Lily Wilson and Mark Browne Interview

Hi Lily and Mark! Thank you so much for the time and for letting me ask you both questions.

Mark: Hey Kel! It’s my pleasure to participate in this.

I will get this started by asking you Lily what are some of the newest things you've been working on? I've been getting the twitters that you've been writing and singing with other brilliant artists like Paul Trudeau, Bernie Barlow, Kelly Fitzgerald and Sonia Leigh ... can you share some of that with us? Is there a new album in the works?

Lily: I'm really happy to be writing a lot these days. I feel best when I am creating,and writing songs is just one of my favorite things to do! I've been exploring co-writing with some of my favorite musicians lately and that has been a blast. Each person brings something wonderfully unique to the table, and it's a great exercise to learn about other writer's processes and ideas. I'm slowly building a great batch of songs for my next project...

Mark with your musical super hero powers -- I can imagine you're busy writing, producing a lot of time. Is there something that you're working on right now that you would like to share?
I love your solo work on your MySpace any chance of a solo album? Some of your songs like - Energy One and Energy Two are so full of ENERGY and would make a great surf-skate set up of music or I can see those singles on the side of naked energy drink as Itune downloads. Great music as of course it all is. Just saying!

Mark: I'm in the middle of writing and recording my second solo project titled, “Highly Distracting Background Music #2”. It’s mostly the music I’ve written for various (music for) film projects over the last two years so, there’s great variety in the material and some surprises as well. The drag is, I lost my financial backing a couple of weeks ago so I’m having to start the financing process over. That’s been super frustrating. Stay tuned, I’m hoping to get something out by springtime this year. I’m also recording and writing for my (2) concept bands, The Plural(s) and Marange. The Plural(s) are more of a aggressive mod pop groove band (a la Police, XTC, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon)and Marange is a groovy trippy electro-soft rock band(a la Annie Lenox, Pre Fab Sprout, Air, Zero Seven.).

The two of you performed together in a very small venue the first time I ever saw you Lily. Now I see you with the incredible Dream Band bringing in the folks. You all together LIVE is an awesome experience -- any chance you will do a LIVE CD or DVD in the future?

Lily: Thanks, and, yes! I will do a live CD. Molly Malone's is a great venue for that. It's like my second home now :-)and I love the sound guy there, Richard. He really makes me shine. I just booked a show there for May 13th, and we'll record that. It's just a matter of getting all of the magic together at the right time-the sound, the performance, the vibe of the room...

Mark can you explain the difference for you musically from coming off the road playing with Melissa Etheridge in the bigger venues to coming home and doing your thing on the smaller stages? Other than being different music and such does it reflect in your playing?

Mark: I know this might not make much sense but, I really don’t feel a big difference. Of course there are big logistical differences and differences in the material but at the core of my musical experience all live performance feels very similar. There’s a similarity in intent, focus, expression sincerity etc. It’s like an painter/artist picking up a different brush to paint with.

So what is it about the Cleveland Brown(e)'s?

Mark: I need(ed) a football team to root for since Los Angeles doesn’t have one. The Brown(e)s seem to resonate with me...somehow. Next year will be the Brown(e)’s big year!

The both of you have had the chance to be on stage together with Melissa Etheridge for such significant events like Live Earth, The Christmas Show on HD and to work on two of her more inspiring albums over the past couple of years. How does that feel being a part of that musical journey individually and as a couple?

Lily: It's always an honor to be asked to sing with Melissa. She is so inspiring- musically and personally. I really love to be a witness to all the good things she inspires wherever she goes too. It's fun to kind of be a "fly on the wall..." Getting to work and travel with her and with Mark is just a great thing all around. Mark and I met through music, so we're very much in our element when we're on the road together. Music is both of our passions; and to get to share those amazing moments on stage in front of thousands of people is a true blessing.

Mark: For me, playing with Melissa has been a wonderful experience. Being able to share some of those experiences with Lily has been really great also. Lily has a keen way of seeing some things that I might miss in the process. (Since I often close my eyes when I play bass onstage I guess I might miss quite a bit.)

As far as the musical side of Lily Wilson and Mark Browne on working and performing together please say in one word one thing about each other?

Mark in ONE WORD about Lily? Can you please tell us why you choose that word?

Mark:
Lilyisoneamazingsincerelovingandcreatveindividual! I chose that ONE word because it’s how I truly feel about Lily.

And

Lily in one word something about Mark? Can you please tell us why you choose that word?

Lily:
Rock. Mark is the one that we all lean on. He holds the groove down so solidly. He holds it all together in his quiet, confident way.

I'm so impressed with the direction the internet world has gone and the endless promotion for musicians and small businesses via TWITTER, FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, BLOGGER and YOUTUBE.
How do you feel about that complete revolution from say Circus and Hit Parader music magazines to the endless internet avenues? How does it feel to be so admired and watched by so many on YouTube?

