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Lissie - Blonde Ambition

She's been labelled the Stevie Nicks of a new generation, but the cigarette-smoking, guitar-playing, freckly wonder from the Mid West, is most certainly going her own way. Lissie Maurus talks to Q about a rebellious childhood and wearing pyjamas on stage.

Q: Hi Lissie, how are you?
Lissie Maurus: I'm doing well, I just got to Ireland. I flew in this morning and played a show here.

Q: Oxegen right? How was it?
LM: It's really going down here. Our set was great. Everyone was animated and excited and crazy - I like that kind of crowd.

Q: How does it compare with your first Glastonbury experience, did you get see any bands?
LM: I was amazed at how many people came to see us on the Park Stage, but the only band I got to see was Gorillaz. It was amazing though. I have such a respect for Damon Albarn now.

Q: You know he broke down in tears last year while performing with Blur?
LM: Really? Oh wow, I would like to have seen that. You know I don't really know Blur so I can only talk from a purely Gorillaz perspective - they're awesome.

Q: How did your duet with Ellie Goulding at the Great Escape Festival come about?
LM: I heard in an interview that Ellie had told the same magazine that she liked my music. So we met up at Great Escape, had a beer and ended up having a two-hour conversation and got along so great. I was immediately like 'Oh my gosh I love you, I want to be your best friend!' It's really embarrassing now because I read interviews saying we're best friends and we're really not. I have to call her and say, 'Hey sorry, I'm not a stalker.'

Q: Who were your musical influences growing up? Q heard you were into rap?
LM: Yeah, you know I listened to everything. I had a Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos phase for sure, but I also liked Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and this rapper called Do or Die. I also liked country, basically any genre, it just depended on what they were saying and if I dug it.

Q: In your youth you went from playing Annie in a musical at age 9 to getting expelled from high school for spitting in a teachers face, what happened?
LM: I think I have a bit of a defiant streak in me. If someone told me not to do something I wanted to do it just to see what would happen. I did feel stifled where I grew up because I just always thought I was so different. A lot of teachers would hassle me, they gave me shit and acted like I was trying to get special treatment, so I did rebel. But you know I'm also nice, I'm polite, I love people and I don't like having hate in my heart, so I guess I've got an angel and a demon in me.

Q: You grew up in the town of Rock Island, Illinois most famous for being the set of 2002 film Road To Perdition, did you ever bump into Tom Hanks?
LM: It wasn't till I moved away that I was like 'Hey, it's cool that I grew up in Illinois on the Mississippi', so I go back a lot. I never saw the movie but there was this gangster, John Looney, who had a mansion in Rock Island which my friend's parents had bought. We were excited that it could potentially be used in the film because the character in the movie (played by Paul Newman) was based on him, but it never happened.

Q: While at university in Colorado, you took a semester out to study in Paris where you decided to quit your studies altogether, what happened there?
LM: I went there to be this independent 19-year-old, wandering around this foreign city, trying to figure out what people were saying and where I was supposed to go. I took photography and language classes and dated a French painter so I got to meet a lot of cool French artists and play shows at their houses. Then I decided to really pursue music and move to L.A.

Q: How did you find living in L.A? Is it true you used to sell honey to make ends meet?
LM: Yeah I met this guy that imported honey from Canada. On Sundays I would go to these farmers' markets and try and encourage people to buy it because it cost 12 dollars a jar. There were all these yuppie L.A people who were like 'Oh, yaa, I'll buy five jars.' I was a good salesman, I tried to leave the job but the guy wouldn't let me.

Q: Your big break came supporting Lenny Kravitz on his 2008 tour. Did you ever have any jamming sessions?
LM: He was having problems with his voice so he wasn't really around much. He talked to me about his farm in Brazil and he was excited about that, but he doesn't smoke or drink, whereas I do. I have to savour my moments though now because if I lead the rock and roll lifestyle all the time, I wouldn't be able to keep up with my schedule.

Q: How do you wind down from those moments, is it true you like to read?
LM: What? Oh, read. I thought you said 'Do I like weed?' I was like 'Yeah I like weed!' I do like to read though but a lot of times I'll buy something and then be like 'Oh, this book sucks.'

Q: Your debut album, Catching A Tiger, has a summer road trip vibe, was this something you were aware of during recording?
LM: You know, I wasn't. Everything just sort of came together. I'd written these songs as a solo artist and I'd put my faith in the musicians and the producer I was working with to sort of flesh them out. I was really just trying to do my songs justice.

Q: How important is image to you? Does it bother you that people focus on that?
LM: Well, I wear contacts so when people put make up on my eyes it makes my eyes itch. I hate concealer because I have freckles and it makes me look like I have dirt on my face. I like fashion and I have so many cute clothes in my closet but when I pack for the road I'll just wear the same pyjamas every day. What you see is what you get.

Q: But surely you don't perform in pyjamas?
LM: I have actually. I have these little blue and white shorts and this black tank top I'll wear to bed. It was so hot a couple of weeks ago, I tried wearing jeans on stage, but I got so sweaty that I was like 'Fuck it, I'm just gonna wear my pyjamas and go barefoot until it gets cold.' And so I did until my tour manager said I looked like I was wearing nappies. I'm feminine and I can have grace but I want it to be more about my spirit and my songs than what I look like.

Q: In live performances you've covered tracks by Lady GaGa. Kid Cudi and Metallica, what can we expect next?
LM: It's really pretty casual, I just get on my computer and learn chords and then ask my band to play it with me. We're gonna do a Bob Marley song next I think. We know which one but maybe I shouldn't say before it happens. Someone else might try to do it and then we won't be as cool.

Lissie's debut album Catching a Tiger is out now. Visit her MySpace page here

Lissie tour dates:

Sun 25 Jul Secret Garden Party, Cambridge
Wed 28 Jul ICA, London
Thurs 29 Jul Cambridge Folk Festival
Fri 30 Jul Camp Bestival, Dorset
Fri 13 Aug Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester,
Sat 21 Aug V Festival, Chelmsford
Sun 22 Aug V Festival, Stafford
Tues 7 Sep, Academy 2, Dublin
Wed 8 Sep Open House Festival, Belfast
Fri 10 Sep Bestival, Isle of Wight

Tickets are available from our sister website Aloud.com

Words: Kaitlin Sullivan

Kaitlin keeps her own personal music blog here

9:44 AM | 03/08/2010