There are plenty of rising artists out there and few are having such a meteoric rise as Lissy Taylor. Spurned on from a Battle of the Bands appearance, the independent artist who has supported the likes of Sundara Karma, Circa Waves and The Reytons, has taken the step into music as a full-time job. Ewan Gleadow caught up with the up-and-coming songwriter as she sets out her next steps, and explains how she made it so far with no team, no label, and no management.
Ewan Gleadow: Congratulations on going full-time with your music. That’s a big step. What were you doing before this decision?
Lissy Taylor: I’m still completing my master’s in entrepreneurship. Alongside that, I’m a lecturer in performing arts. What I’ve been doing previously, more so in performance and the music business, is for sixteen to twenty-year-olds. I managed to get a scholarship to do the entrepreneurship master’s. Because of what I’d been doing with my band, I got invited to go onto the master’s program to build it further. It’s kind of helped it more as a business, which is important for growing everything, Because really, it is a business, to be running your own band. I think a lot of people forget that. It is essentially a local business at the start of it. You’re starting the band.
Ewan: Why make the plunge now? It’s an exciting step to take, but has it been a long time coming or was there something which spurned you on to make the choice now?
Lissy: I think it’s because of everything I’ve got coming up this summer and the scale of the shows I’m starting to get, and have been getting, over the past few months. In the last six months alone, I’ve supported almost all of my favourite bands. The View, The Reytons, Circa Waves, The Lottery Winners, Sundara Kamara, Sea Girls. This month (July), I’m supporting The Snuts, which I got invited to do. The support slots have been huge. Then going ahead through summer, we’ve got quite a few festivals. We’re doing Truck Festival on the This Feeling Stage, it’s like the emerging band stage.
And then we’re on the main stage for quite a few of the festivals as well. We’re gonna be on the main stage at Y Not Festival, just ahead of Noel Gallagher headlining. We’re on at Pine Festival on the main stage, and then we’re going to Gibraltar as well to do a festival there. It’s just really picking up over the summer. I think off the back of what will happen over the summer, I think it’s gonna get busier for bookings off the back of doing these support slots for these international bands. I just thought, you know, picking up a lot of learning and at the moment I’ve been doing this whilst juggling study and work and I’ve managed to do this.
I’ve managed to get to this spot completely independently. I don’t have a team that I’m working with or anything like that. I don’t have an agent. I don’t have a manager. I’ve got to this stage by myself. So I thought, “Okay, what could be possible if I have the opportunity to put as much time and energy into it as I can?”. If I’ve already got to this stage, giving it what I could around having to go to work and study. So it feels like the right time to put everything into it and give it a good go.
Ewan: That’s a hell of a lineup with those performances. With those opening slots, particularly The Reytons, is it as important for up-and-coming artists to make the most of those slots? The Reytons have been great at championing independent artists, is it the sort of stepping stone people need to make the most of?
Lissy: I would say the live shows are one of the most important elements because that’s what gets you in front of the right audience. It’s about supporting each other. Bands like The Reytons, like The Lottery Winners, are giving other bands that they believe in opportunities. It’s massive. It’s what I would hope to do as well when I get to that stage, to offer people the same opportunity. Spotify’s great as well. I’ve had a lot of support from Spotify. I think we’ve got onto about six playlists with Spotify. It’s a massive help as well. That is important. But I think the reality of it, is you get the most benefit from doing these big support slots. Again, there’s a lot of competition to get those supports, so you’ve got to be that bit better to try and get them.
Ewan: Definitely, and do you think luck comes into it too? For me, half of it is knowing what you’re doing, the other half is opportunity falling into place by accident. You just follow the path, and here you are.
Lissy: I think it’s a bit of a combination. I think there are going to be times when an opportunity presents itself, which is the luck. But then it’s being at the right stage, being ready to take it and do a good job. You have to take the full benefit of it, take the opportunity and run with it. You could have an opportunity pass you by and if you’ve not got the passion for it, you might not work as hard at it or sometimes might not have the ability to go and do it if you’re tied to finances or anything like that, or, in my case, depending on where the gig would be. There have been a few opportunities I’ve not been able to do because I’ve not been able to get there. Funding it, too. Sometimes you’ll get great gigs that are primarily for exposure.
Ewan: Is it hard to balance those exposure gigs with the better-paid opportunities?
