Transcripts
I am not unique in my emotions. It's like there are so many people out there who feel exactly what I'm feeling. If you can't.
If you can't find the way to say it, or if you can't express yourself the way you want to, like, I can do it for you. I love that. You know, a lot of artists have done.
Grant:For me, style is more than just the clothes you wear. It's the essence of who you are, and it's in everything you do. Discover it here and unleash your style beyond what you wear.
Welcome back to House of Style. I'm your host, Grant Alexander, and I'm really excited about this episode.
Today we're filming from beyond this gorgeous private club here in Chicago that's all about wellness, work, and community. It's the kind of place for people who care about living stylishly in every way.
Not just in how they dress, but in how they take care of themselves, connect with others, and move through the world. And honestly, after just a couple hours.
Grant:Here, I totally get it. It's really cool.
Grant:Today I'm sitting down with someone who's quietly carving out her own lane in the music world. Lulu Simon grew up surrounded by music, but what's so cool about her story is how she's found her own voice, her own sound, and her own style.
Her music has this really honest, sweet, confident energy that really just pulls you in.
In this conversation, we're going to unpack how she develops her songs, what she's learned about taste and self awareness along the way, and how that same mindset can shape the way we all live and create. And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe, leave a rating, drop a comment, do all the things to let us know what you think of the episode.
Then after the episode, check out Lulu's style Sessions, acoustic performances right here on the channel. You don't want to miss them.
Grant:So thank you very much for being here.
Lulu:Thank you.
Grant:I'm excited to have you.
Grant:I want to start out by talking.
Grant:About kind of how you found your voice in a house full of musicians and what your early years was like and how you developed your own sound.
Lulu:I mean, how did I find my voice? I. I did it very quietly. I didn't. I taught myself how to play guitar in private because I was embarrassed that I didn't know how to play it.
And I don't know. I read a bunch of, like, young adult novels. I was.
I was like the kid who was listening to, like, a tender song on the radio and, like, looking out the car window longingly. I remember doing that to him. This, I promise you by NSync.
Grant:Oh, yeah.
Lulu:Yeah.
But honestly, I think that probably I was most inspired to start making music and finding my own voice because my older brother has been making music and writing since he was honestly, like seven years old.
Grant:So when did you start?
Lulu:Technically, 13 was when I started to play guitar, but I was writing, like, poem. I actually, when I was in fourth grade, I wrote a novel.
Grant:In fourth grade.
Lulu:Yeah, it's fully crazy. It's called Abandoned. And yeah, actually, for my birthday this past year, my mom found it and got it bound so it looks like a real book. Really cute.
It's really crazy. I don't remember anything about it. I don't remember. Right. I, like, was reading it and thinking, where the hell did that come from?
What are you talking about? Technically, it's about. It was about these two girls, by the way, do not know what time period this is set in.
They find a pirate ship and they're exploring it. And then the pirate ship starts to move and they're like, oh, no, the pirates are back. We thought it was abandoned, but they're back.
And then they're like, we have to escape this ship once all the pirates go to sleep. And then they go out on the deck and there are all of these creatures roaming around and they are all Death.
Grant:Wow.
Lulu:And it's like death is assigned to each person. And they find this one guy, but then he's like, supposed to kill them. But then he's like, I can't kill you. You guys are so cool.
And then the other deaths are like, you're done. And then they take death and these two girls and leave them abandoned on an island. What happens after that? I don't remember.
Grant:Will you write a sequel? Because this sounds like a really great, like.
Lulu:I mean, the concept sounds okay, but then you get into it and suddenly it's like, all sense goes completely out the window. I have no idea what I was talking about.
Grant:Do you still write creatively now?
Lulu:No.
Grant:No.
Grant:So when did you decide you wanted.
Grant:To start writing songs and music?
Lulu:I think I kind of always did when I. This is like kind of an anecdote of mine that's everywhere. So it's a little tired, but it is the truth.
When I was six years old, I had a Barbie birthday cake where the cake is her skirt. And I had wished that I had written Lucky by Britney Spears.
Grant:As do we. All right.
Lulu:That's also when I learned that dreams do not come true. I did not write that song. But I think it's like, it's been since then, since always.
Because again, my older brother has been making music for so long.
He's three years older than me, so I think watching him do it made me want to do it and made it feel like it was, like, an accessible thing for me to do.
