Alex Lahey turns in a rocking set in The Current studio
by Bill DeVille
November 27, 2017
Saturday night, Alex Lahey played a lively show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. Early Sunday morning, Lahey and her bandmates were sound-checking in The Current studio, and by 11:30 a.m., they tore through the rocking title track to Lahey's debut full-length, I Love You Like a Brother, prompting The Current's Bill DeVille to announce, "Wow — that's kind of a nice wakeup call at 11:30 on a Sunday morning!"
Lahey is busily touring North America in support of the album, and she stopped at The Current for the session hosted by DeVille just before departing on a two-day trek to Dallas.
The title track was inspired by Lahey's actual brother and her desire to write a song for him. "One might think that that sort of topic would be quite sentimental and you'd write a ballad-y kind of thing to go with it," Lahey says, "but I really wanted to write a song that he would like. So I decided to pick three chords and pretend I was in the Ramones and give it a go!"
Lahey's current American tour started in Massachusetts, included a stop at Late Night with Seth Meyers, and will take her all the way to Seattle by the time the tour is complete. "It's exceeded any expectation I've ever had," Lahey says about the tour. "It's incredible that people have connected with the record the way that they have.
"We were here in March during SXSW and did a number of shows around, and there were a few of them where we weren't playing to many people at all," Lahey continues. "To go back to some of those cities again, like Chicago and Philadelphia and those kind of places for the second time, and all of a sudden there's people there, it's pretty surreal. It's been good."
Lahey is one of a sizeable roster of Australian musicians currently making waves around the world, but she doesn't see it as any kind of Australian music renaissance or revolution. "I think that Australia has always had wonderful music, but I think that there's been a couple of international breakthroughs that have happened which have sort of shone a light on what's going on over where we are, namely Tame Impala being one, and of course, Courtney Barnett," Lahey observes. "I think one of the wonderful things about when that happens — some people might think, 'Oh, the places have been taken' — but actually, it just paves the way for more artists to find there way over here and around the world. That's why when we think of Courtney Barnett or Tame Impala, it's like barracking for a football team. It's really wonderful to be a part of that."
Although the U.S. and Australia are both very large nations, Lahey notes some differences in touring in one versus the other. "I think the biggest difference with touring between Australia and over here in the States is that you really don't have to go very far to find another group of people to play music to and another group of people who want to experience the show and that kind of thing," she says. "The towns are definitely closer together."
Lahey also enjoys finding the signature food items and local experiences in each city along the way. "One of the things that I love about traveling through your country is that you don't have to go far to find a completely new culture or a completely new approach to life or that sort of thing," she says. "Even from Chicago to Minneapolis, for example, it's so different. And it's really fun to experience those things."
Use the audio player above to hear the complete session with Alex Lahey, including her thoughts on studying jazz, and about more of her influences and musical heroes — including Natalie Imbruglia, Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen.
More Video
Songs Performed
"I Love You Like a Brother"
"I Haven't Been Taking Care of Myself"
"Every Day's the Weekend"
All songs are from Alex Lahey's debut full-length album, I Love You Like a Brother, available in the U.S. on Dead Oceans.
Hosted by Bill DeVille
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Corey Schreppel
Visuals by Emmet Kowler
Web feature by Luke Taylor
External Link
Alex Lahey - official site