Lily: It's hard to imagine that I was mailing out postcards to my shows only a few years ago! I save a lot of time and money with my email list, that's for sure! Youtube has definitely helped introduce my music to a lot of new people too. With Facebook and Twitter, I feel such a direct connection to my fans. It's really a whole new world; and I feel like the possibilities are endless. just have to remember to turn off the computer an pick up my guitar every day!

Mark you may have more to say about it all ... since well you've been around A LONG TIME and were probably in Hit Parader or Circus magazine! ;) With all due respect!

Mark: This is a fortuitous time for all artists who are self promoting . The internet with all it’s networking sites are great technology that allow artists to reach out more people. Except now, the work is harder and now the competition is even greater! Artists have to be tireless in promotion, booking and business planning. Being able to focus on the most beneficial promotion methods for their project and target audience is the key..
Marketing art is a business with very similar principals to all businesses big and small, Creating original concept/product, quality control, market awareness, promotion and, growth are all part of the scheme similar to many other businesses. I’m surprised how many established artists don’t focus their energy more on the potential of the internet as a research, promotion and distribution portal. It’s a whole new market place with all the pitfalls and opportunities from the previous business paradigm, ten fold. I’m amazed at the ease and accessibility available for fans to experience more of a particular artist and for the artist to reach out to their fans. This amount of exposure can be a liability as well for some artists.

Even with all of those new avenues and things you need the fans. What do you both have to say about your fans?

Lily: Oh definitely- it's nothing without the fans. They're putting the food on our table every day. Thank you fans!!! I love feeling like there's this network of people out there who all have a certain connection to each other through my music... I have gotten some really touching letters over the years from people who have found solace in my music, and that makes me so happy. That's why I do it. That's what my favorite music does for me- it lifts me up, makes me feel like life is good and all things are possible. (Even when it's a sad song...)

Mark: I think(our)fans are everything!(That may seem an oversimplified response but it’s the most accurate way to state my first thought..) I’m a huge art fan. Therefore, I always try to relate to that personal emotion and motivation when either experiencing, performing or writing music. The experiences for the fans will attract more fans and the potential for spreading the light is exponential. I think this is why some of us create our art.

Thank you both so much for taking some time out to answer some questions. I appreciate you both very much and look forward to the next LIVE SHOW and new songs!

Mark: Bye Kel. We hope to see you soon!

Namaste- Gratitude - Love

***Please take some time out to vote for Lily Wilson at the Radio Blue Crystal Vote 2009 in bracket 11. Be sure to get The Right Time on Itunes, CD BABY, Amazon and downloads at myrecordlabel.net.
Lily Wilson and Mark Browne Interview -Copyright 2009 - The Lily Wilson Eco-Friendly Street Team.

Lily Wilson Interview

The Lily Wilson Street Team caught up with Lily in Atlantic City, New Jersey where she was performing with Melissa Etheridge for a holiday special being taped for HDNet. We asked her about her latest album, The Right Time, and about performing with Melissa Etheridge, and Sanskrit chanting. We asked Lily for some sample vocals, and she did not disappoint.

Lily- So, are you ready?

Kel- Almost.

Lily- I miss Bernie. She sings it too with me.

Kel- OK.

Lily- [singing with the voice of an angel] "Hallelujah"

Kel- Woooow.

Camille- Wow. YAAAAY!!!

Kel and Camille- More! One more!

Lily- [pauses, thinks, then belts out] "RING THE BEEEEEEEEEEEELLS!!!!"

Kel and Camille- Thank you!!

Kel- I love the new album. How is The Right Time doing?

Lily- Thank you! It's doing great! All of the feedback that I've been getting is just awesome. This month, actually, "A Little Life" is featured on American Airlines.

Camille- I'm totally going to fly American Airlines!

Lily- It's so exciting! There's a magazine called Paste that did a partnership with American Airlines for this month and I'm in the magazine! I'm on the airline station- I'm not sure which station it is.

Kel- You get the magazine if you fly American Airlines? Kind of like Sky Mall magazine?

Lily- Yeah. Paste magazine you can also buy at the Newstand.

Kel- P-A-S-T-E?

Camille- "Paste"? Like glue?

Kel- Like what I used to eat in the first grade?

Lily- Yeah exactly.

Kel- We're paste eaters.

Lily- I did try it once. It was good. Elmers. Kind of . . . minty.

Kel- Elmers! You get it, you spread it out on your hand, and you let it dry and then you roll it and then it makes a little ball and then you pop it in- YEAH!

Camille- Did you guys ever make "Booger Balls" out of rubber cement?

Lily- Yeah! I used to paint them on my hands too. It can't be good for you.

Kel- Can you imagine if I ever ate that today?

