Interview – Liza Stegall of Stegall –

TGH: Before reading, hit play, eh?

TGH:I am very impressed with the maturity of your sound. You guys have a very mature sound, Why do you think that is?

Liza: Well thank you very much! I think our sound has a lot to do with the music we were exposed to growing up. We would often to go jazz festivals and concerts that our parents would perform in.
Our Dad is a saxophonists and our mum is a vocalist.

TGH: That explains so much.

Liza: And we have a lot of musical friends and family in our circle that we have spent time jamming with and learning from.

TGH: Cool! What were your influences growing up?

Liza: Oh man. well, herbie hancock for sure. joni mitchell was big. The Roots, Bill Withers.
Those are artists that were always playing in the house. Also the Brand New Heavies. Maceo Parker

TGH: Excellent! What did you listen to in high school?

Liza: Hmmm. I was kind of the “alternative sister” in high school I suppose haha. I listened to bands like Thrice, Circa Survive, The Smashing Pumpkins, New Order, and bunch of other stuff.
but I was also very influenced by classical music. I was in band. and when I graduated I went on to study classical saxophone at Northern Arizona University
with an incredible saxophonist, Jonathan Bergeron.
(who is putting an album out soon btw!)

TGH: I’ll check him out! I love sax!
So What instruments do you play in Stegall?

Liza: I play keys/synths and do most of the back-ups. also any electronics when we have them

TGH: Any plans for some sax on the new tracks?

Liza: We definitely made sure that whatever we created in the studio was something we could transfer to a live show.
No solid plans but it’s definitely something I would like to do.

TGH: What are Stegall’s plan heading forward?

Liza: Well we have a few things cooking. we are touring eastern canada for about 2 weeks this summer with our friends Amity Beach. Clara has worked with them before — great band! And to kick off the tour, we are actually hosting the “Stegall Festival 2014” in our parents backyard. Like I mentioned earlier, we have a lot of great musicians in our circle, so we are organizing a day of stellar live music, dancing, etc.. it will kind of be our debut performance for our family/friends. it will also serve as a fundraiser for the tour.

TGH: Awesome! Sounds like a solid game plan!
Do you have any more songs in the chamber?

Liza: Yes yes yes. of course. we have several songs that are maybe 65% – 90% finished? we are always writing. In fact I was just hammering out a bass line before this interview.

TGH: That’s great! are you working on music full time?

Liza: Unfortunately no… I am finishing up a marketing degree this semester actually. so I am a full-time student and have a couple jobs as well. It’s super tough to balance it all. especially when I want to invest every hour into my music. and not just the band. other projects too. but the drive is there for all three of us and we are incredibly understanding of each other’s work load… we keep the big picture in mind and have no problem stretching ourselves super thin to do this.

TGH: That is great you all, obviously have great vision. Also kudos on being on Bandcamp, its a necessity now days.
So are you the band “manager” then?

Liza: Not at all! We each contribute pretty equally. and we make all decisions together. I guess I have a little bit more experience on the marketing/planning end. I have been in several wonderful ensembles. One in particular, Erasable Color, which is still something I am pursuing, has taught me a lot about how to build an audience, etc. We aren’t quite active at the moment but we play contemporary classical music. And sometimes it is not the most accessible music…but I learned if you get up on stage and believe in what you are doing, so will the audience. That sounds super cheesy, sorry. But that aside, cool looking posters, social media strategies…those things help get that message out.

TGH: No, that’s a great point. Stegall displays confidence and in return you are building an impressive following

well, we are lucky to have supportive friends and family. it’s truly been unreal how awesome everyone has been.

TGH: Is there anything Stegall Fans should know?

Liza: We love getting messaged and chatting with anyone who might be interested in our music. So if you are a fan, please drop us a line. Also, at the risk of sounding vain, if you ever want to win our love and affection, poutine will get you far.

TGH: That’s truly disgusting

Liza: So is your face probably.
you have lost my love and affection
if you can’t appreciate poutine
 

Go support Stegall and look out for Interview #2 with Stegall featuring Sydney Stegall!
Stegall BC: http://stegall.bandcamp.com/
Stegall : http://www.stegallmusic.com/
Stegall Twitter: https://twitter.com/StegallMusic