Lia Pappas-Kemps – Just the Thought

By starrymag | August 30, 2024

By: Karen Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound:

 

A) I really strive to have my music sound like it exists in a real live space instead of a vacuum. I love when you can really hear a room, whether that be a rock song, or an intimate acoustic song.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences:

 

A) I’ve listened to Joni Mitchell my whole life and that is always my first answer to this question because I feel like her melodic and lyrical instincts are threaded through most all of my work. But over the last year I’ve also really looked to Gillian Welch as a songwriting North Star. I’m obsessed with her melodic choices and the way her recordings sound.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Just the Thought.” What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

 

A) I wrote this song in my first year of university in my dorm room about someone I lived like two steps away from. I was feeling really hurt, yearning a lot, and also trying to navigate sharing the same space while I was feeling these things. I never thought I would release it because I wrote it as a whispery slow song and it felt so whiny, but now that it has more energy, I love the idea of people rocking out to my lamentations that are kind of pathetic.

 

Q) How do you plan to celebrate the track being released on August 30?

 

A) Sit on a patio and drink some beers probably.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) I often write both lyrics and melody simultaneously. But sometimes I’ll have buds of lyrical ideas or a couple of stanzas that I’ve written randomly. But oftentimes I usually just sit with my guitar and see what happens.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) Once I write a song, I usually have a really clear idea of how I want the arrangement to sound. With this record, the arrangement was already fleshed out with a band, so the recording process was basically just playing with the minutia of how we wanted each instrument to sound.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Thank you for caring about my words. I’m SO excited for you to hear the new stuff.

 

 

Watch The Video for “Just a Thought”