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Kendra: ‘Groovy Avocado Disco’ is this elaborate concept album based around therapy and a therapy session. So did you plan to drop it in May, which so happens to be Mental Health Awareness Month, or was that all coincidental?

Unfortunately Steven: The universe lined that up naturally. I had a mental breakdown in the spring of 2016 that put me on this unfortunate journey. I was writing songs therapeutically and not leaving my house. I was losing my hair and hearing voices. You know, the normal stuff. I decided to lean into the trauma and anxiety and what resulted were uncomfortably dark and funny songs. I started recording the album in April 2019 with the goal to release it in May 2020. Covid happened. I retreated. Eventually, when I got back to the songs, the timing was perfect. 

Kendra: You pulled from a very personal place here in order to not only create a record but to encourage others to head to therapy. Do you feel therapy should be a regular thing for everyone just like a dentist or a family doctor?

Unfortunately Steven: Absolutely. This can’t be stressed enough. Going to therapy doesn’t equate to being crazy. Not going to therapy, to me, is crazy. There’s no shame in talking to someone about your problems. Some problems are mild and some can be heavy burdens you never knew you were carrying. I fall in the “trauma lasagna” category. Just layer upon layer of saucy goodness. It really doesn’t matter if you came from a loving family or had a privileged life. We all have dark moments. We need checkups for our brains. One could argue, more so than a doctor or dentist. 

Kendra: Now ‘Groovy Avocado Disco’ again, is long. Almost two dozen tracks of indie rock meets musical theater. Did you grow up with a theater background?

Unfortunately Steven: An entrance, 11 song tracks, 7 real therapy snippets, and an exit. It wasn’t an intentional choice to have a theater element, it just naturally felt that way. I needed those therapy sessions to connect the songs and really tell a story. The album is just one conversation. 

I was in drama all through high school. I didn’t partake in musical theater but was always a fan of the storytelling and how there’s a clear start, middle, and end. Jonathon Larson was a huge inspiration. I don’t have his talent but I have depression. I would listen to musicals and see them at the Pantages when I could. ‘The Book of Mormon’ may have been a game-changer of creative possibilities. Unfortunately, I can’t write a full musical. I could barely write an album.

Kendra: If they just so happened to take this to Broadway, who would you want to be the protagonist? Perhaps Tom Hanks since there is a song named after him?

Unfortunately Steven: Perhaps off, off, off-broadway. That’s something hard to imagine. I know if it were to happen, it couldn’t take itself too seriously. It would have to take place in a therapy session that psychedelically expands to the corners of the client’s mind. 

Unfortunately, I’m the protagonist and my brain is the antagonist. There are very serious dark themes but they are expressed in a self-deprecating comedic way. It’s a man losing his mind and not having any answers. He doesn’t want to live anymore but he doesn’t want to die. It’s that sweet awkwardness in between. There was a moment in time when I was obsessed with Andy Kaufman. His audience would be so confused and wouldn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or storm the stage. I love that form of art.

Kendra: So I think many are going to see “Life’s Too Expensive For Me” and instantly have to listen because um, same. From a therapy standpoint do you think enough effort has been made to make it affordable? 

Unfortunately Steven: Not at all. I’m a strong advocate for universal healthcare and opposed to for-profit health institutions. I believe therapy should be easily accessible and available to everyone who needs it. There are a lot of people who want to take that next step but it’s too much of a financial burden. It shouldn’t be too expensive to live with basic human needs. Mental health issues are now more common in a post covid world. We all carry things that need releasing. Without a doubt, it saved my life and helped me ground myself into who I really am. It’s unfortunate the world caught up to the songs but I assure you, it can get better.

Kendra: Now you’ve noted, “As a society, we tend to shy away from dark thoughts or depressed feelings but they are simply a part of the human condition,’ but I think in terms of music – that’s been the underlying theme of so many records that have come through my email. Do you think the more the creative arts embrace mental health, the more it’ll be normalized in everyday life?

Unfortunately Steven: It’s always been a part of rock and roll at its core. It took someone feeling depressed to pick up an instrument and sort through their life. It’s all about being an outsider to society and figuring out whatever it is that makes you tick. To see it become so straightforward and more honest in 2022 gives my soul so much hope. 

