Grayson Hay: Hello, and welcome to gays making. I am Grayson hay, and I am here to interview LGBTQIA creators and I am excited to have as my first guest on episode one Elizabeth Lane, she is a composer, a musician, a filmmaker, and just an all around amazing person. And so I'm super excited to be able to have her as my first guest. And so without much further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth Lane.

Elizabeth Lain: Hello, everyone. I'm a little blushy in here. You said really nice things about me.

GH: Well, and they're all true. So it's okay so yeah, so hi, how are you, how are you doing? You're recording on a lovely Sunday morning.

EL: I'm good. I, this is, this is very, very lovely morning and I woke up to the news that my new nephew was born this morning. So congratulations. Thank you. So it's a very lovely day. I don't know, I haven't got my coffee, so it's all good.

GH: Good. And what are you drinking today?

EL: Oh, it's from heart coffee roasters which is one of my favorite roasters and that's just arrow, pressed coffee and cream, nothing too fancy, but you know,

GH: Nice. So we're here to talk about your art and specifically like you're, you're a filmmaker, you're a composer, you're a musician. So why don't you give the audience a disc, like just an explanation of like what you create at a more detailed level.

EL: Yeah. I kind of do a lot of things. I don't tend to stick with. Like one thing or one genre or anything? I I just liked being creative. Music has always been a part of my creativity, but I mostly started out as like a performer. You know, I grew up playing and, you know, wind ensembles and orchestras my whole life. My primary instrument is oboe and English horn. But then. You know, in college, I would get to college. I got a degree in computer science, but my minor was in music. And I just started to really, really explore doing music for you know, getting into jazz, getting into playing other instruments collecting instruments. I got really into theater, which was actually kind of my gateway into doing film stuff. I think, cause I got into doing like live improvised music, onstage for theater. And it was just like a super creative time for me, but it was always tended to be more on the performer side of things. These days I, I will, especially with pandemic. I consider myself more of a composer, but I still perform a lot and, and I do. Composition just for, you know, a lot of it tends to be more on the film, soundtrack style, like orchestral style. But really it's, it's kind of a mix and I'll do it just for fun for albums or whatever. But I also do it for obviously I've worked with Grayson on, on films and you know, played around with some like video games and other, just, I did some music for podcasts. And, and I did audio book music once, which was a lot of fun

GH: and we're being visited by a cat

EL: We're being visited by cat.

GH: Which one is that?

EL: This one is Rupert. I have two cats and one dog in the house. So if you hear him, he's very noisy. He has actually made appearances on my albums in several forms. Yeah.

GH: So tell me more about that.

EL: Okay. So There, there are times where he just seems to want to be recorded. So I was making a kind of horror sounding track, and I got him meowing into the microphone. And then I heavily processed that to make kind of this weird, cry-y scream. And I will definitely get you the audio clips that you can like insert it right here. yeah. But then there's some other times where like he loves to jump up on my, my keyboard, my like piano midi keyboard while I'm trying to write. And so there, there was one time I definitely just like buying you really want to be on this. I just hit record and let him walk across the keys and lay on it. And then I took kind of the result midi information and like rearranged it, like take, took the notes and just like made it into like chords and stuff based on, on what he was laying on and use that as the basis for a chunk of the song, because I was like, Yeah, it tends to be an agent of chaos. He also likes to transpose my recording, like keyboard and get it into weird States. So sometimes like weird shit just happens.

GH: So have you, I mean, other than, other than like arranging his random you know, Mitty notes what other things have, has, like when he's transposed your, your keyboard into a different key? Yeah. How has that inspired you?

EL: I mean, a lot of the most fun ideas that come out are just you know, when something weird or cool happens and you just kind of follow that. Like, I am not a planner when I write when I compose, like I can't sit down and like plan out the sheet music and know what I'm going to do. Like I have to just kind of play with things. And like when I latch onto something, that sounds cool. I follow that thread and like craft around it. So having like a weird thing happened and all of a sudden, like my keyboard's transpose and I'm playing something and it's not what I expected. You know what though? That little thing sounded cool. Let me chase that. And I just love being able to do that kind of thing. And then like, usually something more interesting comes out of that. And it's more of a discovery process than it is like a. Oh, I hear a song in my head. Let me write it down because that always sounds terrible. When I, when, when I tried to do that, I really respect when people can do that. But that is, I, I don't. It it's very antithetical to how I tend to do it so

GH: well. So that's, that's interesting to hear you say that because like a lot of your albums are very conceptual in that they have a story. And so how do you go from that exploration and that just like completely it just in the, in the moment exploration of what you're, what you're feeling and what you're, you're hearing at the time, to the themed albums you producted in the past.

