Q&A with Lizzy Ross of Violet Bell

Lizzy Ross and Omar Ruiz-Lopez make up Violet Bell, a band that will be performing at the Center for the Study of the American South on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.  

Staff writer Ellie Nelson spoke with Ross about music, tour life and experiencing “the now.”

The Daily Tar Heel: How did the two of you meet?

Lizzy Ross: Omar and I first met when we were both playing in Mau a Malawi, an AIDS benefit musical that premiered at UNC’s Memorial Hall. I sang the female lead and Omar played in the string section, so we didn’t interact much. Years later, a dear mutual friend thought we’d like to play together and put us in touch. We met 2 weeks before our first show, which was a live album recording. Omar learned the songs and wrote parts with intuitive speed and our first show together is the (live) album "Violet Bell." We named our band after the album, and we just released our first album as Violet Bell. It’s called "Dream the Wheel." 

DTH: Have you both always been interested in music?  If not, when and how did you develop your interest?

LR: We’ve both loved music since forever. However, neither one of us got formal training until we were in our late teens. Prior to that we fiddled on instruments and made up tunes, which is pretty much what we still do. Omar has studied in collegiate music programs and played in several orchestras and bands, as well as teaching and composing music. I’ve been a songwriter and performed solo and in bands. We both developed our interests by listening to them, giving our skills time to grow and trying things that we weren’t good at. There’s also a rich musical community in the area, replete with teachings about how to make music together. If you want to develop your interest in music, make some noise, preferably with friends. Repeat.

DTH: How would you describe your sound?

LR: We’re weird. We’ve been described as lovely but sinister, cosmic, psychedelic, gypsy folk. Our sound is rooted in live performance, a connection to nature and letting the music mutate organically in the ever-expanding now. We blend voice, violin, guitar, cello, electrics, mandolin, dirt and fairy dust. 

DTH: What artists have influenced you musically?

LR: We’re American mutts with myriad influences. Lou Reed, Debussy, Nina Simone, Smashing Pumpkins, the Punch Brothers, Prince, Béla Fleck and Fela Kuti, Joni Mitchell, Eno, John Cale, Jonathan Byrd, Anaïs Mitchell, Anderson .Paak and on and on.

DTH: What are your favorite things about being touring musicians? Least favorite things?

LR: Our favorite things are connecting to people all over the world who are in love with the world. We love witnessing people’s homes, communities and creative outlets, and we love making friends in new places. We’re also avid campers and try to tour in beautiful places in the right season. Adirondacks plus kayaks plus June equals happiness.

Least favorite… it is hard to be away from our family. We miss them while we are gone. We also don’t like driving a ton, and miss having our own garden and kitchen when we’re on the road. We do have a pretty snazzy camp kit and we make some mean cowboy coffee, so it’s not all bad. 

DTH: What can the audience expect of your Music on the Porch set?

LR: We’ll throw down our hearts. Playing music is sheer joy and contains rare moments of complete presence in the now. We’re excited to connect with our hometown community on our old stomping grounds. It’s gonna be fun.

DTH: Is there anything else that you'd like to add?

LR: Yes! We just put out an album called "Dream the Wheel," and it's available on iTunes and various streaming services. Our upcoming tour dates are on our website, lizzy.net. Also, we heard recently that, "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." We invite you, readers, to go discover some more ways. Shine on.

@ichbineleanor

arts@dailytarheel.com