Interview: Lowertown

Photo credits: Michael Cully

Interview by James Klein

I recently spoke with Olive and Avsha of Lowertown after their show at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville. We discussed their artistic evolution, songwriting process, U.S. tour, and their upcoming album, “Ugly Duckling Union.” 

This interview has been edited for clarity.

James Klein (JK): It’s nice to meet you guys! Great job tonight, it was amazing. You really had everyone going. The energy was crazy.

Avsha Weinberg (AW): Thank you!

JK: Throughout the years, your sound has evolved from more lo-fi “bedroom pop” as some might describe it to being more punk. What led you in a more punk-influenced direction on “I Love to Lie?”

Olive Osby (OO): When I was younger, I used to process most of my negative feelings internally. They’d be sad and very self-deprecating. After we moved to New York and we got a bit older, I started to process things. I used to always be like “Oh, it’s my fault. Everything’s my fault.” I started to turn some of that negativity into anger, and it gave me more agency. Some of the negative feelings and the things that would happen to me, I would process more as external things. I turned it into power instead of just crying in a ball.

AW: Yeah, I think that album is raw emotion, like an immediate response to an intense stimulus. We started writing music for that album right when we moved to New York. It was our first time living on our own, meeting new people. Inevitably, some really terrible things happen to you when you go out and live on your own and experience the world. That album felt like the immediate response to those feelings, so it wasn’t super processed and thought about. 
It was just like “This is how we’re feeling, and right now it’s bad. We’re not really sure what’s going on.” 

JK: You’ve mentioned wanting each record to sound different and distinct. Why is that kind of reinvention important to you as artists?

OO: We both get really bored when things stay the same. I’m very proud of everything we’ve put out, so when something’s done and done well, why do it again? It gets boring and repetitive. We’re lucky that we have been changing it up enough so the people that have stayed interested and engaged are not putting as many expectations on us to stay the same way and they’re more down for whatever and they’re very open-minded, which is great because I feel like a lot of artists get trapped into this caricature of what they started out as or what made them popular and no matter what they want to do creatively, they’re stuck with giving people what they expect because people get very uncomfortable when you give them something they don’t expect. Also, we started the project when we were like 17. Our tastes have changed. We’ve gotten older and more mature, and I don’t think any person’s going to make the same art that they made when they’re 17. 
Honestly, I hope that they don’t because that would be so boring and that would suck that they haven’t grown past since when they were 17. 

AW: Yeah, we want to make sure we’re having a good time. Doing the same thing over and over again, if you’re trying to make yourself really happy, it’s not always the first thing that comes to mind. Making sure we keep it fresh and new makes the band fresh and new, because it’s just like our relationship and how we have fun. 

JK: Let’s talk more about this collaborative relationship. What’s the songwriting process typically like for a Lowertown song? 
Do you typically write ideas together or separately, and then bring them together? 

AW: We started out writing music separately. We’d send demos back and forth. Now, as the years have progressed and our skills have gotten better, I’ve been working on singing and Liv has been working on playing guitar and writing — we’ve changed the way that we write, again to keep it interesting. We try and write together. We try and write prompts and stuff…

OO: I feel like that’s also why our music changes a lot, because we try a lot of different approaches. It’s easy once you do something and it works, and it feels good to get trapped in this habit. It’s the most natural thing. If I start writing a song the same way every time, I end up writing the same kinds of lyrics and the same melodies. I have these things that I comfortably do, and everyone has that with art. So it’s good to switch things up to force yourself to do something different and get a little uncomfortable. 

JK: Definitely. Now, more about the tour. You’re done with the tour after your New York City show tomorrow.
How has it gone overall? What were the highs and lows?

OO: It’s my favorite tour I’ve ever done, and I say the same for Avsha because he told me that.

AW: Yeah, it’s been my favorite tour.

OO:
It’s been insane. The crowds have been so down, and I feel like we’ve all been very connected. I feel the most confident in myself as a person and as a musician at this point in my life. We’ve put enough years and tours under our belt that this is one of the things in my life I’m best at. That confidence has turned into me being way less anxious on stage and very present. Everyone in the band has been great, we haven’t had any fights or drama. Everyone’s very grateful, very down, and mature. There have been a lot of crazy things that have happened, but we’ve all dealt with them like a boss. 

AW: Yeah. The biggest thing for me was seeing how many people showed up to the first headline shows on the West Coast. It was really crazy to see how many people we have there. In Texas, too, shows in Denton and San Antonio, so many people came out, and it was such a crazy feeling to see it for the first time. 

JK: With the tour ending soon and as you look back at this era of Lowertown, what are you most proud of from this era, and what’s next for you both individually and as Lowertown? 

OO: I’m really proud that we’ve been in a band and best friends since we were 15 or 16, and we’ve had this band since we were 17.
It’s sort of crazy that we’ve made it this far and not killed each other or hate each other. There have been points where we haven’t hated each other, but we’ve needed some friendship space because that obviously happens if you’re next to someone all the time. But as artists, as friends, we have pushed ourselves to constantly get better and evolve. Sometimes it’s very hard to stay so focused on one overarching goal or objective this long, especially starting as a young person. We played a show yesterday with this awesome artist, Gods Wisdom. He’s a bit older than us, and he was like, “It’s very impressive you guys are 23 and so focused on something.” I’m very proud of that. I feel very proud that we’ve built this thing from the ground up. Playing this tour, I have a lot of faith in us as a band, and I have big hopes for the future. I feel like we can handle it. When we were young, we had a lot of crazy opportunities that were very lucky, and I honestly don’t think I was ready for a lot of what we got. Through being on a label and all this stuff, it was just very overwhelming, but now I feel ready for anything for the first time in my life in terms of music. I feel like I can handle it. I feel like Lowertown has a big future if we keep going. 

AW: Yeah. In terms of stuff we’re excited about…

OO: Our album we’re dropping!

AW: “Ugly Duckling Union.” 

OO: It’s going to be so good.

AW: Our album is all done. Mixed and mastered.

OO: And it sounds like the best thing ever.

AW: It’s the music I’m the most proud of, obviously right now, but it’s some of my favorite stuff I’ve ever done.
Definitely my favorite stuff I’ve ever done in collaboration with somebody. It really represents our friendship and how far we’ve come as a band, but also as friends.

JK: The new songs sound great!

OO: Thank you!

JK: We’re all really excited. Thanks so much for taking the time, I know you’re super busy. Good luck with the rest of the tour.

OO: Thank you. I really appreciate you.