Who is Lanie Lane you might ask? Well in case you hadn’t heard, Lanie (pronounced Lannie) is pretty much the hottest thing since Pop Tarts. After much gruelling work and hard gigging, Lanie was ‘Unearthed’ as it were by that staple of talent discovery – triple j, and won a slot onstage at the Sydney Big Day Out at the start of the year. From there she supported Justin Townes Earl on his widely acclaimed Australian tour, embarked on her first ever tour of the US and London, and found herself recording alongside Jack White in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lanie’s debut album To The Horses is being released Friday October 14th. And how is she feeling about the finished product and her whirlwind of a year?
LL: I didn’t really have a massive expectation on what the album would be like, I just wanted to be really open to how it came out, the songs are my creations but I wanted to make sure they had their own freedom. I really love it and I feel like I can evolve and move on from it as well.
TD: And obviously you’ve done a lot on your own steam, but now that you have a manager and a record label, have you experienced any additional pressure from them?
LL: No. We don’t work that way, we’re one hundred per cent in it together, we all agree basically all the time, the right thing for me is to be with Ivy League and the right thing for Ivy League is to be with me, and management is absolutely amazing. They just allow me to be me, they’re like an extension of my family, my family has always been really supportive of me being whatever I want to be, and doing what I want to do, and my record label is an extension of that. I can’t say that everybody gets that when the sign their lives away.
TD: Sounds like you’ve hit the jackpot!
LL: I literally say that all the time! I’ve hit the jackpot!!
TD: Okay Lanie, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to know you a bit better. How do you feel about answering some stupid questions really fast?
LL: Sure!
TD: Kurt Cobain once said “It’s ok to eat fish ‘cos they don’t have any feelings” do you agree?
LL: It’s annoying ‘cos if I say yes then I agree that they don’t have any feelings! But if I say no… It’s kind of a trick question because I think it’s okay to eat fish but I also think they have feelings!
TD: Trick question!
LL: Let’s just say yes.
TD: Would you rather have great sex or listen to a great song?
LL: Umm… Great sex.. Wait who’s to say you can’t do both at the same time?
TD: I don’t see why not.
TD: If you could play alongside anybody, dead or alive, who would it be?
LL: Right now The Black Keys.
TD: Nice. And what’s your favourite Black Keys song?
LL: My friend here in LA has this amazing old Chrysler convertible, it’s like an ’85/’86 and we were driving in it yesterday and listening to “Sinister Kid” [sings] “run to meet your maker..” I love that song.
TD: And the age-old question, if you were an animal, what would you be?
LL: A horse.
TD: Would I be right in saying you have somewhat of a horse obsession?
LL: Yeah I guess it’s just another amazing thing that I’ve clicked onto recently, you know when people talk about surfing, how they talk about that feeling they get? I get that with horses, so I’m really glad I’ve discovered that. I’m going riding on a ranch in Malibu this Friday actually, I want to maybe try bareback.
TD: You also went riding in Nashville recently, another fun thing you’ve done in Nashville was hang out with Jack White, tell us about that.
LL: We didn’t really hang out, it was like seven hours of amazing music making. I was so excited, he’s a great guy, really inspired as a person and just lovely to work with.
TD: So things have been a bit crazy for you lately it seems? Touring the US and making records with rock stars?
LL: Yeah absolutely, I got to meet Wanda Jackson the other day and I asked for a photo with her and she was like “Oh, okay only because we’re on the same label.” It’s an interesting whirlwind, this year. A lot has happened and I feel like a lot is going to happen, and not in any type of egocentric way, I just feel like I’ve worked really hard and I’m putting everything I have into what I’m doing. I think people really get it because it’s authentic and it’s true to me. Everything’s coming from within.
Lanie Lane’s debut album To The Horses will be released on Friday the 14th of October, with a tour of (mostly sold-out) gigs booked around the country to coincide with the release. You can check out the show dates here.
– Jake Vitasovich