Grant:Why were you embarrassed at first? Like, if it was in your house and it's a house of music and your brother was doing it, why do you think you were so embarrassed?
Lulu:I was just really shy growing up.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:So I just was. Was like, this is private. Whatever I'm doing here is private right now.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:But I remember I. I took one guitar lesson, and I was embarrassed that I didn't know how to play an instrument that I'd never learned how to play before. So I didn't want to take lessons because I was like. He's like, this is a C chord. And I'm like, I know now. I know now. Thanks.
But I was too embarrassed. So then I went and I taught myself.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And then I was like.
I think because I wasn't learning, like, properly, I was kind of embarrassed because I felt like I was kind of throwing things together and, like, not fully understanding, like, music theory. Sure. Or anything. But also, I just. I was just shy.
Grant:When and how did you decide that your shy voice should have a microphone and be heard?
Lulu:Well, what I discovered was that I was really shy around my family, around my parents specifically. But I think that's just because I was shy around adults. But when I was in school, I started singing and playing, and I just. I love attention.
So I was like, the attention. The need for attention outweighs the embarrassment at this point.
Grant:So that works. That makes sense. When did you feel like the. Or did you ever feel like the writing wasn't yours at first?
Like, were you writing for your family, your parents, your brother, like, trying to match them? It was always you.
Lulu:Yeah. Because I never showed anyone.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:What I was doing.
Grant:That makes sense.
Lulu:And also, like, you know, I wrote that weird, like. Like sci fi fiction book. So it's like, the things that I were writing were like. It was weird, for sure.
Grant:That's okay. Weird kids are. They end up being the coolest kids later on. They just don't know it at the time. That's awesome.
And, like, I think a lot of people think they're weird, and I think those early years are the formative style years. But when did you kind of decide, like, you know, you Started with. Early on, it was a lot of pop and, like, very poppy anthem, fun summer vibes.
Did you always know that was going to be, like, what you wanted to start with? Was that just something that kind of, like, fell in?
Lulu:I. I wanted to start with that. And I wasn't allowed to, like, pursue a career until after I graduated from college.
So at that point, I had, you know, written a bunch of, like, acoustic singer songwriter songs. But I started. I mean, I've always loved pop, but I was getting, like, really into pop.
And I have always felt like I want to make the kind of music that I want to listen to.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:So I was, like, living for Carly Rae Jepsen, and I was like, okay, I need more of this.
But when I was first, like, taking meetings and meeting, like, potential managers and whatever, they really wanted me to start as a singer songwriter and then move into pop, like, once I garnered a fan base or whatever. And I was very adamant that I would not do that because I didn't want to get kind of pigeonholed because it's.
It's been a thing for as long as I've been releasing music. Because I'll post a song that I've written the way that I wrote it, on the guitar.
But then when the actual song comes out, it's like this huge pop production, and people go, well, I kind of prefer the other version. And I was like, I'm not gonna give people the option to prefer one version or the other. I'm gonna show them what it is that I want them to hear.
And that's just always been, like, my rule. I think, with making music, I like that.
Grant:In reality, do you think, like, you can put both out there because they serve a different audience and you can just have both and both can be great?
Lulu:Yeah, I mean, I think also, like, I think that genre is a prison for sure. And it's kind of a lie.
Like, I think that especially now, like, people are so bored of what's being fed to them because the higher ups are like, well, this project works. This sound works, so that's what you need to replicate. And it's like, yeah, but people are sick of it, or people want to hear something different.
And I think that if you confine yourself to one genre, eventually you'll just find yourself making the same song over and over and over again, and people get sick of it.
Grant:Yeah. So your early songs, like Waste and How to Be Alone, those were bright, like, the summary, very poppy.
Your latest release, Summer Dog, is much more stripped back and Much raw. What changed?
Lulu:I think I just grew up. I think also, like, I love pop music so, so much, but it's not. It doesn't necessarily come naturally to me.
And I don't have a huge, like, pop Persona. Like, I can't dance. I stand on stage, and my instinct is just to stand very still and not move at all.
Grant:Do you have to dance if you're like.
Lulu:I think that there's a certain amount of energy required for, like, a pop artist live. And I just. Turns out I don't have. I do not have that energy.
Grant:I bet. Like, couldn't you get a bunch of dancers and just.
Lulu:And me just stand still?
Grant:Yeah. I could walk back and just give a little.
Lulu:That's kind of what I do. Like, a little pace to this side over there.
