Lydia Interview: ‘If I Live To Be 65 That’s Going To Be A Problem For Everybody’

“So how did Steve get you in the band, Matt?” I ask.

“Uh, him and I- I lived with some friends and he was friends with those guys [points to Leighton and Justin]. We started jamming together and one day he was like texting me, ‘Hey, you want to go on tour? We need a piano player.’ ‘Okay…’ Now I’m here. Steve is a cool guy, incredible musician, killing it.”

Everyone takes a quick sip of their drinks.

“When you guys toured before, there used to be more of you, and you had a female in the group. So, now, would you say your sound [on stage] has changed a lot without having a female there, or as many people?” I ask.

“I mean, it’s not really… Maybe… We haven’t had a female since … I think, since the release Illuminate. Three? Four? Records ago. So it’s been a while, almost five years. So um. It was just for one record and then, we kind of … we play a few songs from that record still, so it’s not like a huge impact I wouldn’t say,” Leighton says.

“I’d say the main difference is that there’s a lot less female vocals on stage now,” Matt jokes.

“Yeah, that pretty much took the biggest plunge it could take. It went from existent to nonexistent,” Justin says”I just look at it like that was- I look at the band as it goes through phases. That’s what it was at that point, and it just continues to morph into whatever it does. It’s like one big story. So that’s what it was at that part of the story, and now we’re at this part of the story. If that makes any sense,” Leighton adds, trying to be serious. But seriousness had already left the building.

“We’re going to have grills and big necklaces next,” Justin says

“That’s the end goal,” Leighton smirks.

“What would you say the next phase of the story would be?” I ask, half attempting to get serious answers.

“I wasn’t lying,” Justin says referring to his comment about grills and bling.

“Grills. Seriously though, there’s not a next phase. It’s just a continuous phase of us just trying to write the best songs we possibly can. Hope that anybody likes the, hope that a lot of people like them. I don’t know. We just do this and hope people like it,” Matt says.

“I think if you try to predict what your next phase is- I mean not to be … I just kind of think you’re an asshole. I don’t think you should try to be like, ‘Our next phase is going to be this.’ It’s just whatever happens,” Leighton says.

“It’s impractical to think that you’re going to do these things, you know, ‘This is the plan for my band, we’re going to do this,’ because life happens,” Matt says.

“Yeah, if you try to predict what you’re going to do, I’d feel like it’s just bad form, and you’re not letting your creative side come out like you should,” Leighton adds.

“You hear about bands being like ‘Our next record is going to be a lot more aggressive, or a lot happier,’ this and that. Like, how do you know that? We just write songs because we feel that way at that particular moment. How do you know you’re going to feel aggressive for the next three months of your life?” Matt says earnestly.