Lydia Loveless

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Lydia Loveless
Lydia Loveless (right) with husband/bassist Ben Lamb (left) playing in Fort Collins, Colorado (2011)
Lydia Loveless (right)
with husband/bassist Ben Lamb (left)
playing in Fort Collins, Colorado (2011)
Background information
Born (1990-09-04) September 4, 1990 (age 33)
Coshocton, Ohio
United States
Origin Columbus, Ohio
Genres Classic country
Honky tonk
Alternative country
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Guitar
Years active 2008–present
Labels Bloodshot Records
(2011–present)
Peloton Records
Associated acts Carson Drew
Website lydialoveless.com
Members Ben Lamb
Todd May
Nick German
Jay Gasper
Nate Holman

Lydia Loveless (born September 4, 1990; as Lydia Ankrom) is an alternative country[1] singer-songwriter from Columbus, Ohio.[2] Her music combines classic country, honky tonk, and punk rock.[3][4]

Early life

Loveless was born in Coshocton, Ohio, in the Newcastle area.[5] She is the daughter of Parker Chandler and has two older sisters, Eleanor Sinacola and Jessica, who now performs under the stage name "Jessica Wabbit".[2] Loveless grew up on a farm in a rural area outside of Coshocton and was home-schooled.[6][7] She said she felt like an outcast in a town that emphasized religion and conformity[3][4] until she moved to Columbus, Ohio when she was 14. She enjoyed Hank Williams III and punk-influenced country music, while also embracing popular music and rock and roll and "pretty much anything on Kemado Records."[8][9]

Her family is musical: Loveless' father was a pastor, drummer, and later country-western bar owner for a time.[8] She and her sisters played several instruments.[2] She began trying to play the guitar at 12.[10][11]

Career

In 2004, Loveless, her father, and her sisters made up part of a four-member new wave pop band called Carson Drew, named after the father in the Nancy Drew books. Loveless played bass.[9] The band broke up in 2007.[2]

At a show in Cincinnati where she opened for his band, Loveless met producer David Rhodes Brown (500 Miles to Memphis)[7] who went on to produce her first album, 2010's The Only Man. Loveless was not happy with the slick production of the album.[3] Loveless made the record when she was 15 years old.[12] Loveless clarified that she likes the songs she wrote, but the drawn-out process (over three years) to get the album released influenced her feelings about the project.[7][13]

Columbus attorney Steve McGann became her manager. Loveless and her band drove 20 hours to Austin, Texas, and ended up playing for Bloodshot owners Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw at the 2010 South by Southwest music festival.[13]

In 2012, signed with Bloodshot and determined to make a more raw and edgier album, she released Indestructible Machine with songs that feature themes of frustration with her hometown, drinking, depression, and a song about a stalker who looks like Steve Earle.[3][4][14] Loveless recorded the album with many live takes and a minimum of overdubs at Grove City, Ohio’s Sonic Lounge recording studio with engineer Joe Viers.[3][13] SPIN characterized the record as standing out "for its utter lack of bullshit," with "roaring vocals, in her narrators' lived-in-bars recklessness, and in her overall inability to mince words."[15]

Indestructible Machine received praise in publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Spin, AllMusic, and The Washington Post.[3][4][16][17] Greg Kot wrote that Loveless' "defiant tone is matched by songs that put country and punk on equal ground, unvarnished and direct".[3][18][19]

In the Spring of 2013, Loveless did an extensive Canadian tour supporting the Supersuckers.[20] Loveless and her band also toured Scandinavia and Spain during the Fall of 2013.