Grant:Like, they'd be like, wow, there's so much energy.
Lulu:I suppose it's possible consider. But I think that, like, you know, realistically, I have always made music the way that it sounds now, and I just added to it. Sure.
Because that's what I wanted to hear.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And now I'm like. I think because of what's been happening in pop music, there was a big part of me that was like, I just want to relax.
I, like, want to give my ears a break, and I don't want to have to, like, be on. I want to be able to, like, listen to something or make something and just, like, sit with it.
Grant:Yeah. So do you think where you are now is where you're. You'll kind of stay for a while, while in that space? Or you're just.
Lulu:I mean, I.
Grant:Experimenting.
Lulu:Yeah. I think I'm just kind of making whatever music I want to hear, and it's like, I don't want to just listen to one genre all the time.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And also, I think, like, if you're writing a song and you think, okay, it has to sound like these other songs. It has to be a part of a specific project, and there has to be, like, a kind of uniformity there.
Then I'm limiting myself in, like, what I can write about and how I write it. And then I'm thinking, like, oh, well, I can't say something that's, like, super sad because it needs to be livelier or.
Or I can't say something that's, like, super glib because it's like, well, no, now I'm being serious over here. And I think it's just. Again, I think genre is. Is a prison.
Grant:I like. Like, I agree. I think fashion is a very Slimmer, like, similar way.
And I always have dressed in various different styles, and no one could ever really label it, which I. I think it bothers some people.
Grant:But I.
Grant:At least for myself, I find it very freeing that I can dress however I want any day for any audience. Sounds like musically, it's something. Something similar. Does simplifying your sound make you feel more exposed or vulnerable?
Or is it on the other end, where you feel more, like, power in that?
Lulu:I kind of just feel the same. I feel like there are a lot of people that make music for an audience, and while I love having an audience, I'm really making music for myself. It's.
It's my. It's how I'm expressing myself. So no matter what it sounds like, either way, it's. It's like. I think it's like. It's what it was meant to sound like.
So regardless of, you know, how.
How big or stripped back the track is, I'm like, okay, well, that's, like, the honest representation of how I was feeling or what I wanted with this song. So I feel confident in either.
Grant:Is there ever a point where you were writing something and it was, like, so honest or too emotional that you stopped and you're like, I don't want to put that out there. Just like, book.
Lulu:Because I feel like if you're feeling something, if you're upset about something, you have to get it out of your system.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And it's like, even if I wrote something, which, by the way, I've never done, where I didn't release it, it's like, I would still have to get it out either way.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:So that makes sense. And I also think, like, you know, there are people. I am not unique in my emotions.
It's like there are so many people out there who feel exactly what I'm feeling. And it's like, if you can't.
If you can't find the way to say it, or if you can't express yourself the way you want to, like, I can do it for you, which, like, you know, a lot of artists have done for me.
Grant:Yeah. So I love that. And that's, for me, why music is so important.
It's a lot of time I can't express how my brain is working or what I'm thinking or feeling, and I'll hear the perfect song. I'll be like, oh, my gosh. That's exactly it. I feel like this happens most days, but that's. That's cool to hear that.
Like, that's part of what you're doing it for too. I think that's really helpful and important.
Grant:Because you're not writing for an audience,.
Grant:But it can be incredibly powerful for your listeners.
Lulu:Yeah, I feel like I'm not writing for an audience, but I'm writing for my peers where I'm not like, oh, I want to impress you. It's more like I want you to like what's happening because you relate to it.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:You feel it.
Grant:Yeah, I like that. How do you feel about comparisons? Because I know, like, when I was listening to your music, it's hard not to be like, oh, this sounds like xyz.
And I think kind of Summer Dog, especially as. Or as you've gone a little more folksier in the pop. I think comparisons of, you know, a Casey Musgraves, or you, Gracie Abrams, are easy to make.
Lulu:It's crazy you would say that, because at the DC show, someone came up to me and they were like, you were like, if Casey Musgraves and Gracie Abrams had a baby. And I was like, do I look like that, too?
Grant:But, like, in some of the pop,.
Grant:I heard Ellie Goulding, like, I. I've.
Lulu:Gotten that before, too.
Grant:I'm on it. See, I'm on it right now.
Lulu:You know exactly what's going on.
Grant:And how do you feel about that? Like, does comparison. I personally hate being compared to people, but a lot of people use it as a form of, like, showing respect.
