The Paper Kites lead singer, Christina Lacy, performed at The Marquee with City and Colour last Friday. This is the first American tour for Paper Kites. (Photo by Kelly Kleber)Australian folk/indie group The Paper Kites recently embarked on its first American tour with City and Colour this fall. The State Press sat down with co-vocalists Sam Bentley and Christina Lacy to talk about their tour experiences, recording their debut album and what drives them to keep playing music.
The State Press: How has your first tour in America been so far?
Christina Lacy: We’ve loved it. Everybody’s been so welcoming and so lovely. The City and Colour crew … have been so awesome, and we’ve just found that the crowds have been really lovely and really welcoming. We feel really loved.
Sam Bentley: As the support band, you really don’t expect a lot from the audience. They don’t have to like your music, because they’re not there to see you. But we’ve been finding that everyone’s been embracing our music, and they seem to be enjoying it. We’ve been meeting heaps of really great people, and it’s been awesome. We love it.
SP: You just released your debut album “States” recently. What was the recording process like for that?
CL: It was really good. We worked with an Australian producer called Wayne Connolly. He’s done some really great names and some really great albums in Australia. We’ve worked with him before, so it was really nice getting back into the studio with him.
SP: What inspires you when you’re writing music?
SB: I think it comes from all sorts of places. As most songwriters know, you generally draw on what’s going on for you at a certain period. I find it’s good to get away. I struggle to write when there’s a lot going on.
I think a lot of the songs are quite personal songs. Even the title of the album, “States,” kind of came from a collection of songs that really were different states of mind, and that’s what we wanted to kind of capture when we were putting them all together. Mostly (drawing from) real-life experiences is the most honest way to write, and people seem to connect with it that way.
SP: What drives you to keep being musicians in this tough industry?
CL: Touring definitely has its ups and downs. I reckon I have a moment on stage most nights when I’m like, “This is so cool; I can’t believe I get to do this,” kind of thing. ... For me, it’s kind of those moments where you’re singing a song and seeing people looking like they’re enjoying it … taking in what you’re saying; (those are) the moments where I’m like, it’s a real privilege to be up here and people are listening to what I’m doing, and that’s pretty amazing.
SB: I think it also depends on what your motivation is. I think you’re going to have a really tough time making it in the industry if your motivation is to be famous or to seek glory and riches and stuff like that. It just doesn’t happen. That’s not what it’s about.
To be a musician and to keep wanting to do it continually; it’s rewarding when you write a song and you don’t even realize it, but it becomes part of someone else’s life. It’s woven into a particular time in their life, and it means something to them.
SP: Where do you see yourselves five or 10 years down the line?
CL: I think in an ideal world, we’d all love to still be in a position that we were able to be in the band and that was our job. I think that is the dream: to keep doing that and to keep recording albums and to keep writing great music. Ideally, if we can keep doing this and that is our job, that will make me really happy. I guess doing what we’re doing now, whether it’s on a bigger or smaller scale, but doing it and being able to live off of it.
Check out The Paper Kites', "States" review online at the State Press.
Reach the reporter at okhiel@asu.edu
