Every Day In May – Day 13: Lucid 3

The idea? Every day in May, to mark NZ Music Month and 38 years of his own rancid opining and reportage, Gary Steel will present something from his considerable behind. Personal archive, that is. The following story appeared in Metro, December 04.

 

LUCID THINKING

hero_thumb_L34IT’S THE BEST New Zealand-made pop album of 2004, but it never troubled the charts, or made it to the music awards roll of merit. Lucid 3โ€™s heavenly pop concoction, All Moments Leading To This, is a swoon-some set of expressive, slightly blues-imbued songs which easily eclipses Goldenhorseโ€™s Riverhead hit in quality, consistency, and depth and breadth of songwriting.

The golden voice fronting this trio belongs to the improbably named Victoria Girling-Butcher, who proves a playful, quirky, yet deceptively sharp interview subject. Sheโ€™s obviously dealt with the conundrums of survival in our tiny scene and found an acceptable compromise: in lieu of that elusive major record deal, sheโ€™s forging a second, fallback career as a journalist.

โ€œI REALLY want to be a musician, but we just havenโ€™t earned enough money. Iโ€™m not going to whinge and be bitter about that. It wears you down when youโ€™re not able to earn money from what your whole heart is going into. But I do find journalism stimulating, and I really like reporting. I especially like community newsโ€ฆ the small stuff.โ€

But why arenโ€™t Lucid 3 huge? โ€œItโ€™s a mystery, but thereโ€™s a twist to Lucid 3 that doesnโ€™t quite work commercially. Weโ€™ve been a completely do-it-yourself band, and I donโ€™t think commercial people trust that at all.โ€

Lucid 3 certainly straddle the fine line between that damned old rock and a hard place: too emotionally expressive for the cynical bFM brigade, and a little too quirky and original for the commercial industry honchos.

hero_thumb_L31Perhaps songwriting that can encapsulate hope, longing, bitterness, anger, assertive sexuality and existential angst all in one song is just too much for the average jock. Victoria explains something of her mindset while writing the songs for All Moments Leading To This: โ€œWhen I wrote the songs I wasnโ€™t happy at all, and I thought that I was infusing every song with this positivity. It was my โ€˜I can see the lightโ€™, and each song was trying to cast this spell of good luck to bring me some kind ofโ€ฆโ€ And she trails off, momentarily lost for words.

Marooned in a โ€œweirdโ€ area of Birkdale on Aucklandโ€™s North Shore while generating those songs, Victoria has since decamped to her home town, New Plymouth. While the other members (Marcus Lawson and Derek Metivier) have remained in Auckland, theyโ€™ve managed to remain a productive unit, and she wonโ€™t hear of any ideas of a solo career.

โ€œWeโ€™re a musical unit of three. Marcus and Derekโ€™s input is HUGE. Because Derek is producer and engineer, heโ€™s a really skilled man, musically, and Marcus has an awesome musicality. And we really make the sound together. Marcus brings his knowledge of antique instruments and amplifiers and makes a huge part of our sound. I couldnโ€™t cope with the ego of being a singer-songwriter. Victoria Girling-Butcher is NOT a good singer-songwriter name! Besides, thereโ€™s so many singer-songwriters in this world, who needs another one?โ€

And what if it doesnโ€™t pan out, even on the back of a great album and a successful round of touring? (The group has just come off a major tour with Brooke Fraser):

โ€œIโ€™m becoming less and less preoccupied with success in music, I actually just want to create,โ€ says Victoria. โ€œAnd Iโ€™m okay with not being world famous. Iโ€™m okay with not even being famous in New Zealand! Part of me would love the opportunity to live off it, but itโ€™s a really sad ambition in New Zealand. Itโ€™s a bit soul destroying. I just have such an intense desire to make music, be immersed in music, thatโ€™s where my satisfaction is.โ€ย  GARY STEEL

 

 

 

 

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Steel has been penning his pungent prose for 40 years for publications too numerous to mention, most of them consigned to the annals of history. He is Witchdoctor's Editor-In-Chief/Music and Film Editor. He has strong opinions and remains unrepentant. Steel's full bio can be found here

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