What do you think about comparisons?
Lulu:It doesn't bother me.
I think that a lot of times people need to find if they like something or if they're trying to, like, contextualize something, then they need to find a comparison in order to, like, understand what it is. Yeah, and that's fine. You know, I don't think of myself as these other artists, but, like, I listen to. To people. It would.
It would be dishonest to say that I'm not a combination of all of the artists and all of the music I've ever listened to. So if you hear some of that coming through, then it's like, that's probably where it came from.
Grant:Sure. That's an interesting. That's a much healthier way of approaching comparisons than I usually take. I, I especially as you get, like, I have two kids.
Everyone compares. And you compare your kids to your cousins, the other kids at daycare, Parents, grandparents, all compare your kids to each other's kids.
And I think kids has been the thing I get. I hear the most comparisons. I'm just like, let them be their own. It doesn't matter if they remind you of, you know, Susie's aunt's fifth cousin.
I don't have a Susie in my family. I just picked Susie. But I always thought, like, there's value in each individual. And I. I think.
I think too strongly, but I think that's a really healthy way of thinking, of comparisons.
Lulu:Yeah, I mean, I think, like, you know, there's that old. I don't even know how to explain it. It's a thing that people say. Whether or not it's true, I don't know.
But they say that back in the day when settlers were coming to America, they Native Americans saw their sails on their ships and, like, had never seen anything like it. So the only way that they could understand what they were is to try and, like, contextualize it with something they do know.
So they thought they were clouds. So that's kind of the way that I think about it.
It's like sometimes people don't understand what they're looking at, and they have to find something to, like, anchor it to that makes sense to them in order to even, like, begin to understand what it is. And like, that. That's like. That's fine with me.
Grant:I use clouds. Clouds. I like that. Let's get into your songwriting process and just that creative process.
I kind of want to learn what is it now and how has it evolved?
Lulu:I mean, my problem is I think I have a pretty poor work ethic. People are like, well, you need to finish writing. You need to write. And I'm like, I know I need to do that. Am I going to sit down and do it?
Probably not. No. I can't just, like, make myself work. I have to have, like, a light bulb moment to even start.
But then, like, when that light bulb goes out, I'm not like, okay, where can I go with this? I'm like, well, I'm just gonna leave this here until I. Till I have another light bulb moment.
But kind of all the time, I'm like, writing things down. I think a lot of, you know, writers do that to just see something or hear something, and they write it down for later.
And then when they get feel inspired, then they, like, check back in on their note of ideas.
Grant:What's, like, the most unhinged thing you've written at, like 2am on your notes for a song?
Lulu:I don't know.
Grant:Nothing crazy.
Lulu:I don't feel like I write anything that's that crazy.
Maybe I wrote something once and I never used it, but it was something like, you like this town's not big enough for the two of us because, like, you think you're important, but I'm more important than you are, is the idea. Because I was mad at someone and I was like, oh, you think you're this shit? Yeah, that's me.
And then I was like, I wouldn't know where to go with this.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:Like, it's actually just a thought that I'm having in this moment.
Grant:Did you.
Grant:Is that. So how did you first starting start writing songs?
Was like, was it stuff that came to you from things that happened, or were you writing stuff down already?
Lulu:I was just, like, making things up because I was 13 and, like, nothing had ever happened to me before. But I was. Again, I was reading a lot of young adult novels. I was listening to a lot of music that I was feeling inspired by. So it's.
You know, I listen back on those four first old songs, and I'm like, what are we talking about here? This makes no sense.
Grant:So that was going to be one of my questions was, what? Like, would you rewrite any of those songs now? And it would be just wildly different.
Lulu:There are some that I wrote, like, in high school that have moments where I'm like, this is a. This is an interesting melody that you have here. And, like, this line specifically is good. There's a lot that.
That, like, probably needed editing in the moment, but I think about it a lot. But then it's really hard for me to, like, remove myself from the first song.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And, like, rewrite, because then my. It's like having demoitis, basically. I'm like, I don't know.
Grant:I like Demis. Yeah. Let's talk about Summer Dog. How did that get started? I know it was from your dog.
And the news of your dog dying, like, what made you want to write the song about that?
Lulu:Actually, before my dog had died, I actually.
Okay, so the song stems from this one moment, like, right before my dog died, where he was running around in the backyard and the moon was out, and it was really pretty. And so I wrote down, in that moment, you're just a summer dog under a summer moon. But I hadn't, like, had a melody or any. Any kind of idea.