Camille- I used to drink out of the hose too.

Lily- We all did that, right?

Kel- Yeah.

Camille- So do you want to talk about . . .

Kel- . . . your shows coming up?

Lily- I have a show at Genghis Cohen on the 18th of November. It's going to be really fun. It will be a little more acoustic oriented than the ones at Molly Malone's. We're going to have Nick Kirgo on guitar.

Kel- He's really great. Mark introduced me to him. He is a nice guy.

Lily- Yeah he's a really sweet guy. And Mark will be there, and Dave will be drumming, and I think Kiki Ebsen will be there too.

Kel- At the recent album release party, I was really blown away. You were sick, but I couldn't even believe you were sick. It was such a good energy.

Lily- Thank you! It was a great energy, I know.

Kel- Then when you were singing "Sweet Time" and you set down your guitar and were so into the music- I loved that! That was such a statement right there when you were really involved in what the band was giving you.

Lily- They're such a great band, sometimes I feel like I don't want to play 'cause I just want to listen to them!

Camille- You could walk off stage and sit down with us.

Lily- I honestly want to do that sometimes! I love James' playing so much. He floors me. Did you guys like what you heard tonight (during Sound Check)? Isn't he great?

Kel and Camille- Yeah!

Lily- He's a really different player than Philip. It's so interesting when you take one person out of the band and put another person in. It changes everything. It changes the whole dynamic. And it's not necessarily better or worse, it's just different. Everyone is relating to everything differently.

Camille- I think as fans we are wondering how some of the solos are going to go, like "Oh Night Divine". What I heard during sound check was really good, and James was really taking off when doing some of the solos.

Lily- He brings his own flavor to it. You can never do what Philip did. Philip is one in a million.

Kel- Philip's a shining star. He's incredible. I'm looking forward to the show tonight, to see a different perspective of Melissa again. As long as they're all singing and playing I'm fine. But I am looking forward to that perspective tonight, especially with this CD, even though Philip was "Oh Night Divine". It's going to be great.

Camille- If you keep getting all of Melissa's band members into your band, is Paul Trudeau going to start playing with you?

Lily- [laughs] Well you know Mark referred Paul to Melissa, because Mark has known Paul for a long time, and Paul actually played on "Morning Light" which is on Stargazer. He's the one playing piano on that song. [sings and plays air piano] "Doo doo, doo doo . . ." He's such a great piano player. That's Paul!

Kel- Cool! Can we add that to the interview, can we put that in there like a little chunk of "Paulage"? 'Cause Paulage does have a lot of chunks, and he's very very talented.

Lily- Paul is great and I love his voice too. I'm so happy that he's singing with us. He's very sweet. It's all one big happy family.

Camille- I'm glad that you and Bernie are here tonight. I tried imagining it without you guys, but I think it would be missing something.

Lily- When we first starting singing with Melissa again, she was like "I miss you guys!"
Camille- Awwww!

Kel- Bernie's spirit at The Right Time party- she is just a riot. I think I might have startled her a little bit earlier today.

Camille- Well she wasn't really expecting it. Someone shouting out "BERNIE!"

Kel- I was like "HI BERNIE!! I met you at Molly's . . ." and she was like "What?" ,and I tried to tell her that I do your Street Team to get to the point that I'm not just running around yelling her name. I don't want her to sign anything, I just want to tell her "You're awesome!"

Lily- She is. She's great.

Kel- So the Dream Band with Nick Kirgo at Genghis Cohen is the show on the 18th. Isn't there a show on the 20th?

Lily- There's a show on the 20th that people can watch online. Kulak's Woodshed.

Kel- You can go to Kulak's to watch the show, or watch online, and donate to them.

Lily- Kulak's is great for people who don't live in LA because they can watch it online. And with Kulak's I don't need as many people there. At Genghis Cohen I really need to pack it.

Kel- I'll promote the crap out of it.

Lily- Cool, thank you. It's a Chinese restaurant. I used to play there all the time. That was my regular gig. It has a little attached music room. It's a great gig and it's really fun. So yeah, that, and then I'm doing some background stuff. I'm actually singing with Kiki at a big benefit for the animal shelters of Los Angeles, and Emmylou Harris is playing at that too.

Kel- Cool! Can I promote that too? Maybe for donations?

Lily- Yes. It's $275 a ticket. It's on my website, there's a link. Then next week, I'm doing an LA Women in Music Showcase; that's two songs. It's fun, they invited me down. Everyone who plays there is really good. And you get dinner with admission!

Camille- Where is that one?

Lily- That's in Hollywood. It's at a place called the M Bar.

Camille- How are the house concerts going?

Lily- We had a lot of fun doing a couple weeks of those. We went up and down the coast. It's always a lot of fun to play house concerts. I love the intimacy, and everyone is very attentive.

