Lucius perform in The Current studio
by Jill Riley
September 07, 2023
Back in July, Lucius visited the Twin Cities to perform a show with Shakey Graves as part of the Sparkyard Series at Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis.
But before that concert, Lucius visited The Current in St. Paul, where they lit up The Current studio with a new song, an older song and a fresh arrangement of a track from their debut full-length album. Afterward, singers Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe stuck around to chat with The Current’s Jill Riley.
Watch and listen to the full session above, and read a transcript below.
Interview Transcript
Jill Riley: You are listening to The Current. I'm Jill Riley, and I'm in the studio with Lucius, who performed three songs and we're going to talk about the music that you performed. We're going to talk about some news, because I understand there's some new material, which is very cool. Jess and Holly, how are you? Welcome to The Current.
Jess Wolfe: Thank you, we love being here.
Jill Riley: I'm so glad to sit with you in person! I was thinking before we sat down, I was thinking, I remember having a Zoom conversation with the two of you during COVID. And that's such a weird time period, because I thought, "What were we talking about?" And I don't know. And I know that during that time, you know, some, obviously, like, some creative juices started to flow, and perhaps coming out of that time. So yeah, I mean, Second Nature is the record that came out what spring of last, spring of 2022. So you want to talk about Second Nature a little bit? Because when I saw that Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb were producing it, I was like, "Are they making a country record?" Like that was my first thought! So, yeah.
Holly Laessig: Nope, a disco record! Yeah, I mean, I'm guessing when we were chatting through Zoom, it was talking about probably writing that material, because we were writing during that whole period. And we we wanted to do new stuff. We wanted to write new stuff. And we had just started co-writing; like, we had one co write in person, right? And then lockdown hit. So we then we had a bunch of Zoom writes, and we had never done that before.
Jess Wolfe: We were literally at Sheryl Crow's house, where we were staying while we were writing, and when lockdown was announced. So we had to leave her house early to ensure that we'd be with our families.
Jill Riley: Well, right, or else you were going to spend two years at Sheryl Crow's house, which wouldn't be that bad!
Jess Wolfe: Let me tell you! It wouldn't have been that bad.
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jill Riley: So for the two of you to write together on Zoom, I mean, what did that feel like? Because, you know, you really sync with the way that your voices blend, you know, people will say, "They sing as one voice." Do you feel like, you know, "We write as one voice." What did it feel like to be in different space?
Holly Laessig: We were a pod.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, we definitely were together.
Jill Riley: OK.
Jess Wolfe: I don't think we could have gone two years or however long that period was.
Holly Laessig: Yeah. But we wrote with other people through Zoom, and they hated it. And we were like, "We like this." We had never done it before. We'd never done the co-writing with others before. And we liked kind of, you know, the efficiency of it. Like, no one wants to be on the computer for longer than three hours. So it was, you know,
Jess Wolfe: Yeah. And you're sort of like, you've got a mission to write a song. We've got a few hours to do it. And you do it. It definitely cuts the fat.
Holly Laessig Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: So it was good for us honestly. And also because we're sort of workhorses, it had been a long time since we sort of took the time to sit and write in a room.
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: And we were granted that wishl.
Holly Laessig: We didn't know that at the beginning. We didn't know that it kept going and going. Like, "OK, we'll keep writing."
Jill Riley: Yeah.
Holly Laessig: Which was good.
Jill Riley: And what was kind of the common theme that started to bubble up when you were writing together? Because it's, you know, I remember playing songs from the record and it feeling like, "Oh, we're dancing!" You know, people came out of the pandemic, like some people felt the joy of, you know, "Whooo... we got to like, feel good out of this." And some, like, when the record came out, it was like, "Oh, yeah, that's how we felt for a while."
