Lung
Interview conducted on July 06, 2021
By Dan Locke
Powerhouse art-punk, cello-rock duo, Lung, have a sound that is dark and commanding, evoking the driving sludge of early grunge with layered sinister undertones. The band is Kate Wakefield, a classically trained opera singer and cellist, and drummer Daisy Caplan, formerly of Foxy Shazam, Babe Rage, and Ayin. Lung is poised to release their third full-length album, Come Clean Right Now, later this summer.
What is your upbringing?
Kate Wakefield: I’m from Ann Arbor Michigan which is a super liberal college town.
How did you discover music?
I have always loved music. I think I just always remember it being around. I loved listening to the radio as soon as I was old enough to know they existed.
How did you start to write music?
I started writing melodies on the piano as a young kid. I didn’t play the piano but could play it by ear. I always liked coming up with different melodies. In middle school, I had a short phase where I tried to write songs on my dad’s guitar, and then eventually I realized cello was a lot easier for me to write with.
How did you two meet?
We met in the Cincinnati music scene in 2013 or so. I think Daisy was bartending one of my first solo shows, and he was super encouraging and cool.
How did you get your bands name?
We went back and forth with a bunch of different names. We didn’t want anything too genre-binding. At one point I wanted to be “The Lungs”. Daisy said he’d never be in a band with a Tie in the title, so, Lung ended up being what we went with.
Describe your music.
Cinematic cello rock
What was your first performance together like?
It was at a bar in Cincinnati called MOTR. It was loud and raucous and so much fun. I just remember the energy was really intense, and after it was over, I was immediately wanting to do it again.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
We belong to ASCAP.
What makes a good songwriter?
Someone who is authentically themselves, with an interesting perspective on the world.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Our first original song as a band was called Bottom of the Barrel. We recorded it and it’s the title of our first record.
What is the process of writing your music?
We are all over the place- before the pandemic we would oftentimes just sit and jam in a room, and see what came out. During the pandemic we started really enjoying writing remotely-sending ideas back and forth.
You have shared the stage with everyone from Le Butcherettes, Screaming Females, Big Business, Brainiac, Priests, Machine Girl, and Street Sects. Can you tell us what words of wisdom they had to tell you about the music business?
You know what? I really messed up and didn’t ask!! I’ll have to do that next time. Honestly though when we play with artists like the ones you named, I learn a lot just from seeing how they play shows, their confidence, and stage presence. It’s always a huge honor to share a stage with people who are truly incredible at what they do.
How was playing the Nelsonville Music Festival?
Phenomenal. Still one of my favorite musical experiences to date. The crowd was huge- and we got to play on a beautiful stage with excellent sound. The energetic exchange between us and the crowd felt so so good. Wish I could time travel back and do it again.
You next studio album “Come Clean Right Now”, comes out on August 20th, on Sofaburn Records. Tell me about it?
This is a record that means a lot to me. The songs were written during a time that we were originally gonna go on a 2-month tour, but everything was shut down. I was really bummed out and freaked out by the state of everything. Daisy reached out and suggested we write music back and forth, and it was so amazing and helpful to have our band as a creative outlet. The album goes to some raw and vulnerable places. It’s a collection of the lows and highs and in between experienced in isolation.
How was it to work on the album during the beginning of the pandemic?
Therapeutic. It gave me a reason to get up in the morning.
Tell me about your single “Air”?
I wrote it when my relationship with my girlfriend was super new. It’s an obsessive love song that sort of highlights the insanity you feel when you are head over heels with someone and are terrified that the connection could end.
What is your favorite track on your album?
I love the song Sugar Pill.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
I think it’s cool that music is more accessible than it has ever been, but think that it is generally pretty unfair to artists as far as compensation goes. What bums me out most is to know that there are big business executives without a creative bone in their body making huge sums of money off of all of the artists backs. There are a few smaller streaming services that are much more ethical, like Bandcamp, so, shout out to Bandcamp for compensating artists fairly!
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
Yes #SaveOurMusicalNotation #LongLiveTheSharp #NotAFlat
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital. Or CD’s.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos. It’s a song that is super emotional and at the end of the chorus she sings “well, pretty good year” and clearly does not think it was a pretty good year. It is gorgeous, and the kind of happy-sad that gives me the feels.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I am going to optimistically throw out there that it hasn’t killed live music, and keep my fingers crossed.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
To a musical artists career? I don’t know if covid has been a plus really for anyone, but I think we all have been forced to grow in ways we would not have otherwise.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Writing music, working at a restaurant cause in Ohio that never really shut down, and taking cello lessons online for the first time in a long time! Also, my girlfriend and I got really into scrabble.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
Vitamins and probiotics, and good luck.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I like internet kick boxing.
