12 Questions With Oakland Based Songstress, Charise "Lake Lady" Sowells
- Heather Jacks
- Apr 11, 2016
- 3 min read
Meet Oakland based, musician, Charise “Lake Lady” Sowell, a singer with interesting avant-garde sensibilities and a penchant for a strange, but effective mixture of subtly aggressive pop, jazz flavor and eerie mood music sound; which is a perfect backdrop for Lake Lady’s unique voice.
Her current EP, Better Day, is a terrific preview of musical brilliance to come.
We recently had an opportunity to connect with Charise and invite you to enjoy some insight to the lady behind the music.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Lake Lady
The Noise Beneath the Apple®: Have you ever busked? Performed on street corners in exchange for tips?
Charise "Lake Lady" Sowells: I busked for fun in high school with friends a couple times, singing by the beach with guitar, sometimes percussion. But I haven’t ever done it seriously or on an ongoing basis yet.
TNBTA®: Can we begin by having you tell us how you got interested in music?
Lake Lady: Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. At 4 years old our cathedral’s choir director heard me singing in the halls as my parents lit their candles and said their prayers and she invited me to join the children’s choir.
TNBTA®: How do you describe your music in a few words?
Lake Lady: New music for old souls.
TNBTA®: How did you get started? A little backstory.
Lake Lady: It’s been a long, exploratory journey because I grew up in a family of creative educators. Both my grandparents and parents were teachers. Culture, self-expression, achievement and academia were essential to my childhood. I was always learning something, making something, experiencing something. When my mom and I moved from St. Paul, Minnesota to Laguna Beach, California, I discovered KCRW. That station changed my life. As a person with so many interests and passions, I never liked one particular genre of music and this one radio show, Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt, seemed like it was made for me. That’s when I started writing songs.
TNBTA®: What are you listening to right now?
Lake Lady: I have been listening to all the old Air albums on repeat lately.
TNBTA®: What is the one 'must see/must do' thing for anyone visiting Oakland, California?
Lake Lady: That’s a tough one. My top three are: the sunset gondola ride on Lake Merritt, hiking in the redwoods, and First Fridays.
TNBTA®: What is your biggest failure?
Lake Lady:I don’t like to think in those terms but my biggest regret is taking on six figures of student loan debt.
TNBTA®: What is your least favorite part of the music process? Why?
Lake Lady: Writing and recording is my favorite part of the process. Whether it’s for me or someone else to sing, I love making something out of nothing. Being able to communicate an idea that moves people and then seeing it come to fruition for the world to experience- there’s nothing like it. My least favorite part is what’s happening in the industry: the devaluation of our craft.
TNBTA®: If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Lake Lady: To rid the world of the desire for instant gratification. I feel like that’s at the root of so many issues across the board.
TNBTA®: Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
Lake Lady: I read them all and thankfully at this stage in the game, they’ve been good. Even if that weren’t the case, as an undergraduate student in the Dramatic Writing program at NYU, our work was criticized by our peers and professors constantly so I learned to process feedback quickly and take it or leave it. In a music business course I took last year the teacher said, “it’s all data.” Whether you use it or not moving forward is up to you. But if you’re open to it, the good and even the bad responses help inform the progression and evolution of your artistry.
TNBTA®: What is your best marketing tip?
Lake Lady: The game is always changing, it’s important to stay on top of it and educate yourself but stay true to who you are in everything you do. Then the following that you build will reciprocate and be true to you.
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