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, I think in the beginning, we were definitely writing more somber tunes. I was going through divorce, and that's what felt most natural. And then once we sort of got that out of the system, and I say "we" because we really do write on behalf of one another, and together as a unit, like you said. And so, you know, we're witnesses to each other's life in this very unique way. And our coffee talk is our songwriting session, so we're able to really get into each other's experience in this special way. But after writing about difficulty for a long time, on top of being locked in your house, we were like, "I don't think anybody wants to hear anything depressing right now. We're all depressed. Let's try and make the difficulty fun, or at least try and see the light in the darkness in some way." And so we started writing dance tunes. In fact, we even held a dance party on Zoom with our fans during COVID in a way.
Holly Laessig: A lot of people showed up!
Jess Wolfe: A lot of people showed up. People were lighting up their living rooms with you know, disco balls and lights and colorful costumes. And, you know, it was this way to how can we find a celebration in something that's challenging? And that kind of became the the ethos.
Holly Laessig: Yeah. Yeah, I heard on some — I can't remember where it was — but they were talking about on on some radio show how it was just like there was a huge purchasing of sparkles and reflective materials and things like at the towards the end of COVID. It makes total sense, I mean...
Jess Wolfe: And in fashion, too. We were noticing, like, holographic everything was readily available, which was great for our disco record.
Holly Laessig: Yeah!
Jill Riley: Everyone was getting ready.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah!
Jill Riley: Anyone who had been like, furloughed that worked at any sort of sparkly glitter company was like, "We're going to get overtime!"
Jess Wolfe: Terrible for the environment, but...
Jill Riley: OK, so you, you're doing the writing, and then it was time to record. You know, why bring in Brandi Carlile? Why go down to Nashville? What when did that decision come? I mean, why not with Brandi Carlile, first of all, but I want to hear it from you.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah. She's one of our closest friends. And we've done so much singing together. And she's really been a part of our journey in this, you know, special way. And Dave had sort of mentioned that he was interested in working with us and had a really strong vision for what he thought that would look like. And we kind of, because Brandi had collaborated with him so many times, we brought the idea to her. And she was like, "I want to be in on this." She was excited. She wanted to, yeah, be a part of the journey. And you know, there's nothing like singing in front of badass singer; like, you have to show up. I think she really helped us to come to the studio every day with our, you know, game on. Don't you think?
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jill Riley: I just watched that HBO special. You two were just in my living room recently. That Live from Laurel Canyon thing. And it really felt like a lot of joy happening there. It was cool to see the two of you part of that. You know, it's one thing to be on the road, you know, in support of your record and doing your own headlining tour. But, you know, being on the road to support others, you know, we were talking about, like all of the different people and bands and musicians that you've collaborated with. And I wonder, when did that start for the two of you? Like, who was the first band or artist that had kind of reached out to you to say, you know, "Hey, can you come on the road with us? Can we work together?" Because there are so many at this point, I was like trying to list them out in my head.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah. I feel like Wilco was the first — Jeff, you know, was the first that we really collaborated with in a way where we were an actual featured part of his project for the Tweedy record. And also, at Newport, our first Newport, we got to sing with him a bunch, and he introduced us to Mavis, and we got to sing with her. And Newport's definitely been a big part of our story, too. Obviously, it is a place that just supports collaboration. And Jay Sweet was really the one who put us together with Roger Waters for the first time. And we performed with him for his surprise set at Newport with My Morning Jacket as the band. Originally, we were only supposed to do a couple of songs, and then we got there, and Roger had another idea, which was us on everything. And after that is when he asked us to be a part of the record and a part of his tour. And so a lot, we really bounced from those experiences. Us having sung with Roger, The War on Drugs had been come to see us perform that show on tour. And so they asked us to sing with them. And Watt had seen us at Desert Trip.
Holly Laessig: That's how we got the Ozzy gig.
Jess Wolfe: Ozzy Osbourne.
Jill Riley: Wait, wait. Ozzy gig? Tell me a little bit more about this!
Jess Wolfe: We sing on his record, on like five tracks, which is really fun.
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: We didn't get to meet him. He wasn't around.
Jill Riley: Awww...
Holly Laessig: Yeah, I know.
Jess Wolfe: But we did have a lot of fun doing those songs. And yeah, I mean, it's been sort of one thing leading to the next. We've been really fortunate to be able to collaborate with so many different types of artists and from such different worlds. And it really has sort of kept our creativity flowing.