You are about to start a tour with Masbate Are you ready for it?
Yes! I am so excited to play shows again and to be on tour with such an incredible stage show. It’s gonna be really fun to watch them.
How is this opening for Masbate be different then you’re playing with Hawthorne Heights?
I think since they are drastically different bands there will be a drastically different vibe, but I don’t know since we haven’t done it yet. Fingers crossed that the Masbate crowd is into cello rock.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will includes [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
Wow this is the first I am hearing of some of that! I think Facebook will be a lot beiger colored without music and art being everywhere. That is wild that you need a license to share music…. looks like we will all be getting onto a different platform, or going back to the good old email list days.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
Playing shows and meeting people is one of the best parts about being a band. I think it’s possible to keep people engaged with music videos and things like that, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Pay to play is still a thing.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
With the right interactive headsets who knows maybe it could be cool. I still vote we do in person shows through.
Governments around the world are hearing the call of thousands of music creators and included protections for the music community in the omnibus bill. In addition to extended and improved unemployment benefits and small business loans for freelance creators, the package includes several bills which the Recording Academy, its members, and the larger music community advocated for. From the Save Our Stages Act, provided a lifeline to performance venues and promoters, to the CASE Act, which creates an avenue for smaller creators to defend their copyrighted works, Congress has ensured that both music creators and those who act behind the scenes to bring music to life are given the support they need during this difficult time.” Do you think this will save music venues?
I certainly hope so.
You did a livestream to benefit both the Subterranean and the Beat Kitchen in Chicago. How was that?
It was a really good time. Chicago is one of our favorite cities to play, and both of those venues have been really good to us. It was a small way that we could give back.
Did you know that the Grammys MusicCares can help artist? The MusiCares COVID-19 Relief has helped thousands of music industry artists and professionals during these difficult days. This is the most recipients helped, for any single event, in MusiCares’ history. The need remains great, and these unique times remain critical for music people. It has taken a community uplifting one another to get through this pandemic, and MusiCares has pulled together a list of additional organizations and resources to further support you. https://www.grammy.com/musicares/get-help/relief-resources. Have you applied for it yet?
I applied and received help from MusiCares last year when our tours got canceled. It was very helpful and a bit of relief, especially at that time with so many unknowns. I have not looked into it yet for this year, so thanks for sharing the link! It was very very helpful and I’m super grateful that it exists.
In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
I’d probably just continue do the smattering of odd jobs that I already do when I’m not touring. So, restaurant work, teaching voice lessons, cello studio work, and the occasional voice over gig.
What is your happy place?
A cold non-alcoholic beer and a good book.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
That is a good question. Probably not because you never know what weird commercial you might end up in. But then again, if I’m in my 80’s and have no health insurance, I might do it!
Spotify’s ‘Stream On’ event on (February 22), the company confirmed that more than 60,000 new tracks are now being ingested by its platform every single day. This means people are added new tracks uploaded to its platform every 1.4 seconds.
The figure, announced by Spotify’s Co-Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, means that across the course of this year, approximately 22 million tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog. Spotify confirmed in November last year that its platform now played host to around 70 million tracks.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
But still back at the beginning of the year Spotify deleted 750,00 songs, mostly from independent artists. What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
I think it means that the struggle is still real. At least we still have YouTube.
Sony Music in November and Warner Music Group in December, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed on (February 8) that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
TikTok might end up being a spot to put band videos if Facebook and Instagram start getting weird about it. That would be the reason we would start having a TikTok.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
To be real, until this interview I had not planned on getting a TikTok, but with all the information you’ve been sharing on other social media platforms erasing music, yeah, maybe TikTok WILL be the future of streaming music.
Danny Wimmer Presents just announced their 2021 Festival Calendar: Which includes the following live shows:
DWP Partners with Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, OH
Louder Than Life Set for September 23-26 with Newly Added Thursday Night Celebration in Louisville, KY
Welcome To Rockville Expands To 4 Days and Shifts from Spring to November 11-14 in Daytona Beach, FL
Aftershock Set for October 7-10 in Sacramento, CA, Almost Sold Out
Would you be willing to play these shows and what precautions would you like to have in place?
Can’t play most of them because we’ll be on tour with MacSabbath!
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Thanks for the awesome interview! If people want to check out our upcoming tour and all things new with us, they can go to our website lungtheband.com Hope everyone out there is staying healthy and well!
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