EL: It's all fake. I mean, so like basically what happened is when I was working on my first solo album, which is called the nearly fictional tales of Victoria Valentine I was just writing, like, I didn't know really what I was doing, but I was really exploring writing kind of in a new orchestral sense. I, I hadn't done a lot of it. And I was just having fun with it and, and trying to build out ideas and skills and just having fun and kind of almost building a portfolio for being able to show people what I can do. And I was like, once I had enough songs, I would put them together in some way. But usually as I'm like exploring an idea or a song as I'm writing it, the kind of the idea and like the imagery, I get a very like visual, like imagining what's going on in the scene or whatever. And I almost imagine these songs where it's like almost little vignettes into. You know as I'm playing with me, usually more of the music ideas sound, all of a sudden it's like, Oh, I start to feel this cavernous space or, you know, like some weird monster, I don't know. And usually that's where kind of the theme of the song develops just kind of as a reaction to what I'm exploring and, you know, obviously how I'm feeling that day and all the emotions. Like there's definitely been some songs that I was like, Oh, that's what I was trying to work out or writing it. But the idea, the kind of concept for the album came after, which was like, okay, now that I have, I dunno, 10, 11 tracks, they're all fairly different. Like how, how do I wrap this into a package? And that's when I kind of got this idea of this character of Victoria Valentine, who was like, I kind of imagined her as like a Jules Verne style, a traveler who is like going on these adventures and like taking, you know, detailed notes and trying to like just, you know, dried pictures and like exploring these weird, almost like a, a time Lord type thing or something. And this was kind of like the idea of like, And, and each one of like, the songs was kind of like a journal entry to kind of like, be like, Oh, I happened upon this person or this creature or this scenario. And I really liked the idea where you can't quite tell, like, you know, nearly fictional like that, just that phrase sounded so fun to me of like, is this real? Or is this like, you know, like, is she just kind of making stuff up? And, and that kinda just came, became like a thread of like, if I think of these as like entries in a journal of her like exploration and her, you know, time, like existing in the world, I guess, and, and trying to like discover all these undiscovered magical things, then it started like, okay, let's put it together as like an album and I love doing that. That is something that I absolutely adore doing is like figuring out the ordering of tracks. Eh, I go through a similar process when I'm playing live shows. It's like, what's our set order going to be, because like that in and of itself is like being able to. Take what can be very disparate content. Sometimes if you didn't start out planning it and like, how, how do I make this flow? How do I have a larger emotional and Sonic arc? That feels good and feels like things flow into each other. And and, and that's a really, really fun. Fun journey. And then like, I just love this idea of this character so much that I just kept going with it for the second album and, and the third album is written and I'm working on mixing it and getting soloist recording right now. And so like, basically I'm like, I don't know. I'll just say anything. That's kind of this orchestral thing. It just feels right to kind of release it under another sort of Victoria Valentine title.

GH: Nice. I'm excited to hear that one. Yeah. Yeah. I love the first two albums. And like I you know, full disclosure when I'm playing like games like D & D or things like that, I actually do use it as background music a lot of times. So you're getting a lot of plays on Spotify for me, even though I do have the albums. Physically also

EL: that's sweet, sweet, you know, checks for 5 cents from Spotify.

GH: Hey, it's at least something. Right.

EL: So, yeah. I don't know if you knew this, but like some of the songs on there were literally created as like intros for D and D games and characters. Yeah, including I know you like blood moon and that one was actually done because my friend who was doing Twitch streams and doing like role playing live on Twitch, wanted a character intro for her character. And so she was like, she had hired me a few times to do. Character intros and, and actually I did all, all of the intro. She eventually had a studio and I did all the intros for her role playing games there too. So yeah, I'm actually pretty well connected. So and, and there is a local comic book store that sells my albums. Like here's great local music for D and D and I love it cause I love role playing games and I love when people. Like are inspired and feel like, I don't know, like this is great. Like yeah. It, it makes me happy when people tell me that. And you know, cause like it's, I don't know, music is just, it can be so atmospheric and, and just add so much to. To your experience in games and stuff like that, that it's just like, yeah, great use that. I want to do, you know, I want to do more of that.