I just wrote that and then he did die. And I was like, this is so sad. And I was like, wait a minute. I have something waiting in the wings for this. And so I just started. I had the.
The chorus, melody, and idea, and then I brought it to my producer, who's also one of my good friends, and was like, this is my Idea. I feel like I'm hearing a fiddle in there somewhere. And he was like, okay, I got you.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And then he, like, filled out the track before I had written the lyrics for the verses or anything.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And then I just had that and would play it on a loop while I was walking or swimming or whatever and write to it as I went.
Grant:Share with the viewers and listeners what the song's about and just. I would love to hear some of your favorite pieces of it.
Lulu:The song is about my dog dying, but it's more so about. Well, he was the last of my childhood pets to die. And so there was a moment where it was like, oh, my God.
,:So it was really like, wow, I'm totally disconnected from.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:All of these, like, physical representations of my childhood.
Grant:Like, the nostalgia just comes, like, pouring through, but then it's discomfort.
Lulu:Yeah.
It's uncomfortable because it's like, all of these things that I loved when I was young and that were, like, fun and that I looked forward to are, like, weird now.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:Because.
Grant:Is that so. I think my favorite line is, everything I think I love will change. Is that kind of what you're getting to? Because I.
There were a few different ways I went with that line, and I thought it was really powerful. Like, for me, when you get that type of news, the way I took the line is, I got the news, and I have even more focus on what's important in life.
And, like, that's the change. But then I was like, well, there's also the revisiting. All the nostalgia and childhood and everything from your past is probably different.
Just being 20 years older, you know, as you get older, it's all that just changes. And, like, there is discomfort in that, too.
Lulu:Yeah. I think for me, I was. I'm like an emotional hoarder. I like to say I have a really hard time, like, letting go of things. Sure. And I think.
I mean, that. That certainly is a part of it, but also a part of it is, like, all of the things that you like or that you love. Like, no gold can stay.
You know, it's like, you have to accept that things will change. You have to open up the windows, let it in. So it's kind of like, this is sad, but it's inevitable. There's nothing I can do about it.
So I have to just let go and let God.
Grant:Does writing songs through grief, through any problem, issue, fight, whatever it might be, you know, whoever was not big enough for this town. Does that help you process your emotions?
Lulu:I think that the emotions are processed, and it's more so a matter of articulating them fully and, like, trying to release them so that it's not something that, like, I'm, like, stewing on all the time.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:Because I'm a big stewer.
Grant:I feel a lot of people still. I think a lot of people just aren't honest and open about their stewing.
Lulu:I'm stewing all the time.
Grant:Yeah, that.
Lulu:Constantly having an argument with someone in my head that's.
Grant:Or yourself.
Lulu:And I'm winning all the time. I'm always winning.
Grant:I've never lost, actually.
Grant:What's. What's, like, the hardest truth you've had to face, like, through your art about yourself?
Lulu:I think just, like, naming the things that make me the way that I am. Because, like, I stew a lot. I cry all the time sometimes for reasons I. I'm not even quite sure of.
Sometimes I'll be listening to music, and it'll be a song that's, like, not sad or emotional at all, and it will bring tears to my eyes. And I go in the heavy way or. I don't know. I'm not sure. Just in an emotional kind of way. And I. I do. I ask myself all the time.
I'm like, this right now. Like, you've heard this song a million times, and now it's getting you. Okay. I was like, well, let it out then. But I'm. Yeah, I'm. I'm Stewie.
I'm emotional. I'm a grudge holder. And I think that, like, when.
Recently, because it used to be that I would write a song where I was upset about something, and I would. I would be writing, really, from, like, a victim mentality where I was like, everything is wrong and it's your fault.
And now it's more so, like, everything is wrong, and I think it's your fault. It's probably not, but that's the way that my brain wants to process it, and I know that that's probably not right.
And it's me, like, working through my part in all the things that are uncomfortable in my life.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:And, like, naming things instead of trying to act like I'm a saint. And I think that's been the biggest thing is, like, really, really taking a look at who I am and, like, naming the ugly parts.
Grant:I think That's a maturity thing that, like, happens especially when you start writing music so young. It's like, when you're young, you have no idea how wonderful things are.
Lulu:Yeah.
Grant:Like, you don't have responsibility. You just have all these problems you think are the biggest problems ever. You can write about them.
