Alt-Pop Artist JULIE ELODY Chats About Her Latest Single ‘The Lighthouse’, What Brings Her Joy Today and More!

Meet the alternative pop artist Julie Elody! She released her single “The Lighthouse” on October 13th and will be putting out a corresponding music video for the track on November 3rd. After spending three years as a lead vocalist in a funk-rock band, she is very excited to continue to find her sound as a solo artist working with several renowned producers.

Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you?  I’m actually at work, I work at a daycare, the kids are eating snacks and I found a moment to answer some questions.  I tell people I “wipe boogers for a living.” I love it and that’s how I pay the bills but music is what Id like to do full time if it ever works out.

Is there music playing in the background? The kids are singing twinkle twinkle little star and I had to look up and say, “please don’t sing with your mouth full!”

What music gets you instantly out of a bad mood?  What is a song you’re loving these days?  My new favorite song right now is “Sit Next To Me” by Foster The People.  Fleetwood Mac is always a safe choice to put me in a good mood.  I like listening to sad music when I’m sad, it sounds weird but it makes me feel better and cheers me up.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Was there a time where you thought of doing something completely different? I wrote my first song when I was four, about best friends going to the zoo. I think I’ve always wanted to be a storyteller, at first I wanted to be a creative novelist but eventually I switched to being a musician with a heavy focus on meaningful lyrics.

Musically, did you approach this year any differently then you did last year? How has 2017 been treating you and your career? What are you most excited about for in 2018?  I think Ive been really hung up on “making it” for so long.  I haven’t been a solo project for very long, in 2017 I started to really make moves.  But I think I need to relax.  I’m willing to work hard and do everything it takes but in 2018 I’m going back to my roots- I want to make music and projects Im proud of.  2017 had so much emphasis on ‘what is going to be ‘it’ that makes me successful’ and it was exhausting.  I’m excited to continue doing what I love, working on my live show and getting out there once again.

I always like to ask artists about where they came from and how that city or town has influenced them as an artist now. So how do you think your hometown has affected you and your music today?  I grew up in tiny Warner, NH.  I had a really good childhood and Im very close with my family, but I never really quite fit in there.  I moved to New Orleans in 2010 for college and thats where I really ‘grew up’ as in, became my truer self.  I think the balance, knowing the feeling of not quite belonging and then finding your true home was important in growing into the musician I am today.  Moving was the push I needed to pursue music as a career instead of just a hobby.

What was the inspiration for your single, “The Lighthouse” that is going to be released shortly? Typically, how do you go about putting a song together? How does it go from just being an idea in your head to a full blown song?  I have been living with an un-diagnosed anxiety disorder for years.  It had gotten to the point where I could distract myself from everything going on-by keeping really busy and always having noise.  I was driving home and my radio broke and when I was forced to confront the silence- and my own thoughts- everything came to the forefront.  After sobbing the entire ride home, I accepted that I needed to get help that day and I wrote The Lighthouse as soon as I got home.

How creatively involved were you with the making of the music video for it?  So a friend and I came up with a pretty cool idea over drinks and I took this idea to the film company Lonely Eskimo Films that was recommended to me. We had a meeting and they asked how much creative control they had over the video, since I had basically come to them with an almost finished concept.  I told them they could take the idea and run with it, but that I wanted there to be imagery from my concept.  Lonely Eskimo Films came up with a much better film, after all they are the experts, but they worked around my themes: fire, broken TVs, and a lot of newspapers/hoarding.

When do you hope to release more new music and full album of new songs? Are you currently working on new material in the studio?  I’ve been doing a lot of features and that’s been fun, there’s one being released Oct 15th and a couple other in the works.  Features are great because I get to write lyrics and the melody of my vocals but when it comes to the nitty gritty business details of a release I don’t have to deal with those.

I do have three or four half-finished songs of my own.  Right now I just want to see how The Lighthouse does, so I can use that information to improve what I’m already working on.

Can you talk about your Bath Tub Eats? As someone who LOVES taking baths, I am very interested in this! Where did the idea for this first come from?  hahha I’m glad you asked.  One day I went on a run and I came home tired, hungry and dirty- a trifecta of feelings.  So I decided to eat a burrito in the bathtub.  It kinda took off and became its own thing.  Now I have a whole separate account of eating and playing music in my bathtub and its honestly one of the most fun things I do.

With the summer over now, what was something fun or new that you tried this summer?  My great uncle had his 80th birthday party and he really wanted me to learn how to dance.  So I took the time to learn with him, he taught me swing, foxtrot, the waltz and the cha cha.  I’m actually pretty decent now!

We are living in a crazy and at times rough world right now so I am curious how you think being a musician gives you the most joy in life today? Do you think that new music being created today is going to reflect these hard times?  Not only is the world crazy right now, I’m literally having a terrible mental breakdown.  Music is the only thing that gives me joy.  Taking pain and creating something amazing is so cathartic.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?  Fleetwood Mac, Lana Del Ray are my go-tos.  When I heard Gasoline by Halsey I knew that’s the kind of music I wanted to be making.  I’d love to work with her someday.

What do you hope fans continue to take away from your new and older music?  I guess I just want them to think.  My goal is to make music that inspires and that is meaningful.  There’s always room for frivolous pop music in this world but I think there’s also room for some pop music that has meaningful lyrics.

What advice would you give to a young person who is thinking about becoming a musician one day?  Do it because you love it.  I’ve wasted so much time worrying about whether I’ll ‘make it’ or not and its exhausting and anxiety-causing.  If you truly love it, you’ll do what it takes, like working an extra 20 hours a week at a second job to pay for my music video, it was more than worth it because even if I never ‘make it,’ i love what I do.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself, your music or the show?  Yes, haha.  No one had a question that I could respond with this tidbit.  Lena from Tuff Ghost thought I had made up a word when she heard the song.  I say “to just evade my doubts,” and she thought I said “justivate my doubts.”  I thought that was hilarious!