterward, she will be heading to Hermosa Beach for a show at Saint Rocke on February 5th. To see more tour dates, you can see her MySpace. Until then, check out our exclusive interview with Lex Land below!

Your MySpace has a blurb about how nostalgic everything in Orange County has become. What are some of the things you miss most about your old home?

To be honest, I think I’ve always struggled with the concept of calling Orange County my home and believe I still do. In that blurb I think what I was trying to get at was that I am nostalgic about the people that happened to be around me and the events that just so happened to occur while I was in Orange. I thusly wrote a whole record about it. If I miss anything about Orange County at all, it’s just the familiarity. Possibly the temperate weather and the salt in the air.

Are you permanently in LA now?

“Permanently” might be a loose term, but yeah, I’m here for now. I just moved to Echo Park a few months ago and I’m totally digging living on the East Side.

How are you liking the LA music scene so far?

Oh, it’s been great. I fortunately have had great people around me and have been lucky enough to get to hang around Hotel Café. Definitely a nice change from the whole OC café bullshit.

Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

Prince absolutely is always the first and foremost I mention, probably because I’m not sure if I heard much of anything else until I was 8 years old or so, except for Disney soundtracks and musicals. Weird. Fortunately, my mom did hook me up with some Beatles, the Police, and random R&B stuff before my dad got to me with his punk rock ethic. I’d rather not list all the punk rock I listened to cause I’d feel like I was 15 again trying to impress a boy (you know what I mean). After that I was lucky enough to have a few eccentric boyfriends with correlating music tastes. Jeff Buckley is my hero, and I love roots music and old pre-50’s chanteuses – Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, etc.

What were you doing before you started recording Orange Days on Lemon Street?

Drifting! No – I was barely in college on my father’s good graces but didn’t really want to be there. I had gone to New York the summer before to visit a friend and didn’t feel like I had anything to come back to. As soon as I did return, I had one of the wildest, craziest periods of my life so far and this record was borne from it. It was just one of those insane readjustment periods where you’re experimenting and doing different things and it was definitely the best readjustment I’ve ever made. You break up, you move around, you get real low, you snap – and at the end of it everything is different.

What is your favorite song off of the album?

Probably “Favorite.” I felt like that was a real breakthrough for me; the progression is crazy and I got to say what I wanted to say (at the same time!).

You have very strong and intricate lyrics. Which comes first for you – lyrics or melody?

It’s usually a toss and every time is different. But for the sake of the question, lyrics, I guess, come first. It’s usually just a silly little phrase that pops into my head that may sound innocent but could have a fabulous double entendre. Whenever I can find something adorably tongue-in-cheek, I usually go for it.

Do you think one is more important than the other?

Not necessarily, but I am always more worried about the words. I don’t know, melody’s always just been something lingering around in my head. Words are an infatuation of mine and I’m constantly trying to figure out more concise ways of putting complex things. The true challenge, at least for me, is there.

What’s the greatest thing about performing live?

A song only lasts as long as you hear it or play it. I like being in that ephemeral state. Even if it may sound cliché, it makes me feel alive.

Quick-Fire Round:
What can you often be seen doing in your spare time?

Watching Turner Classic Movies.

What is your greatest vice?

My compulsive obsession with what’s past.

What album are you currently listening to?

Modest Mouse – Building Something Out of Nothing.

Which local acts are you currently digging?

I’m lucky that I have rad local labelmates and friends: Roll the Tanks.

Tell us one thing about yourself we probably don’t already know.

I can type 95 wpm. 98% accuracy.

We’re smitten. What do you think of Lex Land?

Photography by Verity Jane Smith and Jenna LeMieux