Jill Riley: Yeah, I was gonna ask about that, and how that's informed the music that you make now.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, I mean, just in that most of those people really wanted us to be us in their record. So we get to really explore, but with their music, so we're we're creating in and on things that wouldn't necessarily be things that we would write ourselves, obviously, but get us to sort of, yeah, be creative in a way that we wouldn't normally be. And it's been really fun, and has taught us a lot about what it is that we can do with our dynamics.
Jill Riley: Yeah. I'm talking with Jess and Holly from Lucius. So Second Nature is the latest album; one of the songs you performed today, "The Man I'll Never Find." You also kind of went back to the beginning, from the first full-length record [2013’s Wildewoman]. And my question is, you know, what is it like, I mean, you sing a variety, like, at this point, you have multiple records. And so you can really kind of pick and choose what you're going to, you know, perform or put in your set. I mean, I don't know how that whole process works of putting together the live show, but you had a new arrangement of "How Loud Your Heart Gets," and I wonder why you decided to go, like, revisit that song or to update it.
Holly Laessig: Well, I think when, you know, when we were putting together this tour and the music was dancey and had this kind of newer vibe, we were trying to think, "Well, which songs could we adjust to fit in with that kind of thing?" And that was the one that we picked and made a new arrangement around. And now we really like the new arrangement, because it you know, brings a new life to a song that we've been singing forever.
Jill Riley: You know, I was looking at what you guys have coming up this fall. And I saw you're touring with a singer-songwriter from Colorado who I swear I was the last one to find out about, because he's doing two nights at the Palace Theatre. And I mean, that's pretty decent-sized room here. Gregory, Isaac or wait, Gregory Alan Isakov. Sorry, Greg. But what do you what are you looking forward to with going on that tour? Again, I had somebody tell me about him recently. I'm like, "Wait, everybody must be on board with this already because I don't know much about him."
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, I think what we're most excited about is we're doing a super broken-down set. So it'll just be Pete [Lalish], Danny [Molad], Holly and I — the four of us on tour — which we haven't done since early days.
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: And yeah, we're just excited to sort of bring it.
Holly Laessig: Yeah, like, reimagine, I guess, or, I don't know, break it down, like you were saying.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah!
Jill Riley: Yeah. I remember, you know, the early days of Lucius, and you coming into the studio here. And I remember counting four of you in the beginning, and you've added, I mean, you've added a couple more members to the band. So how have things kind of like evolved just like with the band Lucius, not just the two of you?
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, I mean, Pete’s just taking a little break right now, but he'll be back with us in October, which we're excited about. And we always are just thinking about what's best for the record and what's best for the show, in, you know, that particular cycle. And there's so many amazing artists and musicians that we love to collaborate with. So why not sort of adjust and, and move through it, depending on the record? And obviously, Danny and Pete have been with us from, you know, pretty much the beginning, so.
Holly Laessig: Yeah. We always get ourselves in trouble making records because we start to layer things like "Ooh, that could be cool! That could be cool!" And then we make this you know, opera and then it's like, how are we...
Jill Riley: "How are we going to do this?"
Holly Laessig: Yeah! But we figure it out.
Jill Riley: Excellent. Now, moving forward, how does it feel to be at this point? Like, do you feel like, "Wow, we made it, we made it out of that phase." You know what I mean, it's maybe not "phase," but that kind of major moment of life, and here we are today.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah, I mean, we have had many phases and hairstyles of Lucius. We're always evolving and sort of just allowing whatever it is in life to... that's happening to, you know, be what it is, and to be honest with whatever that is, and honor it in a way. So, you know, that's why maybe none of our records really sound alike. And our looks are evolving, and you know, all of that, because we are evolving and changing as people. But that's exciting for us, you know, to always just to try and be true to who it is that we are in that, in that particular time of our lives. What we write now is going to be a lot different than what we wrote, you know, 19 years ago, which is how long we've been singing and writing together, which is crazy.
