The Lyre Effect

After meeting on MySpace in 2006, the vocal band the Lyre Effect has had underground success with their releasing their digital album ‘Wedding Day’. The band have been featured across the globe with their unique sound which is a cross been poetry with laid back punk beats. 

The band, which consists of Heather on vocals and Stooish whom handles all the mixing and instrumentation, have never met each other, they handle all their music business via the internet, which proves that the internet can be the home of great music. 
 

Photo by Jason Schumacher 
 

When I asked Heather what her inspirations were to make this unbelievably dark but beautiful poetry her answers was simply more detailed and lyrical then you can imagine:

‘Pain, confusion, and love mostly ha-ha-poetry has always been therapy to me first and foremost. Creativity is a main force but what makes me actually sit down and write are strong emotions which can be good or bad. But as far as poetic inspirations in human form, I like Emily Dickinson, Ian Curtis, Elliott Smith, Atmosphere, Seamus Heaney, Charles Plymell, and of course my boyfriend, Jason. My counterpart Stoo is an inspiration because he has gotten me out of my shell more and made my poetry more accessible to the public-which is so great, and pushes me to keep writing. My twin sister Megan is an inspiration as well because she has always been so supportive of my poetry writing ever since my first poem-which was written for my grandfather, the first of my long list of inspirations-when I was 9 I wrote my first poem, "On Eagle's Wings," about him when he passed away. 

Stoo I know finds inspiration a lot from moody rock, metal, and electronic music. I hope I'm describing that right. He is a drummer, and also produces music himself. Actually, we met online and when I first saw his ad on MySpace, I listened to his music and thought I recognized some of his music from a horror movie. I messaged him that I really liked his music and asked if he did any soundtracks for things like 28 days later, and he said no, but he really loved my poetry (I had a link to my spoken word poetry on my site). Then, a few days later he asked me if I minded if he put some of my spoken word poetry to music and I said not at all, and he shot me a few tracks and I loved them!’ 
 

Photo by Raspberry Photography 
 

When I asked the musical mastermind by The Lyre Effect Stoo what his inspirations were his answer was very direct. ‘Wine helps the unconscious part of my brain flow....I tend to listen to Heathers poetry and let go and see how it works. So I guess Heather is mine.’

So what makes The Lyre Effect different in a good way, well most of the time when you mention poetry to someone people will think that it is just some wannabe musicians who can’t really play anything on stage and will just go up there and play pots and pans, well people thought wrong. 

The Lyre Effect is not category of poetry, they use a band that plays instruments but it is real music that brings the words together. Having been from 2 different countries and making poetic music in such ways surely will get people interested on its own account but when the poetry actually makes people think then that is something to pay attention to.

When I asked heather why they would choose this particular sound to express themselves her answer was compelling. ‘Stoo chose it. I think it reflects his dramatic sense and my dramatic sense pretty well. It works, since us both like music like NIN and The Prodigy and everything in between, of course with some deviations, but he really complements my lyrics well in that he brings out the drama and emotion I am trying to convey but also adds an unexpected edge to it that is always a pleasant surprise for me to hear. So, in essence, I think our sound just developed from our mutual likes of dark and electronic music and the fact that my poetry is not necessarily light either.’ 
 

Album cover photograph by Timo 
 

So there has to be reasons behind why these two individuals would stand out from the crowd and be different from the current music scene, when I asked them about the state of the music scene today it shows just how good the pair is with words.

‘Too tightly controlled. Still great bands and albums are coming out, but they tend to stick to a popular genre and flog it to death rather than taking a few risks anymore’ – Stoo

‘I like this question because I am not usually asked this-and it makes me feel important! I think a lot is exciting and a lot of it is quite the opposite. I don't like how a lot of people don't write their own music, or get so processed in the production stage that it just ends up sounding too commercial. I wonder what their real voice sounds like or how many people they hired to make them sound the way they do and it frustrates me and I just don't want to think about it too much. 

The vocoder is just ridiculous and might be single-handedly raping the dignity of the music scene altogether but we will see. 

But, there are so many great things as well--I love how electronic and dance music is getting incorporated more in pop, rock, and rap songs-the fusion is interesting- and like how popular music is getting more fun again-since the angst of the 90's is kind of subsiding, and us Generation ADD people are remembering the 80's so fondly that we are jamming its glamour and fun back into popular music again.’ – Heather 

So what is next for the band?

‘I see myself still writing poetry, still making movies-maybe getting a little more known with my writing, and making wiser investments with my money-maybe living in a nicer place-and having a better microphone to record poetry with---but my mode in life could change with a dramatic life changing event too-you never know-and hopefully doing more interviews like this’ – Heather

Want to know more about this dynamic duo and want to escape to some poetic brilliance then visit

www.lyreeffect.com
www.myspace.com/thelyreeffect
www.reverbnation.com/thelyreeffect