Lyzzie: The Interview

Written by Jessica Brown

March 15th, 2024

Lyzzie is an independent artist with incredible talent and who puts her own unique twist on grunge music. She uses her love of dark themes and her life experiences to shape her music which takes you on a twisted theatrical journey. Lyzzie recently opened for Hotel Mira at the Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, Ontario. She put on a strong performance, and she had great stage presence capturing the attention of the audience right away. Lyzzie is an alumnus of the Music Business program at Durham College, and is using her knowledge and experiences to begin her journey as an artist.

What was the moment you knew you wanted to pursue a music career?

I have wanted to sing ever since I was a little kid, but everyone told me I wasn’t good enough. So, I took Child and Youth care and I was like I don’t want to do this and then I took Music Business and I knew I wanted to do it more seriously.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?

Grunge Cirque du Soleil. I am a circus artist as well so we added some circus elements to the songs, and it’s grungy alternative.

How do you usually begin the process of writing a song?

I will sit down with my producer, and we will start a session and we’ll just talk about what’s going on, like therapy, and we go with whatever sticks as the main theme. Then we will try to come up with lyrics, or he will grab the guitar and just lay down some chords and we see if we can make a melody. It all just kind of comes together after.

What is your main source of inspiration?

For the last EP I released I would say Panic! At the Disco and Marianas Trench sonically. Lyrically it is based on things happening in my life.

How have your personal life experiences shaped your musical voice?

I like spooky and dark things, so a lot of the content of what I sing is kind of sad or like a “fuck you” kind of thing. Singing wise I loved Adele as a kid, which has nothing to do with the kind of music I sing now, but just her vocal tone I really liked, so I kind of went with that.

Do you have a specific approach to writing song lyrics?

Not really; it kind of happens differently every time. Sometimes I will write a song then show it to my producer and we will pick it apart or we will work on it together. We have been in the studio for a couple of months, and I didn’t come prepared with anything; we just work on it at the same time.

What is the most rewarding part of creating music to you?

The people that have listened to it say that they really relate to my lyrics and that means a lot because even if you can’t help them at least they can relate to it and feel less alone.

What was the inspiration behind your EP Villian?

Really bad boyfriends, but it gives me good content, so, whatever.

What is your favourite song from Villian and what is the story behind it?

Villian is my favourite song. This one actually isn’t about shitty boyfriends; I really like Harley Quinn and the Joker and that kind of superhero villain thing, so I wrote it based off that. I also wrote it based off my friend from Russia because he’s kind of crazy, in a good way. I also like it because it has some of the circus elements as well with a string and percussion section.

What was the most challenging part of creating Villian?

The EP just kind of happened really organically and easily. I explained to my producer exactly what I wanted and he was able to make it so much bigger than what I had even imagined, so everything has been pretty much smooth sailing. With the new music I am working on I am trying to be more honest with my music. With Villain, I am more taking on a character and I want this next one to be more of my heart.

What is the best experience you have had performing live music?

The only people that sing along are my friends, but it’s still really cool when they do; it’s like maybe this is a little taste for what it will be like in the future.

How has the Music Business Program helped you begin your music career?

I knew nothing about the music industry, so that is what I wanted to get the most out of the program. It was things like copyright law, music math, everything about contracts, and record labels; I didn’t know anything, and I think that’s mainly what the program helped me with.

What is the most valuable thing you learned during your time in the program?

Our whole second year was during Covid and all online, so I don’t really remember anything from that year. I remember CENT class was great; I was with Backrow Records and I was one of the A&Rs and it helped me understand how everything worked. That was probably the best thing I got out of it.

Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

I do circus as well; I do those curtain thingies that people hang off of. I am trying to see how I can combine the two, but I don’t want to be like P!nk. The intro to one of my songs is a percussion and string section and I made a routine to it. So hopefully in three years I have figured out how to merge the two. Hopefully I will be doing it full time and making money off it.

Do you have any upcoming projects?

Right now, I am writing new music. I am going to Indonesia for no certain amount of time, so it is being put on pause until I get back. We have recorded two songs so far for another EP. This one is going to be so cool. With Villain we tried to make all the songs go into each other and they kind of did but not really. The new one will have four or five songs that will all kind of go in a loop, so I’m really excited for that; I just don’t have release dates yet.

You can follow Lyzzie on Instagram @lyzziesworld and TikTok @welcometolyzziesworld to stay up to date with her and you can find her music on streaming platforms.

Photo by Jessica Brown.