Jill Riley: Wow, 19 years! And you're only 21.
Holly Laessig: And we're 21! I know. Just wild.
Jill Riley: I do have to ask, because I've talked with musicians and people who are in bands, who, like used to be married and are not anymore. I have not had, I never had the sit-down with Fleetwood Mac. That's not what I'm saying.
Jess Wolfe: Well, we've got one right here.
Jill Riley: Yeah, right. But you know, you look at, you know, history, there are bands where that works. And there are bands where like, that didn't work, and now the band is done. And like you don't want that. Like you don't want that.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah.
Jill Riley: So going forward, because you and Danny used to be married.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah.
Jill Riley: So what is it like, you know, now to to move forward together as a band? Because you didn't want that to be gone, too.
Jess Wolfe: No.
Jill Riley: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: I think you know, that's why we held on for a long time.
Jill Riley: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: Because we didn't want to have to lose all the parts of our relationship. And you don't have to lose all the parts of a relationship. I think it's sort of archaic to think that just because your relationship, your romantic relationship, is not working, then no part of your relationship is working. Because you know, we were together for 10 years. It's like there was some good in that.
Jill Riley: Yeah, there's real history there.
Jess Wolfe: There's history. Yeah. And, you know, I just feel so lucky that we both were mature and respectful and honoring enough of the good to not let it fully go. And to really hold on to the parts that work. And luckily, we both have supportive partners who are open to that, that really helps, too. Because if not, that would be a challenge.
Jill Riley: Right. Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: But we've been really lucky. I mean, we get along great. There's not really any drama. We're actually making a record, and he's producing it now. And so there's a lot of beauty in there. And I feel really fortunate. I wish I could talk about all the drama, but there's not that much of it.
Holly Laessig: Yeah, it's pretty much best case scenario.
Jill Riley: Well, that's good. I mean, that is inspiring. I mean, not just for people who are in like bands, just for people who are in relationships with each other.
Jess Wolfe: And I think pandemic offered space that was necessary too, you know? I mean, I think in any ending, there's, you know, there needs to be space.
Holly Laessig: Totally.
Jess Wolfe: Luckily, we were given, granted that time. And so when we came back together to record Second Nature, it was like, "All right, here we are, we can do this."
Holly Laessig: Yeah.
Jess Wolfe: You know. Yeah.
Jill Riley: Excellent.
Jess Wolfe: Yeah.
Jill Riley: Excellent. Could you tell us about the new song and maybe a few details about the new, the new stuff you're working on?
Holly Laessig: Yeah, I mean, we started writing — mostly it's been me, Jess and Danny in his space, you know, kind of writing demos and putting together songs, and that was one of the first ones that came about, and it wasn't necessarily for anything at the time, but we really loved it and it kind of set a tone for the rest of the record, but we really wanted to get back to our roots and kind of break things down a little bit and get to the heart of things. And yeah, Stranger Danger was, we were thinking about you know, people being kind of estranged from Mother Nature the more that time goes on, and how we're becoming a stranger to her and how humans have sort of this, like, backup plan with religion or technology or these other things, and Mother Nature doesn't, like, "who's going to be her savior" is the final lyric of the chorus, so that's what we were kind of thinking when we wrote it.
Jill Riley: Yeah.
Video Segments
00:00:00 Stranger Danger
00:05:09 How Loud Your Heart Gets
00:10:30 The Man I’ll Never Find
00:14:57 Interview with host Jill Riley
Song 1 is previously unreleased. Song 2 from Lucius’ 2013 album Wildewoman, and song 3 is from Lucius’ 2022 release, Second Nature, both available on Mom + Pop Music.
Musicians
Lead singers – Jess Wolfe, Holly Laessig
Drums – Dan Molad
Bass – Solomon Dorsey
Piano, Guitar – Alex Pfender
Guitar – Jacob Peter
Credits
Guests – Lucius
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Video Director – Eric Xu Romani
Camera Operators – Micah Kopecky, Eric Xu Romani
Audio – Josh Sauvageau
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor
External Link
Lucius - official site