GH: Yeah. I mean, absolutely. It's I will say that, that it sets the mood quite, quite well, and allows me to get into character whenever I'm doing a D and D I am going to plug that comic book store because COVID they need all the help that they can get outside our comics in Fremont Seattle, Washington Great comic bookstore owned by some really amazing people. And so if you're in the Seattle area, go and check it out and spend money there cause they, they need it there.

EL: It's awesome. It's super queer friendly. It's super friendly to like women and, and other genders. And it's just like, not. Just like a dude Fest.

GH: Yeah. And they have like all kinds of just like random little zines here and there. I got the coolest little like queer or guide to queer fashion through the ages. And it's just this, like, Little, I don't know, like 30 page, like little ezine with like really interesting details about like how queer people dressed in different time periods. And it kind of makes me want to do like an exploration of that in film or photos.

EL: See if you can get the creator of that.

GH: Oh, I'm I'm. I have my list of like people that I, once, once I have like the, like once probably the first season is going to mostly be people that I know or have some kind of connection with. Though there are a couple of people that I have that I'm going to reach out to once I've actually released. The podcast. And but yeah, so then I have extra people that are like in the pipeline for once. Like if we get popular, if people know who we are, then it'll be easier to approach them. And that's definitely one of the people that I want to talk with because I like their art

EL: that's awesome.

GH: Yeah. So I wanted to ask Because I know you have a good stories about this. What do you think is your greatest success as a musician or a composer currently?

EL: Oh gosh. Now i feel on the spot. I should've thought about this question more. So, okay. I'm going to break this down into a couple of things, because I feel like there is in terms of my greatest success as like what I consider to be kind of my best art so far is it's a set of three songs on my second album and it's called the villain trilogy. And it's. Directly related to like thematically related to being queer and, and oppression and being hated by society and sort of be in like, you know, if society sees you as a villain, like, well, I guess, you know, fuck you, like, I'm going to go with that. Like, you know, Kind of, kind of the, that, that sentiment. And there's a lot of just like weird feelings around that. Very like, I dunno a morphous, my brain but I've had a lot of really weird experiences around being queer and being hated, but also being like loved as the queer artists like were necessary, but we're also like Shunned. And I don't know, it's a really weird place to be. And, and I ended up writing these, these three, these three pieces that ended up kind of really going together and really kind of encapsulating this like idea of, at least for me, like that turmoil and that like, Acceptance of who you are, but also kind of like that, like middle fingers to society in a way. And like the defiance of it all. And the beauty of it all, it's like, it's like a really, I don't know, again, like I don't, they're all very likable. Mark has kind of concepts and emotions in my head, but I feel like that those th that three movement piece, I guess, is sort of the best thing I've written so far. And you know, I ended up it's on me album and ended up scoring it out for orchestra and I'm kind of working with it. Wasn't for the pandemic. But I've been kinda, you know, working with some conductors and some orchestras to try to get a plate five. So that's that's I kind of consider it probably my biggest success there. In terms of like other kind of big successes, I actually was able to get a few of my pieces premiered live in New York city. One of which was by the queer urban orchestra. And that was a song called blood moon. And I'd worked with the conductor before and she's like, do you have anything for full orchestra? And I said, yeah, sure. So I ended up scoring that out and getting it to her. And I was actually able to go out to New York and see the full orchestra performance. And it was super, super magical because it's always. Like, it's always magical and really interesting to hear another group perform your work. Especially when, like, I don't know, they take it, they make it their own. And so often in my career before I started doing a lot of the orchestral stuff I was working with bands and like you write, you perform, you record your own things, but like when you start getting them, like the classical music world, It's a very different relationship because the composer is generally not the person who's performing and that relationship is, is just uniquely fascinating to me. And getting to experience that is, is I'd experienced that. I dunno, it's such a unique experience, like, like no other. And if you ever have that chance as a musician, like. I, I hope you get that because it is, it is pretty magical.