So it makes sense that as your career progresses in, your music progresses, they would do something similar.
Grant:That makes a lot of sense.
Grant:What's the, like. What's the darkest, like, questions you've asked yourself in. In lyrics? And, like, have you ever had to stop writing? Or is it one of those things?
If you get to point, you're like, I don't want to keep writing. You'll just pause on it for a little.
Lulu:I think I. I only pause when I don't know where to go next. Like, because usually I'll. Like, I'll get on a roll and I can write. Like.
Usually what I do is I'll write the first verse to a song and then get caught up at the chorus and then be like, all right, I'm gonna leave this here, but I need.
Grant:To stew some more.
Lulu:Yeah, I gotta stew a little bit more and figure out why I'm so mad. Yeah. Dark questions that I've asked myself. I don't know. I don't feel like any of them are so dark. I feel like everything is really nuanced.
Like, I have a song called Being Alone is the Best, and it was about. I mean, a lot of these songs, these recent songs are about a really big, nasty friendship breakup that I went through. And Being Alone is the best.
I wanted to be accusatory, but then I have to be like, well, actually, like, is this happening because I'm not fun? Or, like, what's going on here?
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:So I feel like that happens a lot where it starts off angry, but then it's like, well, why, though?
Grant:Why?
Lulu:And, like, what. What fault is mine?
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:And what isn't. And, like, am I overreacting or am I being realistic? And also, is there such thing as overreacting if you feel a certain way?
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:Just kind of going around and around in circles.
Grant:Like, hearing you say, like, the thoughts are much more nuanced. I was wondering if, while writing, you kind of gravitate towards.
And I think the earlier music kind of speaks towards, like, bigger, like, emotional, like, peaks and Valleys. And at least from last year's and Summer Dog, this year have been much more nuanced. Do you think, like, the nuance was something that that's.
You've grown Into.
Lulu:Yeah, because I think, you know, like I said in. I have a song that came out last year called Feel Better, and in the pre chorus, it says, when I dream, I dream it's black and white.
But then I wake aching with resentment and all I see is red. And I think before it was like, if I'm mad, if someone, like, did me wrong, then I'm like, you're done. I hate you. I've always hated you.
And now it's like I can hate you and miss you at the same time.
Grant:Sure.
Lulu:Like I can wish I was a kid. And also thank God every day that I never have to go to school again.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:You know, it's. There's. It's just not as black and white as it used to be.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:I think that's what come with maturity. Yeah.
Grant:What's a project right now that you're working on that you're excited about or nervous about?
Lulu:I'm. I'm honestly just excited about everything that I. That I make. That's great. I really, really like to listen to myself.
Grant:Good.
Lulu:I. Have I mentioned before my producer, Griffin.
I basically will write a song on the guitar and send it off to him, and he'll be like, do you have any specific ideas or whatever for the song? And I'll tell him if I do, and sometimes I won't, and I'll be like, dealer's choice. Let's see what you. What you hear.
And so a lot of my songs, I send them off at, and then they come back transformed in a way where I'm like, this is such a good song. Who wrote this? So I listen to myself a lot. So I'm excited whenever I have new music coming out. Cause I just want to listen to it.
Grant:So you're on tour with Aiden Bassett right now. What are you learning about?
I know this isn't your first time touring, but what are you learning about yourself, opening for him and just being on the road again now?
Lulu:Well, I've been trying really hard. I've done two tours before this, but they were quite small. And I've been learning of myself.
And some might say that this is a harsh critique of myself. I think it's the truth. I really have kind of terrible stage presence. I don't know how to move my body in a way that looks, like, cool.
My instinct is just to stand there and kind of hold onto my diaphragm. And I see. I see videos back, though, and I'm like, girl, move, move. Please do anything but stand there.
And so I've been really, really trying to, like, move around and, like, be looser.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:I think my instinct, again, is to just, like. Just to be. And I. It's like, quite uncomfortable for me to, like, do things that I feel look unnatural coming out of me.
But then, like, I'll see a video and I'm like, okay, well, that was better. Yeah. It's like a bat. An internal battle between, like, what feels natural and. And what looks natural.
Grant:I was going to ask, like, is it in your head that you're not moving? Because it's in your head or it's like you physically just don't want to walk around?
Lulu:And like, I think it's both because it's like, if I'm not thinking at all, I'm just standing there.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:Because I just like to sing. Right. But then there's a part of me.
