Interview with Low Tide Levee
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
I used to lie under my family’s piano while my older brother and sister were practicing, and I would be completely transported by the incredible sounds washing over me. I wanted to play too, and asked for lessons at the age of 4 ½. I haven’t stopped making music since then! If I hadn’t gotten into music, I would probably be studying penguins in the Galapagos.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
I love exploring nature and capturing gorgeous moments on camera. Nature is my muse and her beauty constantly feeds my creativity. I also make art with my photography (by mixing, merging, layering, etc), which often ends up being psychedelic and takes the viewer on a journey or to another world, just as my music does. Playing with and loving up my cats and dancing and working out help me occupy my body in a playful and sensual way, which allows me to access more of my creativity and spontaneity.
How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.
Low Tide Levee started around 2009. The original members had played together in another project a few years before, an indie rock band called the Pinkies. We started jamming together when we were all living in Santa Cruz - my husband Sasha and my friend Chris, who was a housemate I lived with right after college. I had already jammed with Chris when I first started getting into drums, and that was when I knew I wanted to play in a band as a drummer - it was so much fun! Sasha, Chris and I had a natural musical chemistry and a great time together as friends and music lovers, and we were all inspired and creating together.
Where are you based and how did that influence your music?
We are based in Berkeley, which is also where I grew up. Berkeley has shaped a lot of aspects of who I am. The cool architecture I was surrounded by and lived in is so different from the more typical American buildings that are often unimaginative and repetitive. The people and culture are no different, and this quirkiness, and the longtime value and emphasis on art, nature, and beauty has absolutely informed my aesthetic and my personal values and artistic sensibilities. I’m also pretty much a hippie.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
The band name started out as Low Tide, and this came to me after meditating on a name that both sounded ‘70s (as that is the music that inspires me the most for this project), and had ideally two syllables that would feel substantial and powerful as they roll off the tongue. I have always been fascinated by low tides as a (former) marine biologist, particularly in regards to their nature of revealing what has been hidden. Exploring the hidden parts of myself and of the external world as well has also been a longtime interest, and so Low Tide appeared in my mind as the perfect summary of all of these things. We added “Levee” to make our band stand out more distinctly, and the addition resulted in an even more satisfying mouth-feel so to speak, when pronouncing the name, a much more specific and original concept than strictly “low tide”. It ties in with my (and Sasha’s) love/obsession with Led Zeppelin, as well as the firm grounding in blues that our music has.
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
One particularly memorable show was at a winery on Treasure Island (near San Francisco). We were outside, and it’s often extremely windy on Treasure Island. It was so cold and bright that I was totally bundled up and you could barely see me under my huge down parka, my hat, and my sunglasses. I’m singing and drumming at the same time, and coordinating a lot of moving parts. Part of my kit that *shouldn’t* have been moving toppled over in all the wind and fell onto me while we were performing!! We had to weigh it down with sandbags after that.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
We haven’t been performing for a while due to working on the album, the pandemic, and then needing to find a new guitarist. I’d love to play at Ivy Room in Albany and Starry Plough in Berkeley. Eventually, The Fillmore would be amazing!!
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Tame Impala, Wolfmother, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Vulfpeck, Khruangbin
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
I would say, discover why you want to play in a band, what it is that makes you want to do it - and keep that as a guiding light when difficulties and challenges arise. I would tell my younger self that the reality may not look just like my original fantasy, but that the essence is what is important, and that what the eventual manifestation looks like doesn’t need to match that fantasy if the essence is there. And, to trust the original inspiration, as that is sacred and coming from a place of purity and truth.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
Probably DYBASA (“Don’t You Be A Shit Absorber”). This song starts with a mantra that came to me in a moment of realization, and I still use it to help me in times of difficulty. As a highly sensitive person and empath, I absorb energy as naturally as breathing air. I can get weighed down by others’ projections if I don’t intentionally let them run through me and leave my system. It used to happen as the default, and this song helped me change that narrative. I also love how the guitar solo came out and then the trumpet part, the way it all came together fulfilled my vision and then some!! I still get so excited when the guitar solo starts, and then when the trumpet chimes in with all those funky spaces in between. It just does it for me.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Dang Diggy is the most fun, and I always laugh afterwards. Sick Inside is incredibly satisfying, and the band always comes together so well in the last section, it’s an amazing feeling. But really it’s hard to choose because I love them all in different ways.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
I am the main songwriter/composer, and I often ask Sasha to collaborate with me for guitar parts when constructing the songs. An idea comes to me as a little pop in my consciousness, and it’s seed. It could be lyrics, a melody, a bassline, a riff, or a particular chord sequence. I get it down as fast as possible before it flies away out of my head, using the notepad or voice memo recorder on my phone. Sometimes more comes right away, sometimes not - I let it marinate and don’t rush the process. I know it will reveal itself to me more and more at the right time, and I take the time to open up to the creation to get more of it, often when I’m hiking or on a walk, sometimes at the tea bar. Once it’s at a certain point, Sasha and I flesh it out in the studio. I often use the piano to get the chords and put together parts.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
I don’t think about messages. I am a channel for the ideas that come to me, and I try to create the language so that it is loose enough to speak to different people in different ways - there is a freedom in that. I usually don’t like being too specific or literal. I am often expressing very deep feelings that surface, and try to express them purely without adding layers of thinking that may dilute or obscure the essence.
Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?
Yes, we just released our debut album, “Land of the Lotus Eaters”! It’s on all streaming platforms, and we’ll soon have physical copies too. I’m hoping to make it available on vinyl.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
Our next move is to have an album release gig, and it’s been pushed back a bit so we can get our new guitarist up to speed with the material. We’ll keep you posted!
How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?