Billie Eilish and the grand messiah Bo Burnham kicked that door open for this album to be accepted. They did something so raw and groundbreaking. ‘INSIDE’ blew my mind and touched me in such a way that I felt seen for the first time. I’m hopeful I can supply that for just one person.

Kendra: Time for a side note…since April showers bring May flowers, I’d love to know what song makes you bloom with happiness and why? 

Unfortunately Steven: That’s a tough one. In my current state, I would have to say “My Little Red Book” by LOVE. It’s an underestimated weird bop of a song that came out in 1966. LOVE was a legendary Los Angeles band. They were also the first interracial group in rock and roll. I recently learned that my third cousin, Don Conka, was the original drummer for the band but couldn’t get his drug addiction under control to show up for the gig. It’s very ahead of its time and makes me oh so happy.

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Groovy Avocado Disco’ out on May 6th, what else can you let us in on? Are you touring this year?

Unfortunately Steven: I want to do a music video for “People are Stupid” next. The first single was a way to ease people in without slapping them in the face with harsh reality. For my second single, the gloves will be coming off. Touring is currently on the back burner but for sure a goal. Realistically, I’d like to do a west coast tour in the fall from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Just to test the waters. This is an album that will need to be performed front to back in its entirety. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m quite ready or able to perform them live. These are real dark moments in my life and I’m hopeful I can revisit them without breaking down again. I’m grateful to make it to the other side but it’s still a daily struggle. Time will tell. 

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What is next on this oddly familiar, yet strangely undefinable journey?…

…Some things remain the same. The sun rises every morning and sets every evening. Other than that, the landscape and the people upon whom the sun rises, are changing more and more with each passing day. The answers can be elusive and the questions, numerous.

Quantum physics answer some burning queries, but not all. Religion has, yet another frame to place upon uncertain times. Perhaps, more esoteric methods can be used like psychics or mediums. Everyone is searching for something solid, anything logical on which to base their next theory.

Therein, lies the interpretation of our own understanding.

Sometimes, our “go-to” oracles are spot on, but other times, not so much, and when all seems like it might be gobbled up by a barrage of questions like: “what’s next” or “what if,” the best course of action is to look at “what is.” By doing so, we can gain a much needed moment of rest to gather our equilibrium.

In other words, it might be appropriate to gain some distance, from our perspective. Treat it all as a grand experiment and look at our lives, in a broad, general sense.

 

In an experiment, getting a “baseline” measurement, upon which we can compare and contrast all other observations is important. Then, afterward noticing the unusual, the inconsistent, and the “stand out” effects or anomalies, can offer insight into a question or course of action (if there is any to be taken.)

A recent article in Bright Side called, 9 Anomalies Proving That Nature Can Beat Anyone — Just Look at Its Power says, “…nature has a lot of other tricks up its sleeve like lakes that disappear overnight, raining fish and other amazing things that are so scary and impressive, people often try to provide explanations for them that are far from correct.”

Some even believe our entire planet is one big anomaly, Trevor Nace, Senior Science Contributor at Forbes, backs this summation up with several worthy examples, one of which is that “Earth is the only planet known to sustain liquid water, which covers 71% of the world’s surface. Liquid water is essential to life as we know it and is believed to be the key prerequisite to finding life on other planets.”

Anomalies are not random. If they are viewed from a perspective of wonder and awe, these irregularities can create a sense of hope and encouragement.

Rudyard Kipling, the poet, summed up managing the madness of life by saying, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” In short, our circumstances do not define us, however, our response to those events does.

The next time an earth-shattering news event floods your feed, remember the consistently inconsistent occurrence of nature’s anomalies. There could just be a method to the madness, even if it is not.

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Right around the time we connected, Louisa Maria was gearing up for a livestream event to raise money for Southmead Bristol Hospital in relation to Covid-19. Joined by Elles Bailey, Badtouch, Collateral, Kyle Elliot, and Ritchie Ray – they managed to raise some major funds, and if you missed out on that – more live events are in the works. To find out more about what’s to come and to hear about the chances she’s taken up until now, continue on below1!