In 2013, Loveless released Boy Crazy, an EP. Mark Deming of AllMusic praised the release, asserting that the album "is further proof that Loveless is a major talent, and if her next album is as good as this, she may run the risk of becoming a very big star".[21] One of the songs, "Lover's Spat," is about the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.[22]

Rolling Stone cited Loveless as one of its "10 New Artists You Need to Know: January 2014."[23]

In February 2014, Loveless released her third full-length record, Somewhere Else, on Bloodshot Records, which has a dark, "poppy" vibe.[24][25] Stereogum said Loveless is using her "unmistakable voice as a songwriter, and she's only getting better at using it to blur the line between running her mouth and pouring out her heart."[26] Loveless was listed as one of "5 Best New Artist for January 14" by SPIN magazine.[27] The record includes "Head", a single Loveless wrote with her guitar player, Todd May, a fellow songwriter.[28] The album had an overwhelmingly good reception[29] and entered Billboard's Heatseekers chart (new entries to Billboard charts, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan) the first week of its release at position number 7.[11][30]

In April 2014, Loveless released the Mile High/Blind 7" record for Record Store Day. The record had a non-album cut titled "Mile High" on the A side and a cover of Kesha's "Blind" on the B side. It was a limited edition release on lime green vinyl.[31] The tracks were released in digital album format May 27, 2014.[32]

In April 2015, Loveless was part of a Record Store Day release with label-mate, Cory Branan. The two artists cover two Prince songs: Loveless doing I Would Die 4 U and Branan doing Under The Cherry Moon. The 7" limited edition releases will be pressed onto purple vinyl.[33]

Loveless donated her vocal talent to the end credits song from the film, A Dog Named Gucci, in the song One Voice, which also features the talents of Norah Jones, Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs, Neko Case, Brian May and Kathryn Calder. It was produced by Dean Falcone, who also wrote the film's score. One Voice was released on Record Store Day, April 16, 2016, with profits from the sale of the single going to benefit animal charities.[34]

She is the subject of a just-completed documentary called Who is Lydia Loveless?[35] in which filmmaker Gorman Bechard (Color Me Obsessed, Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart) documents the making of Loveless' next record,[35] as well as following her on the road, and looking into what life is life for a band at her level in the music industry.[36] "I also wanted to look at stuff we normally don’t see a lot of. What are the finances for a band like this? Where does the money go? Who gets the money? Is Spotify good? Is Spotify bad? How does piracy affect you? What about the fans? I really wanted to go into all of that for a band that can still sell out 200-250 seat venues and bars but is still all travelling in an old Ford van. A good night is when they have a couple of hotel rooms. No one is rolling in the dough so to speak. So what is it at that point when you have amazing critical success and acclaim but you’re not there yet?"[37] In October 2015, Bechard and his crew filmed a live Lydia Loveless concert at Skully's in her hometown of Columbus for the documentary.[38] The film has its World Premiere on April 7, 2016 at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival.[39]

Songwriting

File:Lydia Loveless performing at SXSW 2014.JPG
Lydia Loveless performing at SXSW 2014

Loveless' lyrical bent includes feminist/strong-woman statements, yet also includes a lot of drinking songs.[8] Loveless is an avowed fan of Kesha, and has played "Blind" in her live shows.[40][41]

Discography

Albums and EPs

Year Title Label
2010 The Only Man Peloton
2011 Indestructible Machine Bloodshot Records
2013 Boy Crazy (EP) Bloodshot Records
2014 Somewhere Else Bloodshot Records

Singles

Year Title Label
2015 I Would Die 4 U (Prince cover) Bloodshot Records
2014 Mile High / Blind (Kesha cover) Bloodshot Records
2011 Bad Way To Go / Alison (Elvis Costello cover) Bloodshot Records

Notable performances

File:Lydia Loveless Heart.jpg
Hand-made wood coaster in shape of Lydia Loveless' heart tattoo -- with an X through it. Made by Ben Lamb, her husband.

Personal life

Loveless is married to her bassist, Ben Lamb,[17] who is also a graphic artist.[42] They currently reside in Columbus, Ohio.[3][4]

Loveless' older sisters, Jessica Wabbit and Eleanor Sinacola, also have their own bands (The Girls! and Dead Girlfriend, respectively).[2] Loveless' younger brother, Nate, is the drummer of Shores of Elysium, a death metal/deathcore band from Columbus, Ohio.[43]

Loveless is an avowed fan of the IBM Selectric typewriter.[44]

She has at least two tattoos. One is a heart with an X through it. Another tattoo is in the shape of a key, inspired by writer Joe Hill's book, Locke and Key.[44]

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ from and interview on the Americana Music Show #299, published May 10, 2016
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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