Kel- How do you prepare yourself, if you've had a lot of time off, and you're going to go do a concert?

Lily- I can get a little bit lazy about playing guitar. I don't pick it up and play it every time I get home like my husband does, so I have to make myself practice guitar and keep my vocal chords warmed up. Because if you don't sing for awhile it's hard on your voice when you go do a gig. I have warm-up exercises that I do every day.

Kel- I'm incredibly shy. Do you have "shy" issues?

Lily- There's a feeling . . . I don't have a kind of nervousness that is debilitating. I know that some performers do. For me it's a feeling that I've become comfortable with. It's that butterfly feeling. I know I can't eat anything before, for a good two hours. It's a tricky thing because you have to eat to have energy, but then you can't eat too close to playing. I know now the way that nerves show up for me. Everyone has a different way of dealing with it.

Kel- I think I'd be in that classification of "Debilitating".

Camille- Do you get nerves at every show?

Lily- Some shows are more than others. I get nervous with Melissa in a different way, because I don't want to mess up my parts. There are bigger rooms and bigger crowds and that's really exciting. More than nervous, it's really exciting. That butterflies in your stomach kind of feeling. But it's also very invigorating, and I think that's part of the draw of it for performers.

Kel- This Christmas show is a one-time show that is going to be on HDNet. This is huge to be a part of.

Camille- It's going to be commemorated forever!

Lily- I'm really excited that I get Hair and Make-Up.

Camille- Nice! Can I get it too? [laughs]

Lily- It is kind of nerve racking because it took me awhile to figure out what I was going to wear. I will watch this for the rest of my life, and be like "Hey that was me!"

Camille- Do you watch "The Awakening"?

Lily- Yeah! My parents love it, they watch it.

Camille- Of course, you're in it! What are you wearing tonight?

Lily- I'm wearing a vest, and a black top and jeans.

Camille- Do they tell you not to wear white?

Lily- Yes, they do tell you don't wear white, 'cause it's too bright for the lights. It messes up the whole thing.

Kel- You know, I wanted to come tonight, and I told Camille at the very last minute "I'm gonna go!" I had e-mailed you and asked if you are going, and you said yeah, and I'm not your stalker or anything, don't be afraid . . .

Camille- I'm a stalker!

Lily- [laughs] It's always good to see familiar faces.

Kel- We've spoken before about yoga. Can you tell us about yoga, and the chanting?

Lily- The prayers are beautiful prayers and they sound so good and there's a reason why people are still chanting Sanskrit today. It summarizes everything and distills it down to these basic sounds. I take a meditation class, and we'll do a forty-minute chant, the same thing over and over and over. It is sooooo cool. It definitely keeps my voice healthy, and it's all about the tones, and how you get the tones, and what chakras are ignited by the different tones.

Kel- Do you chant with yourself or others? How many are there?

Lily- Blending all together- there are about fifteen of us.

Kel- The vibrations of all of that would be intense. I think my hair would stick straight up without products.

Camille- I wanna go to your class and sit in back!

Lily- It's Kundalini Yoga. There's a lot of chanting in that.

Kel- Is that the same as Ashtanga?

Lily- That's the main one that I do. I do that at home a lot. It's intense. There's a lot of push-ups, it's a pretty vigorous practice. That's different from the Kundalini that I do. Being flexible and being open are really important parts of being a performer and being a singer especially because as a singer your body is your instrument so you really have to take care of it. Yoga is a big part of the puzzle for me.

Kel- How long have you been doing it?

Lily- I've been practicing Ashtanga for twelve years.

Kel- We are looking forward to the show tonight! (At the sound check) Camille cried, and then I didn't wanna cry, then we walked back and were listening against the door, and her eyes welled up, and I was like "I'm not holding it back this time!"

Lily- On "Ring The Bells"?

Camille- Yeah. I wasn't expecting at the end, where they both went off, and Salman was doing the Sanskrit, and then I could hear you . . .

Lily- [sings gently] Ring the bells . . .

Camille- Yeah! That part.

Lily- [sings with everything she's got] RING THE BEEEEEEEELLS!!!!

Camille- [thud]

Kel- Thank you so much!

Lily- You are so welcome!

Lily Wilson on Songwriting

Lily Wilson talks about how she writes the songs.

Lily Wilson Talks About - "Out of the Blue"

Lily's Take on her 4th CD Titled "The Right Time"

Lily Wilson talks about her title track "The Right Time".






Lily Wilson talks about her new song "Desert High" from "The Right Time"






Lily Wilson talks about her new song "Daylight Again" with Philip Sayce






Lily Wilson talks about her new song "Blue Cactus Flower"

Lily Wilson talks Melissa Etheridge

Lily Wilson tells us how it was to sing back up vocals with Melissa Etheridge and at some key EARTHLY events.