THE STAR SCOOP:
We’d love to know more about your self-titled debut album.
LINDSEY STIRLING:
First of all, I’m just so excited to finally get this album out
because I started it back in 2010. At the time I was just kind of this
poor college student. I could afford to do like three songs.
It’s just really cool to see how far things have come and just
how much everything has changed since I started this little experimental
project in the attic of this guy’s house!
On the album there’s going to be 12 tracks. They’re all
original tracks that I worked with the producers on, wrote my own violin
parts for them. Each song has a story behind it and it’s kind
of cool because there’s no lyrics of course, to my songs.
Each one of them represents an experience or a story. In the little
booklet of the album, it’s going to talk about what each song
means to me, but it’s up for everyone to determine what the song
means to them.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us more about some of the songs.
LINDSEY STIRLING:
A little less than half the album has already been heard because I released
them on YouTube. It’s been on iTunes. One of my favorites that
is already done is called “Transcendence” just because it’s
a very victorious sounding song and it takes you through this journey
of a darker sound in the beginning and it ends with this very victorious,
triumphant sound.
It’s just depicts my own experiences of how I’ve learned
to overcome trials and not afraid to be myself. That’s kind of
what that song represents. I love the melody in that song, I love the
beat behind it.
As far as the new stuff that I’m really excited about, I’m
really excited about all the new stuff! There is a new one we just barely
finished and it’s really fun and I love it because it’s
a new dubstep song. Dubstep is kind of my most popular genre. This has
a very different feel…it’s very happy and it almost sounds
like an Anime character trailer…really fun and quirky.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Who do you think your music will appeal to?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
Well that’s one thing that I’ve been really surprised at.
My biggest audience is probably the YouTube age crowd, 16-23 year-olds,
that’s my biggest demographic because they are the ones who have
seen my music the most.
However, when I played in Italy a couple months ago, I was amazed. It
was just so cool to see that when I played these bigger venues, the
crowds were so diverse — everyone from your hardcore girls to
the cutest little old lady you’ve ever seen, to a tiny little
girl dancing in front. It crosses a lot of barriers.
THE STAR SCOOP:
You’re going on a US tour in September! What can we expect the
tour to be like?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
I give 150 percent when I perform, not just because I love it but I
love to dance and I love to play. The energy from the crowd, I just
feel like I give it back as much as I can.
A lot of people see my videos and they probably think I wouldn’t
move around if I played live, but when I play live, I still dance and
they can expect to see me dance while I play the violin and also I’ll
have a band with me, so it has a much fuller sound once I play live,
which is really fun!
THE STAR SCOOP:
So your talent is unique – mixing classical violin with modern
dance. But let’s talk about your look. What inspires it?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
I guess it was all partially influenced by Avril Lavigne when I was
a kid. Not my hair or anything like that. Just the type of punk rock
look that I sometimes like to go for. I just was a huge Avril fan when
I was 14, 15 and the first music video I ever made was Sk8er Boi. Me
and my best friend dressed up like Avril. Her punky little style has
always influenced me.
I invented this hairstyle that I call the Peacock when I was in high
school and I just have always done it. I don’t know where it came
from. I remember thinking to myself it was totally going to catch on
and all these girls were going to be doing their hair like this, and
nobody else ever did it.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us more about your videos…any special memories or interesting
stories from making them?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
Oh goodness! One thing that is funny is I would say probably 80 percent
or 75 percent of the videos that I have done, for some reason have been
filmed in really cold locations! And it’s so hard to play the
violin when you’re cold.
I just have so many memories, being on set, trying to stay warm or
trying to play. For example, the Crystallize video…basically trying
to play the violin and look like I’m peaceful and I’m happy
and it sounded absolutely terrible…my hands were so cold that
I could barely hold the bow! It was just so cold!
THE STAR SCOOP:
You have a lot of gamers in your fanbase. Are you yourself a gamer?
What made you want to do your own take on franchises like “The
Legend of Zelda?”
LINDSEY STIRLING:
I get a lot of suggestions from my fans based on what they want to hear.
I myself rocked Mario Kart when I was in high school, but I don’t
play anymore. I just don’t have time to play games all the time.
I haven’t played a lot of the games that I perform to, but I do
love the music.
And so people kept suggesting these songs. And then Devin Graham, he’s
the cinematographer/YouTuber that I work with a lot, really wanted to
do a Zelda medley. So we co-collaborated on it. I wrote this medley
and people kept saying I looked like an elf, so we decided I was the
perfect little person to play this Link character.
THE STAR SCOOP:
We have a lot of friends who love your videos and are always watching
your stuff! Who are your personal favorite YouTube artists to watch?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
That’s a good question. I’ve never been asked that! I actually
have a few channels that are my favorites that are smaller. One of them
is What’s Up Elle. I think she’s genius at what she does.
She makes herself into triplets all the time and she makes these videos
where she is interacting with herself and the three of her. It’s
just amazing how she coordinates it all. Because I’m an editor,
I know what it would take to do that and how hard that would be.
I love a girl called Miranda Sings. She does parodies of music videos
but she’s actually a broadway singer, but she singers purposefully
really bad. She plays this character that she calls Miranda, who sings
terribly but thinks she’s awesome. I think she’s awesome.
And then ImprovEverywhere is probably one of my top channels as well.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Lastly, What would you like to say to all your fans?
LINDSEY STIRLING:
I am so, so grateful to them. I would want to them to know that! I owe
all of my success to them and the fact that they share my videos and
that they like them and come to my shows. It’s just cool that
because of them, there is this world where the independent artist can
make it. Several years ago that wasn’t possible. I just feel like
I owe them so much and I’m so grateful to them.
I just want to say I am trying
my best. I get requests all the time, like come to Brazil, come here,
come there, and I want them to know that I am doing my very best to
work out a tour schedule all over the world because I want to come meet
them!