Lissy: I think it was more when I was starting. Recently, pretty much everything we do now we can cover what we’ll be spending to get there and pay the band. I think it is something I experienced more when I was starting. It depends on what you want to get out of it, too. If you see someone younger and hungry for it, sometimes people want to take advantage of that. I don’t experience it as much now but I think it could just be because I’ve been doing it a bit longer and will say “Okay, I can do this, but I’ll do it for that” and negotiate it for myself, which you’ve gotta do. Sometimes I go for a lot of opportunities that just aren’t advertised. I just went to the venue and had a chat with the band, pitched myself and said “Can I play?”. Sometimes it’s about making your luck as well.
Ewan: It feels like this summer has been a real turning point, particularly the Battle of the Bands performance.
Lissy: I think it’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was very young. I’ve got to give it as much as I can and see what’s possible. I knew that from getting to this stage, I’ve kind of been doing it almost with one hand behind my back because I had to work and study and a bunch of other stuff along with it. I thought, “No, I want to go for it and I don’t want anything holding me back.’ Now we’ve got to this stage and tested the waters. Right now, I can see what’s possible for taking it full-time. It’s a big step but then I think it’s a big dream and you’ve got to be brave sometimes and go into the unknown because it’s one of those industries where it’s not gonna be paved out for you. You’ve got to find your way.
Ewan: Like you say when you met Circa Waves, you’ve got to make that luck for yourself and it’s certainly paid off so far. Those festival slots sound great.
Lissy: The main stage slot at Y Not is huge. That again just comes from applying to festivals and I guess they like the music and can see what I’ve been doing so far, and believe in it. I don’t have an agent or anything, and for me, it’s really exciting to see the other bands or artists that are on and playing gigs at a similar level, playing similar slots, and seeing them all signed to labels or have agents and managers and teams. I think, “Okay, they’ve got all this going and are at a similar level to myself.” I’ve just been doing it while working and going to university and I see it as a challenge. How far can I push it? Who can I meet along the way to help me build it and build the right team for it?
Ewan: It’s inspiring to see how far you’ve gotten on your own. It’s a lot of hard work on top of everything else.
Lissy: It’s incredibly hard work. Incredibly tough. There’s been a lot of times where I might have doubts or stress but I think that’s natural and just part of being passionate about what you do and caring about what you do. For me, like everything, I write of my own experiences and a lot of that feeds into it. A lot of the themes in my songs are about a positive message. A lot of the themes are not giving up or not letting things get in your way. That’s what I’m gonna try and keep on doing, practise what I preach, see what’s possible. I think if I’ve got to this stage by myself while working and doing university, what can I do when I don’t have a lot of time to take up and what could I do even if I got a team behind me?
READ OUR REVIEW OF LISSY TAYLOR’S SINGLE, LIFE CHANGING, HERE.
Currently, all of that isn’t happening. I’ve got to this stage and it’s really exciting. But at the same time, it’s quite intimidating because you’re going into the unknown. There are not many people that can, there’s a reason for that. It’s hard and it’s competitive. I’ve got a short window to give it a go. That’s all I can do. If I don’t do it now, I’ll regret it, so we’ll just go for it.
Ewan: Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ve had a hell of an experience doing it. Truck Festival. Y Not. You have a hell of a CV for someone without a team.
Lissy: Exactly. I mean I’ll carry on regardless if I can’t fund it. I’ll just dip into something part-time if I need to, something that’ll still allow me to have my main focus as music. For me, it’s not an option for it not to work. I’m going to make it work. That’s the attitude I’ve had from the start and that seems to work. This is happening for a reason. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work. The quality of production is great. I’ve been invited to the best recording studios in the UK. We’ve recorded in Abbey Road Studios and Strong Room. They’re asking us to go and record there ‘cause they like the songs, because the songs are good. The branding is good. For me, I feel like it’s just a matter of time. I’ve got to keep pushing with it because there’s not much I think can go wrong, touch wood.
Ewan: It’s self-confidence more people need when they do stuff like this.
Lissy: A lot of it is that self-belief and determination. Sometimes people just give up too early. I won’t be doing that. It’s not on the cards. I’m too stubborn. I firmly believe where there’s a will, there’s a way. That seems to be working out so far.
Lissy Taylor will play Camper Calling 2024 on August 23 in Alcester and Signature Brew Blackhorse Road in London on August 24. Remaining tickets can be purchased HERE.