Grant:What about sitting on a stool or something? So you're like. It's purposefully not moving.
Lulu:Right? I mean, I suppose I could be. Well, it just might be strange if, like, my band is standing and I'm sitting the whole time.
Grant:Why?
Lulu:You know, because I have, like. I do have some songs that are big, bigger energy where, like, I should be moving around. And also I think what's.
What's really nice about this tour is because I'm an opener and I'm first of three. It's like the stakes are really, really low. Sure.
So it's like I go out there and I perform and either they like me and then I have some new fans or they don't and nothing changes.
Grant:Yeah.
Grant:So, like, okay, if it's that low.
Grant:Stakes, why aren't you, like, trying?
Lulu:Well, that's what I am. I'm trying. It's just a thing where, like, suggested you get. Well, if I really can't dance is the thing.
I'm very much like a do white girl dancing, which is.
Grant:That can be fun.
Lulu:Or they say that. That white people dance to the lyrics. And that's like, what I do. And it's like, I'm kind of doing that.
I do a lot of this when I'm performing, but I'm trying to move. I'm trying to, like, get more comfortable. One of my friends who is an artist, I was talking to her about this tour and I was like, I'm really.
I'm nervous. I get real. My body gets so nervous before I go on stage, and my brain says, you're fine. Nobody cares. So actually, you're. You're totally fine.
You're safe. Don't worry. But my body is like, you're about to die. You have to run. And she told me that she takes beta blockers before she performs.
So I started taking beta blockers. It's, like, changed everything.
Grant:Whoa.
Lulu:It's so much easier.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:So interesting. That's been helping with the movement of it all.
Grant:Interesting. What part of your artistry do you want, like, five years from now, ten years from now to still be around or, like, not have changed?
Lulu:I don't know. I mean, I feel like this has been, like, a question that's.
Or a variation of this question has been posed to me where people say, like, you know, if the sound is so different between each song, like, then it's not a uniform project and there's no through line. But I'm thinking, like, the through line is the way that I write and, like, my perspective.
So I just hope that, you know, in the future, there's still that same through line that can be followed. Even if the song sounds different. You can, like, see the growth and, like, see. Follow the thought process through the years.
Grant:I hear that. What do you want people to take away when they leave a show or listen to a song?
Lulu:I mean, I guess it's kind of corny, but, like, I. I want people to feel seen.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:Or like, you know, I want someone to hear a song and be able to relate. And I think what's been really nice and also kind of sad about Summer Dog, because this is the.
You know, the first times I've been playing it live, there are times where I see girls in the audience crying, and I'm like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And then afterwards, they'll be like, you know, my dog just died. And. And I'm like, somebody's dog has always just died. And it's sad.
But I. But I. But I kind of like it because I'm like, we're sharing in this moment.
Grant:You gave them something that's helping them,.
Lulu:And I like it.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:So I hope, you know, I want people to feel like, oh, I've felt that before, or, like, I want to feel that way, or I don't want to feel that way anymore. I have a song called Not Crying Anymore, and it's like, I just. I want people to hear a song and feel like, oh, that's. That's my song now.
Grant:Yeah. I think when I heard Pennies and Pins, I got excited and I was like, oh, this could be my. My one.
Just because I love rock, alt rock, like, punk rock, and I was like, oh, we're getting into it here. There's, like, some angst behind it. I was really digging that. Is there an EP or project in the works or upcoming that you're excited.
Lulu:About at this moment in time? I'm just writing a lot, writing as much as I can.
I've been forcing myself to, like, sit down with my guitar and write, even when I have no thoughts in my head at all. Because I would like to just. I would like to get as many songs finished as I can and then figure out where to put them and, like, what I want to do.
I think that the state of the music industry right now puts so much pressure on. On releasing music as fast as you can. And I just. I don't feel like that's realistic. And I also don't feel like it's conducive to good songwriting.
Yeah, I don't think that, like, good music takes time and editing and re. Editing.
Grant:I hear that.
Lulu:And so I just feel like I've been pressured by the industry itself that whenever I finish a song, it's like, just spit it out as quickly as you as. As you have it finished and, like, don't wait and hold things in the wings to, like, put together a larger project.
And specifically, like, with Summer Dog, when I got this tour, it was like, okay, well, you have to put Summer Dog out now right before the tour starts so that you have something technically that you're touring on. Yeah. And I just.
