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Q&A with Long Neck's Lily Mastrodimos

Long Neck

Long Neck is performing at Local 506 on Jan. 13. Photo courtesy of Lily Mastrodimos.

The band Long Neck will be performing a show Saturday at Local 506 with Infinity Crush and It Looks Sad. Lily Mastrodimos is the founding member of the group. Staff writer Rachel Jensen had a conversation with Mastrodimos to discuss the band, their new album "Will This Do?" and more. 

The Daily Tar Heel: How was Long Neck formed?

Lily Mastrodimos: It started out as a solo project that I had at school while I was in a different band called Jawbreaker Reunion. It was my senior year, and I was writing a bunch of songs that didn’t really fit with JBR, so I just started something different. It kind of evolved from there and I took it home with me, back to Jersey, and kept recording. I put out an album and an EP. It started out solo and then eventually grew into the full band monstrosity that it is now! 

DTH: How did you come up with the name, Long Neck? 

LM: I’m really into dinosaurs! My favorite dinosaurs are sauropods. One of the reasons I settled on Long Neck was because I had a fever one day and I was watching "The Land Before Time," and in that movie, they all have nicknames for different dinosaur species. I realized that Long Neck could work. The other idea behind it was also stretching yourself as far as you can go to help yourself or to help others. But, the main reason is that I really love dinosaurs!

DTH: What type of music do you make? 

LM: I always have a difficult time figuring that out. I don’t think we’re Bedroom Pop. I don’t think we’re punk. What I would say now is Power Pop, but I don’t know what that is. I would be comfortable saying pop and indie with hints of folk and punk. I don’t know what genre we would fit into. 



DTH: Can you tell me about your latest album, “Will This Do?”

LM: This album is incredibly different from the first one I put out because I recorded the first one all on my own in my dorm room on my computer. I was 100 percent a solo project then, so it was just me. The main difference is that we are a full band. I have the full band on this album and I think it really speaks to how Long Neck has grown as a project and musically. It gives hints to where we are going and is way more representative of what we sound like now. It is also different because the material itself is all based on one specific period of time and it is more reactionary than my first album, “Heights.”

DTH: What’s it like going on tour, getting to play your music for your fans live?

LM: It’s such a good feeling! It’s one of the best feelings in the world, especially when you have your best friends with you and you are just traveling and playing music. Every show is different even if you only tweak the set list just a little bit. It’s always a new story that you have. I couldn’t be more excited to hit the road 

DTH: What is your favorite song to perform live?

LM: That’s a good question. I would say, off of the album, that my favorite is between “Mine/Yours” and “Elizabeth.”

DTH: What advice would you give to college musicians or students who are thinking of pursuing music? 

LM: I didn’t major in music. I was a biology major and planned on going into ecology. Music has always been something that I’ve found refuge in and something that I love doing. My main advice would be to not stop doing what you love. I know that’s cliché, but you never know where it’s going to get you. Don’t be afraid to make it your own and dig deep in order to really figure out who you are as a musician. 

@racheljensen21

arts@dailytarheel.com

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