GH: So to kind of hone that, that sentiment. So like, you know, I'm a filmmaker writer. I write scripts, I direct a director of photography. Pretty much everything on the film films that except for sound. But like, I would imagine that it's a similar, and since you're a filmmaker, maybe you can make this parallel, but like a film is a collaboration with the people involved, right? So like as the director or as the writer, I set an intention and then the other people carry out that intention through their own lens and through their own like lived experiences. Would you say that it's similar with an orchestra?

EL: Absolutely. Yeah. I feel it's pretty, pretty good metaphor. Because it is a collaboration and I know there are some composers that are really like, no, you must play exactly like it's on the page. The writing very, very specific. Tempo markings and instructions. I've actually been getting away from that more and more, and like writing less instructions and leaving more open for interpretation simply because I love that collaborative aspect. And I also feel like if I want the control and if I want everything to be exactly the way I want it, I can put out an album. And it, it that's, that's my control. So like for me, the fun of live music and, you know, again, growing up with, with being in orchestras and, and, and wind ensembles and playing, you know, composers music, like, and heck I've played like the same piece, you know, like there's been some pieces I've played dozens of times in different Orchestras and ensembles and they're all slightly different. And that is such a fun aspect. Is that collaboration orchestras are kind of interesting because there's less room for individual expression of the players. Just because you're in such big ensembles. So yes, everyone is still contributing, but a lot more has put on sort of the conductor or a soloists. If you have one. I have had some, some like smaller ensembles, like um, Like septets or, or like 14 piece groups play in some of my music life too. And that is also really fun in that you definitely get the very individual people's expressions and experience coming out in full. And it's a lot of fun. It's a little scary when you're like, what are they going to do to this? Because my name is on it, you know? But. Whenever I'm working with other musicians who are just really good at it's it's also like, well, I know that like, you know, I'm an oboe player, but when I'm writing it over par generally the person flying is probably going to be better than I am. So it's kind of like, well, you're just going to take what I'm doing and make it better as kind of how I see it. And, and I love that.

GH: Nice. So You had mentioned that journey will player that you did French horn, but that you also collect a bunch of different other instruments. What is your favorite instrument that you have?

EL: I, okay, so it's right. Sorry. It's an English horn. Not a French horn.

GH: Sorry. I said French horn didn't I meant horn. Sorry. That was. So my niece played French horn. That's the only reason why I went there.

EL: By my latest obsession is I have a hurdy-gurdy and it's the best instrument ever. If you don't know what a hurdy-gurdy is, look it up. It's an instrument that probably shouldn't exist. It's it's a stringed instrument. Kind of like a violin, but instead of a bow, it's got a wheel and a crank and it's a drone instrument. So it kind of sounds like a bagpipe, but with strings and it is basically a medieval instrument and it's really, really weird. And the first time I heard one, I was like, I need this, I need to play this.

GH: So why do you like it?

EL: I mean, well, okay. So I like it because it's weird and obscure. Like, don't get me wrong. That's a big part of it, but I also just love the sound. I love droning instruments and there there's something really kind of fun and special about them. And it's just so unique and quirky and how it works and how it sounds. And the mechanics of the instrument greatly influence what you play and, and the kind of music it can do. And that to me is just such a really cool and unique, like vibe to it. And, and I love that I get to, but I actually played on stage and, and my current band well currently on hiatus because of pandemic band, but. Yeah, it's so much fun. And it's, it's just got this, like, I don't know. It's just so cool. And almost like magical and like that or mythical, maybe it's like, just such like a thing of people, like a, what is that? And, and and I just liked being able to kind of work in that space, both like as a performer, but also in like, like the Sonic space of what is that such a great place to be. Nice. Well, I think you know, I think we've reached a good stopping point for the conversation. So two questions before we, before we leave so one, is there anything that you want our audience to know and then to, where can people find more information about you or buy your albums or support you creatively? So the best place to find my music is to go to Elisabeth lane.bandcamp.com. You can also search me on Spotify and Apple and all the things but support band camp, because I actually care about artists. And what do I want people to know? You don't need to go to music school. And have like a PhD in music composition in order to compose.

GH: Perfect. I love it. Well, thank you so much for your time, Elizabeth. This was amazing. I'll put a link to all of Elizabeth stuff in the show notes. So go ahead and check out gaysmaking.com. Follow us on social media at gaysmakingpod on Twitter and Instagram. And yeah. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. And I can't wait to hear the new album.

EL: Thank you. So last, this is a lot of fun.