I feel like every time I finish a song and then I have to just spit it out as fast as I can, then I'm like, okay, well, now I don't have anything for, like, a larger project because I'm just giving away everything as singles because otherwise, like, the industry tells me that, like, I will be forgotten and I will be replaced. And I have been just over and over again. But I want to put out a fuller body of work. I don't want to have to just keep. I.
It's not right to say this, but I feel a little bit like, with as small of an audience as I have, when I put out a song that I love so much, knowing that, like, not that many people are going to hear it initially, it feels a little bit like, okay, well, I'm wasting this song just to try and, like, stay in the game.
Grant:Oh, my.
Lulu:And it's frustrating because I have so many songs that I put out on my first EP where I'm like, this is such a good song, and you guys slept on it. And now there's nothing I can do about it.
Grant:Right.
Lulu:I can't re release it Right years,.
Grant:Take it down, pick a new stage name.
Grant:Just come out as completely different artist.
Lulu:Just change the title.
Grant:Exactly right. There you go. I. That resonates so much. Season one was a giant experiment to see if it would all work.
And we were pumping out content so quickly because, I mean, I am the type of person that does way too much research into everything before I start something usually. And once I get going, I just don't stop. And everything you read, it's like, you have to be this consistent.
And then we reached a certain benchmark, and it's like, well, now you have to be doing two episodes a week. And so then we pushed it to two. But it's been me and the videographer for, like, all season one. It's two people usually.
Occasionally we had a little help and had a third person. And the more and more we were putting out, it just became so exhausting.
And the numbers can look good for a time, but by the end of some of these episodes, I was like, this was not my best work. Like, this is not what House of Style in the messages was supposed to be.
So we paused, we took a couple months off filming and said, like, let's do this right. Kind of in the equivalent of let's stop releasing a whole bunch of singles. Let's wait, make this just more intentional.
Like, pick the best stuff about what worked in season one. And, like, that's what we've been doing for season two. Like, our guests have been amazing. There's so much more intentionality behind everything.
And it's like, I'm not burnt out, and it feels wonderful. So I really hear that and get that.
Lulu:And it's also like, even though this is a job, it's like the job is born from passion and love.
And it's like once you just start cranking things out like a machine instead of like a human being and an artist, then the job turns into an actual job. It turns into a chore. And then you resent doing it. And it's like, I don't want to resent doing the thing that I love.
I don't want to be forced to feel like a machine.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And it's. It's just exhausting. And it's also like, it's not sustainable.
Grant:Not sustainable at all. Yeah, not at all.
So if someone today is listening and trying to find their own voice, whether it's writing music or anything else, what would you suggest to them? How can they find their own style. How can they, you know, find themselves and just stay true to themselves?
Lulu:I. I just feel like the most important thing is to genuinely write what you're feeling. Even if it's, you know, fiction.
Grant:Yep.
Lulu:It's like, still write that, like. Right, right. What your brain wants.
Grant:Yeah.
Lulu:And don't try and, like, conform to any. Any genre. Don't. Don't write for other people. Like, write for yourself. Because other people relate.
And if you try and put words in their mouth that you think they want, then it's. It's not going to hit the same way.
Grant:Totally.
Lulu:I think it's just about. I mean, even if it's just stream of consciousness and then you rearrange it into something prettier, it's like that's.
That's going to be your best bet otherwise. It's like people can smell when it's not real.
Grant:For sure. The smell test. Smell test is very accurate. It's very accurate.
Lulu:Nose goes.
Grant:Nose goes. I love that. Awesome. That's going to wrap the main part of the interview. We're going to do some social stuff and then the performances.
So thank you very much. This is wonderful.
Lulu:Thank you.
Grant:What I love about Lulu is that she's proof the best style is just to be yourself. Her story reminds us that developing your style in music, in work, or in life, it's really just about learning to trust your own taste.
It's about editing, refining, and choosing what actually represents you. And before we wrap, a quick thank you to beyond for letting us use their beautiful space and this listening room today.
It's such a cool, inspiring, and stylish club for people who care about living well in their mind, body, and community, which obviously makes it a perfect fit for this show. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who's finding their own voice.
And don't forget to check out Lulu's style session performances right here on the channel. Leave a comment, drop a rating, and tell us what you're taking away from today. I'm Grant Alexander. Thanks for watching House of Style.
Remember, style isn't about what you have or wear. It's about how you live. I'll see you next time.