Kendra: When you decided to fly solo, did the conversation with the rest of Tequila Mockingbird feel like a breakup or was everyone mature and fine with your next step? 

Louisa Maria: To be completely honest with you (and I feel like enough time has passed that I can now open up about it all) it was a bit of a disappointment from day one. Unfortunately, girl bands, in my opinion, are difficult because everything becomes so personal. 

When I was asked to join the band I had the impression we would write together and have equal input into the bands’ music – naturally! My solo EP from 2015 had a track called “Tell Me”. The drummer in the band wanted to recruit me and release this song as a new single under their name. This happened but from then on all new material (apart from two other songs I brought to the project “Pretty Picture” and “Fire”) was written by the drummer Josie O’Toole and forced upon myself and the bassist to record for the bands’ second album without any input or discussion from either of us! 

I was not happy with this arrangement but as I’d just arrived in Australia and was going to be there for six weeks to write as well as record; I had no choice but to comply. After we toured this album the vibe in the band went sour and I felt as if I was being pushed out. My track “Pretty Picture” had been B-listed on Planet Rock Radio after they listened to three other tracks that got sent to them. I received a phone call just before Christmas 2018 from the drummer saying they’d found another singer/guitarist. This band is now on its third new line up with only Josie O’Toole keeping it going. After I left it was three or four months until the bass player, Jacinta Jay, left or was “let go.” What more can I say? 

Kendra: Other than being on your own more so now than with a band, you also switched gears when it came to genre as you went from rock to pop. Are there still rock elements or even a mentality that is still present in your new material? 

Louisa Maria: Oh yes by all means – the new live set which has been developed a lot more over lockdown will have a punchy and rockier approach in performance aspects and live instrumental feel! I’ll never lose that rock-chic persona! I felt like a bit of a change was in order as I’d been controlled musically for so long by Tequila that I just had to break out of it. My entire creative side was just being trodden on and I had to change gear, as it were, in order to focus and bring back that creative spark. 

Kendra: You took this chance and that’s what your latest single, “One Lump of Sugar” boils down to. It’s scary though to take that leap of faith, and it’s something many struggle their entire life to do. What’s some solid advice you have for those living in fear of taking a chance on something new? 

Louisa Maria: My advice would be stay true to yourself! It must not be forced in any shape or form! I took the leap of faith and so far my latest songs have charted in the singer-songwriter charts. Also, my last single, “BANG BANG DROP,” made “Track of the Week”` on BBC UPLOAD Bristol. When you notice others coming on board with something – you know you are on the right track! 

Kendra: If you had to compare your overall aesthetic and sound of ‘Tea for Two,’ to a tea flavor which would it be and why? 

Louisa Maria: It would be Magic Dragon. It is a fruit-infused tea packed with really good stuff including dragon fruit together with the magical flavours of rosehip and blackberry leaves. The reason being it’s full of a juicy pop seductive vibe with a Latin sensual mix! 

Kendra: This year has been a wild one for everyone, but how do you feel 2020 has shaped your creativity and drive moving forward? 

Louisa Maria: My life changed a lot! I felt as if I were slipping away before lockdown with my personal life and work. I swore to myself I’d never be a normal person in the sense of having a 9-5 job, getting married, and having kids and settling down. No, no, no. I’m making the most of the time to write and develop and plan for the next five years! I’m planning on moving to NYC for six months next year in July 2021. 2020 has certainly put me more in touch with what I want rather than what others around me want. I decided it’s now or never and time to pursue even more. 

Kendra: Usually, this is where I ask people what they have planned in the coming months but with the world in a strange place right now, plans aren’t as concrete as they typically are. So can you can go ahead and let us know what you have tentatively planned? 

Louisa Maria: I’m trying to see this entire circumstance the world is facing as another opportunity to do something “new!” I’m still working on what that is however, live streaming events and the online world has taken off during this time! There must be more for musicians to do at present – it just hasn’t been thought of yet! Supporting the NHS and local charities is something I’ve been doing to help get positive messages out there. 

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